Firmware

Hello all, I am the proud owner of a second hand Outlaw 976. I notice it has a firmware upgrade serial port on the back, and wanted to make sure I have the latest/greatest available, but I don't see any mention of firmware versions, updates, anything.

I have version 1.06, is it the latest, is there newer/better and where do I find it?

Thanks!

Received prompt response from support ticket. There are no firmware updates, something about the version number may be different based on production run.

Damn!
I really wish they would come out with a firmware update so we could rename the inputs.

That would be nice, but I'm okay with the input selection as we can assign the names provided to any input. One thing I will miss moving from an Emotiva UMC-200 is the multiple EQ presets, UMC-200 could hold 3 EQ presets and now I'm down to just 1.

My biggest complaint having used the thing for only a few hours is just the inability to adjust the brightness of the power LED. It is bright and distracting, going to have to do something about that..Otherwise I'm quite satisfied, everything works and the UI is simple.

I just got a new replacement 976 and the firmware version is 1.07. I did not notice any differences from 1.06.

I'd love to see a means in firmware to disable the blindingly-bright power button light. I have to cover it up to tolerate having it in my small AV room. I wish blue LEDs had never been invented.

I still have two weeks return period left on my unit and it's 50/50 right now on whether I'll return it. I like the form factor, value, simplicity, and XLR connections. Hate the light, the audio thumps when the signal connects/disconnects (though mild), and the occasional reversing volume control on the remote. Outlaw has known about that last one for three years now and obviously never bothered to fix it. Of course the remote issue can be resolved by switching to a Harmony, but that still leaves the two larger gripes.

It's laughable that they include a dimming feature for the display. It's completely pointless when the power button light is 50x brighter.

Sadly, since there have been no updates for the 976 since its begining, it means it's either perfect or abandonware. Both eventualities are unsettling imho!

Don't count on there being any new firmware this late in the product's life. What you have is a finished product with any quirks that it may come with.

I agree on the power LED, the lacking option to dim or disable it is lame. But you can get crafty and cover it up without making it look ugly. This is one feature where Emotiva has an advantage, my old UMC-200 would dim the power LED with the display together.

Apart from the LED, lacking features for me would be the OSD has no overlay, its a black screen without audio, means that you can't adjust EQ "live" or any other options without seriously disrupting the show. Other than that, it's just the silly remote. Went to all that work to make it out of brushed aluminum with a fun battery door, but the button layout is not great, the buttons feel like mush, the printing is a little off, as well the printing should not be on the buttons as that is prone to wear off eventually, it should be silk screened on the shell above the buttons.

I digress, on the plus side it does all the things it says it does without error so I am still happy with it.