CEDIA 2012

I go into every major audio/video trade show thinking I won’t hear much in the way of new speakers, yet every time I encounter new designs that leave me surprised at least and sometimes downright shocked. This year at the CEDIA Expo, I heard what is certainly one of the best audio demos I’ve ever heard — and maybe even the best.

As S+V tech editor Al Griffin and I were wandering the floor of the Indiana Convention Center Friday afternoon, we came across the Mozaex booth. The music server manufacturer had some of those on display, ordinary enough for CEDIA - but wait. . .

The real story of CEDIA Expo 2012, in my opinion, was the way in which the traditional forces of custom integration and installation continue to respond to the flood of ever-more-capable products coming out of the consumer electronics sector, from wireless video and audio to cheap-and-cheerful iOS and Android propelled appliances.

Kaleidescape has paired up with storied movie critic Leonard Maltin to offer their customers a specialized list of movies hand-picked by the man himself.

Even if you don’t have a Kaleidescape system, they’ve posted video interviews with Maltin on YouTube about the movies.

All the info and one of the videos after the jump.

With their usual Italian flair, Sim2 showed off their latest projectors.

The two big announcements: A dual-lamp, high-brightness projector for “media rooms” and a 4K DLP projector (sort of).

All the info after the jump.

Under-TV speakers should have taken off years ago. They give you all the benefit of a soundbar but they’re a lot easier to install. Just place one  under a flat-panel TV, connect a cable or two, and you have a reasonable facsimile of home theater sound in a matter of minutes.

Last month we got a peek at the 4TV and EVA, the initial offerings from AudioXperts, a new company with a long collective history. We were sworn to secrecy at the time, but there was one cool product we couldn't tell you about then - and now we can.