Thomas J. Norton

CEDIA Expo 2005 is nearly upon us, and with it comes a rash of new audio and video goodies. The annual trade-only event of the Custom Electronic Design & Installation Association, held this year as most in Indianapolis, Indiana, has grown in a dozen years from a small education and demonstration event into an industry powerhouse second only to the immense January Consumer Electronics Show.

The second day of the DisplaySearch HDTV Conference 2005, held on August 24 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California, began with a session on the current state—and future—of the HDTV market. The presentations from DisplaySearch, Samsung, and Panasonic were heavy on statistics. I won't report them in eye-glazing detail here, but a few will inevitably be scattered throughout this report.

At a press event in Pittsburgh, PA, last week, Sony announced two new rear-projection SXRD televisions. Previously available only in the company's upscale Qualia line, SXRD now enters a wider market. The 60-inch KDS-R60XBR1 and 50-inch KDS-R50XBR1 Grand Wega designs, at $5000 and $4000 respectively, are still priced toward the high-end, but they are now in direct competition with top-of-the-line sets using other digital display technologies.

<I>Directed by Katsuhiro Otomo. Aspect ratio: 1.85:1 (anamorphic). Dolby Digital 5.1 (English, Japanese), Dolby Surround (French, Spanish, Portuguese). 126 minutes. 2004. Sony Pictures Home Entertainment 05503. PG-13. $49.95.</I>