Circuit City Declares Chapter 11 In a sign of the economic times and the state of the consumer electronics industry, Circuit City Stores announced last week that it has filed a voluntary petition for reorganization relief under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Virginia ("Bankruptcy Court") in Richmond, Virginia. The company plans to continue operating the business without interruption as management focuses on developing and executing a comprehensive corporate restructuring plan. Circuit City's Canadian operations also will be seeking protection under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act in Canada ("CCAA"). In conjunction with the filing, Circuit City is seeking customary authority from the Bankruptcy Court that will enable it to continue operating its business and serving its customers in the ordinary course. The requested approvals include requests for the authority to make wage and salary payments and continue various benefits for employees as well as honor customer programs such as returns, exchanges and gift cards. In addition, Circuit City has negotiated a commitment for a $1.1 billion debtor-in-possession (DIP) revolving credit facility to supplement its working capital. The DIP facility replaces the company's $1.3 billion asset-based credit facility and is being provided by the same lenders. The facility provides additional immediate liquidity while the company works to reorganize the business and will permit the company to pay vendors and other business partners for goods and services received after the filing. How do you avoid this? SERVICE! Are selling on products or services? I saw Best Buy start to make this transition three years ago — one to making money selling services rather than selling gear. Not that Best Buy is immune to this economic downturn, but what's the value in just being a big box retailer when everywhere on the Internet people sell stuff cheaper than you? It's service! Are you selling service? Are you sure? Are you selling systems designs? Are you selling 24-hour maintenance contracts? The full filing is here: http://newsroom.circuitcity.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=346614 Back to Top Utz Baldwin to Become CEDIA CEO CEDIA announced Monday that Utz Baldwin has been selected to fill the newly created position of CEO of CEDIA. Baldwin has up until now been Chairman of CEDIA's Board of Directors and also the president and founder of electronic systems company AD Systems in Houston. Baldwin will serve as CEDIA's primary spokesperson and will focus on advancing CEDIA members' position in the marketplace through collaboration and forward-thinking relationships with other associations and industries. He was selected out of 42 candidates that applied for the position. rAVe founder Gary Kayye comments, "I cannot think of a better choice for this job. I know that there are at least 41 applicants that wanted this job, but even they would have to admit that Utz is perfect for it. He lives and breathes HomeAV. I have no doubt that through his leadership CEDIA will grow exponentially over the coming decade. Congratulations Utz and CEDIA!" For more information, go to http://www.cedia.org Back to Top CEA Announces Innovations 2009 Award Winners The Consumer Electronics Alliance (the CES Show people) has announced their 2009 Innovations Award winners. These are products they deem as having the most innovative design and engineering-focused features. We aren't going to list each and every one for you here, but we did provide a link to them below. Here are some highlights: Harman Kardon's AVR 7550HD Receiver: The Harman Kardon AVR 7550HD 7.2-channel audio/video receiver incorporates a host of industry-leading features and technologies to deliver the ultimate in high-end A/V receiver performance, flexibility and ease of use. 4Home's EM-3200: 4Home Energy's EM-3200 is a whole-home and device-level energy management solution, providing energy usage awareness, monitoring, and management, both locally and remotely, benefiting consumers and service providers worldwide. Pathos Acoustics Adrenalin Mono Power Amp: One of the coolest looking Amps ever, the Adrenalin mono hybrid amplifier, featuring logo heat sinks, is the pinnacle of our patented INPOL technology, using tubes and MOSFETS to deliver 200 watts of Class A power. Belkin's FlyWire: FlyWire delivers HD video and audio wirelessly to any HDTV, anywhere in your home. It eliminates the need for unsightly cables and labor-intensive custom installation. JWIN's i1166 Media Player: A creative, 9" Portable Multimedia Player for your iPod and DVDs — you literally stick DVD's and an iPod INSIDE of this 9" screen and it plays the content for you wide-screen. To see all the CEA Innovations Winners go to: http://www.cesweb.org/awards/innovations/2009honorees.asp Back to Top Mitsubishi Betting on ENERGY STAR-Like Future Although this isn't directly AV-related, it seems to be a theme as 2008 draws to a close. Even in this issue we have a handful of ENERGY STAR announcements. So, it's interesting to read and certainly should guide us all in 2009. Read this carefully as I am betting a lot of other AV manufacturers will follow Mitsubishi's lead in moving into environmentally conscious, energy-efficient products. Mitsubishi Electric Corporation announced that the Mitsubishi Electric Group intends to expand its global warming-related business, mainly in photovoltaic (PV) power generation systems, heat pump-related and power device businesses, to achieve sales of 1,300 billion yen in fiscal 2016 (ending March 31, 2016), also reducing over 5.1 million tons of annual carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in the same fiscal year. In October 2007, the Mitsubishi Electric Group announced "Environmental Vision 2021," making commitments to reduce CO2 emissions from product use by 30% and also to contribute to the expansion of power generation that does not emit CO2, such as PV and nuclear power generation. The Mitsubishi Electric Group sets 2021 as the target year, commemorating the 100th anniversary of the company's founding. Mitsubishi Electric has positioned the global warming-related business as one of its prioritized company-wide businesses that are growing, in relation to the commitments mentioned in the "Environmental Vision 2021," which involve a wide range of the company's business fields. To read all about Mitsubishi's initiative, go to: http://global.mitsubishielectric.com/news/news_releases/2008/mel0720.pdf Back to Top Dan Drook is Back in Home Theater Dan Drook has rejoined Da-Lite as the VP of Home Theater Sales. After stints with SIM2 and Schneider Optics, Drook takes over Da-Lite's home theater sales strategy. rAVe columnist Gary Kayye comments, "I worked with Dan my first couple of years chairing of the InfoComm Projection ShootOut and he was brilliant and well-liked. It's a coup for Da-Lite." "We couldn't be more pleased to have Dan back at Da-Lite, leading our expanding home theater efforts," commented Blake Brubaker, Da-Lite vice president of sales. "With Dan's first-hand knowledge of our manufacturer's representatives and our dealer network, plus his decades of industry experience, he is uniquely positioned to champion our new Joe Kane Productions strategic partnership and the launch of the innovative JKP Affinity Screen series." For more information, go to http://www.da-lite.com/ Back to Top
Click above for more information JVC and SENSIO Partner in 3D Projection System JVC last week announced an agreement with SENSIO Technologies Inc., creator of the SENSIO 3D, to join forces and offer what they claim will be the very first high-end 3D solution available on the consumer market. The entirely new product will allow consumers to watch high-quality 3D at home by combining two of JVC's D-ILA projectors and a media server integrating the SENSIO 3D decoding technology. The new system will allow the viewing of full 1080p resolution 3D content with a native contrast ratio never before available in any 3D system. JVC's D-ILA projectors, widely used in commercial flight simulation systems, offer the world's highest native contrast ratio without the use of an auto iris, and are ideally suited for 3D imaging systems. The product will be developed in 2009 and will be sold and marketed in the United States by JVC Professional Products Company. You can read the entire announcement at: http://pro.jvc.com/pro/pr/2008/ehexpow/sensio2.html Back to Top EPSON Breaks $800 Price Point with 720p HT Projector EPSON became the first projector company to offer a home theater projector for under $800 when they announced the new PowerLite Home Cinema 700. At $799, the 700 is a native 1280×720, 3LCD projector offering 2000 ANSI lumens of light output and what is specified as a 4000-hour lamp. This is an impressive price point that we think will be matched by Sony within a week. Inputs include all the basics like s-video, component video and HDMI as well as USB-direct digital connections. You can read more about the new PowerLite 700 at: http://www.epson.com/cgi-bin/Store/consumer/consDetail.jsp?BV_UseBVCookie=yes&oid=63079021 Back to Top Toshiba Ships 2200 ANSI, 1280×800, 4-Pound Projector Toshiba announced a $959 widescreen (with native 720p) 3LCD projector. The TLP-WX100U is targeted for the portable projector user, but its native 1280×800 resolution, 600:1 contrast ratio and 2200 ANSI lumen output will bring it into the Home Theater market for sure. Weighing at just 4 pounds, the TLP-WX100U is only 3-inches thick, includes closed-captioning from both a DTV or a Blu-ray source and the ability to shut the projector down immediately — without waiting for a fan to stop running. List price for the WX-100U is $959 and you can read more about it at: http://explore.toshiba.com/accessory/TLP-WX100U Back to Top Chief Manufacturing Announces World's Thinnest Tilt Wall Mount Chief Manufacturing, announced last week the release of what they say is the world's thinnest flat panel tilt wall mount. The Thinstall Series LTTU Universal Tilt Wall Mount collapses to 0.75" (19 mm) to maintain the extreme low profile of ultra-thin flat panel TVs while offering 12º of smooth, fingertip tilt and supporting up to 100 lbs (45.4 kg). The Thinstall Universal Tilt Wall Mount consists of a unique, one-piece bracket and two tilting interfaces that provide 12º of tilt to achieve the ideal viewing angle. Each interface is equipped with a sliding flag to secure the interface to the wall bracket, and a cable stand and bottom pullout for cable access. The mount remains latched all of the time, regardless of whether the screen is tilted or using the bottom pullout feature. The mount is compatible with 16" on-center stud systems. To read all about the MTTU, go to: http://www.chiefmfg.com/thinstall/ Back to Top Extron's New 8/16-Ohm and 70/100-Volt XTRA Power Amps are ENERGY STAR-Qualified Extron Electronics introduced the XTRA Series of power amplifiers (formerly known as the HPA Series). The XTRA Series offers several new features and performance enhancements, including a boost to 200 watts rms power output from the original 100 watts in the HPA Series but the most impressive feature is its ENERGY STAR qualification — a great selling point to consumers for 2009! They feature a highly efficient, advanced Class D design with patented CDRS™ – Class D Ripple Suppression technology from Extron that eliminates EMI emissions while dramatically improving audio performance. With a compact 1U, half-rack width enclosure, these amplifiers are ideal for installation in racks, lecterns, or above the ceiling, and do not require fans for cooling. The XTRA Series amplifiers are available as the XPA 1002, a two-channel model for 4 ohm or 8 ohm speakers, and the XPA 2001, a mono amplifier for high impedance speaker systems, available in 70 volt and 100 volt versions. For more information on the ENERGY STAR XTRA Series, go to: http://www.extron.com/company/article.aspx?id=xtraseries_pr Back to Top VIZIO Exceeds ENERGY STAR 3.0 Standards Although not generally a display company specified by HomeAV integrators, VIZIO is definitely a leader in the Costco and Wal-Mart markets. Thus, take note as VIZIO has set a new standard for Green displays by being one of the first to make all their new flat-screens ENERGY STAR 3.0. What's that mean? Well, in addition to having significantly lower energy consumption than other like-displays (as much as 25% less), they are also now RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances) compliant which restricts the use of six hazardous materials found in electrical and electronic products. You will see Chinese, Japanese and Korean manufacturers all introduce lower power consumption (i.e., "green") displays in 2009. In fact, at a display conference geared towards engineers last month, Sharp all but said they were going 100% green by 2011 with displays and expected everyone else to follow them with flat-screen TVs. VIZIO also announced the launch of a new 32 inch-class "EcoHD" LCD HDTV that uses 44% less energy than a typical 32 inch-class LCD HDTV. VIZIO also says they have a 12,500:1 Dynamic Contrast Ratio and they will be loaded with HDMI inputs for only $499. You can read all about VIZIO's move to ENERGY STAR compliance at: http://www.vizio.com Back to Top Crestron Announces Satellite Radio Distribution Solutions Crestron last week introduced antenna packages that simplify installation and distribution of multi-room satellite radio. Just one Crestron outdoor antenna can now feed up to 16 Crestron XM or SIRIUS satellite radio tuners, and these new satellite antenna solutions enable the distribution of satellite radio channels to multiple receivers throughout the home and office using standard RG-6 cable. There are four satellite radio antenna packaged solutions: - SRD-ANT-1-PAK supports a single tuner; range up to 200 feet
- SRD-ANT-4-PAK supports up to four independent tuners; range of up to 200 feet each
- SRD-ANT-1LD-PAK includes one tuner and high-gain line amplifier; range of up to 350 feet
- SRD-ANT-8-PAK (includes two 4-way amplified splitters) supports up to eight tuners; signal range up to 300 feet. An additional 3-way couple can split the antenna signal to each of the two amplified splitters, allowing easy expansion up to a total of 16 satellite radio tuners.
The basic kit for each package includes a wall-mount bracket, pole-mount hardware, F-to SMB adapter cable(s), and weatherproof boot. The 4-PAK features the 4-way splitter and attenuator, and the 8-PAK adds a line amplifier, 4-way coupler, (2) 4-way amplified splitters, and attenuators. To see these packages, go to: http://www.crestron.com/products/show_products.asp?jump=1&type=residential&model=SRD-ANT-8-PAK# Back to Top NAD Improves Phono Preamp — Dust Off That Turntable Still in love with the popping of vinyl and don't want to buy new (pop-less) CD's? Well, NAD's got a high-end way for you include them in your digital sound system with the new PP-3 Digital Phono Preamp. The compact (1.3" x 2.75"), low-cost ($175) Preamp combines what they say is a high-quality analog-to-digital converter, a USB interface and CD-R software to provide you a way to convert your album collection to CDs — easily and quickly. The PP-3 is available now and you can read more about it at: http://nadelectronics.com/products/hifi-amplifiers/PP-3-Digital-Phono-Preamplifier Back to Top Stealth Acoustics Debuts Invisible In-Wall Speaker The new Stealth AX3 is what the company calls a high-performance, in-wall, 3-way speaker that you can't see when installed — rAVe agrees. It's the closest to the Sonance Architectural Series of in-wall speakers we have seen yet. The AX3 fits into a standard 3.5" deep stud wall and attaches directly to the structural framing without any brackets. The paintable surface is structurally modified so that paint will stick to it and can even be wallpapered. To read all about the AX3 and see installation photos, go to: http://www.stealthacoustics.com/pages/AX3.htm Back to Top |