I fully agree with Eric, virtual inputs would be a huge plus. I also expect that the 978 design has advanced to the point that it's too late to add the virtual input feature if it's not already included. Perhaps virtual input could help to distinguish between the 978 and 998.

Your probably right about the state of the 978 and virtual inputs and if that's the case consideration for inclusion in the 998 makes sense. In fact, if the 998 is going to serve as Outlaw's reference prepro (something I'd love to see), I have a few more ideas for it as well. However, at this point I guess it's best for Outlaw to focus on one thing at a time; namely the 978.

Has Outlaw mentioned anything about iphone/ipad or android phone/tablet control for the 978? I'm personally leaning toward android at this point but could live with either platform.

I assume each of the devices has an App which allows it to learn from the remote. Should be able to learn the remote and control the 978 just fine. I am assuming this is the way they all work as there would be too many different control options for any device to have access to them all without dedicated site support similat to the Harmony remotes.

It would be really cool to have the Trifield music mode used on the Meridian processors on the 978.

Interface is the key here. It can be done well, but all too often it is done poorly. The Onkyo 885 and 886 have a menu for setting default surround processing modes, but the labels they used and the way they structured it left a lot to be desired - especially for casual users. The Marantz AV7005 gives a good range of control over setup like we are describing, but the interface requires you to either exit the menu and change the active input or use a web browser to make those adjustments for all of the inputs - something that Outlaw's guide spells out, but the Marantz guide isn't so clear on. That strikes me as highly inconvenient.

I think we're in agreement that there needs to be a way to make use of all the HDMI inputs as well as some of the other inputs. Other high priority capabilities would include some form of per-input surround mode memory (with a menu for setting defaults as an option for initially setting the "default" modes for each input), per-input video processing adjustments, and input labeling. Being able to select which Audyssey curve is applied per input (including the option to bypass Audyssey entirely in some cases) would also be a good idea, and one that has appeared on a number of similar products over the last couple years.

The only one I wonder about is the per-input bass management control. For one thing, that gets very complex - and with all that complexity, I don't know how useful it ends up being. Crossover points shouldn't change based on the source, and neither should the decision to set speakers to "large" or "small." If Outlaw stays true to form, they'll have a bypass mode available - that could provide a way to exclude bass management for special circumstances. Additionally, I'm not sure what Audyssey would think of that in the first place...

Since Meridian touts this as being unique to their product line, I'd guess Outlaw would have to pay for the rights to use it, adding still more to the cost. And that's if Meridian would even consider it.

I agree with pretty much everything you've stated with regard the need for a quality, well thought out UI. Your description of the AV7005's menu is interesting. Until I learned of the pending 978, the AV7005 was on my short list of prepro candidates. Your description of how Marantz handles input configuration doesn't make much sense to me either and it was never that involved with the Casablanca. I owned Onkyo's 885 for a brief time and don't recall having any problem with configuration and like the 885, the Casablanca only had black and white text menus. Where they differed IIRC is that the Blanca's menu titles more clearly defined their functions, had fewer items to choose from in any given menu level, and did a better job of placing popular configuration items near the home menu.

Concerning subwoofer customization per input, I don't think it has to be complicated. My idea would be to force the user to do global speaker/sub configuration first, and only allow access to virtual input config afterwards. As virtual inputs are created by the user, the global speaker/sub config would be copied to them automatically and I'd arrange the input menu such that the user wouldn't even see the copied values directly. Further, because virtual inputs by definition have to be user created, he/she has some control over complexity by determining how many inputs they create. Perhaps to help this along, Outlaw could pre-define two virtual inputs most users would likely use at minimum: A stereo music mode (2.1) and a HT mode (x.1 where x=all speakers from your global config)and surround mode set to auto.

I agree that crossover change per input would be a nice-to-have feature that would be rarely used so I would consider its inclusion optional. I think that the Large/Small speaker designation invites confusion. Rather, I would change that field to read "Use Sub Crossover?", which could only be set to "yes" or "no" manually or via Audyssey. If yes, another field sets the frequency. If no, the frequency field would be greyed out (locked from user access). Complex or no, I do think that speaker & sub level control per input needs to be available for users. In my experience, differing media content tends to benefit from level tweaking from the global setting achieved during initial setup.

I agree about large and small. They became an industry standard many years back, but they're not great. I kind of like the approach of merging crossover settings and the large/small selection - have a speaker setting with an option for "full range" or options for crossover settings. It has been used by a few products in recent years, and does streamline matters.

For the record, Meridian did not invent and does NOT own this technology. Instead Meridian is a licensee of Ambisonics:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trifield

The ownership and trademark are acknowledged by Meridian in every product manual. For example:
http://www.meridian-audio.com/media/12667/861v6%20user%20guide.pdf see page 4.

There is also a semi-pro implementation:
http://www.agmdigital.com/page7/files/059b6cd343bca57b71726b911ba17790-2.html


We have heard this system and it is indeed very impressive. However, time to market for us is critical and due to software issues we are a bit behind schedule. Adding this in at this time will tend to slow down the process and there is also the MIPS issue to contend with

Going forward, this is something to think about for future implementations.

Peter