As they say, you can never be too rich or too thin. So can a home theater receiver never be too feature-rich, nor too inexpensive. This seems to be the mantra that Pioneer has taken to heart with their latest line of home theater receivers, announced and displayed last week at CES in Las Vegas.
Pioneer's 2009 line of receivers all offer HDMI video switching and HDMI audio support, including the entry-level VSX519V which will ring up at the previously unheard of price of just $199.99 MSRP. For that price, you get only two HDMI inputs and HDMI audio decoding of multi-channel PCM, standard Dolby Digital and standard DTS (no on-board decoding of Dolby TrueHD or DTS-HD), but for under $200, how could we expect more? Also, the model 519 drives up to 5.1 channels with a whopping 110 Watts each.
As you move up in the line you get more features, and/or more channels. The VSX819H ($299.99) adds on-board DTS-HD and Dolby TrueHD decoding, a third HDMI input and iPod/iPhone compatibility via a standard USB port. The 819 also adds Pioneer's MCACC automatic room/speaker calibration feature. The VSX919AH ($399.99) steps up to 7.1-channel capability and adds analog video (S-Video, composite and component) conversion to HDMI output with pass-through resolution so you'll only need a single cable between your receiver and display no matter how many and what type of A/V sources are connected to the receiver. And the flagship VSX1019AH ($499.99) adds a fourth HDMI input as well as analog to HDMI upconversion to 1080p resolution.
All four receivers are expected to be available this Spring in stores and online from Pioneer-authorized dealers.
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