Hi,
The yahoo group (no don`t go yet. Hear me out!) does have many posts, and yes there are a lot of questions.
The answer to your f/w question is in the database section. Have you joined? You`ll have to join to get acces to anything other than posts.
2.23 is the latest official release. 2.32 is just round the corner. The later versions give better picture & sound quality, fixes mp3 bugs and improves svcd support. All the official firmware (and unofficial if you agree to a disclaimer and get a password) can be downloaded from the files section.
Cheers
SteveC