Audio Video News

Though Denon's receiver line has long been one of the industry's strongest, it's also suffered from the same ossified in-the-black-box thinking that plagues all receivers. That's changed in a big way with the 2007 models unveiled at a Tuesday press event.

For starters, all feature a new full-color graphic user interface--a big improvement over the 1980s-ish monochrome GUI it replaced--from the top-line AVR-5805CI (price n/a) on down. Back panels are better organized. Top models include not just multiple HDMI inputs but also two HDMI-outs, so you can connect, say, a front-projector and a smaller flat panel in the same room. Like, say, my room. The HDMI version is 1.3, which supports all the latest surround codecs. Ethernet connections accommodate both one-command software updates and even remote maintenance by Denon customer support.

Denon also introduced several other products, including its first Blu-ray player, the DVD-3800BDCI ($1999). But the dominant motif in the press event was an orgy of docking, streaming, and interconnection products and features that add up to a Denon-ified networked home. For more details see Michael Fremer's report on our sister site UltimateAV.