Sony have announced three new home audio systems, with two soundbars for the cable-phobic and a 5.1 surround setup for those slightly more ambitious.

The Sony HT-SF470 is a 3D-capable 1000 watt (157W x 5 +167W sub) system with three HDMI inputs and an HDMI pass-through port, together with BRAVIA Sync, a Digital Media Port for use with an optional iPod cradle, two digital audio inputs (coax and optical) and digital cinema auto calibration for straightforward setup.

As for the HT-CT350, that has 400W (100 watts x 3 channels + 100 watts subwoofer) while the HT-CT150 has 340W (85 watts x 3 channels + 85 watts sub). Both have three HDMI inputs and one HDMI output, and support LPCM Blu-ray Disc audio together with 3D pass-through. They too have dual digital audio inputs, as well as BRAVIA Sync and iPod cradle compatibility.

The CT350 comes with a bracket for attaching it to Sony’s 40-inch and larger HDTVs, while the CT150 has the same for 32-inch sets. Both sound bars will go on sale in May, priced at $400 for the CT350 and $300 for the C150. Meanwhile the HT-SF470 will arrive in June, priced at $550.

The Blu-ray Disc Association has announced the new BDXL format, which will provide customers with discs with a capacity of up to 128GB (write-once) or 100GB (rewriteable).

The Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) today announced two new media specifications that use Blu-ray Disc technology to provide targeted functionality for commercial and consumer applications. The specifications for BDXL™ (High Capacity Recordable and Rewritable discs) and IH-BD (Intra-Hybrid discs) are expected in the next few months.

The BDXL specification, which is targeted primarily at commercial segments such as broadcasting, medical and document imaging enterprises with significant archiving needs, will provide customers with write-once options on 100GB and 128GB capacity discs and rewritable capability on 100GB discs. The discs reach these capacities by incorporating three to four recordable layers. A consumer version of BDXL is also expected, particularly in those regions where BD recorders have achieved broad consumer acceptance.

“Professional industries have expressed a desire to find optical disc solutions that enable them to transition away from magnetic media for their archiving needs,” said Victor Matsuda, Blu-ray Disc Association Global Promotions Committee chair. “Leveraging Blu-ray Disc to meet this need provides professional enterprises with a compact, stable and long term solution for archiving large amounts of sensitive data, video and graphic images using a proven and widely accepted optical technology.”

The Intra-Hybrid Blu-ray Disc (IH-BD) incorporates a single BD-ROM layer and a single BD-RE layer so as to enable the user to view, but not overwrite, critical published data while providing the flexibility to include relevant personal data on the same physical disc. This allows for consumer specific applications where combining published content with related user data on a convenient, single volume is desirable. Both the ROM and the RE layers on IH-BD discs provide 25GB of capacity.

Because both BDXL and IH-BD are specially designed formats with specific market segments in mind, newly-designed hardware is required to play back or record BDXL or IH-BD media. However, because the new media specifications are extensions of current Blu-ray Disc technology, future BDXL and IH-BD devices can be designed to support existing 25GB and 50GB Blu-ray Discs.

According to the latest rumors Sony are considering replacing the PS3’s Cell architecture with a more mainstream multi-core processor in the PlayStation 4, according to PC Watch, after game developers have reported greater than average problems developing for the current-gen console. Based on rumors and speculation coming out of Japan, the company also considered – but decided against – a combination Cell/Intel Larrabee setup.

That combination was discarded over fears it might not prove powerful enough. Another suggested – but abandoned – possibility had been a modified version of the Synergistic Processor Unit. PC Watch actually expect the new PS4 to arrive in late 2012 or early 2013 already.

Now, if you like to think big we should recommend you the CX960 MegaChanger. Sony has announced three brand new Blu-ray players today that are sure to capture the attention of the high-end market. First up is the BDP-CX960 MegaChanger, which can actually hold up to 400 Blu-ray titles at one time.

It can also hold DVDs and CDs, if you’d like, and sports Ethernet, BD-Live support, DTS-HD Master Audio, 7.1-channel Dolby TrueHD, and more. It will be available in the fall for about $800. Next is the CX7000ES, which can be used as a multi-room device with IR and serial ports and 12-bit Deep color support all for about $1,900 once it’s released next month.

Also announced today was the BDP-S1000ES, which is a single-disc Blu-ray player that features 14-bit image processing, 802.11n Wi-Fi, BD-Live support and the same audio specs as the MegaChanger models. You can get this player next month for about $700.

Sony has entered the netbook market in the US. This is really not shocking news as just about everyone has a netbook these days. It is just the thing to do.

The new offering will still fall under the Vaio name (Vaio W). This confusingly named product will run similar to most other netbooks. The Vaio W will have an Atom N270, 160GB HDD, 1GB RAM, Windows XP and the rest of the usual trimmings.

What is different is the price, Sony is asking for $500 for this 10.1-inch book. I am not really sure if this is going to be worth it for most as you can get a similarly speced netbook from a couple of different vendors for much less.

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Rumors have been flying around like crazy lately concerning the PS3 and it looks like Foxconn has confirmed at least one of them, maybe more.

Foxconn and Pegatron have landed a contract with Sony, each getting 50% of the orders on a new PS3. This would be the newer, slimmer redesign that many have been eagerly awaiting. Pictures of the slim PS3 were spotted and Sony swiftly sent a cease and desist notice to have them removed, adding some credibility to the spotting.

There have also been many rumors about a price drop and this could very well be where that is coming from. Not only would a redesigned PS3 be cheaper to produce, but to eliminate existing stock of the soon-to-be older PS3s, a price drop would help bring the slimmer PS3 to the maket sooner. Foxconn is supposed to be shipping the new PS3s sometime in July so that price drop could be just around the corner.

This leaves the rumor of Sony bringing back backwards compatibility to the PS3. This one will have to wait until later, perhaps officially from Sony. It might come with the new PS3s or as a firmware update down the road, or never at all.

If Onei Solutions’ speaker-infused TV stand was a bit too extravagant for your den, why not consider Sony’s completely classy alternatives? The new RHT-G series follows up on last year’s model by including three new HDTV stands that include multi-channel audio systems.

The RHT-G950 is designed to hold sets from 40- to 46-inches, while the RHT-G1550 handles big screens in the 46- to 55-inch range and the RHT-G550 holds those 32- to 40-inch models. The G950 and G1550 each host a 5.1-channel array of speakers with 470- and 550-watts of power, respectively; the smaller G550 does 3.1 with 330-watts. There’s also a dozen selectable sound modes, a trio of HDMI inputs, BRAVIA Sync support and a Digital Media Port for connecting one’s Walkman, PC, phone or iPod. There’s no mention of pricing just yet, but these should hit shelves in the May to July time frame.

Sony has introduced a new line of audio/video receivers that are geared for high-definition home theaters. The flagship STR-DN1000 features a piano-black gloss finish that matches the company’s latest Blu-ray players. The receiver provides 7.1-channel audio playback, with 110 watts per channel at 8-Ohms, and support for codecs such as Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, DTS-HD High Resolution Audio, DTS-HD Master Audio and LCPM. The receiver can also route 1080p 60/24 HD video signals, while all incoming analog signals are upscaled.

The DN1000 also provides an icon-driven menu system for device management and content navigation. A Digital Media Port input can be used to connect an iPod or iPhone.

The STR-DH800 supports the same range of audio codecs and also provides 110 watts of power across 7 channels. The device is equipped for 1080p video signals, with four HDMI and three component inputs.

The 7.1-channel STR-DH700 offers slightly less amplification, at 105 watts per channel, but supports 1080p HD and LCPM audio through three HDMI and three component inputs. The device also offers BRAVIA Sync and Digital Cinema Auto Calibration.

The 5.1-channel STR-DH500 provides 100 watts of amplification per channel and integrates three HDMI inputs. The STR-DH100 stereo receiver features 100 watts of power across two channels, with five audio inputs and two outputs.

The DN1000 receiver will be available sometime in July, with a price around $500. The DH800 model will ship in June for approximately $400, while the DH700 should be available later this month for $300. The DH500 and DH100 receivers will also ship later this month, with prices of $200 and $150, respectively.

STR-DH800

STR-DN1000

Sony is expected to reveal a new, high-feature digital camera at next week’s PMA 2009 show, the CyberShot DSC-HX1, says a Thursday report.

While Sony is keeping mum, the Internet is rife with rumors of the flagship shooter, which is expected to be capable of recording video in 1080p high-definition just like Nikon’s and Canon’s latest digital SLRs along with higher-quality sound. There is also said to be a 9-megapixel CMOS sensor, a 20X zoom and a 10fps burst mode with a buffer of 100, although it’s not known whether this is at full resolution.

The HX1 is also touted to have either a 2.7-inch LCD or even a 3-inch display borrowed from the company’s DSC-H50. Optical image stabilization is also expected to be part of the specs. Some sources also claim the HX1 will have a new panoramic shooting mode.

Sony’s recently introduced H20 (pictured) is already capable of shooting 720p HD video, providing incidental evidence to the rumor.

Pricing is expected to be the equivalent of $571 in European markets, although US pricing is expected to be somewhat lower, at somewhere between $400 and $500. No release dates are known, though this and other information is expected to be available at the PMA expo next week.