Audio Video News

Sunfire Corporation has introduced the third generation of its Theater Grand surround sound processors. The new Theater Grand III supports all current surround formats, including Dolby Digital 7.1 Surround EX, and is software upgradeable via a watermarked CD.

The Theater Grand III is the first surround processor based on the Motorola DSP 56367 150Mhz Symphony chip, Sunfire claims. The chip enables seamless decoding of Dolby Digital EX, Dolby Pro-Logic II, dts-ES, dts Neo:6 and other formats, and includes a new implementation of Sunfire designer Bob Carver's "Holographic Imaging" technology.

Inputs include eight channels of direct-path connectivity for DVD-Audio and SACD playback, as well as three buffered, high-definition component video inputs. Outputs include balanced connections for all eight channels. The Theater Grand III also functions as a multi-source or multi-room controller, with an independent second zone output to supply whole-house or secondary audio systems.

No technical expertise is needed to operate the TGIII. It monitors all inputs and automatically decodes the right surround format for each one. The illuminated remote control features "soft keys" whose functions change according to the source selected. Sunfire has designed the TGIII to be "future proof," the company states. As new copy protection schemes emerge, Sunfire will supply the decoding software needed in a watermarked CD. All customers need do is play the disc, and the software will be loaded into the processor automatically.

The Sunfire Theater Grand III will be shipping to dealers in May 2002, at a suggested price of $3495.