Tom Norton

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CEDIA 2009
Lexicon Joins the Blu-Group
Tom Norton  |  Sep 04, 2009
With Anchor Bay's Video Reference Series technology on board, Lexicon's new BD-30 Blu-ray player ($3499) is the first entry in that product category for the company best known for its high end pre-pros, A/V receivers, and power amps. The BD-30 plays back not only Blu-ray, DVD, and CD, but also SACD and DVD-Audio. With Profile 2.0 and BonusView, together with full support for Dolby TrueHD and DTS HD-Master Audio (internal conversion to PCM or bitstream out), plus multichannel analog outputs, it's well-armed to join the Blu-ray player wars.
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CEDIA 2009
Knoll Goes Short and Long
Tom Norton  |  Sep 02, 2009
Knoll Systems or Richmond, BC has announced two new projectors built by the company from the ground up: the HDP1100 and the HDP1200. Both are single-chip DLP designs with 7-segment color wheels said to "virtually" eliminate rainbow artifacts. The projectors are available with either sort- or long-throw, all glass Nikon lenses, and offer an anamorphic aspect ratio for use with 2.35:1 screens and add-on anamorphic lenses. The HDP-1100 ($5999) is short-throw, while the HDP-1200 ($6799) is long-throw.
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CEDIA 2009
Gefen WiFi HD
Tom Norton  |  Sep 02, 2009
Gefen is showing its GefenTV-WirelessHD sender-receiver combo ($899). Operating at 60GHz, it is said to offer high quality wireless transmission of HDMI 1.3 audio/video at up to 1080p/60 to any remote display up to 30 feet away, with no obstructions between transmitter and receiver.
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CEDIA 2009
Zoom Zoom
Tom Norton  |  Sep 02, 2009
As an update to its Titan and Lightning 1080p projectors, Digital Projection has added lens memory that automates changes in zoom, shift, and focus at up to 10 specific preset positions. The repositioning is said to be accurate to within two pixels over repeated cycles. This allows the use of a 2.35:1 screen for 3.25:1 content without the need for an anamorphic lens. While there are important advantages to the full anamorphic approach, there are disadvantages as well. Simply zooming out the 2.35:1 image to fit the 2.35:1 screen does eliminate considerable expense and complication.
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CEDIA 2009
LEDs Lighten Up
Tom Norton  |  Sep 02, 2009
Projectiondesign will be introducing its Avielo Chroma DLP projector with LED illumination. No price was available at press time. The projector is said to produce a wider and more consistent color gamut with its red, green, and Blue LEDs. While the desirability of a wider gamut is debatable given the standard HD color gamut that most program sources use (a playback gamut that's wider than the source simply distorts the colors), more consistent color is always welcome. And unlike conventional lamp-based projectors, the Avielo Chroma's LEDs are said to produce the same color balance throughout their claimed lifetime of 50,000 hours.
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CEDIA 2009
Vizio Gets Dark
Tom Norton  |  Aug 31, 2009
Vizio has announced the new VF551XVT, a 55" LCD HDTV incorporating Vizio's TruLED with Smart Dimming—the company's name for LED backlighting with local dimming. The set also includes Vizio's 240Hz SPS (Scenes per Second) technology. At $2200 (September 2009) it will be the least expensive local dimming set on the market that we know of—at least until November, when Vizio plans to release a 47" version ($1700, SV472XVT). The latter adds a wireless or wired Internet Apps "VIA" feature, which will offer access to content from selected Vizio Internet partners.
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CEDIA 2009
Mitsubishi Puts On the Squeeze
Tom Norton  |  Aug 31, 2009
Mitsubishi is launching its new HC3800 HD home theater projector. Priced at surprisingly low $1500, it uses the latest DLP chip from Texas Instruments, is specified at 1200 lumens with a 500:1 ANSI contrast ratio (3300:1 full on/full off), has a claimed lamp life of 5000 hours in its low, lamp-life conservation mode, and weighs a mere 8 pounds.
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CEDIA 2009
Stewart Covers Up
Tom Norton  |  Aug 31, 2009
Stewart Filmscreen is showing several new products. AcoustiShade is a motorized window treatment that is designed not only to provide blackout in residential and commercial applications, but is also claimed to reduce noise contamination. It consists of three layers: a sound attenuating blackout layer, a decorative and acoustically beneficial face fabric, and an air space. These elements are surrounded by a frame that uses Stewart's Magnetic Blackout and Attenuation assist (MBAA) system (patent pending), which holds the blackout layer tightly to the frame to eliminate light leakage. Prices will depend on size, as the product is completely customized to fit your windows.
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CEDIA 2009
And Runco Gete Larger
Tom Norton  |  Aug 31, 2009
Runco's XTREME VX-33i and VX-33d three-chip DLP projectors will be featured at CEDIA. At $49,995 and $59.995 respectively, and available with a variety of optional lenses, they're designed for luxury home theaters using very large (above 120" diagonal) screens. The VX-33i includes Runco's integrated Vivix video processing, while the VX-33d features Runco's outboard DHD video processor-controller, also incorporating Vivix.
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CEDIA 2009
Panasonic Gets Large
Tom Norton  |  Aug 31, 2009
Panasonic's new TH-85PF12U is the industry's first 85-inch, 1080p plasma. Available in October, this NeoPDP (Plasma Display Panel) has a claimed peak contrast ratio of 40,000:1 (2,000,000:1 dynamic). It's also claimed to require much less power than would be possible in the past in a plasma display this big. At 74.4" by 41.8" and 276 lbs., it's equal in size to four 42-inch displays, and is within 3.6" of being as wide as this writer's projectionscreen! The price: $30,000. I'll take one for the family room, one for the den...
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