The Onkyo DV-BD507 is headed to America, everyone. The AV company went all offical on the player last month with European launch info, but was mum about a US release. Well, it’s here and it looks great – including the price.

The European and American-spec’d models seem to be the same. The unit is a Profile 2.0 BD-Live player featuring all the goodies that come along with the HDMI 1.3 spec like Deep Color and x.v Color. Plus, if a 1GB or higher SD card is inserted, the player can play back BonusView material. The MSRP is set at $449, which isn’t that bad for a mid to high-end tier Blu-ray player and should be available now.

Upper Saddle River, NJ (7/28/09) — Onkyo has introduced a new, state-of-the-art, BD-Live interactive Blu-ray Disc Player, model DV-BD507. This full-featured player delivers outstanding high definition 1080p video playback and high resolution multichannel audio over a HDMI 1.3a. It has all the capabilities once could expect from a Blu-ray player, plus the high performance and build-quality consumers have come to expect from Onkyo products.

The Onkyo DV-BD507 plays Blu-ray discs with their full high definition 1080p resolution, including compatibility with the Deep Color and x.v. Color specifications of HDMI 1.3a. It is also capable of playing standard DVD’s and CD’s, with internal scaling of all video sources to 1080p. It can also process AVCHD video clips stored on a SD or SDHC card or DVD-R/RW.

The Onkyo DV-BD507 also features BD-Live (Profile 2.0) for enhanced interactivity through the internet, making additional and updated content available instantly. When used with an optional 1 GB (or greater) SD/SDHC card, the player includes BonusView features to allow for picture-in-picture capabilities while viewing the main feature.

The Onkyo DV-BD507 is currently available at a suggested retail price of $449.

Keith Hass, Director of Sales for Onkyo,

“We have worked diligently to position the brand where the product’s performance, capabilities, feature set and uncompromising build quality can be effectively and professionally demonstrated.

“The establishment of the relationship and placement of the product with Magnolia Home Theater is the culmination of these efforts.”

Expect to see Onkyo products, and hopefully some Integra items as well, later this year.

The first-gen Onkyo hasn’t exactly made a splash in the HTPC market - do you know anyone that owns one? – but maybe the new models will help the home theater namesake penetrate more markets. By ditching audiophile-grade amplifier along with a DAC, the price has dropped from 200,00 yen ($2,149) to 59,800 ($643) which should spur some sales. Still, the netop is equipped with enough power to run a media server thanks to the Atom 230 1.6GHz CPU and 1GB of ram. Just don’t expect to play CoD5 on it.

Onkyo Japan today announced the Sotec C1 Hello Kitty (C101K3W) [JP], a netbook designed for fans of the famous cartoon cat from Sanrio. Unlike other Hello Kitty PCs, this model has been modified not only design- but also hardware-wise (see the picture above).

The Hello Kitty C1 features an Atom N270 CPU (1.60 GHZ), 1GB of RAM, a 120GB HDD, a 10.1″ TFT display (resolution: 1,024×600), a web cam, a QWERTY keyboard (layout: Japanese/US) and three USB 2.0 ports. Windows XP (SP 3) and a Hello Kitty wallpaper are pre-installed.

Normally the computer is available as a limited edion only in Japan (where it’s already available) but people living outside Nippon can order the C1 from here ($890.95 plus shipping).

Today, the HT-S9100THX system was announced and it has its sights set on HD theater buffs across the country. The 7.1-channel system (130W/channel) includes THX’s Loudnes Plus technology and comes with four HDMI v1.3a ports. The more HDMI ports, the better, I say.

Audyssey and Faroudja handle onboard audio and video processing. Faroudja’s DCDi Edge technology bumps all component, composite, and S-video sources up to 1080i while Audyssey’s 2EQ automatically calibrates acoustical output for maximum eardrum popping. Moreover, Audyssey’s Dynamic EQ “algorithm adds moment-by-moment refinement of the receiver’s frequency response and surround levels in order to compensate for volume-dependent deteriorations in the listening experience, particularly at low volume levels.” Can anyone translate this into layman’s terms?

Additional info on the system can be found after the jump. The HT-S9100THX is available now for $1,099.

It features seven two-way speakers that are tonally matched to each other for optimal localization and seamless surround transitions. The front and center channel speakers each include a 1-inch soft-dome tweeter and dual 5-inch woofers constructed from Onkyo’s acclaimed A-OMF (Onkyo Micro Fiber) cones. The front and center channels are also magnetically shielded to prevent interference with video reproduction when placed near a TV. Side and rear surround speakers all feature 5-1/8 inch a-OMF woofers and the same tweeter found in the front channels to deliver a seamless 360-degree soundstage. Deep bass reproduction is handled by a powerful 12-inch subwoofer with an integrated 290-Watt amplifier.

You know what the world needs? No, not more gadget blogs; more iPod docks and Onkyo is pleased to help the cause. The CBX-Z20 AERO sound system is going to be released later this month and seems to be your standard AM/FM, CD, iPod radio. With the Onkyo nameplate though, the 50,000 yen player’s ($497 USD) sound and build quality should be above par.

Tired of the tyranny of headphone wires when listening to “Headphone Silence” on your iPod 200 times in a row? Who isn’t! Lucky for you there’s Onkyo’s MHP-UW2, a pair of unfortunately named wireless headphones that operate on the 2.4GHz frequency. You have to plug a receiver into the bottom of your iPod in order for it to work, but once that’s out of the way you’re golden.

Rather than trust the machine translation, we’ll merely mention that it’s due for release November 14 (in Japan at least; USA?) for around ¥20,000, which, right now, is about $197.

Onkyo yesterday announced in Japan [JP] that it will enter the market for low-priced notebooks, starting with a Sotec machine, which is priced at about $570. The so-called DC101 minimum PC will be released in this country October 3.

The notebook features a 10.1-inch display (backlighted, resolution: 1024×600), 1GB of memory, a 120GB hard disk, an Atom N270 CPU (1.60GHz), a 1.3 megapixel web camera, a memory card slot and one USB port. It comes with Windows XP pre-installed and operates for about 2 hours on a fully charged battery.

The Sotec notebook will be available in white or black and weighs 1.2kg. Onkyo will also offer a more expensive version ($760) with Microsoft Office installed.

Problem is, with 80GB of music you need a way better interface than a D-pad – this thing needs a decent touchscreen, or the screen needs to be a detachable controller so you can control everything from across the room. And what’s up with the supported formats? MP3, PCM, and ATRAC? What about OGG and M4A, or any of the other formats to which the discerning listener might have ripped their collection? Until these problems are remedied, I can’t see myself paying ~$750 for a system like this. Good day, sir!

Today Onkyo unveiled a new stereo system which will go on sale in Japan on June 28th. The Nippon-only BR-NX10A is priced at $710.

It comes with two bookshelf speakers, a CD player and an LCD color display. The most distinctive feature is the 80 GB HDD which is integrated into the main unit. Onkyo says this is enough to store a total of 40,000 songs.

The company placed “cushions” under the HDD and cooling fan in the main unit. Onkyo claims this “floating technology” significantly reduces vibrations and noise .

User can record music on the the hard disc drive in linear PCM/ATRAC/MP3 formats. The BR-NX10A is equipped with a USB port and Ethernet connection for CDDB. The two speakers feature an output power of 26W each.

Onkyo today dropped a trio of home theater in a box set-ups, and they’re fairly affordable, full-featured systems.

The HT-S3100 is your basic 5.1 home theater system with capacity to hand HDTV via component inputs. Up to three hi-def devices can be displayed on your HDTV, switched automatically. It also has plenty of standard analog inputs for your legacy gear.

The HT-S4100 is the same system, but adds a powered subwoofer to the package instead of the non-powered variety the S3100 has.

The champ, though, is the HT-S5100, which is an entirely different package, and one of the best deals for the price I’ve seen anywhere. It’s a 7.1 surround sound system instead of 5.1, giving you two additional channels of surround audio.

The S5100 also includes three HDMI inputs as well as two component and four digital audio inputs. This is for serious home theater fans.

Other niceties include an integrated iPod dock and Sirius satellite radio connectivity, dual speaker zones, and several legacy inputs. This would perhaps be the last theater system you’d ever need, and at $579, it’s a very good price.

The S3100 and S4100 are $379 and $479 respectively, and great for beginners, but if you’re a serious home theater guy (as I am), you’re already checking your current system to see how it could compare.

Onkyo makes good home theater gear, and today we get word of two new affordable receivers. They’re coming out in April, and they seem pretty sweet, as far as how they spec out. The TX-SR576 and 506 both come in black or silver, feature daul audio zones, 5.1 Dolby and DTS, and multiple HDTV inputs, including 3 HDMI inputs and two component video inputs. For audio, the receivers have two optical and two coaxial, so those of you with multiple game systems are well served.

The main difference between the two is how they handle HDMI. The 506 basically acts as an HDMI switcher, where as the 576 has a decoder on the HDMI bus. If you’re planning on making HDMI your main interface, then the 576 is the one to look to at $479. If you have a healthy mix, you’re fine with the $379 506.

Onkyo Debuts Entry-Level A/V Receivers With Powered Zone 2, Audyssey Dynamic EQ and More [Press Release]

I’m nuts about home theater, it’s true. But that’s because I’m something of an audiophile as well as a videophile, natch. I think it’s great that we can have near-cinema-style experiences in our own homes without it costing nearly half as much as it did just a few short years ago.

The centerpiece of any good home entertainment system isn’t the HDTV, it’s the receiver. This is the unit that routes the video from your sources to the HDTV and the 5.1 Surround Sound system. It’s truly the brain of the whole thing.

What a lot of people don’t know is that they don’t have to cost a fortune. Rovert Silva over on About has a great review of Onkyo’s TX-SR304 unit. With three separate component inputs, it’s built for HD, and with 7 different digital audio profiles built-in, you can customize it to sound best in your home. And the things only around $200. If you’re getting started with HD, this is the type of unit you should be looking at.

Onkyo TX-SR304 5.1 Channel Home Theater Receiver [About]

Okay you guys, listen up for a second. I’ve got some bad news. It’s been a long and winding road and we’ve all fought really hard, but it appears that HD DVD might actually be on its way out for real. We just got word that Onkyo has decided to stop making HD DVD players. I know you feel. I feel like I got punched in the gonads, too.

I don’t know what else is going on with the whole HD DVD versus Blu-ray thing, but if Onkyo announces that it’s leaving the HD DVD game, then the game…she’s over. You can, however, still pick up this Onkyo HD DVD player for the low, low price of $900.

Onkyo made this announcement a couple of weeks ago but it was made in Japanese, so it apparently took this long to translate. It’s a beautiful, complex language.

On a more positive note, I’d like to submit that HD DVD donate its name to Blu-ray. Blu-ray could then go by Blu-ray or HD DVD and we consumers could choose which name we like better. I like the sound of HD DVD better because it sounds like DVD except in high definition. Blu-ray sounds like a minor league baseball team.

Onkyo to stop HD DVD Player Sales [I4U]

Oh no! Yet another manufacturer is dropping support for HD-DVD, this time coming from home theater heartthrobs Onkyo. While not committing to total abandonment of the troubled format, it’s definitely an ominous sign of things to come.

Onkyo, though, is oddly mum about switching over to the competing Blu-ray format, neither confirming or denying that it will develop next-gen players using Sony’s technology in the future. It wouldn’t, however, make any sense to not embrace the winning disc technology as soon as possible.

Onkyo suspends HD DVD support [Wesley Tech]

This format war will drag on until we’re long since bored with it, if we’re not already. Onkyo’s shiny new HD DVD player, the DV-HD805, takes full advantage of the format’s extra features, including those that require a network connection. Movie freaks will be thankful for its ability to play movies at 24 frames per second—a feature that sorta came out of nowhere this past year—and support for the new DTS-HD and Dolby TrueHD audio formats. Don’t forget the HDMI 1.3.

Onkyo’s player will hover around the $900 mark, quite a bit more than some of Toshiba’s offerings, Toshiba being the Swiss Guard of HD DVD.

Press Release [Onkyo via Electronic House]

You wouldn’t believe how dreary it is in the greater New York region right now, so dreary, in fact, that I’ve lost the will to call out Onkyo for making yet another iPod speaker+dock. The CBX-Z1 is actually more of a plane jane tabletop radio+CD player than a “straight up” speaker+dock, just with an additional slot for your iPod. It is, however, part of Onkyo’s Aero Sound System, which, judging by the name, means that it should sound about as good as these little tabletop radios can be expected to.

It’ll makes its mark in October, just in time for the new iPod. (Right Apple? New iPods soon? How many people bought iPhones vs. how many will buy an iPod?)

Product Info [Onkyo Japan via Akihabara News]

yamaha.com

panasonic.com

onkyousa.com

samsung.com

soundmatters.com

usa.denon.com

usa.philips.com

sonystyle.com
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