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What Are You Most Excited About from CEDIA?

CES may be the biggest consumer-electronics trade show of the year, but CEDIA often includes more important product announcements for home theater specifically, and this year was certainly no exception. We saw and heard lots of super-cool toys in Indianapolis earlier this month, as we reported in our extensive coverage.

Now it's your turn to tell us what you found most exciting from CEDIA, whether you were there in person or followed our posts from the show. For this poll, I've listed a few of our favorite items, but of course, there was far more to pique the interest of any home-theater buff, so if your fave isn't here, click on "Other" and let us know what it is in the comments.

Vote to see the results and leave a comment about your choice.

What Are You Most Excited About from CEDIA?
Sharp Elite PRO-X5FD 3D LCD TV
28% (312 votes)
4K projectors from JVC, Sony
25% (280 votes)
3D projectors from Epson, JVC, others
8% (94 votes)
JVC DLA-RS45 D-ILA 3D projector ($3500)
6% (72 votes)
Epson 61000 3LCD Reflective projector
6% (65 votes)
Atlantic Technology H-PAS PowerBar 235 soundbar
3% (30 votes)
GoldenEar Aon bookshelf speakers
5% (61 votes)
Totem Acoustics Metal floorstanding speakers
4% (40 votes)
Definitive Technology StudioMonitor bookshelf speakers
3% (32 votes)
Harman QuantumLogic Surround sound processing
5% (55 votes)
Other
7% (82 votes)
Total votes: 1123

COMMENTS
Scott Wilkinson's picture
As I write this, there are 7 votes for "Other," yet no one has left a comment identifying what product they are referring to. What's up with that? C'mon, I really want to know what got you most excited from the show! I voted for the Sharp, but the Epson 61000 was a close contender for me. 4K projectors are cool, but with no 4K content delivery on the immediate horizon, I can't get all that excited about them.
abentrod's picture

Did not get to CEDIA this year, the Sharp Elite Pro will be my first stop at CES 2012

JustinGN's picture

Honestly? I think Sony's 4K Projector announcement stole the show. Considering its last 4K projector sold to the prosumer/professional realm for $80,000USD, a $25,000 4K projector aimed at the high-end home theater segment was huge news. It (allegedly) eliminates the "screen door" effect many people complain about 1080p projectors on large screens, while offering a significant boost in resolution as well (great for PC gamers like myself, assuming I could afford it!). My only concern is the lack of source material for the format, but Sony and the BDA have been sitting on that BDXL format for a few years now, not to mention Sony's Playstation console is starting to show its age...

CEDIA this year didn't seem to have a whole lot of new stuff, to me anyways (I can only judge by news coverage which, admittedly, is barely scratching the surface of the show floor). It seemed more about polishing existing technology than showing off new ones (Sony's 4K wonder aside; JVC's doesn't count with its sub-DCI 4K resolution). The return of the Elite line of TVs was exciting, I'll admit, but it remains to be seen how it'll perform in real world testing. 3D remains torn between the active and passive camps, which is also troubling since it reminds me so much of the 720p/1080i arguments a few years back: fierce, but ultimately meaningless. There was some interesting developments in the Home Automation space, but nothing really announced for DIY's or the end/average consumer.

I won't say CEDIA was disappointing, far from it. There just didn't seem to be a whole lot of new things to drool over, or technologies to tinker with.

Scott Wilkinson's picture
...but I must respectfully disagree. I thought there were more things to drool over than I've seen at CEDIA in a few years. Certainly 4K is drool-worthy, as is the new Sharp Elite. (Of course, I do agree that final judgement will have to wait until we put one through its paces. Tom Norton is going to do the review at his home, where he has a 60-inch Kuro to make a direct side-by-side comparison.) The Epson 61000 uses a new variation of LCoS and breaks new performance ground in an inexpensive projector. The Atlantic Technology H-PAS soundbar is a quantum leap in that product category, and Solus/Clements' H-PAS speakers were superb as well. The PSB noise-cancelling headphones were exceptional, even though I didn't include them in this list. (Paul Barton will be talking about headphones on Monday's Home Theater Geeks podcast.) All in all, a more exciting CEDIA than I've experienced lately.
JustinGN's picture

All of my opinion is based on CEDIA coverage, largely from your site! ;)

In all seriousness though, I agree with your points here. There were some outstanding products to be sure, and some interesting new gear in existing categories (and, to be fair, the new battery powered shades from Lutron are intriguing for DIYers like myself), but everything felt "evolutionary" instead of "revolutionary"; not a bad thing, per se, but I was hoping for more announcements along the lines of Sony's - big market shakers.

As for 4K, I think it's being misrepresented as yet another resolution increase (it is), when there's other benefits to the resolution as well. For instance, while few people may be able to discern minute details in 4K material versus 1080p in a typically-sized home theater, 4K resolution also brings to the table a display that feels less like a display, and more like a window. Think of it this way - the human eye can see tons of detail in good lighting situations, and yet we still feel as if we're watching TV or a movie when viewing it via projector or small display (flat panels, etc). My theory on that feeling is because we just don't see as much detail from these displays than we do in real life.

I'm getting tangential here. Long story short, I think 4K is big simply because of the possibility of its immersion in home theater, its ability to display more detail than we are capable of seeing in a small area. In other words, the ability to act more like a window, then a screen. That feeling of immersion is really why video engineers keep pushing the boundaries of resolution beyond what we can see in a given area - the ability to exceed our own limitations in an attempt to seamlessly blend two distinct environments into a single perceived reality.

chrisheinonen's picture

I went with the Epson over the Elite, but just barely. As nice as the 4K Sony was, there isn't going to be any content for it and so how it looks is really all dependent on the quality of the internal scaler. I talked to a couple companies that make external scalers, but the only format the Sony will accept at 4K resolution is at 24p, and those HDMI transmitter chips aren't really even available yet. The content that we saw was very nice, but none of us can get that at home.

The Elite was just so much better than any flat panel, and it's available now at a price that is more reasonable, but still very high, than the Sony. The past couple of years at CEDIA all of the flat panels had started to look really good, but nothing really wowed for picture quality compared to anything else, they more wowed you on the design. The Elite wowed everyone that saw it, and I'd like one for a reference panel in my house since it's what every other TV I see the next couple of years will be compared to.

The Epson won out for me as it was priced fairly (under $5,000), and looked absolutely stunning in use. The Sony might offer something that nothing can beat, but you could buy the Epson now, buy an amazing screen and home theater audio system, and then probably have enough money left over to buy a true 4K projector in a few years when there is actually content available. If I could take anything home from CEDIA (well, other than the Ferrari), there's a good chance it would have been that Epson setup.

The JVC "4K" just doesn't excite me since it's still only a 2K chip, but some initial things I've read show that while it might not really add any detail, it does totally eliminate the screen door effect because of how the shifting works. If you have a very large screen that you sit very close to, that might make it a better choice than some of the other projectors out there.

Scott Wilkinson's picture
Yeah, Sharp or Epson was the tough call for me, too. I totally agree with you about the 4K projectors.
curtiswhite's picture

I liked the psb headphones. Allthough a little pricey for me. If popular maybe psb can make cheeper ones. (maybe a psb can make a 5.1 gaming headset) .

Scott Wilkinson's picture
Thanks so much for being the only "Other" to post a comment so far! I totally agree that the PSB headphones are a knock-out. Be sure to catch next week's HTG podcast with guest Paul Barton talking about headphones.
K.Reid's picture

Scott, without doubt it is the Sharp Elite. I just came from BestBuy near Princeton, NJ and WOW! WOW! WOW! They had the 70in showing the BluRay of Dark Knight. I could not believe my eyes. I have been looking for a replacement for my Sony KD-34XBR960 for sometime but could not find a flat panel with the black level I was looking for in the post-Kuro era...well, problem solved.

I was completely captivated by the picture quality watching the movie - especially the IMAX sequences. It was fantastic (even without a pro calibration). No charcoal gray bars...just deep, inky blacks...and all the subtle gradations of black as well. It embarrassed the other sets in the store. There's just no comparison. Only issue I saw was extreme off axis viewing.

Now I have to muster $8K. Undoubtedly, it's a high price to pay, but the picture if bar none the best out there by quite a few notches. THE BIG QUESTION...will Tom Norton replace his long time reference Pioneer Elite plasma with this model for comparison reviews in HT mag?

javanp's picture

I'm most excited for 4K. Sure consumer content isn't in the near future, but the fact that the projectors are starting to drop to real-world levels sure is a promising sign.

Anybody who thinks they can't discern the difference between 4K and 2K should go check out Contagion at a 4K cinema. I almost always go to cinemas that have 4K projectors because I've had better experiences with them than their DLP 2K counterparts, but Contagion was the first time I got to see a 4K projector with a 4K source and the picture quality was IMAX quality IMO.

If I could have the opportunity to put a 4K projector in my home, I'd do so in a heartbeat.

Maybe I'm mentally exaggerating the benefits of 4K at home, but, nevertheless, 4K is much more exciting to me than a new "elite" tv or anything else on the horizon. Actually... I take that back--if they had demoed the new Audyssey function that supposedly prevents bass from traveling through walls (I'm calling witchcraft on that one) and it WORKED then that'd probably take the cake for me... damn apartments.

jnemesh's picture

I think that the biggest winner at CEDIA is Lutron with their new, AFFORDABLE integration friendly shade systems! New displays and projectors are always nice, but they arent going to change the game the way these shades are! FINALLY we have a solution to offer customers that is integration friendly and attainable with any budget! Heck, these shades are cheaper than a lot of competitors NON motorized shades! Every dealer I have spoken with is VERY interested in offering these to their customers...I think this is going to expand the market quite a bit once they are available!

(P.S., I am eating a bit of crow on my comments on the "Elite" LED TVs. It looks like they have a winning product, and customers are lining up to buy them...I thought they would be too expensive for too little differentiation between the Elite and the Sharp branded sets...but so far, I appear to have been wrong!)

(P.P.S. Anyone get eyeballs on the new Panasonic Premier 65"? I havent seen much written about it, but I am expecting it to be a top contender for the "Kuro Crown" as well...)

bluescreen's picture

I voted other since I had been anticipating the LW9800 series for a while. I like the idea of passive 3D and Full LED but was disappointed they only announced the 55" and gave it a glossy screen.

Jarod's picture

I voted for the 4k pjs but I was just as excited for the Epson 3D pj and the Sharp Elite LCD.

TheJoBoo's picture

Speakercraft's Nirv system definitely dropped my jaw! Can't wait to get one and show it off!

KPerry1960's picture

While it was shown at CEDIA 2010, this was my 1st time seeing the unit. If Classe ever decides to connect two HDMI input ports for switching, not processing video, and processing audio, this would be a homerun type of product. Since there are two configurable audio ports out, it would be very nice to have one act as a center channel. I think of this device as a true trend setter. Very nice concept that I hope others will follow.

stephenix1015's picture

Nowadays almost all in the world is based in computer and other new high technologies. -Texas Lending

SaintOtis12's picture

I attest that CES's exhibition is great. I hope there will be a similar conference in the near future and I will participate with Minesweeper

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