LATEST ADDITIONS

CEDIA 2010
RBH Says Put Down that Drill
Mark Fleischmann  |  Sep 23, 2010
Struggling with an in-wall speaker in one hand and a drill in the other is the bane of the custom installer. RBH offers a solution in the QM-615. It comes with a two-way Allen wrench. Connect the speaker cables, pop in the speaker, and use the rounded end of the Allen wrench to punch in spring-loaded tabs which lock the speaker into place. The more conventional end of the Allen wrench would be used to lift the tabs and remove the speaker. Price is $250/pair, shipping now. RBH also showed the new Signature SX line, with a full range of sizes and eventually some custom veneers.
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CEDIA 2010
It's Just the Motion at Martin Logan
Mark Fleischmann  |  Sep 23, 2010
Martin Logan's new Motion Series is a downsized line of towers with folded motion ribbon tweeter, shown. Both this smaller Motion and the existing larger Motion have complementary center and surround models. The company also showed the new ESL tower, which offers its famed electrostatic goodness at less than $2000/pair.
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CEDIA 2010
Def Tech Has Bipolar Non-Disorder
Mark Fleischmann  |  Sep 23, 2010
Definitive Technology has long been a leader in bipolar loudspeakers (with drivers on both sides) so the BP8000 ST Series carries on a long tradition with four towers, including active side-mount subs, at prices from $599-1499/each. Just as novel are the XTR on-walls (pictured) with their extruded aluminum enclosures and both active and passive drivers. They go for $499-899/each.
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CEDIA 2010
JVC 3D Projectors
Scott Wilkinson  |  Sep 23, 2010
JVC's press conference was full of 3D projectors—six in all, though in typical JVC fashion, the company's pro and consumer divisions each offer the same projector with different model numbers, which means there are really three new 3D models, all of which use active-shutter glasses. Click the link for prices.
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue (Blu-ray)
David Vaughn  |  Sep 23, 2010
Tinker Bell (voiced by Mae Whitman) finds herself trapped in the bedroom of Lizzy (Lauren Mote), a polite and lonely nine-year-old in dire need of a friend. While Tink's friends launch a dangerous rescue mission braving the hazards of a summer rainstorm, Tink and the young girl develop a special bond during their time together.

Disney has created quite a franchise around the adorable Tinker Bell with a series of books, apparel and toys, video games, and these Tink-specific films. While my family is older than the intended demographic, the story is heartfelt and the animation is spectacular. Normally I shy away from direct-to-video releases but the house of mouse have given these films the A-list treatment.

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CEDIA 2010
IDT Frame Interpolation
Scott Wilkinson  |  Sep 23, 2010
When chip giant IDT bought the HQV technology form Silicon Optix almost two years ago, I was a bit concerned for its future. But I needn't have worried—IDT has continued to develop the algorithms with spectacular results. At a breakfast demo today, we saw a prototype of IDT's latest algorithms, which provide motion estimation and motion compensation (MEMC) frame interpolation for 120Hz ad 240Hz LCD TVs.
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CEDIA 2010
Meridian Audio Core 200
Scott Wilkinson  |  Sep 23, 2010
Another new product on static display at the Meridian party was the Audio Core 200 2-channel analog/digital preamp with a chassis designed by Alan Boothroyd. It provides a SpeakerLink digital input to accommodate a Sooloos media server and SpeakerLink outputs for any of the company's DSP speakers. The price? $2500.
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CEDIA 2010
Meridian Party at the Georgia Aquarium
Scott Wilkinson  |  Sep 23, 2010
The CEDIA nightlife got off to a grand start at the Georgia Aquarium Wednesday evening, where Meridian hosted a delightful party. A scuba diver greeted guests while gigantic whale sharks and other denizens of the deep slowly cruised by. The acrylic window that separated us from the fish measures 63 feet long by 27 feet high, and it's two feet thick to hold back 6.3 million gallons of artificial sea water.
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CEDIA 2010
Meridian DSP3200
Scott Wilkinson  |  Sep 23, 2010
On hand at the Meridian party was the latest and smallest member of the company's well-regarded DSP speaker line, the DSP3200. This self-powered, bi-amped gem accepts a digital signal and sports a 6.5-inch woofer and 3-inch full-range driver that's the same as the one used in the McLaren supercar audio system. By Meridian standards, it's a bargain at $6500/pair.
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CEDIA 2010
Sharp 3D Blu-ray Players
Scott Wilkinson  |  Sep 23, 2010
Sharp might be late to the 3D game, but it's going all in with TVs, a projector, and two Blu-ray players, the BD-HP90U ($500) and HP80U ($430). Both models can be used in a horizontal or vertical orientation.
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