CEDIA

At CEDIA last week, Atlantic Technology introduced the world's first seven-channel sound bar home theater speaker system. The new FS-7.0 Surround Bar is the first loudspeaker that can reproduce all seven channels of a home theater soundtrack in a single 40-inch wide enclosure. In addition to the FS-7.0 Surround Bar, the company also introduced the SB-800, an 8-inch subwoofer designed for use with the FS-7.0.

The speaker includes three 1-inch soft dome tweeters, each of which handles the upper frequencies for one of the front LCR channels. Also on the front panel are a pair of 4x6-inch woofers, featuring dual voice coils which reproduce all three of the front soundstage channels' upper bass and midrange reproduction. The left driver reproduces the left front channel and half of the center channel, and the right driver handles the right front channel and the other half of the center channel. The LCR treble is handled by the three 1-inch tweeters. Read more

At CEDIA last week, Samsung announced the new P410M, an LED-based DLP Pocket Projector. The compact (5.8" W x 2.5" H x 5.7" D) P410M weighs less than two pounds and has a USB port so that media files can be played from any USB device without connecting the P410M to a computer. The projector also includes a built-in multimedia player, standard audio, video and PC inputs, and two stereo speakers. The LED can last up to 30,000 hours, consumes 30% less energy than traditional lamps and is mercury-free, making it easier to recycle.

Features include:

• Ultra portable weighing under 2 lbs
• Compact & Stylish Design at 5.8" W x 2.5" H x 5.7" D
• DLP optical engine with LED light source rated at 30,000 Hours life
• Up to 140% of NTSC color gamut
• Standard VGA-in (15-pin D-sub), RCA Composite Video in connectors
• Built-in 1W x 2 stereo speakers

The Samsung P410M Pocket Projector is now available for $599.

Sony's new BDP-N460 Blu-ray Disc player not only plays Blu-ray Discs and DVDs, it streams on-demand entertainment from the BRAVIA Internet Video platform including movies, TV programs, and music from YouTube, Slacker, and, later this fall, Netflix.

The BDP-N460 Blu-ray Disc/DVD/CD player delivers full HD 1080/60p and 24p True Cinema output, is BD-LIVE capable, and uses Sony's Precision Cinema HD Upscale technology to convert standard-definition signals (480i) to near HD quality. And, its Precision Drive technology helps to detect and correct wobbling discs from three directions, supporting warped or scratched Blu-ray Discs and DVDs during playback.Read more

Pioneer's flagship Blu-ray Disc player, the Elite BDP-09 is the world's first Blu-ray Disc player to achieve THX certification. The BDP-09 is BD-Live Compatible and has 4GB of Internal Memory, 8 Wolfson Audio DACS, PQLS Jitter Free Audio Transmission, and 16-Bit Video Processing LSI. The BDP-09 is available now for $2200.

A perfect complement to the BDP-09, Pioneer announced that its Elite EX Series in-wall speakers have attained THX Select2 certification as well. Add to that Pioneer's top-of-the-line Elite A/V Receivers (which are the world's first and only THX Ultra2 Plus Certified receivers with Class D digital amplification) and you've got a complete THX Certified audio video system with sound and features that are hard to beat.

To find out more information on Pioneer's THX Certified audio and video products, visit www.pioneerelectronics.com.

Samsung just announced its latest CCFL-backlit LCD TV– the 65" LCD 650 Series (LN65B650) with 1080p resolution. The LN65B650 features Auto Motion Plus 120Hz refresh rate, fast 4ms response time to reduce blurring, and high contrast ratios for deeper blacks. The LN65B650 also has networking and connectivity capabilities, and meets the latest Energy Star qualifications.

Other features include:

• Ultra Clear Panel technology: enhances colors and reduces glare in rooms with a lot of ambient light.
• Wide Color Enhancer 3: ensures accurate reproduction of colors with shows, movies, games and more, regardless of the viewing environment.
• Samsung Medi@2.0 suite: Ready for both wired and wireless connectivity, get content via the Internet@TV - Content Service, built-in Content Library, DLNA and more. Internet@TV delivers access to Internet content from Yahoo!, Flickr, YouTube, and more via easy-to-use TV widgets.
• USB 2.0 interface: Easily share and view media files on your TV from a digital camera, MP3 player, or even a thumb drive.

It also includes 4 HDMI inputs, two component cable slots, RCA and USB jacks. The LN65B650 supports VGA, Optical audio out and RS-232 serial adapters.

The Samsung LN65B650 will be available this month for about $6000.

Panasonic's new SC-BTX70 may not look like a Blu-ray home theater system with its upright stance, but it is that…and more. It includes a Blu-ray Disc player, an iPod dock, an SD memory card slot and a USB terminal, all in its front panel.

The SC-BTX70 is a 2.1 system, yet gives you virtual 7.1 channel sound using Panasonic's advanced proprietary surround technology that delivers Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD virtual 7.1-channel surround sound through the two speakers and subwoofer. The system's 96-kHz Surround Re-master function even enhances the sound quality of CDs and raises the quality of the multi-channel audio data on Blu-ray Discs and DVDs for realistic sounds.

The SC-BTX70 also has Panasonic's PHL Chroma Processor Plus and High Precision 4:4:4 for original cinema quality playback of Blu-ray discs. Also, connecting the SC-BTX70 to the Internet, you can view videos on YouTube, photos on Picasa as well as access the Amazon Video-on-Demand (VOD) online movie rental service. Internet games can also be played and Blu-ray Disc bonus content can be downloaded with the BD-Live feature.

The system will be available in September 2009 for $999.95.

At CEDIA this week, Runco unveiled the first-ever LED home theater projectors - the QuantumColor Q-750i and Q-750d. The QuantumColor projectors use Runco's new InfiniLight lampless LED illumination technology to create energy-efficient systems with beautiful projection performance.

Both projectors also feature Runco's new Personal Color Equalizer, a six-axis (R, G, B, C, Y, M) color adjustment that works like an audio equalizer and allows colors to be individually dialed up and down for every video source.

"Runco has been innovating and changing projection technology for years," says Joel Silver, founder and president of the Imaging Science Foundation (ISF™). "An LED lampless light source is clearly the next step in front projection, and Runco's investment in color gamut and customization puts its QuantomColor projectors well ahead of the pack. The innovation offered by Runco's Personal Color Equalizer easily enables accurate color gamut for all current sources."Read more

Sony just introduced a new line of super-thin BRAVIA LCD HDTVs at CEDIA – the XBR10 series. The XBR10 models feature an edge-lit LED backlight, a contrast ratio of over 1,000,000:1, and also deliver 1080p wireless transmission of HD signals from a separate media box to a receiver embedded in the TV, so your components can be placed out of sight.

The XBR10 series also feature Sony's Motionflow 240Hz technology, an Ethernet connection, USB input, and are Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) compliant, giving you access to photos, music, and video stored on a PC or other DLNA server using the XMB interface and the TV's remote control. Read more

JVC unveiled six new D-ILA home theater projectors at CEDIA today – the top model featuring a native contrast ratio of 70,000:1 – the highest of all currently available home theater projectors. The new projectors are the DLA-RS35, DLA-RS25, DLA-RS15, DLA-HD990, DLA-HD950 and DLA-HD550. All six projectors feature the same D-ILA technology and features found in previous models, but add improvements such as ISF certification, high speed frame rate and more.

JVC begins delivering their D-ILA projectors to dealers in this month (September 2009) at the following prices:

• DLA-RS35/DLA-HD990: $10,000.00
• DLA-RS25/DLA-HD950: $8,000.00
• DLA-RS15: $5,500.00
• DLA-HD550: $5,000.00