Philips and TPV Technology Enter Into Joint Venture Philips Electronics has entered into a term sheet to transfer its HDTV business into a joint venture with TPV Technology as part of a long-term strategic partnership. The new company will be 70 percent owned by TPV and 30 percent by Philips.
The joint venture will be responsible for the design, manufacturing, distribution, marketing and sales of Philips’ Television business worldwide, with the exception of mainland China, India, United States, Canada, Mexico and certain countries in South America. As part of the transaction, Philips will grant the joint venture the right to use the Philips brand, under certain strict quality and customer care standards, for the Television business worldwide, excluding the above-mentioned territories. In exchange, Philips will receive revenue-based royalty payments. The existing brand license agreements in China, India and North America will not move to the joint venture.
Philips will report the Profit and Loss on the TV business under Discontinued Operations, and the Net Operating Capital for the business in the Balance Sheet under Assets held for sale. Sales of Philips’ TV business amounted to more than EUR 3 billion in 2010. Leave a Comment
Share Article Back to Top TFC Info Report Reveals HDTV Leaders TFC Info has announced the completion of its annual Flat Panel Brand Customer Perception and Preference Study 2011. TFC Info’s study examines end user perceptions of flat panel brands and features, analyzing price sensitivities and competitive brand profiles.
This is the sixth consecutive year that TFC Info has conducted this flat panel brand tracking study. In this year's installment, LG, Panasonic, Samsung, and Vizio post the largest gains in brand purchase consideration. Samsung and Vizio gained nine percentage points or more from corporate users vs. last year, while LG and Panasonic gained the most purchase consideration among home users. Although Sony was not one of the most improved brands this year in consideration, it is the brand most often considered for purchase among both business and entertainment market segments. This is all very positive news as initial end user consideration is crucial for pre-purchase research and getting into the buyer’s initial purchase set.
For more details on the report, go here: http://www.tfcinfo.com/index.cfm Leave a Comment
Share Article Back to Top Audio Authority Ships ADX Multi-Zone Audio System Audio Authority is now shipping its new line of ADX multi-zone audio switchers. Available in 8×8 and 16×16 configurations, ADX audio switchers provide DSP capabilities including a 10-band graphic EQ per zone, RS 232 or IP-based control, zone grouping and room-based ED settings. Available immediately, the ADX 8×8 (ADX-0808) and 16×16 (ADX-1616) audio switchers have a MSRP of $1,264 and $1,686 respectively. More specs can be found here: http://www.audioauthority.com/product_details/adx-1616 Leave a Comment
Share Article Back to Top Leon Shows Next Generation of Thin Speakers Leon Speakers has launched what they are calling the next generation of the Horizon Ultra-Thin HDTV series. Featuring two new models, both less than two inches deep, the redesigned Horizon UT and all-new Horizon UT-X-A are low-profile speakers that combine left, center and right channels in one cabinet and are crafted to match the exact dimensions and finish of any ultra-thin LCD TV.
At a mere 1.5-inches deep and 4-inches tall, the HzUT utilizes 2.5-inch aluminum cone woofers, which, according to Leon, provide accuracy down to 120Hz, and they’re paired with 22mm cloth-dome tweeters.
At less than two inches deep and only 4.5-inches tall, the HzUT-X-A features three-inch glass fiber cone woofers and one-inch cloth-dome Morel MDT-12s to produce an acoustic spectrum capable of reaching as low as 80Hz and up to 22kHz.
Both speakers are shipping next week and can be found here: http://www.leonspeakers.com/hz.html Leave a Comment
Share Article Back to Top Extron Intros Long distance HDMI & DVI Extenders Two weeks ago, Extron launched two long distance transmitter/receiver combos in the form of the DTP HDMI 301 and DTP DVI 301 twisted pair extenders for long distance transmission of HDMI or DVI plus bidirectional RS-232 and IR control signals over a single CAT 5-type cable. The transmitter and receiver sets are capable of extending 1080p/60 deep color and 1920×1200 up to 330 feet (100 meters). They’re included with powering capability and are housed in a compact, metal enclosure. The DTP HDMI 301 and DTP DVI 301 extenders support EDID and HDCP transmission, ensuring ongoing communication between the source and display. HDMI 1.3 compatibility enables support for 1080p/60 color depth, 3D formats, and 4Kx2K resolutions. The DVI transmitter is equipped with a buffered DVI loop-through to support connection of a local monitor. Both models support simultaneous transmission of bidirectional RS-232 and IR signals from a control system, providing remote control to source equipment or remote displays. More information on the DTP HDMI 301 is here: http://www.extron.com/company/article.aspx?id=dtphdmi301ad&s=0 For more information on the DTP DVI 301, click here: http://www.extron.com/product/product.aspx?id=dtpdvi&s=0 Leave a Comment
Share Article Back to Top Onkyo Launches THX Select2 Receivers Onkyo has added two new models in its HT-RC family of home theater receivers – the Onkyo HT-RC370 and HT-RC360, which replace the HT-RC270 and HT-RC260. Both are equipped with the new Marvell Qdeo 4K video upscaling processor and include a front-panel USB port that offers a direct digital connection for an iPod or iPhone, along with support for audio playback from USB mass-storage devices. The USB port even supports album art from your iPod/iPhone. Among other upgrades, the HT-RC360 gains full networking capabilities while the HT-RC370 adds Audyssey MultEQ XT processing.
These two network-capable receivers support streaming PC audio and Internet radio from the likes of Pandora, Rhapsody, Napster, SiriusXM Internet Radio, Slacker, Mediafly and vTuner and provide compatibility with Windows 7 and DLNA. In addition, both models are also compatible with UWF-1 Wireless USB Adapter that provides an IEEE 802.11b/g/n connection to access music on a home network.
The Onkyo HT-RC370 and HT-RC360 will both be available in April with suggested retail prices of $849 and $549 respectively and more specs can be found here: http://www.onkyousa.com/
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Share Article Back to Top Screen Innovations Announces New Black Diamond Series Screen Innovations recently announced a new screen series, dubbed the Black Diamond G3. The series includes one material with 2.7 gain meant for 3D (passive) movies and a new .8 and 1.4 gain material designed to give off a perceived increased contrast ratio of projected images.
The G3 series is available in sizes from 80”-142” and ship in May. More details are here: http://www.screeninnovations.com/ Leave a Comment
Share Article Back to Top Crestron Ships Wall-Mount 9" Touch Panel Crestron announced this month that the new TPMC-9L Wall Mount Touch Panel, the latest addition to its family of Core 3 OS-ready panels, is now shipping. TPMC-9L is a 9” widescreen touch panel that offers widgets and HD streaming video for IP/Web security cameras and entertainment content. Crestron says the TPMC-9L enables graphics and animations, including cover flow and page flips, a gestures-based navigation system, lighting, AV networks, thermostats, security cameras, and any other connected home gear via a finger-touch system similar to that of the iPhone.
Want more specs? Go here: http://www.crestron.com/products/touchpanels_touch_panel_control/ Leave a Comment
Share Article Back to Top Extron Ships 10" Wall-Mount and Desktop Touch Panels Extron announced it has started shipping the TLP 1000MV and TLP 1000TV 10" high residential TouchLink touch panels. The TLP 1000MV and TLP 1000TV are fully configurable and feature a contemporary look and thin bezels with a 1024×600 resolution (widescreen) touch screen surface. The new touch panels incorporate an MTP — Twisted Pair receiver, which accepts either S-video or composite video input over standard CAT 5 type cable, enhancing connectivity and streamlining cable management. Power over Ethernet — PoE, allows the touch panels to receive power via the Ethernet connector, eliminating the need for a local power supply. The TLP 1000MV mounts on a wall, lectern, or other flat surface, while the TLP 1000TV sits on a tabletop or installs on a VESA mount. Both are ideal for control environments where a larger control surface within an elegant touch panel design is needed.
To get complete specs on the TLP 1000MV, go here: http://www.extron.com/product/product.aspx?id=tlp1000mv&search=touchlink
To get complete specs on the TLP 1000TV, go here: http://www.extron.com/product/product.aspx?id=tlp1000tv&search=touchlink Leave a Comment
Share Article Back to Top Savant Adds UK Distributor Savant Systems has announced that RGB Communications Ltd will be the distributor of Savant products for the UK marketplace, making Savant products now available in England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland. To read the complete press release online, click here. Back to Top Crestron Names Darrell Singleton Regional Sales Manager for Texas Crestron announced this month the appointment of Darrell Singleton as the residential regional sales manager for Texas. To read the complete press release online, click here. Back to Top SnapAV Hires John Hatcher to Manage Power Products Line SnapAV announced this month that it has hired John Hatcher to manage its Episode power products line. Hatcher previously worked for Monster, Belkin and Panamax. To read the complete press release online, click here. Back to Top | Goo in America Goo Systems Global Distribution has announced the formation and start of operations of Screen Goo Americas, a master distributor for all Screen Goo products in North, Central, South America and the Caribbean areas. In addition to sales and marketing, Screen Goo Americas will also become the main Screen Goo support and customer satisfaction provider in its territory. For more information on Screen Goo Americas, click here: http://www.screengooamericas.com 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).
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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. |