HDBaseT: A Standard-Less Standard

I’ve been a fan since the first time I heard about and read the so-called HDBaseT standard. Here’s a system that’s spec’d to send video, audio, control, Ethernet and power (marketed by the HDBaseT Alliance as “5Play”) over a Cat5e or Cat6 cable. Perfect, huh? It is, when it’s done right — and that isn’t […]

HDBaseT: A Standard-Less Standard

Electrical Safety For Non-Electricians

If you’re not a licensed electrician you won’t be working on high voltage wiring on a job site, but if you’re an AV Pro odds are that you’re working near them on a regular basis. The current in a 120- or 220-volt circuit can kill you, and even the much lower power of 24v and […]

Electrical Safety For Non-Electricians

How is Apple Impacting Your Next Product?

By Bill MacKenzie DisplayDaily Forward-looking supply chain managers track Apple with an eye toward seeing what tech features are being introduced by the company and how they can be used by other brands for their businesses. By way of example, Apple first introduced fingerprint recognition for the iPhone last year and recently is trumpeting its […]

How is Apple Impacting Your Next Product?

Meridian Adds New G65 Digital Surround Controller

Meridian’s new flagship audio-only processor is its G65: a 19-input digital surround processor with eight SpeakerLink digital (RJ45) and eight analog balanced (XLR) outputs. The 19 inputs include one MMHR (Meridian Multichannel High Resolution) port that is designed to accept audio from their own HDMI switcher, two SpeakerLink inputs, six S/PDIF inputs, two Toslink ports […]

Meridian Adds New G65 Digital Surround Controller

Kayye’s Students Raise Money for Charity with Class Project

rAVe founder Gary Kayye teaches a class at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill called “New Media Technology & Its Impact on the Future of Advertising, Marketing and PR.” Every fall semester the two sections of the class compete on a new media project. This year the two classes had to use social […]

Kayye’s Students Raise Money for Charity with Class Project

Community Adds DP8 Pendant Loudspeaker to Distributed Design Series

Community Professional Loudspeakers has expanded its Distributed Design Series of ceiling, surface mount and pendant loudspeakers with the new DP8 Pendant. Available in paintable white or black, the DP8 is an 8-inch coaxial loudspeaker with a tapered style designed to be used in modern open-architecture environments like restaurants, lounges, hotels, ballrooms, convention centers, etc. integrating […]

Community Adds DP8 Pendant Loudspeaker to Distributed Design Series

Wi-Fi? Make Way for Li-Fi

What if any illuminating source — your TV, your tabletop lamp, an advertising sign, a street lamp — could double as a wireless hotspot? UK researchers at the Ultra-Parallel Visible Light Communications (UP-VLC) project can now make visible light communications (VLC) reach data transfer speeds of 10 Gbps with a system using tiny micro-LEDs. Light […]

Wi-Fi? Make Way for Li-Fi

Gamers: An Untapped Market for AV Integrators

This is the first installment of rAVe’s new series about gaming in the HomeAV market. It’s no secret that gaming’s demographics have evolved from children to a majority of adults — and those adults have access to a substantial entertainment budget. As AV integrators, we have particular access to people already spending thousands on entertainment […]

Gamers: An Untapped Market for AV Integrators

Holographic TV in a Galaxy Far, Far Away

By Matt Brennesholtz DisplayDaily The ultimate 3D TV would be a real-time, full color holographic TV system. No glasses would be required, no conflict between accommodation and convergence, no eyestrain. It would, literally, be just like looking through a window. There is a catch, however, besides the public’s ho-hum attitude toward 3D TV. The catch […]

Holographic TV in a Galaxy Far, Far Away

4K TV Boom – Over 30M in 2014?

By David Hsieh DisplaySearch As shipments of LCD TVs passed the 200 million level and entered a more mature stage, panel makers and TV brands have been discussing how to grow the TV business to the next level. New features and smart TV are possible ways to drive growth. While consumers always rate “picture performance” […]

4K TV Boom – Over 30M in 2014?

What Can Be Learned From Panasonic’s Exit from Plasma?

By Paul Gray DisplaySearch Panasonic’s final announcement of its exit from plasma display manufacturing signals the end of the road for the technology. It is worth reflecting on some conclusions: When Panasonic started its plasma business, it was by no means clear that large (say 40”+) LCD displays would be viable. There were a number […]

What Can Be Learned From Panasonic’s Exit from Plasma?

BenQ’s Revamped 3000 Lumen M5 Projector Series Debuts

BenQ America just introduced its revamped line of M5 series projectors: the MS504, MS521, MX505, MX522 and MW523. These projectors are aimed at small- to medium-sized spaces, specified with 3,000 ANSI lumens and a 10,000 hour lamp life. Every model uses BenQ’s SmartEco technology that includes a “no source detected” mode that automatically lowers brightness […]

BenQ’s Revamped 3000 Lumen M5 Projector Series Debuts

10 Years Ago This Week: A $25K 1080i Sony Home Projector

This is the first post of this new series – and we decided to kick it off with a consumer 1080i projector that’s at the same price-point as today’s Sony home 4K projector. From rAVe ProAV Edition Volume 1, Issue 14  At CEDIA, Sony Introduces Their First Reflective Imaging Technology for the Home and New […]

10 Years Ago This Week: A $25K 1080i Sony Home Projector

Sony Tanks Again (But Apple Can Save Them!)

While most of you were sleeping last night, Sony execs were mostly sleepless as they’d just announced a huge loss — one of the worst in company history. I mean huge. In fact, after releasing a 40 percent reduction in their 2013 profit forecast and a nearly $200 million loss for the most recent quarter, […]

Sony Tanks Again (But Apple Can Save Them!)

TruAudio Creates Ghost In-Ceiling Speaker That Fits in Recessed Can

TruAudio has created a 4-inch version of its Ghost line of in-ceiling speakers that match the exact diameter of standard can lights. Ghost in-ceiling speakers include a magnetic grill that has a mere 2 millimeter reveal. By matching recessed can lighting, the Ghost is less noticeable as a speaker. TruAudio says this product was created […]

TruAudio Creates Ghost In-Ceiling Speaker That Fits in Recessed Can

2013 Best of CEDIA Awards

Welcome to rAVe’s annual Best of CEDIA Awards! This year’s CEDIA Expo, held last month in Denver, was exciting, but was certainly dominated by an invasion of commercial AV gear. In fact, we’d estimate at least 25 percent of the products shown at this year’s CEDIA Expo were ProAV products or digital signage products. So, […]

2013 Best of CEDIA Awards

Must-Have Install Gear You Hadn’t Even Thought About

I’ve never met an AV Pro who didn’t love tools and gadgets. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that of all the AV pros I’ve known all these years, their love of tools and gadgets vary only by degree. Some, like my friend and former co-worker Mike, one of the most talented […]

Must-Have Install Gear You Hadn’t Even Thought About

The Future of Smart Homes

By Philip Masterson Guest Contributor When someone says, “The future is now,” many raise an eyebrow. After all, we’re still not living in a science-fiction like world with unimaginable technology. You may question if such technology is even possible. But, reality is in fact stranger than fiction. The technology available nowadays, although still expensive, is […]

The Future of Smart Homes

Gefen Ships 4×4 HDMI Matrix

Gefen has debuted a new 4×4 Matrix for HDMI signals, claiming that it does seamless switching between sources. A built-in scaler scales all non-HD content to 1080p and has the ability to resize each image to 16:9 aspect ratio. Some features include the ability to assign names to all inputs and outputs (that show up […]

Gefen Ships 4×4 HDMI Matrix

Pakedge Debuts R10 Gateways

Pakedge Device & Software’s newest product is the R10U and R10 pre-configured gateway appliances, designed for the custom-installation, smart networking and security system segments of larger residential and commercial networks. Both gateways come preconfigured and provide 16 LAN switch ports on the front and are configured with eight VLANs with Pakedge’s data management protocol called […]

Pakedge Debuts R10 Gateways

Audience Ships ClairAudient 1+1 Loudspeaker

Audience today announced that it is now shipping its ClairAudient 1+1 loudspeaker. The ClairAudient 1+1 is a bi-pole (front- and rear-radiating) design in a high gloss black multi-angled enclosure with rosewood sides. The Audience A3-S driver is 3 inches in diameter but has a frequency response from 50Hz to 22kHz (depending on room placement). The company claims that it eliminates […]

Audience Ships ClairAudient 1+1 Loudspeaker

The SmartPhone Market is Larger Than the Entire Consumer Electronics Market

Yes, you read that right. In a dramatic sign of how consumer tastes have shifted to new, more exciting wireless products, global factory revenue for smartphones and tablets this year will rise to become larger than revenue for the entire consumer electronics (CE) market—the first time this has ever occurred. Worldwide original equipment manufacturer (OEM) factory revenue for media and PC tablets and […]

The SmartPhone Market is Larger Than the Entire Consumer Electronics Market

Chief Launches FastFlip Digital Catalog

Chief has released its 2013-2014 online digital catalog and it’s been redesigned based on extensive feedback from installers and dealers — resulting in a streamlined layout with easy-to-navigate products and accessories.The new catalog includes the latest product information and Chief’s continually solid lines of mounts, racks, interactive technology and accessories. New products this year include: • Fusion […]

Chief Launches FastFlip Digital Catalog

RTI Now Shipping Second Generation T1-B+ Wireless Controller

Remote Technologies Incorporated (RTI) has announced that it is now shipping its T1-B+ wireless controller, the second generation of the company’s T1-B controller. The all-hard-button remote offers intuitive, customizable control housed in a contemporary design specifically suited for today’s home and office environments. Completely customizable, the T1-B+ has backlit hard buttons (40 assignable keypad buttons) […]

RTI Now Shipping Second Generation T1-B+ Wireless Controller

Want to See the First Audio Amplifier Ever?

The 135th AES Show last week in New York featured an historical museum component, including world’s first audio amplifiers. One, the Western Electric mechanical amplifier (pictured here), is the first known device for amplifying audio signals. Louis Manno, director of the Audio History Library, was excited to display these and other items from the library’s […]

Want to See the First Audio Amplifier Ever?

M&K Sound Unveils New Flagship Loudspeaker

M&K Sound’s new flagship speaker is the S300 SERIES, which at 15.5×13.4×13.0” is the company’s largest speaker to date. Specs include a frequency response of 60 Hz – 25 kHz, ±3dB and 500 watts of power. It weighs 40 pounds. This speaker is aimed at the high-end home audio enthusiast since it’s THX ULTRA2 certified. […]

M&K Sound Unveils New Flagship Loudspeaker

Extron Now Shipping HDMI Streaming Encoders and Decoders

Extron is now shipping the VN-Matrix 250 series of encoders and decoders, which provide real-time transmission of high resolution HDCP-compliant HDMI, DVI or RGB video across standard IP networks. The VN-Matrix 250 Series accepts HDMI and RGB signals at resolutions up to 1920×1200 and 2048×1080 and streams video and audio over an IP network, preserving the native source resolution of digital […]

Extron Now Shipping HDMI Streaming Encoders and Decoders

More Control System Partners Add Middle Atlantic RackLink Driver Modules

Add Crestron, Vantage, Savant, AMX and Control4 to the list of control companies who’ve adopted Middle Atlantic’s RackLink power management modules. These and other partners such as RTI, Aurora, URC, Key Digital and ihiji have already chosen RackLink because the system’s open architecture facilitates integration into virtually any control system or management platform. The RackLink […]

More Control System Partners Add Middle Atlantic RackLink Driver Modules

Bose Intros Wireless SoundTouch Music System

Bose is taking on Sonos head-on with its new SoundTouch system, which is available in three different sizes: the SoundTouch 30 for big rooms, the SoundTouch 20 for medium-sized rooms and the SoundTouch Portable for small rooms or portable applications. Bose tells rAVe that its SoundTouch system is a custom-wireless audio system that automatically links […]

Bose Intros Wireless SoundTouch Music System

Digital Projection Ships 9K Lumen Cine 730 Projector

Digital Projection unveiled the HIGHlite Cine 1080p 730-3D at CEDIA — spec’d as a 9,000-lumen, 1080p projector. DPI’s HIGHlite Cine 1080p 730-3D projectors feature built-in HDBaseT (video, audio, control and ethernet over standard Cat5e/6), Dual Flash Processing (DFP) that enables distribution of 3D content via 60 Hz formats by frame-doubling the signal within the projector, […]

Digital Projection Ships 9K Lumen Cine 730 Projector

Genelec Debuts New G Series Speaker

Genelec is debuting its new G Two Active Loudspeaker, part of the new Genelec G Series of Active Loudspeakers. Aimed at HomeAV applications but good for digital signage too, the G Two (Woofer 4″ + Tweeter 3/4″) joins three other models in the series: G One (Woofer 3″ + Tweeter 3/4″), G Three (Woofer 5″ […]

Genelec Debuts New G Series Speaker

rAVe SCOOP: Mitsubishi to Exit Projector and Stand-Alone Display Market

We just had an exclusive interview with very high-level source at Mitsubishi that told us the details of their divestment of their projector and stand-alone monitor market. Yes, you read that right, Mitsubishi – the creator of the first large-format monitor (the 35″ CRT you may have remembered and loved) is is not only quitting […]

rAVe SCOOP: Mitsubishi to Exit Projector and Stand-Alone Display Market