CEDIA 2006 Wrapup

CEDIA 2006 was an incredible four days driven by the highest energy level seen in years. High tech audio, video, and home automation are booming and every corner of the A/V industry is rapidly evolving. Digital Projection launched four new products at the show including 3-chip 1080p technology, image-processing hardware and anamorphic CinemaScope attachments.

Video was clearly the most exciting part of this show driven by 1080p products at the helm. Most everyone associated with video announced a product that was 1080p capable or delivered 1080p better or faster. Several companies announced new scalers that convert inputs to 1080p with superior de-interlacing, including DPI’s 2nd generation VIP2000. Video sources that output 1080p (blu-ray & HD-DVD), servers that output 1080p, LCD and Plasma panels that display native 1080p and of course projectors that display 1080p native were all on display. Several companies announced LCD projectors that display native 1080p along with a few LCOS products that display 1080p native, but the big news was affordable native 1080p DLP!

The new Texas Instruments .95” 1920 X 1080 chip seemed to be everywhere. Several companies announced new 1-chip 1080P projectors, (Digital Projection previously announced the dVision 1080p at infoComm and started shipping in June) and a few, including DPI, announced 3-chip 1080p. Digital Projection announced both the new Titan 1080p-250 and the Titan 1080p-500 which utilize a 3-chip design of the .95 1920 X 1080 chip. DPI has already been shipping the 3-chip Highlite Reference 1080p for over a year.

DPI also showed a sneak preview of the upcoming X1 1080p projector. The X1 is an affordable single chip 1080p projector that uses a xenon lamp for excellent color reproduction. With the addition of the X1, Digital Projection now has six different 1080p projectors with light output ranging from 1000 lumens to over 14,000 lumens! Prices range from under $15K to just over $100K. Give us a challenge and we’ll give you an answer.

For the video purist there was one more exciting DPI product release at CEDIA. The new TheaterScope System is the most exciting new product in the Digital Projection lineup. The TheaterScope System is an automated anamorphic lens assembly that transforms a native 1.78 (16X9) display into a native 2.35 (Cinemascope) display! Virtually every new theatrical release is filmed in the cinemascope format and even when viewed on a widescreen 16x9 display, this type of movie will be shown in a letterbox format. The TheaterScope System resizes the video to fill the native 1.78 chip, and uses the 1.33 anamorphic lens to produce a perfect 2.35 image. The result: no black bars, no loss of resolution and virtually no loss of light output. DP’s TheaterScope System allows the viewer to see the movie the way the director intended. Once you’ve experienced TheaterScope, widescreen (16x9) just won’t be the same. Contact your local DPI representative to see the most amazing demo you’ve ever experienced. It really is that good.

Another interesting facet of CEDIA 2006 was the prevalence of great audio hardware. Although DPI isn’t directly involved in audio, new developments in cheaper, more sophisticated digital audio components and automated EQ (audio level equalization) are everywhere, and certainly complement the home cinema experience. It’s never been easier or more affordable to have truly incredible audio and have basic equalization done automatically. HD DVD means not only great video, but also improved audio separation. For whole house audio, at least 10 companies offer products at reasonable prices that will give you more options than you can imagine. Speakers that mount in the ceiling, but are angled to create sound like they are wall mounted, invisible speakers that are hidden behind drywall and paint, even “sound projectors” that create surround effects without surround speakers were shown at CEDIA 2006.

In the automation field, wired and wireless home networks have opened a door for endless possibilities. Imagine every device in your home including security, lighting and HVAC, all adjusted and programmed via a browser on your network. Possible? Yes. Easy? Yes. Reasonable? YES!! Crestron and AMX had huge booths, but Hewlett Packard also had a big presence, as did Control 4. Servers that control audio, video, security and automation seem to be popping up everywhere. Similar to a server at the office, home servers will manage multimedia content and deliver commands throughout the home. Several companies demonstrated servers with a variety of features varying from storing video and audio media to whole house automation.

Thank you to all the Dealers, Reps, and industry contacts who joined Digital Projection at CEDIA 2006. The DPI product line is constantly evolving and growing to meet the needs of the marketplace and our newest CEDIA products are no exception. New dealer pricing and product specs are now available on our website – Go there now!