CEDIA 2012

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CEDIA 2012

LG Announces Availability of 84-in 4K HDTV

Rob Sabin | Sep 06, 2012 |

Though not exhibiting at the 2012 CEDIA Expo, LG Electronics took space in a local restaurant in Indianapolis on Thursday night to announce pending availability of its new 84-inch 4K-resolution flat-panel HDTV. According to Jay Vandenbree, senior VP of Home Electronics, the 3840 x 2160-pixel display will be sold by a limited selection of U.S. retailers starting in October. Manufacturer’s suggested retail pricing has been set at $19,999, about $5,000 less than Sony plans to charge for it’s own 84-inch 4K panel announced for the U.S market on Wednesday. That HDTV should be available in November. Of course, there’s no real 4K content available to view on these televisions, nor any medium to deliver it, so buyers will be viewing upscaled 1080i from their cable boxes or 1080p from their Blu-ray players for the foreseeable future. Both sets are said to accept a 4K signal, though, so viewers will not only be future-proofed but should also be able to use other 3rd party scalers to achieve the best image quality with existing 2K content.

CEDIA 2012

VEFXi Does 2D to 3D

Tom Norton | Sep 06, 2012 |

VEFXi is a new company (to us at least) with a plan to convert 2D to 3D on your 3D HDTV set. You say your set can already to this. as most can? But not quite like this, as VEFXi clearly demonstrated with its 3D-Bee Diamond ($699); It was the most convincing conversion I've yet seen, producing a a convincing illusion of 3D popping out of the set rather than existing mostly behind the screen's frame.

The company is also working on a glasses-free 3D solution, the 3D-Bee Ultimate, but the demo showed that this still needs work to produce an acceptable, artifact-free picture.

CEDIA 2012

Elite On the Curve

Tom Norton | Sep 06, 2012 |

It seems that every screen maker these days is offering a 2.35:1, curved screen. The advantage to such a screen is its cinematic look. The disadvantages are possible geometry issues, cost, the fact that it can't be retracted, and possible audio concerns (a concave surface near your speakers isn't a plus). Elite joins the parade with its Lunette curved screens, available with several different screen materials, including a new woven acoustically transparent design (with an effective gain of under 0.9) and the company's 1.1 gain non-perf white.

The surprise here is the price structure. In a world where some curved screens command five-figure price tags, a 103-inch diagonal Lunette will set you back about $1500. Other sizes are available. Unfortunately, the woven, acoustically transparent screen will almost double that price. That's because while Elite screens are made in China, the woven material is available only in the U.S.

CEDIA 2012

Epson PowerLite

Tom Norton | Sep 06, 2012 |

Epson's long delayed LCOS (reflective LCD) projector caused quite a ruckus when it was demonstrated at the 2010 CEDIA. But it was never released and has now gone back to the drawing board. So don't look for it any time soon.

But there is a new Epson LCD in town, the PowerLite Pro Cinema 6020. The claim of 2400 lumens and a peak contrast ratio of 320,000:1 would, if realized, be industry highs. The refresh rate of 480Hz is said to increase the 3D brightness. At under $4000 when available in November, the projector will come with 2 pair of active 3D glasses, a spare lamp, and a guarantee of an exchange if, on delivery, there is even one dead pixel.

CEDIA 2012

SIM2 Cinemaquattro

Tom Norton | Sep 06, 2012 |

No price was announced for it today, but SIM2's Multimedia's Cinemaquattro must be that company's most pricey offering. Offering a full 4K resolution and a 3-chip DLP engine, it claims a brightness of up to 10,000 ANSI lumens from its 2kW Xenon lamp. As with all pro-derived projectors, its chassis is sold separately from its long list of available lenses. SIM2's PR maven, Lucette Nicoll, stands by to give you an idea of its size. It weighs 251 lbs.

CEDIA 2012

Stewart's Popular Price Cima Screens

Tom Norton | Sep 06, 2012 |

Stewart Filmscreen has long been known for top quality projection screens, available in a blistering variety of screen materials. But they aren't exactly Blue Light specials. To attract more consumers to the benefits of a projection setup, Stewart has introduced a line of screens more affordable than its other offerings. Called the CIMA line, these screens will all be 16 x 9, fixed frame, and available in a range of standard sizes. Two materials will be available: grey with a gain of 0.9 and White with a gain of 1.1.

For those who have the spare cash, Stewart also demonstrated the latest version of its Director's Choice screen, offering an almost infinite variety of aspect ratios, settable and selectable by motorized masking at the touch of a button. The 15-foot wide model shown retails at just short of $60,000.

CEDIA 2012

Media Preview: Cutting-Edge Receivers, Tube Headphone Amp and More

Mark Fleischmann | Sep 05, 2012 |

The CEDIA Media Preview also featured some surround electronics and other items. Here they come:

CEDIA 2012

Media Preview: Hanging Speakers, TV Soundbars and More

Mark Fleischmann | Sep 05, 2012 |

At the CEDIA Media Preview, for 90 feverish minutes, several dozen exhibitors showed their wares to media personnel walking through a single large room. Here are some audio highlights relating to speakers:

CEDIA 2012

Sony Adds Home Automation to ES A/V Receivers

Tom Norton | Sep 05, 2012 |

Sony introduced three new AV receivers. The claim to fame of both the STR-5800ES (130 Watts per channel) and STR-2800ES (100 WPC) is that they may be directly integrated with the popular Control4 home automation system. They may also be used with a variety of other automation systems. The third model, the STR-DA1800, does not have Control4 built-in. All three offer 4K upconversion, full WiFi, Bluetooth, Airplay, and Internet access features.

CEDIA 2012

Sony Unveils High-End 3D Projector

Tom Norton | Sep 05, 2012 |

Though outwardly similar to last year’s VPL-HW30ES, Sony’s new VPL-HW50ES (available in October) is an updated design. It incorporates the same Reality Creation processing as the company’s flagship VPL-VW1000 4K projector, scaled down here for 2K operation. There’s a new Iris 3 algorithm for the projector’s advanced dynamic iris, for a claimed dynamic contrast ratio of 100,000:1. The light output is also said to be increased by 30% to 1700 lumens. The 3D transmitter is internal, and the 240Hz panel is claimed to reduce 3D crosstalk. There’s also a 2D-to-3D conversion mode and a 244-zone panel alignment feature to insure convergence.

While at $4000 the VPL-HW50ES is more expensive than the HW30ES (which remains available at a reduced price of $3000), the new projector’s price includes 2 pair of active 3D glasses and a spare projection lamp.

CEDIA 2012

Sony Bows 84" 4K TV

Tom Norton | Sep 05, 2012 |

Sony’s launched its new XBR-84X900 84-inch diagonal LED edge-lit LCD set at its CEDIA EXPO 2012 press conference. With a native 4K resolution (3840 x 2160), it can display native 4K material at 24Hz or 30Hz, or upscale 2K sources to 4K. With its passive 3D glasses, it can also produce a full 2K 3D resolution to each eye (passive glasses in a 2K 3D set reduce the resolution of a 1920 x 1080 source to 1920 x 540). The set looked spectacular and will be available at selected Sony stores in November for $25,000.

Sony also announced two new flagship XBR-HX950 LCD flat panels: 55-inches ($4500) and 65-inches ($5500). The sets offer full LED backlighting with local dimming and are available now.

CEDIA 2012

Monstrous Sound on the Go

Bob Ankosko | Sep 05, 2012 |

Surprisingly big sound from a tiny box is what you can expect from the Bluetooth-enabled ClarityHD Micro Speaker Monster introduced at CEDIA Expo. The concept: Instead of suffering through the tinny sound you get from your smartphone, tablet or PC, stream the audio to a portable speaker that easily fits in a briefcase or backpack.

CSR’s aptX audio coding is employed to deliver CD-quality sound and functions such as playing music, answering calls and Bluetooth pairing are handled by simple voice commands. Operating range is 30 feet and the speaker’s lithium-ion battery is said to last 5 hours on a single charge. Available in black and white, the ClarityHD sells for $220 and has a minijack input for use with non-Bluetooth devices.

CEDIA 2012

High-Performance Headphone Listening

Bob Ankosko | Sep 05, 2012 |

Cary Audio has made a distinguished contribution to the headphone craze sweeping across the consumer electronics industry with the HH-1 headphone amp. Introduced at CEDIA Expo, the amp is designed and built in the U.S. and teams a tube preamp stage with a solid-state MOSFET output stage, chosen for its tube-like sonic characteristics. Featuring Class A operation at all output levels and a 30-second muting circuit to prevent annoying turn-on pops, the amp sports a pair of RCA inputs with loop-through outputs and is designed to drive headphones with impedances between 30 and 600 ohms. Price: $1,595.

CEDIA 2012

Hide Your Sub Away

Bob Ankosko | Sep 05, 2012 |

“Make it disappear” is a common refrain in the world of custom-installed home theater systems where speakers are routinely concealed in walls and ceilings.

CEDIA 2012

CEDIA Expo 2012 Kicks Off Today

Michael Berk | Sep 05, 2012 |

The 2012 edition of the CEDIA Expo kicks off today, and for the next week we'll be bringing you news of all the latest and greatest from the show.

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CEDIA 2012

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