CEDIA EXPO USA 2006 - Part 3
October 05, 2006 — Article
Here are 10 more brands for the third of our descriptive Photo Tour of CEDIA 2006.
Runco : HD, THX certified!
The famous American manufacturer, Sam Runco, launched the first video projector equipped with 3 DLP HD chips to have received the THX certification. Runco VX-2c projectors reach a 1280×720 resolution with a 3100:1 contrast ratio for 2500 ANSI lumens.
Runco is already working on the 1080p model which should also be getting the prestigious THX certification very soon.
Denon, new products galore !
Denon had a lot for show at CEDIA this year. For starters we had the 5 DVD players with three of them featuring CI, Custom Integration, particularities. Indeed, the DVD-3930CI (1500 $), DVD-2930CI (850 $) et DVD-1930CI (370 $) were designed to answer the needs of custom installers for the optimization of the audio video systems they create. The DVD-1730 (170$) and DVM-1835 (250$) are targeted to a wider public.
As for amps, here again we have 5 new models, two of which feature the CI particularities. They were designed to become the cornerstone of your installation. They’re all iPod compatible insofar as you’re equipped with the ASD-1R receiver. The AVR-5805CI is the flagship product sporting the AudysseyMultEQ Pro. You’ll get a complete explanation of this technology in our video clip.
The AVR-2307CI (800 $), AVR-1907 (550 $) AVR-1707 (450 $) and AVR-1507 (330 $) are the four other models by Denon in their new audio video receiver range.
Lexicon, make it 7!
Lexicon enriched its Home Theater range with three brand new 7-channel amps. There is the flagship ZX-7, with a truly impressive 300 Watts per channel, the RX-7 with 200 Watts per channel and the GX-7 with 125 Watts per channel.
What we have here are fully balanced power amplifiers from input to output with completely symmetrical circuit design in a suavely sober casing!
Designed for middle-sized rooms, the GX-7 will be available in October with a MSRP of 3,000$. The RX-7 and ZX-7 will both be available in November and are priced at 6,000 and 8,000$ respectively.
Harman Kardon, showcasing a Media Center
Harman Kardon played it big here at CEDIA introducing the company’s first Media Centers. Named DMC1000 and DMC250 (D’s for Digital). Let’s take a closer look at the DMC1000, which is equipped with a hard disc that’ll store 20,000 song titles and all the relevant info. It’ll give out up to four different audio streams to various listening zones. Of course it features a CD/DVD player and boasts a video upscaler that’ll deliver images with a 720p resolution via an HDMI 1.1 output. The DMC1000 can also play back music or video/still images from an iPod. The MSRP price is as mesmerizing as the design: 3,000$.
Tom McLoughlin, Harman Kardon president, pointed out: “Our new digital media centers offer consumers unique and innovative ways to enjoy their favorite music, movies and images. The DMC 1000 and DMC 250 not only provide versatile home entertainment capabilities, they make it easy to store, transfer and access a wide variety of media content for use in the car, with a portable player, on a cell phone or with other compatible devices.”
Optoma, video projectors for all budgets
Lots of new goodies on the Optoma stand at CEDIA this year. There was the company’s first video enhancement processor, the HD3000, built to convert most video sources to an HD 1080p resolution. Equipped with a Gennum VXP processor, it offers 10-bit video processing. It’s MSRP is 3000$.
In the HD line, the HD81, a true 1080p home theater projector, gives a great home theater experience with its studio-grade professional video/color enhancement processor. Built around the 95” DLP chip, it boasts an impressive 10,000:1 contrast ratio. It is MSRP priced at 7,000$.
For lighter budgets we checked out the brand new HD70. A 720p featuring a 720p DLP chip at an affordable price: 999$.
Sharp and trim, it sports a 4,000:1 contrast ratio and 1,000 lumens.
Canton, a whole wall of new In-Wall speakers
Canton chose the CEDIA EXPO 2006 to introduce two new lines of In-Wall speakers. The first In-Wall series was designed for Hi-fi and Home Theater. The two-way In-Wall 500, 500LCR, 650 and 800 are available at a MSRP of 215, 350, 275 and 325$ respectively. The 500LCR is slightly different from the rest of the range being equipped with two 5.3” mid-range speakers to harmonize nicely with surround systems.
As for the second range, which is referenced DT In-Wall series, “these are the ideal in-wall speakers for one room or fifty,” said Paul Madsen, the president of Canton USA. “They were designed, engineered and manufactured with the same attention to sound quality as all Canton products. The new mounting systems are easier to use than previous models, providing significant time savings for custom installers.” The In-Ceiling 500, 650, 650 DT and 800 are available at 215, 275, 300 and 325$ respectively. All the new models feature high quality cone woofers, pivoting tweeters with level adjustment for ideal dispersion in any environment, and removable speaker assemblies to simplify installation and painting of mounting brackets and grills. The 650DT, with its two tweeters, allows for great stereophonic sound reproduction with just one speaker.
Bang & Olufsen, conquering the West!
The BeoSystem3 audio video processor was officially seen for the first time on the US market. Bang & Olufsen packed a great deal of technology into this very pretty box designed by David Lewis.
Just plug in all your audio video inputs as well as all your screens and speakers and the magic box does it all! Indeed, it’ll read any video source, HD or not, and it will decode surround sound in 7+1 the original source being DTS or Dolby Digital. Once set up you needn’t worry about the BeoSystem 3 any more as you’ll only be dealing with the one Beo4 remote to control your entire installation.
And for those who thought Bang & Olufsen only designed “captive” products , it is noteworthy that the BeoSystem3 is compatible with the BeoMedia1 that allows you to control the entire multimedia contents of your computer with your single remote.
Dreamvision, the French touch
The French manufacturer chose to put forward its new CinemaTEN’80 1080p projector. It’s equipped with 3 D-ILA chips and boasts a 1920×1080 resolution. The contrast ratio reaches 2500:1 for 600 ANSI lumens.
Matched with the DreamScaler2 processor, this projector will handle almost any kind of video signal with its 12 input sockets. This tasks rests upon the 10 bit processor engineered by Anchor Bay.
Fujitsu, the 51 Series
Here’s a new range of LCD screens straight from Japan: the 51 Series. They’re available in 42”, 50”, 55” and 63”.
These 4 models are equipped with QAM tuners using CableCARD technology and an AVM-II video processor (Advanced Video Movement). This device provides noise reduction, optimizes the signal and improves color quality. The P42XTA51UB (5,000 $), P50XTA51UB (6,500 $), P55XTA51UB (9,000 $), P63XTA51UB (13,500 $) are all available.
Sonance, clearly invisible!
An increasing number of speaker manufacturers have developed an In-Wall range. They offer discrete integration avoiding any unfortunate clash with the surroundings while catering to the WAF… Sonance has taken this a step further with the Architectural Series. Usually, the metallic frame sticks out the wall by 1 or 2 millimeters. With the Architectural Series, the frame becomes virtually invisible as it’s integrated into the wall cavity.
All you have left to do is paint the nano-perforated grills the same color as the wall and you’ll start wondering if they’re really there! The icing on the cake is their totally invisible speakers that can be placed behind the wall panels, yes behind the wall so you see nothing… which we will be showing you in our video clip. Magic ? No, Sonance !
More to come…
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