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**1-15-07 TOKYO, JAPAN - Optics and
electronics Manufacturer Canon will acquire
Toshiba's interest in flat panel pioneer SED
Inc., which was formed to develop and
produce, appropriately enough, the new SED
(Surface conductor Electron emission
Display) type of flat panel display. Canon is
making the purchase to avoid further legal
action by Nano-Propietary of Austin, Texas,
from Canon obtained the original licence to
develop and produce the SED technology.
**12-09-06 ROCKLIEGH, NJ - Crestron
announced today the TPMC-10 WiFi touch
panel remote control is no longer available
and has been replaced by the TPMC-8X that
got a rave reception at this years' CEDIA Expo.
**12-04-06 RICHARDSON, TX - Home
automation and control systems giant AMX
announced today they have acquired the
number 2 matrix switching manufacturer in
the world, AutoPatch of Cheney, WA. The
acquisition will give AMX an instant presence
in the matrix switching market. Matrix
switches are an integral part of the audio
distribution market, and the deal vaults AMX
ahead of automation rival Crestron in the
audio / video switching industry.
**12-04-06 LEXINGTON, KY - Home systems
provider Elan Home Systems announced that
orders for their new Ole' control keypad were
running 3 times ahead of projections, but the
units would still beginning shipping on
schedule at the middle of December.
**11-07-06 REDMOND, WA - Microsoft
announced the X-BOX 360 would become a
HDTV movie download platform. Beginning
November 22nd, X-BOX 360 owners will be
able to download the content, which will then
be stored on the 360's HDD. Reportedly
1,000 hours of content will be available the
beginning of 2007.
**10-12-06 NEW YORK, NY - NEC is
announcing they are entering the consumer
flat panel TV market, targeting the CEDIA type
crowd. They're introducing 3 new, 1080p
LCDs in 40, 46 and 57 inch widescreen
sizes. The smaller sets will be out before
Christmas, with the 57 to be released around
Superbowl time.
**10-05-06 CHIBA, JAPAN - Toshiba showed
a 55" SED flat panel display at the CEATEC
Expo. Toshiba reps indicated it would see
production in late 2007 and reach the US in
early 2008.
**09-20-06 BURBANK, CA - No more format
war?? Three scientists from Time Warner
have filed for a patent on a hybrid disc that
stores bot HD-DVD and Blu-Ray Disc
material.
**09-11-06 SEATTLE, WA - Amazon.com has
launched a new movie downlaoad service,
and so joins the growing list of those
services that are trying to revolutionize
content delivery.
**09-06-06 RICHMOND, VA - Circuit City kicks
off its new stab at custom installation, code
named "Firedog". It is bringing its
considerable resources to bear in an attempt
to "Bring affordable prices to the custom
installation market" according to CEO P.
Schoonover. It's possible that they will
discover, as many other entries into the
custom installation market have before them,
"That's why they call it CUSTOM." Caveat
Emptor to the big CC.
**09-01-06 NEW YORK, NY - Sharp
introduced two new 1080p LCD flat panel
TVs in a press conference. It's rare for a
consumer electronics company to introduce
products so close to a major trade show , but
Sharp bucked convention and showed a 46"
and a 52" widescreen members of the
AQUOS line of LCD TVs. They both feature
sexy, gloss black bezels, GEN8 LCD panels,
and a 10,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio. Both
sets are members of the D62U family.
**08-31-06 MIRAMAR, FL - SIM2 Multimedia
today announced the release of its much
anticipated HT-3000 1080p, single chip,
home theater projector. It uses the latest
Texas Instruments .95um, 1080p DLP
imaging chip.
**08-20-06 EL SEGUNDO, CA - In more
DirecTV / Dish Network related
news/rumors, rumblings are that DirecTV
and Dish Network will add cable TV HDTV
channel INHD to their channel offerings.
Reportedly, Dish Network has already been
testing the channel prior to launch.
**08-14-06 TX - Dish Network is facing defeat
in its latest legal battle, this one over its' DVR.
A US District Court judge ruled that it must
stop using the DVR it provides because it
infringed upon patents held by DVR pioneer
TiVO.
**8-3-06 EL SEGUNDO, CA - If you're in the
market for digital satellite TV, your choice
about which provider to use may soon get
much easier. Rumblings and rumors about a
merger between DirecTV and rival Dish
Network have grown to crescendo in the last
few weeks. The previous merger attempt, in
2002, was nixed by the government as anti-
competitive. Indications are that this time
could be different.
**7-20-06 NEW YORK, NY - D&M Holdings'
brands Denon and Boston Acoustics will
soon be found in Circuit City as the
consumer electronics specialty store
attempts to focus more on home
entertainment. If you're a fan of Infinity
speakers or Harman Kardon electronics, too
bad. They'll be dropped from Circuit's line up
to make room for the D&M products. No word
from C-C management on why H-K and
Infinity aren't considered home entertainment
products.
**7-3-06 SECAUCUS, NJ - Panasonic is
introducing a $5,200.00, 1080p home theater
package that includes a Blu-Ray disc player,
speaker package and home theater receiver
with HDMI switching. This move to a pre-
packaged system is an attempt to fight
consumer confusion brought about by the
large variety of different formats and
connectivity options. Panasonic hopes
retailers will package this with its new 1080p,
65" plasma TV to form a complete, 1080p
home entertainment system.
**6-13-06 TOKYO, JAPAN - On the heels of
the announcement that new Blu-Ray Discs
will be shipping soon, Sony announced they
would again delay the release of an actual
player for the discs until mid August, 2006.
Thankfully, other manufacturers will be
producing Blu-Ray Disc players before
Christmas.
**6-07-06 WASHINGTON DC - In yet more
TiVo related news, the DVR pioneer broke the
news today they have partnerships with 10
different companies to provide downloadable
content that can end up on subscriber's hard
drives. Once there, the downloaded video
content can be viewed and categorized like
other content on the drive. Content providers
include the NBA, CNet, and the NY Times.
**6-2-06 DirecTV has something really new!
Finally, after all the years of hype on the
interactive TV front, there may be something
to get excited about. The satellite TV provider
has introduced a revolutionary new feature
they call "What's Hot!". This shows viewers in
real time what the top 10 shows are that
other viewers are watching. Cool!
**5-15-06 TiVO and Blockbuster Video look to
have formed a partnership to allow TiVO
subscribers to include a membership to
Blockbuster Online for an additional
$15/month.
**5-11-06 Pioneer Senior VP Andy Parsons
told MacWorld today that he was confident of
a victory in the HD-DVD / Blu Ray Disc war.
His position was that Blu Ray Disc had to
many influential supporters to lose. He
indicated that the greater capacity of BRD
wouldn't be a factor in the victory at first.
**5-4-06 REDMOND, WA Microsoft
announced they would form Hollywood
partnerships to begin producing original
video content for MSN. The new venture is to
be called MSN Originals.
**4-27-06 ALVISO, CA - TiVO has introduced
an upgraded Series 2 TiVO. The new unit
includes an Ethernet port, and most
importantly, dual tuners. This doesn't apply
to the DirecTV version, only the standard
definition, NTSC unit.
**4-20-06 REDMOND, WA - Amid the hubub
here over the visit of Chinese president Hu to
the Microsoft campus, the Big M announced
they are definitely introducing an HD-DVD
drive for the X-BOX 360. More details will be
forthcoming at the E3 Expo in LA. The
announcement was actually made in an
interview with Microsoft VP Chris Lewis in the
German Newspaper Spiegel Online.
**4-18-06 PLANO, TX - Walmart deviated
from consumer expectations with a new, high
end Superstore that opened here recently.
The store has a noticable skew towards the
higher end of the market, where consumers
have greater disposable income. Home
theater products are prevalent, including
Sony Grand Wega LCD rear projection TVs
and Panasonic plasma TVs. The store even
has WiFi access for shoppers. Reportedly, a
new sales staff has received substantial
training on the complement of home theater
and other CE products.
**4-10-06 ROCKLEIGH, NJ - Crestron
announced today that some much
anticipated product has begun shipping.
Crestron's replacement for the popular CT-
1000 color touch panel, the TPS-4 is now on
the way to integrators. This unit features
upgraded cosmetics, higher resolution and
64K color display vs. the old 256 color
display. It also has Ethernet communication
capability in addition to Crestron's Cresnet
communication network. Also, Crestron's
entry into the wireless mesh network lighting
arena makes it's debut. Infinet is Crestron's
take on the ZigBee wireless mesh network
protocol. Infinet uses all 16 available
channels to ensure maximum reliability.
Crestron introduced both switches and
dimmers with Infinet repeaters for system
expansion available soon. Last but not least
Crestron's CEN-IPOD iPOD interface allows
an iPOD to be easily integrated into a whole
house audio system. The CEN-IPOD retains
the iPOD's control and search capability but
allows the iPOD type display to be replicated
on touch panels throughout the home.
**4-5-06 SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA - Citing the
need for more through product testing,
Samsung has pushed back the release of
it's first Blu-Ray Disc player, the BD-P1000,
from May 23rd until June 25th. The player's
delay will allow Samsung to make use of the
latest Blu-Ray test discs to ensure a trouble
free product launch.
**4-5-06 HUNTINGTON BEACH, CA - Now
the OC can be known for something really
cool. Mitsubishi will show a completely new
innovation in TV here this Friday. The new TV
set uses colored lasers to display fantastic
pictures on thin, lightweight screens of up to
70" diagonal— Mitsubishi claims image
quality is superior to that of film. Mitsubishi
is calling these new laser based TVs the first
of their kind, and they are expected to be in
retailers by Q4, 2007. An additional bonus is
that, unlike DLP and LCOS based TVs they
will never need an expensive bulb
replacement. The lasers should last the life
of the set.
**4-4-06 LEXINGTON, KY - Control systems
pioneer Elan Home Systems announced
their latest control touch screen, the VIA 2
Wireless, today at the EH Expo. The New
screen features a WiFi interface, an 8.4" high
brightness color screen, and a recharge,
docking cradle. It uses the also new VIA!2-
SS1 control station, with IR, RS-232, relay
outputs and wireless networking.
**4-4-04 SOUTH KOREA - Samsung
announced today they will delay the
introduction of their Blu-Ray Disc player
until June 25th. That is 1 month later than
initially planned.
**3-24-06 ROUND ROCK, TX - Dell
announced today they were buying high end
HTPC and gaming PC maker Alienware.
Terms were not discussed at press time.
**3-15-06 TOKYO, JAPAN - Sony has
announced the delay of the upcoming
Playstation 3 until sometime in Q4, 2006.
This is so Sony can complete the copyright
technology and other issues associated with
the inclusion of the Blu-Ray Disc drive in the
new console.
**3-10-06 SEATTLE, WA - Its been reported in
numerous places that online giant Amazon.
com is in talks with several major movie
studios, such as Paramount, Warner
Brothers and Universal about offering movie
and TV show downloads. Amazon was
reported to be in negotiations with some
smaller movie studios last month. There was
no comment from Amazon.com
**3-09-06 HANNOVER, GERMANY - Microsoft
officially announces The Origami Project at
the CeBIT 2006 show. This is Microsoft's firs
official public announcement of the mobile
computing device.
**3-08-06 TOKYO — Toshiba Corp. and
Canon Inc. have delayed the introduction of
surface-conduction, electron-emitter display
(SED) TVs by about 18 months and are
examining their volume production plans at
Toshiba's Himeji plant. The delay was
blamed on cost pressure from other flat
panel technologies (plasma & LCD), which
have dropped in price faster than expected in
recent months . Some sources have also
indicated the manufacturers wanted to be
sure quality was beyond expectations upon
the release of new SED TVs. Volume
production is now said to be slated for July,
2007.
**3-1-06 CULVER CITY, CA - Sony Pictures
Home Entertainment stated in a technical
seminar yesterday that they will not, at the
present time, invoke the power of the AACS to
down rez Blu-Ray Discs to 960 x 540 when
used with a player's analog outputs. Buena
Vista jumped on the bandwagon as well.
Both indicated the move was due to
consumer pressure and would not change
unless digital piracy becomes a problem.
**2-28-06 NEW YORK, NY - After much
anticipation, Sony finally announced the
release date for its' next generation HD
format, the Blu-Ray Disc. Sony indicated they
will release 8 titles into stores in May 23rd.
This should coincide with the introduction of
Blu-Ray Disc players from several
manufacturers.
**2-27-06 REDMOND, WA - Microsoft
announces it will release at least 6 different
versions of it's next operating system
"Windows Vista" when it is released later
this year.
**2-22-06 LOS ANGELES, CA - HD-DVD and
Blu Ray Discs using AACS to down rez
analog video must now warn consumers by
providing a label on affected discs according
to a press conference held here today by
reps of the AACS.
**2-17-06 - FORT WORTH, TX - Radio Shack
will close 500 - 700 of it's company owned
stores after suffering a 62% drop in net
income for Q4, 2005. For 2005, Radio
Shack's net income was $265.3M, a 21%
reduction from the previous year.
**2-16-06 SUWAN, S. KOREA - Samsung is
indicating they will ship a Blu-Ray Disc player
in late May. The price is projected to be
$999.00 retail. It will have 1080p capability
through the HDMI output.
** 2-10-06 PARAMUS, NJ - HD-DVD backer
Toshiba will begin its national HD-DVD tour
here on Feb 21st. It's your chance to see HD-
DVD before palyers begin shipping at the end
of March. Toshiba will have an HD-DVD
player @ $499.00 retail.
**02-06-06 REDMOND, WA - Microsoft
confirmed reports today that its new Vista
OS will not support Blu-Ray discs, although
Vista's auto play function will detect such
discs. HD-DVD will be supported. Blu-Ray
support in the Vista OS may be provided by
3rd parties.
**02-06-06 NY, NY - IBM announced today
they have developed a new chipset that will
allow a wireless data transfer rate of
630Mbps initially, and 1 - 5Gbps in the future.
This data can include HDTV, which would
pave the way for uncompressed HDTV to be
sent via wireless. The chipset uses mmWave
technology and operates on the 60MHz
band. Two antennas, a receiver and a
transmitter fit on a chip about 1/2" in diameter
.
**1-28-06 TOKYO - In a restructureing move
aimed at increasing long term profitability,
Sony will eliminate the high end Qualia
brand. Some of the technologies
incorporated in the Qualia products, such as
SXRD, will be used in other Sony video
products.
**1-25-06 LOS GATOS, CA - Netflix indicated
they will rent movies on HD-DVD. This should
provide a boost to the format and player
sales in general. Other rental outlets should
follow suit.
For older home theater news headlines, see
our home theater news archive
electronics Manufacturer Canon will acquire
Toshiba's interest in flat panel pioneer SED
Inc., which was formed to develop and
produce, appropriately enough, the new SED
(Surface conductor Electron emission
Display) type of flat panel display. Canon is
making the purchase to avoid further legal
action by Nano-Propietary of Austin, Texas,
from Canon obtained the original licence to
develop and produce the SED technology.
**12-09-06 ROCKLIEGH, NJ - Crestron
announced today the TPMC-10 WiFi touch
panel remote control is no longer available
and has been replaced by the TPMC-8X that
got a rave reception at this years' CEDIA Expo.
**12-04-06 RICHARDSON, TX - Home
automation and control systems giant AMX
announced today they have acquired the
number 2 matrix switching manufacturer in
the world, AutoPatch of Cheney, WA. The
acquisition will give AMX an instant presence
in the matrix switching market. Matrix
switches are an integral part of the audio
distribution market, and the deal vaults AMX
ahead of automation rival Crestron in the
audio / video switching industry.
**12-04-06 LEXINGTON, KY - Home systems
provider Elan Home Systems announced that
orders for their new Ole' control keypad were
running 3 times ahead of projections, but the
units would still beginning shipping on
schedule at the middle of December.
**11-07-06 REDMOND, WA - Microsoft
announced the X-BOX 360 would become a
HDTV movie download platform. Beginning
November 22nd, X-BOX 360 owners will be
able to download the content, which will then
be stored on the 360's HDD. Reportedly
1,000 hours of content will be available the
beginning of 2007.
**10-12-06 NEW YORK, NY - NEC is
announcing they are entering the consumer
flat panel TV market, targeting the CEDIA type
crowd. They're introducing 3 new, 1080p
LCDs in 40, 46 and 57 inch widescreen
sizes. The smaller sets will be out before
Christmas, with the 57 to be released around
Superbowl time.
**10-05-06 CHIBA, JAPAN - Toshiba showed
a 55" SED flat panel display at the CEATEC
Expo. Toshiba reps indicated it would see
production in late 2007 and reach the US in
early 2008.
**09-20-06 BURBANK, CA - No more format
war?? Three scientists from Time Warner
have filed for a patent on a hybrid disc that
stores bot HD-DVD and Blu-Ray Disc
material.
**09-11-06 SEATTLE, WA - Amazon.com has
launched a new movie downlaoad service,
and so joins the growing list of those
services that are trying to revolutionize
content delivery.
**09-06-06 RICHMOND, VA - Circuit City kicks
off its new stab at custom installation, code
named "Firedog". It is bringing its
considerable resources to bear in an attempt
to "Bring affordable prices to the custom
installation market" according to CEO P.
Schoonover. It's possible that they will
discover, as many other entries into the
custom installation market have before them,
"That's why they call it CUSTOM." Caveat
Emptor to the big CC.
**09-01-06 NEW YORK, NY - Sharp
introduced two new 1080p LCD flat panel
TVs in a press conference. It's rare for a
consumer electronics company to introduce
products so close to a major trade show , but
Sharp bucked convention and showed a 46"
and a 52" widescreen members of the
AQUOS line of LCD TVs. They both feature
sexy, gloss black bezels, GEN8 LCD panels,
and a 10,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio. Both
sets are members of the D62U family.
**08-31-06 MIRAMAR, FL - SIM2 Multimedia
today announced the release of its much
anticipated HT-3000 1080p, single chip,
home theater projector. It uses the latest
Texas Instruments .95um, 1080p DLP
imaging chip.
**08-20-06 EL SEGUNDO, CA - In more
DirecTV / Dish Network related
news/rumors, rumblings are that DirecTV
and Dish Network will add cable TV HDTV
channel INHD to their channel offerings.
Reportedly, Dish Network has already been
testing the channel prior to launch.
**08-14-06 TX - Dish Network is facing defeat
in its latest legal battle, this one over its' DVR.
A US District Court judge ruled that it must
stop using the DVR it provides because it
infringed upon patents held by DVR pioneer
TiVO.
**8-3-06 EL SEGUNDO, CA - If you're in the
market for digital satellite TV, your choice
about which provider to use may soon get
much easier. Rumblings and rumors about a
merger between DirecTV and rival Dish
Network have grown to crescendo in the last
few weeks. The previous merger attempt, in
2002, was nixed by the government as anti-
competitive. Indications are that this time
could be different.
**7-20-06 NEW YORK, NY - D&M Holdings'
brands Denon and Boston Acoustics will
soon be found in Circuit City as the
consumer electronics specialty store
attempts to focus more on home
entertainment. If you're a fan of Infinity
speakers or Harman Kardon electronics, too
bad. They'll be dropped from Circuit's line up
to make room for the D&M products. No word
from C-C management on why H-K and
Infinity aren't considered home entertainment
products.
**7-3-06 SECAUCUS, NJ - Panasonic is
introducing a $5,200.00, 1080p home theater
package that includes a Blu-Ray disc player,
speaker package and home theater receiver
with HDMI switching. This move to a pre-
packaged system is an attempt to fight
consumer confusion brought about by the
large variety of different formats and
connectivity options. Panasonic hopes
retailers will package this with its new 1080p,
65" plasma TV to form a complete, 1080p
home entertainment system.
**6-13-06 TOKYO, JAPAN - On the heels of
the announcement that new Blu-Ray Discs
will be shipping soon, Sony announced they
would again delay the release of an actual
player for the discs until mid August, 2006.
Thankfully, other manufacturers will be
producing Blu-Ray Disc players before
Christmas.
**6-07-06 WASHINGTON DC - In yet more
TiVo related news, the DVR pioneer broke the
news today they have partnerships with 10
different companies to provide downloadable
content that can end up on subscriber's hard
drives. Once there, the downloaded video
content can be viewed and categorized like
other content on the drive. Content providers
include the NBA, CNet, and the NY Times.
**6-2-06 DirecTV has something really new!
Finally, after all the years of hype on the
interactive TV front, there may be something
to get excited about. The satellite TV provider
has introduced a revolutionary new feature
they call "What's Hot!". This shows viewers in
real time what the top 10 shows are that
other viewers are watching. Cool!
**5-15-06 TiVO and Blockbuster Video look to
have formed a partnership to allow TiVO
subscribers to include a membership to
Blockbuster Online for an additional
$15/month.
**5-11-06 Pioneer Senior VP Andy Parsons
told MacWorld today that he was confident of
a victory in the HD-DVD / Blu Ray Disc war.
His position was that Blu Ray Disc had to
many influential supporters to lose. He
indicated that the greater capacity of BRD
wouldn't be a factor in the victory at first.
**5-4-06 REDMOND, WA Microsoft
announced they would form Hollywood
partnerships to begin producing original
video content for MSN. The new venture is to
be called MSN Originals.
**4-27-06 ALVISO, CA - TiVO has introduced
an upgraded Series 2 TiVO. The new unit
includes an Ethernet port, and most
importantly, dual tuners. This doesn't apply
to the DirecTV version, only the standard
definition, NTSC unit.
**4-20-06 REDMOND, WA - Amid the hubub
here over the visit of Chinese president Hu to
the Microsoft campus, the Big M announced
they are definitely introducing an HD-DVD
drive for the X-BOX 360. More details will be
forthcoming at the E3 Expo in LA. The
announcement was actually made in an
interview with Microsoft VP Chris Lewis in the
German Newspaper Spiegel Online.
**4-18-06 PLANO, TX - Walmart deviated
from consumer expectations with a new, high
end Superstore that opened here recently.
The store has a noticable skew towards the
higher end of the market, where consumers
have greater disposable income. Home
theater products are prevalent, including
Sony Grand Wega LCD rear projection TVs
and Panasonic plasma TVs. The store even
has WiFi access for shoppers. Reportedly, a
new sales staff has received substantial
training on the complement of home theater
and other CE products.
**4-10-06 ROCKLEIGH, NJ - Crestron
announced today that some much
anticipated product has begun shipping.
Crestron's replacement for the popular CT-
1000 color touch panel, the TPS-4 is now on
the way to integrators. This unit features
upgraded cosmetics, higher resolution and
64K color display vs. the old 256 color
display. It also has Ethernet communication
capability in addition to Crestron's Cresnet
communication network. Also, Crestron's
entry into the wireless mesh network lighting
arena makes it's debut. Infinet is Crestron's
take on the ZigBee wireless mesh network
protocol. Infinet uses all 16 available
channels to ensure maximum reliability.
Crestron introduced both switches and
dimmers with Infinet repeaters for system
expansion available soon. Last but not least
Crestron's CEN-IPOD iPOD interface allows
an iPOD to be easily integrated into a whole
house audio system. The CEN-IPOD retains
the iPOD's control and search capability but
allows the iPOD type display to be replicated
on touch panels throughout the home.
**4-5-06 SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA - Citing the
need for more through product testing,
Samsung has pushed back the release of
it's first Blu-Ray Disc player, the BD-P1000,
from May 23rd until June 25th. The player's
delay will allow Samsung to make use of the
latest Blu-Ray test discs to ensure a trouble
free product launch.
**4-5-06 HUNTINGTON BEACH, CA - Now
the OC can be known for something really
cool. Mitsubishi will show a completely new
innovation in TV here this Friday. The new TV
set uses colored lasers to display fantastic
pictures on thin, lightweight screens of up to
70" diagonal— Mitsubishi claims image
quality is superior to that of film. Mitsubishi
is calling these new laser based TVs the first
of their kind, and they are expected to be in
retailers by Q4, 2007. An additional bonus is
that, unlike DLP and LCOS based TVs they
will never need an expensive bulb
replacement. The lasers should last the life
of the set.
**4-4-06 LEXINGTON, KY - Control systems
pioneer Elan Home Systems announced
their latest control touch screen, the VIA 2
Wireless, today at the EH Expo. The New
screen features a WiFi interface, an 8.4" high
brightness color screen, and a recharge,
docking cradle. It uses the also new VIA!2-
SS1 control station, with IR, RS-232, relay
outputs and wireless networking.
**4-4-04 SOUTH KOREA - Samsung
announced today they will delay the
introduction of their Blu-Ray Disc player
until June 25th. That is 1 month later than
initially planned.
**3-24-06 ROUND ROCK, TX - Dell
announced today they were buying high end
HTPC and gaming PC maker Alienware.
Terms were not discussed at press time.
**3-15-06 TOKYO, JAPAN - Sony has
announced the delay of the upcoming
Playstation 3 until sometime in Q4, 2006.
This is so Sony can complete the copyright
technology and other issues associated with
the inclusion of the Blu-Ray Disc drive in the
new console.
**3-10-06 SEATTLE, WA - Its been reported in
numerous places that online giant Amazon.
com is in talks with several major movie
studios, such as Paramount, Warner
Brothers and Universal about offering movie
and TV show downloads. Amazon was
reported to be in negotiations with some
smaller movie studios last month. There was
no comment from Amazon.com
**3-09-06 HANNOVER, GERMANY - Microsoft
officially announces The Origami Project at
the CeBIT 2006 show. This is Microsoft's firs
official public announcement of the mobile
computing device.
**3-08-06 TOKYO — Toshiba Corp. and
Canon Inc. have delayed the introduction of
surface-conduction, electron-emitter display
(SED) TVs by about 18 months and are
examining their volume production plans at
Toshiba's Himeji plant. The delay was
blamed on cost pressure from other flat
panel technologies (plasma & LCD), which
have dropped in price faster than expected in
recent months . Some sources have also
indicated the manufacturers wanted to be
sure quality was beyond expectations upon
the release of new SED TVs. Volume
production is now said to be slated for July,
2007.
**3-1-06 CULVER CITY, CA - Sony Pictures
Home Entertainment stated in a technical
seminar yesterday that they will not, at the
present time, invoke the power of the AACS to
down rez Blu-Ray Discs to 960 x 540 when
used with a player's analog outputs. Buena
Vista jumped on the bandwagon as well.
Both indicated the move was due to
consumer pressure and would not change
unless digital piracy becomes a problem.
**2-28-06 NEW YORK, NY - After much
anticipation, Sony finally announced the
release date for its' next generation HD
format, the Blu-Ray Disc. Sony indicated they
will release 8 titles into stores in May 23rd.
This should coincide with the introduction of
Blu-Ray Disc players from several
manufacturers.
**2-27-06 REDMOND, WA - Microsoft
announces it will release at least 6 different
versions of it's next operating system
"Windows Vista" when it is released later
this year.
**2-22-06 LOS ANGELES, CA - HD-DVD and
Blu Ray Discs using AACS to down rez
analog video must now warn consumers by
providing a label on affected discs according
to a press conference held here today by
reps of the AACS.
**2-17-06 - FORT WORTH, TX - Radio Shack
will close 500 - 700 of it's company owned
stores after suffering a 62% drop in net
income for Q4, 2005. For 2005, Radio
Shack's net income was $265.3M, a 21%
reduction from the previous year.
**2-16-06 SUWAN, S. KOREA - Samsung is
indicating they will ship a Blu-Ray Disc player
in late May. The price is projected to be
$999.00 retail. It will have 1080p capability
through the HDMI output.
** 2-10-06 PARAMUS, NJ - HD-DVD backer
Toshiba will begin its national HD-DVD tour
here on Feb 21st. It's your chance to see HD-
DVD before palyers begin shipping at the end
of March. Toshiba will have an HD-DVD
player @ $499.00 retail.
**02-06-06 REDMOND, WA - Microsoft
confirmed reports today that its new Vista
OS will not support Blu-Ray discs, although
Vista's auto play function will detect such
discs. HD-DVD will be supported. Blu-Ray
support in the Vista OS may be provided by
3rd parties.
**02-06-06 NY, NY - IBM announced today
they have developed a new chipset that will
allow a wireless data transfer rate of
630Mbps initially, and 1 - 5Gbps in the future.
This data can include HDTV, which would
pave the way for uncompressed HDTV to be
sent via wireless. The chipset uses mmWave
technology and operates on the 60MHz
band. Two antennas, a receiver and a
transmitter fit on a chip about 1/2" in diameter
.
**1-28-06 TOKYO - In a restructureing move
aimed at increasing long term profitability,
Sony will eliminate the high end Qualia
brand. Some of the technologies
incorporated in the Qualia products, such as
SXRD, will be used in other Sony video
products.
**1-25-06 LOS GATOS, CA - Netflix indicated
they will rent movies on HD-DVD. This should
provide a boost to the format and player
sales in general. Other rental outlets should
follow suit.
For older home theater news headlines, see
our home theater news archive
New Home Theater Products from the 2004 CEDIA Expo
See all the great new stuff from the 2006
CEDIA Expo in Denver.
CEDIA Expo in Denver.
| See the CEDIA 2005 Expo Report |
LG 71" MW-71PY10
Plasma
Image looked pretty
good. Although you can't
tell from this picture, the
blacks were acceptable,
HDTV looked great, there
was little banding in the
dark colors. Color
rendition was good.
Plasma
Image looked pretty
good. Although you can't
tell from this picture, the
blacks were acceptable,
HDTV looked great, there
was little banding in the
dark colors. Color
rendition was good.
JVC 52" HD-52Z585 HDILA
3-chip D-ILA RPTV - As
you can tell from this
photo, the image looked
great. Excellent detail,
blacks approaching that of
a good DLP set, very tight
pixel structure, good color
rendition. Because it is a
3-chip, there are no color
wheel effects. Yea!
3-chip D-ILA RPTV - As
you can tell from this
photo, the image looked
great. Excellent detail,
blacks approaching that of
a good DLP set, very tight
pixel structure, good color
rendition. Because it is a
3-chip, there are no color
wheel effects. Yea!
JVC BLU-RAY DVD
recorder. BLU-RAY at last.
3hrs recording time on a
single layer disc.
recorder. BLU-RAY at last.
3hrs recording time on a
single layer disc.
HDTV DVR - Integrated
DVR requires no
subscription or phone line.
TV Guide On Screen (TM)
free interactive program
guide. The standard pause,
rew, etc. Component,
S-video, DVI, composite,
Firewire. Also has
DVI-HDCP. Records 12
hours of HDTV or 120 hrs
of standard video. Dolby
Digital 5.1 recording & PB.
ATSC, NTSC, clear QUAM
tuner.
DVR requires no
subscription or phone line.
TV Guide On Screen (TM)
free interactive program
guide. The standard pause,
rew, etc. Component,
S-video, DVI, composite,
Firewire. Also has
DVI-HDCP. Records 12
hours of HDTV or 120 hrs
of standard video. Dolby
Digital 5.1 recording & PB.
ATSC, NTSC, clear QUAM
tuner.
Denon AVR-5805.
Probably the largest
receiver ever produced.
Does it do 7.1 surround?
Are you kidding? It has 10
channels of amplification
and just about every
input/output imaginable.
Weighs almost 100lbs,
so start working out now
if you plan on carrying it
home. This thing is 10"
tall so provide plenty of
room in your rack. MSRP
$5,995.
Probably the largest
receiver ever produced.
Does it do 7.1 surround?
Are you kidding? It has 10
channels of amplification
and just about every
input/output imaginable.
Weighs almost 100lbs,
so start working out now
if you plan on carrying it
home. This thing is 10"
tall so provide plenty of
room in your rack. MSRP
$5,995.
Mitsubishi WD-62825 62"
DLP RPTV. Uses a 7
segment color wheel with
the new neutral gray
segment for better dark
detail. Uses
asymmetrical mirror tilt
for deeper blacks. Picture
was quite nice. Gave the
best CRT RPTV pictures a
run for their money. Great
color rendition and deep
blacks. Had great
uniformity, detail & focus.
DLP RPTV. Uses a 7
segment color wheel with
the new neutral gray
segment for better dark
detail. Uses
asymmetrical mirror tilt
for deeper blacks. Picture
was quite nice. Gave the
best CRT RPTV pictures a
run for their money. Great
color rendition and deep
blacks. Had great
uniformity, detail & focus.
The Thiel Audio family of
Smart Subs. These are
some of the most
awesome subwoofers
ever concieved. Musicality,
prodigious output,
fantastic bass extension,
they cover all the bases.
Now Thiel has one for
almost every size and
budget consideration.
They use Jim Thiel's
special controller to
integrate perfectly with any
main speakers and
compensate for room
placement.
Smart Subs. These are
some of the most
awesome subwoofers
ever concieved. Musicality,
prodigious output,
fantastic bass extension,
they cover all the bases.
Now Thiel has one for
almost every size and
budget consideration.
They use Jim Thiel's
special controller to
integrate perfectly with any
main speakers and
compensate for room
placement.
Velodyne's new CHT-R
series of subs should be a
continuation of the
Velodyne tradition of
quality subwoofers. The
CHT-R subs will replace
the well received CHT line,
which will be retired. DSP
is used to keep distortion
low and output high. They
come with an IR remote for
adjustments from the
listening position.
series of subs should be a
continuation of the
Velodyne tradition of
quality subwoofers. The
CHT-R subs will replace
the well received CHT line,
which will be retired. DSP
is used to keep distortion
low and output high. They
come with an IR remote for
adjustments from the
listening position.
Pioneer Elite
PRO-1410HD 61" plasma
monitor. The best 61" I
saw at the show.
Especially with HDTV
sources. Some other
plasma displays were not
seen such as the Runco
61, but the Pioneer Elite
looked spectacular.
Replete with HDMI input
and an ISF mode for
instant access to factory
calibrated ISF picture
settings.
PRO-1410HD 61" plasma
monitor. The best 61" I
saw at the show.
Especially with HDTV
sources. Some other
plasma displays were not
seen such as the Runco
61, but the Pioneer Elite
looked spectacular.
Replete with HDMI input
and an ISF mode for
instant access to factory
calibrated ISF picture
settings.
B&Ks Reference 50 has
been updated to the
Reference-50S2. B&K has
included component video
transcoding to convert all
video sources to component.
This allows the use of only 1
cable to your display device.
They have added 2 more
notch filters for a total of 3.
This should tame the
nastiest room resonances in
all three modes. The latest
Motorola DSP chip is
included and DPL-IIX has
been added. They have
added even more such as
separate bass and treble for
the front and back channels
but I am out of space.
been updated to the
Reference-50S2. B&K has
included component video
transcoding to convert all
video sources to component.
This allows the use of only 1
cable to your display device.
They have added 2 more
notch filters for a total of 3.
This should tame the
nastiest room resonances in
all three modes. The latest
Motorola DSP chip is
included and DPL-IIX has
been added. They have
added even more such as
separate bass and treble for
the front and back channels
but I am out of space.
Sony SRX-110 Digital
Cinema Projector. The
next time you find yourself
with a 25' wide screen in
your home theater and a
spare $100,000 in your
wallet, you can give Sony
a call for one of these
monsters. It uses Sony's
latest SXRD imaging
system and sports 10,000
ANSI lumens with a
stunning 4096 x 2160
pixel resolution. It was not
shown running but should
be beyond spectacular.
Landmark Theaters
announced on 3-15-05
they will be installing six
of these in selected
locations beginning this
summer. (See news)
Cinema Projector. The
next time you find yourself
with a 25' wide screen in
your home theater and a
spare $100,000 in your
wallet, you can give Sony
a call for one of these
monsters. It uses Sony's
latest SXRD imaging
system and sports 10,000
ANSI lumens with a
stunning 4096 x 2160
pixel resolution. It was not
shown running but should
be beyond spectacular.
Landmark Theaters
announced on 3-15-05
they will be installing six
of these in selected
locations beginning this
summer. (See news)
Samsung LT-P468W 46"
LCD flat panel TV. The first
consumer LCD to allow
1080P native. With it's
1920 x 1080 array, the
Samsung is ready for the
top of the ATSC food chain,
1080P. As you can see
from the image, the picture
was fantastic with HDTV
sources. It has an 800:1
contrast. Samsung has
endowed this unit with a
12mS response time for
great motion and computer
video.
LCD flat panel TV. The first
consumer LCD to allow
1080P native. With it's
1920 x 1080 array, the
Samsung is ready for the
top of the ATSC food chain,
1080P. As you can see
from the image, the picture
was fantastic with HDTV
sources. It has an 800:1
contrast. Samsung has
endowed this unit with a
12mS response time for
great motion and computer
video.
The new network media
receiver from NAD retails for
$499.00. With a great analog
output section, it should
perpetuate the great sound
quality / value proposition that
NAD is known for.
receiver from NAD retails for
$499.00. With a great analog
output section, it should
perpetuate the great sound
quality / value proposition that
NAD is known for.
Sony's new 3-chip SXRD
WEGA RPTV, the Qualia
006, looked really
spectacular. Very tight pixel
structure, great color
rendition. 1920 x 1080
native resolution for true
HDTV, even 1080p. DCR
compliant with CableCard
slot & ATSC digital tuner .
Sony's Qualia line is sold
through speciality retailers
only. Don't look for it at the
big box stores, although
Best Buy should have it at
their Magnolia locations
within certain Best Buy
stores.
WEGA RPTV, the Qualia
006, looked really
spectacular. Very tight pixel
structure, great color
rendition. 1920 x 1080
native resolution for true
HDTV, even 1080p. DCR
compliant with CableCard
slot & ATSC digital tuner .
Sony's Qualia line is sold
through speciality retailers
only. Don't look for it at the
big box stores, although
Best Buy should have it at
their Magnolia locations
within certain Best Buy
stores.
PSB's new CSH-60 is
designed for
in-cabinet, LCR home
theater applications.
They now have 3
models of LCR in the
CHS speaker lineup.
PSB is known for a
great performance /
value combination, so
expect some pretty
darn good sound for
your $1,749/ea
designed for
in-cabinet, LCR home
theater applications.
They now have 3
models of LCR in the
CHS speaker lineup.
PSB is known for a
great performance /
value combination, so
expect some pretty
darn good sound for
your $1,749/ea
| Download this Great Home Theater Design e-book. It touches on almost everything you need to know to start designing and installing your home theater. Great for those just getting started. A little light for pros or those with alot of home theater experience but a ton of great info for the newbie or hobbyist. It covers everything from selecting the correct video display to where to locate your theater and why. It shows you the new digital technologies used in home theaters today and how to select the correct equipment and speakers. It's only $14 and you can download it instantly, day or night. To top it off, it's backed by a 8 week, no questions asked, money back guarantee. Get it Here: Home Theater Design e-Book |
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