Toshiba already showed us what its freshest line of HDTVs looks like, and now its Mitsubishi's turn. The outfit was on hand in NYC to showcase a few of its now-shipping sets, including the 3D-ready Home Theater line and its speaker-infused Unisen crew. We won't bore you with the specs (which can be found here and here, respectively), but we will confess that the 82-inch WD-82737 has us squirming uncontrollably. Have a peek yourself in the gallery below.

Gallery: Mitsubishi's 3D-ready and Unisen HDTV lines in the flesh

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You might think the future of surround audio lies in sophisticated DSP-driven single-box soundbars or even crazy wireless headphones, but Audyssey Labs knows the truth: what you really need is more speakers. Up to 11 of 'em, to be exact, as part of the company's new Dynamic Surround Expansion system. Like the 9.1 channel Dolby Pro Logic IIz, DSX focuses more on the audio in front of you, since that's what your ears are tuned to differentiate the best -- in addition to the left, right, and center channels, DSX includes two speakers mounted up high at a 45-degree angle, and two speakers placed farther out to each side to create width. Add in the two surround back channels from a traditional 7.1 rig and presto -- you're up to 11. Yep, that's a lot of speakers, especially if your loved ones already think a standard 5.1 system is an eyesore. On the other hand -- 11 freaking speakers. DSX-enabled receivers are expected to arrive by summer, just in time to close the shades and spend all day indoors watching movies.

[Via Sound and Vision; thanks Will]

This whole global economic crisis, and its resulting massive loss of jobs got us thinking. We here at Engadget didn't want to stand helplessly by, announcing every new round of misery without giving anything back -- so we decided to take the opportunity to spread a little positivity. We'll be handing out a new gadget every day (except for weekends) to lucky readers until we run out of stuff / companies stop sending things. Today we've got a Klipsch HD Theater 500 5.1 sound system, ready to rattle the floor of one lucky domicile. Read the rules below (no skimming -- we're omniscient and can tell when you've skimmed) and get commenting! Hooray for free stuff!

Huge thanks to Klipsch for providing the gear!


The rules:

• Leave a comment below. Any comment will do, but if you want to share your proposal for "fixing" the world economy, that'd be sweet too.
  
• You may only enter this specific giveaway once. If you enter this giveaway more than once you'll be automatically disqualified, etc. (Yes, we have robots that thoroughly check to ensure fairness.)
• If you enter more than once, only activate one comment. This is pretty self explanatory. Just be careful and you'll be fine.
  
• Contest is open to anyone in the 50 States, 18 or older! Sorry, we don't make this rule (we hate excluding anyone), so be mad at our lawyers and contest laws if you have to be mad.
  
• Winner will be chosen randomly. The winner will receive one (1) Klipsch HD Theater 500 5.1-channel sound system. Approximate retail value is $599.99.
  
• If you are chosen, you will be notified by email. Winners must respond within three days of the end of the contest. If you do not respond within that period, another winner will be chosen.
• Entries can be submitted until Thursday, April 9th, at 11:59PM ET. Good luck!
• Full rules can be found here.

With Mitsubishi's LaserVue lines humming along once more, it's time for the company to bust out a few more big announcements in the HDTV space. First up is the new Unisen line, comprised of the 151 Series (40-, 46- and 52-inches), the 153 Series (40-, 46- and 52-inches) and the high-end Diamond 259 Series (46- and 52-inches). Each set in the line comes with a built-in "5.1-channel" 16-speaker audio bar, much like the iSP LT-52149 that we reviewed last fall. Each model also incorporates a new UltraThin Frame design, Smooth 120Hz Film Motion technology, four HDMI 1.3a inputs and a USB media port. The top end crew also includes an iSP calibration microphone, Plush1080p 5G 18-bit digital video processing, a wired IR input and a few swank blue accents to really woo the ladies. The whole family should ship to the United States next month and range from $1,799 to $3,299. Exact pricing is just after the break.

Be honest, you were terrified that Turtle Beach would leave the awesomely titled Ear Force series sitting in lurk at X3, weren't you? Thankfully, that's not the case at all, as the Ear Force X4 wireless headphones have just been revealed. Designed with Xbox 360 gamers in mind, this headset / headphone combo promises to provide Dolby 5.1 surround sound out of just two earcups (we're still checking on the velvet-lined part), and more importantly, the Chat Boost Dynamic Talkback Expander "automatically adjusts incoming XBOX Live chat levels during loud game moments" to keep you from going deaf when NewbX1337 gets all whiny on you. Can't say we're thrilled by the $199.95 price tag, but these are available now for those who are.

[Via IGN]

Yamaha cranked out its pricey YSP-600 sound bar just a few months back, but the company's already looking to put the past behind and move forward with the YSP-3050. The latest in the outfit's long-standing line of Digital Sound Projectors offers up 21 beam drivers, two woofers, 23 corresponding digital amplifiers, three Cinema DSP programs (movie, music and sports), analog-to-HDMI video upconversion, HD upscaling to 1080i / 720p and a 1080p (24Hz and 60Hz) compatible HDMI interface with two inputs and one output. Aside from engulfing you in audio with just a single bar, the unit is also XM Radio / iPod-ready (via the $99.95 YDS-11), and the integrated FM tuner and bundled remote make it even easier to see in your den. You'll also find the firm's propriety automated system calibration (IntelliBeam) along with TV Equal Volume to keep those sudden bursts at bay when it comes time for commercials. 'Tis a shame this piece costs $1,399.95, but if you're tight on space, it just might be worth it. Full release after the break.

Earlier this month, ASUS introduced the "world's first HDMI 1.3a compliant audio / video enhancement combo card." Who knew numero dos was so close behind? Auzentech has just announced its very own HDMI 1.3-native PCIe audio combo card, which is built around Creative's X-Fi processor and enables PC users to easily output 7.1-channel audio with no downsampling. Essentially, the Auzen X-Fi HomeTheater 7.1 "accepts video from either an internal or external connection, mixes it with digital audio, and outputs the combined video and lossless multichannel audio via a single HDMI 1.3 port." Yep, that means Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio codecs are fully supported. The only digs? For one, pricing remains a mystery, but the real kicker is the September release -- talk about a long wait.

Select owners of Guitar Hero III for Wii have been moshing uncontrollably as best they can in mono for months on end, but it seems as if Activision has finally got its interconnects sorted and will start issuing replacement discs. According to direct end-user reports and the (admittedly blurry) shots in the gallery below, the firm is now dishing out pre-paid envelopes in which customers have to ship back their faulty GH III disc and wait "3 to 4 weeks" before getting a new, stereo-enabled one free of charge. Live sans your favorite game for a month, or keep rockin' in the monaural world? Tough call, indeed.

[Thanks, Sam K. and Michael S.]

With all these companies honing in on bringing HD capabilities to handsets, we were beginning to wonder when someone would step up and lend a hand on the audio front. Thankfully, both Dolby and SRS Labs have come forward at Mobile World Congress to announce separate enhancements to mobile audio, so we'll touch on the former first. Dolby Mobile, hailed as an "audio processing technology platform that brings rich, vibrant surround sound to music, movies, and television programs on mobile phones and portable media players," is available as we speak on the FOMA SH905i and FOMA SH905iTV in Japan, but will hopefully float out to other handsets in due time. As for SRS Labs, it's boasting its own SRS CS Headphone technology, which reportedly "takes stereo or surround encoded 2-channel audio and processes it using an ultra-low-power Circle Surround decoder to create 5.1 highly accurate channels." Granted, we're still wondering exactly how 5.1 channels make their way though stereo earbuds, but we'd be up for a listen, regardless.

Read - Dolby Mobile
Read - SRS CS Headphone technology

Recall that curious "3-channel" speaker we peeked back in November? Turns out, Samsung was saving the good stuff for CES, and now we're being blessed with a whole heap of official details. The YA-BS900 speaker automatically connects to your BT-enabled PMP / handset / etc. and features Bluetooth 2.1, a motion detector to power on the system when a paired device comes near, 30-watts of power and a USB port for playing tunes stored on a flash drive. Furthermore, it even boasts automatic volume reduction when a call comes in on your paired mobile, and while the onboard touch controls are fine and dandy, we'd certainly take advantage of that remote if we were you. Sadly, this beauty won't be available for two more months, and as if that weren't depressing enough, it'll cost you a staggering $399 when March finally does roll around.

Samsung's YA-BS900 won't deliver any jams in 5.1, but it most certainly is "Hyper-Directional," for whatever that's worth. The interestingly designed speaker touts Bluetooth technology, claims to be "3-channel" in nature and possesses the innate ability to play back tunes streamed in with your BT-enabled cellphone or DAP. Furthermore, the unit will take Ozzy down a notch if it notices that a Bluetooth phone is answered, but we're not told what other inputs (you know, like a totally convenient 3.5-millimeter jack) are included. Per usual, price / availability remain a mystery, but those tidbits can't hide for too much longer.

We don't know who thought it'd be smart to mess with the gods of rock, but choosing not to include surround sound support for Guitar Hero III just doesn't sound like an intelligent move. Nevertheless, a assemblage of Wii gamers are reporting that the game is outputting audio in mono, despite the packaging advertising that Dolby Pro Logic II is supported. We've even seen users with Pro Logic II-capable decoders explain that while other Wii titles sound fine, GHIII in particular refuses to cooperate. Supposedly, Activision is busy looking into the problem, but there doesn't seem to be a definitive time frame for when we can expect a fix. So, any of you shredders out there experiencing something similar, or have we only heard one channel, er, side of the story?

[Via Joystiq]