TiVo has just released a new Netflix player as part of their 2012 spring software update. In addition to being able to browse the Netflix catalog, the new TiVo Premiere Netflix player comes with support for 1080P HD video, Dolby Digital Plus surround sound and closed captions. When you add in TiVo’s comprehensive search capability and the convenience it offers (given TiVo usually lives on HDMI1), this is one of the best Netflix streaming implementations available. TiVo is now pushing out the spring software update date but it usually takes a few weeks before it reaches all customers. Thanks to TiVo for providing early access to the new software.

New Netflix on TiVo Premiere Opening Screen

When I saw the preview version of TiVo’s new Netflix player at this year’s CES, I was told that it would only support Dolby Digital surround sound with this initial release. It’s good to under promise and over deliver. I was pleasently surprised to see Dolby Digital Plus support in this version (unlike the new Xbox and Apple TV versions). Dolby Digital Plus is more bandwidth efficient and provides better sound than regular Dolby Digital on Netflix. When you play a TV show or movie, TiVo auto-selects the Dolby Digital Plus track when available. While the TiVo delivers Dolby Digital Plus via HDMI, it still delivers Dolby Digital over optical as well (if you have a non-HDMI receiver).

TiVo's Netflix audio and caption settings

There’s also support for 1080P streaming video. Specifically, it supports 1080P video at 24 frames per second (FPS) and 1080i video at 30 FPS. At first, I was concerned since the TiVo Premiere cannot output 1080P video at 30 FPS (it’s a hardware limitation). However, according to my sources, the majority of 1080P content from Netflix is actually encoded at 24 FPS not 30 FPS. It’s not only the case for movies but also TV shows including Battlestar Galactica and Sons of Anarchy. High definition video encoded at 30 FPS is delivered in either 1080i or 720P on TiVo’s Netflix player. Currently, I have not found any evidence of 1080P / 30 FPS titles in Netflix’s library.

There’s only one downside to this set-up. When Netflix starts streaming, it starts with a lower bandwidth stream and quickly improves to HD quality in less than 30 seconds. However, when it switches to 1080P / 24 FPS, my HDTV blacks out for a couple of seconds while it switches resolutions. It also happens after fast forwarding or rewinding or if there is a disruption in bandwidth. It would be nice if the TiVo buffered some more data to avoid this. Below, I’ll share a tip on how to prevent this black-out effect in some situations.

The black-out effect is the result of a feature I’ve never seen on a Netflix player. The TiVo Premiere is the only Netflix device I’ve seen that properly detects and plays content back at its native frame rate. Most Netflix devices don’t even let you select the frame rate you’re watching at, converting everything to 30 FPS. To do this, it inserts extra frame which can sometimes creates “judder”. One notable exception are the 2012 3D Blu-ray players from Panasonic but the frame rate is a manual setting.

Sons of Anarchy at 1080P / 24 FPS on TiVo's Netflix Player

The other feature that separates the TiVo Premiere from other Netflix players is integrated search. From TiVo’s main menu, you can enter the name of a show and TiVo searches across TV listings, Netflix, Amazon Instant Video and Hulu Plus. It’s a very handy way to find the content you are looking for without going to lots of different websites. The search is a little different from the old version. The old version directly linked to a title whereas the new version pulls up a pre-filled Netflix search screen. It’s still functional but not as efficient as before. That quirkiness is evident other places as well.

TiVo Searches TV listings, Netflix, Amazon and Hulu Plus

This version was not primarily developed by TiVo but by Netflix themselves. The end result is an experience that’s more consistant with other Netflix devices than the TiVo itself. Things such as TiVo’s “instant replay” button no longer work. There’s no information banner when hitting the “Info” button either. To exit a title you have to hit “UP” on the D-pad (I expected to hit back arrow). Hopefully, TiVo and Netflix will improve some of these usability features in the future.

To minimize the issue with video switching: Go to “Settings” and then “Video”. Under “Video Output Formats”, set the formats only to 1080i and 1080P/24 (pass-through).  HD shows that stream at 1080i / 30FPS won’t have to renegoiate the HDMI connection with the TV and that will eliminate those black-outs. One example of an HD show at 1080i / 30 FPS is Doctor Who.

Another tip: Make sure your TiVo does not have “zoom” turned  on or part of the screen will be cut off in Netflix. You have set it to to panel or full (which removes the horizontal bars for SD titles) while you are watching TV or recorded content on the TiVo.

And to anticipate a question, this version of Netflix will not be coming to the Series3. Despite its similarity to Netflix’s HTML5 UI on other devices, this app is Flash-based. It was built with Adobe AIR and AIR is not supported on the Series3.

To wrap-up, while it does have some quirks, the new TiVo Netflix player is a big improvement and provides a great audio and video experience.  Since the TiVo is our primary viewing device and given its integrated search, I will be using Netflix on TiVo much more.  Given the wealth of bandwidth I get from FIOS, the video black-out problem should just be a minor annoyance for me. While I wouldn’t recommend the TiVo Premiere just for Netflix, the new Netflix app is one of several compelling reasons to make it part of your home theater set up.

Copyright 2011, 2012 Tech of the Hub - Home Theater, Gadgets, Streaming Video Blog

Starting today TiVo is releasing its spring software update. The key enhancements in the update include parental controls for HD menus, a new “lean-back” YouTube player and a greatly improved Netflix player. In a separate post, I’ve done a thorough review of the new Netflix player. There were also updates to the Amazon Instant Video app. The spring update is for all of the models in the Premiere product line. It will take a few weeks before the software is pushed out to all TiVo Premiere boxes.

Parental controls have been absent from TiVo’s HD menus since the Premiere was first released. The new controls are fairly comprehensive.  One way to control content is with ratings levels for both TV shows and movies. Controls can also be set by the type of content. For example, Mad Men is almost always flagged L and S (Language and Sexual Content). There’s also the ability to block particular channels. Finally, there’s also a handy option to temporarily disable all of the controls. That’s nice when you don’t want to keep entering the four-digit pin code.

The YouTube client was also refreshed. Built by Google, the new client will allow you to sign in with your YouTube account. You can now “like” (or dislike) videos and flag them. There’s also the ability to pair the app with the YouTube app on Android smart phones or tablets. I was able to get videos to stream at both 720P and 1080i. In theory, for videos to stream at 1080P, they have to be encoded at 24 frames per second. While I was able to login with my YouTube account, I was not able to see my subscribed channels.  However, I could subscribe to new ones. I haven’t spent a lot of time using the app yet so I will report back on any interesting things I find.

The spring TiVo update also includes fixes to Amazon Instant Video. Previously, Amazon content downloaded to the TiVo Premiere would sometimes suffer from excessive pixelization. That problem has now been fixed. Remember, the TiVo provides the best video quality of any Amazon Instant Video device: video at 1080P resolution and 24 frames per second. There’s no new information on when Amazon Prime Instant Video streaming will be made available on the TiVo.

Enjoy the update!

Copyright 2011, 2012 Tech of the Hub - Home Theater, Gadgets, Streaming Video Blog

Yes, it looks like it’s going to be a good summer for movies. Personally, I’m trying to figure out when to see the the Avengers. With the release of the Avengers, it’s caused me to catch up on some superhero movies I haven’t seen yet like Iron Man and Captain America.  The first Iron Man is on this Saturday and Sunday night on FX. Last weekend, there was a free preview of EPIX on FIOS.  Now, you can sign up for a two week free EPIX trial here. EPIX currently has Iron Man 2 and Thor showing. The nice thing about EPIX is that you don’t need to subscribe to cable or satellite. In addition to their cable channel, EPIX can be watched on the PC, Roku, Xbox, Samsung devices, smart phones and tablets and other devices.

The one movie I am really looking forward to is the final installment of the Batman series: The Dark Knight Rises. Christian Bale is back and things don’t look like they’re going well for the Cape Crusader. The movie premieres on July 20th.

Here’s a little audio and video scoop on the last chapter of the Batman trilogy. Thankfully, director Christopher Nolan has a dislike for 3D. The IMAX version of the film has 50 minutes of footage that was shot with IMAX cameras (source IMDB (spoilers!)). There’s also reports of audio problems with the movie. In particular, Tech Radar reported problems with muffled dialog. Apparently, Warner Brothers was freaking out about it back January so hopefully it will be addressed by the release date. To help you wait until July, I’ve included the latest preview and poster.

Copyright 2011, 2012 Tech of the Hub - Home Theater, Gadgets, Streaming Video Blog

Dolby is on a quest to bring movie theater sound to the next level. At this year’s CinemaCon, Dolby introduced a new surround sound platform called Dolby Atmos. Unlike the incremental change from 5.1 to 7.1 channel surround sound, Atmos is a fundamental change in how audio is authored for and delivered in the movie theater.

From the consumer’s point of view, Dolby Atmos promises to create a more enveloping and precise sound field in the movie theater. Sounds will be rendered with a much larger array of speakers throughout the theater including overhead ones. Dolby Atmos provides the ability to make a sound come from almost any part of the theater. In contrast, while home and movie theater surround speakers are very good at delivering ambient sounds, they aren’t able to place sounds in specific spots around the room. For example, while today’s surround sound set ups are good at rendering the sound of crickets, providing a precise location for a gun shot is difficult. Yes Michael Bay, I feel your pain. Atmos achieves this precision by supporting up to 64 discrete channels of audio (62.2). However, other options such as 22.2, 11.1, 7.1, 5.1 and 2.0 are supported (the second number is low frequency or subwoofer channels).

Atmos is more than a a new surround format, it’s a platform. On the authoring side, content creators will be able to create audio objects and define their movement around the theater. It’s a shift from how content creators currently focus is on what goes onto specific audio tracks. Instead, Atmos will take the audio objects and figure out how to render them given a theater’s specific characteristics including the number of speakers, geometry and size. Content creators will no longer need to author separate soundtracks for 5.1 and 7.1 channel set ups in movie theaters. The Dolby Atmos platform is essentially virtualizing the soundtrack of a movie. Many discrete channels of audio are rendered optimally on any number of speaker configurations.

This year, about 10 to 15 theaters will be equipped for Atmos in the United States, Europe, China and Japan. The technology is due for a wide-spread roll-out in 2013. The new Disney-Pixar movie, Brave, is the first film to be mixed with Dolby Atmos.

Dolby Atmos appears to have a compelling technology to improve the movie-going experience. Given that we won’t have the technology in the home for some time, it gives consumers a good reason to see a movie in the theater. Soon as I find out where you can hear Dolby Atmos in person, I’ll let you know.

A theater equipped for Dolby Atmos. Notice the overhead speakers

Copyright 2011, 2012 Tech of the Hub - Home Theater, Gadgets, Streaming Video Blog

iTunes Digital Copies, included with select Blu-rays or DVDs, only stream in standard definition (SD) to Apple TV from iCloud. When I originally uncovered movies streaming from iCloud, I thought I found at least one example of a movie streaming in HD from iCloud: Star Trek. Looking at it in the “Purchased” section of the Apple TV movie app, it did not display the 1080P badge. However, when the movie appeared in other parts of the Apple TV movie app: Search, Wish List or browsing, it would display the 1080P or HD badge and the movie could be played from those spots. So, I thought it must be in HD. Well, while the Apple TV was reporting 1080P, I should have more thorough and followed my own advice: sit a little closer to the TV.

Recently, one of Tech of the Hub’s readers challenged that iTunes Digital copy movies were streaming in HD from iCloud (Thanks Jonathan!). To get a definitive answer, on the latest Apple TV, I compared the SD Digital Copy of Star Trek on my Mac versus the one from iCloud. Comparing the two, there’s no difference. The same picture artifacts could be seen in both copies. I then compared it to the Blu-ray and it was very obvious. I have a couple of screen captures below that illustrate this. The Star Trek iTunes Digital copy on my Mac is in 480P and encoded at 1.7 Mbps in a 2 GB file. I also looked at the Harry Potter films that I have iTunes Digital Copies of and they are also in SD. As a side note, most iTunes Digital copies do include a Dolby Digital soundtrack. The iTunes Digital Copy is a quality encode but it can’t be called HD.

To clarify, movies purchased or rented directly on the Apple TV do come through in 1080P if marked that way. However, this brings up a new question, what if I want to buy or rent the 1080P version but I already have the SD iTunes Digital Copy? It doesn’t appear you can do it from Apple TV. Maybe if you execute the purchase from iTunes on your Mac it will work.

While I’m still a fan of iTunes Digital Copies for their convenience, I am bummed the quality is not HD. Maybe Apple will offer a movie version of iTunes Music Match in the future that will upgrade them all to 1080P.  Until then, I’ll keep watching my Blu-rays.

Apple TV reports the Star Trek iTunes Digital Copy is available in 1080P from selected portions of the UI but it's actually SD.

iTunes Digital Copy version of Star Trek. Notice the lack of detail under and behind the ear.

Same scene from Star Trek but a Blu-ray source

Copyright 2011, 2012 Tech of the Hub - Home Theater, Gadgets, Streaming Video Blog

Best Buy is running a DVD buy back promotion to drive in-store Blu-ray sales. Through May 12^th, if you bring a DVD into the store, you will receive a $5 coupon for any new Blu-ray priced $9.99 or more. There’s a limit of 5 redemptions per day which is probably targeted against Ebay sellers. The DVD must be in its original packaging and be the original disc; not a ripped one. The only DVDs that Best Buy will not take back are pornos. Here’s the details on Best Buy’s site.

I went into Best Buy today to try out the promotion. It was pretty easy. I traded in an individual Farscape DVD in its original case (Don’t worry, I still have the complete series). It took less than thirty seconds for the customer service desk to exchange my DVD for the $5 coupon. Browsing through the aisles, there were lots of good Blu-rays marked at $9.99. However, by accident, I noticed Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II was selling for $9.99 (but marked at $14.99). It’s a Blu-ray that includes the UltraViolet Digital Copy (there’s a more expensive version that also contains a DVD). Final price was $5. This completes my Harry Potter collection since I’m going to pass on the Deathly Hallows Part I: The Harry Potter Camping Trip.

Best Buy’s promotion is probably a reaction to Walmart’s new Disc-to-Digital program. Although I have my reservations about Walmart’s program, I recently went to my local Walmart recently to try it out. Despite the posters in the store (see below), the friendly Walmart folks at the photo center were not able to perform the service and this was a couple of days after the official launch. Disappointing. Other folks such as Dave Zatz also had a rocky experience where a couple of trips were required.

While I don’t think the Best Buy deal will drive throngs of people into the store, it’s simple low-tech approach won’t disappoint customers like Walmart has.

Best Buy's DVD Trade-In Program

Walmart's Disc to Digital Program. "Any place" doesn't include this Walmart.

Copyright 2011, 2012 Tech of the Hub - Home Theater, Gadgets, Streaming Video Blog

Shaking off last year’s Qwikster and price increase debacles, Netflix added nearly 3 million streaming subscribers for the first quarter of 2012. According to their 2012 Q1 letter to shareholders, Netflix now has a total of 26 million streaming subscribers and over 10 million DVD subscribers in the United States. Netflix is now projecting that the service will add a total of 7 million net subscribers in 2012.

What triggered the return of customer growth? Consumers have decided that $8.99 per month is a good deal for the unlimited viewing of over 50,000 TV episodes and movies. As previously discussed, the keys to winning in streaming video are content, cost and convenience. Looking through that filter, here’s some highlights from their investor letter and call.

Cost: Keeping it simple: Netflix reiterated is commitment to a single streaming offering for a single price and shows no interest in offering a tiered product.

Content: Netflix also stated they are committed to growing the streaming library including more original series. Recently, I’ve been enjoying the old episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine as well as Lilyhammer, the Netflix original series (which was renewed). It appears Netflix had enough content to weather the loss of Starz titles. Some of the titles coming this quarter include: Transformers: The Dark Side of the Moon, Thor, The Rum Diary, Drive and In the Land of Blood and Honey. If they keep the content fresh, the subscribers will stay.

Convenience: There was very little in the call about the Netflix user experience including devices. Netflix stated that it was their best quarter in terms of the most hours streamed overall and per member. The fact that Netflix is on pretty much any device with network connectivity drives that number up.  Try to think of a device that Netflix is not on in the world of game consoles, Blu-ray players, Smart TVs, smart phones and tablets (the only ones I can think of are desktop Linux and the Playbook tablet).

Netflix did mention they are still working on personalization but did not give any hints when we would see it (a previous call said it would be in 2012). There was an interesting tidbit stating that the personalization initiative wasn’t seen as a way to generate more revenue. Reading into it, I assume a family wouldn’t have to pay extra if each person had their own instant queue and specialized recommendations. All of those connected devices bought for Christmas probably converted into some significant subscriber sign-ups.

Netflix also stated they exploring other opportunities to integrate with other payment systems. With the release of the latest Apple TV software, you can pay for Netflix with your iTunes account. Netflix said they are exploring similar partnership with ISPs and cable companies.

Netflix doesn’t think bandwidth will be an issue as the service grows and stated one fiber optic cable can handle all of the Netflix traffic during its peak usage, Saturday night. True for the backbone of the Internet, but there’s still a lot of work to be done to upgrade the last mile to the home. In addition, Netflix also took up the issue of net neutrality and called out Comcast for not subjecting its own Xfinity app to its bandwidth cap of 250 GB. To finish up, based on my own experience the service has been a lot more reliable in 2012 versus 2011. And that’s another important way to retain subscribers.

Copyright 2011, 2012 Tech of the Hub - Home Theater, Gadgets, Streaming Video Blog

Lately, I’ve been on the hunt for Blu-rays that come with an iTunes digital copy. I’m especially keen on ones I can find on sale or better yet the ones in the used Blu-ray rack. Two recent finds have been the Harry Potter movies and Wolverine. Starting last year, there were limited edition releases of the Harry Potter movies that included an iTunes Digital Copy and were sold exclusively at Target.

Why do I care about iTunes Digital Copy? iTunes Digital Copy is important since it removes the time and effort to ”rip” Blu-rays or DVDs. Ripping a movie not only provides a backup but it allows you to watch it on a variety of devices at home or on the road. However, videos take up many gigabytes of disk space. Digital copy also saves you the trouble of ripping different versions for tablets and smart phones. Of course, iTunes Digital copy will also allow you to stream to an Apple TV. For some movies, you can stream directly from iCloud removing the need to store the movie in iTunes on your PC or Mac.

As great as Digital Copies are, they have their problems. I’ve previously put together a post of iTunes Digital Copy tips. For one, the Digital Copies usually have expiration dates on them (once you redeem the code, the movie is yours for life). However, sometimes the studio will honor the code past the expiration date. That was the case with a used copy of Wolverine I picked up at Newbury Comics on Blu-ray. While it was supposed to expire on September 20^th, 2011, I was able to still redemm the code a couple of weeks ago. However, due to licensing restrictions, Wolverine and other Fox titles are not available to stream from iCloud. Titles previously unavailable from Universal are now available from iCloud.

The Target version of the Harry Potter movies state on the case that the Digital Copy was supposed to expire April 10^th of this year. However, Warner Brothers has extended that date to July 31^st. Not surprising, given there was significant stock at my local Target. In my own experience, any Digital Copy code one year past its expiration date. However, there’s an indication that Warner Brothers may “unexpire” some of its Digital Copy movies this May. Stay tuned on this.

With the exception of the Deathly Hollows, all of the other Target Harry Potter movies are priced at $14.95 each. For that price, it includes the Blu-ray, DVD and a digital copy code. However, unlike other digital copies I’ve used, it only provides the code for download, not a copy of the digital media file on a physical disc. Also, the digital copy for the Deathly Hallows Part 2 is only for Ultraviolet not for  iTunes. In some cases, consumers that have issues with UltraViolet have obtained an iTunes Digital Copy code from WB support.

Alternatively, you can also find used versions of the Target exclusive at places like Newbury Comics. At Newbury, it will cost you $11 for a used copy but you run the risk that the digital code was already used or it’s not included in the package. I recommend that you open the used Blu-ray at checkout. This way, if the Digital Copy code is not included you can always pick out another copy.  The good news is that a lot folks don’t care or know about Digital copy at the moment.

Watching Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire Blu-ray, I observed the quality was good but it did not live up to the full potential of what Blu-ray could do. The video detail could have been sharper. The audio is Dolby Digital, not Dolby TrueHD. I expected scenes like the dragon chase to sound better. Thankfully, Harry Potter and the Half-Blooded Prince has a Dolby TrueHD soundtrack. The video transfer for the Half-Blooded Prince is also top notch. From what I’ve read the Deathly Hallows is also a high quality transfer and has a DTS-Master audio track. Update: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is also a high quality transfer. Video is sharp and virbrant. Dolby Digital instead of TrueHD but its still immersive and sounds great.

But here’s the good news. With Digital Copy, there’s the possibility a better encode will take it’s place down the road. Yes, the Apple TV is limited to Dolby Digital but hopefully that will change in the future.

Also of note, for some reason, the Harry Potter and the Half-Blooded Prince digital copy will not show up in iCloud or the iTunes “Purchased” screen. It does show up in my iTunes transaction history. I haven’t had this problem with any of the other movies. At this point, I’m working with Apple and WB support to get it straightened out. It’s unclear if it’s a licensing or technical problem.

To finish, here are a few other resources I’ve found to help you track down Blu-ray Digital copies:

List of Blu-ray features including Digital Copy

List of Digital Copy Expiration Dates: Not comprehensive but a good starting point.

Harry Potter Digital Copy from Target had its expiration date extended

Harry Potter Blu-rays + DVD + Digital Copy (Target Edition)

Harry Potter movies available from iCloud on Apple TV

Copyright 2011, 2012 Tech of the Hub - Home Theater, Gadgets, Streaming Video Blog

One of the biggest challenges in the world of streaming media is available bandwidth. While most of that bandwidth is consumed by video, it does not lessen the importance of audio to create an immersive home theater experience. To help achieve that experience, Dolby announced enhancements to its Dolby Digital Plus surround sound codec. Announced at this year’s NAB show (National Association of Broadcasters), Dolby has developed a new set of algorithms that require only half the bandwidth to stream 5.1 surround sound. Before this, a minimum of 384 kilobits was required to stream Dolby Digital Plus surround sound. Now, Dolby states that the same sound can be delivered with 192K of bandwidth.

Traditional Dolby Digital 5.1 in the home requires a minimum of 384K. Therefore, the enhancements could drive wider adoption of Dolby Digital Plus. Streaming media providers could realize incremental bandwidth savings. What’s really nice about Dolby’s announcement is that we won’t need to upgrade our set top boxes, A/V receivers or Blu-ray players to take advantage of it. The algorithm changes are only used during the encoding process to author the media. The decoding done by our home theater gear hasn’t changed.

According to our sources, Netflix is already taking advantage of the technology. Dolby stated that the enhancements will be shared with professional encoding software developers this summer. Other platforms utilizing Dolby Digital Plus include VUDU and HBO GO. Dolby Digital Plus is also part of the ATSC standards for digital TV transmissions. HBO is in the process of rolling it out on HBO GO connected devices; it’s currently available on select Samsung Smart TVs. Amazon Instant Video has licensed it but is currently using regular Dolby Digital. Finally, no word if the new Apple TV plans to support Dolby Digital Plus down the road in addition to its current Dolby Digital support.

Copyright 2011, 2012 Tech of the Hub - Home Theater, Gadgets, Streaming Video Blog

Pioneer has refreshed its line-up of home theater A/V receivers with four new models. Starting with the entry level VSX-522 ($249 MSRP), all four models feature 3D HDMI connectivity, audio return channel support (ARC), HDMI pass-through and Pioneer’s room calibration system: MCACC. With the exception of the entry level model which does not have network connectivity, the other three all support Apple’s AirPlay for audio streaming. That makes Airplay available on a receiver that retails under $379, the VSX-822. I also like the line’s new brushed black metal finish. Pioneer also added two new receivers to its Elite line as well.

At first, I was most interested in the VSX-1022 (MSRP $449) and VSX-1122 ($599). The VXS-1022 replaces the VSX-1021 that I reviewed here last year. Like Onkyo’s 2012 refresh, the new 1022 gains an additional HDMI input bringing its total to six. However, it would have been nice if Pioneer added a HDMI input to the front. Looking at the back panel of the VSX-1022, there appears to be a lot less going on.

On the VSX-1022, the two optical and two coaxial inputs are reduced to one each. There’s only one set of component video in jacks versus two from last year. The banana plugs for the front height speakers have been replaced with lower cost speaker terminals. Control and IR ports are also gone. The 1122 still retains most of these ports with the exception of losing one set of component video inputs.

Besides providing more power and support for a second subwoofer, the VSX-1122 also features video processing by QDEO while the 1022 uses a Anchor Bay chipset. My understanding is that some of the video switching issues I encountered while testing the last year’s VSX-1021 are addressed in this year’s line up.

The other welcome addition is the inclusion of Pandora to the network equipped receivers. Last year’s line-up only had support for Internet radio for streaming audio. There’s also support to stream from local DLNA servers (v 1.5 certified).

Finally, Pioneer also released two new Elite receivers, the VSX-42 and the VSX-60. Both appear to mirror the 1021 and 1022 feature for feature. Besides the Elite branding, the Elite line also offers a two year warranty over the one year for the  regular line. Secondly, the Elite line can easily be integrated into a central A/V control system such as a Crestron. While the VSX-60 costs $50 more than the VSX-1122, the VSX-42 costs $450 just like the VSX-1022. So, for the same price, why wouldn’t you go Elite?

You can learn more about these A/V receivers on Pioneer’s site.

Pioneer VSX-1022

Pioneer VSX-1022 Rear Panel

Pioneer 1021 back:

Pioneer VSX-1021 Rear Panel

Copyright 2011, 2012 Tech of the Hub - Home Theater, Gadgets, Streaming Video Blog