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By: Richard Del Cazzo
Web site: http://www.hdtv-hdtv.com
Pioneer Electronics (USA) Inc. today introduced two new
digital audio/video HDTV receivers, the VSX-2012 and VSX-C301,
designed to give consumers the ultimate control of their home
theater experience. These two new HDTV receivers complement
the current line of receivers including the VSX-D912-K, VSX-D812-K,
VSX-D712-K and VSX-D412-K.
With multi-channel music and movies driving sales of DVD
players, consumers are adding five, six, and seven speaker
configurations to their home theater systems. As a result,
Pioneer continues to develop new audio/video HDTV receivers
with features to enhance the home theater environment. Four
of these HDTV receivers now offer multi-channel acoustic calibration
(MCACC), allowing consumers the ability to easily and accurately
set-up their speakers with optimal performance based on the
room environment.
"Our new line of audio/video HDTV receivers takes multi-channel
music and movies to the next level by providing consumers
an easy way to get the most accurate surround sound experience
available," said Russ Johnston, senior vice president
of marketing for home entertainment at Pioneer Electronics
(USA) Inc. "The acoustic calibration feature has been
a phenomenal success in our Elite reference receivers, and
now we're offering this new technology in our Pioneer line."
A home theater is like a musical instrument; it needs to
be tuned for optimum performance. Consumers who don't have
a keen ear often find it challenging to calibrate all the
speakers in a surround sound system. With manual acoustic
calibration users now have a reference point for their ears,
ensuring each speaker delivers sound to the listener at precisely
the same time and at the same level. Acoustic calibration
utilizes the left front speaker as a reference point to begin
the tuning process. The receiver coaches the user through
a few simple steps until the sound being reproduced by each
speaker is aligned to the front left reference channel. Auto
calibration in the VSX-2012 and VSX-D912-K uses a microphone
to automatically set speaker distance and levels without requiring
the consumer to rely on their own listening skills.
The VSX-2012, VSX-D912-K, VSX-D812-K and VSX-D712-K include
Dolby Digital EX(tm) and DTS-ES(tm) decoding, which adds sound
to the rear center channel, while left and right surround
information is reproduced by the side speakers. The addition
of a new surround channel and use of one or two additional
speakers allows true "fly-over" and "fly-around"
effects that are more accurately placed, either directly behind
or directly beside the listener. The VSX-2012 also offers
THX - Select surround processing.
All HDTV receivers models feature Pioneer's 5-channels of
equal, high-power amplification (VSX-2012 contains seven channels
of amplification, the VSX-D912-K and VSX-D812-K contain six
channels of amplification) which provides 100-watts of amplifier
power to each channel, eliminating the possibility of one
channel dominating a particular sound field. All five amplifiers
are of discrete configuration and utilize Pioneer's hybrid
amplification system to ensure that the correct amount of
bias signal is applied to each transistor for very low distortion
(The VSX-2012 offers seven discrete amplifiers and utilizes
a Mosfet amplification system). Pioneer's amplifiers are designed
to handle the full bandwidth of Dolby Digital, DTS, DVD-Audio,
and SACD encoded software.
Component and S-video switching are provided in the VSX-D712-K,
VSX-D812-K, VSX-D912-K and VSX-2012 allowing both progressive
and interlaced NTSC and HDTV signals to be passed to the television
or monitor. To maintain future compatibility, all of the receivers
have multiple, assignable digital inputs (both coaxial and
optical). Finally, all new HDTV receivers come with either
a standard remote or a preset/learning remote and Quick Setup
feature for easy room setup. The Quick Setup feature walks
the consumer through the process of choosing the number of
speakers connected and selecting the room size for very easy
and accurate surround sound performance when utilizing the
MCACC function is not desired.
The VSX-2012 HDTV receiver will be available in August and
VSX-C301 will be available in June at a manufacturer's suggested
retail price of $1,200 and $300 respectively.
The rest of the 2003 HDTV receivers are currently available
at a suggested retail price of $275 for the VSX-D412-K; $300
for the VSX-D712-K; $365 for the VSX-D812-K; and $475 for
the VSX-D912-K.
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