The three subs in Velodyne’s new Optimum series come with remote controls that have a built-in magnet letting you stick the remote control on the back of the sub when you’re not using it. The adjustment controls and display, on the other hand, are located on the front where you can actually see them and get to them much easier than if they were on the back.
Revel has announced a whole new range of on-wall speakers designed for use with other components that dwell on the walls. The line, an unusual one for this audiophile-oriented company, also includes a wireless subwoofer.
Dude, when you see someone standing with a camera, and he's obviously waiting for his auto-focus to kick in, have the courtesy to walk around the photographer, not straight into the photo, you jerk, especially when your butt is large enough to obscure everything the camera is aimed at.
Denver is one of the best cities on the planet, if you ask me. I'll really miss not coming here next year when CEDIA moves to Hot Lanta. Except for the 45-minute ride from the airport, Denver is completely convention-friendly. Transportation is cheap or free (the 16th Street Shuttle) and abundant. The weather, at least in early September, is nearly ideal. The commercial convention district is pregnant with possibilities, from restaurants to record stores, to absorb any free time your editor may not know you have. Hell, even the bums here are nice!
My reference receiver since 2001 has been the Rotel RSX-1065, so you can imagine the genuine excitement I felt at learning Rotel is about to drop its successor on an unsuspecting world. There are two of them, actually. The RSX-1560 has seven channels of Class D amplification for $2599, while the RSX-1550 has five channels of Class AB amplification for $1999. Both out in October. Please be advised that my longtime position on 7.1-channel surround (incidentally, both models process 7.1 channels) is that it's for idiots, clowns, suckers, and people who incorrectly believe that an average home theater needs more surround coverage than two speakers can provide. Other new Rotel models include a surround pre-pro, five- and two-channel amps, and (hmmm) no seven-channel amps.
There's a whole new 15 series of Rotel AV receivers and separates, finished in handsome new dress (also available in black). The two receivers and pre-pro decode all the new audio formats via HDMI, and will pass 1080p/24 on HDMI (there is no video processing--a deliberate design choice).
At the Planar press conference, we learned that its Runco brand will now command most of the company's home-theater focus, and Vidikron products will no longer be developed. One of several new Runco products is the DLP-based VW-100HD in-wall rear-pro, which is said to be installable in under an hour once the hole in the wall is complete, requiring only 33" of clearance. The 100" screen displays 1080p images enhanced with an internal ViViX II processor, all for $40,000.
Unveiled first at Samsung's line show a couple of months ago, news of the BD-P2500 Blu-ray player was embargoed until the launch at CEDIA, but the 2550, an identical player intended exclusively for Best Buy, let the cat out of the bag well before that. The 2500 is fully compatible with BD-Live, including 1GB of onboard memory—none of this memory-stick nonsense. Also, HQV processing is back—huzzah! It should be available in October for $500.
A new company, called SE2 Labs, introduced the ITC One Integrated Theater Console. Built into its 100+ lbs chassis is a BD player,a full set of electronics including pre-pro and amps, and just about everything else you'll need tg drive your speakers. Lots of external inputs, of course. You'll need cash, too, as the retail price is $30,000. But SE2 Labs claims that if the internal components were purchased separately, they would cost $42,000. An amp-less version is available for home theater fans who like to make that choice themselves, but the cost is the same (balanced outputs are provided).
Quiet Solution makes a variety of products designed to keep your home theater room quiet – both inside and out – such as QuietRock drywall panels and QuietWood for floors and the like. Now you can even soundproof the door in your home theater with the company’s QuietHome doors, which are about as heavy and dense as a door you might find on one of the Egyptian pyramids (of course, they didn’t have hinges then). The door ships pre-hung, and the frame includes a foam-like gasket that seals the door when it’s closed. There’s also a gasket the seals the bottom of the door against the threshold. A 2.25” THX certified version is available for $1,995. The 1.75” non-certified version is $1,499, which the company says is up to 50% less than other acoustic doors.
LCD TVs that incorporate LED backlighting with local dimming are a pretty big theme at the show, and Sharp has thrown its hat into that ring with the Limited Edition series. Even more impressive, the 52- and 65-inch sets are also ultra thin, measuring a mere 1 inch thick in the main portion of the screen (the central region is a bit thicker). They use red, green, and blue LEDs instead of white, and Sharp claims a color gamut 150% of NTSC. The colors were striking and almost too intense, especially red. They should be available in October, but pricing is TBD.
This new Sherwood AV receiver has all of the requisite features, plus a new type of audio processor. Trinnov processing not only performs the usual equalization options, but is said to be able to electronically shift the source of sound from the actual physical location of the speaker to elsewhere in the room.
I was surprised to learn that Sherwood is introducing three new Blu-ray players at CEDIA. The BDP-6003, shown here atop the new RD-7503 AVR, is the only one that conforms to Profile 2.0 and provides a 5.1-channel analog output for $500. The other two are Profile 1.1—the BDP-5003 has a 2-channel output for $350 and the BDP-7003 has a 7.1-channel output for $450.
CEDIA 2008
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