Epson has been awarded the 2009 CustomRetailer Magazine EXC!TE award for its new Powerlite Pro Cinema 9100 3LCD home theater projector. The Pro Cinema 9100 boasts of a high contrast ration of 36,000:1 and brightness of 1,800 lumens. It features a 1080p resolution as well as ISF calibration and color isolation.

The Epson Powerlite Pro Cinema 9100 is encased in a stylish black and silver design which is highlighted by a dynamic IRIS system for higher contrast and brightness controls on a frame to frame basis up to 60 times per second. The 2009 award winners were formally announced on Sept. 10 at CEDIA EXPO out of a field of over 450 entries.

(Source) Reuters

Twelve THOUSAND dollars for a plasma TV? Man, it had better be good for that kind of loot, and the good news is, yes, indeed, this sucker’s worth it.

Today we’re talking the Panasonic Premiere line, and twelve grand is just the starting price.  The fifty inch version runs you twelve, the sixty five, meanwhile, costs a cool twenty grand.

And what do you get for this singularly monster investment?  Check THIS out:

The panels deliver full HD 1080p (1,920 x 1,080) resolution and a 60,000:1 contrast ratio, as well as “industry-leading” colour gradation level of 7,160 steps.

“Panasonic’s 18-bit digital signal processing produces a detailed graduation from light to dark, with faithful expression of subtle colour differences. The moving picture resolution of over 900 lines reproduces clear, crisp and smooth images for impeccable reproduction of fast-moving scenes.”

Calibrating these TVs takes FOUR HOURS, and requires specially trained installation personnel who are probably so poorly paid that they’ll never be able to afford one of these, but still.  If you want the absolutely top of the line in plasma TV technology on your side, then this is your weapon of choice.

Audio complement for most home theater setups are growing in demand and to make sure that demand is answered, two companies have decided to hook up to deliver a new kind of wireless speakers that are bound to take the home theater world by storm. The new wireless speaker solutions are the Aperion Intimums 5 Series Speakers, the fruit of the partnership entered into by Focus Enhancements Inc. and Aperion Audio. The said speakers are expected to be unveiled at the CEDIA Expo.

Among the features of the Aperion Intimus 5 Series Speakers include automatic speaker detection, speaker mapping, speaker channel assignment with SpeakerFinder and an audio sweet spot calibration with MyZone. MyZone will produce a time aligned sound field for the listener by adjusting, delay and volume to their listening position in a matter of seconds. This technology also allows scalability from 0 to 7.1 systems thus providing users the freedom to add more speakers later on. These speakers retail for $2,589.00.

(Source) Market Wire

Okay, you may not know this, and it’ll probably shock you to find it out, but there’s a good chance that the brand spanking new HDTV you just bought and got home was, get this, IMPROPERLY CALIBRATED.  That means all sorts of nasty things, like skin tones and other colors will be off and so on.

Under normal circumstances, calibration would require a DVD valued at between twenty and fifty dollars, or a costly visit to Best Buy’s Geek Squad.  Under NORMAL circumstances, anyway–now, we’ve got something different.  Just head on over to XVHD.tv, where they’ve got waiting for you a free to download utility designed to calibrate your brand new HDTV and make sure it’s presenting its display in the best possible fashion.  It’ll help with geometry, sharpness, color levels and plenty more.

This looks like a pretty sweet utility, but from the look of it you’ll need a PC connected to your TV to do the tests.  Other than that, there’s not much to complain about here–a free utility that helps calibrate your HDTV is too impressive for words.

Polk Audio is a known and reliable brand as far as delivering quality audio and sound speaker systems. The Polk Audio AM1805-A SurroundBar SDA instant home theater seems to be a logical choice considering it only makes use a single speaker and a wireless subwoofer. Logical in the sense that you don’t have to worry about multiple speaker placements; these two can practically carry the quality in home theater entertainment audio you are looking for.

The dynamic balance and high level of performance tht the Polk Audio AM1805-A SurroundBar SDA provides should be something worth considering. Who needs a lot of speakers if you can get that much power from a speaker and subwoofer alone?

They are easy to install and the need for sound calibration hardly matters. It includes a cradle for mounting options which is geared more towards how you want your home theater setup organized.

Price: $499.95

(Source) Amazon

Onkyo has just broadened their line of audio receivers but this time geared more towards the upstart home theater enthusiasts. This time, the HT-S3200 and HTS5200 receivers are in the limelight and are good receivers to start out from.

Both systems consist of an HDMI output audio/video terminal with pass-though or 1080P video to deliver Depp Color, x.V.Color, Audyssey Dynamic Volume and Dynamic EQ technologies with additional optical/coaxial digital connectivity.

The 660-watt smaller sibling includes a 5.1 sound processing audio with 8-inch bass reflex subwoofer while the set-up model packs 7.1-channel audio with 1200-watt power. Additionally, it’s also better equipped with iPod docking station, Audyssey 2EQ room calibration and an 10-inch 290-watt bass unit.

“With the current economic climate, our high-value entry-level HTiB’s are doing quite well,” said Paul Wasek, Marketing Manager, Onkyo USA. “The addition of Audyssey technologies along with new DSP gaming modes and HDMI connectivity make these systems a real value for the consumer.”

Both systems include 1080p compatible HDMI connections, with HDMI Pass-Thru for optimal high definition video quality, including Deep Color and x.v.Color. For optimum sound quality, sources are connected via optical/coaxial digital connections, using a range of Dolby and DTS processing modes. There are four DSP gaming modes for rock, sports, action, and role-playing sound effects. The HT-S5200 incorporates Audyssey 2EQ™ room correction technology to automatically adjusts the sound character and time delay of each speaker relative to the listening positions, Audyssey Dynamic Volume™ which maintains optimal listening levels and dynamic range and Audyssey Dynamic EQ™ that adjusts the loudness contour on the fly to optimize sound quality for any volume, particularly at low listening levels. The HT-S3200 utilizes Audyssey Dynamic Volume and Dynamic EQ technologies.

The Onkyo HT-S5200 is currently available in either black or silver finishes with a suggested retail price of $599. The Onkyo HT-S3200 is available in black with a suggested retail price of $379. Both systems include speaker wires and full-function remote controls.

(Source) Press

Pioneer has always been known to provide quality sound output and has been a constant figure in the world of home theater setups. With various lines of receivers under its wing, it is not surprising why the Pioneer VSX-819H receiver may soon stand out among the rest. Just check out these features:

• Three HDMI inputs
• Two component video inputs
• Three digital-audio inputs (two optical, one coaxial)
• Onboard Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio decoding
• Automatic speaker calibration
• Auto Level Control (keeps commercials from being louder than programs)
• Connect your iPod via USB and browse your songs with an onscreen interface
• Sirius-ready, with onscreen interface
• April release date, $300 list price

At $300, you may say that the Pioneer VSX-819H is a steal while also a great addition to your home theater setup. The growing possibilities brought to us by new gadgets that require further interface options has made the Pioneer VSX-819H a truly great addition to enhance home theater system entertainment.

A popular Christmas gift is a big screen TV. And although it looks complicated to make it actually isn’t. Considering that consumers do not have to necessarily be gadget geeks, manufacturers tend to create simply to use products. And they all come with decently written technical manuals. Anyone of us could hook up our TV if we paid enough attention to it.

Here’s where Best Buy Calibration Service comes into place. There’s nothing wrong with the service itself. It’s good to know you can actually call someone to hook up your TV if you wanted to. But how would you feel if you heard you are being tricked into it? Best Buy has just been caught using two sets of cables for two identical, side-by-side TV sets. One was displaying a crappy image to give you the impression it had bad reception while the other one had the best picture possible, all thanks to the “calibration” service.

And by the way, the whole calibration process is done using the settings on the on-screen menu. As I said before, you can do it for yourself at any time of day.

via Consumerist