Upper Saddle River, N.J. –
Onkyo’s new $1,099-suggested TX-NR809 AV receiver will expand the company’s
selection of receivers capable of upscaling 1080p sources to full 4K (3840 x
2160) resolution.
The NR809 also brings down the
opening price of ISF video calibration technology in the Onkyo line from
$1,399.
Onkyo, the first AVR maker to
support 4K upscaling, offers the technology in only two other AVRs, which are
priced at $599 and $899.
The 7.2-channel networked AV
receiver, which is THX Select2 Plus certified, will be in stores this month.
Among other enhancements compared
to its predecessor, the 7×135-watt TX-NR809 adds bidirectional customizable
remote and Audyssey’s MultEQ XT, which corrects for frequency-response and
time-domain errors at several hundred points across the frequency spectrum.
The receiver also adds Dolby
Volume, which maintains a consistent volume level when connected audio and
video sources are switched, when TV channels are changed, when a TV program
transitions to a commercial and from louder to softer scenes, and when a
broadcast source is switched from analog to digital.
Also new is the addition of Marvell’s Qdeo and IDT’s Vida video-processing technologies. Qdeo, which
enables Onkyo to implement ISF calibration, upscales 1080p sources to 4K. Vida
upscales 480i/p, 576p, and 720p video sources to 1080p, eliminates
compressed-video noise, and features multi-cadence tracking, expanded 12-bit
color processing, and four-field motion-adaptive de-interlacing to improve the
quality of standard- and high-definition video, the company said.
Incorporating ISF calibration in
the AVR makes it possible to individually optimize video signals for each video
source connected to the AVR without resorting to complex cable routing and
customized remote-control macros that make system operation more complex for
consumers.
Compared to its predecessor, the
AVR also adds front USB ports to complement rear USB ports. The ports accept
Onkyo’s optional wireless USB adapter for networking and accept such digital
storage devices as USB flash drives, iPods and iPhones to play back music files
in the MP3, WMA, WMA Lossless, FLAC, WAV, Ogg Vorbis, and AAC formats. A
separate U-Port is available to connect an iPod/iPhone dock to stream
iPod-iPhone-stored video to a TV. The U-Port can also be used for an optional
HD Radio Tuner and planned wireless multiroom-audio products.
The included bidirectional remote
can be connected to the Internet to download
remote-control codes for components connected to the AV receiver, which
includes macro presets for four activities and bi-directional Ethernet and RS232
ports for control and IR input and output.
Home integration capabilities
have been upgraded to include zone 2/3 preouts, and bi-directional remote
control with on-screen RC set-up for attached components, and macros for four
activities, the company said.
Other features include Audyssey
DSX post-processing to add front-height or front-width channels (or both with
the addition of a two-channel amp) and Dolby ProLogic IIz to add front-height
channels.
The receiver is Windows 7- and
DLNA-certified for networking with PCs, streams Internet radio stations via
vTuner technology, and streams the Mediafly, Pandora, Slacker, Napster,
Rhapsody, Last.fm, and SIRIUS XM Internet Radio services.
