CES 2004 : Pioneer

Nouveautés grand public

Pioneer dont le stand ne se trouve qu’à deux pas du « gros » stand Panasonic, dévoile quelques nouveautés qui se veulent grand public…
A la carte on retrouve entre autre, une nouvelle série d’intégrés qui verront le jours dans les mois qui arrivent. Les VSX-1014, VSX-D914, VSX-D814 et VSX-D514 reprennent le design des appareils que l’on connaît déjà.
Côté évolutions, seul le VSX-1014 bénéficie d’une certification THX. Pour le reste chacun d’eux intègre les nouveaux formats Surround comme le DPIIx. Côté conversion chacune d’eux dispose d’une série de convertisseurs cadencés à 24 bits/192 kHz. Les prix de vente seront de VSX-1014 700$, VSX-D914 475$, VSX-D814 365$ et VSX-D514 275$.


VSX-D914

Pour parfaire son offre DVD la marque prévoit le lancement d’un nouveau lecteur de DVD le DV-275-S. Ce modèle intègre un mode Progressive Scan, des convertisseurs vidéo 12bit/54MHz, un double décodeur Dolby Digital et DTS… Prix de vente de ce nouveau venu 139$.



Pour parfaire son offre de casques Surround, Pioneer présentait également le SE-DIR800C. Ce casque accompagné d’un module à relier à un DVD (pour du 5.1 par exemple) fonctionne sur le principe de la diffusion sans fils. Il est entre autre capable de gérer les formats Dolby Digital et DTS. C’est ce dit module qui intègre la partie décodage et traitement audio de l’ensemble.
On notera que l’utilisateur pourra utiliser une télécommande IR pour le commander à distance…prix de vente 475$





Côté Home Cinéma Pioneer qui affectionne depuis quelques années le mot HTiB (Home Theater in the Box) propose les HTD-645DV, HTD-540DV, HTZ-940DV, HTZ-740DV, et HTP-240.
Ces packs Home Cinéma sont compositions ampli/DVD+ enceintes qui n’ont rien à envier à des systèmes dit séparés, voici les principales données :
HTZ-940DV : 450 watts, DVD-Audio/SACD, MP3, 1400$
HTZ-740DV : 600 watts, MP3, 1400$
HTD-540DV : 600 watts, DVD-Audio/SACD, MP3, 600$
HTD-645DV : 650 watts, DVD-Audio/SACD, MP3, 700$
HTP-240 : 650 watts, MP3, 450$


HTZ-940DV

Communiqué de presse

Les intégrés
LAS VEGAS - CES Booth #9817 (January 7, 2004) – Pioneer Electronics (USA) Inc., a leader in home entertainment technology, today introduced its 2004 line of digital audio/video receivers, , all designed to give consumers the ultimate control over their home entertainment experience. The VSX-1014 is the second receiver in the Pioneer product line to be THX certified.

With multi-channel music and movies continuing to drive sales of DVD players, consumers are adding five, six, and seven speaker configurations to their home theater systems. As a result, Pioneer continues to develop new audio/video receivers with features to enhance the home theater environment. Three of the new receivers offer Pioneer’s multi-channel acoustic calibration (MCACC), allowing consumers the ability to easily and accurately set-up their speakers with optimal performance based on the room environment.

“Pioneer receivers are a critical component to completing an ‘Advanced Home Theater’ system due to the high quality sound processing, build quality and component selection,” said Russ Johnston, senior vice president of marketing for the Home Entertainment Division of Pioneer Electronics (USA) Inc. “And while many companies are limiting their offerings in the audio area, Pioneer continues to leverage its audio heritage to design and produce the most innovative A/V receivers in the market.”

Setting the Stage for Great Sound
While most consumers know when they hear a great home theater system, they don’t necessarily have the experience to fine-tune the sound system on their own. Pioneer’s VSX-D814 receiver offers a manual multi-channel acoustic calibration (MCACC) feature that gives the listener a reference point for their ears, ensuring that the system is set up for optimal listening. That means that each speaker delivers sound to the listener at precisely the same time and at the same level. The room-tuning feature coaches the listener through the set-up process in a step-by-step method. Two of Pioneer’s higher-end A/V receivers, the VSX-1014 and VSX-D914 offer automatic MCACC which utilizes a small microphone to set the speaker levels instead of requiring the consumer to set the levels manually. The VSX-1014 takes this process to the next level providing a five-band EQ for even more precise room calibration and tone equalization between speakers.

All new models come with either a standard remote or a preset/learning remote and Quick Setup feature for easy room setup. The Quick Setup feature walks the consumer through the set-up process choosing the number of speakers connected and selecting the room size for very easy and accurate surround sound performance when utilizing the MCACC function is not desired.

Getting All the Right Effects
George Lucas established THX technology as the big-theater audio reference standard and then brought those same standards to the home. Now, Pioneer pushes the envelope in home theater surround sound with THX Select found in the VSX-1014, designed for high-impact multi-channel audio in rooms of up to two thousand cubic feet.

Key features THX Certified products provide for the consumer:
Re-Equalization, smoothes out the frequency response allowing for more even audio. Timbre Matching, matches the tone from the front speakers with the tone of the surround speakers allowing for the smooth movement of sound.
Adaptive Decorrelation, restores surround spaciousness on mono surround signals. Bass Peak Level Manager, protects your subwoofer from overloading. Bass Management Electronic Crossover, sends the bass signal to the subwoofer increasing the dynamic range of the speakers.

Both Dolby Digital EX and DTS-ES surround decoding technologies add sound to a rear center speaker or speaker pair, while left- and right-surround sound is created by left and right side speakers. The addition of this new surround channel at the rear center gives the listener true "fly-over" and "fly-around" effects. These effects are more accurately placed, either directly behind or directly beside the listener.

Dolby Pro Logic IIx is an advanced two-channel matrix decoder that derives six and seven-channel surround (left, center, right, left surround, right surround, left surround back, and right surround back) from any two-channel stereo program material. On Dolby encoded material such as movie soundtracks, the sound is more like Dolby Digital EX, while with two-channel encoded material such as music CDs, the effect is a wider and more encompassing sound field with more localized vocals.

Turn Up the Volume … And Increase the Quality
All of Pioneer’s A/V receivers offer equal, high-power amplification with 100 watts of power to each channel (110 watts per channel with the VSX-D914), eliminating the possibility of one channel dominating a particular sound field. All amplifiers are of discrete configuration and utilize Pioneer’s hybrid amplification system to ensure that the correct amount of bias signal is applied to each transistor for very low distortion. Pioneer’s amplifiers are designed to handle the full bandwidth of Dolby Digital, DTS, and DVD-Audio encoded software.

The VSX-1014 is equipped with advanced directenergy MOS FET amplification giving reliable power output through all channels, exceptional sound quality, and clarity in every audible detail, even at low impedance.
Pioneer’s receivers offer component and S-video switching to allow both progressive and interlaced NTSC and HDTV signals to be passed to the television or monitor. To maintain future compatibility, all of the receivers have multiple, assignable digital inputs (both coaxial and optical).

The VSX-D914, VSX-D814, and VSX-D514 will be available in March at a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $475, $365, and $275 respectively.
The VSX-1014 will be available in August at a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $700.

Le lecteur de DVD
LAS VEGAS - CES Booth #9817 (January 7, 2004) – Pioneer Electronics (USA) Inc., a worldwide leader in DVD technology, today introduced an upgrade to its high quality, entry-level multimedia DVD player. The new DV-275-S is a high quality progressive scan DVD player for value-oriented consumers. This full-featured, single-play DVD player will bring music and movies into thousands of homes with playback of compressed music formats, PureCinema™ progressive scan, and a PhotoViewer for digital images.

It offers the popular slim-stylish look that is appealing to today’s consumers with a matte silver finish and easy-to-use front panel controls. The great looks of the DVD player itself extend to the great quality image that users will see on screen.

“There are dozens of entry-level DVD players on the market, but Pioneer is committed to providing excellent quality and a rich feature set no matter what the price point of the DVD player,” said Russ Johnston, senior vice president of marketing for the home entertainment division of Pioneer Electronics (USA) Inc. “The styling and features of this DVD player make it a great value and an excellent choice for a first-time DVD buyer or for someone who is adding another DVD player in a bedroom or den.”

The DV-275-S is a super slim, DVD player that offers:
Compressed Audio Playback for new music formats including the very popular MP3 and WMA. Fans of compressed audio will appreciate the on-screen menu that enables simple navigation and song selection from the remote control or the front-panel of the DVD player. The DV-275-S supports compressed audio playback from CD-R and CD-RW. DVD-R/DVD-RW Playback for the growing number of consumers with DVD burners who want to play back their home movies and DVD slide shows.
PhotoViewer built into the DVD player, enabling users to create an ongoing slide show of digital images. For the 40 million consumers with digital cameras, this feature allows the entire family to view photos on the television screen instead of hunching over a small computer monitor or dealing with the mess and expense of printing all of those images.
Outstanding Image Quality provided by Pioneer’s PureCinema™ progressive scan circuitry that is engineered into the DV-275-S for ultimate image quality.
54MHz/12bit Video Signal Processing is incorporated for superior quality images from DVD.
Dolby Digital™ and DTS™ digital out
Component and S-Video outputs
Slow motion playback

The DV-275-S will be available in March at a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $139. It joins the award winning DV-563A universal DVD-Audio and SACD player and the DV-F727 301-disc changer in Pioneer’s heralded DVD player line. Pioneer’s Home Entertainment Division is the leading manufacturer of plasma and projection televisions, DVD players and DVD recorders, A/V receivers, CD players and CD recorders, speakers and other audio and video accessories. Its focus is on the development of new digital technologies including Digital Network Entertainment. The company markets its products under the Pioneer and Pioneer Elite brand names.

Le Casque
LAS VEGAS – CES BOOTH # 9817 (January 7, 2004) – Pioneer Electronics (USA) Inc., a leader in home entertainment technology, today introduced the SE-DIR800C infra-red wireless surround sound headphones with true 5.1 channel surround processing and a twenty-five foot range.

Die-hard video gamers, movie and music enthusiasts now have a new ally in the fight to be entertained at any time and at the decibel level of their preference. Night owls also can get their entertainment fix without waking the rest of the house. And, since the headphones are wireless, it can all be done without fear of tripping over wires.

These unique headphones simulate the sum of direct and reflected signals from ‘virtual’ speakers to create high quality surround-sound as it would be experienced in a traditional home theater. The SE-DIR800C have the capability of processing Dolby Digital™ and DTS™ surround sound as well as Dolby Pro Logic II™ from a gaming console, DVD player, or CD player connected through the optical or coaxial input. The closed, dynamic type headphones have a frequency response of 12 to 22,000 Hz and an impedance of 32 Ohms. The control unit uses infrared technology to send the digital audio signal to the headphones. The headphone batteries are rechargeable through the control unit.

The headphones offer three settings or “listening rooms” that can be selected by the user, including:
Reference Room – a small, acoustically damped room.
Livelier Room – a more acoustically live room.
Large Room – a more distant and diffuse effect.

“There has been an explosion in the popularity of multi-channel audio for music, movies and video games that is driving the development of new products like these Dolby certified headphones that are really like virtual speakers in a virtual room,” said Russ Johnston, senior vice president of marketing for home entertainment at Pioneer Electronics (USA) Inc. “This is a perfect solution for those wanting an incredible multi-channel personal listening experience in a home theater environment, whether listening to movies or the sound track of a video game.”

The SE-DIR800C headphones offer super-soft earphone enclosures so the entire ear is cushioned for greater comfort. They will be available in May at a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $475