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In2: Unity Home Theater System Due Mid-2012

San Jose, Calif. – In2Technologies,
an audio/video product development and consulting firm, plans mid-2012 availability
of its Unity Home Theater System.

The system packs home theater
audio electronics, speakers, and a 3D Blu-ray player into a floorstanding
platform for flat-panel TVs.

Targeted to retail for about $999,
the system also comes with two wireless surround speakers to create 5.1-channel
surround sound.

Unity is promoted as delivering sound
quality exceeding that of soundbars and HTiBs and approaching that of separate
audio components. It’s designed to increase the attachment rate of quality
audio systems to TVs, company executives said.

Led by industry veterans Todd
Beauchamp and Mike Fidler, In2 will bring the product to the Eureka Park
section of International CES, where it will display a design that has been
updated slightly from its first showing at the CEDIA Expo to include a slightly
smaller footprint and more rounded edges.

The company will market the
product itself for mid-2012 availability but still plans to license Unity’s
design and proprietary acoustic technologies to other companies to offer under
their own brand name.

For distribution, In2 will
selectively target big box retailers, online dealers, and distributors, Fidler
said. The company will promote with on-line advertising and perhaps ads in
regional shelter books, he added.

Though delivering near-component
sound quality, the system simplifies the buying process, simplifies setup and
operation, and integrates with a room’s décor more easily by eliminating
speaker clutter and eliminating speaker-cable runs from one part of the room to
another, the company said.

Unity consists of a T-shaped
platform on top of which consumers can place a flat-panel TV up to 60 inches in
size. The TV connects to Unity via one HDMI 1.4a port with audio return
channel. Alternately, consumers can eliminate the TV’s pedestal by attaching a
standard VESA mount to the back of the Unity system.

The horizontal portion of the
platform doubles as an enclosure for three front-firing 2-inch midrange/tweeter
drivers operating from 150Hz on up. Two 5.25-inch midbass drivers mounted on
the underside of the horizontal enclosure fire down and deliver omnidirectional
audio from 70Hz-150Hz. The central tower holding up the horizontal platform
features two 10-inch subwoofers, one on each side, to deliver bass down to
25Hz.

Besides housing subwoofers, the
central tower incorporates 3D Blu-ray player, AM/FM tuner, surround-sound
processor that includes Dolby True HD and DTS HD Master, 500-watt
amplification, and DSP to time align the midrange/tweeter drivers with the
midbass drivers.

Other features include iPod/iPhone
USB port and an Ethernet port for the Internet-connected Blu-ray player.

Source switching is accomplished
through the connected TV, but A/V switching might be included in Unity’s final
design, Fidler said.

Setup would take about 15
minutes, the company said. Consumers would place the horizontal platform on top
of the central tower, both of which feature connectors to make the connections
between the tower’s amplifiers and the platform’s speakers. A wireless
receiver/two-channel amplifier module would connect via speaker cables to the
surround speakers.

The back of the Unity system
contains three power outlets to plug in the TV and two components such as a game
player and cable box, which would sit on top of the horizontal platform.

A next-generation system will
include Wi-Fi, the ability to connect to Internet audio and video streaming
services, and the ability to stream content from a networked PC.

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