Smartphones are now a way of life. Everyone has one and cannot live without it. Even when watching movies at home, the phone is by our side. The ubiquitous use of smartphones has spewed a proliferation of apps have really changed the way we control home theater content.
It can even make watching movies at home more fun. Just do a quick search for an app that is applicable to your AV receiver or HDTV. Nowadays, almost every manufacturer has an app. But it’s not limited to just hardware. DirecTV, TiVo, DISH, Verizon, Slingbox, Netflix, and a many other service and software providers also have apps. With the well thought out features they do provide a lot of fun and functionality.
Most apps are free, otherwise they will not cost an arm and a leg. But finding them that can sometimes be quite challenging as they have names you are not familiar with like the free Dijit app by NextGuide which combines listings from any live TV service with movies and TV shows that can be found and played on Hulu Plus, Netflix, and iTunes, with rich searching capability, alerts, and one-click watching. Another free app called Plex puts everything, including TV, videos, music, photos, and much more, into the palm of your hand.
Another useful app is “Audiocalc & Videocalc” (available for iOS) that helps you optimize your home theater’s audio and video outputs. Whether you’re trying to check the power of your amp, or figure out where to place your projector, this app have you covered. Costing only $3, it’s definitely cheaper than hiring an installer.
For more apps, try iTunes app store and look under the ‘Entertainment’ category. The only problem is that it is such a broad category which makes finding the app that you want rather difficult.
Have fun exploring and playing with your new found apps!
Sony’s All New AV Receivers Boast Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and Airplay
Sony has always had AV receivers in its range of products, though they were never the market leaders in this arena. While most other manufacturers have features almost as a standard in their AV Receivers, Sony has finally launched brand new AV receivers that come with features such as Wi-Fi, AirPlay and Bluetooth.
Its 2013 range of AV receivers come with a great number of HDMI inputs with the base model, the Sony STR-DN840 boasting 6 HDMI inputs and its high-end Sony STR-DN1040 boasting 8 HDMI inputs, an advanced GUI and dual HDMI outputs.
It’s time we looked out for these receivers!
Smartphone Remote Apps For Your AV Receiver
Is it time to ditch your AV receiver remote in favor of using your smartphones? This is becoming a reality as Onkyo, Denon, Sony and many others offer Apple and Android apps that allow you to use your tablet or smartphone as a remote control. The reality, although not apparent to many, is that smartphone apps are generally better at things like navigating digital music sources and controlling multi-zone playback. The only time you really need your receiver’s remote is during the initial setup phase, or all you ever do is watching a movie from start to finish and adjust volume levels.
If, on the other hand, you wanted to listen to Spotify or Pandora, remote apps offer more intuitive and much quicker navigation. Using the hard-button remote is laborious in comparison when you need to scroll through lists of artists, albums, genres, etc. With the app you can simply tap the content you want to listen to. For example the Denon remote app has 8 short-cut buttons that are fully customizable to allow you to choose the look and function to suit your taste and needs. How it works is that once the app is installed on your smartphone, it sends remote control signals via WiFi in your home network.
Denon Remote App
Owners of 2009, 2010, 2011, or later Onkyo network home theater receivers can use the Onkyo Remote Control App to access a variety of functions, including volume, radio tuning, input selection, and other functions.
Onkyo Remote App
The latest Sony ES Remote App is compatible with their latest receivers such as STR-DA5800ES, STR-DA2800ES, STR-DA1800ES, STR-DA5700ES and STR-DA3700ES. It can even control your lights with the purchase of compatible switches or dimmers!
Sony ES Remote App
And best of all these apps are free for owners of their receivers. Most of the apps are available for download on Google Play.
Yamaha’s Latest AV Receivers Support 4K Ultra HD and MHL
Despite declining AV receiver sales over the past few years, Yamaha is not letting up with new receiver development and has launched a series of budget models with ever improving features.
Over its 125 years history Yamaha has done a great job producing high quality AV receivers that offer performance and reliability at affordable price levels.
2013 Yamaha RX-V75 Series Receivers
For 2013, Yamaha’s new RX-V series has five new models that offer support for 4K (or Ultra HD as it is sometimes referred to) and compatibility with Mobile High-Definition Link (MHL) devices such as the latest Samsung Galaxy S3 & S4, the new Streaming Stick from Roku and many more devices on the way. They also support Apple’s Airplay and play music and video files from your local PC.
Handsomely designed, 4 of the new models (RX-V775WA, RX-V675 and RX-V575, and RX-V475) are network-enabled while the entry level the RX-V375 is non networked receiver. Yamaha also continue its fine tradition of good audio performance by including Burr-Brown 24/192 DACs.
Priced between $299.95 and $849.95, Yamaha has sensibly designed these receivers to cater to every budget.
Denon Unveils AVR-X4000 – AV Receiver with 4K Upscaling
Denon AVR-X4000
With 4K technology being all the hype these days, electronics manufacturers all over the world are ready to push the 4K technology horizons and Denon is just one of them.
The newly released Denon AVR-X4000 promises pass through 4K signals or 4K upscaling for your home theater system. Packed with 7.2 channel surround sound and support for all the latest audio codecs, this av receiver certainly looks to increase its value to you. On top of its amazing features, its connectivity options will wow you too. With 7 HDMI inputs, 3 HDMI outputs, including one for a second rooms, ARC, 2 optical and 2 coaxial digital inputs, this AV receiver is looking like it will be future-proof for a long time to come.
The AVR-X4000 is another great option for an AV receiver as pre-processor, and a new benchmark price-wise for Denon. Stay tuned for a full Denon AVR-X4000 review!
Wireless Soundbars Provides Stiff Competition To AV Receivers
Soundbars are becoming more and more popular nowadays and may one day be the component of choice for setting up a home theater due to its ease of integration.
Another new development comes in the form of wireless soundbars that will really make this segment take off. The new Sonos Playbar is a case in point. It could signal a transformation for the mass market who are not very particular about sound quality but more inclined towards ease of implementation. And a big factor is its asthetics – it looks great and neat under your flat screen TV, a big plus for the ‘wife approval rating’.
Sonos Playbar
The Sonos Playbar is the latest entry in Sonos’s line of streaming audio products. It is very simple to set up. All you need to do is to connect an optical TosLink cable to your TV and plug the Playbar to your power socket. Streaming music from a computer, NAS or server on your network is just as easy with an Ethernet cable or wirelessly using the optional Sonos bridge which costs an additional $50. The 35 inch-wide soundbar can lie flat at the base of any TV larger than 40 inches. Soundwise the Sonos is not a slouch either. The surprisingly wide soundstage flooded the room with music and the bass response is adequate for most parts. It can play pretty loud without distortion. At $699 it represents excellent value for money for what it can do.
Quick Preview : Denon’s IN-Command Receivers
Denon has released their new, budget IN-Command receivers and we are awed by them! While they are nowhere near as expensive as regular receivers, these are targeted at the consumer who wants to do more than just power their speakers and route video to their brand new display. The consumer who cares about sound and features and is willing to pay a bit more for the right solution.
Denon AVR-X3000
Denon released the AVR-X1000, AVR-X2000 and the AVR-X3000. These are all priced below $1000 with the AVR-X3000 at just a dollar less than a $1000. These new IN-Command receivers are both feature packed and flexible and will do a great job of powering your home theater at a great price!
Do You Need Expensive HDMI Cables?
Nowadays HDMI cables come in many shapes, forms, construction and of course, prices. They can cost somewhere between $5 to $500, and maybe even more. With such a vast difference in price, whether or not to buy an expensive HDMI cable is probably one of the most debated subjects on the internet. Some believe it is a waste of money as it’s a digital cable, so either it works or it doesn’t.
Is there is any discernible difference in video quality that can be perceived by the human eye? The simple answer is yes, but not much.
Is it worth spending 10 times or more for a HDMI cable? Well it depends on your budget and how much value you place on build quality, visual construction and how well the connectors mate with the receptacles on your receiver. More expensive cables have been engineered to eliminate timing jitter or reduce binary errors.
To a large extent, the size of your screen and the resolution of your system will determine whether it is worth spending more for HDMI cables. If you have a 200 inch screen and a optimum setup in a room with total lighting control you may be able to realize the benefits of slightly sharper picture, better contrast, skin tones and less noise. Audio performance also improved with better depth and voice quality. But in a lesser system, these effects may not be so discernible.
New Yamaha RX Series A/V Receivers
Yamaha has come up with the goods again with 5 moderately priced receivers that come with features that we usually see in more expensive equipment. And it’s good to note that as with Yamaha’s tradition, sound quality has not been sacrificed for budget reasons.
What’s new in the 2013 lineup is MHL, or Mobile High-Definition Link. It is an HD video and digital audio interface for connecting mobile phones and portable devices to the receiver. The MHL standard supports up to 1080p/60 high-definition (HD) video and 7.1 surround.
Except for the entry level RX-V 375, the four networked receivers includes one MHL-compatible HDMI input. The RX-V775WA and RX-V675 have their MHL port on the front which is convenient for connecting a compatible smartphone. The RX-V575 and RX-V475 have their MHL port on the back, which is better for connecting a Roku Streaming Stick out of sight. Another new feature is “high-speed HDMI switching”. This is indeed a welcome improvement given how slow AV receivers switch inputs sometimes.
Other than that, features wise are quite similar to last year’s models. You can check out their full features list on Yamaha’s site, but here is a quick feature guide and pricing:
We will be doing a full review of each of the receivers in due course.
Get Home Theater Apps To Improve Your Viewing Experience
Smartphones are now a way of life. Everyone has one and cannot live without it. Even when watching movies at home, the phone is by our side. The ubiquitous use of smartphones has spewed a proliferation of apps have really changed the way we control home theater content.
It can even make watching movies at home more fun. Just do a quick search for an app that is applicable to your AV receiver or HDTV. Nowadays, almost every manufacturer has an app. But it’s not limited to just hardware. DirecTV, TiVo, DISH, Verizon, Slingbox, Netflix, and a many other service and software providers also have apps. With the well thought out features they do provide a lot of fun and functionality.
Most apps are free, otherwise they will not cost an arm and a leg. But finding them that can sometimes be quite challenging as they have names you are not familiar with like the free Dijit app by NextGuide which combines listings from any live TV service with movies and TV shows that can be found and played on Hulu Plus, Netflix, and iTunes, with rich searching capability, alerts, and one-click watching. Another free app called Plex puts everything, including TV, videos, music, photos, and much more, into the palm of your hand.
Another useful app is “Audiocalc & Videocalc” (available for iOS) that helps you optimize your home theater’s audio and video outputs. Whether you’re trying to check the power of your amp, or figure out where to place your projector, this app have you covered. Costing only $3, it’s definitely cheaper than hiring an installer.
For more apps, try iTunes app store and look under the ‘Entertainment’ category. The only problem is that it is such a broad category which makes finding the app that you want rather difficult.
Have fun exploring and playing with your new found apps!
Pioneer’s 2013 Entry Level AV Receivers Look Set To Impress
Christmas is certainly over but it still feels festive in the audio-visual industry as electronics giants all over the world are releasing their new models for the year in stores. Pioneer’s 2013 lineup is pretty impressive too, even amongst its fiercest competitors.
This year, Pioneer has brought great features such as 4K Ultra-HD support, an ECO Mode to reduce power consumption, and (on the top dog, Pioneer VSX-1123) a Zone 2 HDMI output to their lineup and we are excited!
Pioneer’s entry level 5.1-channel AV receiver is is the Pioneer VSX-523, boasting 80 watts per channel. With 4 HDMI inputs and a single HDMI output, plus a single subwoofer pre-out, it might not seem like much. But throw in Pioneer’s proprietary auto-calibration routine, MCACC, ECO Mode and 4K Ultra-HD pass through and you will be gaping at this machine. For a bit more, the Pioneer VSX-823 offers a host of networking features including Apple Airplay, DLNA 1.5, Pandora, vTuner Internet Radio, and HTC Connect, which allows you to seamlessly stream music from your HTC smartphone.