Sony has announced its first AV receiver optimized for high-definition audio and video sources, in the form of its STR-DG1000 unit targeted for availability in August for about $800. Although Sony’s aiming the unit squarely at future Blu-Ray adopters, it has features which would appeal to anyone in the high-def arenas, including dual HDMI active intelligence (which claims to automatically detect the best possible video and audio signals available from connected devices), eight channels of uncompressed audio, 120 watts per channel, and 1080p resolution.
The STR-DG1000 also ships with Sony’s DCAC audio calibration technology: just install the unit in your room the way you want it, then customize the receiver’s audio performance with the help of the supplied microphone. The DCAC system will automatically adjust for speaker placement, distance, and delay based on what the microphone picks up (which, we admit, could produce some amusing results if strategically placed, say, under a cushion). The STR-DG1000 can also power a two-channel system in an adjoining room (leaving five for your main area), which might be handy for the system’s (required!) XM Connect and Play satellite radio capability.
The receiver supports HDMI switching and up-converting composite, S-video, and component inputs to HDMI to reduce the number of signal conversions in a chain. The STR-DG1000 also features a Portable Audio Enhance which supposedly enables users to plug in “virtually any portable audio player” (gosh, we wish they’d be more specific) and taps into the receiver’s digital processing, enhancing the playback of material on the audio player by “adding information to the audio signal that had been removed during compression.” (Which sounds a little dicey to me, but is bound to produce better results with some recordings and audio formats/bitrates than others.) Also on board: assignable HDMI, component and optical inputs, five A/V inputs, two A/V outputs, and three inputs and one output for audio.
Once again: August 2006, $800.
