June 21, 2006 | Volume 3, Issue 13 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
News
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Introduction Feature Article CableCARD DOA – But this is not News ("not fit to print?")
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Manufacturers: Do your messages target system integrators? So do ours! rAVe Home Edition is the only eNewsletter written for design and installation professionals working in home theater and automation. rAVe Home Edition, co-sponsored by CEDIA, currently has one opportunity for an annual sponsorship. Sponsorships are limited in number and restrictions apply. To see if your company is eligible, contact Alex Gibson at agibson@kayye.com or (919) 969-7501. Introduction Welcome to another issue of rAVe Home Edition! As we approach CEDIA in Denver, the news will likely slow down a bit. But it hasn’t just yet. We cover some interesting happenings in HomeAV this issue, such as the 103-inch plasma from Panasonic. What was recently just a prototype will actually be a shipping product (built to order, but shipping nonetheless) by the end of the year. Also, CinemaNow, the online internet movie download company, just announced a way for its customers to actually burn DVDs of the films, rather than to have to watch a download within 24 hours before it poofed. Finally! And Niles is doing its dealers a good turn. Niles has a new Website feature that lets dealers show their end-users exactly how IntelliControl ICS whole-home audio distribution works. Expect competitors to follow this model. Enjoy the issue!
Feature Article CableCARD DOA – But this is not News ("not fit to print?") The New York Times ran a story on CableCards "Faltering" in the US, but to those of us who have been following the situation this was hardly news. Indeed, the fate of the smart CableCARD that was to replace the cable company's proprietary set-top box (STB) was doomed from the start because of the way it pitted cable content delivery companies represented by the National Cable Television Assoc. (NCTA) against the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA). CableCARDs had their genesis in the 1996 Telecommunications Act, which mandated cable companies to separate out security and conditional access from cable STBs so CE retailers could sell brand-name devices direct to consumers. The mandate eventually morphed into "CableCARD," with security and conditional-access data to be made available on a smart card (CableCARD) from the local cable company that talks to the electronics embedded in your TV. But Gen 1 was crippled from the start because it only supported uni-directional access. That is, there were no lucrative added-value services for the cable companies like Video-on-Demand or Interactivity with the cable head-end. Cable companies also lost on STB rental fees and hefty installation charges. Enter Downloadable Conditional Access System, DCAS for short. This is another way to skin the cat and keep compliance with the '96 Telecommunications Act. DCAS puts the security functions of a CableCARD into a software program that can be downloaded into any "host device" like a smart TV. This is done via the OCAP – OpenCable Application Platform – a CableLabs-specified middleware stack that will allow DCAS to run standard APIs (application program interfaces) inside your TV, thus turning your set into a computer, or rather, "a host processor running software stacks." TV makers don't like the "c" word as it scares away customers. All this hoopla around OCAP hit a high note in January at CES. There, in what was touted as a "milestone move," it was announced that the major cable operators, who serve 65% of cable households, agreed to adopt OCAP. The other highlight was that the software would deploy on a Java platform licensed from Sun Microsystems – to the consternation of Microsoft, which was lobbying hard to get into the TV space. Deployment will start as early as October '06 and take until July 2009 to complete. Don't get me wrong. There's still plenty for NCTA and CEA to bicker about, including control of the software, and it's likely this will have to be sorted out before full deployment takes place. But in the meantime companies like Samsung are moving forward with new products based on this standard. Suffice it to say that CableCard died a quiet death on December 1 of last year when both the CEA and NCTA reported the state of their iDCR (CableCARD2) negotiations to the FCC, stating their mutual acceptance of OCAP as the foundation upon which iDCR will be built. Gradual national deployment of OCAP will begin on Oct. 1, 2006, according to proposed FCC regulations from the NCTA. On April 1, 2007, subscribers can demand two-way access if their cable provider has deployed OCAP. By July 1, 2008, operators with more than 2M subscribers would be required to be OCAP capable, and full deployment would be mandatory by July 1, 2009 for all cable systems with more than 5,000 subscribers. The Times prides itself on publishing "All the news that's fit to print," and we agree today's story was fit to print. It just wasn't news. Source: Display Daily http://www.displaydaily.com About Insight Media: Insight Media (www.insightmedia.info) is a leading market and technology research firm providing its unique Opportunity Analysis for manufacturers and resellers of electronic displays and their components. Opportunity Analysis evaluates technology, market data, competitive factors, user applications, business and distribution elements and combines them into an integrated strategic operational guide. Insight Media also provides timely newsletters, detailed assessments, global market reports, focused industry conferences, and tactical consulting.
CEDIA News CEDIA EXPO 2006
What are you waiting for, the 2006 CEDIA EXPO is expected to be bigger and better than ever. · Over 25,000 industry professionals · Over 500 exhibitors · Over 200 courses to choose from Still need more convincing, when you take advantage of the early bird discount, you’ll save up to 50% of your total cost. Included in your savings is: · Discounted price on all courses · FREE Tradeshow admission for CEDIA Members · Reserved tickets for Keynote Breakfast · Reserved tickets for CEDIA Members at the Annual Meeting · Discounted price for the Golf Outing and Awards Banquet For more information regarding opportunities at CEDIA EXPO log on to www.cedia.org, or for information regarding the opportunities available in Denver visit www.visitdenver.org/cedia.
News Have a news tip? Send them to rAVe Editor-in-Chief Denise Harrison — dharrison@kayye.com Industry News
With the purchase of Clarity, the impact to the ProAV market is obvious as it buys PLANAR a leadership position in both the digital signage and the flat-panel display niches of AV. Clarity has consistently maintained higher margins by offering unique products with higher performance than anyone in their segment of the market. Not to mention that Clarity has name recognition that is hard to put a dollar-value on – but it's significant. However, the way I see it, the Clarity acquisition is only one side of the story. If you look closely at what PLANAR has done over the past nine or so months, it's obvious to me where they are heading in the future – the high-end home market. With Scott Hix (the pilot of InFocus' hugely successful ScreenPlay strategy a few years back) as the new VP and General Manager of the newly-created Home Theater Business Unit, it's clear to me that PLANAR has its sights on the HomeAV market too. And, an inside source at CEDIA tells me they have a big presence in the upcoming Denver Expo. I fully expect to see some major announcements either at CEDIA or maybe even before the show from PLANAR that position the company to garner some HomeAV attention quickly. In any case, both strategies seem to be a winning combination. — Gary Kayye, CTS And now, the press release: Planar to Acquire Clarity Visual Systems; Acquisition Enables Planar's Entry into Command and Control and Fast Growing Digital Signage Large-Format Display Markets -"Planar's financial strength has provided the flexibility to pursue attractive growth opportunities that integrate our flat panel display technology and go-to-market expertise with the specialized skills and product focus of a company like Clarity," said Gerry Perkel, Planar president and chief executive officer. "This acquisition fits very well with our new strategic direction, focusing on specialized display market segments that allow Planar to deliver more value to our customers and sell higher-margin solutions. Clarity brings these attributes to Planar, and provides us with an excellent group of employees to augment the existing talent at our Company. In addition, we believe the acquisition of Clarity increases Planar's future revenue growth trajectory as well as our future profitability." Clarity's command and control products include premium display solutions targeted at a wide range of market applications, including transportation and traffic control, security and defense programs, energy, broadcast and telecommunication segments. The company is a leader in market applications where large-screen, multiple integrated displays create a "wall of information." The company's patented information processing hardware and software solutions control the display of information from a wide variety of sources to the display system application. The market for command and control room visual systems was estimated by iSuppli at more than $400 million globally in 2005, and is forecasted to grow more than 15 percent annually. The digital signage market in which Clarity participates is experiencing rapid growth driven by a number of factors, including broadband delivery of multimedia content, trends in advertising toward targeted marketing campaigns at the point of purchase, and overall reductions in display component costs due, in part, to broad consumer adoption of related product categories. Clarity and its related "Coolsign" brand has sold over 5,000 signage systems including specialized signage monitors and/or networking software to a variety of attractive market segments, including retail banking, indoor public vendor advertising, casino and hospitality. Planar's initiatives in retail signage and kiosk systems will be combined with Clarity's market position in digital signage to address this growing market's need for display network management software and specialty displays. The worldwide market for electronic signage was estimated by iSuppli at $1.3 billion in 2006, growing to more than $2.3 billion by 2008. "Clarity's competitive advantage is in its ability to create innovative, customer-focused solutions for the delivery and display of networked visual information, as well as the talent and commitment of its workforce," said Paul Gulick, president and chief executive officer of Clarity. "I believe the combination of Clarity's market leadership in networked display solutions with Planar's flat-panel specialized display solutions will allow the combined company to uniquely address growth markets around the world." Clarity was founded in 1995 and recorded net sales of $59.0 million through the 12 months ending June 30, 2006. Clarity currently employs approximately 200 people, with more than half based at the company's headquarters in Wilsonville, Oregon. Upon completion of the acquisition, Mr. Gulick, and senior vice president, sales and marketing, Kris Gorriaran will join Planar's executive team. Mr. Gulick will become Planar's vice president and chief technology officer, and Ms. Gorriaran will become vice president and general manager of the newly acquired business group. Both will report directly to Mr. Perkel. Planar's purchase of Clarity includes the assumption of a net debt to cash position of approximately $6 million and the assumption of all outstanding options to purchase Clarity capital stock. The acquisition is expected to close late in the fourth quarter or early in the first quarter of fiscal 2007, subject to receipt of regulatory approvals, Clarity shareholder approval, and customary closing conditions. The transaction is expected to be slightly accretive to Planar's internal non-GAAP financial projections in fiscal 2007. More details relating to the proposed acquisition of Clarity will be discussed in the Company's third quarter earnings conference call today, July 19, 2006, beginning at 8:30 a.m. Pacific Time. The call can be heard via the Internet through a link on Planar's Web site, www.planar.com, or through numerous other investor sites, and will be available for replay beginning July 20 until August 19, 2006. The Company intends to post on its Web site a transcript of the prepared management commentary from the conference call shortly after the conclusion of the call.
2. Electronic Stockroom Opens Southern California Facility The new Electronic Stockroom facility will feature a dealer training center, providing hands-on exposure to the latest technologies in a classroom setting. Electronic Stockroom conducts regular vendor events such as dealer open houses and regional product and sales trainings. For more information, go to http://www.electronicstockroom.com/ 3. CinemaNow Launches First Secure DVD Download and Burn Service Already available, CinemaNow customers can choose from more than 100 titles which they can purchase for Burn to DVD. Customers can download the complete movie and video in addition to added-value elements available with a standard DVD, such as full graphic menus, 5.1 surround sound, special features, language and commentary tracks and all bonus materials available on traditional retail DVDs. Once the CinemaNow customer downloads the DVD, they can choose to play the file back on their PC using their Windows Media Player and have access to all of the DVD features including full menu functionality. The customer can also choose to burn one copy of the file to a blank DVD+R or DVD-R writable disc using his/her computer’s internal or external DVD writer. Prices for DVDs start at $8.99 and include printable DVD label and cover art. Included among titles initially offered on a download and burn basis are Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle, Scent of a Woman and Barbershop. CinemaNow expects to add both new and catalog DVDs from a variety of content licensors in the coming months. This is a SMART move! One of the problems with these services in the past is the 24-hour window – once a movie is bought, it had to be watched within 24 hours. That’s not always practical. This, however, is. For more information, go to http://www.cinemanow.com/ TVs 4. Panasonic to Ship 103-Inch Plasma by Holidays Panasonic announced that the company’s new 103-inch plasma TV will ship in the U.S. by the holidays this year. This HDTV, model TH-103PZ600U, has 1080p capability and is specified at 1920 x 1080 resolution, 4000:1 contrast ratio and 4096 equivalent steps of gradation. The 103-inch joins Panasonic’s 37-, 42-, 50- and 58-inch plasmas as well as a recently announced 65-inch. The new TV is priced at $69,999.95 and comes with a three year, in home warranty. The Panasonic TH-103PZ600U will be built to order and is expected to be available from select high-end electronics retailers in December. The 103-inch will also require professional installation due to its weight and size. For more information, go to http://www.panasonic.com
Other features of both new JVC LCD TVs include ATSC/QAM/NTSC tuning, digital 3D Y/C comb filter with DTV cross color elimination, digital noise reduction, and MPEG noise reduction. They have two HDMI inputs, two component inputs, two S-Video inputs, 15 pin D-Sub PC input, optical digital audio out and audio output. JVC's new Clear Motion Drive LCD TVs have a new black cabinet with a narrow black frame around all four sides of the screen — even along the bottom where most LCD TV cabinets are wider to accommodate speakers. JVC did this by mounting the speakers behind the lower portion of the screen and porting the sound through a slot that runs the full width of the cabinet, just below the screen. Both sets have JVC's oblique cone speaker design for better distribution, MaxxBass technology, digital signal processing that extends the perceived bass performance, a 20-watt amplifier and a built-in parametric equalizer. The LT-37X987 will be available in August and sell for about $2,700. The LT-32X987 will be available in October and sell for about $2,000. For more information, go to http://www.jvc.com/press/index.jsp?item=513&pageID=1
6. Syntax-Brillian Announces New Lines of Olevia LCD TVs With USB-Based Firmware Upgradeability Syntax-Brillian announced the "3 Series," "5 Series" and "7 Series," which the company says includes their newest in video processing technologies. The Olevia 3 Series LCD HDTV Ready TVs are intended for general consumer use; the Olevia 5 Series LCD HDTVs offer imiproved video and audio quality; and the Olevia 7 Series highlights Hollywood Quality Video (HQV). All Olevia 3, 5 and 7 Series LCD TVs feature Director's Image technology, which the company says recreates the director's intended image through calibrated 6500K color temperature, gamma, optimized gray scales and adjustable black levels. Big Picture Technology shows without distortion up to 11% more of digital broadcast images and up to 37% more of analog images. As for the USB upgradeability, consumers can download firmware updates from Syntax-Brillian's Web site via Olevia's USB for new features, software updates and image-quality improvements. The Olevia 3 and 5 Series models support up to 1080i resolution and the Olevia 7 Series supports 1080p. Currently shipping are the Olevia 5 Series LCD HDTVs including 27-, 32-, 37- and 42-inch models. The Olevia 3 Series and 7 Series LCD TVs are expected to be introduced to the market incrementally through September. MSRPs were not released. For more information, go to http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=146224&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=883849&highlight=
7. D-Link Announces 200Mbps Powerline Solution for Digital Home Network Applications Any Ethernet-ready device can easily be added to a home network using the new D-Link Powerline adapters, says the company, and D-Link expects the most popular use to be for next generation applications such as high-definition media streaming, music sharing and online multi-player gaming. The D-Link Powerline Ethernet Adapter Kit (DHP-301) contains two adapters (each adapter model number is DHP-300) one Ethernet cable and an installation compact disk. No new cables or wires are needed for this device that takes advantage of ordinary AC power and ever-present wall sockets. Connecting to the home network simply requires plugging one adapter to a router and the other to an Ethernet-ready device such as a personal computer, High Definition TV, digital video recorder, game console, print server or D-Link's family of award-winning MediaLounge Media Players. D-Link's Powerline Ethernet Adapter and Kit are expected to be in the retail and online stores in the third quarter with a suggested retail price of $299.99 for the kit and $129.99 for individual adapters. This is a big player to get behind this technology! For more information, go to http://www.dlink.com/press/pr/?prid=286 8. Video Without Boundaries Incorporates AOL's AIM Service Into MediaREADY Media Centers For more information, go to http://www.vwbinc.com/press/071706pr.html
Replay A/V also records online video and audio clips, XM and Sirius radio, and thousands of radio shows, radio stations, TV stations and Podcasts accessed from the included Replay Media Guide. At-Large Recorder is available immediately for purchase from http://www.at-large-recorder.com/ for $29.95. Replay A/V, with At-Large Recorder included, is located at http://www.replay-av.com/, for $49.95. At-Large Recorder requires a Windows-based PC running SlingPlayer. Replay A/V also requires a Windows-based PC. For more information, go to http://applian.com/at-large-recorder/
Check it out at http://www.intellicontrol.com/
11. Audio Authority Announces AVAtrix Home Theater Router Audio Authority announced the AVAtrix, a six-input, seven-output routing system for HDTV and home theater. This allows the consumer to use multiple HD sources at several remote locations. Each of the AVAtrix’s six Cat 5 outputs is terminated at a Model 9878 Wallplate that provides a connection point for component video, digital audio, and stereo analog audio. Audio Authority says the company’s technology allows the signal to be transmitted up to 1,000 feet. Input connections include DVI with HDCP, component video, digital audio (coaxial and optical), and stereo audio. It also has automatic conversion of component video to digital DVI signal, making all positions available on the main DVI output. This feature allows all high definition sources to be connected to the main TV with only one video cable – DVI (digital) – and the TV never has to be switched from its DVI input. Each source input can be given a custom name that is displayed on the vacuum fluorescent display. A flash memory slot allows easy firmware upgrades and provides a way for installers to quickly perform setup tasks using a PC and load the new configuration onto the 1166. Suggested retail price is $3,459.00. It’s not yet on the website, but you can see all products and check back for the AVAtrix at http://www.audioauthority.com/ Audio 12. Artison Announces Flat-Screen Speakers Engineered by world-renowned speaker designer Cary Christie, Masterpiece speakers were built utilizing patented DualMono Center Channel technology, which eliminates the need for a center channel. Each of the speakers place all three front channels (LCR) in two slim attachable cabinets, rather than the conventional three speaker box approach. Masterpiece is the follow-up to Ariston’s two previous LCR speakers, the Sketch and the Portrait. It’s not yet on the website, but check back at http://www.artisonusa.com/product-literature.html
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Thanks for reading, and tell your friends by clicking on the forward button at the top of the newsletter or sending them to Copyright 2006 – Kayye Consulting – All rights reserved. For reprint policies, contact us at Kayye Consulting, Inc. Editorial: dharrison@kayye.com Gary Kayye's rAVe 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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