Unless you have clients who are serious soccer fans or their children really love Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, they're probably wondering what's the point of all these 3D products.

It seems like a new 3D movie is hitting their local Cineplex every week, but the local cable provider still hasn't added any 3D channels to the 700 they're receiving. But you still have to find ways to present quality 3D demos to them.

The manufacturers seem to be taking a Field of Dreams "if you build it, they will come" approach to 3D home entertainment. The televisions, and even some projectors, are arriving swiftly with the requisite eyewear, as well as Blu-ray players and A/V receivers that support the format. But there are only a handful of viewing choices - not including PC games developed to be 3D-ready - available through traditional manners.

DirecTV Leading the Charge
"Everyone is talking about some form of 3D, and…

Arlington Industries midwest regional manager Joe Carroll demos several of Arlington's new low voltage market products to CE Pro's Lisa Montgomery.

How would you like to distribute multiple HDMI streams over your home IP network? It seems you can do that with a new solution from Just Add Power.

At the CEDIA Expo 2009 I found the company tucked away at a tiny booth in the corner of Exhibit Hall B.

Their product? Projector Connector: a solution for HDMI matrix applications that leverages a managed network switch to distribute multiple HDMI sources to multiple displays.

Because it's all IP you don't have to worry about exceeding the ins and outs of a typical matrix switch; and that's good because the limited offering for large frame HDMI matrix switches has handicapped the entire industry for years.

Here's how it works: an encoder unit (VBS-HDMI-308A) converts the HDMI signal to IP packets. This information passes through a managed switch on a specified VLAN. A networked receiver unit (VBS-HDMI0108A) decodes the signal at the display device.
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New and greener shading solutions have been announced by Lutron Electronics at CEDIA Expo 2009.

The company's Sivoia QS wireless solution includes a clock that allows the programming of "scenes," much like lighting scenes that bring certain lights on at certain levels for specific tasks like art or mood lighting.

Lutron will promote energy-saving shading scenes such as winter warmth and summer cool. A "winter warmth" scene, for example, would open shades or drapes to let in light to warm a space and use less lighting. A "summer cool" scene would close the shades to keep a room cooler on hot days and conserve energy.

Motorized window treatments have long been a great way to conserve energy by warming or cooling a room and using less lighting, but until now the ecological advantages of motorized shading has gotten little traction.

"People are now realizing the benefit of solar heating in the…

CE Pro has announced the winners of its inaugural BEST (Best Electronic Systems Technologies) Awards here at CEDIA Expo 2009 in Atlanta.

With more than 200 products entered into the contest, the BEST Awards recognize the most noteworthy new products and technologies.

The winners were selected based on the following criteria:

• Creativity
• Innovation
• Incorporated equipment
• Obstacles overcome
• Aesthetics
• Lifestyle benefits

All entries are highlighted in the CEDIA Guide, which you can download here, and the winners will be featured in the October issue of CE Pro.

An awards presentation will take place later today between 4-6 p.m. at CE Pro Headquarters (booth 1119)

Here are the winners. Click here to view the winners and descriptions.

Home Theater

A/V Preamp/Processor/Switcher/Amplifier/Receiver
Crestron DM-MD8x8

Flat-Panel TV
Runco Crystal Series CX-OPAL47

Media…

If you want the very best audio and video distributed throughout a very large house, you'll want to use fiber optic cable.

At CEDIA 2009, NeoPro will debut NeoStar, a fiber-optic switch designed to deliver eight streams of 1080p HDMI video and six additional audio sources to eight video and four audio-only zones.

The audio/video content can reach as far as 1,000 feet over fiber optics.

Last year, NeoPro introduced LightSpider, a point-to-point fiber optic solution. This year, the company is going all the way, again using Digital Light Interface (DLI) technology from OWLink Technology, Inc.

DLI uses advanced optical wave division multiplexing (WDM) to transmit uncompressed video/audio and other data. With OWLink’s patented technology, DLI allows the transmission of high-speed HD digital video, high quality digital audio, IR remote control information, USB, LAN, RS232 and other control and data information, all through a thin, single fiber.
The NeoStar can…

In the spring of 1994 SpeakerCraft completed the development of its first branded line of products, after transitioning from a custom installation company and designer and manufacturer of speakers for JBL, Polk, Sonance and Niles and many others.

Principals Jeremy Burkhardt and Ed Haase were brainstorming what to do for CEDIA Expo in Dallas.

After visiting with many corporate trade show companies, Burkhardt and Haase decided that a shiny, glossed over, expensive, plastic and pre-fab booth would never fit in with SpeakerCraft's thought process or their goals for a trade show.

After a few beers at a local bar it was decided that SpeakerCraft would launch into the CEDIA market and make a statement that would encompass the culture of the company. It would project an attitude of having fun, taking care of their partners and just hanging out with dealers as opposed to strictly business appointments and product pitches.

"We built a wooden saloon with screws…

SmX Cinema Solutions has quickly made a name for itself in the projection screen category. That name stems from “SandmanX,” the AV Science Forum username of Ruben Ortiz, who founded the company shortly after completing his own home theater construction in 2006.

What started as a business with followers mainly from the do-it-yourself crowd that followed Ortiz’s 100-plus-page build thread on AVS now caters to the pro dealer, with almost 300 dealers in the United States and 70 international. The company has partnered with SIM2 for European distribution, Ortiz notes, and an appearance at CEDIA Expo (booth No. 6235) is sure to drum up more integrator enthusiasm.

“We probably do more commercial than residential, maybe a 60/40 split, and we do products that are pretty universal for both,” says Ortiz. “We do stadiums, museums, Hollywood post-production, mastering labs, residential, exhibits, restaurants, bars.”

Ortiz has a post-production background, and developed a…