Volume 12, Issue 5 — March 12, 2015
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Industry News Cables, Furniture, Mounts, Racks, Screens and Accessories Audio
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The Apple TV Angst
By Gary Kayye rAVe Founder
This week, Apple spent 85 percent of its time during its Spring Forward press conference on the Apple Watch and how it works, what it’s priced at and what it actually looks like. And, I will likely pre-order — no, I will pre-order — the Apple Sport Watch on April 10th, the first day they allow for orders. I have a Garmin GPS watch now and I hate it. And, I have yet to see Apple not build something that works well and as advertised — they also do a good job of under-promising and over-delivering.
Except with the Apple TV.
Apple has long labeled the Apple TV as a “hobby” product, but that changed this week. Although no one has exact numbers, it’s rumored that Apple TV has passed the 40 million number mark worldwide. And, that makes it, BY FAR, the market leader of ALL the streaming video set-top boxes.
But this current model debuted back in 2012 and, although it’s just now being discovered by some 10 million buyers this year, it’s been around for a while and is sorely missing a few key features that everyone who uses it knows it’s missing. So, what is the deal? Why hasn’t Apple done any sort of update?
I personally think it’s a “good-enough” strategy, that Apple is thinking that the Apple TV is good enough for what most people use it for and will wait until they’ve got more smart home apps (what Apple calls HomeKit) and a live streaming TV service for all the major networks before doing a hardware update.
Yesterday, Apple announced the beginning of that with HBO and the new HBO NOW service. HBO NOW starts April 10th and, for $15 a month, you get to see HBO live in a TV without a cable or satellite set-top box — exactly what every twenty-something Millennial has been asking for — the ability to watch TV in sort of an a la carte fashion, with only the channels they want. And, I think 30-somethings, 40-somethings and 50-somethings would appreciate this too, but they can’t even imagine it as their entire life of TV has been driven by a cable TV box or by an antenna in an all-or-nothing packaged mentality.
So, when Apple has shown ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, ESPN, etc. that HBO NOW is a huge hit, then those networks will do the same. I think it’ll be within 12 months too. I think this will be big, fast.
I think that after that, we’ll get a new Apple TV. And, when we do, I think it needs three simple new features. So I will end this blog with an open letter to the people in charge of Apple TV.
Dear People In Charge of Apple TV,
For your next hardware update, I’d like to request the following, on behalf of all the loyal but often neglected Apple TV lovers out there:
1. An HDMI IN and OUT: Right now, the Apple TV represents what nearly every other box you connect to a TV (e.g., a video game player, a Blu-ray player, a DVD player, a camera): COMPLEXITY. Yes, the Apple TV is easy to use, but it’s hard-as-heck for anyone to figure out how to get the Apple TV’s image on their own TV. You see, nearly everyone’s “default” position for their TV is the cable TV or satellite TV box. So, when the TV starts up, the first thing you see is whatever the last channel you wanted was — or, what your DVR has recorded for you to watch. So, when you decide to use your Apple TV to watch a movie or even the HBO NOW service, you have to know how to switch inputs on your TV. Sure, we know that, and we see this as simple. But for the average consumer (our kids, our spouses, our babysitters) this is all-but-impossible. Not logical. Some TV remotes call inputs “inputs” and some call them “sources” and others call them “image.” It’s messy and stupid, switching back and forth, making consumers bypass a plethora of inputs that aren’t even being used. And, worse yet are the TVs without custom labeling — so you have no idea which input is the Apple TV and which one is the cable box and so on. So, Apple, PLEASE put an HDMI IN and OUT connector on the Apple TV so that, when we want to watch Apple TV, we just turn it on and it auto-switches. Please!
2. Apps: We need apps — oh, and a better menu. Apple keeps adding services to the Apple TV. That’s great, but obviously, there are no user-interface engineers assigned to “hobby” products within Apple, because you can’t pick and choose which ones you want. The remote is genius — simple, easy and elegant. But if you’re one of the services at the bottom of the Apple TV menu, you’re lost. (Technically, yes, I know you can “hide” services you don’t use as much, and re-order them, but it’s hard to figure out how to do that in the menu.) Please redesign the user-interface into categories or folders the users can label, just like on iOS devices. I’d make folders like “Watch a Movie, Watch LIVE TV, Watch Old TV, Listen to Music, etc.” Then, add apps!
3. Gaming: There’s a huge market out there for the plethora of games you have for the iPad and iPhone to be added to the Apple TV. Please consider this, dear Apple. I am confident you’d quickly attract a lot of XBoxers and PlayStation-lovers. And gain new watchers!
Thanks for your consideration. Leave a Comment
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Gaming: Here Come the Steam Machines
By Lee Distad rAVe Columnist
It finally appears that momentum for Valve’s plans to take over gamers’ living rooms appears to be picking up, ahem, steam.
For two years now, gamers have been teased with promises of Steam Machines, dedicated gaming consoles for Valve’s Steam online gaming services. The strategy involves partnering with hardware companies to offer a range of Steam boxes that deliver high-powered PC gaming specifications with a simple, game console experience.
Now, at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco last week Valve, who was keen to note that the 2015 Game Developers Conference marked the 13th anniversary of Valve’s first public announcement of Steam, which has since become hugely popular, claiming over 125 million active accounts worldwide, has put the kettle on the boil, unveiling the roadmap for their launch.
Posted to Steam’s online store are a range of models of Steam Machines from their hardware partners, most with an ETA of this November.
Base models begin at $459.99 to $499.99 from iBuyPower SBX (no, I’ve never heard of them either), Syber and Alienware. Steam machines go up from there, many in a median price band from $699.99 to $999.99 with a surprising number reaching for the stars (or users’ wallets, as the case may be) between $1,599.99 up to $4,999.99.
More surprising than the fact that gamers can pay five thousand dollars for a Steam box is that there’s more than one option — at least three at this point.
What about avid gamers who already have a killer gaming PC and don’t feel driven to buy another one for their TV room? Valve has announced plan for that too.
A small, unobtrusive, flat, black box, the Steam Link is an interface that sports HDMI, USB and Ethernet connections as well as 802.11ac wireless networking.
With a planned MSRP of $49.99 its function will be to stream Valve’s Steam services from a PC elsewhere on the home network to the big TV.
According to the press release, Steam Link will “bring your existing collection of PC games with you to the living room. Simply connect Steam Link to your TV and home network and access your full library of games and the complete Steam catalog, all from the best seat in the house.” Plug-and-play, it will automatically discover any computer running Steam on the same network, along with supporting 1080p 60Hz video.
Steam Link’s functionality also circles back to the expanded services Valve has been working on. Last Fall Valve took their Steam Music out of beta and made it available to all users.
You don’t have to be especially prescient to foresee that it’s only a matter of time before Valve might leverage their position in living rooms to offer non-gaming entertainment content. But that’s a topic for another day.
With these announcements gaming promises to make even bigger strides into becoming as important to AV as movies and music have been. Gaming in HD on a really big screen? Full steam ahead. Leave a Comment
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Best of ISE 2015 Awards
By Gary Kayye rAVe Founder
It has been almost one month since Integrated Systems Europe closed the doors on its 2015 show. This year’s show was the largest to date with 59,350 registered attendees, more than 1,000 exhibitors and over 40,000 square meters of event space.
As we have for other industry shows such as InfoComm and CEDIA, we have chosen the best of the best at ISE 2015. It is tough to pick out the best and the brightest from the thousands of products and over 1,000 exhibitors on the show floor, but after much consideration, our entire team picked what we thought were the very best.
Each each link below is a video we shot of the product from ISE and each winner describing the products in their own words. If you missed anything from this show, we shot over 1,200 product videos, over 1,000 photos and posted more than 300 news stories and blogs. It all lives on our ISE 2015 MicroSite.
Congratulations to all the winning companies!
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CEDIA Announces Changes to Electronic Lifestyles Awards Program CEDIA, with the input of members and the board of directors, has adopted some key changes to the Electronic Lifestyles Awards Program. Changes include updates to the overall awards judging process as well as updates to the entry categories.
For the first time, CEDIA will reveal the panel of judges that evaluate the home technology professional awards as well as the manufacturer awards. The panel of judges will soon be announced.
The criteria that the judges utilize to award points will also be available to entrants to reference as they enter their projects. Judging criteria focuses on the industry best practices and standards recognized by CEDIA and other professional organizations. The criteria outlay specific, quantifiable points against which entries will be judged, giving current and future entrants a clear picture of how their submissions will be evaluated.
Revised project categories have been implemented for the home technology professional awards to keep pace with industry trends. The categories now include: home theater, media room, integrated home, innovative solution, personal craft, media room under $25,000, and integrated home under $25,000.
Additionally finalists for the home technology professional awards will be announced prior to CEDIA EXPO, with the announcement of the winners at the Electronic Lifestyles® Awards Celebration during CEDIA EXPO. This replaces the previous format of Gold/Silver/Bronze winners and overall category winners.
The manufacturer awards will continue with the categories of best new product and product hall of fame. Finalists will continue to be announced prior to CEDIA EXPO and winners onsite at CEDIA EXPO.
CEDIA is now accepting entries for both home technology and manufacturer awards. All entries must be completed by 8 p.m. EST on May 18, 2015. Additional information about the Electronic Lifestyles Awards program can be found here. Leave a Comment
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Nominations are OPEN!Nominations are open for the 2015 rAVe Readers’ Choice Awards
It’s that time again! We are now accepting nominations for the 4th annual rAVe Readers’ Choice Awards. This is where you, the readers, decide who is the best of the best in our industry.
From your favorite manufacturer website to the best video wall product, we want to know what and who YOU love.
Submit your nominations today for your favorite manufacturers, products and services. Nominations will be open until, April 3, 2015 at 11:59 p.m. PST. Once all the nominations are in, we will select the top nominees in each category and then open the awards up to public voting.
As always, we will announce the award winners at InfoComm 2015 in Orlando, Florida.
Please use this form to submit your nominations.
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Pakedge Device & Software Intros Three New Lines of Switches Pakedge Device & Software has introduced three new lines of switches: the fully managed, top tier SX-Series switches, the powerful and affordable SK-Series switches, and the mid-line SE-Series switches.
The SX-Series switches will feature a simple GUI for both traffic management and dynamic configuration to manage large volumes of streaming traffic. In addition to the new GUI, the SX-Switches have two new features – the Zone Wizard with drag and drop functionality simplifies Zone configuration and optimizes network performance while the Pakedge Zone templates reduce set-up time while minimizing configuration errors.
SX-Switches are available in front and rear-facing housings and feature a variety of PoE and PoE+ port configurations to allow complete versatility in installation. Pakedge SX-Switches are also compatible with the BakPak Cloud Monitoring System for remote system monitoring, alerts, and power control (on PoE-enabled switches). Virtual stacking with BakPak allows the user to manage multiple switches as one, regardless of geographic location.
Pakedge SX-Switches are the next level progression of the company’s X-Series range that offers top-of-the-line networking equipment with unprecedented performance, functionality, and flexibility. With powerful capabilities and long-lasting reliability, the Pakedge SX-Series meets the most demanding needs of high bandwidth, low latency applications commonly found in high performance residential A/V and commercial networks. When used in conjunction with high performance Pakedge routers and access points, the network becomes an integrated platform that provides a seamless, scalable and reliable connected experience.
Pakedge’s SK-Switches feature a redesigned GUI making it easier for installers and integrators to access the menus they need. The new GUI is clean and uncomplicated. Encased in all new sleek, luxury housing with curved edges and a brushed aluminum face plate, the SK-Switches contain enterprise grade chip-sets nearly as powerful as the high-end SX-Switches. The SK-Switches are powerful, yet affordable, providing seamless, reliable managed connections ideal for smaller mid-sized networks.
For straightforward jobs, the SE-Switch series is a no nonsense device. SE-Switches are ideal for smaller unmanaged plug and play networks or can be added to larger managed networks for added versatility and extra port space. SE-Switches are great multipurpose devices for low-maintenance networks. Their multiple port configurations and PoE and PoE+ options make them ideal for a number of jobs throughout the network.
The SE-series also includes Pakedge PoE pass-through switches such as the SE-5P2-EP – switches powered by a single PoE+ input and able to provide two ports of PoE power without access to A/C power. These switches are ideal for use in retrofit installations such as attics and basements where wall outlets may be hard to come by. Without A/C power, the PoE pass-through switch can power up to two devices such as wireless access points or IP cameras – enabling flexible setup in even difficult installations without costly and time-consuming rewiring.
All three lines of switches are part of the Pakedge Connect+ Platform – A carefully integrated system of switches, routers, wireless, power management and software technologies, designed specifically to work with each other to deliver seamless, scalable, and reliable multimedia networking performance. When unified with the BakPak Cloud Management System, the functionality of the Pakedge Connect+ Platform is extended with cloud-enabled services such as monitoring and management of all connected devices anywhere, any time, and from any device.
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Christie and D3D Develop Laser Dome System Christie and D3D Cinema have partnered in a joint effort using Christie’s laser projection platform for tilted giant screen dome cinemas. R&D and preliminary testing is underway in conjunction with a host of third-party partners, from veteran dome cinematographers and post-production labs to optics specialists and test bed theaters.
D3D Cinema will be shooting original dome test footage in multiple digital and 70 mm formats in the coming months. Classic 70 mm dome content will be scanned at 11K resolution, mastered and frame-interpolated for laser optimized high dynamic range and high frame rate playback. The world’s first and only projection display capable of reaching Rec2020, Christie laser technology provides the widest color gamut available and the company is designing its laser-illuminated cinema projector solutions to accommodate the configurations necessary for proper dome exhibition. Testing will continue through the summer with an anticipated demonstration to select buyers in the fall of 2015. The system will be made available through D3D to institutional dome giant screen clients with D3D targeting the first rollouts for integration in early 2016.
“Dome theaters have waited a long time for digital projection technology to evolve to a capable solution that can rival or exceed the quality of 70 mm,” said Don Kempf president and founder of D3D. “Just as lasers usher in a new era for dome cinema exhibition, new digital capture technology ushers in a new era for the production of dome-specific content to support the incredible dynamic range of the lasers. We’re proud to have produced multiple films supported by the Giant Dome Theater Consortium and the U.S. Dome Theater Alliance, and we look forward to continued collaboration as we work with their members in their transitions to a more economical, brighter, digital future.”
“The goal with this partnership is no compromise, providing open and flexible high brightness laser projection solutions to the dome cinema market, which allows end users the creative freedom to use the technology to meet the changing needs of their audiences,” said Bryan Boehme, national sales manager, Christie. “Our approach is a dome configuration using a very special, single laser projector situated in the focal sweet spot, incorporating true spherical optics. This is the cleanest image available, without the need to pixel shift, warp, stretch, panel, or overlay the images. The preliminary tests have been eye-opening and we’re convinced theaters will be very impressed by Christie’s ability to achieve higher perceived spatial resolutions through jitter-free image clarity and unparalleled contrast while pushing temporal resolutions to 60 fps and greater. The high frame rates and high dynamic range lasers bring to the table will enhance the immersiveness and realism of the dome viewing experience over anything in any format thus far.”
The D3D and Christie dome laser solution will include options such as DCI-compliant window playback modes and Dolby Atmos surround sound on the groundbreaking Christie Vive audio platform. As the only current supplier to have obtained FDA and international regulatory approvals in the giant screen market space to date, Christie will oversee approvals and variances as necessary. D3D will assist with the application process and seek regional clearances on behalf of clients.
“Giant screen domes are special and provide the inimitable viewer experience combined with the underlying technology necessary to deliver that unique experience,” said Andy Wood, senior vice president at D3D. “Lasers alone provide the illumination and clarity to allow these theaters to convert to a digital platform at long last. It was imperative that D3D and Christie work through the integration complexities of lasers on flat screens before tackling the dome format. Having successfully introduced the world’s first institutional giant screen 6P laser system at Moody Gardens last year, and with a host of installations underway in 2015, it was time to shift our attention to the critically important dome market. We’re tremendously excited about what’s on the horizon.”
Learn all about Christie’s Laser Projection here and D3D here. Leave a Comment
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Crestron Adds Exclusive Hartmann & Forbes Shade Collection to its Line of Shading Solutions Crestron has partnered with Hartmann & Forbes to offer Crestron Shading Solutions in a new assortment of hand-woven textiles. This collection of hand-woven textiles designed specifically for use with Crestron roller shade systems, are designed for individuals who want “handcrafted products created by artisans.” The entire collection features natural fibers sustainably grown and artfully hand loomed.
With 40 premium textiles to choose from, the Crestron Hartmann & Forbes collection offers five color stories, from pure white to rich chocolate browns and grays. To provide the looped edge aesthetic for which all Hartmann & Forbes textiles are renowned, each shade is hand-woven to the window dimensions on traditional wooden looms, and can be seamlessly woven up to 180 inches wide. Handcrafted valances are also available in matching or complementary textiles to elegantly conceal the shade motor components. All fabrics are woven to order, so dealers should budget 12 to 15 weeks for shade delivery.
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FSR’s Digital Ribbon Cable Family Armors UpIntegrators will be happy to know that FSR has improved its Digital Ribbon (DR) cable family by adding multiple Aramid reinforcing cords to the cable assembly. The result is that the pull strength specification of the cable has been increased to 40 pounds from the previous 20-pound rating.
Most other cables on the market are only rated for a 20-pound pull, which is fairly easy to exceed during installation. This improvement in the basic cable construction, which has been in production for several months, makes the DR cable family the most robust optical HDMI cable on the market. The improved DR cables are available in lengths of 10, 15, 23, 30 and 50 meters.
FSR’s Digital Ribbon cables utilize a proprietary technology to allow high speed, high definition HDMI signal transmission over distances of up to 325 feet at a speed of 10.2 Gbps video bandwidth and can easily handle 1080p full HD, 3D, deep color, HDMI-CEC, HDCP and most newer high-resolution formats.
The more robust DR cable is now shipping and all the specs are here. Leave a Comment
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Pasternack Debuts 75 Ohm Cables Up to 3 GHz Pasternack announced the release of its newest line of 75 ohm test cables with operation up to 3 GHz. Pasternack claims that these cables are rugged cable assemblies that are specially designed to withstand the rigors of test lab use and applications in 75 ohm communications systems. Technicians commonly rely on these high frequency test cables in technologies such as cable TV, MoCA 2.0 and MoCA 1.1 (Media over Coax Alliance) and DOCSIS (Data over Cable Service Interface Specifications).
Pasternack’s new series of high performance 75 Ohm test cables are available in two configurations including a type-N male to type-N male or a type-N male to type-F male. Unlike most F connectors readily available on the market, these F connectors are designed to perform up to 3 GHz which greatly broadens the usability and value of these test cables. Moreover, these connectors are threaded to ensure an accurate and secure connection to both the device under test as well as the analyzer. The test cables are suitable for engineering labs, production environments and quality testing facilities and are a good choice for use with 75 ohm S-parameter test systems.
The new 75 Ohm flexible armored test cables from Pasternack exhibit excellent insertion loss of < 0.5 dB @ 3 GHz, and typical return loss is 28 dB. These new RF cable assemblies are designed with an armored jacket that meets ANSI/SCTE 99 2009 pull force and ANSI/SCTE 98 2009 tightening torque standards and are also capable of 100,000 bends minimum.
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Bose Professional Expands ControlSpace Dante-Enabled Products Bose Professional has expanded its range of Dante-enabled ControlSpace offerings with several new Dante endpoints and a new fixed-I/O DSP, providing integrators more options for creating installed audio solutions using Dante. The new ControlSpace products — ESP-1600 engineered sound processor; EP22-D and EP40-D endpoints; and WP22B-D and WP22BU-D wall plates — were designed to allow for Dante connectivity in houses of worship, classrooms, conference centers, hotel meeting and ballrooms, sporting and live performance venues and others.
The ControlSpace ESP-1600 extends the line of Bose fixed-I/O engineered sound processors with a new model designed for up to 16 analog inputs. The ESP-1600 features a built-in ESPLink output for sending eight digital audio channels to one or more PowerMatch amplifiers and when combined with a Dante card, the ESP-1600 becomes a powerful, high-quality and cost effective input processor (e.g. stage box) for Dante network distribution.
ControlSpace Dante endpoints, including the EP22-D 2-in/2-out Dante endpoint, EP40-D 4-input Dante endpoint, WP22B-D 2-in/2-out Dante wall plate and WP22BU-D 2-in/2-out Dante wall plate, complement Bose ControlSpace ESP products and PowerMatch lines and share configuration and control using ControlSpace Designer software. ControlSpace Dante endpoints, combined with ControlSpace ESP products and PowerMatch amplifiers, allow installers to create Dante-enabled systems of nearly any size, in either new installations or when retrofitting existing systems. Available in wall-box and rack/wall-mount versions enabling installation in various locations (surface, table, shelf, rack), Bose ControlSpace Dante endpoints are convenient and cost-effective for connecting analog devices like microphones and mixer amps.
Also, the company’s ControlSpace Designer software has been updated to version 4.2 to support the ControlSpace Dante endpoints and the ESP-1600 processor.
Here are all the tech details. Leave a Comment
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For all you REGULAR readers of rAVe HomeAV Edition out there, hopefully you enjoyed another opinion-packed issue!
For those of you NEW to rAVe, you just read how we are — we are 100% opinionated. We not only report the news and new product stories of the high-end HomeAV industry, but we stuff the articles full of our opinions. That may include (but is not limited to) whether or not the product is even worth looking at, challenging the manufacturers on their specifications, calling a marketing-spec bluff and suggesting ways integrators market their products better. But, one thing is for sure, we are NOT a trade publication that gets paid for running editorial or product stories. Traditional trade publications get paid to run product stories — that’s why you see what you see in most of the pubs out there. We are different: we run what we want to run and NO ONE is going to pay us to write anything good (or bad).
Don’t like us, then go away — unsubscribe! Just use the link below.
To send me feedback, don’t reply to this newsletter – instead, write directly to me at gary@ravepubs.com or for editorial ideas: Editor-in-Chief Sara Abrons at sara@ravepubs.com
A little about me: I graduated from Journalism School at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (where I am adjunct faculty). I’ve been in the AV-industry since 1987 where I started with Extron and eventually moved to AMX. So, I guess I am an industry veteran (although I don’t think I am that old). I have been an opinionated columnist for a number of industry publications and in the late 1990s I started the widely read KNews eNewsletter (the first in the AV market) and also created the model for and was co-founder of AV Avenue – which is now known as InfoComm IQ. rAVe Publications has been around since 2003, when we launched our original newsletter, rAVe ProAV Edition.
rAVe HomeAV Edition, co-published with CEDIA, launched in February, 2004.
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Copyright 2015 – rAVe [Publications] – All rights reserved. For reprint policies, contact rAVe [Publications], 210 Old Barn Ln. – Chapel Hill, NC 27517 – 919/969-7501. Email: sara@ravepubs.com
rAVe HomeAV Edition contains the opinions of the author only and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of other persons or companies or its sponsors. |
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