Cary DVD 8 Upscales Standard DVD

If the Blu-ray and HD DVD shenanigans are leaving you cold, the Cary Audio Design DVD 8 lets you bring 5.1 audio and standard DVDs to darn near anything.

At the CEDIA 2006 Expo, boutique audio and electronics manufacturer Cary Audio Design is rolling out its DVD 8 player: the sleek unit may not support either high-definition disk format, but it will scale output to either 720p or 1080i resolution, and offers HDMI/HDCP, stereo, and 5.1 audio support with high-end DAC converters and audiophile design sure to get your blood pumping.

The Cary DVD 8 plays standard DVD, DVD Audio, and multi-channel SACD disc formats so audiophiles investing in their 5.1 audio collections or who are devotees of high-quality concert video won’t be disappointed. The unit can be connected directly to HD displays using the built-in HDMI output (with HDCP), and sports both digital and analog 5.1 audio outputs for connecting to your existing surround setup. The DVD 8 also supports both PAL and NTSC playback, S-video, composite, and component output, and is driven by a 24 bit, 192 kHz Cirrus Logic 4360 converter for jitter-free audio with a 106 db dynamic range.

The DVD 8 should be available in late September, but no pricing information is available yet. If you have to ask, you probably don’t want to afford it: Cary Audio’s DVD 7 typically runs about four grand.