CEDIA 2011

Darryl Wilkinson | Sep 10, 2011 | 0 comments

You wouldn’t expect to find a company known for making cooking grilles at CEDIA, but Dimplex came to CEDIA for the first time bringing several examples of the company’s electric fireplaces – a couple of which were built into home theater media consoles. The Dimplex electric fireplaces can be run with or without producing heat. With the heater off, the fireplace costs just a penny or two an hour to run. While you wouldn’t be able to heat an entire home with one, the faux fireplaces are perfect for supplemental zone heating. At the moment, the fireplaces come with an RF remote control; but after many suggestions from interested installers, the Dimplex’s people now know how important it is to be able to integrate the operation of the fireplaces into home automation systems.

Prices start at around $1,600.

CEDIA 2011

Schneider Optics

Tom Norton | Sep 10, 2011 | 0 comments

Schneider Optics offers a wide range of some of the most respected anamorphic lenses in the business. Interestingly, they also market their own projector, not widely known in the states, that includes an anamorphic lens on a built-in track. The projector is priced around $25,000, with the anamorphic lens. It was on static display only.

CEDIA 2011

Watts Up with Anthem?

Darryl Wilkinson | Sep 10, 2011 | 0 comments

Anthem’s new Statement M1 mono block Class D amplifier puts out a paltry 1,000 watts into 8 ohms and doubles that (2,000 watts) into 4 ohm loads. The Class D design allowed the Anthem engineers to jam all the amplifier circuitry into a chassis that’s only one rack unit high. To keep things cool, there’s a special heat pipe cooling system – no fans! – and multiple M1s can be rack mounted directly on top of one another. Ideally, you’ll have a dedicated 240V circuit for the M1s in your system; however, Anthem designed the amp to still be able to generate temporary outputs of up to 2400 watts even when connected to a 120V/15A line. Get one, or seven, for $3,500 each.

CEDIA 2011

Screen Innovations

Tom Norton | Sep 10, 2011 | 0 comments

Screen Innovations' Black Diamond screens are now available in gains of 0.8, 1.4, and 2.7. They can be made as a curved, fixed screen, a traditional fixed frame design, a new Zero Edge frame (shown in the photo—the one on the right is a 2.7 gain model) and, in six months, retractable versions. They are also available in any aspect ratio, as long as the maximum height is 56" (higher screens must be seamed.

CEDIA 2011

Out of the Woodwork

Darryl Wilkinson | Sep 10, 2011 | 0 comments

Once a pioneer of the home AV furniture world, the venerable CWD brand has been resurrected by one of the company’s original founders. But where the original CWD furniture was almost exclusively RTA (ready to assemble) – I think we called it “knockdown” back then – the current iterations are pre-configured and shipped mostly assembled. In other words, they’re more along the lines of fine traditional furniture rather than just an AV rack. The cabinets don’t include any particle board pieces, and each unit has a multitude of AV-friendly features such as generous ventilation and cable management. Customers who’d like to configure and price a unit for themselves can visit imagecraftersinc.com and use the online configuration tool.

CEDIA 2011

DreamVision

Tom Norton | Sep 10, 2011 | 0 comments

While it didn't photograph well here (even with my sterling photographic skills) DreamVision's new Inti projectors are stylistically gorgeous. Unfortunately, it was only on static display. The Inti 2, shown here, will sell for $10,000. The Inti 1 is $7000, and the Inti 3 $13,995. As before, the DreamVisions are based on the JVC projectors—at present, apparently, on the current JVCs, not the new models shown here at CEDIA.

CEDIA 2011

Does This Chair Make My Butt Look Fat?

Darryl Wilkinson | Sep 09, 2011 | 0 comments

Yes.

CEDIA 2011

Wi-Fi Hell

Darryl Wilkinson | Sep 09, 2011 | 0 comments

It ain’t easy being wireless. Soundcast Systems gave us a peak at just how crowded the wireless spectrum was inside the convention center this afternoon. At another booth, one of the guys told me that they had counted over 190 wireless access points visible from their relatively obscure location in the convention center. It’s a wonder anything wireless worked at all in such a brutal RF environment.

CEDIA 2011

3DTV Glasses for the Masses

Darryl Wilkinson | Sep 09, 2011 | 0 comments

The good people at NextGen showed off their new “universal” active shutter 3D glasses. Each set comes with two additional nosepieces that allow you to adjust the glasses for the most comfortable fit, a USB charging cable, a carrying pouch, and a cleaning cloth. The current $79 version supports IR-sync based 3DTV systems, but RF and Bluetooth models will be available shortly.

CEDIA 2011

Around the Block with Sony

Tom Norton | Sep 09, 2011 | 0 comments

We've discussed Sony's new 4K home theater projector earlier in this running blog, but based on the crowds lining up to see it, it's clearly the hit of the show. But the demo, while striking and definitely worth the time to see, could have used less talk and longer, or more, actual demonstrating. I really wanted to see it a second time, but knowing that the two actual demo selections lasted, at best, a cumulative 2 minutes, I decided against it.

CEDIA 2011

Da-Lite Delight

Tom Norton | Sep 09, 2011 | 0 comments

As usual, video guru Joe Kane was holding forth in his black-curtained lair in the land of Da-Lite , demonstrating his Samsung-derived projectors (sadly, no longer available) and his approved, Da-Lite Affinity screens (which definitely are). Joe is working 24/7 to get his next test disc ready to market, which will include 3D material and 3D test patterns— sorely needed by video pros, calibrators, and users alike.

CEDIA 2011

SIM2 Turns Fifteen

Tom Norton | Sep 09, 2011 | 0 comments

2011 is SIM2 Multimedia's 15th anniversary. To celebrate, the company is introducing 15 new models in 2011. In honor of the event, members of SIM2's upper management, including President Maurizio Cini, also attended the show.

All of SIM2's projectors are DLP designs. The new models fall into five different ranges: CRYSTAL, MICO, NERO, LUMIS, and CINEMA. The CRYSTAL range (2D only) consists of two entries, the $6500 Crystal 35 and the $8500 Crystal 45. To our recollection, these are nearly blue light specials for a manufacturer which is not normally known for relatively affordable projectors.

CEDIA 2011

Monster Test Bench

Tom Norton | Sep 09, 2011 | 0 comments

Monster Cable brought along its test gear to demonstrate that HDMI cables can differ. This is a hard sell for many users, considering the high prices some of these products command over others, but a clean "eye" pattern, visible on the display screen, indicates a cable with optimum video performance.

CEDIA 2011

LG 55LW9800 Nano LED-Backlit 3D LCD TV

Scott Wilkinson | Sep 09, 2011 | 0 comments

LG doesn't have its own booth at CEDIA this year, but the company did launch a new flat panel in the THX booth with virtually no fanfare. The 55LW9800 3D LCD flat panel incorporates the company's new Nano LED backlighting, in which a extremely thin optical film—the "nano" part—diffuses the light from the LEDs more evenly than previous designs. As with other recent LG LCDs, this one uses passive-polarized glasses for 3D, and it's THX-certified in both 2D and 3D modes. In fact, a THX rep told me that, in a faceoff with many 3D TVs, everyone tended to gravitate to this one as the most comfortable to watch. The 3D effect was superb on the underwater footage they were showing, though I could still see the line structure endemic to passive-polarized 3D LCDs.

CEDIA 2011

Runco D-113d 3D DLP Projector

Scott Wilkinson | Sep 09, 2011 | 1 comments

Runco upped the 3D ante at its press conference with the new D-113d dual-engine projector system. Each 3-chip DLP engine includes twin UHP lamps, which means even 3D images have plenty of brightness—the company claims it can fill screens up to 420 inches diagonally. Instead of linear polarization to separate the left and right images as in the D-73d, the new model uses spectral filtering similar to Infitec/Dolby 3D, though this system was developed by Panavision with five spectral bands rather than Infitec's three.

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CEDIA 2011

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