Not to get people mad at me, but I was just wondering if the beta test really helped Outlaw at all, other than recently getting us all to shut up quite a bit about the very close (yet sooooo very far) release date?

I know some(all?) of the testers found some problems in thier units, but then they seemed to say that when they told Outlaw about them, Outlaw told them they'd already known about them.

I guess they "could've" found problems Outlaw didn't find, but did they?

Maybe I missed it, but did any tester find anything that Outlaw didn't already know about?

Also, what's with the 5 beta tester's being only 4 testers, and then really more like only 3 testers since the last one (is his name Gene?) the Lexicon guy didn't seem to get his till the testing was pretty much over and the testers were released from their N.D.A. agreements?

He, like the other testers, are giving out good info about how the unit performs, and nothing against them at all, but did the 950 really have anything that needed to be tested by then? He didn't get one with a better tuner in it or something did he? Not that I heard.

It just seems like Outlaw was getting some good word out there about the 950's performance more than doing the actual 5 person beta test they got hundereds of people to sign up for.

Also, I thought that delay for getting the 950 to work with the audio on some new dvd's like JP3 was smart, but then I heard that it only effects a few discs, and no further ones'll be made like that? Is that right??

If that's true, it kinda seems dumb to worry about a few dvd's when they'll still play with one of the other audio tracks, and since this thing's decked out with DPL2 and everything else, I now think the delay was worse than the 'getting it all right' approach.

Besides JP3 stunk. Great audio/video quality, but it's as horrible as JP2 was. And wasn't Atlantis one of the prob. discs too? That stunk just as bad. Such a horrible story and lousy low grade animation (where does Disney put all that money, 'cuz it ain't into art or script work), who cares if one of the audio tracks doesn't play right? Everything else you own and will own in the future will.

Guess I'm just frustrated here and stiring up trouble 'cuz Outlaw said we'd be getting our 950's much sooner than we'd guess, which I think no one could possibly agree with by now.

I've been a strong supporter of their very open P.R. reports (till recently), and understood/believed the reasons for the delays starting with the October release delay, but they sure have given several impressions over the past couple months that we were very, very close to actually getting this thing, and I know there's lots of us out there have this same 'impression'.

Every few weeks it sounds like it's 'only a few weeks away'.

But I guess beggars can't be choosers.

If I could afford to be ticked off I guess I'd get the Anthem, or a used Lex., but for that kinda money you gotta be really really mad at Outlaw!
Which I'm not.
But I am kinda ticked.

And just to save myself the trouble later.... thanks for your response gonk.