Well, for starters there's the a fiber-optic starscape ceiling that shows comets appearing every minute or so. Then there's the two Sony megachangers that accommodate 800 DVDs, THX speakers, a ten foot diagonal circuit screen, and oh, before I forget, a motion sensor that opens the custom air pocket doors. All that, and an interior that looks like it was imported directly from the set.

Congratulations, Jacob Yarmuth. I'm just glad you're not this into Fear Factor.

[Electronichouse via Newlaunches]

THX says that any THX-certified DVD will have the Optimizer in the bonus features, but when there are multiple editions of a movie, it can be frustrating to figure out. (It's also annoying that THX doesn't appear to have updated the list in over two years.) We do know that this $15 Skynet edition Blu-ray of Terminator 2 has it, so it might be worth grabbing.

The Optimizer blue-filter glasses—highly recommended—are $2, and are sold by THX right here, but these do not come with the disc. More instructions and details on the Optimizer system here.

Anyway, on to the guide—if you have any fresh pointers to share about it, or want to talk about other cheap, good methods of calibration, do it here in the comments below.

Shout out to John Mahoney for putting together the original guide.

If that figure sent a shudder through your spine, I'm assuming, like most of us, that you could in no way afford this. For everyone else, this three-headed beast with THX 5.1 surround sound, air filtering, light therapy and touchscreen controls is available now. [NovelQuest via Gizmag]

Confession: Until a few days ago, I'd never calibrated my TV. There are a couple reasons for this. First, and most simply, I'm not down with buying a calibration disc that I will likely use once then never touch again. And second, to me, HDTV calibration is the gadget geek's equivalent to chasing the dragon. I've seen endless A/V forum posts of new TV owners begging and pleading for that one true setting for their new high-definition slab—it's not pretty. There is an easy way, though, tucked inside hundreds of THX-certified DVDs already out there, and it's quite possibly already in your movie collection.

The THX Optimizer is a quick and simple calibration tool that I have found gets the job done well enough for most of us non-fanatics. And it comes with a free movie! (OK, it comes free with a movie.) What is it? It's a set of six test patterns that help you choose the key settings for any HDTV calibration: contrast, brightness, tint and sharpness.

Where to get it: THX has been quietly embedding the Optimizer in just about every THX-certified DVD for years—so that's hundreds. There's a complete list here, but it hasn't been updated in a while, because THX is currently refreshing the Optimizer for high-def discs. The only Blu-ray disc currently carrying it is Terminator 2, but when the new version is done, THX will include it on all THX-ceritified BDs, too. Point is, in all, there's probably at least one movie you'd like to own that happens to come with the Optimizer.

One other thing you'll need: To take full advantage of the Optimizer for the tint settings, you'll need some funky blue-filter glasses. THX will send you a pair for a couple of bucks on their website, though there is an additional color pattern in the Optimizer that you can use to eyeball your settings without the glasses—basically, you just make sure that cyan and magenta look as much like the cyan and magenta of your dreams. If you don't feel like you can be trusted with that judgment, it's probably worth it to spend the $4 or so.

Settings you'll want to start with: The good news is, the Optimizer works with pretty much every TV in the world, from your grandma's 19-inch Sony Trinitron to your brand-new 60-inch Kuro. (Yeah, you wish.) I would reset your TV's settings to the factory default before running the Optimizer, and I would also choose to calibrate your set's movie/film/cinema pre-set (if possible), as it should be closer to the ballpark range than the "standard" mode. But if you prefer the usually cooler color temperatures of the standard mode, running it through the Optimizer will at least ensure that its ferocious showroom-floor contrast and brightness will be tamed.

Be sure that any auto-contrast or auto-backlight settings—including any settings with the words "dynamic" or "ambient"—are turned off. In one test scenario, every adjustment we tried to make was immediately be countered by "smart" settings—it was nearly impossible to calibrate the TV correctly. If your set comes with those options, shut 'em down. And leave 'em down.

It also helps to try and run the Optimizer in lighting conditions that best match your usual TV-watching state. Everyone watches TV both during the day and at night, so this won't be perfect. But a happy medium of the shades drawn on a partly cloudy day seemed to work nicely for me.

After you've got everything set up, it's a pretty simple run-through—turn up contrast until just the point where can still see six white-shaded blocks without them merging together, turn down brightness until the last black block out of a different row of six disappears, etc. All of the tests are easy enough to understand for the layman.

But does it work? My Samsung Series 4 LCD now looks a lot better in movie mode, without a doubt. Where it used to look flat and the colors muddy, now blacks look blacker and colors more contrasty, but in a far more natural way than the "dynamic" preset.

Note that this before and after of a still from T2 is not a scientific comparison by any means: the camera's exposure settings are the same in each unprocessed photograph, so the screen image should be fairly accurate, but the room's lighting had changed a bit by the time I was done calibrating as you can see. But on the screen you can still see the darker blacks and better color saturation and contrast that I noticed in person.

So even if the difference is subtle, it's worth doing. Especially since you didn't drop money on a calibration disc, you either bought a THX-certified movie, or dug one out of your existing pile o' DVDs. (Netflixing a known Optimizer-laden title is a cheap third option, of course.) And those demons screaming at you about the huge potential you're missing by not calibrating your set? You can put those to rest. [THX]

More Advice for the Black Friday Fray:
• The aforementioned Ultimate Survival Guide.
• 5 Gadgets You Can't Skimp On (And How to Save Money Buying Them)
• Best of Black Friday Deals Complete Roundup">All the best deals in one place
• Plus these late breaking ones from Cupertino: Apple Black Friday Deals Include Some Decent Third-Party Discounts
• Warnings: 7 Crappy Black Friday "Deals" That Aren't Really
• How To Choose an HDTV on Black Friday (or Any Day)
• How to set up that new HDTV you just got.

Photochop Contest:
• Brutally Honest Black Friday Ads Showcase Retailers on the Brink

Why You Might Want to Avoid Shopping on Black Friday, altogether:
• 10 Reasons We're Doomed: Black Friday Edition
• WalMart Worker Trampled to Death by Deal-Crazed Black Friday Shoppers

[Complete Black Friday Gadget Coverage at Giz]

TX-XR876:

UPPER SADDLE RIVER, NJ (9/15/08) — Onkyo USA has introduced two new top-of-the-line THX Ultra2 Plus certified 7.1-channel A/V receivers, the TX-SR876 and TX-NR906, which deliver superior performance and comprehensive features to easily surpass more expensive models from other brands. Both provide state-of-the-art HDMI repeaters for four high definition video sources, the new THX Loudness Plus processing, Audyssey's new Dynamic EQ and Dynamic Volume technologies, HQV Reon-VX video upscaling to 1080p, plus powerful amplifiers, multi-room features, HD Radio, and, on the TX-NR906, advanced networked audio capabilities.

Besides assuring the highest level of performance in even very large rooms (over 3,000 cubic feet), the THX Ultra2 Plus standard incorporates THX Loudness Plus technology. This new processing algorithm compensates for the tonal and spatial shifts that occur when the volume level is reduced below the reference levels that the original soundtrack was mastered for. For instance, by slightly increasing the relative volume of the ambient sound at lower volumes, the impact of movies, music and games is much closer to what the sound engineer originally intended.

Carried over from the earlier TX-SR875 and TX-NR905 is Audyssey MultiEQ XT which uses measurements from as many as eight locations develop a custom-tailored EQ algorithm to ensure ideal performance throughout the listening room. New to the receivers is Audyssey's newly developed Dynamic EQ technology, which makes adjustments to the output on -the-fly to compensate for reduced audibility and balance between front and surround channels, particularly at lower volume levels. Finally, these are among the first products available to include Audyssey's Dynamic Volume technology, which continually monitors input signals and adjusts gain to maintain a consistent output volume regardless of changes in the source signal strength.

The TX-SR876 and TX-NR906 also incorporate one of the most advanced video upconversion processors available — Silicon Image HQV Reon-VX — for clean, highly detailed deinterlacing and scaling to resolutions as high as 1080p via HDMI (1080i via component-video). Its pixel-by-pixel processing and sophisticated noise-reduction algorithms yield sharp, artifact-free images from SD as well as HD sources.

Audio decoding and processing in the TX-NR906 and TX-SR876 is courtesy of three Texas Instruments Aureus 32-bit DSP chips. Internal decoding is provided for every major sound format in use today, including the HD and lossless audio codecs included on the latest Blu-Ray discs. All channels have Burr-Brown PCM1796 192-kHz/24-bit DACs, with a TI-developed architecture that enhances jitter tolerance and dynamic performance for the purest possible digital-to-analog conversion of all signals. Onkyo’s own VLSC (Vector Linear Shaping Circuitry) at the outputs removes all traces of digital pulse contamination from the final analog signals.

Conservatively rated at 145 and 140 watts per channel respectively, the TX-NR906 and TX-SR876 A/V receivers have all the muscle necessary to drive any home-theater system to its limits. Onkyo’s low-feedback WRAT (Wide Range Amplifier Technology) and parallel push-pull topology employs a three-stage inverted Darlington circuit to dramatically reduce distortion at all output levels. The HCPS (high-current power supply) design ensures ample current for any combination of signal and speakers — often twice as much as from competing products, while the video and audio preamplifier circuits each have separate power supplies and transformers for improved noise isolation.

Both receivers offer IR and bidirectional RS-232 ports for system control, 12-volt triggers, and an improved graphical user interface for system setup. Additionally, these are among the first models to include Imaging Science Foundation Certified Calibration Controls (ISFccc), which enable ISF Certified technicians to access and independently adjust the video parameters for each source connected to the receiver, ensuring the highest quality video performance for all material.

The TX-SR876 and, especially, the TX-NR906 are built to work with all the latest A/V sources and formats. Besides being XM and Sirius satellite-radio-ready (including Neural-THX surround for XM HD), both have built-in HD Radio tuners and are fully compatible with Onkyo RI (Remote Interactive) iPod docks. The Windows Vista Certified TX-NR906 also supports portable digital audio devices thanks to a front panel USB connection, as well as streaming audio via rear panel Ethernet port. Ethernet streaming includes files stored on networked PCs and hard drives in a wide range of formats (MP3, WMA, AAC, WAV, FLAC, and Ogg Vorbis), as well as web-based audio programs via Internet radio, including SIRIUS iRadio and vTuner support. The inclusion of Onkyo’s Music Optimizer function ensures the highest fidelity audio performance from all these digital sources.

The TX-SR876 and TX-NR906 are currently available at suggested retail prices of $1,799 and $2,299, respectively.

This beast offers 150 hours of HD recording, plus it's THX certified; it's always been a technicality, since the HD doesn't have it but had the same AV quality as the TiVo Series 3. The XL also has the same dual-tuner HD recording as the previous models, plus all the same expanded non-TV features: photos, YouTube, Amazon Unbox, Rhapsody and Music Choice, the music video service. The only downside to all this increased storage is that the box costs $600, the same price as the TiVo Series 3 after the first price cut; but it does come with a Series 3 backlit remote.

The Install: Super easy. Comcast was great about getting a guy down to our house that was experienced with CableCARD installs, and the installer (who shall remain nameless) did an excellent job getting the card in and active. It's pretty much exactly the same as the TiVo HD in terms of the install, and provided your local cable provider has them, one M-Card is enough to get both tuners working. Otherwise you'll need two standard ones. Great job to both Comcast on TiVo on this part.

The Experience: For those of you who are familiar with TiVo, the XL is the same user experience you're familiar with in previous HD models. Not much UI change here except for the fact that you're going to be scrolling through a lot more shows saved up on your big drive.

The Verdict: Very good. We extend our recommendation of the TiVo HD easily to the beefier TiVo HD XL, which despite the 2x price point, still offers a great DVR experience for the money.

The Recommendation: If you had to pick between the TiVo HD and TiVo HD XL, what would we recommend? It depends on your watching habits. If you can make do with only having 20 hours of HD sitting on your machine at once, because you clear out shows shortly after watching or you just don't have all that many shows to record, the regular HD is fine. If you're like Brian Lam and hoard shows like they were being cancelled the next week, or like Mark Wilson, who records and saves every show with the word "dance" or "dancing" in the title (he claims it's for his wife), we'd recommend the XL.

On the other hand, you could also get a TiVo HD and expand the storage by purchasing a compatible external eSATA drive and just plugging it in, which increases the storage by 65 HD hours with a 500GB drive. See more details here. The plug-and-play eSATA port only supports up to 500GB, but you can hack it to support up to 1TB if you really wanted to. Or, if even the TiVo HD XL isn't enough, you can shove another 65-hour drive on there. [TiVo Store]

Serious Materials Introduces QuietHome Soundproof Doors
World’s first THX®-Certified soundproof door joins THX-Certified QuietRock

SUNNYVALE, CA — Serious Materials today announced its new line of QuietHome soundproof doors. These new products provide market-leading noise reduction in an attractive, stainable wood, pre-hung door package, and are perfect for high-end home theaters, commercial studios, offices and conference rooms. Unlike most metal acoustic doors, these look like they belong in a high-end home.

The entry-level QuietHome Door features a very high STC rating of 44 and is only 1¾” thick. The THX-Certified QuietHome Door provides an STC rating of 51 in a 2¼” thick door, and is the only acoustic door in the world to meet the demanding standards required for THX certification*. Typical hollow-core doors have an STC rating of only 15 and solid-core doors about 27. The high performance of QuietHome Doors reduce noise 65-85% compared to a solid core door. For the ultimate in performance in high-end home theaters, two QuietHome Doors may be used back to back, separated by a three-foot air gap, for a total STC rating of over 80.

The suggested price of QuietHome Doors ranges from $1,495 to $2,495, or up to 50% lower than other acoustic doors. QuietHome Doors are available for ordering now through building products dealers and lumberyards nationwide, and online at http://quietsolution.stores.yahoo.net/construction.html. Initial products will ship to customers in Q4.

“At THX, we believe great sound and picture is achieved through the right mix of audio-video components, room design, sound isolation and acoustic performance,” said John Dahl, director of education at THX. “For maximum enjoyment of your favorite movies and music, you have to keep the noise out and the sound in. THX-Certified QuietHome Doors – along with THX-Certified QuietRock – help deliver that great listening experience.”

Leveraging more than 25 years of cinema and professional studio design expertise, THX partnered with Serious Materials to develop a portfolio of acoustic materials for the professional building community. The THX Certified QuietHome Door and QuietRock® soundproof drywall provide designers and architects a means to meet the sound isolation demands of commercial cinemas, recording studios and home theaters.

Serious Materials’ advanced-technology Quiet®-brand products are recognized as the leader in noise reduction for construction projects, and have been used in over 35,000 projects. Its QuietRock® soundproof drywall delivers noise reduction at the lowest total cost, has over 90% market share in the category, and includes the only THX-Certified soundproof drywall, QuietRock 545 THX, with STC ratings up to 80. The new QuietHome Doors incorporate Serious’ proprietary viscoelastic polymer-based constrained layer damped system, a multi-layer design and advanced seals throughout the door edge.

At the press of a button, the Emperor’s tail section (the large articulated arm that holds the monitors) rises to allow the user to be seated, then lowers back into position the three monitors at the perfect height and angle for perfect viewing comfort.

The Emperor has three large monitors for a panoramic view, THX Dolby surround sound, air filtering, light therapy (so you can get a tan without having to go out under the sun), webcam, battery backup and other niceties. It can be built to order with a desktop Mac or PC, as well as the biggest docking station ever for laptops. If you want one, you will have to go rob a bank—price is not listed yet, but we can imagine lots of zeros in it—and wait for the release date: July 2008. [Novelquest]

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The new models are the VSX-90TXV, VSX-91TXH, VSX-92TXH and VSX-94TXH.

It has HDMI 1.3a, 1080p upscaling by Farouja chips, of any video source. The $1600 VSX-94TXH is the first Elite to stream music from the Internet, as well as from a PC. And all four new receivers are XM and Sirius Ready. The press material pushes that the receivers will be able to decode all HD DVD and Blu-ray audio formats internally, which is still a surprisingly rare thing. That puts it on par with many of the many of the Onkyo's main points, although lots of press has favored the Onkyo's Reon HQV video processor over the Elite's Farouja.

These two receivers sound nice, but the flashy new UI on the Denon receivers could give Pioneer's usually lackluster interfaces a spanking.

I'm also glad to see that people aren't quoting power ratings much anymore. Stuff these days is loud enough. I can't believe I said that, but then again, I'll be 30 on Wednesday.

Anyhow, this stuff will be out during the summer, according to Electronic House:

The VSX-90TXV and VSX-91TXH will be available June for the suggested prices of $650 and $1,000, respectively. The VSX-92TXH and VSX-94TXH will begin shipping August for the suggested prices of $1,300 and $1,600, respectively.

– Brian Lam

Product Release Pioneer's Elite AVRs Connecting With New [Broadcast Newsroom]

The NR905 also has HD radio reception out of the box, Ethernet for Internet radio, and PC streaming, as well as a USB port for thumbdrives, and HDDs, presumably holding MP3s. Room acoustic compensation, alters frequency and delay for up to eight listening spots in a room. No word on wattage, but the 905's "high-current power supply with a massive toroidal transformer" and Ultra2 THX certification are probably good enough.

The 7.1 receiver is The $2099 TX-NR905 and $1699 NR875 receivers have cheaper siblings, too. Budget models landing to fight Yamaha's day-old RX-V861 are the 805, and 705, priced at $1099 and $899 has four HDMI 1.3a ports, supporting lip-sync, and a wider color gamut (as long as your source and TV support it). They'll all have that remote control over HDMI protocol, in this case called RIHD (Remote Interactive over HDMI). Interestingly, they've gone to declare the tech'll work with Toshiba's CE-Link Regza TVs, and Panasonic's EZ-Sync TVs. That's good news the systems aren't totally proprietary.

We agree with John "Sheriff" Falcone's take that the next set of receivers worth looking at are the next crop of Denons. As for Onkyo, more impressions from Louis Ramirez, later today.–Brian Lam

Onkyo Home Page [Onkyo]

Onkyo Announces New Features to be Available on High-End THX Certified A/V Receivers

New features include HDMI 1.3a, Reon-HQV™ HD video scaling, HD radio, Ethernet and USB connections, Neural-THX Surround™

Onkyo TX-SR805 THX Ultra2 receciver. Click any photo for high resolution JPEG images.

UPPER SADDLE RIVER, NJ (4/24/07) — Onkyo has announced four new THX Certified receiver models to be introduced beginning this spring, incorporating a range of high-end features and core performance improvements designed to deliver the highest levels of performance available. These new THX Certified Onkyo A/V receivers will feature HDMI 1.3a compatibility, including internal decoding for DTS-HD, Dolby TrueHD and Dolby Digital Plus. Each will also feature a sophisticated set of internal video processing capabilities, with two of the models boasting the first inclusion of Reon-VX HQV processing in an A/V receiver. Three of the new models, the TX-SR805, the TX-SR875, and the TX-NR905, each feature THX Ultra2 certification, while the TX-SR705 is THX Select2 Certified.

From early design concepts to product rollout, THX and Onkyo worked together to ensure every detail of the receivers were mapped to the THX performance standards. And THX engineers spent countless hours testing and analyzing the receivers for sound quality, usability and interoperability. Each certified receiver includes a number of proprietary THX technologies, designed to compensate for the acoustical errors that occur when movies, music and games are translated from the professional studio to the home environment.

All four receivers are both XM and Sirius satellite radio ready, and will feature a comprehensive range of audio and video connections, including HDMI 1.3a switching for three (TX-SR705 and TX-SR805) or four (TX-SR875 and TX-NR905) HDMI sources. The TX-NR905 will also feature a second HDMI output for even greater flexibility. Each receiver is capable of accommodating single-cable pure-digital audio and video transfer from HDMI sources, including 1080p and Deep-Color™ capability. Additionally, each model will include the company's RIHD (Remote Interactive over HDMI) communication protocol. This feature allows future integration of many system control functions between compatible components via the HDMI connection, and will also feature compatibility with Toshiba's CE-Link™ enabled 2007 Regza LCD TV line and Panasonic's EZ-Sync™ TV line, as well as similar protocols from other manufacturers to be announced later in the year.

Two of the new models, the Onkyo TX-SR875 and TX-NR905, will be the first A/V receiver models to include Silicon Optix's acclaimed Reon-VX HQV™ video processing. This sophisticated IC chip-based technology provides the receivers with current state-of-the-art video scaling and deinterlacing capabilities, including upscaling of all video sources to 1080p for output over the HDMI connection. Additionally, all video sources will also be upconverted to HD output via the units' component video outputs to accommodate video displays lacking an HDMI input.

The TX-SR805, TX-SR875 and TX-NR905 receivers will all feature a new dual push-pull amplifier configuration, coupled with a three-stage inverted Darlington circuit and top-of-the-line Burr-Brown DACs for outstanding efficiency and high current with very low distortion. Two of the receivers' seven channels can also be reconfigured for bi-amplification with compatible speaker systems. On the TX-SR875 and TX-NR905, these two channels can also be reconfigured for bridged operation with the front L/R channels for high power output.

Onkyo's new receivers will be the first models available to feature Neural-THX Surround™ decoding for broadcasts and gaming. This new surround sound technology allows for broadcast content to be transmitted in a two-channel format, and later decoded for up to 7.1 discrete audio channels, as well as enabling 7.1-channel audio support for many modern video gaming consoles.

For simplified setup, all of these models incorporate Audyssey Multi-EQ room acoustics correction, the most powerful built-in solution available for countering room distortion in dedicated home theaters. This technology uses an included microphone to detect and configure speakers in the room, and then adjusts each channel's level, delay, and crossover settings to best suit the room's acoustics. By incorporating measurements at up to eight points in the listening room, Audyssey Multi-EQ provides both frequency response and time domain corrections throughout the entire listening area, rather than just at a single position.

Additional features on the TX-NR905 include a high-current power supply with a massive toroidal transformer, built-in HD radio reception and a powerful set of networking capabilities for integrated home media systems. The receiver will include an Ethernet port for support of Internet radio and streaming multimedia, as well as additional control and multimedia functions to be announced later in theyear. There is also an included USB port to allow for the addition of USB-based portable audio players, and for the use of USB-based memory devices.

The Onkyo TX-SR805 will be shipping in May at a suggested retail price of $1099. The TX-SR875 will be available in June at a suggested retail price of $1699. The THX Select2 Certified TX-SR705 will be available in July at a suggested retail price of $899. The TX-NR905 will be available in August at a suggested retail price of $2099.

It has the highest contrast ratio, deepest black levels, brightest picture, and most accurate color. It has an external video processor, and standard inputs, but only two HDMI ports (many sets rock three these days). And like the Pioneer Pro monitor CNet likes so much, it doesn't come with speakers. But people who buy $20K TVs don't listen to in-set speakers.

I'd love to see it in person, frankly. That will have to wait until I have a first born child I can harvest for black market baby organs. It's a very profitable trade, you know. –Brian Lam

VP-6500VHD [Vidikron]

The Subwoofer

I had a brief interview with one of THHX's head engineers who used all sort of Space Age words that I didn't understand to describe just why the speakers rock so much. Look for the Mako speakers sometime in the second quarter of this year for $299. Come back tomorrow when I can report on how they actually sound. And yeah, the speakers kinda look like a spaceship. – Nicholas Deleon

Razer

Denon's 22-channeled receiver is meant to use its 10 discreet, 170-watt THX certified amps to power multiple zones (rooms, just call them rooms, you marketing weirdos.) It also has 5 HDMI inputs, and will upscale any video source to 1080p. Oh, and it has an ethernet port for streaming music from your PC (it's PlaysForSure certified). The ethernet port also works for setting up the box through a web interface and streaming internet radio. Like all gear of this caliber, it'll automatically calibrate your speakers per room. The $7,000 piece-o-gear seems like it does it all. Check the spec sheet at Denon, and if you spot something its lacking, I'll give you a high five.–Brian Lam

Denon AVR-5805MkII [Denon]