Stewart Filmscreen is showing several new products. AcoustiShade is a motorized window treatment that is designed not only to provide blackout in residential and commercial applications, but is also claimed to reduce noise contamination. It consists of three layers: a sound attenuating blackout layer, a decorative and acoustically beneficial face fabric, and an air space. These elements are surrounded by a frame that uses Stewart's Magnetic Blackout and Attenuation assist (MBAA) system (patent pending), which holds the blackout layer tightly to the frame to eliminate light leakage. Prices will depend on size, as the product is completely customized to fit your windows.
Mitsubishi is launching its new HC3800 HD home theater projector. Priced at surprisingly low $1500, it uses the latest DLP chip from Texas Instruments, is specified at 1200 lumens with a 500:1 ANSI contrast ratio (3300:1 full on/full off), has a claimed lamp life of 5000 hours in its low, lamp-life conservation mode, and weighs a mere 8 pounds.
LED-illuminated projectors look like they're going to be all the rage at this year's CEDIA. Digital Projection's entry into this field is the M-Vision Cine LED, a single-chip DLP model with 600 lumens of light output and 10,000:1 contrast. Pricing and availability are not available prior to the show.
Vizio has announced the new VF551XVT, a 55" LCD HDTV incorporating Vizio's TruLED with Smart Dimming—the company's name for LED backlighting with local dimming. The set also includes Vizio's 240Hz SPS (Scenes per Second) technology. At $2200 (September 2009) it will be the least expensive local dimming set on the market that we know ofat least until November, when Vizio plans to release a 47" version ($1700, SV472XVT). The latter adds a wireless or wired Internet Apps "VIA" feature, which will offer access to content from selected Vizio Internet partners.
It might be a long-standing DVR fixture in the United States, but down in the land of kiwis TiVo hasn't shown up at all. That's changing this November, when the service finally reaches New Zealand.
Unfortunately, TiVo comes with some caveats in...
Paradigm will be plumbing the depths at CEDIA with its new Seismic 110 subwoofer. Designed to meet today's demand for smaller subs, the Seismic 110 still delivers the goods with a 10-inch driver and an 850W UltraClass D power amp. It should be shipping by the end of October for $1500.
Wisdom Audio's Sage Series of high-end speakers will expand at CEDIA to include the L100i and C150i, planar-magnetic, line-source, in-wall models designed to be placed behind acoustically transparent screens. Both include 50-inch-tall planar line-source drivers for the highs and mids and a woofer array for the lows—specifically, eight woofers in the L100i and 16 in the C150i, which is intended as a center speaker but can be used in the left and right positions as well. Pricing and availability have not yet been disclosed.
Digital Projection is slated to have a slew of high-end projectors at CEDIA this year. Among them is the M-Vision Cine 260, a high-brightness, single-chip DLP model said to output 2000 lumens with 3000:1 native contrast. Pricing and availability are not available prior to the show.
As with all things, Paradigm's Signature Series of flagship home-theater speakers have evolved. At CEDIA, we'll see the third generation of this impressive series, which boasts a 50-percent increase in output and extensive modifications to the bass/midrange drivers, including low-density NLC (Non-Limiting Corrugated) TPE surrounds, which are said to far more effective than standard thermoplastic elastomers at damping vibrations and resonances. Pricing ranges from $600 each for the S1 G-PAL bookshelf to $3500 each for the S8 floorstander and C5 center pictured above.
Like everything digital, LED-backlit LCD TVs are quickly dropping in price. Case in point: Sharp's new LE700UN series, which will make its debut at CEDIA next week. Available in four sizes—32, 40, 46, and 52 inches—prices range from $1100 to $2800, a far cry from the XS1U series, Sharp's first generation of LED-backlit LCD TV—the 52-incher listed for $12,000. The new series no doubt has fewer bells and whistles, but it's 1080p and 120Hz, it provides Internet access, and the company claims it consumes less power than any other available LCD TV.