If the 997 is released soon, near in capabilities to the concept put forward years ago within Outlaw, and even if some people are ready for an upgrade, I think most will find themselves at a tipping point: Do I want a Trinnov-capable platform that perhaps has not otherwise advanced in two years, or does the perceived need for capabilities in directions the industry may be going, like PLIIz, push me beyond a 997 ‘aged before it releases’ platform toward something else? In Outlaw’s favor, a Trinnov system may do something great for some customers, and, since many studios have rarely produced content beyond 5.1 anyway, 9.1 (or a 7.1 that is 5.1 plus height) may be as nearly invisible as 7.1 has been in most consumer content distribution. The majority of content may be years and years away from genuinely moving beyond 5.1 with any gusto – then again it might be soon. In sales, what buyers expect to see doesn’t have to have a firm connection to reality. I did not miss the THX logo on my Outlaw gear, but many are influenced by such things. Consumer attention is almost entirely one of perception and anticipation, so the purchase will swing more on what is ‘believed’ than what will actually become reality. If PLIIz gets enough buzz, the 997 as originally conceived will arrive appearing, with regard to sales/marketing, behind the times even if it is spot-on because the latest touted ‘next thing’ ends up as ‘vaporware’. In Saloon fashion, purchasers who don’t have the patience to see how things settle out will be indirectly responding to: “place your bets.”

If the 997 has an even more significant delay, perhaps it’s time to scrap some of the circuitry that won’t be up to consumer-perceived ‘next gen capabilities’ in favor of including capabilities other brands have brought to market during the last two years plus a Trinnov system in the same platform. If I were Outlaw and ever dealt with the same external team members involved in *cough* bringing the 997 to market, I’d want a stepped ‘money back’ time-sensitive performance clause added to any contracts.

A while after previous Outlaw processors came to market, the prices of those processors dropped in order to maintain the ‘value’ of a platform that is not updated annually, which makes sense to me. If the 997 capabilities are not revised to meet advances in market expectation, will the price of the 997 need to drop in a ‘value timeline’ fashion, as if it had been widely introduced for sale within the initially planned release dates? If so, buyers may actually be beyond the point where the usual first $100 price drop happens (whether a price drop actually occurs or not) before the first widely available unit ships.

As expressed by others, I’m also cheering for Outlaw. Hopefully they’ll get through this processor upgrade round somewhere near to breaking even, resuming normal profits on whatever the next Outlaw processor will be.