Onkyo has upgraded its most popular HDMI-1.3a-capable home theater receiver by adding 1080i video upscaling, two additional HDMI inputs to handle a total of four HDMI sources, Audyssey’s new Dynamic EQ loudness compensation technology, and Onkyo’s new Music Optimizer circuit. The new Onkyo TX-SR606 replaces the company’s best selling TX-SR605.

This receiver also has a powerful 90 watt-per-channel amplifier section, Remote Interactive control over HDMI (RIHD), is Sirius Satellite Radio ready, and offers a full range of advance surround sound codecs, including Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio to provide lossless bit-by-bit audio identical to the master recordings.

It will be available in black or silver finish in April, for a price below $580.

LG, it’s fair to say, is getting sick and tired of being perceived as Korea’s ‘second’ AV brand after Samsung. There was a time not so long ago where the two brands’ public perceptions seemed more or less equal, but recently Samsung has surged away in terms of both image and cold, hard sales.

So this year LG claims it’s determined to claw its way back towards parity with its neighbour thanks to a new range of TVs that look set to deliver a truly killer combination of feature choice, opulent looks, high performance standards and strikingly affordable prices.

We’ve already seen LG get off to a fine start in realising this dream with the impressive 50PG6000 50in plasma TV. But now it’s time to see how the ambition holds up with a shift to LCD technology and a step down one rung of LG’s TV range ladder, in the shape of the 32in 32LG5000. Continue Reading…

NuVo will begin to ship in June 2008 its new M3 music server (NV-M3-500) with a storage capacity expanded to 500GB. This music server has the ability to stream standard compressed and non-compressed files in most formats including WMA with DRM support, MP3 and WAV across your network. The unit features a capacitive touch front panel interface with OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) display, backup of audio files on a connected PC or on a portable player using USB connectivity, simultaneous output of three audio streams (RCA), and instant compatibility with downloaded and subscription-based music.

It will retail for about $3,000 while the 160 GB NV-M3 music server remains available for $2,300.

Last December Sony launched its first TV using OLED technology, the XEL-1. Having seen it first hand both Riyad and I agree that it is something truly special, but judging by OLED panels shown off at Display 2008 in Japan, we haven’t seen anything yet.

The party piece was the next-generation XEL-1, which boasts the same 11in screen size, but has a thickness of a mere 0.3mm (0.01in). As with the previous model this is due to the actual ‘TV’ parts being kept in a separate control box, but nonetheless it’s a staggering feat.

Add to that the same 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio, which is actually believable, and 940 x 540 resolution and you have arguably the most desirable kitchen or bedroom TV ever created. Hopefully this won’t be a Japan and America-only product like the first XEL-1.

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Sony Korea(www.sony.co.kr) announced the launch of its new premium mp3 player ‘Walkman NWZ-A820/A720 Series‘ which are available in three capacities, 4GB, 8GB and 16MB.

Adopting a 2.4-inch QVGA LCD screen with LED backlight, these mp3 players also supports video codec including AVC(H.264/AVC) and MPEG4 in 30fps, and features bundled Sony’s 13.5mm EX series earphone.

Measuring 5.1×9.39×0.93cm at 58g weight, the NWZ-A820 comes in black and pink while the NWZ-A720 does four different colors such as black, white, pink and gold.

LG Electronics (www.leg.com) launches its full HD PDP TVs ‘Xcanvas BoBos‘ in Korea market, which features simple screen without frame and invisible speaker system.

Supporting Smart Time Machine function, the Bobos lineup comes in three different sizes incuding 60-(model: 60PG70FHD), 50-(model: 50PG61RD) and 42-inch(model: 42PG61RD).

MeLE (www.mele.cn) presented its low cost PMP ‘PMC-200A with big capacity HDD during China Sourcing Fairs at AsiaWorld-Expo, Hong Kong, organized by Global Sources.

Adopting a 3.5-inch LCD screen with 320 x 240 pixels, it is equipped with a 2.5-inch HDD supporting up to 160GB.

The opening day of the Milan International Furniture Fair was graced by Giorgio Armani who unveiled the new Armani/Samsung premium 120Hz full HD LCD television. Armani said that the inspiration for this new LCD is Armani’s new 2008/09 Armani/Casa home furnishings collection, which includes the Brahms tea table in pleated effect glossy black lacquered wood which has been specifically designed to host the new television.

The unit is further emphasized by glass in the front and shows simple but solid natural lines expressing pure emotional expression. Both models, 46-inch and 52-inch, are to incorporate many of the features and cutting-edge technologically, such as 100Hz Full HD and HDMI connectors, that have made Samsung Televisions world prominent for their outstanding picture quality and high-end functionality. Continue Reading…

The Marantz ES7001 is suave ‘all-in-one‘ system that will please all audiophiles. Besides it sleek looks, the system delivers surround sound from the one box. Hook it to your Blu-Ray, DVD or CD player and enjoy the movie or songs. It’s taken three years of painstaking research to come out with this perfect audio solution. Also called the Cinemarium, the design includes six speaker drivers arranged in special tweeter, midrange and woofer configuration; and each individually powered by a hi-fi quality digital class D amplifier, housed in an incredibly solid extruded aluminum monocoque enclosure. This amazing ’soundbar’ also features three powerful 32-bit digital processors on board. One is used to for Dolby/DTS decoding, while the other two implement the complex algorithms that produce surround sound from a single box with ultimate accuracy and speed.

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