Attendance at the just-concluded CEDIA (Custom Electronics Design & Installation Association) Expo, held at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, was down for the second straight year to around 20,000, and the number of exhibitors shrunk from 500 to 400. But the good news for home theater enthusiasts is as follows: What the various exhibitors that remained actually exhibited was a considerable amount of ingenuity.
Category: CEDIA
Hitachi UltraThin Plasmas Reach 50 Inches
Hitachi may have shown off the first of its ultra-thin 1.5-inch thick displays at CES back in January, but in the mean time the concept hasn’t stopped growing – quite literally. The company’s latest release sticks with the slender form factor of its predecessors, but and bumps screen size up to 50 inches, making it the largest of Hitachi’s UltraThin line, and one of the world’s thinnest plasmas as well.
Gefen Backs Both Horses: UWB and WHDI
Home theater fans who have been looking for a way to push their high-definition video around their systems (and to different rooms) without the hassles of stringing cables (or drilling holes in the walls) have faced a choice between Ultra WideBand (UWB) and Amimon’s Wireless HDMI (WHDI) technology. Although WHDI has been garnering industry support recently, video connectivity developer Gefen has gotten tired of waiting for a resolution, so it has decided to offer both UWB and WHDI products for folks who just can’t wait to be wireless.
Control4’s HC-200 Controller Under $500
At this week’s CEDIA Expo in Denver, home automation developer Control4 introduced its new HC-200 home automation control unit. What’s surprising about the HC0-200 isn’t so much the wealth of home automation possibilities it offers, but it’s sub-$500 price tag in a field traditionally dominated by expensive hardware controllers.
“We believe the HC-200 sets a new standard of affordability for home automation,” said Control4 CEO Will West, in a statement. “The evolution of our Home Controller line highlights Control4’s commitment to providing flexible alternatives to fit the different needs of homeowners and in the case of the HC-200 will open the door to new customers who are ready for something more capable than a simple universal remote.”
Sony Cranks Up Blu-ray Player, LCD TVs
Leave it to Sony to win the battle for a high-definition disc format, then—just as the market starts to swing toward consumers with pocketbook-friendly prices—”lead” the industry by zig-zagging the other way. But that’s exactly what Sony’s doing—at least for the home theater crowd—at this year’s CEDIA Expo, introducing a new Blu-ray player that’ll carry a $2,000 price tag, rather than the $200 price tag consumers seek.
And, while most LCD TV manufacturers are working on introducing sets with 120 Hz refresh rates to produce smoother, flicker-free images, Sony ups the ante once again, unveiling an LCD TV with a 240 Hz refresh rate.
Sharp Rolls Out New Aquos HDTVs
Electronics giant Sharp has unveiled a spate of new HDTVs at this year’s CEDIA Expo, including new ultra-thing models, along with limited editions, deep color support, sets with 120 Hz refresh rates, and even a small 19-inch model aimed at folks with space constraints. And Sharp has partnered with NBC Universal to net-enable new Aquos TVs, giving Sony’s Bravia Internet Video Link a run for its money.
TiVo HD XL Packs 150 Hours of HD Storage
Just a day after the company spilled news about re-partnering with cable operator DirecTV, DVR pioneer TiVo has unveiled a new DVR unit at this year’s CEDIA Expo—and it’s a whopper. The new TiVO HD XL includes a 1 TB hard drive, enabling users to record up to 150 hours of high-definition programming. As with previous TiVo HDs, the unit offers dual tuners, THX certification, HDMI connectivity, and a backlit Series 3 remote control. The new DVR is available now for $599.99.
JBL WEM-1 Unwires Any Pair of Speakers
Plenty of manufacturers offer wireless speakers, but what happens when you want to save the sweet-sounding setup you already have in your living room, and take it wireless? JBL launched a simple solution for unwiring ordinary speakers on Thursday with its On Air WEM-1 wireless expansion module, which allows users to snip the cord on any pair of speakers.
The On Air comes in two pieces: a transmitter to connect at source material, and a combined receiver/amplifier to hook up at the speakers. It provides 50 watts per channel, as well as a subwoofer output. According to JBL, maximum range should be about 70 feet, and the receiver can also adopt five different equalization curves for different JBL speakers, or a completely unequalized one.
DVDO Edge Upscales Up to Ten Video Sources
Next week’s CEDIA Expo in Denver will see the introduction of the DVDO Edge video hub and processor, which aims to be the first and last question for bringing together a videophile’s plethora of video sources, upscaling them to 1080p, and making them look their best on an HDTV display. The DVDO Edge will handle up to 10 video sources—six via HDMI 1.3 inputs and four analog inputs—and take all the video up to 1080p. What’s more, the DVDO Edge offers precision de-interlacing, noise-reduction, detail and edge management, and claims to dramatically improve image quality using progressive reprocessing.
Highlights from CEDIA 2007
With the CEDIA (Custom Electronic Design & Installation Association) EXPO Show finished for another year, one can’t help but sit back and wonder what the event was all about. (Personally,I’m still wondering.) Unlike previous installments, many products were debuted prior to the show. And while there were certainly new products introduced this year, they were trotted out in muchsmaller numbers than in recent memory.
