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Pioneer: Setting the benchmark in high power AV receiver performance, two new LX Series AV receivers will be available across Europe from September 2009:

• SC-LX82: AV Receiver with ICEpower, Sampling Rate Converter, DLNA, Internet Radio and THX Ultra2 Plus Certification
• SC-LX72: AV Receiver with ICEpower, DLNA, Internet Radio and THX Select2 Certification

Both receivers incorporate Direct Energy HD Amplifiers built on ICEpower analogue Class D technology to ensure exceptional reproduction of high resolution stereo and multi-channel audio.

Pushing the boundaries of AV receiver innovation, the SC-LX82 provides the full advantages of this amplification technology in addition to achieving THX Ultra2 Plus as well as AIR Studios certifications. Both models offer seamless digital audio connectivity to iPhone and iPod devices.

Full press release here.

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BBC: This year is seeing a comeback for 3D cinema, with every major film studio releasing a title in the format.

Even the Cannes Film Festival showed its support to the industry by allowing a 3D feature to open the event for the first time.

The film selected was Disney and Pixar’s latest release called Up, which is just one of 15 movies in 3D coming out in 2009. It is the story of a widower who ties a thousand balloons to his house and flies away on an adventure.

Other forthcoming releases cover genres from family friendly animations such as Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs to adult horror in My Bloody Valentine.

But the most anticipated 3D release is due at the end of the year from Titanic director James Cameron. Avatar is expected to be the most expensive movie ever made – Cameron has spent much of the past decade researching and experimenting with the technique.

“You can look at a 2D version of a 3D film and see all the dumb gags that were fun in 3D but look stupid in 2D. Before we spent hundreds of millions of dollars making a movie, we had to say is this movie going to be in any way compromised in its 2D presentation. Because the reality is that in the short-tem DVDs are still going to be in 2D. Hollywood is starting to catch up now that the technology is finally right for a third era of 3D.”

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iPodNN: Onkyo has recently announced the upcoming release of two 7.1-channel home theater systems with advanced audio processing, including support for all current audio formats, including the vertical dimensions added by ProLogic IIz.

The HT-S7200 and HT-S6200 surround sound systems are rated at the same 130 watts per channel, with a speaker system that includes an active 230W subwoofer.

Onkyo’s U-Port iPod dock is included with each system. The HT-S7200 has one extra HDMI 1.3a input, at five, compared to the HT-S6200′s four inputs.

The HT-S7200 can upscale signals connected via components and composite inputs to 1080i. The HT-S7200 sports tower front speakers with dual 3.25-inch woofers and a 1-inch dome tweeter. A center channel has the same arrangement of drivers.

The speakers are available as a stand-alone package known as the SKS-HT870 The HT-S6200 system has single 4-inch woofers and one 1-inch balanced dome tweeter on the three front speakers and 3.25-inch full range drivers in the surround speakers.

The 10-inch subwoofer has a 230W power rating on either system. The Onkyo HT-S7200 and HT-S6200 are available now, priced at $899 (€639) and $699 (€496), respectively. The SKS-HT870 7.1-channel speaker package costs $499 (€354).

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Wired: Have you ever been in desperate need of an AAA battery (your TV remote control is running out of power) and all you can find in your house are AAs or some other incompatible size of battery?

Three designers claim to have the solution. Pyeong Joo Goh, Jong Seung Choi and Ji Soo Hong have created the AtoD rechargeable battery, which can be squashed to fit the device that you need to power.

The battery is made from memory foam and so will retain its shape until you squash it for a different device.

It will then gradually become bigger again when you remove it for recharging. It provides 1.5 volts of nickel hydroxide power, but there’s no indication of whether it will make it beyond the concept stage.

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Dvice: Despite the cultural differences it’s still a wonder why Japanese capsule hotels haven’t made their way to big U.S. cities like New York and Chicago. Perhaps a new take on the capsule hotel by Panasonic and designers Masaaki Hiromura and Takaaki Nakamura will inspire the West to finally adopt this futuristic hotel dynamic.

Set up like a normal (somewhat coffin-like) chamber for sleeping, the new 9H facility in Kyoto will merge cutting-edge electronics with minimalist design evocative of the late Stanley Kubrick’s sci-fi aesthetic.

Adorned with a simple, sleek black panel called the “sleeping environment system,” the future of hotels will be on display at the Axis Gallery in Tokyo from August 19th, more information here.

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NewLaunches: LG Display has struck a deal worth millions of dollars with Continental AG for the supply of 30,000 sheets of LG Display’s 5.8 inch and 7.3 inch LCD panels on a monthly basis to Mercedes Benz which will be used for new E-class sedans.

The exact amount of the deal is unknown because officials declined to state it but it is estimated around 46 million dollars. That is good news especially during these tough financial times.

The panels provided by LG Display are high-end products with light-emitting diode backlight bulbs. The 5.8-inch model will be used in low-end models of the E-class, while the 7.3-inch panels will be attached to premium models.

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HardwareSphere: The Philips HF3490 is a Wake-up ‘light alarm’ that will act as your own ‘Sun’ in your room. It will slowly and gradually increases its light and will wake you up gently using the light.

You can also spice it up using FM radio, natural sounds or even music from your iPhone or iPod. This is very nice if you compare to the noise conventional alarm clock.

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EngadgetHD: Sure, Blu-ray has its Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD MA formats to satisfy the audiophiles, but Onkyo has apparently decided that there are still enough US audiophiles to warrant the release of gear previously labeled “Japan-only.”

With Wolfson DACs and a thermally regulated data clock circuit (you know, to tame those nasty jitters), the $599 (€419) C-S5VL SACD deck is ready to tackle your small but irreplaceable library of discs.

Pair it up with the $699 (€489) A-5VL integrated amp and transport yourself back to a time when you didn’t worry about specs — 40-Watts across two channels, Burr-Brown DACs, and a low-noise preamplifier section should make for a killer small room/office system; and if you’re anything close to mainstream, a small room or office is exactly where music listening has been pushed to. Grab the “sweet spot” chair and indulge!

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EngadgetHD: Panasonic’s run of critical acclaim for its NeoPDP panels, and the V10 series in particular, just keeps rolling along. Given the positive reception the HD Guru gave Panny’s G10-series set, it should come as no surprise that the higher-spec TC-P54V10 model came through its review with flying colors.

The Guru blew right past the “sheet of glass” aesthetic and added color spaces that will largely go unused and got right into the good stuff. Sure, the 96Hz mode delivered on its promise of judder-free 4:4 pulldown, but most surprising was the V10′s black level performance, which fell below the test equipment’s ability to measure — the review guessed it to be about half as bright as the G10′s black level.

That’s in spitting distance of the Kuro performance, and the V10 managed to pull a little more dark detail as well. Yeah, it’s a winner — so much so that the Guru had to break out a fifth heart in its rating. The Kuro is dead, long live the Kuro.

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Audioholics: After fielding question after question from readers and from listeners of AV Rant on which receiver to buy, I had amassed a bit of information on a lot of different receiver models. Why not combine this into a grid to help readers decode what exactly are the differences between the offerings from the various manufacturers?

These units from Denon, Harman Kardon, Onkyo, Pioneer, and Yamaha represent the first tier in their receiver lines. Some manufacturers offer two different lines focused on different consumers.

Conclusion: Looking over the different offerings, it is clear that the final words should be “it depends.”

You will have to decide if Zone 2 and iPod control is enough to push the Pioneer to the top of your list even through it doesn’t do video upconversion.

Perhaps price is all that matters so the Yamaha is for you. Maybe you want all the features of the Denon but don’t really need the upconversion so you go with the Onkyo. They all have their advantages and disadvantages.

What is clear, though, is that HDMI features really have trickled down. While only a year ago you couldn’t get HD audio decoding on a receiver less that $500 (€350), now it is available at entry level.

Read the full comparison on Audioholics. 

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Guardian: Microsoft shocked investors yesterday by announcing another plunge in revenues and profits, sending the group’s shares tumbling and leaving some analysts questioning the technology giant’s prospects.

In its latest quarterly financial results, the world’s biggest software company announced revenues of $13.1bn, down from almost $16bn over the same period last year.

Profits for the last three months fell 29% to $3.05bn, down from $4.3bn for the fourth quarter of 2008.

While some of the drop could be attributed to customers waiting for the arrival of Windows 7 – due to go on sale this autumn – the company has also been struck by the tightening of the economy and a general slowdown in PC sales.

Until the previous quarter, the company had never experienced negative growth since going public 23 years ago.

The company’s chief financial officer, Chris Liddell, said: “Our business continued to be negatively impact by weakness in the global PC and server markets. In light of that environment, it was an excellent achievement to deliver over $750m of operational savings.”

Microsoft said it had made the savings through streamlining operations and cutting thousands of jobs, but admitted that it had spent large amounts on legal costs and redundancy packages.

Legal charges totalled $193m, while the company also counted $108m in impairments and $40m in additional severance charges.

The results were lower than Wall Street analysts expected, with consensus guidance hovering at around revenues of $14.3bn – and shares dropped more than 7% in after-hours trading as a result.

“It’s a real disappointment … a significant miss,” said Brendan Barnicle, an analyst at Pacific Crest Securities.

Not everyone was depressed by the company’s prospects, however. Katherine Egbert of Jefferies & Co said that although results were “tepid” there were “some green shoots”.

Among those prospects is Windows 7, the latest version of the company’s operating system. With PC sales underperforming, Microsoft is desperate for software to be a hit – particularly since the 2007 launch of its predecessor, Windows Vista, proved so difficult.

That much-heralded product launch suffered problems, after customers discovered that many pieces of hardware would not work.

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DigiTimes: Global LCD TV shipments are expected to top 148 million units in 2010, up 16.5% from 2009, while shipments in 2009 will grow 21% on year to 127 million units, the Chinese-language Commercial Times quoted data from DisplaySearch as indicating.

LCD TV shipments from the world’s top-10 brand vendors are likely to expand 35% to 141.5 million units in 2010, accounting for 96% of the total global shipments, according to the paper.

In 2009, the top-10 vendors are expected to see their LCD TV shipments increase 25% to 104.8 million units and account for 83% of worldwide shipments, it noted. Samsung Electronics will lead viral vendors in annual shipments and see its LCD TV shipments climb 19% to 25 million units in 2009 and grow another 28% to 32 million units in 2010, the paper said citing DisplaySearch

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