Buena Park, Calif.
– Yamaha launched its first five home theater in a box (HTiB) receiver/speaker
packages and first three A/V receivers (AVRs) with HDMI 1.4 inputs and outputs,
but they’ll need a firmware upgrade to support 3D video, the company said.
With the firmware upgrade, all will support the Side-by-Side (Half) and Top-and-Bottom formats that broadcasters are adopting as well as the formats used for current 3D Blu-ray content, the company added.
Three of the five
HTiBs and two of the three AVRs will support HDMI’s audio return channel
function out of the box.
The AVRs ship in
April. The HTiBs ship in April and May. An availability date for the 3D
firmware upgrade wasn’t specified.
With the five new
HTiBs, priced at a suggested $399 to $849, Yamaha is lowering the opening price
of systems that decode all Blu-ray surround formats to $549 from $649, spec
sheets show. The opening price for Yamaha
Parametric Room Acoustic Optimizer (YPAO) drops to $549 from $649. YPAO automatically compensates for the
deleterious sonic effects of a room’s acoustical qualities.
HDMI support for
30/36-bit Deep Color and x.v. Color starts at $399 like last year.
Also like last
year, company spec sheets show, all models feature proprietary Compressed Music
Enhancer to improve the sound of compressed music files, Cinema DSP signal
processing, and four preset Scene buttons (BD/DVD, TV, CD and radio) to activate the receiver’s appropriate
inputs and surround mode combinations for the selected source.
Also like last
year, the proprietary Silent Cinema, Cinema DSP and Virtual Cinema DSP features
start at a suggested $399. Silent Cinema delivers surround sound through
ordinary headphones, and Virtual Cinema DSP delivers virtual surround without
using surround speakers.
As it has done
before, Yamaha is bundling an iPod dock with select HTiBs. The $849, $649 and
$549 are bundled with a dock, but all of the HTiBs are compatible with the
company’s $99.95-suggested dock and optional Bluetooth receiver at $129. This
year’s dock, however, is new and adds iPhone certification, a spokesman said.
The 5.1-channel
$399 YHT-393BL and $449 YHT-493BL feature 3D-upgradable 1080p-compatible HDMI
1.4 repeater connections (four in/one out), 30/36-bit Deep Color, x.v. Color,
120/24Hz refresh rates, automatic lip-sync compensation, Scene buttons,
compatibility with Yamaha’s iPhone/iPod dock and Bluetooth receiver, compressed
music enhancer, 17 DSP programs, adaptive dynamic range control, adaptive DSP
level, Silent Cinema and Virtual Cinema DSP,
Both HTiBs also feature
5×100-watt amplifier and 100-watt 8-inch sub with compact two-way speakers, but
the step-up model gets larger woofers in the two-way speakers.
The $549 YHT-593BL
and $649 YHT-693BL, both 5.1 HTiBs, add HDMI 1.4 audio return channel out of
the box, decoding of all authorized Blu-ray surround formats, HDMI CEC, and
5×105 watt amplification plus an 8-inch 100-watt subwoofer. Both come with
two-way speakers, but the $649 model uses 6-inch woofers rather than 2.75-inch
woofers in its left right speakers. The $649 model’s center channel speaker
also gets slightly larger woofers than the $549 model.
Like last year, $849
is the suggested price at which Yamaha starts 7.1-channel amplification. The YHT-893BL
features 7×90-watt amp, 10-inch 100-watt sub, analog video up-scaling to 1080p
over HDMI, included iPod/iPhone dock and onscreen iPod/iPhone menu. Analog
video up-scaling to 1080p started at the same price point in last year’s line.
Like last year,
none of the systems is packaged with DVD or Blu-ray player, and none are
satellite-radio-ready.
In AVRs, the
$249-suggested RV-V367, $379-suggested RV-V467 and $479 RX-V567 are the
company’s first AVRs with HDMI 1.4, all capable of supporting 3D video
passthrough with a planned firmware upgrade. The top two models also feature
HDMI 1.4’s audio return channel function out of the box.
Features now
available at $249, down from last year’s $379, include automatic lip sync, HDMI
repeater and support for 120Hz PC refresh
rates, not just Blu-ray’s 24Hz refresh rates.
Like last year, all models feature 30- and 36-bit Deep Color capability,
x.v.YCC, Scene button, Cinema DSP, Silent Cinema, Virtual Cinema DSP,
compressed music enhancer, adaptive dynamic range control, and compatibility
with Yamaha’s iPod/iPhone dock and Bluetooth receiver.
Decoding of all
Blu-ray surround formats and YPAO technology continue to start at $379, and
1080p up-scaling of analog-video inputs remains at the $479 price point.
The $249 AVR is
rated at 5×100 watts. The $379 model, rated at 5×105 watts, adds decoding of
all Blu-ray surround formats, audio return channel, YPAO, HDMI CEC and
front-panel display of iPod/iPhone song titles. The $479 model starts the 7-channel
AVR lineup, as it did last year, and adds 7×90-watt amp and onscreen display.
