Scott Wilkinson

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CEDIA 2011
DVDO 6x2 Matrix Switcher
Scott Wilkinson  |  Sep 11, 2011
DVDO was demonstrating a prototype technology from parent company Silicon Image in the form of a 6-in/2-out HDMI matrix switcher. The important features include InstaPort, which allows switching inputs in less than a second because all ports are active all the time, and InstaPrevue, which displays PIP insets from all inputs as seen in this photo, letting you select the input you want based on the content. No pricing or availability was revealed.
CEDIA 2011
THX Media Director
Scott Wilkinson  |  Sep 11, 2011
THX has been talking about its Media Director technology for some time, but it's finally being introduced to the marketplace. Media Director embeds metadata in the content itself, describing how the content was created and how it should be rendered in order to preserve the creator's artistic intent and assure optimal presentation. To do so, the so-called content descriptors are created along with the content and remain associated with it all the way to the end user's display and audio system, which automatically adjust their settings for optimal playback, offsetting the calibrated settings as needed for that content only.

The first Blu-rays to include Media Director metadata are the new Star Wars discs, but other studios are ramping up to include it in their new releases. On the hardware side, the first player to have Media Director capabilities is the Dune HD Blu-ray/media streamer from HDI Dune (yeah, I had never heard of them, either). As you can see in the photo above, it was implemented in a Sharp Elite TV at the THX booth, and it will be part of the 2012 Sharp Elites. In fact, starting in 2012, products that hope to be THX-certified must include Media Director functionality.

CEDIA 2011
Entertainment Experience TruVue Vango LED DLP Projector
Scott Wilkinson  |  Sep 11, 2011
As I was cruising through the Screen Innovations booth, I discovered a projector I had never heard of before, though I learned that it wasn't new at the show. The TruVue Vango from Entertainment Experience is a single-chip DLP model with LED illumination and a claimed contrast ratio of 100,000:1. It comes with an eeColor TruVue color processor, which is also sold by SpectraCal (see next blog entry for more on that).
CEDIA 2011
SpectraCal eeColor TruVue Color Processor
Scott Wilkinson  |  Sep 11, 2011
Video-calibration stalwart SpectraCal now offers the eeColor TruVue color processor under its own name. This processor is based on 35 years of research into color perception in various environments, analyzing the color coordinates of each pixel 20 times per second and using three-dimensional lookup tables to compensate for different amounts of ambient lighting and other perceptual factors. It also supports all forms of 3D except frame-packed Blu-ray, and it can expand the color gamut while retaining the D65 white point and flesh tones, which is a pretty cool trick. I look forward to checking it out more closely.
CEDIA 2011
Nanosys Quantum Dot LCD TV
Scott Wilkinson  |  Sep 11, 2011
Also in the SpectraCal booth was an LCD TV using quantum-dot technology from a company called Nanosys. A liquid with suspended nanoparticles is sprayed on a film that is added to an LCD TV, and blue LEDs stimulate the particles to glow red and green. Combined with the blue light from the LEDs, this forms full-color images. The image on the prototype display wasn't the best I've ever seen, but it's a new technology that could well improve in the future.
CEDIA 2011
Digital Projection Titan Quad 1080p 3D DLP Projector
Scott Wilkinson  |  Sep 11, 2011
As we all know, 3D needs as much brightness as it can get, and you get plenty with Digital Projection's Titan Quad 1080p 3D. This monster includes four lamps to blast up to 16,000 lumens at the screen with a native contrast ratio of 2000:1. You can up the contrast to 5000:1 by closing down the aperture, but then you get "only" 8000 lumens. The price for all that light? Just shy of $90,000.
CEDIA 2011
Digital Projection M-Vision Cine 3D DLP Projector
Scott Wilkinson  |  Sep 11, 2011
Digital Projection's entry-level 3D model is the M-Vision Cine 3D single-chip DLP, which outputs 3000 lumens without BrilliantColor (5500 lumens with BC, but you sacrifice some color fidelity in this case). Pricing is around $18,000.
CEDIA 2011
Digital Projection dVision Scope 1080p & 3D DLP Projectors
Scott Wilkinson  |  Sep 11, 2011
SIM2 wasn't the only company with a native 2.35:1 DLP projector at the show. Digital Projection showed its dVision Scope 1080p single-chip model with a native resolution of 2560x1080 and a native (non-dynamic) contrast ratio of 7500:1. A modified Gennum processor expands 2.35:1 images to occupy the entire imager when black bars are detected. Pricing is around $50,000. Another new dVision model is the 35-1080p 3D, which uses active glasses and two lamps for 3D content. The price tag here is $35,000.
CEDIA 2011
HDBaseT Clears Cable Clutter
Scott Wilkinson  |  Sep 09, 2011
HDBaseT is designed to clean up cable clutter in a big way. This interface format uses a single, slender cable with an RJ45 connector on each end to carry HDMI (with HDCP compliance), Ethernet, USB, RS-232, and up to 100 watts of AC power more than 100 meters, precluding the need for all those separate cables (and extenders in the case of HDMI). Crestron, AMX, Gefen, and Extron are selling HDBaseT products now—including adapters that convert between HDBaseT and HDMI for legacy gear—and promoters include LG, Samsung, and Sony Pictures, which believes that people will consume more content if connections are this easy. Fortunately, the HDBaseT Alliance is a non-profit organization, and licensing costs very little, which bodes well for its adoption among consumer-electronics companies.
CEDIA 2011
FPS Image Anyplace 3D Kit
Scott Wilkinson  |  Sep 09, 2011
Really big 3D in the home no longer requires a special projector—with the Image Anyplace 3D Passive Viewing Kit from Flexible Picture Systems (FPS), you can display passive-polarized 3D using any pair of conventional projectors, providing greater brightness than single-projector systems. The 3D signal from a Blu-ray player or broadcast source is sent to an HDMI splitter and then on to two IA3D processors, which separate the left and right images. These signals are sent to the two projectors fitted with polarizing filters in front of the lenses. The IA3D processors also provide advanced geometry correction derived from the Silicon Optix Geo processor, making setup and alignment surprisingly easy. The kit includes two IA3D processors, HDMI splitter and cables, polarizing filters, 10 paper glasses, four plastic glasses, and a remote for $7495. Just add two projectors and a polarization-preserving screen, and you're in business.

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