Austin, Texas, Nov. 16, 2009 – Screen Innovations (www.screeninnovations.com) is proud to announce that it has donated a 92-inch Black Diamond projector screen for the recently aired November 8 episode of ABC’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. The screen was installed by Hanson Audio Video, LLC of Kettering, Ohio. (more…)
Carcès, France—CEDIA Expo 2009—Leading French hi-fi speaker manufacturer Waterfall Audio has been developing innovative audio designs with patented components encased in glass for more than ten years but never before in their history have they dared to push the boundaries this far. (more…)
SHAKOPEE, Minn. — Sept. 2, 2009 — Remote Technologies Incorporated (RTI), a leading manufacturer of professional-grade, integrator-friendly control solutions, today announced that several of its dealers were honored with the prestigious CEDIA Electronic Lifestyles® Award at CEDIA EXPO Asia Pacific 2009 held in Sydney, Australia. Five of the 12 winning installation projects featured RTI control solutions, the most of any control system manufacturer. (more…)
SPARTA, N.J. ― Sept. 2, 2009 ― RTcom USA, Inc., a provider of digital connectivity solutions for professional and consumer A/V systems, today announced that it has enhanced its Digital Extender line of high-definition multimedia interface (HDMI) matrix routers by adding an extended display identification data (EDID) mode select function. The increased functionality of the HS-66M Plus and HS-88M Plus solves the most common problem in installed HDMI video systems today: a source being able to output only one format at a time. In installations with a mix of component formats, they will all receive the format of the lowest-resolution display. The EDID mode select function corrects this issue by allowing users to choose the most appropriate EDID to ensure compatibility with all devices connected to the switchers’ outputs. (more…)
Jan McNair appointed to head up new division, and follow up
on success of Zeppelin Hifi Dock.
Bowers & Wilkins announces New Media Division. Offers consumers a high-quality audio experience. Jan McNair appointed to head up new division. Exciting range of New Media products to debut in next six months.
New Control Simplifies Use While Adding Home Automation Capability;
Ideal for Home Theaters, Multiroom Music, Smart Lighting, Security, More
CEDIA EXPO, ATLANTA, GA, Sept. 10, 2009 — NAD Electronics, the highly regarded manufacturer of high-performance audio/video components, announces its strategic relationship with Control4, a leader in automation for the broad market, to embed control capability in NAD’s line of Modular Design Construction (MDC) AV Receivers and Processors. (more…)
Los Angeles, Calif. – August 31, 2009 – Procella Audio, a global high-end loudspeaker manufacturer with offices in Los Angeles, Stockholm, Sweden and Sydney, Australia, is launching operations in the United States with the opening of its Los Angeles office. The company will make its U.S. debut in booth 6235 in the B Hall at the CEDIA Expo in Atlanta Georgia, September 10 to 13, 2009. Joining the company and directing U.S. operations is industry veteran Chuck Back, formerly EVP of Miller & Kreisel Sound. His global partners, former directors of DTS’ European offices, are Anders Uggelberg, who is based in Sweden, and Gerben Van Duyl, who is located in Sydney, Australia. (more…)
The refreshed site offers enhanced navigation, extensive product and technology guides, and new video features.
Nantes, France – August 31, 2009 – Screen Research today announced the launch of its new website. ScreenResearch.com now boasts a slick new design, Web 2.0 elements, and extensive product information to provide custom installation professionals, as well as consumers, with greater accessibility to all the resources they need to integrate Screen Research projection screens and solutions. (more…)
Whole home audio manufacturer will give away one B.C Rich Trace Warbeast guitar each day of the show.
Hebron, KY – August 12, 2009 – The Warbeast will be unleashed at CEDIA EXPO 2009! NuVo Technologies, the value leader in whole home audio, will give away one B.C. Rich Trace Warbeast guitar AND one Warbeast replica controller for the Guitar Hero® and Rock Band® games to a lucky winner each day at its CEDIA EXPO Booth 1965 in Atlanta next month. (more…)
Remember the days when TV only meant one thing? After the advent of color, there really wasn’t much else to distinguish TV. We were blissfully unaware of anything beyond. With advances in video and broadcast technology, the idyllic existence slowly crumbled away. First came the concept of interlaced versus progressive. At first it took a bit to get one’s head wrapped around the concept. What do you mean the TV only draws half of the picture at a time? Then came the full flurry of ATSC. We went from TV to 480i/p, 576i/p, 720p, 1080i and finally 1080p. But wait there was more, there’s also 24/30/60 fps (and those peculiar 23.97/29.97/59.94 rates as well or 50 fps for our European readers). Did I mention there’s a difference between a frame and a field?
Still here? Given the near instantaneous proliferation of formats, is it any wonder that the average consumer can be so overwhelmed? The problem now is the industry seems to have moved beyond trying to educate the consumer to preying on their ignorance.
If one looks at the source material it simplifies matters somewhat. Source material is typically recorded at 24/30/60 interlaced or progressive frames or fields per second. Take a quick look at commercial broadcast and recording equipment. It becomes quickly apparent, that despite vast differences in interfaces and bit-rates, the basic frame rates don’t change. That camera broadcasting the Flames and Blackhawks is only capturing 29.97 frames per second (59.94 fields per second or 60i). So is there a real benefit to seeing the same frame as many as 8x (in the case of 480 Hz)? There certainly no interpolation to generate new frames of data so why?
That it’s largely a marketing (and partially a technical) benefit becomes apparent when one looks at the underlying screen technology most often touting ultra high refresh rates. Nearly without fail you will find high refresh rates being touted for one screen technology, liquid crystal display. The elevated refresh rates are used as a means to mitigate ghosting or motion blur. While vast improvements have been made in grey-to-gray (GtG) transition rates, the still lag those possible with plasma or CRTs. Some manufacturers are even inserting blank frames to boost contrast and/or address the ghosting. While one can’t argue with the novelty in addressing technical limitations, the problem arises with claims of smoother replay of fast moving objects on screen. One just needs to take a look at flyers from your favorite big-box electronics store.
Andrew Yang
