31 August 2007 – The European divison of Harmon Kardon has announced a new AV bundle, known as the Cinespecial 29. At the heart is the AVR 350 receiver, which has twin HDMI 1.2a inputs, and uses a Faroudja DVDi deinterlacer to to upscale composite and S-Video signals to 720p. The 350 also boasts features such as automatic calibration and AV sync delay, and includes an iPod dock that can be controlled via the main remote. Features such as A-BUS support allow audio from one receiver to be distributed to other rooms.
The other half is the namesake DVD 29 player, whose primary feature is an extremely flat form, thinner than many LP players. It also supports DVD Audio, DivX video files and internal upscaling, pushing video to 720p or 1080i. Instead of standard line conversion however, the progressive-scan mode processes images on a per-pixel basis. The Cinespecial 29 should ship to Europe in October for €1,299 ($1,776).
