LATEST ADDITIONS

CEDIA 2014
PRO Audio Technology Crams MASSIVE Sound in Your Walls
John Sciacca  |  Sep 15, 2014
Looming just outside the PRO Audio Technology booth are speakers that literally dwarf my 6-foot 4-inch self. These speakers weigh upwards of 300 pounds, feature massive horns and woofers and are driven by 10,000 watts of amplification to deliver organ pulverizing SPLs in even the largest rooms. So when I went into the PRO Audio demo, I certainly expected to be blown away by big sound. What I didn’t expect was what I saw when the demo was over and the company revealed what was actually playing!

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CEDIA 2014
Krell Foundation Unlocks 4K
John Sciacca  |  Sep 15, 2014
One of the big announcements from Sony’s CEDIA keynote address was that the company’s FMP-X10 4K media player would be updated later in the year to work with other companies TVs, meaning Sony is going to partially unlock its proprietary connection. This is great news for Ultra HD content starved viewers, however it will likely still require a separate HDMI cable for audio from the media player to the processor and for video to the TV. Lame. Fortunately, Krell figured out a way around this.

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CEDIA 2014
Crestron PinPoint Knows Where You Are
John Sciacca  |  Sep 15, 2014
Controlling an automation system with an iPhone/Android device is great, but can become a little more tricky as you move about in a large home. The way systems are typically programmed, a home/project is divided into rooms or areas, and then you need to select which room you are in to control it. As you walk around, however, you might find yourself needing to scroll through lists of rooms trying to find the right one to control. This can become a real issue in large homes with many room. Crestron’s new PinPoint proximity detection beacon will simply solve this problem, making sure that your device opens up ready to control the room you’re in!

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CEDIA 2014
Celerity Delivers 4K Over Fiber
John Sciacca  |  Sep 15, 2014
Just when we mastered sending 1080p HDMI signals around the house over Cat5 cabling, much larger and more bandwidth intensive 4K video looms darkly on the horizon. And according to some cable tests I’ve seen, the current cable distribution scheme might not work for your 3840x2160 video streams, especially as distances increase. Instead of black screens of “No Signal” or drop-outs and sparklies, Celerity offers a fiber solution that will support 4K runs up to 1000 feet!

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CEDIA 2014
Yamaha's New Soundbar Hits the Target
John Sciacca  |  Sep 15, 2014
Soundbars are one of the hottest growing market segments, letting people add significantly better sound to the mediocre garbage that spews out of the “speakers” included with most flat panel TVs. While most sound bars talk about sound quality and surround immersion – both important traits, of course – the new Yamaha YSP-2500 has a “Target” feature that addresses a completely different issue!

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CEDIA 2014
Monitor Audio Introduces A100 Music Streamer/Amplifier
Bob Ankosko  |  Sep 14, 2014
Great Britain’s Monitor Audio introduced the sleek and uniquely styled A100 music streamer/amplifier at CEDIA Expo 2014. The unit packs a 50-watt Class AB amplifier and high-resolution digital-to-analog converter intro a compact, curved chassis that is sure to raise a few eyebrows.

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CEDIA 2014
Atmos Competitor Auro Does Dazzling “Immersive Sound” Demo
Bob Ankosko  |  Sep 14, 2014
Wilfried Van Baelan talks about the Auro-3D surround sound format he invented before the demo clips roll.

Belgium-based Auro Technologies dazzled CEDIA Expo showgoers with an 11.1-channel “immersive sound” demo of the Auro-3D surround format it introduced in theaters in 2011 and is now bringing to home theaters.

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CEDIA 2014
Zvox Demos Ultra-Wide Platinum SoundBase Soundbars
Bob Ankosko  |  Sep 14, 2014
Soundbar pioneer Zvox demonstrated its new Platinum Series SoundBase systems designed to support TVs as large as 80 inches. The line includes three low-profile models: the 30-inch-wide model 570 ($400), 36-inch model 670 ($500), and 42-inch model 770 ($700).
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CEDIA 2014
The Cheap Seats Have Never Felt Better
Darryl Wilkinson  |  Sep 13, 2014
I have always been impressed by the look and feel of Salamander Designs’ cabinets and furniture. As with most quality furnishings, however, the price tag has always been commensurate with the quality of the furniture. There are a variety of factors for this, most especially the fact that the majority of what Salamander Design makes is highly customizable and built-to-order in Hartford, CT. Sal Carrabba, founder of Salamander Designs, explained that the company’s AV Basics products are “focused on providing simplicity by offering a carefully curated product line that is in stock and ready to ship.” In addition to adding more cabinets to the AV Basics line, Salamander Designs unveiled the new AV Basics theater seat, the Model TC3, at CEDIA.

The TC3 is upholstered in black bonded leather, which Salamander Designs says is...

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CEDIA 2014
Basalte Reinvents the Light Switch
Darryl Wilkinson  |  Sep 13, 2014
Belgin-based Basalte’s Sentido is a unique, square-shaped, intelligent, touch-sensitive light switch with a metal-finish front face that’s divided into two or four equal sections, each with different functions. Basalte says that the entire switch is touch-sensitive and creates “an easy way of control and a unique user experience.” Touching more than one section simultaneously, for example, turns on or off all of the connected lights in the room. The Sentido can be programmed so that a long press of multiple sections will allow the user to sequence through up to four individually programmed light scenes. Multiple Sentidos will be capable of integrating into other companies’ smart home systems in the near future. On display was Basalte’s bridge adapter for integrating Sentido switches into Lutron’s HomeWorks QS systems. Since the Sentido switches do not include internal wireless connectivity, low-voltage wire needs to be run from each Sentido switch to central bridge adapter.

Behind the square metal front is...

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