You've seen one booth babe you've seen them all.

Or have you?

With the slow economy, many CEDIA 2008 exhibitors were forced to cut costs. The result: some of the homeliest booth babes ever to work the show floor.

Which was the most unsightly? We'll let you decide.

Click here to check out the worst booth babes of CEDIA Expo 2008.

Microsoft has named cyberManor the winner of its Windows Media Center Ultimate Install Contest.

The winning installation, announced at CEDIA Expo 2008, was submitted by Gordon Van Zuiden, president of cyberManor. It's installed in the home of Mike Keardon.

"We couldn't be prouder of this accomplishment," Van Zuiden says.

“Winning the Ultimate Install Contest is a testament to the phenomenal efforts of the cyberManor employees who worked so diligently to make this installation one of the greatest integration projects in our company’s history.”

Windows Media Center controls numerous aspects of the family's digital lifestyle, including 12 zones of Russound distributed audio.

The home also features Lifeware for whole-home control of thermostats, lighting, audio distribution, surveillance cameras and IP-based door strike at the front gate.

The Media Center ecosystem in cyberManor's installation includes:

• Niveus Media's n9 media server with…

Homemanageables is joining the iPhone revolution, unveiling its first iPhone application here at CEDIA Expo 2008.

The company's application lets customers remotely control their home automation systems.

Controllable devices include: lighting, temperatures, window shades, thermostats, clock radios and more.

Users can organize settings and actions for different locations. The "My Modules" feature enables control of either devices or rooms.

"The iPhone application is an exciting new feature we've added to our mix," says Jay M. Miller, Homemanageables' VP of strategic development.

"This new iPhone application lets Homemanageables customers cut energy bills and save money while simplifying their lives."

Homemanageables' iPhone application is available for existing clients only. It's available free from Apple's App Store.

Lifeware, Crestron and Savant have also introduced iPhone apps here at CEDIA.

Schlage's new Z-Wave-enabled door lock is what this industry's been missing.

We first announced in May that Schlage was developing a wireless electronic lock that communicates with the Internet via a Z-Wave gateway.

The company demonstrated the solution for the first time here at CEDIA Expo 2008.

It's nice. It's what this industry needs – an easy way to lock and unlock the doors from a cell phone, the Internet, a key fob, or a button by your bed stand.

At only $199 retail, it's just $50 or $60 more than traditional electronic deadbolts and lever locks.

But that's not exactly what Schlage is promoting. The company has created a complete Web-enabled home-control system that enables remote access to lights, thermostats, surveillance cameras, and other automated devices including Schlage locks.

The Web service is called Schlage Link, and the company plans…

Runco's booth has been quite busy. Amid the announcement of the company "phasing out" the Vidikron brand, it has introduced a slew of products at CEDIA Expo 2008.

Runco introduced seven new 1080p LCD and plasma flat panels, including the company's largest flat panel — the 70-inch Crystal Series CX-70DHD.

Runco says the CX-70DHD is the first LCD to use Runco's proprietary external DHD video controller/processor. It also features the company's VirtualWide mode, which it says converts 4:3 content to 16:9.

CX-70DHD includes the Imaging Science Foundation's ISFccc calibration suite and Vivix II digital video processing. It's less than six-inches wide and has the following inputs: Composite, S-Video, HDMI with HDCP and RGBH.

The two other Crystal Series LCD flat panels are the 65-inch CX-65HD and 47-inch CX-47HD. Both offer internal Vivix II processing with Runco's RTR (Real-Time Refresh) 120Hz technology, connectivity including HDMI 1.3a with Deep Color, WideVision technology with VirtualWide…

Home Automation Inc. (HAI) one of the first automation companies to create a plug-in for Media Center, now plans to offer a Media Center PC of its own.

Do they really want to go there? I asked HAI chief Jay McLellan.

"We do," he says. "We wouldn't do that if we didn't see the progress of Windows Media Center. If we were just putting me-too Media Centers in there, we wouldn't do it."

What's different about HAI's Media Center, a prototype of which is being quietly demonstrated at CEDIA Expo 2008, is that it's pretty darn basic.

"To start with, we're not going to go all out and try to do too much," says McLellan. "We're not supporting every output, just HDMI," McLellan says. "We'll discourage [through the setup] people from putting too much extra stuff in there."

There will be no CableCard support right now. "There's a lot to…

RBH has announced its new SX Series of floorstanding loudspeakers and additions to its Signature Series architectural and Destination Audio lines of products at CEDIA Expo 2008.

Headlining the products is the SX-4T, which RBH says is a departure from the company's traditional loudspeaker designs.

The SX-4T employs a heavily braced MDF "swept-back" cabinet design to eliminate standing waves and diffraction issues, the company says. It also features a driver array that includes five 4-inch aluminum woofer cones and a single 1-inch soft-dome tweeter.

5 New Signature Reference In-Wall Models

RBH is launching five new Signature Reference In-wall models:

• SI-740/R
• SI-760/R
• SI-770/R
• SI-6000/R
• SI-6100/R

RBH says it has developed the Signature in-wall speakers to match its freestanding counterparts.

The company has also updated its Destination Audio line's F300 Series, including the:

• F300R bookshelf speaker
• F300C LCR speaker
• the flagship F300T freestanding speaker

Roger Hassing, president Destination Audio, says that the company wanted to raise the performance level of the speakers to help installers fulfill…

The Learning Lab Experience at CEDIA Expo 2008 could be the successful formula that combines classroom education with hands-on, boot-camp training for integrators.

The program made its debut yesterday at CEDIA Expo in Denver with two sold-out sessions, covering cable connectors and video calibration.

For years, the three-day boot camps as part of CEDIA University have been enormously popular, but the association has not been able to transfer that hands-on experience to its CEDIA Expo … until now.

In the Learning Lab, attendees sit in three-hour lectures then immediately move into adjacent rooms and actually do the work they learn in the classroom.

The sessions are sponsored by ADI, which brought together products from 38 different manufacturers for the labs. CEDIA held a champagne toast and ribbon cutting to celebrate the inaugural seminars.

The three labs are:

• Cable, Connector and Testing
• Video Technologies and Calibration
• Home Theater Audio Calibration

Attendees earn…