LATEST ADDITIONS

CEDIA 2013
Control4 Joins the Matrix
John Sciacca  |  Sep 28, 2013
Control4 debuted several new additions to the audio/video distribution portion of the company’s well-regarded automation system. Principally was the new 8x8 HDMI matrix switch with built-in HDBaseT technology for sending uncompressed 1080p video and high-resolution, multi-channel audio up to 300-feet over a single Category rated cable. The system can also transmit Ethernet, IR and serial commands over a single cable, making it a perfect application for a retrofit. The new 8x8 matrix features 8 HDMI inputs, 8 stereo analog audio outputs, 8 HDBaseT RJ45 connections, 2 HDMI outputs for local connection, and 8 Ethernet inputs for each zone.
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CEDIA 2013
Knoll Intros 4-Zone Audio Kit with Balanced Inputs
Bob Ankosko  |  Sep 28, 2013
Knoll Systems used CEDIA 2013 to introduce the Q450 digital multiroom amplifier that accommodates four sources and uses fully balanced input plates to combat noise and interference for music sources in distant rooms. The 4 x 50-watt amp comes in two versions: one with simple keypad control and one based on RS232 that can be controlled by iOS and Android smart devices and whole-home controllers. A four-zone kit with in-wall keypads will be available in October for $1,200.
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CEDIA 2013
Off the Beaten Path: Xandem’s Party Detector
Bob Ankosko  |  Sep 28, 2013
You never know what you’ll find nestled among the home automation and audio/video products that dominate CEDIA Expo 2013. Salt Lake City-based Xandem is demonstrating the Tomographic Motion Detection (TMD), which it describes as a market-ready technology for a variety of applications, including home automation and security.

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CEDIA 2013
Planar's Writable 4K UltraHD Display
Thomas J. Norton  |  Sep 27, 2013
Planar showed an 84-inch UHD set available in a variety of configurations: a straight display, a somewhat brighter straight display, a display with a writable surface (shown here) and more. It can also show four standard HD programs at the same time in opposing quadrants of the screen. Pricing was a little confusing, but plan on at least $20,000 and up, depending on the version you choose.

Planar is the company that bought out Runco a few years back, but if they are still making projectors they weren't showing them this year. The passing of Runco as a distinct entity is notable in the annals of CEDIA EXPO. That company nearly always had one of the largest booths at the show.

ADDENDA: In scoping out the Wisdom Audio demo (discussed elsewhere here) I noted that it was using a 3-chip Runco DLP projector. Under Planar, Runco projectors are indeed still available.

CEDIA 2013
JVC Pro Does Ultra HDTV
Thomas J. Norton  |  Sep 27, 2013
In addition to its full lineup of new eShift3 projectors, and impressive demonstrations of them in its booth at the Denver Convention Center and at an off-site location, JVC also announced an 84-inch, 4K monitor at $13,500. The set was shown only at that off-site location, and as it is apparently intended for the pro market, it was not shown on the CEDIA show floor.
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CEDIA 2013
Oh Joy, Carpets
Thomas J. Norton  |  Sep 27, 2013
For the adventurous home theater, Joy Carpets & Co, offers a range of carpets, from conventional to truly wild.

Not to be a party pooper, but the best carpet for a darkened home theater using a projector and screen is as close to jet flat black as you can manage. Black walls and ceilings, too. Just sayin'.

I think a hundred or so interior decorators were just administered CPR.

CEDIA 2013
Future Automation Does Fireplaces
Thomas J. Norton  |  Sep 27, 2013
Mounting a flat screen HDTV over the fireplace is a favorite trick of decorators everywhere. It's also a terrible idea, unless you don't mind a sore neck from looking up. But it doesn't have to be that way.

Future Automation isn't the first company to offer a mounting bracket that moves the TV out then down to a more comfortable position, but such devices are still not common. And this one isn't cheap. At about $3000, $4000 for a model that also swivels, it costs more than many HDTVs! And you obviously shouldn't use it in the down position with a fire in the fireplace!

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CEDIA 2013
Da-Lite Does 4K Screens
Thomas J. Norton  |  Sep 27, 2013
Any screen can be used for 4K projection, but unless the screen surface is sufficiently smooth and free of roughness or graininess, those tiny 4K pixels can be degraded. Da-Lite features a wide range of screen materials that it argues are 4K-ready.
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CEDIA 2013
Vicoustic Acoustic Treatment
Thomas J. Norton  |  Sep 27, 2013
Vicoustic USA is a company new to me in the field of acoustic treatment. They offer a wide range of products, including some unique absorbers and diffusers, for that application. Many of them are less expensive, in my experience, than many of the similar devices currently available. They begin as low as $75 each for an approximately 2-foot square panel (but only available in a package of 10), though the prices can escalate rapidly when you get to premium products such as all wood diffusers.
CEDIA 2013
First Impressions
Thomas J. Norton  |  Sep 27, 2013
Companies hoping to sell you their high-priced home theater recliners were, as usual, all over the place at CEDIA, but none of them could match the little number at the lower left for sheer Victorian chic.

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