All Products Filed in Blu-ray

Thursday, September 20, 2012

Ever since the movie industry rebooted the 3D format the electronics industry has been working hard to make sure that consumers can combine their 2D and 3D viewing experiences within a single system. The latest screen solution from the Mesa, Ariz.-based screen company Severtson Screens is the newest product introduced onto the market that is engineered to ensure that residential and business owners can enjoy the best 2D and 3D viewing experience.

The company's new SeVision 3D GX "Micro Perf" screen is a made-in-the-U.S.A. product that incorporates its PristiVue technology that Severtson says enables users to see what a movie's director originally intended them to see in the theater. The 2.4-gain, curved, perforated silver screen can be used for traditional 2D content, as well as passive 3D content, and according to Severtson, the SeVision 3D GX "Micro Perf" screen is also a green friendly product because of its water-based, lacquer-free optical coating.

Severtson says that electronics professionals can order the screen in a variety of configurations, and it adds the screen material can used for consumer and commercial applications.

Thursday, September 13, 2012

The HDMI format has been around for a number of years now and just about every cable and signal transmission product manufacturer in the consumer and commercial electronics market offers some type of HDMI cable. For the longest time the Holy Grail for these HDMI manufacturers has been the launch of an American-made HDMI product.

Nordost, a Mass.-based manufacturer of cables for the high-performance audio and video markets has just launched a new line of made in the U.S.A. HDMI cables that it says are the first U.S.-made cables to hit the market. Nordost says the cables incorporate its proprietary Micro Mono-Filmament, air-space, silver-plated oxygen free, solid-core conductor materials and engineering designs, as well as its twin-axial construction design to ensure consistent performance and reliability. To further ensure the cable's performance, Nordost has also submitted the line of products to DPL Labs and the HDMI cables has received DPL certification for its products up to five meters in length.

Nordost adds the Blue Heaven HDMI cables are compatible with 3D video and all of the products are terminated with gold-plated HDMI connectors to ensure longevity.

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

With the growing use of streaming media and on-demand services consumers are becoming increasingly use to the concept of instant media access. Fusion Research, a manufacturer of home entertainment servers has recently announced a solution that delivers homeowners instant access to their Blu-ray and DVD collections to expand that user experience throughout their media libraries.

The new Premiere movie server is based upon the company's EPIC platform of products and the company says the product is capable of storing as many as 225 DVDs or 45 Blu-ray discs. Fusion says the server has the ability to expand storage to more than 1,000 movies for less than a $500 license fee and electronics professionals can also bolster the unit's storage capabilities by adding external storage. Fusion says the server also incorporates EasyLoad which is an unattended movie loading service for Blu rays and DVDs that enables users to place a disc in the unit's front panel for the importing of that movie whether the Premiere is turned on or off.

Fusion adds the Premiere's functionality can be expanded to a second zone by adding a competitively priced Fusion Zone Player. Fusion products can be controlled through the use of solutions like Control4's two-way IP driver if it's installed with a Control4 control and automation system.

Monday, April 16, 2012

When the HDMI format was first introduced into the consumer electronics market several years ago it was a solution designed to transmit digital data over short lengths.

Collectively since the format's introduction however, manufacturers have worked diligently to improve the capabilities of the technology, including its ability to transmit high resolution, data intensive signals over long distances. Validating the work the cabling industry has put into the development of the HDMI format Metra Home Theater has recently rolled out its new 8-meter HDMI cable that carries DPL certification.

To achieve DPL Labs certification the cable must pass tests such as the eye pattern mask margin and inter-pair skew test, as well as tests for jitter, bandwidth, impedance, noise, five-volt reliability and current. Metra says the cable is able to pass a 1080p signal and 24-bit color depths to provide electronics professionals with a cabling product that can be used for installations that involved rack-mounted electronics and projectors.

Monday, April 09, 2012

Depending on the quality of this summer's annual Hollywood blockbusters 3D will either continue to be an important entertainment option for consumers or it could be relegated to niche status.

No matter what happens with 3D this summer products like Optoma's HD33 HD 3D projector can provide homeowners with an affordable solution that drives their 2D and 3D home theater activities. The competitively priced projector is rated to deliver a brightness rating as high as 1800 ANSI lumens, and through the inclusion of the company's PureMotion3D and PureDepth technologies, consumers can view smooth 3D images and clear images that maximize the projector's brightness capabilities.

Optoma also incorporates its new 3D RF active 3D communications technologies to ensure a higher level of reliability that doesn't require line of sight connectivity. The company says the projector works with side-by-side 3D video and top-and-bottom 3D video, and it includes two HDMI 1.4a ports to support the connections of cable and satellite boxes, Blu-ray disc players, gaming consoles and streaming media players. In addition, it also supports VGA, component, composite, RS-232 communication and 12-volt trigger connections.

Monday, March 26, 2012

A couple of years ago when the 3D video format was making its reemergence into the world of consumer video the products that supported the format were expensive.

Since that time the buzz for the format has leveled off and like most things in consumer electronics, it's growth has pushed 3D gear price points down to levels that allow more consumers to buy into the world of 3D video. ATEN's new VS482 Dual View HDMI switch provides electronics professionals with a device that can handle as many as four 3D sources and it can distribute these sources to multiple 3D displays which is now a more affordable scenario for installers to propose to clients.

The VS482 works with the latest HDMI format protocols such as 3D, Deep Color and the Audio Return Channel, as well as high resolution display formats like WUXGA (1920x1200) to provide installers with a component that can handle a variety of tasks. ATEN says the unit is designed to setup easily through the use of its onscreen display (OSD) and with its choice of convenience features that include a front panel display that allows for source selection, as well as RS-232 control options to enable its integration into a third-party control system, it can be placed in an equipment rack or it can be used as a standard A/V device within a home theater system.

Tuesday, March 06, 2012

With the wireless connectivity market gaining popularity and maturing all at the same time products like the newly announced Gefen Wireless for HD 1080p Extender are quickly becoming problem solving devices for electronics professionals.

The California-based company's latest wireless signal transmission product is engineered to transmit 1080p video and audio from HDMI-based sources like Blu-ray players, cable and satellite boxes and gaming systems distances as far as 75 feet. Gefen says the solution installs easily through the use of a dongle at the source end and a receiver that's connected to the display. The unit is capable of transmitting A/V signals through walls and with its RCA analog audio outputs it provides additional audio connectivity support.

Gefen says the Wireless for HD 1080p Extender can be used in residential environments and in commercial environments for digital signage, bar and restaurant applications.

Thursday, March 01, 2012

The British loudspeaker manufacturer Tannoy has an extensive history of developing products for the professional audio market and the high-performance consumer market, and recently the company announced that it has taken its engineering power and designed a compact speaker solution for the home theater market.

Tannoy's new Technical FXcellence (TFX) line of compact speaker products are designed to resolve the detail of today's lossless surround sound formats, as well as high-resolution digital audio files. To accomplish the task of reproducing the detail of today's consumer audio formats the company employs its WideBand technology that allows the speakers' tweeters to extend beyond 70kHz. The TFX subwoofer augments the line's low end capabilities through the use of an 8-inch woofer and 100-watt Class A/B amplifier.

Aesthetically, the TFX line utilizes new streamlined enclosures that are designed to complement the industrial designs of today's sleek flat-panel televisions, and Tannoy also offers optional speaker stands to enable electronics professionals the ability to use the speakers for a variety of system installations.

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Meridian has traditionally set the performance bar in the world of residential audio/video and a good example of its ability to benchmark the market is its HD621 HDMI Audio Processor. When this product was originally released a couple of years ago it was one of the few products that was specifically engineered to upgrade the sound quality of the HDMI format without diluting the quality of a digital video signal.

The HD621 HDMI Audio Processor can handle signals from as many as six HDMI source components and it performs up and down sampling of HDMI audio signals after they've been separated from video. Meridan says the product employs the company's proprietary buffering technologies that remove jitter and other distortions from the audio signal that negatively affect the sound quality of the HDMI format.

Recently the company announced that it has augmented the capabilities of the HD621 through the release of a firmware update that supports the product's ability to work with 3D video content. The U.K.-based manufacturer says the new firmware update helps the unit maintain its state-of-the-art A/V signal processing capabilities, and that the firmware update can be executed by authorized Meridian dealers in the field to ensure that existing HD621 owners keep up with the market's continuing advancements.

Friday, February 03, 2012

Runco has established its top level, 73d projector as arguably one best performing 3D projectors in the entire residential market. The company's latest projector, the newly announced LS-12d maintains many of the 73d's performance characteristics, but at price levels that are considerably lower than its flagship product.

The LS-12d is an active-shutter, three-chip DLP projector that Runco says can be used situations in which homeowners want a high-performance projector that aesthetically doesn't detract from their home's interior design. To ensure the projector's visual compatibility with today's modern home designs, Runco dresses the projector with its LightStyle industrial design and backs it with its FinishPalette color program that allows consumers a full choice of exterior color choices.

Runco ships the LS-12d projector with is 2U outboard DC-300 controller unit, which provides authorized installers with a convenient means to setup and calibrate the projector, and three pairs of active-shutter 3D glasses.

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

A strong case could be made that no entity has played a bigger role in the growth of projection-based home entertainment systems than JVC and its sister company JVC Professional.

JVC and JVC Professional recently introduced several new products each, and highlighting the list of new products is JVC Professional's DLA-RS65 Reference Series projector. The DLA-RS65 utilizes familiar JVC technologies such as the company's D-ILA LCoS-based chipset and new JVC technologies that include e-Shift. JVC says e-Shift is an upscaling technology that upconverts pictures to 3940x2160 resolution levels, which is four times higher than normal HDTV.

JVC Pro also incorporates 3D capabilities, anamorphic processing that can be used when the projector is combined with an external anamorphic lens and three Xenon lamp color modes that emulate the performance of high-performance commercial projectors. Other features incorporated into the unit include installer-friendly setup and calibration options from the Imaging Science Foundation (ISF) and THX that help to ensure the projector produces the best possible image quality.

Friday, September 16, 2011

One of the major complaints about the 3D format is that there's not enough content out there to drive consumer adoption.

The Brea, California-based company KanexPro recently introduced its CubeUp 4x1 HDMI Switcher with built-in 2D to 3D converter, and it is designed to be an all-in-one solution that switches multiple HDMI sources that also converts 2D content into 3D images. KanexPro says the unit can handle source content from devices like Blu-ray disc players, cable and satellite boxes, gaming consoles and computers and it can send it to a 3D TV, projectors and computer monitors. The unit is said to work with 3D formats such as side-by-side, top-and-bottom, 3D fame packing and 3D page flip with companion lossless multichannel audio.

KanexPro adds the unit with its four HDMI 1.4a inputs and single output is HDCP and EDID compliant, and it ships with a 5-volt power supply.

Monday, August 22, 2011

A few years ago the custom electronics industry discovered the fun and impact that CinemaScope video can deliver in a home environment. Since that time however the video category's focus has gone on to other technologies such as LED light engines and 3D. CinemaScope aspect ratios are however something that custom installers can still utilize to wow their clientele.

Digital Projection's (DP) new dVision Scope 1080p projector provides installers with the ability to integrate a fully compatible 2.35:1 system without having to incorporate external lenses and additional vertical-stretch processing. DP says the projector offers a native resolution of 2560x1080 and more than 2.75 million pixels to enable the 2.35:1 constant-height projector to produce more detail without factors such as lenses and image processing to distort the picture.

The company adds that when the projector is used to view 16:9 (1.78:1) content it can handle this task in a full 1080 resolution, and it supports a variety of throw ratios ranging from short throws as minimal as .81 all the way up to long throws of 4.5:1.

Friday, July 29, 2011

As a global manufacturer Yamaha has established itself as a quality manufacturer of drums, guitars, mixing boards and even jet skis. Its excellence also extends into the consumer electronics category with a full line of receivers, sound bars and desktop audio solutions.

Its latest electronics product is the AVENTAGE BD-A1010 Blu-ray disc player, and according to the Buena Park, Calif.-based company, the new source component is engineered to complement its AVENTAGE line of A/V receivers. Yamaha says the new BD-A1010 provides users with the ability to playback 3D Blu-ray discs, as well as traditional high-definition Blu-ray discs, and it also incorporates a choice of streaming media options that includes Netflix, Blockbuster on Demand and YouTube.

Among the players other features are its iPhone app and soon-to-be-released Android control app; BD-Live and BonusView, HD audio decoding with HDMI and 7.1 analog outputs and IR and RS-232 control options for third party control system integration.

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Back when the Sunnyvale, California company Kaleidescape launched its first product into the custom installation market it revolutionized the way consumers interacted with their DVD collections.

The latest incarnation of its media management product line just got bigger with the introduction of Kaleidescape's new M700 Disc Vault. This new product stores as many as 320 discs and it features provisions to manage Blu-ray disc collections. Kaleidescape says the unit's precision carousel automatically copies freshly loaded Blu-ray discs and stores them to enable homeowners to instantly access their movie collections.

Externally the M700 features a front-panel display that indicates the operational status of the unit with feedback that includes import progress, the number of discs in storage and the number of slots available in the carousel. Kaleidescape says its also built the M700 to stand up to years of use through the use of rugged assembly motors, a sturdy belt and an internal disc-retention shell.