CEDIA 2009

The B&W DB1 sub will be a big deal when it ships in December for $4500. Its two 12-inch drivers can be equalized with an app downloaded to a PC, then input into the sub. B&W (as we persist in thinking of the company, being old-fashioned that way) also showed two new in-wall series, the 600 and 700, both with innovative back boxes that make for an easy install. The 700 Series back box is especially interesting -- it's a two-piece structure that fits into a slot in the wall, with the pieces joined by a hinge. You can see the bottom half of the back box trailing below two of the speakers in the picture.

Given a choice between an iPod dock and a component that accepts a front-panel USB connection, we prefer the latter. And that's what's available in the Rotel RCX-1500 ($1499) CD receiver and RDG-1520 ($999). Both have FM and internet radio tuners but the 1500 also has a slot-load CD drive and 100 Class D watts times two.

Sometimes it's easy to forget that CEDIA is aimed for custom installers. And installers need tools. The mad dogger from Mad Dog tools was busy demonstrating his all purpose, drill and mixmaster Cujo thingy.

Epson showed four new projectors at the show. The PowerLite Pro Cinema 9500UB features Epson's COlor Isolation System (no filters needed to set Hue and Saturation), ISF certification with ISF Day and Night modes, more rapid changeover to different source resolutions, and an improved dynamic iris with a claimed peak contrast ratio of 200,000:1. Under $4000, November. The PowerLite Pro Cinema 9500UB offers many of the 9500UB's features, with a claimed peak contrast ratio of 36,000:1 ($2600, November).

There's a maniacal race afoot in the TV business for the lowest power consumption per inch-or the greenest set. Sharp's LE700U series is ready for the fight. The LC-52LE700U, shown here, is rated to draw 105W. In this demo, I saw it fluctuate between the roughly 98 watts shown here, on an image of average brightness, and about 150 watts. Since sets are always adjusted in show conditions for far more brightness than you'll need at home, the rating seems reasonable for normal domestic use.

Here are some of the major features anticipated for Pioneer's ETAP system. It's the BD Managed Copy that intrigues us most, and Pioneer conducted the first US public demo of this feature here at CEDIA. Managed copy allows suitably flagged BDs to be downloaded to a hard drive for storage and play back in full high definition. It is expected to begin showing up on some BD discs within the next year, though it will require a special BD player/recorder to make use of it. Studios can also charge for the privilege if they like. Since no current BDs are so encoded, none of your current collection can be copied.

The new Anthem Statement LTX 500v and LTX 300v projectors look a lot like the new JVC DLA-HD550 and DLA-HD950, and that's because they are, with small cosmetic differences. The Anthems are also slightly more expensive.