CEDIA 2009

If money really is no object and you want a true digital-cinema projector in your home theater, this is the only game in town. The CAT MBX 4 is a 3-chip DLP with a resolution of 2048x1080, the same as you see in digital cinemas. It also provides D-Link decryption in order to display DCI (Digital Cinema Initiative) files. Other standard features include 3-kilowatt xenon lamp, dual power supply, custom lenses, anamorphic lens with sled, custom irises, and a plenum enclosure with a cooling system that keeps the internal temperature within 3 degrees of the target at all times. The projector is fed by an outboard processor via two dual-link DVI connections, each of which provides a higher bit rate than standard DVI. If you have to ask how much, you can't afford it, but I'll tell you anyway—$208,000 with the standard processor (10-bit processing, 12-bit output) and an extra $32,000 for the 12-bit processor. Heck, why not buy two for 3D?

I already blogged about the Lexicon BD-30 universal Blu-ray player, but no one outside the company knew before the show that it has received THX certification. At the Lexicon booth, I also learned that it can decode DVD-Audio and SACD and send multichannel PCM via HDMI, a great feature in this $3500 player. The BD-30 is pictured here with the MC-12HD pre/pro, which just received a firmware update that lets it accept a 7.1-channel PCM bitstream from Blu-rays that offer it—the previous version was limited to 5.1 PCM.