th-sb100
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JVC's TH-BA1 and TH-SB100 soundbar systems fill out 4.1-channels
Back in January, JVC slated its TH-SB100 soundbar + subwoofer + Blu-ray player system as "3.1-channel," which kind of made sense since the soundbar housed LCR drivers. There's been something funny in the punch since then, because the TH-SB100 has morphed into something with 4.1-channel status. It's still a soundbar system, but JVC is using magic called "front surround" to get the outermost drivers to handle the left/right channels and the inside two drivers to handle the center + surround audio. It sounds crazy to us, but we'll try to keep an open mind because otherwise things look pretty good -- 220-Watts total, wireless subwoofer, and Dolby Digital, Pro Logic II and DTS processing in the soundbar. If all you've already got a Blu-ray player, opt for the $400 TH-BA1 (soundbar + sub only), otherwise get onboard with Blu-ray and grab the $700 TH-SB100 (complete with Blu-ray deck).
JVC finally brings its Blu-ray products to America
Over here in the US, JVC fans have had to watch with lustful eyes at all the JVC Blu-ray products in the rest of the world, but no more. Today JVC has announced both a stand-alone Blu-ray player and a 3.1 home theater in a box. The XV-PB1 Blu-ray player will be available in March for $299 and as you'd expect, it will support BD Live content as well as playback AVCHD videos you create on your HD camcorder. We assume the new TH-SB100 is a US variation of the NX-BD3 previously available in Europe which is of course a BD Live player, but we're sad to say there's no mention of any support for DTS-HD or Dolby TrueHD. Nevertheless it will be available in April for $699.Read - JVC XV-PB1Read - JVC TH-SB100
