Audio Video News

Peter Putman | Jan 16, 2005 |

It was easy to be overwhelmed with all the plasma and LCD flat-panel displays at CES 2005. But upon closer inspection, there were a few clear trends and some truly significant advances in technology.

Audio Video News

CES 2005 Oddz 'n' Endz

Scott Wilkinson | Jan 16, 2005 |

For me (and, I'm sure, for many others), CES 2005 marked the year that 1080p took off. I'm not talking about 1080p broadcasts or pre-recorded content; it will be a few more years before we see that, and even when we do, it will likely be 1080p/24, not 1080p/60. But 1920x1080 fixed-pixel displays—plasma, LCD (panels and projectors), DLP, and LCoS—were suddenly everywhere, unlike last year, when they were as rare as than hens' teeth.

Audio Video News

Coming Attractions

HT Staff | Jan 11, 2005 |

Meridian
Meridian's modular, card-based 800 Version 4 disc player is an upgrade on the company's popular 800 player. It comes with Meridian's V100 video input card and VE12 HDMI/progressive component output card. The V100 provides two composite, two S-video, and one interlaced component video input. You also get the VE00 video encoder card, which generates NTSC and PAL in composite, S-video, and component formats. The 800 Version 4 is supported by Meridian's latest computer-based step-by-step MConfig configuration system. This standout design is available in a black-lacquer or a sleek silver finish and costs from $18,000 to $20,000, depending on configuration.
Meridian
(404) 344-7111
www.meridian-audio.com

Audio Video News

Latest Software Reviews

HT Staff | Jan 11, 2005 |

DVD: This So-Called Disaster—MGM/UA
Video: 2
Audio: 2
Extras: 0
This avant-garde documentary traces the weeks of rehearsal leading up to a 2000 play by playwright and director Sam Shepard, based on his relationship with his own alcoholic father. Shepard assembled a cast that included Nick Nolte, Sean Penn, and Woody Harrelson, and while it's interesting to watch these pros prepare for their curtain call, they all seem to get along too well to make this more than an occasionally interesting behind-the-scenes look at live theater. The best drama—whether fiction or reality television—comes from conflict, but there's none to be found here, despite the disc jacket's claim that the play's characters "set off a powder keg of emotions so explosive that the actors themselves are drawn into the fray." This is just dull, and even Shepard appears to be dozing off during some of the script-reading sessions. The best moment comes when Harrelson and Penn, apparently competing with Nolte for the title Most Scruffy Looking Actor, bust each other's chops on some of their past film choices (yes, Shanghai Surprise comes into the conversation).

Audio Video News

CES 2005: Day 4

Darryl Wilkinson | Jan 10, 2005 |

The final day of CES always brings a little sadness with it - sadness that you didn't bring more comfortable shoes. Yet, when all is considered, CES is still one of the most exciting times for consumer electronics geeks (and the Consumer Electronics Association counted over 140,000 of them at the Show). Since all the press conferences and nearly all of the scheduled meetings are over, it's a great day to wander the 1.5 million square feet of the show floor and catch up on all the things you missed (and find some nice surprises, too).

Audio Video News

2005 CES: Day 3

Darryl Wilkinson | Jan 09, 2005 |

One of the main reasons why dealers and press types come to the Consumer Electronics Show every year is to see first hand the just-released and soon-to-be-released electronic gadgets and home entertainment gear. But, if you've got "connections", the best thing about CES - other than free dinners and drinks - is the chance to get an up close and personal look at technology that's still in the development stage. These "revealing" meetings generally take place in an unassuming hotel room off the beaten path, are bereft of any glowing press releases, and require a secret handshake (or sometimes a signed non-disclosure agreement) to gain access. HP, for example, showed us some things that we could tell you about, but we'd lose the ability to use our knee caps if we did. (I'm just kidding about the knee caps, but we did swear ourselves to secrecy until they're ready to let the electronic cat out of the bag.)

Audio Video News

2005 CES: Day Four, Audio at Last

Scott Wilkinson | Jan 09, 2005 |

Thomas J. Norton 
Finally, news from the audio side of CES. My coverage of the limited surround-sound demos at the official specialty audio venue of the Alexis Park Hotel will have to wait for our upcoming in-depth show report. Today's report will catch up on a few important demos held at hotels near the Las Vegas convention center, plus one surprise discovery at the Alexis. And the news it hot.

Audio Video News

CES - Day 2

Darryl Wilkinson | Jan 07, 2005 | First Published: Jan 08, 2005 |

Something is funny in Las Vegas today, and I don't mean the Penn & Teller show. Just as CES is ready to open for another delightful day, the light rain - rather unusual for this dry, desert town - begins turning into snow (really unusual for around here). Veteran CES-goers scratch their heads in amazement as they run from the taxi drop off area to the doors of the Convention Center. It's hard to remember the last time it snowed in Las Vegas during CES. It was a surprising, albeit wet, beginning to a day full of much nicer surprises.

Audio Video News

2005 CES: Day Three, The Year of the Big Screen

Scott Wilkinson | Jan 07, 2005 |

Thomas J. Norton 
Time was when CES meant small, unexciting televisions lining the back isles of the convention center. Those times are well past, as manufacturers both large and small vie for the sexiest video presentation. The winner this year was clearly Samsung, with their 102-inch plasma (as before, all screen sizes here are diagonal unless stated otherwise). How they got this monster to Las Vegas and into the convention center free of damage and fully functional remains one of the seven mysteries of the show (another was who distributed all of those pornographic calling cards around the men's restrooms—but let's not go there).

Audio Video News

CES - Day 1

Darryl Wilkinson | Jan 07, 2005 |

The official opening day of CES brings more announcements - and more gawking attendees to fight your way through. Geoffrey Morrison, Home Theater Magazine's Video Editor, more than once voiced his desire for a cattle prod. Fortunately for everyone concerned, none of the exhibitors were displaying cattle prods although a quick trip through the Las Vegas Convention Center aisles will take you past vendors showing everything from telescopes to hand-held electronic Bible navigators to flying discs with LED lights inside. It's such a shame all we get to cover is home theater gear...

Audio Video News

2005 CES: Day Two, Cast of Thousands

Scott Wilkinson | Jan 06, 2005 |

Maybe the economy is really taking off. Or maybe it's simply that the cancellation of the big fall compute show, COMDEX, has sent all the computer types scurrying off to CES, but this year the show seems incredibly crowded. The isles were blocked, the press room didn't have a seat to spare (in contrast to the press room at CEDIA, where you could play catch most afternoons without bothering anyone), and the traffic and parking made LA—at least on a slow day—look like Barstow.

Audio Video News

Press Day at CES - Something Wickedly Good Comes this Way

Darryl Wilkinson | Jan 05, 2005 |

The day before the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) officially opens, members of the press are "treated" to an exhaustive lineup of press conferences. Some are good, some are awful, and very few are worth waking up before the sun rises. On the other hand, every now and then you find a nugget of golden information that makes all the coffee and pastries you can cram in your stomach worth wile.

Audio Video News

2005 CES: Day One

Thomas J. Norton | Jan 05, 2005 |

CES doesn't officially open until Thursday, January 6, but for the horde of assembled press, it begins on January 5. While workers swarm over the Las Vegas Nevada convention center in what appears to be a hopeless attempt to have everything ready by Thursday's official opening, wall-to-wall press conferences are being held. Tolerated as a necessary chore by the scribes, the press conferences nevertheless serve a useful purpose for manufacturers, giving them a captive audience to do with as they will. This year the festivities were more efficiently organized than usual, the only shortcoming being the lack of sufficient pauses between events.

Audio Video News

Holographic Video Projection

Scott Wilkinson | Jan 03, 2005 |

Here's something that won't be at CES this week, but could well appear at the show in years to come. Researchers at the University of Cambridge in England are working on a new video-projection technology based on holographic techniques. Now, don't get too excited; the images are 2-dimensional, not 3-D. But the technology is plenty interesting nonetheless.

Audio Video News

New Surround Formats at CES

Scott Wilkinson | Jan 03, 2005 |

As if dozens of surround-sound formats weren't enough, some new ones are being introduced at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week. Among them is MP3 Surround, a multichannel version of the 2-channel compression scheme that has become ubiquitous on the Internet as it fueled the success of MP3 players such as the Apple iPod. MP3 Surround is being unveiled by Thomson Electronics and the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits, co-creators of MP3 (which is shorthand for MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3), and Agere Systems, a semiconductor and software company.

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