Following the likes of Sony and Apple, who do well with their own stores, and Gateway, who did not, Pioneer is nonetheless endeavouring to bring you an in-store experience that’s totally Pioneer. They’re building in Costa Mesa, California, a store that’ll give 3200 square feet of shopping space. It’ll carry the full line of Pioneer and Pioneer Elite home A/V products. All you plasma shoppers out there, take note, because Pioneer is especially famous for its good plasma displays. The store will open in early August, and will be a proving ground for Pioneer, as they also plan to test new merchandise and sell products otherwise not available in the US. Cool, huh?

Pioneer To Open First Company Store

Do you have a PSP?
Do you have a TiVo?
Do you use the ToGo desktop software?

Whew! Lots of conditions in that setup. But here it is. If you qualify, then you can copy programming that you’ve TiVo’d onto your PSP.

From TWICE:

ToGo desktop PC software that will accommodate the PSP transfers. TiVoToGo requires a TiVo Series 2 box be connected to a Windows PC or laptop through a home network. From there, the software will convert the video file and transfer it to the PSP device.

Unfortunately, because of my circumstances, I can’t effectively use TiVo. I really wish I could, because I don’t much care for the SA8300HD that I’m renting now from Rogers. But there you go.

If I did have a TiVo, I’d give this a try. But in the end I don’t think I’d use it much. I don’t ride the bus or find myself with long periods of time in need of filling. If I want to watch TV, then I just go watch TV.

TiVo Offers Link To PSPs

My wallet is on the slim side compared to many people who can afford to buy the Krells, Lexicons, and Brystons of the home theater world. Even the Anthem D2 is out of reach for me. What does Anthem offer people like me who want everything but can’t afford it? Well, nothing. But to those people with just a bit more money than me, but who also can’t afford an Anthem D2, they offer the AVM 50 A/V Processor. The AVM 50 does basically everything the D2 does, but lacks that extra step of refinement that the D2 offers. And sells for significantly less with an MSRP of $4,699.

Which includes four HDMI inputs, and video upscaling of any source on any input to up to 1080p on the HDMI output. Now that’s cool. I have a PS2 that uses component video, a DVD player with the same, an HD PVR with HDMI, an S-VHS VCR (that’s still in use - don’t ask!), and this fall I’ll be adding an HDMI PS3 to that stack. A pre/pro like the AVM50 is exactly the kind of pre/pro I’d look for were I shopping today and had a little more money. Except for one thing. I guess it’s not fair to knock the AVM50 for not having this one thing, because nobody else does either. But that one thing is HDMI 1.3 support and support for the new audio formats on HD DVD and BD discs, like DD+ and DD TrueHD.

You can’t have your cake and eat it too. But at least the AVM50 certainly looks nice!

Anthem Intros AVM 50 A/V Processor

Owning a home theater is a very expensive proposition. Just ask my wife every time I propose a new addition (or substitution, as the case may be). So when father’s day comes around, a list for HT nuts is really only handy if you’re a little bit financially endowed. But that didn’t stop Robert Silva over at About.com from putting together such a list. It’s full of items like DVD players and subwoofers.

Which got me thinking. If Warren Buffet were my father and he asked me what one HT gift I would like for father’s day, what would it be?

It was a tough choice. I waffled between Anthem’s D2 pre/pro, and Sony’s Ruby SXRD projector. But since this was theoretical waffling anyway, it didn’t cause me too much stress. But I finally decided on the projector. I have a 57″ HDTV already, but I’ve been missing a world-class display ever since I moved my 35″ CRT out of my family room to make room for an HDTV.

What would your choice be? I guess you can reply even if you’re not a father!

Home Theater Gifts For Dad