Scott Wilkinson

First seen as a concept piece at CES last January, the HMZ-T1 is now ready for prime time. This headmount 3D display includes two small, 720p OLED panels—one for each eye—in a futuristic-looking contraption that sits on your head with padded earphones on the sides. The interocular distance and earphones are both adjustable, as is the support structure that holds the device on your head. Because the two displays are completely isolated from each other, there is no crosstalk whatsoever. When fitted properly, most of the unit's weight is on the forehead, which is reasonably comfortable, but I don't know if that comfort will last through an entire movie.

The image is truly amazing, with exceptional 3D and super-deep blacks. However, moving your head around and seeing the "screen" move with you is very strange, especially when you can see the floor below the unit. Fortunately, light blockers can be installed to more completely isolate you from the real world.

When I first heard H-PAS (Hybrid Pressure Acceleration System) technology from Solus/Clements and Atlantic Technology at CEDIA two years ago, I was very impressed at the depth of bass produced by relatively small drivers in a specially ported cabinet. Since then, we've reviewed the AT-1 floorstanding speaker, which garnered a Top Pick designation. At CEDIA this week, Atlantic Technology will be demonstrating its new H-PAS PowerBar 235, a 2-channel, 42-inch soundbar that claims to reach down to 47Hz at -3dB with no subwoofer. Can't wait to hear it!

Most manufacturers are keeping a tight lid on their product introductions at CEDIA until the show starts, but SIM2 has announced a new line of four projectors in advance. Going by the series name Nero, all models are single-chip DLP designs with 3D capabilities using active-shutter glasses. (The company's much-more-expensive, 3-chip Lumis Duo 3D dual-projector system uses Infitec spectral-filter glasses, the same technology employed by Dolby 3D.) The four Nero projectors differ in their feature sets and brightness/contrast specs, and one even offers a native 2.35:1 aspect ratio. Three different lenses will be available, and the grayscale and colorimetry of all models can be separately calibrated in 2D and 3D mode using a PC-based interface. Pricing starts at $19,990. Stay tuned for our impressions of these projectors from the show floor next week.

Fred Maher, an audio engineer now working for DTS, talks about his career as a musician, recording engineer, and producer as well as the use and misuse of dynamic-range compression, the audible effect of lossy data compression, the art of mixing music for multichannel playback, DTS' new Neo:X algorithm that can upmix any smaller number of channels to 11.1, where to place 11 speakers, the benefit of 3D audio, answers to chat-room questions, and more.

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