Nanotech demonstrated streaming 4K from a 4K server. There were three monitors in use, all of them relatively small, two of them shown here and a Seiki 50-incher off to the right and out of the picture.
To a videophile who cut his or her teeth on CRT units, a 7-pound video projector that is no larger than a fat dictionary and can be mounted inconspicuously on a ceiling or table is hard to believe. It can even be stored out of sight and set up again, when needed, in minutes. How good can it be?
NEC's HT1100 DLP projector is the follow-up model to the company's well-received HT1000, reviewed in the July/August 2003 SGHT (review available at www.UltimateAVmag.com). Based on an NEC business design but refitted for home-theater use and remarkably compact for the performance it provided, the HT1000 went on to become our Editor's Choice Gold Award winner for 2004 (SGHT, January 2004).
Looking to improve the sound of your system? Before you start switching out gear, assess the acoustics of your room. You may be surprised by what you find.
Classé introduced its new two-channel Delta preamp ($9,000), Delta stereo amplifier ($10,000), and Delta monoblock amp ($9,000 each). The amps are rated at 250wpc/8 ohms for the stereo version and 300wpc/8 ohms for the monoblocks and said to remain in class A up to 25W. The preamp includes both analog and digital capabilities, together with available parametric equalization and tone/tilt controls.
On the home theater front, the new Rotel RAP-1580...
Behind this innocuous photo is one of the most exciting demonstrations I had at this show, a demo of a technology and not a specific product. For several years now DLP has faded a bit from its glory days in home theater projectors (it continues to be big for business and theatrical presentations). LCOS and LCD have ruled the roost, particularly from the trio of Epson, JVC, and Sony.
The chip at the right in the photo is TI's big 4K DLP chip, widely used in 3-chip theater projectors. On the left is a new, smaller "4K" chip...
Panasonic has announced the introduction of its next generation Blu-ray player, the $499 DMP-BD30. It is claimed to be the first Blu-ray player to support the Blu-ray Final Standard Profile (BD-ROM Profile 1.1). This will enable it to access and play streaming picture-in-picture special features in upcoming Blu-ray titles, as well as audio mixing enabling switching between main- and sub-windows.
The Harman Specialty Group's booth was nearly set up for Thursday's official opening when we snapped these photos of the new Revel Ultima2 series. The tallest is the new Salon2 ($22,000/pair), the smaller floor-stander is the new Studio2 ($16,000/pair, not shown, but similarly styled) The others were the Gem2 (not shown) and Voice2 (photo below). The new Ultima2s will roll out gradually, with the Salon and Studio due around the first of the year and the other pieces scheduled in late winter or early spring 2007.
We reported on Sony's new VPL-VW60 ($5000) and VPL-VW200 ($15,000) 1080p projectors at Sony's press conference yesterday, but I got to actually see them today. They were exceptional. Both claim dramatically enhanced chip-level contrast relative to prior SXRD projectors, and from the visible evidence this appeared to be the case.