All Products Filed in Blu-ray

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.

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Cambridge Audio has been designing, engineering and manufacturing value-minded high performance products for years and the British company's latest product supports the company's reputation in the marketplace by providing dealers with a $1,250 performance-oriented universal disc player.

The newly released Cambridge Audio Azur 751BD universal disc player's audio capabilities are supported by five Wolfson WM8740 digital-to-analog converters (DACs), an Analog Devices' A DSP-21261 32-bit processor that's executing Anagram Q5 software that upsamples up to 24-bit/192kHz for all 10 channels, and built-in Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio decoding. The player's video functions are driven by Marvel's DE2750 video processing chipset, 1GB of internal memory, wireless 802.11b/g/n connectivity and Ethernet capabilities.

Cambridge says the unit can play Blu-ray, 3D Blu-ray, DVD-video, DVD-Audio, SACD, CD, HDCD, CD-R, CD/RW and other formats, and its dual HDMI 1.4 outputs, as well as dual USB connection ports provide a choice of connection and technology options.

Monday, June 13, 2011

No one can say for sure whether 3D video is here to stay, but regardless of how the technology trends over the next year or two, it will remain as a topic of interest for consumers that are considering a new video system purchase.

The Berkeley, Calif.-based company Wolf Cinema is arming its dealers with products that fill the demand for high-performance 2D and the latest 3D technologies. The company's newly introduced SDC-15 is a D-ILA-based projector installers can use with screens up to 11 feet wide to provide their clients with the latest in video technologies. Wolf calibrates the projector at the factory before shipping and it incorporates features such as 99 customizable calibration presets to support its dealers' ability to fine tune the projector's performance for each home environment it is placed.

The active 3D projector also includes dual HDMI 1.4 inputs, a gloss-black cabinet, IR, LAN and RS-232 control capabilities, and Wolf supports the projector, which is nicknamed "The Cub" with options that include a choice of two of its VariScope fixed anamorphic lens systems and a ceiling-mount kit.

Thursday, May 19, 2011

There's no doubt that the public is interested in 3D content. Movie gate receipts and the success of movies like Avatar, Tangled and How to Train a Dragon verify the format's growing popularity and the increasing amounts of 3D Blu-ray disc releases and programming availability from broadcast service providers are providing more options for consumers.

ViewSonic's new VP3D1 HD Video box is designed to provide owners of 3D-ready DLP-based projectors the ability to watch 3D content. Viewsonic says the converter features dual HDMI 1.4a inputs and a 1.3 HDMI output to ensure compatibility with a wide range of display devices.

The converter works with gaming, Blu-ray and broadcast content, and ViewSonic adds the device works with its Pro8450w, Pro8500, PJD6251, PJD6531, as well as other DLP-based products.

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

The term retrofit continues to be one of the biggest buzzwords in the entire custom electronics market and it's products like Amped Wirelesses' new AV3000 Home WiFi Network Bridge that are helping to grow this segment of the custom channel.

The AV3000 is a reasonably priced device that installers can use to connect Internet-enabled devices such as gaming consoles, smart HDTVs and Blu-ray disc players to a home's wireless network. Amped says the device is designed for streaming devices and it provides 802.11n 300Mbps streams to support wireless audio and video streaming.

Amped incorporates five input ports and it also works with both PCs and Apple computer products. Other features offered in the product include the ability to setup AV3000 up vertically as a standup unit or it can be laid down in a horizontal position, and it can also be used in a home to boost the range of a home's existing wireless networking signal.

Monday, February 14, 2011

In the world state-of-the-art audio/video connected services are all the rage.

N.J.-based Crestron Electronics has taken its digital multimedia ADMS system and added these increasingly popular Web sources to the ADMS' feature set to provide homeowners with a bigger, more diverse choice of entertainment options. The company says the new ADMS Intermedia Delivery System now includes Web connectivity to sites like ESPN, CNN, ABC News, the NFL, the NBA, Fox News and MSN.

This multimedia content joins Crestron's existing list of content choices that includes Netflix, Hulu, Netflix, iTunes and Youtube, and as an additional measure, the company now also offers Sony's 400 Disc Blu-ray/DVD ES MegaChanger (CEN-CX7000ES) to further diversify the choice of content a homeowner has to entertain themselves through the installation of a Crestron home entertainment system.

Crestron says the system can be controlled with Crestron touchpanels and remotes, as well as iPads, iPhones, iPod Touches and Android devices.

Thursday, February 03, 2011

For much of the 1990s Theta Digital ranked among the most desirable audiophile manufacturers in the entire hobbyist world.

Fast forward to 2011 and the brand through the leadership of Amplifier Technologies Inc. (ATI) is back and its ready to take a technology leadership position in the home theater category with the release of its Casablanca III HD preamplifier/processor.

The original Casablanca pre/pro was released about 15 years ago and the new Casablanca III HD builds upon the original's foundation and adds a list of state-of-the-art features that includes Dolby TrueHD and DTS Master Audio HD lossless surround-sound processing, four HDMI 1.4 inputs and up to 12 output channels with the company's Xtreme D-2 digital-to-analog converters (DACs).

In addition, Theta is offering previous generation Casablanca III owners the opportunity to upgrade the pre/pro units to Casablanca III HD levels with three new circuit boards, a new power supply and new operating system for $5,000. The other client program the company is offering is a trade-in allowance initiative that rewards Casablanca I and II owners up to $5,000 towards the purchase of a new Casablanca III HD pre/pro.