All Products Filed in Blu-ray

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.

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Several studies conducted over the course of the early part of 2011 indicate that interest in 3D content may be waning. Part of this lack of interest may be due to the fact that this year's crop of 3D movies aren't that good, but the fact still remains that 3D is sputtering at this point.

Custom installers looking for a video upgrade path for their clients still have anamorphic technologies to turn to however. Panamorph the Colorado-based anamorphic lens company recently teamed with Sony to provide authorized Sony dealers with an easy way to upgrade their clients into a full CinemaScope home theater system.

Panamorph's new FVX200S anamorphic lens system is specifically designed for Sony's VPL-VW85 and VW90ES projectors and it's engineered to install with just two screws. Once the lens is mounted the projector/lens combination will be able to produce aspect ratio correct 2.40:1 images with no black bars. The competitively priced lens solution is also compatible with 3D content through the addition of additional video processors and consumers that use a Sony/Panamorph home theater system can toggle back-and-forth between 1.78:1 ( 16:9 widescreen) and 2.40:1 by just pressing a button.

Friday, July 08, 2011

Onkyo is one of the most widely distributed manufacturers of consumer electronics in the world. Unlike its competition, which often times delivers products with cutting edge technologies before Onkyo to stay ahead of the pack, Onkyo waits to see how the market develops before taking the plunge.

The Japanese company's latest source component is a good example of that wait-and-see approach. Onkyo's new THX Certified BD-SP809 incorporates the ability to play 3D Blu-ray discs, as well as other physical media formats like CDs and DVDs, and through the use of its USB input, consumers can playback A/V files stored on mass- storage devices.

In addition, the BD-SP809 provides for network connectivity and digital media playback through its DLNA 1.5 certification, and for owners of legacy audio equipment, the Onkyo BD-SP809 incorporates built-in Dolby TrueHD and DTS HD Master Audio processing to provide home theater enthusiasts with a lossless audio multichannel experience.

Other features of the unit include dual HDMI 1.4 outputs and Marvell's Onboard Qdeo video processing technologies that include deinterlacing, noise reduction and standard definition content upscaling to HD levels. The player also offers streaming services such as Netflix, Blockbuster, Film Fresh and VUDU.

Friday, June 17, 2011

Right now the 3D format is getting most of the attention, but there are other technologies just as important.

A few years ago anamorphic video systems took the custom market by storm and now it's a standard upgrade for many custom installers. One of the anamorphic video category's leading manufacturers is Panamorph, Inc. The Colo.-based company's latest anamorphic lens product is the DC1. This new product is an optically sealed lens that enables viewers to see widescreen CinemaScope movies in their native aspect ratios up to 2.40:1.

Through the lenses' ability to show movies in their native aspect ratios home theater owners can eliminate the black bars on the tops and bottoms of their projection screens, and according to Panamorph its anamorphic lenses show 80 percent more image area than widescreen images shown on 16:9 (1.78:1) screens. Other benefits of the DC1 include its ability to reduce the negative effects of stray light degrading image quality, and it is more resistant to dust collecting on the lenses' optical surfaces than standard lens products.