All Products Filed in Product News

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

It's easy to take electricity for granted, until of course power is lost. Even little things such as having the proper amount of power outlets can be taken for granted until the amount of outlets are used up and no more are available.

The Florida-based company Tributaries has added to its line of power products through the introduction of its new T10X power extension bar. Tributaries says the T10X is a 10-outlet product that is UL-approved, and it provides electronics professionals with a competitively priced solution that offers surge suppression and line filtration. The rack-mount friendly device is designed for horizontal positioning with a choice of three locations, and it includes six outlets on its front panel and four on its rear panel.

Other convenience options built into the T10X power extension bar include 12-volt triggers that allow for either a remote turn-on of the unit by a component with a 12-volt trigger or its 12-volt trigger can be used to turn on connected components.

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

The subject of surge protection is always a tough topic of conversation for electronics professionals to introduce to clients that don't see the benefit of the products until something bad happens.

Bell'O's newly announced ASG3008 8-outlet Audio/Video Green Surge Protector can't help installers ease into the surge protection conversation, but it can provide the necessary protection homeowners need at a reasonable price. The ASG3008 surge protector is a slim-profile device with a high-gloss finish and it incorporates EMI/RF noise filtration, fireproof MOVs, status indicators and a power safety shutdown.

Another of the ASG3008's features that homeowners may find appealing is its inclusion of green-friendly power saving options. In addition, it also offers a built-in eight-foot power cable, and Bell'O backs the product with a $400,000 connected equipment warranty.

Thursday, May 24, 2012

The Florida-based speaker manufacturer Pinnacle Speakers is known throughout the custom installation world for its value-minded line of in-wall and freestanding speaker products. The company's latest product solution remains in step with Pinnacle's philosophy of value, but it is engineered to provide more than a standard value proposition.

Pinnacle's newly announced Black Diamond Series II loudspeakers are designed to provide electronics professionals with an affordable line of reference level loudspeakers that incorporate features such as neodymium magnet, silk-dome tweeters, die-cast phase plugs on the woofers and midrange drivers and crossover networks that utilize quality coils and mylar capacitors. Externally, the speakers employ 10-layer piano lacquer finishes and curved cabinet designs for most models within the series.

The line of products includes eight models that range from floorstanding, bookshelf and LCR models, and all the products are timbre-matched to enable electronics professionals to mix and match the speakers as needed.

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

A recently released study from Futuresource Consulting confirmed something that many electronics dealers already knew: soundbars are popular.

The study finds that sales of soundbar products will continue to grow through 2016 and with products like the newly introduced Wharfedale Achromatic LCR helping to drive these sales, custom installers will have a ever-increasing range of products to solve a variety of home A/V problems. Wharfedale is distributed in the U.S. by the Massachusetts company Sound Import, and the product is designed to provide flat-panel TV owners an affordable sound solution upgrade. The speaker stands just 4.5-inches high and it is finished in a gloss black to complement the bezels of many modern flat-panel televisions.

Internally the all-in-one, left, center and right speaker incorporates six inverted-cone aluminum woofers and three soft-dome tweeters, and Wharfedale says the product is engineered to mount above or below a flat-panel television.

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Channel Vision is a long-time manufacturer of security products and the Costa Mesa, California company's latest product introductions address the PTZ camera category.

The newly announced 6710 and 6721 Outdoor PTZ cameras are designed for a variety of uses, and they incorporate standard features such as pan, tilt and zoom, as well as a 27x (f=3.5 to 94.5) optical zoom built into the 6721 and a 12x (f=3.94 to 46.05mm) optical zoom built into the 6710 model. Both products also include 10x digital zoom features; the ability to resolve 560 lines of resolution; 300-degrees per second panning speed and 120-degrees per second tilt speed to enable users to quickly zoom in on an item or event.

In addition, both products incorporate Channel Vision's on-screen display technologies to facilitate the products' customization, which includes the ability to use as many as 128 presets, and the products can be controlled from a Channel Vision 3G Series Surveillance DVR or by any advice that utilizes Pelco D or Pelco P protocols.

Monday, May 21, 2012

The Meadville, Pa.-based manufacturer Channel Lock is one of the most famous brands in the entire world of tools.

In fact the company is so well known that its name like that of Coca Cola, Kleenex and TiVo is synonymous with the respective category it offers products in, and products like its newly introduced 7.5-inch 758 Flush Cutter are designed to reenforce its reputation as a premiere tool manufacturer. The new 7.5-inch 758 Flush Cutter is specifically designed to cut everything from plastic tie wraps and copper wire ranging in size from 10AWG to 20AWG.

Channel Lock adds the 7.5-inch 758 Flush Cutter is designed to complement its 728 long-reach pliers, and it points out the tool is made in its Meadville, Pa. factory with drop-forged, high-carbon C1080 North American steel and its signature blue comfort grips.

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Before it entered the market a few years ago the Berkeley, Calif.-based video manufacturer Wolf Cinema wanted to examine some of the most common problems that affect the quality of home cinema in order to better serve its dealers' ability to meet their clients needs.

What Wolf found was that many projectors didn't have proper ventilation and that many consumers didn't care for the aesthetics of having a projector with an external lens. What the company did in turn was to develop a full line of products that incorporates provisions for proper cooling and a unique approach to anamorphic aspect ratios. Building upon that foundation Wolf Cinema recently updated its product line through the introduction of two new flagship products: The REF-700 and the REF-1000. These new products are powered by Cermax Xenon arc lamps, three-chip DLP light engines, and the Central California company offers a choice of six of its VariScope lens solutions.

The projectors can be used for 3D and traditional 2D, and to ensure the products produce smooth looking and vivid 3D graphics the projectors incorporate triple-flash 3D imaging technologies. The projectors also incorporate IR and RS-232 options, nearfield IR emitters, and Wolf ships the projectors with four pairs of 3D glasses.

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

A few years ago the Carson City, Nev.-based speaker manufacturer BG Radia introduced its R18 on-wall loudspeaker and it offered electronics installers a versatile and unique solution that could address whole-house and home theater applications.

Recently BG Radia redesigned the speaker to make it more installer friendly. The newly reintroduced R18i is now available and it offers the professional installation market the same benefits as the previous generation product and additional benefits that include increased sensitivity and the ability to play louder. Highlighting some of the work the company did to the speaker, BG Radia is now using new 4-inch woofers and a new Neo8 planar ribbon driver that aid the speaker's increased 3dB sensitivity, increased power handling capabilities and minimized distortion. In addition, the speaker is also said to play 8dB louder than the previous model and through the company's Dispersion Pattern Control (DPC) option, installers or end users can select a diffuse, direct or a combination of the two as the speaker's output. BG says this enables electronics professionals to tailor the speaker's dispersion to its surrounding environment.

BG adds the speaker has an impedance rating of 6 ohms, and a frequency response of 80Hz to 20kHz.

Monday, May 14, 2012

Throughout the commercial and residential A/V industries, if there's one common thread that electronics professionals share, it is a disdain for the HDMI format.

The Bromfield, Colo.-based manufacturer AVocation Systems can't do anything about the market perception of HDMI, but it can provide its authorized dealer base with a new range of solutions that can ease the pain of working with the HDMI protocol. AVocation Systems' new Mountain Series 8x8 HDMI Matrix Switch (HX-0808H) is the first of several new products the company plans on releasing on in 2012.

AVocation Systems says the 8x8 Matrix Switch distributes as many as eight sources to eight displays and its built-in EDID/Key managment features are designed to eliminate latency between inputs and its switching functions. The company adds the unit is HDMI 1.4 compatible so it supports advanced technologies like 4K video and 3D, and it also provides 12-bit Deep Color with resolutions up to 1080p at 60Hz (225MHz). In addition, it includes control options for IP, RS-232, USB and IR, as well as provisions for rack mounting to allow installers to utilize the product in a number of varying A/V environments.

Friday, May 11, 2012

With the economy picking up and forecasts that homeowners and commercial property owners are going to spend more money on remodeling jobs there are more opportunities for electronics professionals to work within the walls of today's homes and commercial properties.

Vanco's latest product announcement should add the finishing touch to many of these residential and commercial electronic installation jobs. The newly announced Vanco Stainless Steel Wall Plates are engineered to provide electronics professionals in the residential and commercial markets a choice of six products that offer an easy way to finish off long cabling runs with a safe and secure termination solution. The line includes the HDMI Wall Plate, the HDMI + S-VGA Wall Plate, the HDMI+ 3.5mm Wall Plate, the HDMI, S-VGA, 3.5mm Wall Plate, the S-VGA Wall Plate and the S-VGA + 3.5mm Wall Plate, and Vanco says the products ship with matching hardware screws to maintain a consistent aesthetic.

Vanco adds the wall plates are also designed to install quickly and easily, and with their stainless steel finishes, the products will blend into a variety of interior environments.

Thursday, May 10, 2012

The Italian video manufacturer SIM2 has always approached the high-performance video market a little differently than its competition. Some of the ways the company has gone about things a little differently include its emphasis on industrial design and its use of proprietary light engine designs.

SIM2's latest product, the NERO 3D projector incorporates many of the company's recent flagship technology developments in a package that brings the price of ownership down tens of thousands of dollars. The NERO features Texas Instruments' (TI) single-chip DLP technologies along with SIM2's ALPHAPATH light engine design and high-quality optical glass lenses to provide homeowners with a high-performance video solution.

The unit also incorporates active 3D technologies, SIM2's PureMovie, PureMotion and PureMotion 3D 120Hz video processing technologies, a choice of inputs, and a choice of custom installation calibration options. In addition, the Italian manufacturer says the unit is capable of producing brightness levels up to 2,000 lumens to facilitate its installation in great room/media room environments.

Wednesday, May 09, 2012

Remote Technologies Incorporated (RTI) recently expanded its array of problem solving devices when it announced that its latest product solution, the new ESC-2 Ethernet to Serial Converter is now shipping.

The Minnesota-based company says the ESC-2 works seamlessly within its Integration Designer programming software to quickly enable electronics professionals to set up a single or multiple ESC-2 modules within a control system. The unit installs through its two RJ-45 jacks and Cat-5 cable to provide a fast way to utilize the connectivity power of Ethernet. RTI points out the ESC-2 is designed as a simple, cost-effective means to use the power and versatility of Ethernet.

In addition, because of its small size the ESC-2 can be placed nearly anywhere, and RTI backs the product with a one-year warranty.

Tuesday, May 08, 2012

Whether its competition wants to admit it or not, Bowers & Wilkins (B&W) is a market leader in the specialty consumer electronics category.

Recently the British company reaffirmed its position as a market leader when it introduced its third headphone product: the P3. B&W offers the compact P3 in a choice of black or white, and the headphones incorporate features such as custom-made, lightweight acoustic fabric covering the headphones' ear pads and speaker diaphragm terminals that have been positioned in a manner to ensure airflow. B&W says this positioning results in a more linear response from the headphones and less distortion. When this design attribute is combined with B&W's use of neodymium magnets and driver dampening techniques, the P3s are said to produce a high quality music listening experience.

B&W ships the iPod, iPhone and iPad friendly P3 headphones with a hard carrying case and a choice of cables that support the headphones' use with a variety of non-Apple smart phones and other personal electronic devices.

Monday, May 07, 2012

For years people have been able to download their favorite songs as ringtones, but unless a homeowner owned an exotic electronics system they were never able to treat their home's doorbell answering system with the same level of customization.

The security manufacturer Swann is now providing homeowners with the ability to customize their doorbells with the same level of fun and uniqueness that phone owners enjoy with downloadable ringtones. Swann's new MP3 Doorbell is a wireless doorbell that plays music when a visitor presses a home's doorbell button. Swann says the solution is able to transmit a wireless audio signal up to 165 feet, and it is able to play music stored on SD cards that range up to 32GBs in size. In addition, the company also offers USB connections to allow homeowners the ability to play music stored on their computers.

Other options bundled into the MP3 Doorbell include the ability to use the doorbell as a speaker, as well as a portable audio player. The speaker incorporates built-in controls and Swann packages the solution with music editing software to allow installers or homeowners to manage their music.

Friday, May 04, 2012

As the consumer audio world continues to evolve from the traditional world of box speakers, into a world of desktop audio, home theater and architectural designs, new manufacturers are coming into the market to facilitate this migration.

The latest company to enter the world of home audio is the Swedish company Opalum, and the company's launch into the consumer electronics industry starts with its introduction of four speaker products. The four new products represent two of the trendiest product types currently offered in the market. The FLOW .4810 on-wall speaker uses 48 1-inch drivers in a point source configuration. The FLOW .1010 on-wall speaker employs 10 2-inch drivers in a point source array. The STREAM .310 bookshelf speaker uses a set of 4-inch woofers and a 1-inch silk-dome tweeter D' Appolito configuration. The STREAM .210 bookshelf speaker uses a 5-inch woofer and a 1-inch silk-dome tweeter.

Internally the speakers also incorporate Class D amplification, fourth-order Linkwitz-Riley crossover networks and Opalum's proprietary Actisonic Technology. To broaden the applications in which the speakers can be used Opalum says the speakers can be coupled with its wireless Control Hub to enable wireless streaming. Externally the speakers utilize industrial designs from the noted Scandinavian engineer Eva Hanner, and Opalum offers the speakers in a choice of black or white.