5 January
2006
'“ High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI™) With Upscaling to
1080i, DVD-Audio and Super Audio CD (SACD™) Playback Capability Are Among Key
Features of Versatile DVD 47 '“
WOODBURY, NY '“ Harman Kardon announced today that it will begin shipping its
DVD 47 DVD-Audio/Video player with SACD and HDMI in February 2006. The DVD 47 is
a high-performance home entertainment source component that incorporates
leading-edge digital-audio and video technologies to deliver extraordinary
picture and sound quality along with state-of-the-art playback capabilities. The
DVD 47 includes a High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI), as well as a
built-in scaler that provides video upscaling to 720p or 1080i, and offers
playback compatibility with the widest variety of video display devices and disc
formats available, including DVD-Audio and Super Audio CD (SACD).
Harman Kardon's DVD 27 progressive-scan DVD-Video player will also be
available in January 2006. The DVD 27 is the ideal choice for consumers who
desire a best-in-class DVD player but do not require DVD-Audio or SACD
capability. In common with the DVD 47, it has a striking ultraslim design and
includes a wealth of advanced performance and convenience features, including
pixel-by-pixel and motion-adaptive progressive-scan video processing, and an
exclusive on-screen interface with enhanced navigational capabilities.
Tom McLoughlin, Harman Kardon president, noted: 'With the introduction of our
DVD 47 and DVD 27, Harman Kardon offers a high-performance DVD player suitable
for all types of home entertainment systems, including the most sophisticated
custom installations, and systems based around high-definition display devices
with HDMI connectivity. Complementing their exceptional performance and
versatility, their simple, intuitive operation makes it easier than ever for
consumers to enjoy movies, music and images."
Engineered for Extraordinary Video and Audio Performance
The DVD 47 is a highly versatile universal DVD player that incorporates a
wealth of advanced features and technologies to achieve an extraordinary level
of video and audio performance. The DVD 47 includes a fully enabled HDMI 1.1
output that delivers high-definition digital video and multichannel digital
audio, providing state-of-the-art image and sound quality when connected to a
compatible audio/video receiver, such as Harman Kardon's new flagship AVR 740,
and an HDMI-capable video display. Operating in conjunction with the HDMI
output, the DVD 47 includes built-in, advanced video processing and upscaling to
720p or 1080i, providing upconverted and enhanced high-definition output from
DVDs, as well as JPEG still images and Kodak® Picture CD™ images when the player
is connected to a compatible display device, with remarkably sharp, clear and
realistic picture quality.
The DVD 47 and DVD 27 utilize pixel-by-pixel processing, rather than the
line-by-line upconversion employed by conventional DVD players, to upconvert
images to 480p progressive-scan video playback when used with a compatible
display device. This processing operates in conjunction with motion-adaptive
pixel-based deinterlacing, which compares and analyzes the moving areas of the
image separately from the stationary areas, and uses sophisticated processing
algorithms to eliminate jagged edges and other motion artifacts that can be
produced using other types of deinterlacing circuits. The result is vastly
superior picture quality, yielding smoother, more realistic images with
extraordinary detail, contrast and color purity.
In addition, the DVD 47 and DVD 27 incorporate digital-video circuitry that
accurately reconstructs the 3/2 pull-down process required to transfer film to
video, delivering full 60-frame playback with the best-possible progressive-scan
image quality when viewing film-based DVD-Video content. The DVD 47 and DVD 27
also include a useful NTSC/PAL disc-auto-detection feature, which detects
whether a disc is encoded in either the NTSC video format (standard in the U.S.
and many other countries) or PAL format, and converts the video output of PAL
discs (that are non-region-specific) for compatible playback with NTSC video
display devices.
Along with unsurpassed video performance, the DVD 47 is designed to deliver
state-of-the-art sound quality. It incorporates an audiophile-grade Direct
Stream Digital™ (DSD) decoder chipset for multichannnel SACD playback,
preserving the enhanced dynamic range and resolution and remarkable musical
realism provided by the SACD format. The DVD 47 also provides superlative
multichannel DVD-Audio reproduction, with complete audio control and
bass-management for the analog audio outputs used for DVD-Audio and SACD
playback. The player's comprehensive suite of adjustments includes speaker size,
adjustable time delay and output level adjustment. These settings are critical
for proper DVD-Audio and SACD playback when the player is used with an
audio/video receiver without built-in bass management for its direct analog
audio inputs, as it enables optimized audio reproduction from all the
loudspeakers in a home entertainment system. Both the DVD 47 and the DVD 27
employ an audiophile-grade 192kHz/24-bit audio D/A converter, along with premium
internal components in the audio signal path.
Enhanced Features and Flexibility
The DVD 47 and DVD 27 are highly versatile digital audio/video source
components. In addition to the DVD-Audio and SACD playback capabilities of the
DVD 47, both can play DVD-Video, Windows Media® Audio (WMA), CD, CD-R, CD-RW,
MP3, DVD-R/RW, DVD+R/RW CD-DA, Video CD and 96/24 audio discs. In addition, they
are compatible with JPEG still-image files stored on CD-R/RW discs, and offer
playback of Kodak® Picture CD™ discs.
Both players offer unique capabilities, thanks to their exclusive
navigational interface developed by Harman Kardon, for enjoying movies, music
and images. The players provide ready access to favorite DVD titles and
chapters, CD tracks, WMA and MP3 files and folders, and JPEG and Kodak Picture
CD still images, via their extensive, yet intuitive, on-screen menu systems.
Both include a host of picture-search and convenience functions, including
frame-by-frame advance, smooth scan and super-fine slow motion, a video-off
feature for music-only listening, a built-in video test screen, and many
additional features.
The DVD 47 and DVD 27 also offer the capability of software and firmware
upgradeability via CD, an especially useful feature that enables the players to
accommodate future feature and performance enhancements or other capabilities.
In common with all Harman Kardon audio/video components, both players are
designed for total connection flexibility and ease of operation in any home
entertainment system. They include progressive-scan and standard-scan-rate
component video, as well as a full complement of additional video and audio
outputs. The players are supplied with a full-featured, backlit, ergonomically
designed remote control, and incorporate IR remote-in/out ports to facilitate
their use in custom installations with integrated system control.
The players' performance and versatility are equaled by their strikingly
elegant appearance '“ ultraslim, with a gloss-black upper panel, silver lower
panel, blue dot-matrix display and a minimum of visible controls. The players'
styling perfectly matches Harman Kardon's receivers, loudspeakers and other
audio/video products, making them the ideal source component for building a
complete, high-performance home entertainment system.
Suggested retail pricing for the Harman Kardon DVD 47 and DVD 27 is as
follows: DVD 47, $399; DVD 27, $299. The DVD 47 will be available in February
2006, and the DVD 27 will be available in January 2006.
The Harman Consumer Group (HCG) is a leading designer, manufacturer and
marketer of a wide range of high-fidelity loudspeakers, audio and video
components, and multimedia systems for use in homes and automobiles, and with
computers. The group's brands include JBL, Infinity, Harman Kardon, Mark
Levinson, Revel, Audioaccess and Lexicon.
HCG is a division of Harman International Industries, Incorporated. Harman
International (www.harman.com) is a leading
manufacturer of high-quality, high-fidelity audio products and electronic
systems for the automotive, consumer and professional markets. The company's
stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol 'HAR."
Source: ecoustics
