Audio Video News

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has announced that it will support Auro-3D in some disc and “digital” titles. Auro-3D is an unusual method of immersive surround encoding that one-ups Dolby Atmos and DTS:X by offering not one, but two, height layers above the floor speakers in a 13.1- or 11.1-channel native mix. Until now it has been scantily supported in software, with just a few dozen Blu-ray releases, but this might be a game changer for the plucky little Belgian company. Auro-3D has also firmed up its hardware support with new (and more mainstream) receivers and pre/pros from Denon, Marantz, and Lyngdorf that support the necessary surround processing. (Note that the Denon and Marantz products require an optional $199 update.) Height-enhanced surround sound may be about to become a three-way horse race.

The internet has been abuzz with talk of a skinnied-up PS3 for months, but now Sony has made it official. The Slim will cost $299 and sport a same 120GB hard drive, but it will be lighter and smaller by more than a third. It will also use...

Sony is previewing a new flagship Dolby Atmos-capable soundbar and home theater system that creates an immersive sound field from four compact speakers. Both are due out early fall.

As you can tell below, Sony is going whole-hog into this 3D thing. The home electronics side of the company has just announced pricing and is accepting presales for no less than 7 different 3D-compatible HDTVs. The Bravia LED-backlit HDTVs...

DVD will be getting a big boost this fall. <A HREF="http://www.sel.sony.com/">Sony</A> has announced a multipronged promotion with Internet film distributor <A HREF="http://www.netflix.com/">NetFlix</A> and several major video retailers that will expose thousands of movie lovers to the new format. The program will run simultaneously with one <A HREF="http://www.guidetohometheater.com/shownews.cgi?242">announced</A> recently by <A HREF="http://www.blockbuster.com/video/">Blockbuster Video</A> and <A HREF="http://www.philips.com/">Philips Electronics</A>. The Sony/NetFlix and Blockbuster/Philips promotionals were announced in the wake of <A HREF="http://www.circuitcity.com/">Circuit City</A>'s <A HREF="http://www.guidetohometheater.com/shownews.cgi?243">admission</A> that, without outside funding, it will have to cut back on its Divx marketing effort.

Sony demoed its latest distributed audio solution at its 2008 Open House this week in Las Vegas. The affordable design brings multi-room capability to those on a budget, incorporating wireless RF transmission operating in the 2.4-GHz band. The...

At a press conference last week, <A HREF="http://www.sony.com/professional">Sony Electronics</A>' professional division outlined the company's strategy for the broadband network era, and announced a number of new broadcast and professional products that will be on display at the upcoming <A HREF="http://www.nab.org/">National Association of Broadcasters</A> (NAB) show in April.