Denon S-5BD Home Media Box Revealed Denon's Newest AV Box Combines Audio Receiver, Blu-Ray Player

Earlier this month at CES, the AV gurus at Denon unveiled the S-5BD, an
intense looking piece of equipment that combines a Blu-Ray player with
an audio receiver. The receiver end of the device will support
7.1-surround sound, with 2-source, 2-zone distribution capabilities.
The receiver also uses a Dolby Pro Logic IIz processor inside to
give you the best sound you can. The Blu-Ray player isn't skimpy,
either. Of course, it has HDMI 1.4 ports on the back, but it also
supports all the of the Blu-ray 2.0 technologies, including the
internet-enabled BD-Live features.
The player outputs at 1080p and will upscale regular DVDs for the
highest quality. It features four HDMI ports (three out, one in) as well
as a SD card slot and USB ports. It features direct plug-and-play
functionality for iPods and other MP3 players. An Ethernet port will
connect the new player/receiver to the internet for the BD-Live internet
features.
Unfortunately, the Ethernet port is only for the BD-Live features and
firmware updates. It would have been nice if Denon had included some
media streaming functionality so you could use the pricey box for
watching media files from your home network on the same HDTV as your
Blu-Ray player is connected too.
As you can guess, this gear won't be cheap. It'll be hitting in March of
this year with a suggested price of $1,800.
The real questions is, does anybody have dedicated these Hi-Fi stereos
anymore? Growing up, my father spent thousands on his Hi-Fi stereo in
the basement with speakers the size of televisions and a stack of audio
receivers. Now, with a good pair of Sennheiser headphones and a 1TB
drive of lossless .m4a audio files, the average user can get an audio
quality that can compete with any expensive Hi-Fi stereo. Sound off in
the comments if you have an opinion.