Gonk, the 7000 may appear bizarre to you, but I think it will be well received by typical consumers (which we on this forum are not-In the classic words of Igor from Young Frankenstein, we are "Abi-Normal"). Samsung will release plenty of HTiBs this year independent of this piece. As speakers were not included with the 7000, I don't see how it qualifies as anything other than a AV Receiver as Samsung and reporters have described it.


From a consumer's perspective, this is irrelevant. They will focus on the feature, not how it's implemented in silicon. Rather, they will focus on the value of a complete AV entertainment solution in one box that allows them to download features of value to them while allowing them to use their speakers of choice (within limits due to the amp section of course-this applies to most other AV receivers as well).


In the short-term I agree. However, as streaming and apps continues to proliferate in TVs, game consoles, and now perhaps, AV receivers (and soon in prepros?), dedicated streamers are going to become less relevant.

The 978 and prepros in general are somewhat niche in the consumer AV world, but so long as the 978 is released before the end of the year and delivers sonically at a competitive price, it should do well. However, don't be surprised if downloadable apps appear in the next generation of prepros from Outlaw's competitors. Who can blame them? If they follow Samsung's model and build their own app stores, they'll have something new and valuable; recurring revenue from component sales. I wouldn't presume to speak for other prepro enthusiasts on this forum, but if Samsung ever decided to take the HW-D7000 and build a decent (Marantz AV-7005 class) dedicated prepro under 2K, I'd give it serious consideration. I don't think Samsung will do this as their business model is oriented towards the masses via big-box retailers and e-tailers. However, I wouldn't put it past Onkyo or Marantz...