There is no question, that it is much less capable that a 997 then a 7125. Outside of the upconversion, it is probably less cable that a 990 and a 7075. Of course it also includes speakers which the others don't but that is besides the point, as the market it is reaching isn't the same. Its a compromise system for people who don't or can't run wires to surround sound speakers and who proably don't care but have the money to be sold a "solution".

My thought was that there is probably a market for the Outlaws for people who can't/won't run surround speakers in every environment where they would want to have a home theater TV. Something that would sound better than the native speakers in a TV or even your typical htb setup.

As for the last point, I really hope that the Outlaws don't walk away from the mid level market the helped build the company.