Sony Adds Major Value

Like the old canine joke punch-line, “Because he can,” electronics designers seem to be adding greater functionality and features to their A/V receivers more because they can rather than because consumers need them, want them, or are likely to use them.

My late father-in-law fought in the Pacific theater during World War II, and afterwards refused to buy Japanese-made products. That's why he owned an American made Curtis Matthes console television, he proudly told me. I didn't have the heart to tell him the guts were sourced from NEC—something I discovered when I removed the back cover to perform a decidedly non-ISF fix on the all-green, out of focus, un-centered picture he'd been happily watching for years.

HDMI switching and upconversion are but two of the many standout features incorporated into the RX-D702B, JVC's newest, slick-looking 7.1-channel A/V receiver. Despite its low profile and compact size, this 17 lb. AVR contains seven of JVC's Hybrid Feedback Digital Amplifiers rated at 150W per channel, and is packed with unique performance and convenience features, as well as the latest Dolby and DTS surround decoding options.

DVD players have become so "commoditized" that it's typical today for players to sell for less than $100. And you know what? Some of these inexpensive players feature progressive scan output and perform quite well overall. I saw one such player advertised in my local paper today selling for $18! It wasn't too long ago that de-interlacing meant adding a $10,000 Faroudja scaler to an already expensive DVD player.