According to a poster on AVS forum, Epson is set to announce a new range of home theater projectors just in time for the CEDIA expo.  On top of the food chain is the anamorphic-compatible Epson 9700UB reportedly selling for a retail price “similar” to the 9500UB.  The 8700UB will replace the 8500UB and a 8350 will likely fill the shoes of the current 8100.  No exact specs yet but ETA is said to be first week of October.  We’re big fans of Epson because they offer terrific picture quality for the money and the new lineup if confirmed sounds to up the value quotient even more.

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Netflix iPhone App Video from Netflix on Vimeo.

The Netflix app previously an iPad exclusive is now available on the iPhone and iPod touch.  Enjoy!

Perhaps there’s no better proof that Blu-ray has gained mainstream acceptance, than when George Lucas himself blesses the series with the Star Wars trilogy.  Well it’s official folks, the special edition series (not original) will be coming to glorious 1080p and losses audio sometime in 2011.  When asked if the original movies will ever see the light of day on blu, the company stated a full restoration job from scratch would be too expensive.  Oh well beggers can’t be choosers.

Blockbusters financial woes are well documented with many analysts predicting  the 6500 store Dallas based company will run out of cash sometime in 2011.  That’s not stopping them from going out without a fight.  Total Access subscribers can now add video game rentals to their queue’s, and just like movies you can keep them as long as you’d like with no late fees.  Whether or not it’s enough to sway Netflix subscribers (and their streaming)  is unknown but gamers are definitely salivating at the mouth.

Via Blockbuster

Maybe the rumors are true.  Engadget is reporting that Apple is set to announce a $99 set top box that would allow for 720 streaming of content over the web.  Considering the Cupertino company has been hard at work building a full on data center this [still-unconfirmed] rumor could bear some weight.  The question remains – what kind of content is available and will it be enough to kick your Hulu or Netflix habit?  Only time will tell.

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Ask  the average Joe what he considers to be “high end” audio and you’re certain to get a different answer from an audiophile.  Pioneer’s new G-Clef is designed to bridge the gap between the big box stuff, and the gear you’ll find on the cover of Stereophile magazine.  It starts with a pair of integrated amplifiers the SX-A6MK2 ($700) and SX-A9MK2 ($1,600), feature a 24 bit Burr Brown and Wolfson DAC’s and along with a pair of CD/SACD players, the PD-D9MK2-K ($1,500) and PD-D6MK2-K ($700) that feature vibration free transports and cases.

While this new gear looks impressive, we’re curious as to why Pioneer won’t add SACD/DVD-A playback to it’s already high-end BDP-09FD blu-ray player and call it day as I’m a big fan of consolidating devices to save precious shelf space in my rack.

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A newer version (1.66) of the Pioneer BDP-51FD FW has leaked which is said to improve disc compatibility and address drop-outs with certain Denon receivers.  This is a service center release which means it’s designed to address specific issues and will (likely) not be an official release from Pioneer.

Disclaimer: Apply at your own risk.  Once updated you cannot downgrade to a prior release!

Instructions: Download the ISO and burn a CD using ImgBurn.  Insert the disc and wait 10 mins for the update to complete.  NOTE:  It’s always a good idea to reset your player to factory defaults after the update.

Update: The FW update went just fine on both of my 51FD’s.  So far I haven’t noticed much of a difference as they’ve been rock solid in terms of playback.

We’ve sung the praises of Audyssey’s wonderful room correction and automatic setup technology prominently integrated in Denon and Onkyo AVR’s in the past, and now the Southern California company is announcing an update to it’s high-end MultEQ XT technology by adding a “32″ at the end.  What’s the difference you ask?  How about 32 times the resolution of the filters using the same processing power by concentrating on bands that need the higher sampling rate.  The technology is already being used in several units as we speak.

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Sony might not be the first brand you think of then it comes to AVR’s however their new ES lineup is set to change all that.  It all starts with their new top of the line STR-DA5600ES which retails for $2000.  Want cool features?  How about a built in Ethernet hub, DLNA support, dual HDMI output, internet music streaming,  and HDMI pass through which means it will pass signal to your TV when the AVR is turned off.  This comes in handy during times when TV speakers are ideal, such as when a toddler is sleeping nearby. If $2000 is bit much to swallow then consider the STR-DA4600ES ($1500, 120Wpc) and STR-DA3600ES ($1100, 100Wpc) as worthy alternatives.  Automatic setup has become a must-have feature with high end AVR’s these days and Sony uses it’s own design dubbed Digital Cinema Auto Calibration (DCAC) and Automatic Phase Matching (APM).  How it compares with the likes of Audyssey’s wildly popular Mult-EQ and Pioneer’s MCACC remains to be seen.

I  have to say these new units look extremely competitive which is more than I can say about previous ES models.

[Via UltimateaAVmag]