Home Cinema

Yes, you read that right: the latest HD player is coming to a shopping channel near you – QVC to be precise. Out on December 29th, the Venturer SHD7001 will almost certainly be the cheapest HD player on the market – we expect it to retail around the £200 mark, though an official price remains embargoed – and it will initially only be available from QVC...

KEF has announced a plethora of new systems to join its KIT range of 'Instant Theatre' systems. From solutions that aim to deliver surround sound from just two front speakers, to KEF's trademark 'egg' 5.1 systems, all look to major on style, simplicity of use and sterling sonic performance. If the previous 'egg' incarnations are anything to go by, we suggest KEF might just be able to deliver on those promises...

If you were thinking of buying the excellent Q Acoustics 1010i 5.1 system in time for Christmas then you might have a problem.

News reaches us from Q Acoustics of a supply problem with the 1000Si subwoofer meaning, simply, there aren't many out there.

So the resourceful chaps at Q would like to make you an offer...

Marantz is to replace its SR7001 receiver with the feature-packed SR7002 – boasting full HD audio support plus two HDMI outputs, allowing users with both TV and projector to cut down on cable-switching capers.

No, nice Mr Murdoch hasn't snapped up some new orbital real estate to beam Sky down at us - instead, US HD TV operator DirecTV has offered to kit out the International Space Station with a system enabling astronauts to enjoy over 70 channels of high-def telly.

British homes contain a gadget mountain worth around £74 billion, according to a survey conducted by online bank First Direct. And the pile is growing - the continuous development of consumer electronics means that while every home contains an average of 16 pieces of equipment, we're spending £29bn a year upgrading our TVs, and a further £10bn buying better computers.

Onkyo is targeting one-box movie systems from the likes of Arcam and Denon with the launch of its LS-V501, an all-in-one home cinema set-up.

The DVD receiver unit is available on its own for £400, or with Onkyo's 2.1 speaker system for £600.

The HDMI-equipped receiver uses the same cutting-edge technologies as the firm's 2007 range of Award-winning receivers, Onkyo claims, married to an integrated DVD player that will play any DVD, CD, SACD and DVD-Audio disc – as well as WMA, JPEG and DivX discs.

This, complete with its brace of remote controls, is the new Denon AVR-3808, a network-capable HD Audio receiver which slots into the range between the £900 AVR-2808, reviewed in the Awards issue, and the £2000 AVR-4308, tested in November's WHFSV.
The £1300 unit's HDMI 1.3a connectivity means it can handle Dolby True HD and DTS-HD audio, supports Deep Colour and xvYCC, and has Auto Lip Sync. There are four HDMI inputs, analogue and digital video upscaling to 1080p and connections for an iPod using Denon's optional ASD-1R dock.

Lexicon's RV-5 receiver is now on sale - and if you trade in any working AV amp or receiver, complete with its remote control, you can get £500 off the £3000 price-tag.

Or as distributor CSE puts it, 'Cinema sound fans can now experience the heart-stopping speed and natural 3-D precision of the finest and most sophisticated digital audio processing on the planet, for as little as £2500!'

You know how it is: you've got hundreds of photos and hours of video on your PC, but you'd really like to be able to view them all on your TV.

Fear not. Pinnacle's new ShowCenter 250HD (£130) is designed to make streaming content from your PC to TV a breeze. It's a plug-and-play system, with no software to install. It simply connects to your PC either via a wired Ethernet connection or wirelessly using the 802.11g wi-fi standard.

To celebrate the release of Walt Disney Pictures’Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End on Disney Blu-ray from 19 Nov, we're giving one lucky reader the chance to win all three films on Blu-ray – plus a Sony BDP-S300 Blu-ray player on which to play them.

And five runners-up will win the first two Pirates of the Caribbean films - The Curse of the Black Pearl and Dead Man’s Chest - on Disney Blu-ray.

Blu-ray offers a revolution in home cinema, with top-quality pictures and better sound than you’ve ever heard from your favourite movies.

With hundreds of titles already on sale, and blockbusters such as Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End on the way very soon, now’s a great time to add Blu-ray to your home cinema system.

And we’re offering you the chance to do just that – for free! The prize in our latest online competition is the brand-new Sony BDP-S300 Blu-ray player.

Philips has expanded its Prestigo range of universal remote controls with the launch of the SRU8015, designed for ease of use while still retaining the ability to 'drive' up to 15 devices.

Selling for just under £100, the new model has a 2.5in colour screen, a control wheel and white backlighting of the keys, and uses an advanced set-up wizard to simplify initial settings.

Epson is launching a new all-in-one home cinema projection solution, designed for family use and those who want large-screen images anywhere there’s space to park a projector. The EMP-DM1 compines a projector, DVD player and sound system in a single enclosure, and sells for a very attractive £449.

And at the other end of its range, the company has an offer on its flagship EMP-TW1000 Full HD 1080p projector - buyers will receive a free Logitech Harmony 1000 remote control, worth £270.

The head of Sony, Sir Howard Stringer, says he considers the 'format war' between Blu-ray and HD DVD has reached stalemate, adding that before becoming CEO of Sony he'd believed there was an opportunity for the two formats to have been united into a single system.

BenQ has announced a host of new projectors in time for Christmas. We'll turn a blind eye to the three office-aimed business projectors and instead focus on the two 1080p, widescreen efforts – the W5000 and the W20000.

We've been bombarding you with news from the show all weekend, writes Andrew Everard, so rather than offer you a report on what went on, I thought I'd just give some impressions of how the show was for me, along with some of the things you possibly didn't see or hear.

Arcam's Solo has become a trio, with the arrival of a third model, the Solo 2.1, alongside the existing Solo and Solo Movie models. The new Solo fits between the stereo and 5.1-channel versions in price terms, too - it will sell for £1450 - and like the other two can also connect with an iPod using the company's rDock or rLead.

If you haven't already made it to the What Hi-Fi? Sound and Vision Show here at the London Novotel-Hammersmith, today's your last chance to come and see the all latest innovations in hi-fi and home entertainment technology.

Here's a quick taste of what's in store:

Asus has brought along this rather snazzy-looking Lamborghini to show off its Lamborghini-branded portable PCs and associated leather goods.

Here's another another good reason - or rather 16 very good reasons - to drop by the What Hi-Fi? Sound and Vision stand at this weekend's show.

 

We've a whole stack of 2007 Award-winning products to be won, with a total value of around £20,000 and including this £3000 InFocus IN82 projector. 

This is the high-gloss subwoofer in British company Audica's new CX speaker range, available in conventional pairs or as complete surround solutions.

Launched at the What Hi-Fi? Sound and Vision Show, the new speakers are said to cater for the trend towards larger flatscreen displays, as well as being able to fill larger rooms with sound.

There seems to be little end in sight in the battle between the two competing high-definition video formats, Blu-ray and HD DVD.

But if you'd like to see how the two formats compare, come and join us this weekend at the What Hi-Fi? Sound and Vision Show, here at the London Novotel Hammersmith.

Want to see a real Koenigsegg CCX supercar? And have the chance to win a free annual subscription to What Hi-Fi? Sound and Vision?

Then make your way to the Projectiondesign stand at the What Hi-Fi? Sound and Vision Show (Champagne Suite 20) and enter the Projectiondesign PS3 Formula 1 challenge.

Pop along to the Sony stand (Champagne Suite 21) at the What Hi-Fi? Sound and Vision Show and you'll catch a glimpse of the company's two brand-new Blu-ray players – the £398 BDP-S300B and £595 BDP-S500.

Even more impressive is the Sony KDL-70X3500 70in Full HD LCD TV (pictured) - yours for a mere £29,999!

The installation's complete, the amps are warming up and we're about to dim the lights and begin our first demo here at the What Hi-Fi? Sound and Vision Show.

So what have we got in store? Well, it's a truly spectacular £68,000 home cinema system, designed to show you both the current state of the DVD art, and just how fabulous the high-definition sound and vision is on both Blu-ray and HD DVD discs.

To make the most of the system, we'll be showing some breathtaking clips from Transformers in all its high-definition glory.

How fast is your HDMI cable? Monster Cable is attempting to cut through all the confusion about what various types and models of HDMI interconnect can and can't do, introducing a range of speed-rated cables showing the data throughput they can achieve.

In addition, the new cables will carry a series of information logos on their packaging, showing what they are guaranteed to deliver in terms of picture and sound, such as their ability to handle 1080p, 50/100Hz, 'deep colour' and lossless audio formats. And the range-topping model will be guaranteed against obsolescence caused by advancing high-definition video and audio standards.