I've learned to live with my 970 and its "quirks" as well. Its really frustrating that I can just about 100% guaranty when I start it up that I'll get no audio and I'll have to get up and power it on and off manually (yes I've run the latest firmware update).

I was happy with my 950, but decided to upgrade to the 970 for extra component and DVI inputs. I'm trying to decide if I should sell off by 755 amp and 970 processor and pick up a Denon AVR-3808 or just wait and see how the new Outlaw processor works. Hopefully Outlaw will throw us long suffering 970 customers a bone when the processors come out to help ease our pain and struggles with this buggy unit.