Onkyo TX-SR806 And TX-SR706 Home Theater Receivers, HT-S7100 And HT-S6100 HTiB's Available Now
Onkyo has unveiled a couple of new home theater receivers and a couple home-theater-in-a-box (HTiB) systems for summer release. The Onkyo TX-SR806 and TX-SR706 receivers are highlighted by THX Ultra2 Plus and Select2Plus certification respectively and both feature THX Loudness Plus audio processing. Both receivers pump out 130 Watts per channel, Faroudja DCDi video processing for 1080p upconversion, and the TX-SR806 can also upconvert to 1080i if necessary. In terms of connectivity options, the two receivers have five and four HDMI 1.3a repeater inputs respectively. Both also feature an AM/FM tuner with connection options to Sirius and XM satellite radio, Audyssey room acoustics correction, Dynamic EQ, Onkyo's Music Optimizer, as well as bi-directional RS-232 ports and RIHD (Remote Interactive over HDMI) for home automation systems. Onkyo's TX-SR706 is available now for $899 while the TX-SR806 will be available in August for $1099.
The HT-S7100 and HT-S6100 HTiB's each output 130 Watts per receiver channel, have a 7-channel speaker system, subwoofer and even an iPod dock. Both upscale to 1080i, have 4 HDMI inputs, DTS-HD Master Audio and Dolby TrueHD audio processing, Audyssey 2EQ room acoustics correction, and Audyssey Dynamic EQ loudness correction. The only real difference between the two systems is that the HT-S7100 includes two speaker stands. The HT-S7100 and HT-S6100 are both available now priced at $899 and $799 respectively.
We've told you about New Jersey-based TV Armor before and this past weekend we finally got to try out TV Amor's like-named TV screen protector this past weekend. At first look we weren't so sure about its design. Basically a 1/4-inch thick sheet of Lucite (a type of acrylic glass), TV Armor is molded at the top end at a 90-degree angle to snuggly fit the top of your TV with two oval cut at either end and at the bottom so two Velcro straps can be wrapped around your TV set to secure the screen protector. Felt spacers are included to stick on the corners of the TV Armor to ensure it never actually touches the TV screen. At first glance before actually placed on the TV set it looks clunky and definitely not something you'd want to ruin the design of your home theater.
Another initial concern we had was that acrylics aren't completely clear. Because of this TV Armor reduces your screen's brightness by about 5% however you can compensate by simply adjusting the TV's brightness level manually. Secondly, there is no antiglare solution on the market for acrylic plastics either simply because the sheet isn't 100% clear, it's actually a matte finish. So if your set is in an area where there is alot of brightness or natural light you'll get a somewhat distorted picture if the TV screen protector is more than 1/16-inch of the surface of the flatscreen.
Okay, now that we've addressed our initial concerns we can tell you what we found once we actually attached TV Armor to a Toshiba 42-inch LCD HDTV. Once unpacked from the box, all's you have to do is attach the felt spacers to the corners of the TV Armor, feed the Velcro straps through the appropriate hole, place it on your screen and secure it. It takes all of 2 minutes from boxed to completely setup. Once the TV was actually turned on, without adjusting the brightness controls at all, any difference in picture quality was unnoticeable to human eye. However it was tested in an area where both natural and artificial lighting was fairly low. This could be different in a brighter area, but once again that can be fixed by manually adjusting your screen's brightness.
Now as you may have guessed from the name TV Armor, or if you read the previous article, you can probably figure out the TV screen protector is designed to protect your TV screen. Genius, eh? Protect it from what? Mainly the types of objects your small kids will hurl across the room such as small toys or remote controls. It also works equally well to protect the TV screen from splashes or artistic kids who like to play with felt markers. Anything we happened to toss at the TV once protected within the realm of reason (meaning short of bricks and bullets) was absorbed by the TV Armor, which remained scratch-free, successfully protected the fragile LCD screen. We should also mention that once attached to the TV, TV Armor is virtually unnoticeable. The matte finish of the Lucite panel actually gives the set a nice look.
Overall we definitely give the TV Armor TV screen protector a thumbs up. If you have small kids, or host parties where drinks tend to fly this is the perfect solution. Available for screen sizes between 30 and 52 inches, TV Armor runs between $129 and $169 plus shipping fees. Head over to TV Armor's TV Screen Protector website to purchase yours.
3D movie playback is a growing trend thanks to new digital cinema installations across the United States, but as we've said before 3D won't really catch on until it's easily transferred to the home theater. Several different groups are working on quickly advancing the technologies necessary to make this a reality and there are already 3D-ready HDTV's on the market, but there has remained one major problem until now.
Standards. That's right, right now several different companies produce 3D home theater technologies, but all tend to have their own technical methods that result in different file formats and compatibility with select devices. This is a big brick wall to consumer adoption. No one wants to read every product box to see if a particular device will work with their home theater setup. Enter the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) who've launched an initiative to develop a set of international standards that'll run across all 3D devices and delivery methods.
The establishment of 3D standards will take some time; the SMPTE estimates it'll be up to a year-and-a-half until the final standards are actually set in stone. The group's first meeting is set for August 19.
Mark Levinson's No502 Media Console: Does Creative Design Justify Outrageous Pricing?
Mark Levinson's No502 Media Console is a little bit of design thinking applied to a typical A/V processor/receiver that apparently justifies a ridiculous price. Yes it has some impressive features including an Faraday chassis that doubles as an RF shield, two separate power supplies to reduce noise, Harman International Logic 7 technology, Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD audio, auto-calibration, and 6 HDMI inputs and 2 outputs (though only v1.1), but do these features really justify the $30, 000 price tag. We don't think so. Must be the Mark Levinson name.
Klipsch Gets "Budget-Conscious" With New Palladium Speakers
Klipsch is known for their high-end speakers in more than one way--design, sound, and price. If you want a unique look and incredible sound quality, Klipsch is a sure bet but bet you'll pay. Now it looks like the company is aiming at the more "budget-conscious" market with the addition of six new speakers to their Palladium lineup. A couple of new floorstanding main channel speakers, the P-37F and P-38F, will set you back $12, 000 and $8, 000 respectively, or you can settle for the P-17B bookshelf speakers priced at only $4, 000. The P-27S surround sound, P-27C center channel and P-312W subwoofer speakers will flesh out the rest of your audio setup, priced at $3, 500, $4, 000, and $4, 000 respectively. Budget-conscious? Not really, but you get what you pay for and give it to Klipsch for making their speakers at least a little more affordable.
Via Engadget HD
3D is going to be big. It's already catching on in a big way in Hollywood with 40 3D titles coming up in theaters, thanks to 3D film ticket sales at times doubling those of the standard film version. To make 3D really big though it has to find its way to the home theater, especially because 3D films cost studios more to make and home video accounts for three-quarters of Hollywood's $35.5 billion in annual revenues.
Thanks to the 3D@Home Consortium, consisting of Disney, Universal, Philips, Samsung, Sony, Thomson and IMAX, this could soon be a reality. The consortium banded in order to rapidly advance the technologies required to make 3D home theaters a reality and several signs are pointing to that reality. 3D HDTV's will be found in more than 1 million US homes by the end of this year, manufactured by the likes of Mitsubishi and Samsung. Earlier this week Mitsubishi also announced a content deal with Nvidia and Aspen Media Products that'll bring a bunch of 3D computer and video game titles to consumers. And Philips just unveiled a 52-inch 3D display that doesn't require those pesky 3D glasses for viewing.
Now that many more 3D titles are planned for theaters, you can bet they'll be released in 3D when they come to Blu-ray and DVD. In fact, the first 3D Blu-ray disc is coming August 19. Unfortunately it's Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds 3-D Concert, but c'mon now, it comes with the 3D glasses and all.
Finally a tech company known as TDVision is working on a way to make regular Blu-ray discs appear in 3D when played back. Now just sit back for a moment and imagine a home theater world that's almost more real than the one you live in everyday. Bizarre, eh? It's coming soon.
Onkyo's WAVIO GXM-2.1HD Expandable Home Theater System
Onkyo's WAVIO GXM-2.1HD is a 2.1-channel home theater system, expandable to a full 5.1-channels with the addition of center and rear speakers. Consisting of an amp with 5.1-channel support capable of outputing 30 W per channel and 60 W from the subwoofer, and a couple of side speakers, the GXM-2.1HD features Dolby Surround Sensation and supports both Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio. It also is HDMI 1.3-compatible with a couple of inputs featuring 36-bit DeepColor and xvColor support. Slated for release in Japan, no official price has been set yet, but it's expected to be around 54, 800 Yen, about US$506.
SRS Labs Bringing TruSurround XT Audio To Sharp Aquos And Olevia LCD TV's
SRS Labs, the company behind the TruSurround XT surround sound technology, will be featured in Sharp Aquos LCD TV models in Asia and Europe as well as in all the Series 2 and Series 6 Olevia-brand LCD TV's. The partnership with Sharp will see TruSurround XT embedded in models ranging from 32 to 52 inches, appearing in 25 Asian models and 16 European models. The Olevia sets featuring TruSurround XT will be shipping to North America this summer in sizes ranging from 26-65 inches.
TruSurround XT audio technology can process up to 7 channels of audio over 2 speakers, creating "phantom" speakers for multichannel audio that simulates a surround sound experience for the TV viewer. Because the Consumer Electronics Association states that 76% of all flat panel TV owners don't have a separate audio system, TruSurround XT is ideal for HDTV's with built-in speakers because it can take advantage of surround sound capabilities in TV shows and movie discs without the need for a full blown, separate audio setup.
Read-Sharp Partners with SRS Labs Read-Syntax-Brillian Partners with SRS Labs
Yamaha's YST-001 Integrates Lighting Into Your Speakers
An entirely new concept in home theater systems, Yamaha has integrated a speaker stand lighting system from Koizumi Lighting, YST-001, with their home audio systems, providing additional ambient light behind your TV screen to easy eye strain during long periods of viewing. The speaker stands are placed on either side of your TV, and using a remote control you can adjust the amount of light the YST-001 emits as not to interfere with the picture quality. The YST-001 speaker lighting system costs 134, 400 Yen in Japan, about US $1251.
BlueLounge CableBox Hides Pesky Home Theater Cables
Nobody likes looking at a mess of tangled A/V wires, and only the sickest among us like tripping on them. That's why BlueLounge has come up with a low cost way to get rid of this pesky problem. The BlueLounge CableBox is just a simply designed rectangular box with outlets at either end that'll let you thread your various wires through. They'll still be all tangled up and ugly looking, but now they're in a box which you can pop a lid on and instantly your home theater will look neat and tidy. At only $30, you'll be hard pressed to find a cheaper, more effective solution for wire clutter.
VisionArt: Using Art To Conceal Your Home Theater A/V
If you've built your home theater system right into your wall, but don't particularly like the look of it when it's not in use the VisionArt system might be the solution for you. VisionArt uses museum-quality art prints in designer frames to conceal your wall-integrated flat panel TV when not in use. If you've stuck your speakers in the wall too, you'll probably want to hide those as well, so VisionArt has teamed up with speaker company Triad to incorporate the right, center, and left channel speakers into the area the motorized canvas will cover. Once you want to use your home theater, the art is mechanically moved out of the way and you're ready to go.
As your home theater sound keeps getting better, the size of the speakers pumping out that high quality sound seem to keep getting smaller. Sony's HT-IS100 Bravia Theater Micro System is about as small as you can get; the 5.1-channel surround system features 450 Watts of audio power through five speakers each roughly the size of a golf ball and includes a subwoofer with a 32 bit S-Master digital amplifier. The system includes three 1080p HDMI inputs with repeater functionality and support for eight channels of uncompressed audio. If you want to go wireless, you can actually extend the system to multiple rooms using Sony's S-AIR Air Station speakers, sold separately of course. You can also get a wireless speaker kit that delivers audio sans wires to the rear speakers eliminating any pesky wires running the length of the room. Sony's HT-IS100 will be available in July for $700. Check out the press release after the jump.
JBL's Control NOW Speakers Ideal For Tough Audio Setups
So you just moved into a new home and it's time to set up the home theater. It's then that you realize you don't have the ideal setup for your dream theater, understandable given that your wife or girlfriend picked the home, not you. And while there are infinite potential problems you could run into, we'll just focus on the audio aspect of things. If you've got tough deal setting up your audio system, you may want to take a look at JBL's Control NOW loudspeakers, available now.
Available in both indoor and outdoor versions, the Control NOW speakers feature a quarter round curved shape that allow you to mount them pretty well anywhere. JBL says they're suitable for placement "corner-mounted between a ceiling and wall or between two walls, or placed either horizontally or vertically on a shelf". They can even be joined together to create half-round, three quarter round, or a circular speaker configuration and hung straight down from the ceiling using a pole-mount bracket and ceiling-fan hardware.
The speakers feature a tweeter in a JBL Bi-Radial horn, designed to output smooth and even sound even in horrible audio setups. The tweeter has 4-inch woofers computer-designed to optimize output and minimize distortion and even the casing is designed using a high-strength composite material with sound clarity in mind.
How much will JBL's Control NOW speakers set you back? Not to much if you don't have to many audio options in your household. $249 each for the indoor speakers, and $279 for the outdoor set.
You can find them at Amazon, usually at a reduced price.
Each year CEPro does a survey of the top 100 American consumer electronics installation companies to find out what the top 5 favored brands are in a bunch of CE categories. They run the gambit from central vacuum to DVR's, and for the best run-through of everything we suggest you take a look at the slideshow at CEPro's website. But if you just want a little free advice from the pros, here's the favored brand in a variety of home theater categories from America's best installers.
Acoustical treatments--Acoustic Innovations
A/V receivers--Integra
Bookshelf speakers--B&W
Broadband--Linksys
Cabling--Monster
DVD players--Sony
DVRs--DirecTV
Floorstanding speakers--B&W
Front Projection TVs--Runco
Home theater amps--Integra
In-wall/In-ceiling speakers--SpeakerCraft
Remotes & IR--Xantech
LCD TVs--Sharp
Lifts/Mounts--Chief
Lighting control--Lutron
Media servers--Kaleidescape
Multi-channel amps--Crestron
Plasma TVs--Pioneer
Projection screens--Stewart Filmscreen
Rear projection TVs--Sony
Satellites--DirecTV
Scalers--Runco
Seating--Acoustic Innovations
Two-channel amps--Rotel
Whole-home automation--Crestron
We definitely recommend checking out the slideshow linked to above, but if you have some cash to burn and are looking for the hottest names in home theater equipment, the above brands should be exactly what you're looking for.
Onkyo TX-SR806 And TX-SR706 Home Theater Receivers, HT-S7100 And HT-S6100 HTiB's Available Now
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