Volume 3, Issue 24 – December 29, 2006 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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For more info, email rAVeEurope@gmail.com In the news, there are a couple of stories about manufacturers slimming down their rear projection televisions. Is it too late? Have the thin – and now, affordable — LCDs and plasmas already won too much mindshare? It's timely that we bring you an article by Insight Media's John DiLoreto, who not only explains how JVC skinnied their LCoS TV, but what it will take for rear projection sets to stay competitive. Enjoy the issue! Gary Kayye, CTS JVC Shows Slim D-ILA TVs. Are RPTVs Redeemed? By John DiLoreto In New York this month, JVC unveiled its previously announced slim-cabinet RPTVs that are based on three 1080p HD-ILA (LCOS) imagers, a new light engine design and a concave mirror. (Display Daily, Oct. 6) The 58-inch ($3,300) and 65-inch ($4,200) are an amazing 10.7 and 11.6 inches deep, respectively. With flat panel TVs dropping rapidly in price, will these new models compete successfully with the more popular LCD and plasma models? However, the big advantage for those who want a TV this size, is cost. If you watch quality HD content, like to sit more than a few feet away from it, and want to see all the detail, a set 58 or 65 inches might be recommended. (Display Daily, Dec. 1) Flat-panel TVs this size cost a lot more, for example, over $10K for a 65-inch LCD-TV. While flat-panel TV prices should continue to fall 20-25% per year, RPTV prices will fall, too. Hopefully they'll soon reach what I consider a $2,000-$2,500 sweet spot for mainstream" adoption at this size. But mainstream adoption at this size won't happen unless image quality is maintained, or more likely, improved. LCD-TVs, plasma TVs and RPTV each have their own image-quality shortcomings. I have noted previously that RPTVs are especially challenged by the physics of light traveling the cabinet's optical path (projection lens, mirror, Fresnel and screen). It's especially challenging at the 135° angles needed to make the cabinet thin. Degradation shows up in fine detail contrast, characterized by a concept called MTF (modulation transfer function). But don't expect to discuss that with your retailer when you go to buy one! For its part, JVC has gone to great lengths to optimize the image quality of these slim RPTVs. The concave mirror allows a narrower-beam projection lens for lower cost, less stray light, and more fine detail contrast. Also, the cabinet interior is sealed from stray dust that would get on the mirror, lens and screen. Like other high-end front and rear projection systems, JVC has included an iris system that responds to scene brightness enhances contrast to 10,000:1 for better black levels and more accurate gradation in dark scenes. Scaling technology is also an important image-quality factor in any set, and JVC uses its Genessa 32-bit video processor, with its fifth-generation Digital Image Scaling Technology. We haven't seen the results yet, but it will be interesting to see how these measures fare in comparison with similar-sized LCD and plasma sets. The new 58-inch and 65-inch "wall-hanging" RP sets are slated to ship to dealers in January and March, respectively. Then you can tell me if the tradeoffs work for you. 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 Starts the "New Year" Right … CEDIA is bringing in the "new year" with a bang… by attending the 40th International Cusumer Electronics Show (CES) in the ever-exciting Las Vegas, NV, January 8-11, 2007. CES is the world's largest annual tradeshow for consumer technology and America's largest annual tradeshow of any kind. The CES show hosts over 2,700 exhibitors with more than 1.7 million net square feet of exhibit space for attendees to navigate through. Verified registrants are representing the United States, Canada, Mexico, and more than 130 additional countries. Attendees include manufacturers, retailers, content providers, creators, broadband developers, wireless carriers, cable and satellite TV providers, installers, engineers, corporate buyers, government leaders, financial analysts, and media from all around the world. CEDIA will be located at Booth 25938 in South Hall in our 20×20 exhibit with an eager staff ready to address any membership questions. In addition to answering any and all question's CEDIA staff will be reaching out the custom electronic community. For more information regarding CEDIA participation at CES please contact Courtney Vogel at cvogel@cedia.org or call (800) 669-5329 ext. 140. Also, for questions regarding the CES tradeshow, please visit www.cesweb.org. Mark Your Calendars… Electronic Lifestyles EXPO Registration Opens January 22, 2007 Now that the holidays have come to a close, be sure to make your calendar for CEDIA's 2007 Electronic Lifestyles EXPO, April 18-21 in Las Vegas, NV. Did you know that CEDIA's Electronic Lifestyles EXPO will be your opportunity to reach out to a diverse, up-and-coming industry audience? This show lets you reach a gateway audience of professionals crossing over into the electronic systems industry. For more information visit www.cedia.org/elforumexpo. Got Questions? – CEDIA's Got Answers! Questions are always present in your day-to-day activities, whether these questions are personal or professional there's no escaping them. However, CEDIA's goal is to alleviate all of your professional questions. In CEDIA's effort a new position has been added to its staff, the member concierge. This new role has been created to answer all of your pressing association questions. The goal of CEDIA's member concierge is to focus and work exclusively with CEDIA Members to make sure their every need is being met. They will be making a proactive approach to assure that CEDIA Members are aware of their membership status, certification requirements, CEU status, CEDIA events, and any other association information that will aid in the success of their business. In addition, the member concierge has been trained in all CEDIA departments. This will ensure questions can be answered quickly and if more information is needed they can direct members accordingly. Let your CEDIA membership pay for itself over and over. CEDIA member concierge gives you one more reason for making CEDIA membership the smartest investment. To contact a CEDIA member concierge today call (800) 669-5329, or visit CEDIA's membership website at www.cedia.org/membership. Mark your calendars today… Here's a list of upcoming 2007 dates you won't want to miss!
Price-fixing in LCD displays? Say it isn't so… Nope, these were not Xmas presents: these were subpoenas as regulators in the USA, South Korea and Japan investigate price-fixing on TFT LCDs. Now the EU wants to be involved. The Commission is seeking to "ascertain whether there is evidence of a cartel agreement and related practices concerning price fixing." Last year the same regulators took on the DRAM and SRAM markets: market leaders Samsung and Hynix pled guilty to price fixing and received fines of $300m and $185m, respectively. Elpida had to pay $84m and Infineon Technologies paid a $160m fine. For more on the story from PCWorld, go to http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,128151-page,1/article.html ESPA Invites Affiliates Announced last month, The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), Custom Electronic Design & Installation Association (CEDIA), and National Systems Contractors Association (NSCA) joined forces to form ESPA, which will serve as the foundation of a career-ready workforce for the electronic systems contracting industry. (See November 9 press release "New Alliance Offers Vision for a Unified Industry with a Qualified Workforce".) "We have never before seen cooperation on this scale," said Chuck Wilson, chairman of the ESPA board of directors. "The three initial partners have made monetary, infrastructure and resource commitments worth millions of dollars and now we are openly inviting more organizations to participate in the development process. ESPA is truly a powerful, unifying force for the electronic systems industry." ESPA Affiliates will help standardize the terms, definitions and best practices of the electronic systems industry, and ensure broad-based inclusion of critical concepts for entry-level technicians in both commercial and residential disciplines. Affiliates will also be included in ESPA promotional activities as recognized leaders who are uniting the industry and providing long-term, credible solutions for education and certification. ESPA anticipates rolling out its education/certification programs in the fourth quarter of 2007. For more information on ESPA, go to http://www.nsca.org AMX Acquires Matrix Audio Designs AMX says Matrix will be fully integrated into AMX and Matrix products can be programmed and designed using AMX's VisualArchitect software and Duet modules, which can be downloaded on AMX.com. The products will also be added to AMX's Whole Home and Home Theater System Design Libraries (SDLs). According to the announcement, all current Matrix Audio employees are part of a new AMX team called the Matrix Audio Group, which will focus on market and product development of multi-room audio solutions. For more information, go to http://www.amx.com/newsroom/pressrelease-file.asp?release=2006.12.14 Epson Develops Next-Generation HTPS Panel for LCD Projection TVs This technology uses new aperture ratios – a greater than 20 percent improvement over conventional TN panels. By enhancing aperture ratios, this new design technology improves brightness while using the same lamp as preceding models. It also enables the use of a lower-watt lamp to achieve the same levels of luminance or smaller HTPS panels to achieve the same resolution. Epson says the new technology makes it possible to manufacture brighter, more environmentally friendly projectors more economically. For more information, go to http://www.epson.co.jp/e/newsroom/2006/news_20061212_2.htm Samsung Shipping Slim DLP HDTV The new developments in slim DLP may help. Take the new Samsung HL-S4676S 720p 46-inch TV. At 10.6 inches deep, it's still more than twice as thick as most flat panels. But for a set that sits on a shelf or in a cabinet, 10.6 inches is quite tolerable. It still might be a little clumsy to hang on the wall, but Samsung is advertising that potential. Especially since it weighs only 46 pounds! It is priced around $1,400 at online retailers. For more information, go to http://www.samsung.com/Products/TV/DLPTV/HLS4676SXXAA.asp?page=Specifications JVC — Another to Slim Rear-Pro TVs The new shallow cabinet is owing to a new optical engine, which will be offered in the HD-58S998 and the HD-65S998. They use a side heat dissipation design and side connections allow the sets to be placed flush against the wall, or hung. Both sets each use three native 1080p JVC D-ILA LCoS devices. The JVC HD-58S998 will be available in January and will sell for about $3,299.95. The JVC HD-65S998 will be available in March and will sell for about $4,199.95. For more information, go to http://www.jvc.com/press/index.jsp?item=530&pageID=1 Liberty Wire & Cable Introduces DigitaLinx HDMI Cable The look and feel of the Liberty cable is enhanced by a black and silver sheath jacket of braided fabric, and easy-to-grab plugs. Available in one and two-meter lengths, Liberty says its DigitaLinx HDMI Cables "deliver high-quality performance at very competitive prices." For more info, go to http://www.libertycable.com/new/new.html#2 New Peerless Mounts Match Flat-Panel Finishes Peerless Industries announced the new HG Series of Universal Flat Panel Wall Mounts, including pivoting and articulating plasma and LCD wall mounts in high gloss piano black or high gloss silver finishes. The new mount series accommodates screens from 26 inches to 60 inches.The new HG Series of Universal Flat Panel Wall Mounts are available now. Pricing for the pivoting and articulating high gloss piano black or high gloss silver models ranges from $449 for to $749. For more information, go to http://www.peerlessmounts.com/dyn/Products/BrowseProducts.aspx/p1/ProductLine/v1/HGSeries Sanus Introduces Recessed In-Wall Mount Box Installation is done by cutting a hole in the sheetrock between wood studs and securing the recessed box to the studs with provided hardware. The In-Wall Box is available in a silver, black or paintable white finish. It has cutouts for signal and power cables. Model LR1A lists at $269.99 U.S. For more information, go to http://www.sanus.com/cgi-bin/web_store.cgi?page=products/wallmount/visionmount/LR1A.html&cart_id=2916866_16190 Lagotek Version 3.0 Integrates Vista and More Flexible Customer Controls The plug-in module for Media Center allows users to control their home systems using a standard remote control by choosing user-defined Modes on the Media Center screen. Once selected, Lagotek's Mode can control multiple lights, motor controls, climate, and serve a music playlist. Microsoft Windows Vista Media Center states are now exposed to Lagotek Rules Application for easier configuration. For example, when a movie starts, the lights turn off. The lights dim up when the movie is paused or stopped. With any SideShow enabled remote, it will display all Modes on the screen of the Media Center remote control, so the user doesn't need to turn his TV on if all he needs is just to turn the lights on or off. Whole home control is also now possible from a WiFi enabled PDA running Windows CE 5.0. Current software applications for the HIP platform from Lagotek and its partners include climate control with multiple zones of heating and air conditioning, lighting, distributed audio, video monitoring, media center control and irrigation. For more information, go to http://www.lagotek.com/Papers/NR01406-version%203.0.doc Agere Turns Media Server Into Another Mobile Device The BluOnyx server is about the size of a credit card and lets mobile users share and stream music, video and business files to or from electronic devices ranging from cell phones, PCs, digital cameras, game machines, DSL routers, etc. It's a peer-to-peer device. Other devices can connect to the BluOnyx server wirelessly through Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connections or using USB cables or SD cards. The BluOnyx server can be accessed directly or through a home or corporate network where it is seen as a drive letter. The amount of storage on the BluOnyx server will range from 1 Gigabyte to 40 Gigabytes. Some of the functions include broadcasting and sharing content with multiple authorized friends at once in a room, getting content through their cell phones, streaming videos to one or more cell phones, backing up media and documents, and enabling broadband on non-broadband devices. The retail price of the BluOnyx server is expected to range from $99 to $250 depending on memory capacity. For more information, go to http://www.agere.com/news/pr.cfm?pr_id=72829 D-Link HD MediaLounge Player Delivers Media Over Network D-Link recommends the DSM-510 Media Player be connected to an existing home network via wired Ethernet, or through an 802.11g wireless router such as the Intel Viiv technology verified D-Link RangeBooster G Wireless Router (WBR-2310) or AirPremier AG Dual-Band Wireless Router (DI-784). Another alternative for Ethernet-wired performance is the D-Link PowerLine Network Kit (DHP-301) that lets consumers to tap into their existing electrical wiring to extend their home network. The DSM-510 includes a remote control with TV user interface for browsing digital content. In addition to its built-in connectors for HDMI and Composite Audio and Video outputs, the DSM-510 has Optical Digital Audio with support for 5.1 Channel Audio. With HTTP as the media streaming protocol, supported video formats are MPEG-1/2/4, WMV9, XVID with MP3 or PCM, AVI (MPEG-4 layer only) and DVR-MS. Audio formats are MP3, WAV Audio, WMA and AIFF (PCM only) and Ogg Vorbis. Image formats supported are JPEG and JPEG2000, TIFF 9 (RGB only), non-compressed BMP, PNG and GIF. Also included are a 10/100 Base-T Ethernet controller, 802.11g wireless networking support and a USB 2.0 port for additional connectivity with flash memory, digital cameras and portable music and video players. The D-Link MediaLounge DSM-510 is shipping for $239.99 MSRP. For more information, go to http://www.dlink.com/press/pr/?prid=309 Cambridge Introduces PlayDock for ZENs, iPods Cambridge SoundWorks announced new high-fidelity docking speakers for ZEN or iPod MP3 players, the PlayDock ZEN and PlayDock i. Designed as a docking speaker for the Creative ZEN Vision:M, ZEN V and ZEN V Plus players, the Cambridge SoundWorks PlayDock ZEN is available for immediate purchase. The Made for iPod-certified PlayDock i, designed for the iPod with video, iPod photo, iPod mini and iPod Nano, will be available in January 2007. The PlayDock ZEN and PlayDock i are priced at $199.99. PlayDock ZEN and PlayDock i can run on AC or battery power and they use Wide Stereo Effect, designed to produce a large soundstage with enhanced stereo imaging. In addition, both models feature a built-in powered subwoofer with bass control, and a bass control knob. The video-out connector enables sharing of pictures and videos with 640 x 480 resolution on a television screen. The included remote control enables song selection and volume adjustment. Both PlayDock systems are magnetically shielded so they can be placed near a TV or computer monitor without causing interference. For more information, go to http://www.cambridgesoundworks.com/store/category.cgi?category=about
Well, that's it for this edition of rAVe! Thank you for spending time with me as we muse the industry's happenings. To continue getting my newsletter, or to sign up a friend, click the link below. To send me feedback, don't reply to this newsletter – instead, write to me at gkayye@kayye.com or for editorial: Denise Harrison at dharrison@kayye.com A little about me: Gary Kayye, CTS, founder of Kayye Consulting. Gary Kayye, an audiovisual veteran and columnist, began the widely-read KNews, a premier industry newsletter, in the late 1990s, and created the model for and was co-founder of AV Avenue – which later became InfoComm IQ. Kayye Consulting is a company that is committed to furthering the interests and success of dealers, manufacturers, and other companies within the professional audiovisual industry. Gary Kayye's rAVe was launched in February 2003. The rAVe Home Edition co-sponsored by CEDIA launched in February, 2004. To read more about my background, our staff, and what we do, go to http://www.kayye.com
Copyright 2006 – Kayye Consulting – All rights reserved. For reprint policies, contact Kayye Consulting, 400 Meadowmont Village Circle, Suite 425 – Chapel Hill, NC 27517 – 919/969-7501. Email: 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. |