Can we get another update on the new processor? Heck, at this point does it even have a name?

If I remember correctly the last delay was an issue with one of the chip suppliers.

I have no short term plans past 5.1 so am happy with the M-975 but am interested in the direction the new processor will be going. I need a 5 channel amp but have to sell my monster Adcom stereo amp first.

The ups and down of "digital technology" development projects can seem baffling. I work in very tiny little corner of the big business that will (thankfully...) never grab the headlines but I also watch some of the "rockstars" of the industry get beaten up worse than golf balls in a blender...

The guy that lead the team at Apple that created the iPod and then went on to be founder of the firm that revolutionized how tech savvy people monitor / protect their homes has been shown the door Nest -- http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/04/technology/tony-fadell-nest-google-alphabet.html

A while back Jim Barton, the guy that was the "tech" behind TiVo was similarly politely pushed out -- http://www.cnet.com/news/tivo-co-founder-and-cto-jim-barton-steps-down/

Timelines for efforts like these are so unpredictable and often get so costly that it is wonder that The Outlaws disclose as much as they do. Fortunately it does not seem like that even the most "booster driven" sources see 4K taking over anytime soon, so there is really no rush and I hope the Outlaw's past wisdom in preferring to offer the RIGHT solution over the fast solution continues to be the value-oriented way for those of us that know what we want...

http://www.streamingmedia.com/Articles/E...deo-111408.aspx

Funny you mentioned 4K video. A friend's son is in his last semester in an A/V program down in Houston. He is telling me the feeling about 4K video is lukewarm at best. ATMOS is viewed the same way. He said they had a person from Dolby labs come speak who gave the impression sales staff would see more benefit from ATMOS than the consumer ever will.

One of the dealers on the Polk forum just spent big money making the move to 4K to what sounds like little to no benefit. Visually he felt the 4K was only better than the Blue Ray when much closer to the display than normal viewing distances. If I have to sit six to eight feet from a 60" (or larger) display to see any benefit then I am not sure I see the point.

I know everyone who skipped the M-975 are quite interested in the new unit but can also understand a company like Outlaw taking its time adopting the new formats. The big companies have no choice when it comes to adding any new features as soon as possible. 90% of buyers are attracted to one receiver or pre/pro over another based on the bells and whistles so the big name brand that does not offer every option regardless of actual function will lose sales.

4K is not really about "what looks good on a 60" screen" -- it is more about the color depth. The benefits of this are really challenging for most folks to even think about because our "real world" of crayons, chalk, paints, make-up, and clothing is based on "analog color" where the difference between one color and another is achieved with infinitely tiny tweaks or physical pigment. In the digital world the bits that are available to record and reproduce color are totally discrete and when we increase the bit depth we allow more accurate gradations. Here is a little demonstration of this works -- tricky to illustrate what the limitations are -- http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/bit-depth.htm

I also would point out that 4K resolution is very obvious with a high quality projector. The most value priced 4K projectors are still well over $5000 but honestly I have seen even regular DVDs and broadcast content upscaled on the Sony projectors and the image truly is a "night & day" increase in the visual impact. The pixels are so much more tightly packed and smoothly animated that everything seems far more lifelike. The technical details of what happens with modern upscalers are kind of amazing -- http://www.cockam.com/viddoubl.htm


The same sort of "wow this is MUCH better" is also true regarding Atmos (or DTS-X & other immersive / object oriented formats). As the sound designers have gotten better at working with the whole production chain, from writers and directors to effects people and even actors) they have learned how to really create a far more convincing "acoustic space" in their movies. Just like I can take a blindfolded person and have them instantly tell me "I am in an office / now I am in a hotel room / now I am in kitchen of midsized home" as the same dialog or ambient sounds are repeated -- it is possible to really make the whole sense of being in different kinds of "space" driven by immersive audio technology. Folks that are old enough might recall the not very convincing efforts to use digital reverb to simulate a "concert hall" vs "jazz club" and the reason for those failures actually trace back to the differences that a once very innovative Dr. Amar Bose worked out regarding direct vs reflected sound. It is not just time delay! There are actually different properties of which frequencies get reflected / absorbed. Hard to do that without tailoring the speaker outputs!

Unfortunately until recently the amount of calculations and data needed to get ALL the timings, frequency curves and angles ACCURATELY plugged in made such efforts "muddy" but the innovations in DSP chips have made it possible to keep the DISCRETE info in the dedicated channels and seamlessly reproduce a huge range of startlingly convincing environments. The well done home theater installations in homes or dedicated showrooms cannot be compared to the "quick and dirty" simulations that chain stores attempt...

Almost two years without a name? Doesn't seem that "tech" to give it model number/Name. In older cultures not naming the child until it could actually be considered to survive was the norm.

I can see both sides of announcing a name. I agree with you Xenon, two years is plenty of time to give a new product a name/model number. I can also understand Outlaw not announcing a name/model number for a product that does not yet exist in the physical realm.

If I were in your position waiting for a new unit with an idea to upgrade I would be frustrated as well.

I get what you are saying renov8er. The big Sony in question was a 75" with a $6,000+ retail. The general opinion from the pixel peepers was ho hum at best. I get that some people have to have the latest and greatest. I also get that anyone doing a new media room build out might as well go for the gusto.

For me I am glad I am not in either group. If I had a spare five to six thousand laying around right now a new TV would not make the top ten list.

I just wish we could get a little tidbit of info every now and then.
I can understand Outlaws reluctance to say to much after the last couple of fiascoes.
I am still waiting patiently but the urge to update my 990 is getting stronger by the day.
The Emotiva XMC-1 is trying to draw me in.
Must resist!!!!!!!

Some additional info would be nice, like: what kind of room correction? (if any...) What kind of DAC's? How many HDMI inputs/outputs?

Okay since Outlaw hasn't named it, I will. I am going to call it the Phoenix for the obvious reasons.