LATEST ADDITIONS

The Coolest Media Center PC
Darryl Wilkinson  |  Sep 15, 2006  |  First Published: Sep 16, 2006
CoolIT Systems is now offering a liquid cooling system for Home Theater PCs that will keep the CPU cool, improve performance and reliability, and significantly reduce fan noise. The Home Theater PC (HTPC) Cooler system will fit any media center PC case that has dual 8cm fans. It comes with all the necessary installation hardware and is pre-plumbed, factory-sealed, and maintenance free.
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1080p for less than $5k
Geoffrey Morrison  |  Sep 15, 2006
Perhaps even cooler than the $999 720p Optoma (see below), Mitsubishi revealed a $4,495 1080p projector, called the HC5000BL. It’s going to use the Reon VX chip from Silicon Optix and have a claimed 10,000:1 contrast ratio with a dynamic iris. No DLP here, it has 3 LCDs inside. They’re hoping to ship later this month.
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Mac Is Back!
Shane Buettner  |  Sep 15, 2006

Not that McIntosh ever really went anywhere, but it was still pretty cool to see the retro glass front panels and cool blue and green fluorescents lighting up an entire 7.1-channel home theater system.

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SIM2 Bows Broad Line Of 1080p DLP Projectors, Including Three-Chip Flagship
Shane Buettner  |  Sep 15, 2006

SIM2 announced late Friday that it is previewing the Grand Cinema HT5000 three-chip 1080p DLP projector, and will soon have a broad line of 1080p DLPs starting at just $10K.

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Great Little Balls of Fire
Fred Manteghian  |  Sep 15, 2006

Anyone familiar with whole house music servers knows that they're not inexpensive. But Escient's FireBall FP-1 Music Manager can give you a taste of the good life for a pittance (well, at least compared to their full blown servers.) The FP-1 does this by using your iPod as the storage device, instead of a rack of servers. Best of all, all your favorite music is already on it. I think they're tapping a huge, uh, untapped market for their products.

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PSB Stratus
Tom Norton  |  Sep 15, 2006

PSB is redesigning their longstanding Stratus line. The photo shows a new Stratus floorstander and center channel. But don't look for it before next year, and the form factor of the cabinet may be slightly different. The drivers in the new Stratus models are expected to use technology developed for the company's upscale Platinum series.

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Slim Samsung
Tom Norton  |  Sep 15, 2006

It's not available yet, but this prototype Samsung DLP rear projection set, at 10" thin, may be the shape fo things to come in DLP setws from Samsung and other manufacturers as well.

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Sony Wall
Tom Norton  |  Sep 15, 2006

Recall that on Day 1 (setup day-when the
show floor was closed to attendees) I reported on arrays Sony LCD displays, each showing HD clips from diffferent upcoming Blu-ray discs, including possible releases of season sets of <I>Stargate SG-1</I> and <I>Stargate Atlantis</I>. Those clips disappeared with the opening of the show floor, to be replaced by content that extols the glories of Sony products and technology. Oh well.

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AMX Gets Small
Tom Norton  |  Sep 15, 2006

This programmable, whole-house multi-zone 5" widescreen controller from AMX was so cute you'll want to adopt it.

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Wow! Pop's Stereo is Really Boss!
Fred Manteghian  |  Sep 15, 2006

English speaker manufacturer Tannoy made their name with concentric driver arrays, but technology and nostalgia were combined in their Prestige line that pays homage to their past. The Kensingtons ($11,000/pr) are two way speakers in gorgeous wood cabinets. The drivers and cabinets are handmade in England. I rapped on them and they are solid and tight. The side by side vertical slots that run top to bottom along the corners of the speaker (not visible in this shot, unfortunately) are the vents for the bass. Powered with a Manley Amp Stingray integrated tube amp and driven by a Denon CD player, the sound was really quite good, even amongst the aural clutter that is the show floor.

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