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AT&T Discounts Phones, Tablets With Home Automation Purchase

Doug Olenick — Fri, 24 May 2013 17:12:18 +0000

Dallas – AT&T has begun discounting the price of smartphones and tablets to consumers who sign up for the company’s home security and automation service at one of the almost 600 AT&T Wireless stores that sell the service.

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The service, called AT&T Digital Life, is currently available in 22 markets, and the company plans availability in up to 50 markets by year’s end.

The service provides remote monitoring and control of a home’s systems through PCs, tablets and smartphone. Homeowners are able to remotely control thermostats, lights, door locks, video cameras and the like.

The service features professionally installed wireless Wi-Fi and Z-Wave devices, including security cameras, window/door sensors, motion and glass-break sensors, smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, thermostats, moisture detectors and appliance power controls.

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May 24 2013 - 1:06pm

Optoma Adds Portable Projector Pair

Doug Olenick — Fri, 24 May 2013 14:53:08 +0000

Fremont, Calif. — Optoma introduced two portable DLP projectors on Friday that incorporate 3D capability and advanced image processing capabilities.

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Fremont, Calif. — Optoma introduced two portable DLP projectors on Friday that incorporate 3D capability and advanced image processing capabilities.

Both the WXGA (1,280 by 800) resolution W304M and the XGA (1024 by 768) resolution X304M offer high brightness output — the W304M outputs 3100 lumens and X304M outputs 3000 lumens.

Both projectors are also positioned at an affordable $849 suggested retail.

“Mobility is not an acceptable excuse for sub-par performance or feature limitations,” said Jon Grodem, Optoma’s product and marketing senior director. “These new projectors put superior performance and portability back in the same sentence. And, most importantly, put them in the hands of anyone needing to make impressive presentations on the go.”

The projectors are based on Texas Instruments’ new DDP4421 Digial Micromirror Device chips with full 3D (HDMI 1.4a) in any of the common formats.

An increased contrast ratio, combined with TI’s BrilliantColor2 technology, further enhances the processing, resulting in greater color performance, Optoma said.

Both the W304M and the X304M models have a range of connectivity options, including wireless capabilities, and a more intuitive menu system for easy operation.

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May 24 2013 - 10:51am

Hillcrest, TCL Extend ‘Freespace’ Agreement

Doug Olenick — Thu, 23 May 2013 17:32:11 +0000

Rockville, Md. — Hillcrest Labs and TCL Multimedia have entered a multiyear agreement to extend the use of Hillcrest’s Freespace in-air pointing and motion-control software in TCL’s Internet-connected smart TVs, the companies said Thursday.

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Hillcrest’s Freespace enables small in-air movements of remote controls to move a cursor around the TV screen. This allows users to navigate their TV user interface with point-and-click controls, just like they do on computers, smartphones and tablets.

The two companies first introduced the technology in TCL’s V7500 smart TV last year.

Going forward, Freespace will be featured in TCL’s V8500, V7600, H6600 and E5590 smart-TV models, which are all based on the Android 4.2 platform.

TCL is one of China’s largest TV and consumer electronics brands, and Hillcrest Labs is based in the U.S.

Hillcrest also said its the Freespace MotionEngine smart-TV software is now available for Android 4.2 and Google TV.

Seven of the top 10 global LCD TV OEMs in the smart-TV and connected set-top box markets are using Android or Google TV platforms.

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May 23 2013 - 1:31pm

Harman Kardon Adds More Connectivity To New AVRs

Doug Olenick — Thu, 23 May 2013 13:03:50 +0000

Stamford, Conn. — A trio of A/V receivers (AVRs) launched by Harman Kardon reduce the brand’s opening price point for networked AVRs to $299 from $499.

Harman Kardon’s $299 networked AVR1510 features vTuner Internet radio, DLNA 1.5 networking and HDMI 4K by 2K passthrough.

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Stamford, Conn. — A trio of A/V receivers (AVRs) launched by Harman Kardon reduce the brand’s opening price point for networked AVRs to $299 from $499.

The new AVRs feature the brand’s first two models with embedded stereo Bluetooth, and include the brand’s first two models with MHL and HDMI ports, the former which are Roku-enabled.

One model at $549 adds Apple AirPlay, available previously at $499.

The three models in the new AVR 1x10 series are the $299-suggested AVR 1510, $399 AVR 1610 and $549 AVR 1710. All are available now exclusively at Best Buy and through Harman Kardon’s website.

All three models have a new smaller, streamlined design and GreenEdge technology, said to provide dramatic energy savings without compromising premium performance.

All also feature Dolby TrueHD and DTS HD Master decoding, 4K by 2K passthrough, and ability to be controlled from iOS and Android apps.

The lineup starts with the $299-suggested AVR1510, a 5x75-watt model with vTuner Internet radio to stream thousands of Internet radio stations. It also features DLNA 1.5 to stream audio from DLNA-enabled computers and mobile devices. A Made for iPod/iPhone/iPad USB port also plays music from USB sticks. The component also comes with four HDMI 1.4a inputs and proprietary Logic 7, which creates multichannel soundfields from two-channel sources, a spokesman said.

The $399 5x85-watt AVR1610 adds embedded Bluetooth with Harman TrueStream technology to improve the quality of compressed music. The device also adds back-panel Roku-enabled MHL/HDMI port, enabling users to connect a Roku Streaming Stick to access Roku’s more than 750 video channels directly from the AVR’s remote.

MHL itself lets mobile devices send 1080p video with 7.1-channel surround sound to a home theater system. The port also charges the mobile device, and A/V playback can be controlled from the AVRs’ remote.

The AVR1610 also adds new NSP Natural Sound processing, which replaces Logic 7 processing in the AVR1510. NSP also up-converts stereo sources to multichannel, and it’s said to deliver the correct localization of individual music sources and create the “sensation of the performance space where the original recorded event took place or a plausible artificial space created by the content producer,” the company said.

The AVR1610 also adds EzSet/EQIII technology to automatically set system parameters and tailor sound to a given room’s acoustical characteristics. The number of HDMI 1.4a inputs grows to five, including the back-panel Roku-enabled MHL/HDMI port. The AVR’s HDMI 1.4a output features audio return channel.

At a suggested $549, the 7x100-watt 7AVR1710 adds AirPlay, two subwoofer outputs, multi-room capability, six HDMI inputs, two HDMI outputs with audio return channel. One HDMI input is the Roku-ready MHL/HDMI input. The component also adds Dolby Pro Logic IIz post processing to add a pair of front-height channels to a 5.1-speaker setup, a spokesman said.

The AVRs join two models unveiled in April at a suggested $799 and $999.

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May 23 2013 - 8:45am

Microsoft Unveils Xbox One Entertainment System

Doug Olenick — Tue, 21 May 2013 19:51:46 +0000

Redmond, Wash. – Two months after Sony unveiled the first glimpse of its forthcoming PlayStation 4 console and 19 days before the start of E3 in Los Angeles, Microsoft formally announced here Tuesday its next “all-in-one” entertainment console – the Xbox One.

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Redmond, Wash. – Two months after Sony unveiled the first glimpse of its forthcoming PlayStation 4 console and 19 days before the start of E3 in Los Angeles, Microsoft formally announced here Tuesday
its next “all-in-one” entertainment console – the Xbox One.

During a press conference that was broadcast live on the Spike channel and on the Xbox website, the company revealed the new platform will launch later this year, at an undisclosed price.

This go-round, the Xbox is positioned more as an entertainment hub than a simple video game console, placing as much emphasis on movie and video entertainment, Skype video calling and second-screen interaction as it does on advanced (and in some cases exclusive) new gaming capabilities.

The Xbox One console is said to offer eight times the graphic performance of the Xbox 360. It boasts 5 billion transistors, compared with 500 million on the predecessor, while the memory was boosted to 8GB from 512MB.

Also included is a new 500GB hard drive, Blu-ray–capable optical drive, and a custom AMD 40-nanometer system-on-a-chip with both CPU and GPU processes.

The “soul” of the Xbox One architecture was said to be its melding of three systems in one — the Xbox OS, the kernel of Windows and connecting the two for multitasking and effortless control.

The system is comprised of three core parts — the console, the motion-sensing Kinect 2.0 device and a new controller.

Microsoft also employs its Smart Glass technology that turns a mobile phone or tablet into a second screen to intelligently interact with the Xbox for enhanced, interactive viewing of TV shows, movies, music, sports and games.

Xbox president Don Mattrick said that in developing Xbox One, the development team focused on making an “entertainment console” that lines up games, television and software and makes the user experience simple, instant and complete.

The system is designed with voice and facial recognition as key input devices, with gesture and spoken control at the heart of the experience.

Users can log into the system by speaking and the new system architecture can be audibly commanded to switch between content selections with simple spoken or gesture commands.

Among the new system attributes is Snap Mode, which lets users play a game or watch a movie while calling up other content options in multiple windows on one viewing screen.

The system fully integrates the Skype calling experience, using an advanced high-def camera in the Kinect 2.0 portion of the system. Users will now be able to have group chats using Skype on the platform.

Live TV is now integral to the Xbox One experience, and Microsoft has teamed with ESPN to allow fantasy sports fanatics the ability to instantly call up players’ stats as they change in real time and to view clips of favorite players.

Marc Whitten, Xbox Live corporate VP, said the platform will enable advanced capabilities for games, including monitoring a heartbeat during exercise activities.

The new system controller was created with input from game players, Whitten said, and includes up to 40 design innovations. It also offers improved ergonomics and a new d-pad.

The system will have DVR-like capabilities to record live gaming action and store memorable moments to post in the Cloud for bragging rights.

The Xbox Live Cloud service has been vastly upgraded as well to support Xbox One with more than 300,000 servers, “offering more computing power than existed in the world in 1999,” according to the company.

Microsoft Studios plans to launch 15 new games in the first year of Xbox One, including eight brand new franchises.

Among some of the first games for Xbox One will be EA Sports’ "FIFA 2014," "Madden," "NBA Live" and "UFC," which will all be released in the next 12 months.

A new gaming engine called EA Sports Ignite was said to be able “to blur the line between real and virtual.”

It will utilize the Xbox One's exclusive updates for enhanced game play.

Phil Spencer, Microsoft Studios VP, said Xbox One games will also be “more immersive, more personal and more connected than ever before,” and revealed that the Forza Motorsport 5 racing game will be available at launch.

Nancy Tellem, who heads Xbox TV studios, said, “Xbox Live is about to become the next water cooler,” and along with Bonnie Ross, who heads 343 Industries, revealed that Steven Spielberg will help produce a new live-action "Halo" TV series linked to the next iteration of the sci-fi shooter game.

Microsoft also revealed an exclusive partnership with the NFL that will enable viewers to engage with live games in a new way, including making instant Skype calls with friends to talk smack as a favorite player scores.

Activision also revealed that the “Call of Duty: Ghosts” game previously announced for the forthcoming Sony PS4 will also be available for Xbox One.

This iteration of the game was designed around an entirely new engine, with advanced new graphics capabilities, more intuitive and reactive animation.

Activision CEO Eric Hirshberg said all downloadable content for “Call of Duty: Ghosts” will launch exclusively first on Xbox One.

Microsoft vowed to reveal more on the console and its related games at E3 next month.

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May 21 2013 - 3:47pm

Onkyo Builds Bluetooth, Wi-Fi Into More AVRs

Doug Olenick — Tue, 21 May 2013 16:40:00 +0000

Upper Saddle River, N.J. — Onkyo increased its selection of A/V receivers with built-in stereo Bluetooth and Wi-Fi to four models.

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Upper Saddle River, N.J. — Onkyo increased its selection of A/V receivers with built-in stereo Bluetooth and Wi-Fi to four models.

The new additions are the $1,099-suggested 7.2-channel TX-NR828 and $1,399 9.2-channel TX-NR929.

They join the $599 7.2-channel TX-NR626 and $899 7.2-channel TX-NR727, announced in March.

All four networked models feature Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n, DLNA networking and Internet radio.

The two new models and the NR727 are THX Select2 Plus certified. Onkyo is marking its 20th year participating in the THX program that certifies performance standards.

In other feature changes, the 9.2-channel NR929 at $1,399 brings down the opening price of the full 11-channel implementation of DTS Neo:X post processing to $1,399 from the TX-NR3010’s $2,299, thanks to the inclusion of 11-channel preouts, a spokesman said.

A nine-channel implementation of DTS Neo:X was available in last year’s line at $1,199 in the TX-NR818, he noted.

With the launch of the $1,399 NR929, Onkyo also reduced the opening price of nine-channel AVRs from last year’s $1,799.

Both new models feature 4K Ultra High-Definition passthrough and up-scaling and Audyssey DSX and Dolby Pro Logic IIz post processing. The $1,399 model features Audyssey's premium MultEQ XT32 room acoustic equalization, and the $1,099 model features Audyssey MultEQ room acoustic equalization.

The top model features nine HDMI inputs, including a front HDMI input with Mobile High-definition Link (MHL). The $1,099 model features eight HDMI inputs, including one MHL-enabled input. Both feature dual HDMI outputs.

With the $1,399 model, users can assign four of the nine available channels to power audio in zones 2 and 3. The $1,099 model offers powered zone 2 as well as zone 2 and 3 line outputs.

The functions of both models can be controlled from the company’s smartphone apps, including multizone functions.

In this year’s Onkyo lineup, features such as dual HDMI outputs, 4K Ultra HD up-scaling, and MHL HDMI inputs start at $599. MHL lets mobile devices send 1080p video with 7.1-channel surround sound to a home theater system. The port also charges the mobile device, and A/V playback can be controlled from the AVR’s remote.

InstaPrevue picture-in-picture previewing of connected video sources starts at $499 in the 2013 lineup.

Dolby Pro Logic IIz post processing starts at $599, and Audyssey DSX post processing starts at $899.

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May 21 2013 - 12:38pm

IHS Sees Positive Signs For 4K Success

Doug Olenick — Tue, 21 May 2013 16:37:43 +0000

Vancouver, British Columbia — Video display market analyst IHS said TV panel makers attending this week’s Society for Information Display (SID) 2013 Display Week are betting on a high rate of growth for UHD LCD TVs during the next four years.

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These companies expect to ship nearly 943,000 UHD LCD panels this year, up from less than 33,000 units in 2012, according to the IHS’s Display Materials & Systems Service.

The next two years will see shipments ramp up even more quickly to 7.1 million units in 2015, on their way to reaching 20.8 million units by 2017, IHS said.

The total rises much higher when including a type of lower-priced, lower-specification product called “UHD-ready,” panels, which mainly are targeted at the Chinese market.

Suppliers collectively plan to ship as many as 4 million UHD-ready panels this year alone.

The market research firm said TV manufacturers are looking to avoid the mistakes made with the launch 3D technologies a few years ago.

“Having learned from past mistakes, TV suppliers are gearing up to make UHD TV a success, determined not to repeat the mistakes they made with 3-D,” said Sweta Dash, IHS display industry research senior director. “However, the level of consumer demand for UHD is still not clear. Lower yields, higher costs, slower TV sales, lack of content and delays in production all will lead to lower shipments than many in the industry expect.”

IHS said the poor adoption rate of 3D was a wakeup call for major TV brands. By the end of 2012, only about 20 percent of all LCD TVs sold had 3D capability, according to IHS.

Dash said 3D suffered from three major obstacles: content, price and technology. Regarding the latter, consumers didn’t want to change their viewing behavior by wearing a pair of glasses.

But unlike 3D, Dash said UHD does not require any change in consumer behavior, while providing greater depth to picture quality, giving a more immersive experience; while upscaling technology will improve even Full HD picture quality, without the need for a lot of available native 4K content solutions at launch.

Still, IHS points out that many TV brands are actively working to provide native UHD content, either through upscaling or through the creation of proprietary UHD content solutions.

Already, Japan has plans to begin UHD broadcasting as soon as 2014, two years earlier than originally planned. Also, 4K cameras and camcorders are now on the market, enabling creation of 4K content. Movies in 4K are likewise starting to show up.

The increased focus on UHD LCD TVs comes in part from delays in commercialization for organic light-emitting diode (OLED) TVs, an advanced technology that has encountered various challenges in manufacturing.

As UHD is now taking over for the meantime, panel suppliers and brands are working aggressively to reduce prices, with lower-cost UHD TV sets expected later this year, mostly in sizes from 50-inch to 100-inch.

Availability of low-end UHD LCD TV panels from suppliers, especially from Taiwan, may also help trigger UHD market growth, particularly in China, Dash said.

Some brands are already planning to introduce a 50-inch UHD TV in China at a $2,000 price point.

Pointing toward the prospects for long-term sustainability, IHS said top panel suppliers including: Samsung, LG Display, AUO and Innolux are introducing UHD TV panels, with TV brands like Sony, Sharp, Samsung, LG Electronics, Vizio and many Chinese brands planning to launch their own offerings later this year.

The variety of products available, as well as the different price points and sizes for the sets, will help increase adoption rates, IHS believes.

On the technological front, oxide thin-film transistor (TFT) is considered to be a superior technology compared to conventional amorphous TFT LCD for achieving higher-resolution products.

But oxide TFT faces challenges in capacity and yield issues, whereas panel suppliers have been able to offer lower-cost UHD panels produced from conventional amorphous TFT LCD.

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May 21 2013 - 12:36pm

Vizio Ships 42-Inch, 5.1 Home-Theater Soundbar

Doug Olenick — Tue, 21 May 2013 14:36:12 +0000

Irvine, Calif. — Vizio reports it has set pricing and begun shipping its 42-inch 5.1 home-theater soundbar with wireless subwoofer and satellite speakers.

Vizio’s 42-inch 5.1 home-theater soundbar with wireless subwoofer and satellite speakers

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Irvine, Calif. — Vizio reports it has set pricing and begun shipping its 42-inch 5.1 home-theater soundbar with wireless subwoofer and satellite speakers.

Introduced during International CES in January, model S4251w is now available at Amazon.com, Costco, Costco.com, BestBuy.com, Walmart.com, Vizio.com and in-store at Best Buy the week of May 27 for $329.

The system features a wireless subwoofer that can sit up to 60 feet away and rear satellite speakers that connect to the subwoofer. It also has features Dolby Digital and DTS Digital Surround audio technologies, Vizio said.

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May 21 2013 - 10:34am

Sherbourn Reenters A/V Receiver Market

Doug Olenick — Tue, 21 May 2013 13:07:46 +0000

Franklin, Tenn. — Component-audio supplier Sherbourn Technologies returned to the A/V receiver (AVR) market with the launch of the $899-suggested 7.1-channel SR-8100.

Sherbourn’s $899-suggested 7.1-channel SR-8100 A/V receiver

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Franklin, Tenn. — Component-audio supplier Sherbourn Technologies returned to the A/V receiver (AVR) market with the launch of the $899-suggested 7.1-channel SR-8100.

The SR-8100, available for a limited time at $799, is also the first new product available since the launch earlier this year of the company’s new distribution strategy of selling direct to consumers and direct to systems integrators. The company does not use reps or distributors to sell to integrators.

The direct-sales strategy also enables the company to significantly reduce the price of its products. The company, for example, dropped the price of one component under the new strategy from $4,999 to $2,799. Likewise, the previous AVR available under Sherbourn’s previous distribution strategy was priced at a suggested $2,999.

Key features of the new model include embedded Bluetooth 3.0 with ability to stream the AptX codec over Bluetooth for enhanced sound quality.

The new AVR also features steel chassis and solid extruded-aluminum faceplate to withstand installation rigors, 7x80 watts of amplification with all channels driven simultaneously, four HDMI 1.4 inputs with 3D support, HDMI output with audio return channel, and second- and third-zone audio outputs.

It also comes with a trigger input and output, an IR remote input and output, RS-232 port for control, four stereo analog inputs, two digital coaxial and two digital optical inputs, 7.1-channel analog direct inputs for connecting an SACD player, balanced and unbalanced subwoofer outputs, and integrated headphone amplifier.

Other features include vacuum fluorescent display, full-color onscreen user interface over live video, and Sherbourn Advanced Room Correction System to automatically calibrate and optimize performance.

The receiver also features quadruple bass management with 12dB or 24dB per octave crossover filters configurable in 5Hz steps below 80Hz and 10Hz steps above 80Hz. It also features a parametric equalizer with multiple separate EQ banks, each of which feature 11 bands for each main channel and three bands for the subwoofer.

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May 21 2013 - 9:06am

GoldenEar Expands Custom-Speaker Series

Doug Olenick — Tue, 21 May 2013 12:16:50 +0000

Stevenson, Md. – GoldenEar Technology shipped the newest models in its Invisa custom-install series of speakers, said to be virtually invisible because of their magnetically attached flat micro-perf grilles that hide the speaker flange.

GoldenEar’s reference in-ceiling Invisa HTR7000 home theater speaker is said to provide imaging that appears to come from across the front wall rather than from the ceiling.

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The two models expand the Invisa series to four models following last year’s launch of the Invisa 525 and Invisa 650. All four feature the High-Velocity Folded Ribbon Tweeter (HVFR) tweeters used in the company’s in-room speakers to deliver the dynamic range and smooth extended response of long flat ribbon tweeters, the company said.

The two models include the Invisa MPX multipolar in-wall/in-ceiling speaker, a rectangular two-way model at a suggested $499 each. It’s said to combine the advantages of a direct-radiating speaker with the spaciousness and dispersion of bipolar speakers. The MPX speakers can be used as front-main speakers or as surround speakers in a home theater system or as multiroom-audio speakers, the company said. Wide dispersion is delivered by two 5-inch bass/midrange drivers, both of which feature wide-dispersion characteristics that are further enhanced by canting one woofer left and the other right, the company said. It comes with rectangular grille and features high-frequency equalization switch.

The MPX’s frequency response is 27Hz-35kHz with 90dB sensitivity and 8-ohm nominal impedance. Recommended amp power is 10-250 watts/channel.

The other Invisa speaker is the HTR 7000 in-ceiling reference home theater speaker, also at a suggested $499 each. The round speaker is intended mainly for use as a left, center and right speaker in a home theater, though it can be used as a surround speaker or as a multiroom-audio speaker. An optional square grille is available.

The HTR 7000 features 10-inch round grill with 7-inch bass/midrange driver used in the in-room Aon 3 speaker, but the driver and tweeter are angled at 28 degrees towards the listening position “so that they acoustically align directly at the normal listening position for exceptional imaging, superior frequency response, remarkable clarity and precise focus,” the company said.

To achieve open, “boxless” imaging that appears to come from across the front wall rather than from the ceiling, the company said it minimized deleterious diffraction effects and used multiple designs to optimize wave-launch into the room.

The HTR 7000 delivers a frequency response of 25 Hz-35 kHz with 90dB sensitivity and nominal 8-ohm impedance. Recommended amp power is 10-250 watts/channel.

The previously available two-way $249-each Invisa 525 and $299-each Invisa 650 are designed for in-ceiling and in-wall use for multiroom-audio applications. They feature wide-dispersion design and 5.25-inch and 6.5-inch woofers, respectively, and come standard with a round, paintable grille and an optional square grille. The tweeters pivot to further optimize performance, and a high-frequency equalization switch allows precise matching to any environment.

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May 21 2013 - 8:15am