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Volume 8, Issue 11 — June 9, 2011
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Is the Set-Top Box Going Away?
By Steve Sechrist
Sr. Editor and Analyst, Insight Media "Evolve or Die…" — the famous words uttered by Michael Powell at NAB more than half a decade ago (April 2004) continue to haunt broadcasters as they struggle for ways to avoid trading "TV advertising dollars for Internet pennies" in the inevitable move to Over the Top (OTT) or IPTV delivery. In a world where the Internet is "changing everything," some believe one of the biggest casualties will be the humble set-top box (STB) as IPTV-ready and Wi-Fi enabled TVs gain in popularity. They see analogies to the impact "cable-ready" TVs had during the height of the analog era. Others aren’t so sure.
"Set-tops are clearly moving to the point where they are either a piece of software that lives in another device or they’re virtualized totally in the cloud," said Ken Morse, Cisco’s CTO in the service provider technology group, at his keynote address a recent (April 2011) Light Reading event in New York City. In 2006 Cisco purchased STB provider, Scientific Atlanta.
The STB device has been around since the 1950s, but first entered the mainstream in the US along side cable TV (pay TV.) They were more commonly known as a cable converter box and were primarily used to bridge the inbound cable signal from the "cable head-end" to an analog RF signal required by the subscribers TV set.
Companies like Motorola, General Instruments, and Scientific Atlanta were major providers of these STB solutions as well as innovations like digital cable that enabled two-way communication (for VOD services) and dramatically extended channel range delivered to subscribers using data compression.
As traditional broadcast distribution is undergoing a sea change, the slack is being taken up by a host of new Internet providers. Recent analysis from media information provider SNL Kagan (Charlottesville, VA) indicates broadcasters are now having to contend with a global move towards IPTV service adoption, which is being driven by a handful of telcos. The top five operators account for 44.3 percent of the global IPTV subscriber base at year-end 2010. In fact, ten years after the Powell warning to broadcasters, IPTV subscriptions are expected to grow to over 70M (by 2014) with adoption increasing at a whopping 92.4 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) over the past six years.
SNL Kagan’s media and analyst, Julija Jurkevic, said: "Telcos often provide the spark igniting consumer interest in multi-screen services, HD and VOD, generating in parallel support for investment in next generation broadband networks."
"Spark" indeed, word on the street is new Android powered STBs were the hot item at the CeBIT show in Hanover Germany this past spring. More important, the Android platform can help existing IP-STB companies like Seagate, WD or Roku offer "…a platform that’s far more extendable than their current media player offerings, and it could help them to sell inexpensive devices that go far beyond what Apple TV & Co. currently offer," according to Janko Roettgers of Gigaom.com.
So is the traditional STB really on its way out? Even with "cable ready" TVs there was still a market for hybrid devices that added services like VOD and later, cable cards for security. The popularity of AppleTV is another example of a new age STB deployment strategy that includes a wireless mini-computer that links content back to the TV, from diverse sources like PCs, iPods, -phones and -pads. As evidenced above at CeBIT, the trend in China and other regions also seems to be moving in the direction of more advanced (computer sans keyboard) STB to extend TV connectivity.
While the STB may be changing it still has a long healthy life ahead. As long as consumer’s TVs keep their extended lifecycle, the changing pace of technology will continue to drive demand for the STB, offering the hottest connectivity options to broadcast programming distribution du jour. Steve Sechrist is a senior analyst and editor for Insight Media. Reach him at steve@insightmedia.info Leave a Comment
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The Advantage Of Buying Groups
By Lee Distad
rAVe Columnist The CE biz is a tough racket, especially in the past couple of years. While the CE news has been dominated by stories of larger national and regional chains going under, small operations have been hit just as hard, and has forced business owners to take an even harder look at how they do things.
On the supplier front, in addition to choosing between buying direct from manufacturers or through distribution, joining a buying group is another consideration. There are some advantages that buying groups can provide a smaller dealer.
Pricing Power
Buying groups allow for smaller dealers to collectively get the kind of pricing and terms that large chains can bargain for. In the end, money talks and on their own, smaller dealers aren’t going to get the kinds of volume deals or even net terms that being part of a buying group affords you.
Inventory
Over the past five years there’s been a marked trend in small dealers cutting back their on-hand inventory and operated on an on-demand basis. It’s especially pronounced in dealers who are focused on custom installation, but small retailers whose cash flow and warehouse space are always squeezed have gone this way as well.
Buying groups can often negotiate order allocation with manufacturers in the same way big box stores do: where the vendor will commit to maintaining a certain percentage of their warehoused inventory earmarked for the dealers to order from as they need it. Without allocation you’re solely dependent on forecasting and carrying your own inventory (and its costs!) and then hoping for the best when you need to reorder. Anyone who’s worked in this industry for more than a week knows that shortages and delays in product availability are the rule rather than the exception, so allocation goes a long way towards supporting your own sell-through.
Support
Just as critical as pricing is the support that buying groups offer small dealers. One of the ways in which small dealers differentiate themselves from the big box stores is by giving what I call “White Glove Service” to their clients. That’s one of the ways in which great dealers manage to have clients rather than customers, but that’s a topic for another editorial.
If you’re extended “White Glove Service” to your clients, it’s imperative that you get the same from your vendors and the support of your buying group, otherwise you as a dealer will end up eating more products if your vendors aren’t interested in helping you out. You’re not looking for special treatment, you just want to be partnered with suppliers whose service and return processes are as supportive and friendly as yours are.
There’s no one right answer for every dealer with regard to buying groups or direct vs. distribution. But as an owner or general manager, it pays to look hard at your alternatives, ask the right questions and figure out what the best fit for your company is. Lee Distad is a rAVe columnist and freelance writer covering topics from CE to global business and finance in both print and online. Reach him at lee@ravepubs.com
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NEC Reveals Switchable 2D/3D using Fixed Lenticular Lens
By Chris Chinnock
Sr. Editor and Analyst, Insight Media One of the curious features of Display Week at SID is that many of us leave when the exhibition closes and as a result, miss some of the papers presented later in the week. Such was the case with NEC’s announcement of a novel autostereoscopic technology that is multi-view – in this case six-view – and operates in both 2D and 3D modes. The concept is not new, but the pixel architecture, in combination with a fixed lenticular array, is new. The paper (P-5: A High Resolution Multi-View 2D/3D Display with HxDP Arrangement and its Optical Characterization) describes the implementation with a 3.1" display.
The company showed a demonstration of the panel after the exhibition, which we unfortunately missed, but it also being shown at Computex 2011, which takes place in Taiwan this week (can’t get to that one either).
We will have more on all the news on switchable lenticular technology from SID in the next issue of Mobile Display Report, but we did notice a mini trend – changing the RGB stripes from vertical to horizontal – something NEC has done for a long time.
NEC’s new arrangement, called HxDP, which is a variation on its HDDP (Horizontal Double Density Pixel) architecture. The idea is to increase the number of sub-pixels that make up a full pixel by the number of views. The resolution of the display is identified as 427 x 6-views x 240 x RGB. In 3D mode, that allows each view to have a resolution of 427×240, as there are now 2562 x 240 (RBG) addressable sub-pixels. The lenticular is vertically oriented to distribute these views in a horizontal fan-out from the display.
In the 2D mode, all 6 of the sub-pixels are driven with identical data, resulting in a 2D resolution of 427 x 240 (RGB).
Why not use this high addressable resolution to create a high-res 2D image, you ask? One could, but then you have to account for the distortion effect of the lenticular. By simply driving all views with the same image, you create the same image in each sweet spot so it "appears" to be a seamless 2D image. Yes, it drives up the complexity, power and cost of the panel, but it may offer the 3D image quality the market wants.
The technique appears to work well, with the 2D views being free of most of the anomalies that plague other multi-view AS-3D displays. Others who have seen the display suggest there still seems to be some minor moiré-like effects that are visible, but are not generally distracting. The 3D performance is quite good as NEC has done some additional work to reduce image artifacts and ghosting. Although the sweet spot still seems to be a bit narrow, the color saturation appears good due to 70% color gamut and 500:1 contrast ratio with a WLED backlight. Moiré reduction was accomplished by optimizing not only the pitch of the lenticular lens, but also the pitch of the prism sheet and characteristics of the diffuser in the backlight assembly.
Initial markets for this technology are Japanese pachinko machines, followed by other gaming applications such as slot machines. The company is also seeing significant interest from their traditional industrial customer base in areas such as medical imaging and diagnostics. It is also possible that this technology will appear in some consumer devices such as tablet PCs.
According to Milani, the company is aggressively marketing its HxDP technology to the Industrial (non-consumer) market, in addition to smart phone and tablet OEM/ODM suppliers, and expects several design wins by the end of the year. The lenticular lens is only 1 mm thick, so it does not add an unreasonable amount of thickness or weight to a tablet. However, the high number of sub-pixels will result in higher power consumption for both the backlight and the CPU/GPU. Additional power means shorter battery life, which is a compromise that the consumer will have to make to enjoy glasses-free 3D on a tablet. So, let the market decide!
Chris Chinnock is a senior analyst and editor for Insight Media. Reach him at chris@insightmedia.info Leave a Comment
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CEDIA is Taking it to the Social Media Streets Calling all electronic systems professionals: rookies, veterans, #AVTweeps, and more!
Coming to a Twitter feed near you: Follow the @CEDIA_OldSchool and @CEDIA_NewSchool teams as they battle out why they do the things they do when it comes to technology, business, sales, and training.
Join CEDIA this summer as we hear and learn from two sides of the industry via Twitter. After the summer-long social media conversation wraps up, both teams will gather at CEDIA EXPO on Friday, September 9 from 3:00 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. for the final debate.
Become part of the conversation! We encourage all #AVTweeps and professionals to voice their opinions and maybe learn a thing or two from an industry veteran – or maybe even a rookie! We all know that education and knowledge are the keys to success in any business and career, and education can come in many forms. Join CEDIA for this nontraditional opportunity to challenge the common wisdom and shake up your business. #_GetEducated!
Event Hashtag: #_OldSchool, #_NewSchool, #_GetEducated, #CEDIA11
Host Tweets: @CEDIA_OldSchool, @CEDIA_NewSchool
Facebook Page: facebook.com/CEDIA.Region2 Leave a Comment
Share Article Back to Top Get Some Pre-CEDIA EXPO Training in June with Back-to-Back Boot Camps This summer CEDIA is offering you two opportunities to get three full days of hands-on training before CEDIA EXPO! Whether you’re new to the industry or looking to advance your skills, CEDIA has you covered.
CEDIA’s EST Basic Residential Boot Camp covers the most current industry standards and practices, making it the perfect introduction for those new to the industry. Basic Boot Camp will be offered at the CEDIA Indianapolis Training Facility June 18-20. Learn more about Basic Boot Camp or register at www.cedia.org/bootcamp.
According to the 2010 CEDIA Benchmarking Survey, home theaters and media rooms were CEDIA members' largest product segments, generating 24% of revenue in 2009. Make sure your technicians are skilled and effective on every home theater job site when they register for CEDIA’s Home Theater Boot Camp. This advanced training will cover the skills needed to properly install a home theater, including flat-panel displays, acoustic treatments and rack configuration. Home Theater Boot Camp will be offered June 21-22 at CEDIA’s Indianapolis Training Facility. Register now for Home Theater Boot Camp at www.cedia.org/htbootcamp. Leave a Comment
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rAVe Founder Speaking Three Times at InfoComm You’ll have three opportunities to hear Gary speak at InfoComm this month in Orlando. His first session is actually a panel discussion with other industry leading members of the press. Being held from 1 – 2 pm on Tuesday, June 14th, the session is part of the Super Tuesday Technology Trends sessions. His second session is called The Future of AV. Being held Wednesday June 15th at 2:30 pm in Room W311D, the session focuses on what the future technologies hold for the ProAV market and how you can leverage them for top profitability. Details on this course and how to register are here. If you’re interested in adding Social Media Marketing to your company, then you need to attend his session on Thursday, June 16th in room W306B. This two hour session will tell you everything you need to know to add social media like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube and other SM tools to your marketing efforts. Details on the session and registration is here. Leave a Comment
Share Article Back to Top CEDIA Opens Expo Registration Registration for the Custom Electronic Design & Installation Association’s (CEDIA’s) annual tradeshow, CEDIA EXPO, is now open at www.cedia.org/expo. The leading tradeshow in the residential electronic systems industry, CEDIA EXPO 2011 will feature every overlapping technology of the integrated home. The show will be held at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis Sept. 7 – 10 (trade show dates Sept. 8–10).
For 2011, CEDIA EXPO will offer 30 new CEDIA University courses, including an Old School vs. New School panel featuring a debate between industry veterans and newcomers. The show will also feature an expanded edition of the Future Technology Pavilion that launched at CEDIA EXPO 2010, and CEDIA members can take advantage of the $299 Members’ Only Education Pass for unlimited education at an affordable rate. Additionally, the Annual Keynote Breakfast will feature speaker Tim Costello, whose presentation "Learning to Thrive in the New Normal Economy" will help attendees find opportunities in the new economic landscape.
To register, go to http://www.cedia.org/expo Leave a Comment
Share Article Back to Top M-Vision Cine 3D Now Shipping Digital Projection has started shipping its single-chip M-Vision Cine 3D projector — an active-3D enabled, 5,500-lumen box using DLP’s DarkChip technology. The M-Vision Cine 3D lists for $17,995 – $18,495, depending on the lens selected (both fixed and zoom lens options are available).
All the specs are here: http://www.digitalprojection.com Leave a Comment
Share Article Back to Top MountMe Debuts iPad2 Sucker Mount MountMe, a little-known and um, somewhat inappropriately named company dedicated to making iPad mounts has debut the Freedom II for the iPad 2. This is basically a suction-cup mount that includes a protective carrying case that features a mounting and standing accessory. It provides a unique all-in-one solution for Apple fanatics who want to use their iPad2 as an entertainment center. With this universally adaptable mounting solution (called a suction cup by people who sell bathroom accessories), Freedom II allows the iPad2 to be mounted and viewed virtually anywhere.
Check it out here: http://www.mount-me.com/ Leave a Comment
Share Article Back to Top Bass Industries Debuts… Popcorn Bowls Leave a Comment
Share Article Back to Top ONKYO Debuts 9-Channel Receiver with DTS Neo:X Technology Onkyo has introduced the world's first home theater receiver to feature DTS Neo:X multidimensional audio technology. The new Onkyo TX-NR1009 enables customers to employ up to nine loudspeakers with distinct direction clues that enhance the height and space dimensions of a home theater room beyond the capabilities of current seven channel systems — creating a lifelike 3-D soundscape.
The Onkyo TX-NR1009 is a THX Select2 Plus Certified, 9.2-channel, network-capable home theater receiver that, in addition to DTS Neo:X, includes several audio and video upgrades compared to last year's TX-NR1008 model. These include Marvell Qdeo and IDT's HQV Vida video upscaling and processing circuits, and Audyssey's MultEQ XT audio room correction.
DTS Neo:X is the industry’s first 2.0/5.1/6.1/7.1-to- 9.1/11.1 conversion technology within a single algorithm. On the TX-NR1009, it offers a number of different ways to set up the speakers in a 9.1-channel home theater system. A basic 5.1-channel set-up can be complemented by one of three different arrangements: (1) the addition of surround back- and front-height speakers to bring out ambient, non-directional sounds; (2) adding surround back- and front-wide speakers to provide a more expansive soundstage; or (3) adding front-height and front-width speakers to create an immersive space without needing to install rear speakers.
Here is every spec: http://www.us.onkyo.com/model.cfm?m=TX-NR1009&class=Receiver&p=i Leave a Comment
Share Article Back to Top Gefen Claims They Can Send HD 7 Miles – Solving HD Distribution at Neverland After reading this story, hurry up and call the guy who bought Michael Jackson’s Neverland Ranch and let him know he can now watch DirecTV in both his ranch house as well as in the amusement park theater without having to buy two separate DirecTV receivers – saving over $199. Priced at only $719, the DVI FM-1500 uses fiber optics. Two tiny transceivers are connected at the local and remote locations, linked by a single strand of fiber optic cable terminated in SC connectors. Virtual EDID programming ensures a constant synching of the video source to the display. High-resolution video is supported up to 1920×1200/1080p. It works with all computers, games any audio/video device equipped with DVI.
Check out the specs here: http://www.gefen.com/ Leave a Comment
Share Article Back to Top Cabinet Tronix Shows Cheap-Looking Furniture with Built-in TV Lifts Calling it “hand-crafted,” Cabinet Tronix’s new Coastal Elements line is available in 10 traditional designs (remember MDF-based bedroom furniture of the 1980s?) that include HD mount lifts, component storage and power management.
Wanna see? http://www.tvliftfurniture.com/tvliftcabinetsforflatscreens | Leave a Comment
Share Article Back to Top Stewart Audio Debuts Amps with CobraNet Stewart Audio has announced the CVA100-2 CobraNet enabled power amplifier. A new addition to the company’s line of power amplifiers, the CVA100-2 is a 200W 70V, two-channel constant voltage amplifier with 100 watts-per-channel that fits conveniently into a half-rack form factor, making it perfect for small applications (like bars and restaurants). As Stewart Audio’s first amplifier to feature a factory-installed CobraNet option, it’s developed to transmit uncompressed audio and control data over a standard ethernet network.
The CVA100-2 utilizes CobraNet via an optional factory installed daughter card. With this option installed, the CVA100-2 can act as an endpoint to any new or existing CobraNet system. This capability enables the CVA100-2 to be placed anywhere sound is required and receive up to two channels of audio through its network interface.
Here are all the specs: http://www.stewartaudio.com/view_product.php?product_id=6&category_id=-1 Leave a Comment
Share Article Back to Top Panasonic Debuts New Low-Cost Plasma Panasonic just announced the PH30 Series, the newest addition to its family of HD Professional Plasma Displays. The displays are available in two models, the 42-inch TH-42PH30 and the 50-inch TH-50PH30. The PH30 Series is aimed at bars and restaurants looking for wide-angle viewing and high contrast ratio (claimed to be at 2,000,000:1). Built in the company’s Amagasaki Plant in Japan, which Panasonic says was designed to be environmentally responsible, the PH30 Series’ energy efficiency has increased by approximately 35 percent compared to its predecessor, the PH20 Series. This reduction in power consumption places the PH30 Series in line with comparable LCD professional displays without sacrificing picture quality. Like all Panasonic professional plasma displays, the PH30 Series is both lead and mercury-free. Additionally, the PH30 Series plasmas offer a 100,000-hour service life compared to the 60,000-hour average of competitive LCD professional displays. The new display also features a front glass panel that they claim is approximately 10 times as strong as that of an LCD. The TH-42PH30 and TH-50PH30 are available now at $880 and $1200, respectively and can be found here: http://www.panasonic.com/business/plasma/plasmas.asp Leave a Comment
Share Article Back to Top 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.
To read more about my background, our team, and what we do, go to https://www.ravepubs.com Back to Top Copyright 2011 – 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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