As a preface, let me just say that my feet hurt and I’m starting to get cranky. At least I can stretch out in coach tonight on my flight home. Ugh. Also, I would like to offer a suggestion to the many exhibitors on the CEDIA show floor: you are absolutely permitted and, dare I say encouraged, to show footage from something other than Pirates of the Carribean. I’m just sayin’.
Here are some of the highlights from my third day at CEDIA Expo 2007:
Boston Acoustics
Now here’s something that should be popular with some folks. If you’ve been wanting a subwoofer in a rear corner or somewhere that difficult to reach with wire, you’ll love the HPS 8WI wireless subwoofer. Featuring an 8-inch driver and 150 watt amplifier, the 8WI features a built-in wireless receiver which picks up its signal from a small transmitter which you place behind or near your television. Also interesting was BA’s new TVee Model Two, priced at $399. The TVee is a wall-mountable two-channel stereo speaker bar which works in conjunction with a small freestanding subwoofer. This product is designed for those looking for simple stereo sound when your built-in TV speakers don’t cut the mustard or you just want improved sound without firing up an elaborate surround sound system. No remote is needed as it simply auto-detects a signal and responds to the learned volume control from television’s original remote.
Denon
Denon had lots of new toys to show off in their booth including their new Blu-ray Disc player, an expandable AM/FM/XM Ready/HD Radio Ready multi-tuner, a 10-channel power amplifier and a new HDMI video processor/switcher dubbed the DVP-602CI. The latter features six inputs, HDMI 1.3a support and can scale to 1080p making use of the Silicon Optix Realta Noise Reduction chipset en route to its two simultanous outputs.
Escient
A few years ago I reviewed an Escient Fireball movie and music server and was rather impressed. Although the Fireball series is still being sold, Escient used CEDIA Expo to unveil its next generation platform, the Vision series. Comprising the Vision line is the VS-100 and VS-200 media server/players, the VC-1 networked audio/video zone player and a VX-600 media server (but not player). The big feature add for the Vision series is hard disk-based video file storage which can be integrated with your DVD movie library stored on external changer(s). The user interface is attractive, easy to use and should prove to be a popular step up from the Fireball line. The Vision media server/players do not yet suport HD DVD or Blu-ray Disc, but they do feature multiple HDMI 1.3 inputs and software updates are possible, so this allows for future support once the technical obstacles are overcome.
Harman Kardon
A lot of companies were showing media server products, but HK’s new DMC 1000 product set itself apart with a clean, totally home grown operating system/user interface and a slick method for browsing your music library. The DMC features an integrated CD/DVD player as well as a 250GB internal hard disk for storing your ripped music and media files. It’s a multi-zone device capable of outputting four independent streams simultaneously. It also features 1080p upscaling via its HDMI 1.1 output.
Integra
In addition to showing off a pair of new A/V receivers with on-board Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD decoding, the big news was the debut of the company’s first HD DVD player. The major selling point of Integra’s new DHS-8.8 is its ability to output Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD over HDMI 1.3a to an A/V receiver capable of decoding these new lossless audio formats. Say, doesn’t Integra offer some of those? Coincidence! The DHS-8.8 also supports playback at 24 frames per second, features Wolfson and Burr-Brown DACs and makes use of the HQV Reon VX video processor. The price is $1,099 and it will begin shipping in the fourth quarter.
Marantz
The highlight at the Marantz booth was definitely their gorgeous new VP-15S1 1080p single chip DLP front projector. Featuring dual irises and the latest Gennum VXP video processing, the VP-15S1 features 1000 lumens brightness, a 10,000:1 contrast ratio, a 5x six-segment color wheel and vertical lens shift. The price is $9,999 and the projector can be used in conjunction with Marantz’ new LN901M motorized anamorphic lens kit, a $12,500 option. Ouch. How often does your dealer options package cost more than the car? Price aside, the results are impressive to say the least.
McIntosh
McIntosh was showing off a number of exciting new products including a $30k center channel speaker (the line forms to the left), an anamorhic lens kit for their new DLP projector and the VP1000 video processor. The latter was particularly impressive providing 22 inputs and the ability to store seperate video calibration settings for each. The VP1000 upscales video up to 1080p and carries a list price of $9,000. And in a refreshing nod to a time B.i. (Before iPod), McIntosh has also introduced its very first turntable, the $8k MT10.
Mitsubishi
Like Panasonic and Sanyo, Mitsubishi is a popular maker of high value, high performance front projectors. Making its debut at the show was Mits’ new HC6000 LCD projector. Featuring 800 lumens of brightness, a 12,000:1 contrast ratio, two HDMI 1.3 inputs and HQV video processing, the HC6000 is a projector I’m eager to get my hands on for review. Boasting a 5,000 hour lamp life (Economy Mode) and a 200% improvement in its dynamic iris response time, the HC6000 will be available in October for $3,999.
Pioneer
Pioneer had a second-generation Blu-ray player and a plethora of their latest plasma panels on display at their booth. Flat panel LCDs and plasmas were everywhere at the Expo but Pioneer’s plasmas continue to impress me the most. More impressive was their new SC-09TX A/V receiver, or as Pioneer’s Rolf Hawkins likes to call it, “the flagship receiver killer.” Essentially a pair of seperates that have literally been bolted together, the SC-09TX features a ten channel D-class amplifier providing 140 watts x 10 or 200 watts x 7, six HDMI inputs, on-board decoding for Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD as well as a front panel LCD which displays whatever video the machine is currently processing. I had a chance to listen to a high def clip from the latest Harry Potter as well as one from Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds’ new Blu-ray concert disc and the results were astonishing. To be honest, I didn’t want to get up! I guess they have to keep the demo clips short though; otherwise, folks (like me) would never give up their seats. The SC-09TX sells for $7,000 and will begin shipping in January.
Allow me to sign off with some reassuring news for you high def fans patiently waiting for a winner in the HD DVD versus Blu-ray Disc battle. According to the folks at Toshiba and other HD DVD advocates, success is inevitable and the numbers clearly show HD DVD is winning the war. In related news, the folks at Sony and the other companies supporting Blu-ray Disc tell me that BD is the superior format and the numbers clearly show that Blu-ray is winning the war. Don’t you feel better now that that’s settled? Me neither.
I’m heading home today (Saturday) but watch this space for some follow-up comments once I return home.
Thanks for your great coverage of the new Pioneer SC-09TX receiver! I’d like to make a brief clarification on its power ratings however… The output is 140W x 10, or 200W x 7.
"HD Hypocrisy"
"Here’s a few more reasons why only iBiquity and a few clueless radio group heads could make a big thing out of HD radio tagging… The very damn radio stations that broadcast in HD offer no programming worth listening to. HD Radio is a virtual sewer of formats owners don’t want on their terrestrial frequencies and other assorted garbage that no one sane would listen to — let alone spend money for new radios — tagging or not."
http://insidemusicmedia.blogspot.com/2007/09/
700WLW, whether you like HD Radio or not – and I think I know which camp you’re in – it’s hard to dispute that the Polk’s new iTunes tagging feature and its implementation is cooler than a snow cone.
Thanks Rolf. I’ve adjusted the text to reflect the correct power rating. And thanks again for that great demo!
700WLW–do you work for XM or something? Sure HDR content is not much different from regular FM, but millions of people listen to that. Are all of them insane listeners? I’m not particularly convinced tagging is a big deal (XM did that with the Inno), but you can’t argue that no one wants to listen to the content–they already do, just in analog format.