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Yamaha Adds HDMI 1.4 To AVRs, HTiBs

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, all capable
of supporting 3D video passthrough
with a planned firmware upgrade.

Three of the five HTiBs and two of the
three AVRs also support HDMI’s audio
return channel function out of the box.

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.

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 certifi cation,
the company 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 stepup
model gets larger woofers in the twoway
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 RVV367,
$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 Bluray’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.

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