Please let me know before I go to Integra:
Will we get remapping to allow for a hieght channel(s)?
Will there be HD radio?
Will there be direct acces bottons like the S/N product or the very hard to use 990 like interface?

Based on this page , I would not expect an HD tuner. Also, based on some posts by Peter Tribeman earlier this year and the product page, the 997 isn't expected to ship with Pro Logic IIz. There appears to be interest inside Outlaw in adding it via a firmware update later, in which case several of us in the forum have assumed that it would require re-tasking the rear surround outputs. (The hardware itself is designed to be 7.1, not 9.1, and changing that now would be a poor decision.) As for the last question, we have been told to expect the 997 to look basically the same as the 990. That means there won't be as many buttons on the front panel as on the front of the R-972.

Ahhhhhaaaaarrrgggg!

Gonk
Nice to hear from you.
To all, I have been a outlaw fan for a long time;
I own the 950, 990, 2 ICBMs, and a 750.

Well, I could live without nice direct access buttons, but I really hate having to get my reading glasses and a flashlight, or just keep hitting buttons till the display does what I want. Really, big dedicated buttons are better.

HD radio is sickening that it's left out, but I could buy anouther component and use toslink, I suppose.
Please excuse the following sarcasm: "Who, by the way, want's regular FM, and not HD radio? Why not drop the FM section too?"
I'm sure because the s/n product has it this way, but come on, couldn't this have been thought of?

The Height channel is a difficult choice: integra has it, and I am thinking of changing out my maggie CC2 center to the new $2700 CCR, and press the CC2 into height service.

I have complete control of time and eq and xover slopes with 2 channel using the DEQX xover, that is also a preamp (I upgraded to the latest board set with balanced jenson transformers), so the effect that trinnov has on 2 channel won't be so much of a issue. In many cases, except for decoding bluray codexes off hdmi, I run sp/dif and aes/ebu digital right into the DEQX. BUT, the XLR analog will come from the 997, hopefully.

Come on Peter T, tell me you will write the code for 8/9.1, or if it can't be done. I don't want to be misled about this, please.

Honestly, I don't need or want a radio tuner at all. I would much prefer a quality phono input, but there is no point in dredging this debate up again.

Oh yes, that.

But, I need to know if it's possible to go to 8/9.1 or not.

Does someone have Pete's number?

It's almost impossible to get anyone's "perfect" feature set in a surround processor. There's always something one person will wish was added and something else another person will wish was left off.
You could call and talk to Outlaw - see the " Contact Us " link at the bottom of this page. They may not be able to provide any definite answers at this point, though, as evaluating technical feasibility of adding new features like PLIIz at this stage has to be down the list of priorities below getting the existing features working and the product into production.

Are you concerned about possible addition of PLIIz, or are you interested in the specific case of combining PLIIz with rear surrounds? If it's the latter, I simply don't see how it will be possible without going with the latest generation Onkyo or Integra (which were built from the ground up as 9.1). If it's the former - if you don't use rear surrounds and could press those channels into service for the height channels - then the question changes and you have more possible options available.

Two of the biggest reasons I opted for the 886 over the 997 had to do with minor features which I knew I wanted but was willing to do without if the 997 had arrived on time. The phono input is one of them and the satellite radio input for both versions is the other. I love my 990 and thought about just buying a second one. Trinnov intriques me but I don't want to go through the birthing process of trying to get it to work. I have a pretty basic room with a few anomalies which I can fix by moving stuff around. I guess my point is that although no one company can amass all the features into one affordable machine, after a year delay in the 997 I think the Outlaws have listened to their loyal customers and will put out a device which does what it is supposed to do for a value. Most of us don't use the bells and whistles as much as we would think we do. Once Trinnov is set for your location, who is going to use it unless you remap your speakers or your room changes.

"Who, by the way, want's regular FM, and not HD radio? Why not drop the FM section too?"

I bought the much-praised Sony HD tuner and sent it right back - it didn't sound as good as regular FM.

I was surprised to then learn that HD does not stand for high definition.

I am another FM user and could care less about HD radio.

Whenever I read a thread about the features that are left off a processor or receiver, I note with amusement that many on other forums are complaining of just the opposite. In particular the third generation Onkyo/Integras seem too complicated and overly feature laden to many.

The best thing the Outlaws can do is ensure the 997 is debugged, include a clearly written and logical manual, get production going ASAP, and follow up with competent technical support