Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Audio / Video
  3. News

Pioneer Receivers Make iPods Plug ‘n Play

By

Perhaps realizing that a myriad of acronyms and fancy sounding names have made its premium receivers a tough sell in hard economic times, Pioneer injected its new VSX series receivers with a price and features that are a little more accessible to the common man. First on the list: they play nice with iPods right out of the box.

Simply connecting an iPod or iPhone to the  USB jack on the front of the receivers allows tunes to flow off the players digitally, along with album art, and also enables full control of the iPod through the receiver remote. Unfortunately, the receivers do not support playing video off of iPods.

Recommended Videos

The VSX-919 and VSX-1019AH, the two highest models in the budget-oriented VSX line, will offer the support. Pioneer will debut them in April for $400 and $500, respectively.

Editors’ Recommendations

Nick Mokey
Nick Mokey
Editor in Chief
As Digital Trends’ Editor in Chief, Nick Mokey oversees an editorial team covering every gadget under the sun, along with…
Pioneer’s latest budget-friendly Dolby Atmos AV receivers start at $379
Pioneer VSX-535 AV receiver.

Pioneer has announced two new AV receivers that offer Dolby Atmos and IMAX Enhanced support at budget-friendly prices. The VSX-535, is an 8K, 5.2-channel model that sells for $379, and the VSX-835, is an 8K, 7.2-channel receiver priced at $499. Both models are available starting March 6 at pioneerhomeusa.com and select retailers.

The 535 and 835 feature 4K/120 and 8K/60 compatibility via their four HDMI 2.1a (and HDCP 2.3) inputs, plus ARC/eARC compatibility via their single HDMI output. These ports can also passthrough all major flavors of HDR, including HDR10, HDR10+, Dolby Vision, and HLG. Gamers will appreciate their support of 2.1a features like variable refresh rate (VRR), quick frame transport (QFT), auto low-latency mode (ALLM), and source-based tone mapping (SBTM).

Read more
SharePlay is coming to Apple TV and HomePod
SharePlay from an iPhone to Apple TV.

Get ready to give your friends and family even more control over what's playing on your TV and speakers. Apple appears to be prepping SharePlay for Apple TV, as well as HomePod speakers. Per MacRumors — and confirmed on our own hardware — the latest developer betas for tvOS 17.4 and iOS 17.4 add functionality that lets others take over the music experience in the same manner that previously was only available on CarPlay.

Again, this is part of a developer preview and not yet in production software. So features could change. Or disappear. Don't go rearranging your life around any of this just yet.

Read more
Pioneer, Elite, Integra, and Onkyo flagship AV receivers get a major update
pioneer integra onkyo flagship avr update auro3d roon dirac live vsx lx805

Flagship AV receivers from Pioneer, Integra, and Onkyo are getting a major update with a slew of new features, including support for the Auro-3D format, Roon certification, improved Dirac Live room correction, and several other improvements. The update applies to the Integra DRX-8.4, Onkyo TX-RZ70, Elite VSX-LX805, and Pioneer VSX-LX805 models that launched in spring 2023, according to Premium Audio Company, the parent company of these brands.

Onkyo, Elite, and Pioneer receivers that are connected to the internet will show the available update on their front panel displays (as well as on-screen when the TV is turned on), while Integra AV receivers owners will need to navigate to the Setup Firmware menu and follow the instructions.

Read more