Howard Stringer’s disastrous seven-year tenure as Sony’s CEO is nearly at an end, leaving it to successor Kazuo Hirai to rebuild – if he can – the castle Sir Howard leaves in ruins. Am I exaggerating? Sony will lose at least ¥220B in fiscal 2011, its fourth consecutive annual loss. As of fiscal 2011, the […]

Krell Industries has just started shipping the S-550i, a 275-watt amplifier that’s outfitted with balanced and single-ended inputs (XLR and RCA), an iPod dock and theater throughput mode. In addition, the amp includes multiple 12 Volt triggers, RS232 connectivity and rack mount ears. The S-550i is powered by a 1,750-watt transformer and 68,000F of capacitance […]

Hot on the heels of CES, Head Monster Noel Lee sets his sights on the company’s next big step by recruiting the expertise of cultural icon Swizz Beatz. Swizz will join Monster as a member of the company’s executive board after purchasing a co-ownership stake in the company. Noel Lee, who created the Beats by […]

Demo 2012 People’s Choice winner Ube (pronounced “yoo-bee”), the company started by former CEDIA president Utz Baldwin has launched an Indiegogo campaign to support its Wi-Fi connected Smart Dimmer. This dimmer is designed to control household light circuits by replacing a homeowner’s current light switch or dumb dimmer, allowing full control of the lights from […]

The Custom Electronic Design & Installation Association’s (CEDIA’s) annual Electronic Lifestyles Awards competition is officially open online at http://www.cedia.net/awards. CEDIA members interested in entering may view guidelines and begin the entry process; early bird deadline is April 12. CEDIA has added a new category to the Designer Awards competition for Integrated Home Projects that cost under […]

Epson today announced the new PowerLite Pro G-series projectors that include features such as edge blending, 360-degree installation, six optional lenses and several connectivity options. Ranging from 4,500 to 7,000 lumens of “color brightness” (non-ANSI), the projectors are aimed at both the install market and rental and staging. There are seven models in the Pro […]

SpeakerCraft co-founder and former president Jeremy Burkhardt has sued SpeakerCraft, and its parent company Nortek for attempting to enforce an invalid non-competition agreement and restrict his right to work. Having resigned from SpeakerCraft in April 2012, Burkhardt is now seeking to return to the industry he helped build over the last 25 years and has […]

Pro Control, a division of RTI, announced that the company’s ProPanel control app for the iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch is now available for the ProLink.r control processor. The  ProPanel app provides users with system control of the home environment. Already available for the ProLink.z, and now available for the ProLink.r, the ProPanel app will […]

TV set makers from China were at CES in force, determined to take more of the North American market – not only with sets sold under private labels but, increasingly, under their own. This trend has been visible for the last couple of years, but this year it was dramatic, with elaborate exhibits laid on […]

The fact is that the AV pro and the electrician have more in common than they have differences. Not only that, but both roles on the jobsite are intertwined. The AV pro needs the electrician to meet the AV system’s needs in terms of supplying necessary locations and load capacity for the outlets that the […]

As we expected, 4K and OLED displays were one of the key highlights from CES 2013. 3D technology and products were clearly well represented, but did not command the headlines they have at past CES events. But that’s just fine. It proves that 3D is moving beyond the introductory hype phase into a sustainable, product, […]

Earlier this month was the International assault on Las Vegas that tests business travelers’ patience, attentiveness and immune system resilience, also known as CES. This was my 11th trip in a row, a light count for many, but a very important visit from my perspective. Our research has shown that the TV industry is at […]

The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) announced last week that the 2013 International CES is the largest in the show’s 45+ year history, with 1.92 million net square feet of exhibit space. The previous record was 1.86 million net square feet of space at the 2012 International CES. More than 3,250 exhibitors unveiled some 20,000 new […]

Rava is the hands-free communication over Ethernet technology that Crestron showed at CEDIA Expo last September. Rava technology is built into many Crestron touch screens, integrating hands-free intercom, telephone, paging and room monitoring in one IP-based system. Rava does two things. First, it allows for Rava-to-Rava devices to communicate with each other. Place two or […]

What do you give the person that has everything? In answer to that question, SIM2 has launched its LUMIS Fuoriserie projector at the home of bling, CES in Las Vegas. Fuoriserie is used in Italy to describe a custom-built, high-performance, exclusive and expensive auto that “qualifies the owner’s financial ability and desire to stand out […]

Without prior fanfare — or even prior leaks — two advanced LCD technologies appeared in TV sets shown at CES in Las Vegas. Sets with one or another of the technologies will be available this year. The technology that will be the more widely distributed of the two will appear in many Sony Bravia models. […]

Four key themes in TV are emerging from CES this year: 1. The year of 4K — Clearly the most discussed and promoted technology theme at the show this year is 4K. All major TV manufacturers are featuring 4K TVs, either actually planned products or technology demonstrations. While most were based on LCD, Panasonic and Sony […]

When you hear people refer to “professionalism” they generally mean doing great work, as well as presenting yourself to others in the best possible way. Beyond just the measure of their skills and abilities, the appearance of your installers and technicians is one of the details that either cements your company’s reputation for excellence, or […]

The PureDAC is the first entry in a new PureLine Series of components more affordable than B.M.C.’s reference-level models. The company says PureDAC is a high-quality DAC with a balanced preamplifier, a balanced headphone amplifier that integrates B.M.C.’s exclusive Load Effect Free (LEF) technology, Digital Intelligent Gain Management (DIGM) system and Current Injection (CI) technology. […]

Krell Industries’ new Foundation receiver is a 7.1-channel processor that features balanced audio outputs, automatic setup and room EQ and 10 HDMI 1.4a inputs. The Foundation passes video signals directly without any video processing, ensuring bit-for-bit accuracy of the signal, up to 1080p/60. However, to simplify cabling, setup and use, there is full transcoding of […]

At CES, Krell Industries announced Connect, which is basically the branding of the company’s Wi-Fi music streaming capability for its receivers. From FLAC to WAV, MP3 and WMA, the Connect system plays back up to 192kHz/24-bit audio plus Internet radio, all to Krell gear. The Wi-Fi-equipped Connect is available in two forms: digital only, or […]

Balanced Music Concept (B.M.C.) Audio’s new AMP CS2 is a stereo amplifier with a built-in option that automatically changes it from operating as an integrated amplifier with B.M.C.’s exclusive Load Effect Free (LEF) technology into a stereo power amplifier with LEF by connecting it to a B.M.C. digital-to-analog converter (DAC). The AMP CS2 delivers two […]

IOGEAR introduced today at CES the Wireless 5×2 HD Matrix, which can send separate uncompressed HD 1080p content to two HD displays or projectors from up to five sources (digital and analog) and switching among the various sources independently. IOGEAR says a user can keep the cable box, Blu-ray player, game console or media server […]

Crestron today introduced a new 16-Port Managed Power over Ethernet (PoE) Switch. Built for both home and commercial networks, the CEN-SWPOE-16 is a commercial-grade PoE switch meant for high performance control networking. The switch offers PoE on every port, remote management/monitoring of each port, touch screen control capability and PoE+ for running power-hungry Type 2 […]

Epson today announced a new projector, the 3LCD PowerLite Home Cinema 750HD, and entry level 3D home theater projector. The Home Cinema 750HD offers 3,000 lumens brightness, making it Epson’s brightest home theater projector, as well 720p resolution and active shutter 3D technology. The projector can be mounted anywhere from 3.5 to 35.5 feet from […]

Wolf Cinema announced this month two new stereoscopic 3D projectors — the SDC-8 or the GRAYWOLF and the SDC-12, also called the GRAYWOLF 4K, suitable for home theater screens up to 11 feet wide. The SDC-8 offers a next generation three-chip, D-ILA [Direct Drive Image Light Amplifier] light engine for 1080p viewing, while the SDC-12 […]

In the run up to the 2013 Consumer Electronics Show next week in Las Vegas, I find an increasing level of interest in a variety of gesture recognition technologies. Leap Motion, eyeSight and Tobii Technology are among the firms planning to use CES to showcase their latest developments in non-touch gesture recognition technology. Today, Leap […]

Remote Technologies Incorporated (RTI) is now shipping its new KX7 in-wall color touch panel controller and SURFiR companion remote. The KX7 offers features such as a capacitive touch screen, analog and digital video viewing capability and a self contained control system. The SURFiR is a low-cost companion remote control, for end-users that enjoy using their […]

AudioControl announced today the launch of the the Rialto 400, a compact, high-powered amplifier with a built-in audiophile-grade DAC (digital to analog converter). The Rialto 400’s amplifier delivers over 100 watts of power per channel into 8 ohms and 200 watts per channel into 4 ohm loads. Additionally, the Rialto 400 can be bridged to […]

HAI by Leviton announced today the release of its new Omni-Bus Scene Controller, designed for controlling 110/220/240V markets to enable the configuring of lighting scenes or moods. The new Omni-Bus Scene Controller defines up to 32 different scenes and controls a total of 256 Omni-Bus load control modules. Each scene can be triggered from up […]

Entering next week’s CES, Korean-based LG hopes to steal some of Samsung’s thunder with its own set of Smart TVs with two new TV series – the 47″ and 55″ GA-7900 series (the company’s new flagship line) and the 42″, 47″, 50″, 55″ and 60″ GA6400 series. Both sets will include Smart TV apps such […]

PSB Speakers has introduced a new subwoofer, dubbed the SubSeries 125, offering a 125-watt amplifier and an 8” woofer with polypropylene cone. The new SubSeries 125 has increased power over its predecessor, the SubSeries 1, producing 125 watts of continuous power, 160 watts of “dynamic” power and 320 watts of peak dynamic power. The enclosure […]