Onkyo have just unleashed the TX-SR607 receiver which is the first receiver to feature vertical Dolby Pro Logic. Formally called Dolby Pro Logic IIz, this feature allows home theatre systems that have two extra front channel speakers placed up at a high level to play sounds that would naturally be above the movie watcher. According to Onkyo this new feature

enhances the spatial sensation of music, movies, and video games by letting you incorporate front height channels.

Impressive, eh? Well it doesn’t end there for the TX-SR607 receiver as the unit also sports a massive six HDMI inputs, five at the back and one at the front as well as upconversion to 1080i for analog input. You can also hook up an iPod dock via the proprietary U.Port. Other details include

* 7.2 Channels
* 90 W per channel
* Dolby Decoder DD PLus, TrueHD, DTS Decoder DTS-HD Master Audio
* Dolby PLIIz
* Onkyo Game Surround Modes
* 192K/24 Bit DACs
* 2 Optical Audio Inputs
* 2 Component Inputs
* 6 HDMI V1.3a Inputs
* Analog to HDMI Upconversion
* 1080i Upscaling
* 435 x 174.3 x 374.7 mm
* 10.8 kg

The Onkyo TX-SR607 also sports quite a nice US$600 price tag too and will be available in April. This looks like a pretty sweet deal if you’re after a new receiver, given the extra bells and whistles of Dolby Pro Logic IIz. So we’re sure other receiver manufacturers will be hurrying to get their versions of the TX-SR607 out very soon!

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The new 2009 Panasonic plasmas are here at last. We’re going to give you the low down on the X1 range mainly because you can actually get your grubby little mits on these suckers right now. The range comes in two flavours, a 42 inch unit, the TC-P42X1 and it’s big brother the TC-P50X1 which sport price tags of US$900 and US$1100 respectively. Here are the details on these models from Panasonic

* 720p resolution
* 30,000:1 contrast ratio
* 3 HDMI inputs
* 100,000 hour panel life
* VIERA Image Viewer with SD slot

These neatly priced plasmas also sport Panasonic’s 600Hz Sub-field Drive which

produces crisp, focused images for sports, dramatic action, and all other fast-moving scenes. Your full-HD movies and games never looked sharper.

So there you have it, large screen plasmas for around US$1000, not bad if you’re bargain hunting for a decent plasma and are not worried about the lack of 1080p.

Source: Panasonic

Featured tags: hdtv panasonic plasma HDTV

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Epson have pushed out the door a new projector, the PowerLite G5000. The G5000 doesn’t appear to be aimed at the home market given the specs and the associated marketing blurb.

G5000, the latest in Epson’s line of installation projectors designed to provide flexibility, performance and easy installation for executive boardrooms and educational institutions

Of course the touted ‘easy installation’ may be exactly what the home user desires too, if you have many viewing areas or just can’t quite make up your mind where to put the G5000. Of course the specs lack that certain something required for a quality home theatre enthusiast, check ‘em out

* 3LCD projector
* XGA resolution
* 4,000 lumens
* vertical/horizontal lens shift
* 1.8x wider zoom standard lens
* 30-degree tilt
* 1000:1 contrast ratio

Yeah, like we said nothing to write home about for the err home enthusiast but may be just what they are looking for in the boardroom or classroom. US$2,500 will get one of these units, yet another factor that will be probably condemn the Epson PowerLite G5000 to a non-home environment.

Source: Epson

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Sharp have just announced a couple of new LCD TVs, namely the LC-37BD60U and LC-32BD60U full HDTV units. But wait there’s more, each model comes with a built-in Blu-Ray player just for those space conscious consumers out there! And the respective price tags at US$1200 and US$1000 aren’t too shabby either. Here are some stats on these space and wallet loving units

* 1920×1080 res
* 32 or 37 inch full 1080p HD display
* Side loading blu-ray player
* HDMI x 3 inputs
* Component x2 inputs
* PC input
* 6 millisecond response time
* 176/176 viewing angle
* Built-in ATSC/QAM/NTSC Tuners

Strangely the contrast ratio is specified as ‘High’ with no exact figure quoted, so image quality may not be great, but at those prices who’s complaining for a HDTV / Blu-Ray player combo. If you’re still keen the Sharp LC-32BD60U and LC-37BD60U can be pre-ordered at 6th Ave.

Featured tags: blu ray player lcd hdtv sharp

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It must be spring already as Sony have unleashed their new Bravia KDL-46V5100 HDTV model on the unsuspecting world. Originally penciled in for a spring release this V Series unit has appeared on Sony’s b2b site. This 46 inch HDTV sports the following bells and whistles

* 16:9 Full HD 1080p Resolution Panel (1920×1080)
* Motionflow™ 120Hz technology
* BRAVIA Engine™ 2 fully digital video processor
* Four HDMI™ inputs (up to 1080/60p capable)
* HD component input, HD combo input (1080/60i capable) and PC input (HD-15 pin)
* USB input
* 24p True Cinema mode
* Energy Star Version 3.0 Compliant
* Audio Power 20W (10W X 2)
* Power Consumption (in Operation) 245 W
* Power Consumption (in Standby) < 1W
* 1080/60p (HDMI/Component), 1080/60i, 1080/24p (HDMI), 720/60p, 480/60p, 480/60i
* 1123 x 770 x 323mm with pedestal
* 1123 x 725 x 96mm without
* 25.5kg with pedestal (22.6 kg without)

All this at a remarkably reasonable price tag of US$1900. No doubt that figure may reduce a bit once it’s available outside of the b2b website. So keep your eyes peeled for a bargain.

Featured tags: lcd hdtv Sony

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Amazingly VUDU have slashed the price tag in half of their interactive media box, called, err, VUDU Box. This snazzy little unit provides you with SD and HD content on-demand downloaded through your internet connection and then stored on its 250 GB hard drive. You can store up 50 SD movies on the hard drive for as long as you like. Here are a few other details and associated marketing blurb

* Access over 13,000 movies and TV titles from all Hollywood studios and leading independent distributors directly from your HDTV.
* Watch newly released movies the same day the DVD becomes available.
* Rent HD movies in native 1080p or SD movies up-scaled to 1080i/p resolution
* Rent standard definition movies from 99¢ to $3.99, high definition and HDX movies from $3.99 to $5.99.
* Purchase TV episodes for $1.99.
* Purchase movies from $4.99 to $19.99. No monthly subscription or contract.

All in all US$149 to save you the trip down the video store could be worth it for the ultimate couch potato, but for the rest of us? Well may be. Instant access, 13,000 titles and upscaling? All sound good to us. The down sound? A decent connection is required - 4 Mbps for instant HD viewing and 2 Mbps for instant SD viewing - but we guess most of us are clocking those speeds these days. So what are you waiting for? Reviews? Well check these out

CNET - Very Good from the editor and Average from the users
Laptopmag - A detailed 3.5 out of 5 review

If you already own one of these puppies please let us know what you think.

Source: VUDU

Featured tags: media center vudu

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Marantz have unleashed their first Blu-Ray player, the BD8002, on the world, well actually only on the UK at the moment, but hopefully the rest of the world will get a look-see soon. Marantz gear is usually pretty top-notch so we shouldn’t expect anything different from their first Blu-Ray player, and certainly Marantz are not talking down their latest puppy’s capabilities

With an unrivalled Full High Definition 1080p image, and the ability to output Blu-ray discs at true film-like 24 frames per second, your favourite movies have never looked more life-like and crystal clear.

Marketing blurb aside, here are the hard facts on the BD8002

* Universal HD player
* Profile 1.1
* Built in decoders Dolby Digital+ / Dolby TrueHD / DTS HD / Dolby Digital / DTS
* Handles CD / CD-R/RW
* Upscales DVD-V / DVD-R/RW / DVD+R / DivX Ultra to 1080p
* And of course perfectly plays back BD format
* Also handles mp3 and wmv files
* Video outputs include HMDI 1.3a, Composite Out, S-Video Out, Component Out
* Audio outputs Analogue Out, Digital Coaxial Out, Digital Optical Out
* Channels 2 / 5.1 / 7.1
* 440 x 402 x 140 mm
* 10.5 kg
* 1920 x 1080p resolution with True24FPS for a film-like experience in the home

Well it certainly looks the part doesn’t it, but it comes with a hefty price tag of GBP1800 which is around US$2500, so we’re not talking bargain basement. We’re hoping the old adage, you get what you pay for holds true though and plus Marantz’s repuatation re quality gear, the BD8002 should add up to an awesome Blu-Ray player, even if the bank manager disagrees.

Source: Marantz

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