My wait finally ended this last Saturday as I picked up my Version 3 800. I have been quite busy at work since then so the amount of time I can spend with it has not been what I would like. Some quick impressions:

Nice unit mechanically. A few of the back plates on the 800 have slots for ventalation purposes, as opposed to all solid plates. I have yet to hear the fan running, although I must add that the 800 is in a cool basement. The DVD drive used on the 800 is black and surprisingly solid and substantial feeling. Not like what I remember from 800's with the old white.

Audio judgements will have to wait for the 861 update. As a CD transport, there is more resolution than the Pioneer I was using before. Same for sound with decoded Dolby Digital. So much will change when it can fully interface with an 861 version 3 that I will not spend a lot of time on this.

Biggest surprise is the video quality. This is superb interlaced video! Within less than two minutes of viewing I noticed a smoothness in motion I have not seen in all the time I have watched DVD on my system. The buffers that Meridian use for video must be responsible for this. I also would guess that providing such a time corrected picture helps subsequent video processors do their job better as well. Not a subtle difference. Could not see the chroma bug on Toy Story on my rig at my usual viewing distance while looking for it. Will do a more detailed look for it soon. Overall, a film-like picture that makes it easy to relax and enjoy!

mw