The Pioneer VSX-1131 AV Receiver is Named One of 2016’s Best

The Pioneer VSX-1131 AV Receiver is Named One of 2016’s Best

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So Make Sure to Add it to your Black Friday Shopping List

Today marks the official start to the holiday shopping season and everyone is panicking. So many gifts to buy, so little time! Perhaps you’re looking for a fantastic gift for the music lover in your life? Or maybe you are searching for the perfect addition to your own home entertainment system to show off during holiday dinners? Look no further:  as a proud partner of top audio-visual company Pioneer, Blackfire Research is happy to announce that the Pioneer VSX-1131 AV Receiver, powered by Blackfire Research’s “FireConnect,” has been named one of the best AV Receivers for 2016 by Thewirecutter.com and Themasterswitch.com – so make sure to add it to your Black Friday shopping list!

The Pioneer VSX-1131, which features Blackfire’s FireConnent, placed “runner-up” for Thewirecutter.com’s “The Best Receiver” of 2016 award. On their decision to include the VSX-1131 as one of the year’s best AV Receivers, WireCutter expressed that “the VSX-1131 has AirPlay, Bluetooth, Spotify Connect, Dolby Atmos, and integrated Wi-Fi support. It will convert an analog video signal to HDMI, too, so you need to run only a single cable to your TV. It even offers…component-video and phono inputs…[and] features Google Cast for Audio support, which we really like to see.”

As if one wasn’t enough, Themasterswitch.com has ranked the AV Receiver as #10 on their list of “Best A/V Receivers of 2016,” stating that “[t]his is a good, solid all-round system” and that “it’s one of the more reliable units out there…We do like the increased HDMI ports, and we really enjoyed the room correction system, which calibrated the system nicely.”

The Pioneer VSX-1131 AV Receiver “has seven amplifier channels [and] the serious home cineaste can also operate a Dolby Atmos loudspeaker set with its additional ceiling speakers. With 160 watts per channel, the amplifier output meets higher demands, similar to the seven HDMI ports, one of which is located on the front panel. This allows you to quickly connect external players without much hassle. The VSX-1131 supports 4K UltraHD with HDR on every HDMI port, while it can convert Full HD into 4K using its powerful video scalers.” (Pioneer 2016)

The receiver also features “various streaming options [already] installed. With Spotify, Tidal and Deezer, all the payment streaming services are supported…TuneIn adds thousands of web radio stations, while AirPlay, Google Play and Bluetooth provide matching wireless access to every tablet or smart phone. And if you’re planning a multi-room system in the near future, you’ll be happy to know that the VSX-1131 is already compatible with FireConnect and so able to feed all connected sources into a corresponding system.”(Pioneer 2016)

Pioneer explains that Blackfire’s Fireconnect “enables any audio source connected to the receiver—from vinyl to streaming audio—to be sent wirelessly to a compatible speaker placed anywhere in the home.”

“The new Pioneer AV receivers with FireConnect enable the concurrent playback of every audio source connected to the AV receiver via an optional wireless speaker. Conveniently control the multiroom playback with track selection and volume via smart phone and tablet.” (Pioneer 2016)

Congratulations Blackfire Research and our partners over at Pioneer. Let’s keep setting the standard for wireless home entertainment.

You can purchase the Pioneer VSX-1131 on Amazon, Best Buy, or Walmart.

 

 

Behind the Patents: Traffic Independent Synchronization (TIS)

Behind the Patents: Traffic Independent Synchronization (TIS)

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Blackfire Research boasts 14 U.S. patents, all of which are used to create flawless solutions for better, wireless home entertainment. In Blackbook, we’ll take a closer look at some of the patented technology behind Blackfire’s brand. Let’s start the series off with “Traffic Independent Synchronization,” or, TIS for short, which produces better management and precision operation when it comes to synchronizing wireless speakers.

 

TIS is our patented synchronization technology that can be used to sync any number of wireless devices, from multi speaker 5.1 audio systems, stereo systems, even your entire home theater. One problem facing a standard method of synchronization is that its performance is tied to the performance of the network environment. At home, if you regularly experience spotty Wi-Fi, you won’t have much luck getting those expensive wireless speakers you got for Christmas to sync properly. In fact, there will most likely be a noticeable playback lag from one speaker to the next. TIS ensures that the synchronization of any device is not dependent on how well your router works. So, even in poor Wi-Fi conditions, the synchronization of your speakers won’t be impacted. Sounds good, doesn’t it?

 

Another problem with a standard method of synchronization is that the more devices you have on a given network (and therefore, the more congested the network is) the slower it runs, which could produce an extended lag between multiple speakers and between your TV and the speakers – even total dropouts. Unlike our competitors, Blackfire’s patented TIS technology always maintains latency between audio and video pairings and among the speakers themselves. With TIS, the sync of the speakers in your wireless home entertainment system will remain undisturbed by heavy network traffic, so you’ll never miss a single moment of your favorite song or movie again.

 

Finally, Blackfire’s patented TIS software results in superior synchronization at range compared to competing technologies. That means, products with Blackfire’s TIS software will perform better farther away from your Wi-Fi hotspot or router than other brands.

Want to hear the difference for yourself? TIS works with many different hardware platforms, and currently, can be found in all Harman Omni products. Happy listening!

 


Based on objective performance studies of currently available Wi-Fi speaker technologies as defined by the ITU Indoor Radio Propagation Model.
WiFi vs. Bluetooth

WiFi vs. Bluetooth

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Bluetooth. Developed in 1994 by telecommunications vendor, Ericsson, Bluetooth has a transmission range of about 30 feet, so it’s best used with systems in close proximity. Therefore, wireless audio and entertainment systems that use Bluetooth won’t be able to cover more than one room at a time, let alone your entire home.

Bluetooth does not connect to any network, but rather, connects directly to your laptop, smartphone, or tablet (basically any music playing device). This isn’t too closed off a system, because most devices have Bluetooth capability. However, if you are using your smartphone as a source for your music, it must remain within 30 feet of your Bluetooth speakers. Additionally, if you happen to receive a call or text while your phone is connected to your Bluetooth speakers, your music will be interrupted and the speakers will amplify the text alert or ringing.

Bluetooth uses something called “lossy data compression,” which means that it encodes its data in inexact approximations and partial data discarding to represent its content. This can create poor sound quality and makes Bluetooth audio devices more vulnerable to dropouts.

On the plus side, Bluetooth is very easy to use: just turn on the Bluetooth receiver in your Bluetooth enabled devices (such as a speaker and your smartphone) and they should discover each other almost instantaneously.

 

Wi-Fi. Although researched and developed throughout the 1980’s and 90’s, Wi-Fi was officially released in 1997 and has been universally adopted into homes, offices, coffee shops, trains – basically everywhere you go. Wi-Fi has a much longer range than Bluetooth, roughly 100 feet inside, and up to 300 feet outside, so you can use one system throughout the entire home, extending into your backyard if you place your router in a central location. Not only can Wi-Fi connect to multiple speakers (which Bluetooth can not), it can also support multiple channels. This means that within your wireless home entertainment system, you can actually create a system of speakers, such as “left,” “right,” “center,” and “stereo.” You can also choose to play one speaker, multiple speakers, or all of your speakers at any given time, without reconfiguration.

The initial configuration of Wi-Fi enabled home entertainment systems are much more complex than Bluetooth, but unlike Bluetooth, your Wi-Fi systems will always remember your devices (if you are logged into the same Wi-Fi network.) Therefore, with Wi-Fi, you’ll never have to worry about pairing your devices before each use.

Audiophiles tend to prefer Wi-Fi systems due to its superior sound quality; Wi-Fi systems have a wider bandwidth than Bluetooth and uses a lossless codec, which Bluetooth does not. With this in play, Wi-Fi can support high resolution, lossless audio without significant lag.

 

While Bluetooth speakers are great in compact, portable form, Wi-Fi produces better sound quality, longer range, and has multi speaker/channel capability.