Rotel Launches 1080p DVD Player

It might not handle HD DVD or Blu-ray, but the new high-end Rotel RDV-1092 offers 1080P scaled output, HDMI output, high-end converters, and switching power supply.

For decades Rotel has been known for their high-end gear aimed at audiophiles and (more recently) home theater enthusiasts, and you’ve got to give the company some points for moxie: as the consumer electronics world salivates over pending next-generation Blu-Ray and HD DVD devices, Rotel is rolling out a conventional DVD player priced at $1,500.

But the RDV-1092 isn’t just any DVD player: it features HDMI, composite, S-video, and component outputs, adaptive Geometrical Chroma Mapping, support for both NTSC and PAL, plus an RS-232 interface. It also offers 1080p output with a built-in scaler and wideband D/A converters so images from standard DVDs offer the highest possible clarity. The unit also supports DVD-R and DVD-RW disks, DVD-Audio, SVCD and JPEG photo disks, as well as conventional REd Book audio CDs, CD-R/RW disks, and even MPE and WMA music CDs.

The RDV-1092 also offers front-panel and remote features like variable and slow search, 6-step Zoom Play, Strobe Play, and Resume functions. And, famous for their amps, the switching power supply in the RDV-1092 isn’t a slouch, sporting and advanced pulse circuit and individually regulated supply stages. For $1,500 it’s not a system you’re going to buy for the basement rumpus room, but for pros (or serious movie fans with serious theater setups), the RDV-1092 might bear some thought.

Rotel also introduced two new power conditioners, the RLC 1040 and RLC 1080, both offering protection against power spikes and drops, RF interference, brownouts, and over-voltages, as well as protection for coax jacks, telephone, and Ethernet cabling in addition to standard 120V power. Developed in conjunction with APC, these aren’t cheap: the RLC 1040 is $499 and doesn’t even offer backup batteries, while the RLC-1080 is $1,600 with additional backup batteries running $700 apiece. But if you’re going to be pumping thousands (tens of thousands?) into your theater or audio setup, putting a little bit of money into power conditioning and backup is a better idea than just hoping the power company