Scott Wilkinson

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CEDIA 2009
SIM2 Mico 50
Scott Wilkinson  |  Sep 11, 2009  |  Published: Sep 12, 2009

Yet another entry in the LED-illuminated, single-chip DLP projector sweepstakes is the Mico 50 from SIM2. Said to deliver 800 lumens, the PhlatLight LEDs have an expected lifespan of over 30,000 hours. It's name means "sparkle" in Italian, but I saw no sparkles in the demo on a Da-Lite Affinity screen, which is a good thing. Not so good was the demo material—a clip from a concert video featuring singer Seal. The colored stage lighting was not conducive to evaluating color accuracy, though Seal's dark skin looked about right when he was in white light. The Mico 50 should be available in November for $25,000.

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CEDIA 2009
SIM2 C3X Lumis
Scott Wilkinson  |  Sep 11, 2009  |  Published: Sep 12, 2009

SIM2's C3X line of 3-chip DLP projectors has a long and venerable history, capped by the latest model, the C3X Lumis. A custom implementation of Texas Instruments' Dynamic Black feature leads to a claimed contrast ratio up to 35,000:1, and a new dimmable 280W lamp can output up to 3000 lumens. The demo was very impressive, with excellent dark detail in a clip from <I>The Dark Knight</I>. The C3X Lumis is available now for $36,000.

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CEDIA 2009
SIM2 Solar 47
Scott Wilkinson  |  Sep 11, 2009  |  Published: Sep 12, 2009

I've seen demos of Dolby's HDR (High Dynamic Range) LED local-dimming technology for LCD TVs for over a year, but it's finally about to be released in a real product from SIM2. The Solar 47 is a 47-inch, 1080p LCD TV with 2206 white LEDs arrayed behind the imaging panel, and unlike other local-dimming sets, each LED is individually addressable. It should be available by the end of the year for&#151;get this&#151;$25,000. Sure, it looks great, but 25 grand for a 47-inch LCD? Yikes!

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CEDIA 2009
Rotel RSP-1580
Scott Wilkinson  |  Sep 11, 2009  |  Published: Sep 12, 2009

This surround preamp/processor from Rotel is so new, it isn't even in the company's CEDIA press kit. Shown here in a rack below a Rotel tuner, the RSP-1580 sports a large LCD display and incorporates dual audio DSP chips with a combined processing speed of 3000 MIPS as well as the latest Genesis video processor that uses 12 bits per color. It can decode all the current audio formats, and a front-panel USB port lets you connect an iPod. Perhaps most interesting is its integrated HDMI matrix switcher with four inputs and four outputs, allowing you to send the signal from any input to any output. The RSP-1580 will list for $4500 when it ships in January.

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CEDIA 2009
Classe CT Series
Scott Wilkinson  |  Sep 11, 2009  |  Published: Sep 12, 2009

Classe's Delta series of components incorporate beautiful industrial design, but their curved enclosures prevent them from being rack mounted. To address this problem, the company is introducing the CT series, which includes several new power amps and a rack-mountable version of the SSP-800 pre/pro. The amps boast a new thermal-management system and other refinements that led one rep I spoke with to exclaim, "They're the best-sounding amps we've ever made." Prices range from $5000 for the 300W monoblock to $9000 for the 5x300W CT-5300.

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CEDIA 2009
Digital Projection Redux
Scott Wilkinson  |  Sep 11, 2009  |  Published: Sep 12, 2009

At the end of the day, I stopped by the Digital Projection booth to see its new offerings, which I blogged about before the show. The M-Vision Cine LED was being compared with an iVision 30 lamp-based projector on adjacent screens, and while the iVision was brighter, even on a larger screen, the Cine LED exhibited better color saturation. In another part of the booth, the HighLite 3-chip DLP looked great, with excellent color and detail.

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CEDIA 2009
Samsung LN65B650
Scott Wilkinson  |  Sep 12, 2009

The newest addition to Samsung's stable of LCD TVs is the LN65B650, a 65-inch monster with conventional backlighting that will list for $6000. Of particular note is a picture mode called BD-Wise, which is found on select 2009 TVs and all of the company's '09 Blu-ray players. BD-Wise lets the TV and Blu-ray player communicate and automatically set their parameters depending on the content. A satellite feed looked quite bad with lots of artifacts, but Blu-ray looked <I>much</I> better.

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CEDIA 2009
Samsung UN55B8500
Scott Wilkinson  |  Sep 12, 2009

The B8500 series is Samsung's latest LED-backlit, local-dimming LCD, available in 46- and 55-inch screen sizes. What distinguishes this line is its depth&#151;only 1.6 inches, far thinner than most LED-backlit sets. The 46-incher will list for $3700, while the 55 carries a price tag of $4600.

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CEDIA 2009
Lexicon BD-30 Redux
Scott Wilkinson  |  Sep 12, 2009

I already blogged about the Lexicon BD-30 universal Blu-ray player, but no one outside the company knew before the show that it has received THX certification. At the Lexicon booth, I also learned that it can decode DVD-Audio and SACD and send multichannel PCM via HDMI, a great feature in this $3500 player. The BD-30 is pictured here with the MC-12HD pre/pro, which just received a firmware update that lets it accept a 7.1-channel PCM bitstream from Blu-rays that offer it&#151;the previous version was limited to 5.1 PCM.

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CEDIA 2009
Sony KDL-46XBR10
Scott Wilkinson  |  Sep 12, 2009

I didn't include a post about the XBR10 series of LCD TVs with the rest of the products from the Sony press conference on Wednesday because it was not active, and photo of a blank screen is boring. This 240Hz LCD uses LED edge lighting, which allows it to be very thin but precludes local dimming. It also provides widgets and access to online streaming content, and an outboard box transmits 1080p wirelessly to the set. It will be available next month in 46- and 52-inch screen sizes; pricing was not disclosed.

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