Denon Abandon Numbers, Name Their Euro Blu-ray/AV Receiver Cara

You may remember we covered Denon's rather lovely S-5BD during our CES 2010 coverage, where it was slated for a March release in the USA at the hefty cost of $1799.  Well, Pocket-Lint have revealed that Denon will be leaving behind the ugly, impersonal S-5DB designation for the unit's European launch, where they have chosen to give it a little personality by calling it Cara.

Cara may sound sweet enough, but she boasts a spec sheet that shouldn't be underestimated.  Inside is a dual-zone 5.1-channel amplifier which can be operated via two difference sources at the same time, while outside the chassis you'll find a collection of HDMI 1.4 sockets - making it one of the first units to offer this configuration out of the box - a USB port and an SD memory card slot.  The Blu-ray drive plays discs at 1080p/24fps, while the internals benefit from the usual clutch of Denon goodness, including their 'Simple and Straight' signal path technology.

Further spec details include it being a Profile 2.0 player and that it supports HD audio decoding and the Dolby Pro-Logic IIz format, complete with preouts for another amplifier to run the additional channels required.  The 4ohm power output is rated at 5x75 watts and there is a subwoofer socket on the rear panel.

The March release date seems to be a global one, but the UK price is slightly higher than the US's, as Cara will set you back £1999 - around £850 more than its identical cousin at today's exchange rate.  Nice.