LATEST ADDITIONS

CEDIA 2010
Speakercraft Goes with the Flo
Mark Fleischmann  |  Sep 22, 2010
The custom speaker giant showed the FloBox and FloBox Mini personal music systems, which include iPod/iPhone/iPad docks, and a CD slot in the larger model. The Vital receiver line is being expanded to include the Vital 250 stereo integrated amp, also with iThing (our term) dock. We were also intrigued by Roots, the company's first box speakers, including three satellite models and two subs in five colors. The subs have boundary compensation, notch filters, and other useful adjustments. The company continues to be a major power in custom install speakers, including the BoomTomb, an outdoor subwoofer that can be buried, emitting bass through a port that communicates with ground level. All products ship by year-end. In his discussion of the economic climate, Jeremy Burkhardt said 15 percent of the company's dealers had gone out of business, but there was virtually no bad debt among the ones who remained. He urged the press to tell dealers that they need to transcend old ways of thinking if they want to survive even tougher times ahead.
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CEDIA 2010
Setup Is Sweaty
Mark Fleischmann  |  Sep 22, 2010
Stepladders, forklifts, crates, cartons, and loads of loads of gear were flying around on the final day before the show. But the setup was arduous for the people doing it -- in part because the powers that be at the Georgia World Congress Center decided it was not necessary to turn on the air conditioning in the vast exhibit space.
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CEDIA 2010
Threefer Monitor Madness
Darryl Wilkinson  |  Sep 22, 2010
Cirago’s CMC3000 wasn’t the only cool device they had to show this morning. The HDX3DV01 (HydraDisplayPort to 3 DVI Multimonitor Adapter – now that’s a mouthful) is a plug-and-play device that works with any computer possessing a DisplayPort output to give you support for up to three DVI monitors – without any additional software required. Cirago says there’s no latency, so it’s perfect for gamers who want to extend their view. Supposedly (actually, I know this to be true myself), using multiple monitors will increase your productivity on the computer – provided you’re not spending your time playing games – up to 42 percent. That alone ought to help pay for the $179 you’ll (gladly) shell out for this uber-cool adapter. Cirago also told me that you can upgrade a non-DisplayPort computer for about $72 to give you the DisplayPort output you’ll need to use with the HDX3DV01.
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CEDIA 2010
Swiss Army Multimedia Center
Darryl Wilkinson  |  Sep 22, 2010
No, it’s not made by Victorinox, it’s made by Cirago – but it has so many features it could well be considered the Swiss Army knife of multimedia centers. For $249, the Cirago CMC3000 starts off as a 1 TB NAS drive with a 1080p HDMI 1.3 output with built-in LAN networking, analog video recording, internet radio station access, and a slew of supported video formats (including H.264, divx, wmv, mkv, and mov). You can also watch Hulu, Netflix, and YouTube video using PlayOn (the box includes a $20 off coupon) or TVersity. It even comes with a real, adult-size remote control instead of one of those cheap tiny things you usually get with these types of devices. Pretty cool.
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CEDIA 2010
Wheels on the Bus
Darryl Wilkinson  |  Sep 22, 2010
Oh, the joys of attending a convention. It cost me $10 to ride 2 blocks (I didn’t know I could have actually hoofed it) from my hotel to the restaurant last night, so it’s a good thing CEDIA offers free bus rides from the various hotels located here in Atlanta to the convention center. Once at the convention center, however, I ran into a very surreal catch-22 situation when the Nazi security people wouldn’t let me go to the press room without a badge. Unfortunately, the only way to get a press badge was to walk through the convention center. Even after I sweet talked a regular registration person into escorting me through security, the stormtrooper stationed at the entrance to the show floor wasn’t pleased with letting us pass. I’m just thankful that the security people aren’t packing heat…
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CEDIA 2010
CEDIA Honors Lutron’s Founder
Darryl Wilkinson  |  Sep 22, 2010
CEDIA is giving Joel Spira, founder of lighting control manufacturer Lutron Electronics Co., Inc., the organization’s 2010 Lifetime Achievement Award. The award “recognizes an individual who has exhibited outstanding, creative, innovative, and visionary leadership in the growth and advancement of the residential electronic systems industry”. What has Mr. Spira done to deserve such an honor? For starters, he invented the world’s first dimming device back in 1959, which launched Lutron as a company, as well as helped revolutionize the lighting control industry. In the years since, Lutron estimates they have made it possible for owners of the company’s lighting control devices billions of dollars in energy costs – not to mention all the personal benefits of convenience and enhanced lighting ambiance.
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CEDIA 2010
Nothing to See Hear
Darryl Wilkinson  |  Sep 22, 2010
Stealth Acoustics has a problem. They don’t want you to see their speakers, especially their newest models called the LinearResponse Series. Although I couldn’t see him, Stealth Acoustics’ representative says the new speakers are an improvement over the previous generation using similar custom carbon-fiber motor and cone-woofer technologies. But the really big enhancement is the use of a new face-panel material that provides a flatter front surface area, which means installers won’t need to pre-plaster or otherwise pre-treat the front face-panel before installation. The new design can be installed and painted or wallpapered over immediately. That’s a huge time-saver, and – as with anything as labor-intensive as custom install projects are – a big money-saver, too.
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Audio Video News
Netflix launches streaming-only service in Canada
SV Staff  |  Sep 21, 2010
Starting Wednesday, September 22, Canadian residents will be able to subscribe to Netflix's streaming video service, without receiving physical discs in the mail. While Netflix has offered its streaming video service for several years, it has...
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Robin Hood (Blu-ray)
David Vaughn  |  Sep 21, 2010
Following the death of King Richard in France, Robin Longstride (Russell Crowe) and his gang are heading home to England when they encounter the dying Robert of Locksley who was tasked with bringing the King's crown back to London. Robin promises the dying man to return his sword to his father in Nottingham. When he arrives in Nottingham, his life takes a precarious turn as he assumes the identity of Robert of Locksley and helps the new King defend the country against a French invasion.

Reimaging a classic hero is a daunting task and unfortunately the screenplay from Brian Helgeland doesn't impress. With Crowe and director Ridley Scott reuniting I expected to be blown away by the production but I felt like I was watching Gladiator 2 instead of a prequel of Robin Hood. Furthermore, the first act is confusing as hell and I felt no emotional connection with any of the main characters.

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CEDIA 2010
Russound Sends the iPod to Collage
Darryl Wilkinson  |  Sep 21, 2010
If you read our review of Russound’s Collage Powerline Media and Intercom System, you know I was extremely impressed with its ease of install, reliability, and potential capabilities. One of those capabilities – integrating with an iPod through an optional iPod dock – is now a reality because Russound is introducing the CPD1, which makes your iPod an available source on a Collage system. Since the Collage system uses Powerline technology for connectivity, there are no new wires and few additional wires that need to be run to install the system. Installing the CPD1 is just as easy (about as plug and play as you can get), and the dock adds a third source of music in addition to music stored on networked computers and each Collage Keypad’s built-in FM tuner.
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