CEDIA 2013

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CEDIA 2013
Ripwave Media Streamer Does it All
Barb Gonzalez  |  Sep 27, 2013  |  5 comments
Two-year old RipWave has come out with the ultimate media streaming machine. Not only can it rip your Blu-rays and DVDs to its hard drive, you can add a cable card or off-air antenna and use its hard drives as a DVR. It can also stream videos from most any video streaming website using the PlayOn server or stream to other devices using the Plex DLNA server.

Models names follow the surf theme. They are offering a dedicated movie player model, the Tsunami for $2000. The media player line can also play music and photos and includes the Stingray with 3 to 12 TB of storage, the Barracuda, and the Orca with 9 TB up to 30 TB of storage. The software menus are as impressive as the hardware features. Users can choose from a number of graphic menus from a carousel to a grid to extensive information about a movie that displays metadata from 7 different sources. The menu options make it one of the truly intuitive devices as each user can choose the view that is easiest for them to use.

The Ripwave is the best media server I've seen yet. Let's see if it performs as well as its first impression.

CEDIA 2013
CEDIA Fact of the Day
SV Staff  |  Sep 27, 2013  |  0 comments
As part of its annual market research report, The Custom Electronic Design & Installation Association (CEDIA) asked systems integrators (a.k.a. custom AV installers) how they see the demand for 4K/Ultra HD TV sales shaping up over the next 12 months. Survey participants said they expect the new high-resolution sets to account for only 11 percent of their TV sales, suggesting the need for content to catch up. Is an Ultra HD TV in the cards for you?
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CEDIA 2013
Krell Debuts New Media Streamer for the Discerning Listener
Barb Gonzalez  |  Sep 27, 2013  |  0 comments
Krell Industries, manufacturer of high-end audio components has added an audio streaming unit to their line. The Krell Connect can handle up to 24/192 decoding so it will stream uncompressed audio. It is available as a fully digital model for $2500 or with analog output for $3500. The analog version includes a resolution D/A converterr and can do up to 24/192 decoding. When connected to Krell's Foundation audio processor and pre-amp, digital music could sound better than you ever thought possible.
CEDIA 2013
Monster Cable Brings High End Power Protection to Value Power Protectors
Barb Gonzalez  |  Sep 27, 2013  |  0 comments
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CEDIA 2013
Monster Cable's Saving Power Play--Complete With Android Tablet
Barb Gonzalez  |  Sep 27, 2013  |  0 comments
Monster shows power monitors and control app to tell you how much money you are spending to power your home theater.
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CEDIA 2013
In-Ceiling Home Theater Speakers Sound Golden
John Sciacca  |  Sep 27, 2013  |  0 comments
GoldenEar Technology's Sandy Gross knows how to make an outstanding sounding loudspeaker. Whether bookshelf or tower, Gross's designs never fail to impress. But in-wall and in-ceiling speakers can be a trickier proposition. GoldenEar Technology showed they were up to the challenge by building a new demo theater this year to highlight the company's Invisa HTR 7000 speakers designed for use as ceiling mounted main front left, center right speakers.
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CEDIA 2013
Kevo Offers a Touching Way to Unlock Your Door
Darryl Wilkinson  |  Sep 27, 2013  |  1 comments
Kevo is a Bluetooth-enabled motorized deadbolt that turns your smartphone into an electronic key (eKey). When your phone is close enough for Bluetooth communication to be established, the eKey allows the deadbolt to recognize and respond to the touch of a finger. In other words, if you come home with groceries in both arms, the Kevo app will automatically put the Kevo deadbolt into a touch-receptive mode.
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CEDIA 2013
Subwoofer Envy
Kris Deering  |  Sep 27, 2013  |  0 comments
If there is one reoccurring theme at the show it’s that your subs are nowhere near big enough. California Audio Technology seems to have gotten the message with their in-wall 18” drivers. These were actually some of the smaller subs I saw around the floor.
CEDIA 2013
Darbee Cleans Up Its Act
Kris Deering  |  Sep 27, 2013  |  0 comments
Darbee Vision won our Top Pick last year with their ugly duckling, the Darblet. While the processor didn’t have any outer beauty, its processing turned your video into a swan. Darbee evidently got the message and was showing a prototype version with a very clean aesthetic that included a gorgeous touchscreen and chassis. No word on when this may ship but one can only hope.
CEDIA 2013
Ferrari Lovers Take Note: The F1 Lounger
Bob Ankosko  |  Sep 27, 2013  |  0 comments
If the bright red leather and distinctive stitching reminds you of an exotic car, it’s no accident. First Impressions Theme Theaters, the Miami-based architectural design firm specializing in home theater, custom built the $3,500 theater seat for the owner of one of the most stunning cars on the planet, the Ferrari 458 Italia. Note the carbon-fiber cup holders. Oh, and around back there’s even a tool pouch.
CEDIA 2013
Revolv Is One Hub to Rule Them All
Darryl Wilkinson  |  Sep 27, 2013  |  0 comments
Revolv’s Smart Home Solution is designed to easily bring together a variety of off-the-shelf devices such as the Sonos music system, Philips Hue wireless lighting, Yale automated locks, and thermostats into an automation system that’s extremely easy to set up and control with a single one simple smart device app.
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CEDIA 2013
When Two Top Picks Become One
Kris Deering  |  Sep 27, 2013  |  1 comments
Blu-ray players seem to have vanished from the face of the CEDIA floor this year but that didn’t stop Oppo Digital from debuting their latest revision to our Top Pick BDP-103 with the BDP-103D. Everything remains the same but Oppo has integrated the Darbee processing we reviewing in the Darblet processor last year. The player will be shipping in October at $599. This is a hardware revision so no upgrade options for existing owners. This fuses two of our top pick models into one exciting product so it should be another home run for Oppo.
CEDIA 2013
More Backyard Fun: The SonArray Sound System
Bob Ankosko  |  Sep 27, 2013  |  0 comments
If you’re going to rock out in the backyard, don’t skimp on speakers. Among the dozens of products on display in the expansive Dana Innovations booth at CEDIA 2013, the one that caught my eye was the “SonArray by Sonance.” For $2,499, you get eight outdoor satellite speakers plus an in-ground subwoofer (that bronze mushroom top in the photo). With stealthily strategic placement in your landscaping, Sonance says you can serenade a 2,000 square foot area. The sound? Way better than you would expect.
CEDIA 2013
Definitive Technology Launches Mythos ST-L Tower Speaker
Brent Butterworth  |  Sep 27, 2013  |  1 comments

Those who think of the Definitive Technology Mythos tower speakers as nothing more than slender lifestyle products will be floored when they hear the new Mythos ST-L. I just heard a pair of 'em at the CEDIA Expo, and the deep, defined bass these 6.75-inch-wide towers pumped out was one of the highlights of the show for me.

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CEDIA 2013
MartinLogan’s Psychedelic Setup...Man
Bob Ankosko  |  Sep 27, 2013  |  0 comments
Walk into MartinLogan’s demo room at CEDIA 2013 and you walk into the past—specifically, the ‘60s, maybe early ‘70s. All-too-familiar glowing psychedelic posters line blacklight-lit walls accented by lava lamps and glowing tubes. Music blaring. It could be 1967, if not for the lack of a particular aroma and the 7.4-channel sound system. It was quad on steroids: Seven ElectroMotion ESL hybrid electrostats powered by five PrimaLuna DiaLogue tube amplifiers and four BalancedForce subwoofers, each with its own 850-watt amp, anchoring the corners of the room. The demo I walked in on wasn’t music of the ‘60s or ‘70s but a 5.1-channel mix of the Dire Staits ’80s anthem, “Money For Nothing.” The slow build and swell that introduces Mark Knopfler’s electronically processed guitar was like you’ve never heard before…If only I had more time to stick around and maybe listen to a little Pink Floyd.

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