Home Cinema

Denon claims the players will be great all-rounders, offering excellent DVD upscaling and CD replay, as well as superlative Blu-ray playback.

The four pictures featured in this story are of the black US models. The UK designs will be available in black, silver (more of a gun-metal finish) and premium silver, so users can find the ideal colour-match for both existing and new Denon components.

No doubt, like us, you're in something of a continual state of saving; that next piece of hi-fi, the latest DVD, that AV rack – there's always something looming around the corner that will demand you part with your hard-earned cash.

So here's something else to add to your list: Batman Begins on Blu-ray, complete with a smart packaging box and fold-out artwork. Out on July 14th, this looks like a must-buy for film buffs.

This is the new look for Sky HD's online electronic programme guide, due to be rolled out this Autumn. Presented in high definition and available to the company's 465,000 Sky HD users, it's packed with new features designed to make it easier to use.

Most noticeable is the small live action screen in the top right corner, which will enable you to continue watching the current programme while browsing the TV guide.

Cable company van den Hul has launched a cable that's not only described as its Ultimate HDMI - that's what it's called, too!

And the company has also introduced a new interconnect, aimed at the more affordable end of its range: The Tide is another of van den Hul's hybrid designs.

Proving it's not only Pioneer who can announce new home cinema kit this week, Sony has released details on a new DVD player.

The slimline DVP-NS708H offers 1080p upscaling via its HDMI output, as well as support for Bravia Sync, PhotoTV HD and DivX file playback.

One of the world's best-known cable companies, Monster Cable, is all set to go wireless. That was the message from company founder and 'Head Monster' Noel Lee (left), speaking at a major consumer electronics/custom installation show held this week in Dubai.

Lee said that the company is working on a wireless audio/video distribution system, due in shops in the States late in the Summer, and confirmed that it will have sufficient bandwidth to send 1080p video wirelessly. That should give it obvious appeal for users of wall-mounted flatscreen TVs.

Pioneer’s four-strong DVD player line-up offers something for everyone. The entry-level DV-310 (£60) features a high-speed USB 2.0 terminal backed by DiVX support, and is claimed to offer an ultra-fast response time (from power up to ready-to-play) of just 3 seconds.

The DV-310 is joined by the £90 DV-410V, which adds HDMI out and 1080p video scaling to the mix.

There's yet more from Pioneer, with news of home cinema in a box systems and the company's DVD range to follow. First up, home cinema in a box systems. The DCS-575, due in June at around £300, leads the way with a host of functionality.

Features include an HDMI output with 1080p upscaling, a USB socket with host function to support WMA/MP3/JPEG files, and front satellite speakers that have the centre channel built-in (operating as a ‘phantom’ design), plus a downward-firing 16cm subwoofer. It’ll also accept audio via its optical digital input, and even features MCACC automatic calibration.

The confidence extends to the company's four new home cinema receivers - the SC-LX81, SC-LX71, VSX-LX51 and VSX-1018AH - which it describes as "delivering a high-definition audiovisual experience that transcends the ordinary."

The quartet of receivers join the existing VSX-LX70 and previously announced Susano SC-LX90 flagship AV amp (pictured above) to form Pioneer's 2008 line-up - all of which support the full suite of HD audio formats.

It's been a while since we last tested a DVD/hard-disk recorder, but with a string of new models on the way from the likes of Panasonic and Sony, we decided it was time to get up to speed with the latest contenders.

One of the first to arrive in our listening rooms was the £300 DMR-EX78 from Panasonic, so we've been itching to give it a whirl and find out how it performs.

Want to know how good it is? Well find out all in this special Bank Holiday review, brought to you exclusively by whathifi.com.

This year its Blu-ray players get the bold-claim treatment, with its first new model - the BDP-LX71, pictured above - said to "outperform current desktop players in the market and completely redefine the world of digital entertainment".

The 'LX71 - or the Pioneer BDP-LX71 BonusView, to give it its full title - isn't even the flagship model: there's a 'luxury' BDP-LX91 to come, plus BDP-LX08 'lifestyle' model and LX-01BD and LX-03BD integrated Blu-ray systems.

It looks like our American cousins have already been given details of Denon's new product line-up for 2008, with a whole range of new multichannel receivers on the way, ranging from $300 to $1200.

We're meeting up with Denon next week to get the lowdown on its UK-specific models, and the rumour is that the company's UK staff have been involved in the sound tuning process with the AV and hi-fi engineers in Japan.

Our man at Denon UK tells us some of the new models coming to these shores will be have slightly different specs to the American models, and that some of the entry-level models are exclusive to the US.

Building on the success of its X-Space FS3 Surround Bar, Denon has now upped the ante with a more compact model, pitched at a very affordable £400.

And the new model, the DHT-FS5, doesn't need to be used with an add-on subwoofer: it's equipped with 'virtual subwoofer' technology as well four surround modes, meaning you can further reduce the number of wire required.

It's just under a year since we brought you news of the work being done by Japanese broadcaster NHK to prepare for Super Hi-Vision TV, offering many times the resolution of current HD TV systems.

Now JVC has announced the development of its latest projector chip, offering more than 17 times the resolution of current Full HD systems, and forming the final link in the Super Hi-Vision broadcast/viewing chain.

Sky's online viewer and download service has been upgraded and rebranded as Sky Player from today.

The revamped service now allows Sky users progressive downloading, allowing you to start watching programs while they're still downloading, and also brings live channels to your desktop, including Sky News and Sky Sports.

DSG International is set to close 77 of its 177 Currys.digital shops over the next five years. This isn't just so DSG can have a round 100 stores, but is in fact an attempt to trim the company's costs by £50m.

John Browett, DSG's chief executive, said: "Customers have become increasingly promotion and deal driven, impacting gross margins." Damn you deal-finding consumers!

After some months of speculation in the Japanese business press, JVC and Kenwood have announced a merger under a new company, JVC Kenwood Holdings, Inc..

The move, subject to approval next month by the shareholders of the two, follows the establishment last year of J&K Technologies, pooling the resources of the two to develop car electronics and home/portable audio.

Nearly £1 billion worth of energy is wasted in UK homes each year by people leaving AV equipment on standby. One For All's new Energy Saver remote control aims to save you energy and money by turning your kit off with one quick click.

A typical AV set-up uses 9.7 Watts on standby, but a press of the green button on the Energy Saver remote could make an energy saving of up to 90%.

Good news for American Apple TV fans, as shows such as The Sopranos, Sex and The City, Rome and The Wire have appeared on the iTunes Store in the US.

HBO, the channel in charge of the content in question, have settled their differences with Apple and are now offering episodes at either $1.99 or $2.99 depending on the show.

After changes at the top at both Sky and Virgin Media, it looks like the two could be on the verge of patching up their differences and returning Sky channels to Virgin Media subscribers.

Programmes such as Lost, 24 and of course the mighty Gladiators have been off-air to Virgin customers, but with reports of recent dialogue between the companies, the Sky channels may be set to return.

Here's another manufacturer that's new to us, this time delivering a media storage device that aims to make recording and storing all your TV, music and movies that much easier.

The Media Bank from disgo has a 500GB hard disk and calls itself a PVR and digital storgare device, though there's no internal tuner.

We gave you our first impressions of the new high-definition Freesat box from Humax last week, and promised you a full review as soon as we'd completed the test.

Always true to our word, here's our verdict on the first HD Freesat box to go on sale in the UK. We had a couple of snags with the first review sample we received, but the second one worked without a hitch.

Will this be a good thing, leading to more choice and better service? Or will trade on the high street just become even more cut-throat, with retailers adopting a 'pile 'em high and sell 'em cheap' philosophy and customer service taking a back seat?

According to today's reports, Best Buy will use Carphone's market know-how to open stores selling a range of goods from flatscreen TVs to washing machines nationwide, and challenging the likes of Currys and Comet.

Beyond the weekend there are some other good films and TV shows, not to mention the cricket. As usual, if I've missed something (and I usually have), tell everyone about it below.

We reported on the launch of Freesat earlier this week, and yesterday Humax delivered its Foxsat HD Freesat receiver to our test rooms here at Teddington Studios, writes Andy Clough.

There's been much excitement on our Forums about the new subscription-free high-definition TV service, and we couldn't wait to plug in the box and have a play.

One of the most frequently asked questions here on whathifi.com is "can I buy the box and simply plug it into my existing Sky satellite dish?".

Best Buy, one of the world's largest consumer electrical and electronics retailers, is heading for the UK next year.

It's just announced plans to buy a £1.1bn 50% stake in British-based retailer The Carphone Warehouse, and roll out Best Buy stores to Europe starting in 2009.

Whether you'll be getting the chance to watch them for the first time or, perhaps more likely, you'll be reliving Saturday mornings spent in front of the TV as a nipper, we have great news: the original Marvel animated classics have been licensed for distribution on DVD.

Yes, we're talking Spider-Man, The Incredible Hulk, X-Men, The Fantastic Four, Silver Surfer and even Spider Woman. Liberation Entertainment now has the exclusive DVD rights for all these series thanks to a new deal struck with Jetix Europe.

Let's hope the DVD releases are as good as they sound – after all, with great power comes great responsibility...

Bush will offer the cheapest Freesat HD receiver at £120

The official launch event of Freesat is currently in progress in central London, and whathifi.com editor Andy Clough is in attendance, busily sending us the news using the very latest technological technique – whispering into a mobile phone.

Emma Scott, managing director of Freesat, says there will be 200 channels on the service by the end of 2008 – as opposed to the 180 previously reported. Once installed, you can watch BBC HD free-to-air as of today, while ITV HD will follow in a couple of weeks. The deal with ITV HD is exclusive to Freesat.

Asked what was most significant about the launch, Lindsay-Davies stressed the almost universal UK coverage – 98 per cent of British homes will be able to receive Freesat transmissions – as well as the first free-to-air high-definition channels and the fact, of course, that after the initial installation and set-top-box cost, the service will be completely free.

As we predicted here several weeks ago, Freesat is launched today. Brand new set-top boxes are available as of this morning, and this summer TVs with integrated Freesat tuners will be launched.

Viewers will have to pay for installation of a satellite dish and set-top box, but after that there's no monthly subscription to pay.

At launch there will be 80 channels, including the BBC HD channel. Later this month ITV HD will become available on the service too, but not Channel 4 – yet.

Freesat claims 98 per cent coverage of the UK, more than that of the current Freeview digital TV service.

This is the new Mk3 version of the original KEF 'egg' speaker system, the KHT2005.3.

Available from next month, it comes with a new subwoofer and an improved desktop mount on the satellite speakers, and will be available in a high gloss black finish as well as the usual matt silver.

The system will sell for a penny short of £700.

Well, we did promise to put our test of the brand-new Onkyo TX-SR606 receiver up on line just as soon as we could - so here, after two days and three nights of listening, is what we think.

Looking for a good DVD or Blu-ray disc to watch over the Bank Holiday weekend? Or maybe you're desperate to get your hands on a copy of Grand Theft Auto IV.

Either way, if you want to find out about the best movies and games to max your home entertainment system, head on over to The Leisure Lab, the new entertainment micro site we've developed in conjunction with Samsung UK.

Put on your dancing shoes and do a merry jig - the three-day weekend is upon us! The good news is that if the weather doesn't hold out, and if you've exhausted the possibilities of Grand Theft Auto IV (surely not), there's an absolute boat-load of other HD content to get you through the weekend and next week, writes Tom Parsons.

Please remember to write a comment below to let everyone know if I've missed something out, and enjoy the three days off.

There is no announcement from Microsoft as of yet, but reports suggest a company called Pegatron has secured orders from the software giant to manufacture new Blu-ray-equipped 360 consoles, to be shipped by September.

OK, so by now anyone who pays close attention to the Forums will know that we’ve been out and bought a receiver, just to bring you an Onkyo TX-SR606 review as soon as possible, writes Andrew Everard.

It’s been running overnight, and while that means we’re not ready to deliver a complete and comprehensive TX-SR606 test just yet – for our full review you’ll have to wait a day or two – I thought it might be handy to give a few first impressions of this very significant product, the successor to the What Hi-Fi? Sound and Vision Award-winning Onkyo TX-SR605.

Following a deal between Virgin and the BBC, Virgin customers will be able to catch up on the last week's programmes without needing to download them.

The service allows 3.5 million Virgin customers to catch up on more than 350 hours of BBC TV programmes from the past seven days at no additional cost.

Apple is expected to announce today that it has signed an important deal with major movie studios to sell their movies on its popular online iTunes store.

In news that will have DVD (and Blu-ray) disc manufacturers and retailers quaking, Apple will make films available on the very same day the discs become available.