The fact is that the "landscape" for the kind of product that many of us want to see is not all that compatible with the "marketing plans" of the big guys in the audio business. One of those "big guys" basically was responsible for "knifing the baby" that was supposed to what we were hoping for...

The other thing that is undeniable is that the "goal posts" do keep moving -- there is no doubt that 4K is bigger deal to the geniuses in marketing for the big guys than any actual customers, just as 3D was far more important to the marketing bozos than consumers! That said there are other moving targets that seem to be a LOT easier to hit -- high bit rate audio formats, greatly expanded codecs for multichannel, installation / setup menus that don't look overly geeky, some easy way to relate the value of such a purchase to life partners perhaps through easy integration with existing smart remote systems...

I do think that the big guys will be touting 4K pre-pros at CEDIA and my gut says that since the firms that make the chipsets for this are almost certainly overstocked that does create one of those situations where it is practically cheaper to go with the "latest and greatest" than to try to go forward with what are now "legacy" chipsets.

I continue to think that the same kind of disaster of having a Chinese manufacturer "back out at the last minute" is every bit as likely NOW as it happened before. I similarly think the hard core world of really committed tinkerer-level manufacturing is growing. With 3D printers being widely availble it ought to be possible to "mock up" the often tricky physical layout of an innovative piece of home audio in a fraction of the time / money than it took with older methods. Similarly with the right kind of connections to individuals /firms that have launched things at Kickstarter and/or been on teams with open source efforts like ardunio or raspberry pi one could get the "core" of a design team that would work right in the USA or globally through remote connections. Once everything was at the right stage it might be possible to then bring a "ready to hit the production line" concept / prototype to the kinds of onshore contract electronics firm that maybe have seen business from DOD fall off due to cutbacks / lack a real demand for "Amazon PrimeDrones" and then get the whole thing moving forward at far more affordable level and with greatly accelerated roll out.
Maybe I am too much of a dreamer and the big guys that continue to make "me too" products that are overpriced and overcomplicated can get by with continuing to squeeze the little guys. Maybe the technical, legal and financial hurdles that continue to plague the other "little guy" direct-to-consumer audio products firm are evidence that things cannot be overcome. It is frustrating to see this as just a potential purchaser and most be positively maddening for folks that demand on this business as their livelihood...