LATEST ADDITIONS

To very few people’s surprise, Sony announced a “Baby-Ruby”, as in a baby brother to their 1080p SXRD front projector the VPL-VW100. What was surprising is the price: $4,999, lower than most people were expecting. They also claim it will take the 1080p/24, and display it at 96Hz. The 1080p SXRD chips carry over, this time in a smaller, yet still stylish, case. The model number is VPL-VW50. Oh, and it will be available this month.

Sony Bravia KDL-52XBR3 52-inch 1080p LCD HDTV

If the first-day press conferences at the 2006 CEDIA Expo, being held in Denver this week, are any indication, 10

• $1,500
• 140-Watts x 7 into 8 ohms
• Processing Modes: DD, DD-EX, ProLogicIIx, Dolby Virtual Speaker, Dolby Headphone, DTS, DTS-ES/Discrete/Matrix/Neo: 6, DTS 24/96, Windows Media Audio

Features We Like: THX Select2-Certified, HDMI 1.1 and i.LINK switching, MCACC auto calibration and room EQ, component video switching, transcoding of analog video to HDMI with upconversion to 720p or 1080i by Faroudja, two coaxial and five toslink optical digital audio inputs, one 7.1-channel analog audio input, 7.1-channel preamp outs, USB, XM and iPod compatible, AV sync delay, multi-source/multi-zone

• $1,499
• 75-Watts x 5 into 8 ohms
• DD, DD-EX, ProLogicIIx, Dolby Virtual Speaker, Dolby Headphone, DTS, DTS-ES/Discrete/Matrix/Neo: 6, MP3, MPEG multichannel, HDCD

Features We Like: HDMI 11 switching, transcoding of composite and S-Video to component video, three coaxial and two toslink digital audio inputs, one 7.1-channel analog audio input, preamp outs, expandable to 7.1-channels, massive overbuilt power supply, multi-source/multi-zone