For every person who loves digitial media, there’s always going to be someone who loves it just a little bit more. You might like high-definition video…but someone else is going to want a high-definition media server. And then someone else is going to want to stream high-def content from that server to, say, the home theater and the rumpus room. And then, dontcha know, someone will want—no, need—to stream high definition video to twelve different places in their home. All at the same time.
Fortuntely for the latter group, there’s Sony, which today announcd two high-end home video distribution systems designed to push high-definition video throughout the home to as many as 12 different zones.
Sony’s forthcoming CAV-CVS12ES HD video distribution system used everyday Cat-5e Ethernet cable to push high-definition video to as many as twelve different zones throughout a home, and integrated with Sony’s existing CAV-M1000ES and CAV-M1000NR AV distribution systems with their LCD touchscreen controllers. The CAV-CVS12ES offers eight HD component inputs supporting video up to 1080p resolution, four composition inputs with upscaling capability, and RS232 and IR inputs for integration with home automation and control systems. Users just run Cat-5e wiring from the CAV-CVS12ES to their intended zone, then attach a component adapter to hook up their target devices. The CAV-CVS12ES will be available in September through authorized dealers for $2,700; those component adapters for each zone will be $129 each.
“With the rapid growth and popularity of HD video, custom installers are looking to integrate solutions that satisfy the desire for connectivity throughout the entire home,” said Neal Manowitz, Director of marketing for Sony Electronic’s Consumer Systems and Applications division. “The CAV-CVS12ES adds HD video to the Sony M1000ES audio system, allowing custom installers to deliver on the consumer demand for whole house HD distribution.”
The CAV-CVS12ES might be a good high-definition add-on to an existing home video distribution setup, but what if you’re starting from the ground up? Sony’s forthcoming NHS-1040, NHS-2040, and NHS-3040 are aimed at home builders looking to put a high-definition video system into the walls literally as the walls are going up. The new NHS systems support up to 13 zones of HD video distribution (at least, in the 3040: the 1040 and 2040 support 7 total zones), and come with the full package: a 7.1 HDMI home theatre (which takes up one of the zones), an 80 GB music storage service, a 400 disc DVD changer (with the 2040 and 3040), an AM/FM tuner, XM Satellite Radio support, a single-disc Blu-ray player, and three aux inputs. The New NHS series will be available during the third quarter of 2007, by which time Sony will presumable offer additional details (and maybe even pricing) on its New Home site.
