CEDIA 2010

LG first introduced the CF3D projector at CES last January, but as one rep told me, "now it's real" and expected to ship by the end of the year for $15,000. The CF3D is unique in that it uses two completely separate SXRD imaging engines and lamps—one for each eye—and a single lens. Also, it uses passive polarization, so it needs a special silver screen and inexpensive polarized glasses. Another unique feature is a built-in camera that monitors the projected image and automatically adjusts the convergence and light balance between left and right. The CF3D can accept four 3D formats—frame-packed, frame-sequential, and frame-compatible side-by-side and over-under.

Although the demo wasn't perfect, I have to say that it knocked me out in certain ways...

At CEDIA, Digital Projection introduced a product so new, it doesn't even have a name yet. It's a 1080p, LED-lit DLP projector expected to list for about $10,000 and designed for extremely short-throw situations—in the demo from which this photo was taken, the projector was directly above a 6-foot-wide Stewart Studiotek 130 screen at a throw distance of only 12 inches! The light from the lens bounces off an integrated mirror and onto the screen at a severe angle, which means there must be some pretty sophisticated geometric processing going on. It also provides wireless HDMI connectivity, though the rep I spoke with didn't know which type. Unfortunately, it was difficult to judge image quality in the brightly lit show-floor environment.

Audio demos at trade shows are nearly impossible to conduct without noise from the show floor intruding. And hotel rooms are hardly ideal venues, either. So it was with great fanfare that Procella announced it would have the world's first THX-certified demo room at CEDIA. The free-standing room was first assembled and certified off-site, then broken down and reassembled—and re-certified—in the convention hall.

New at CEDIA from Wisdom Audio was the STS passive subwoofer with dual 15-inch drivers. At five feet tall and three feet wide, it looks huge next to the SWS "suitcase" sub as seen here, but it's actually surprisingly small for what it does—130dB SPL at 20Hz (-3dB at 15Hz) with a sensitivity of 101dB/W/m and the ability to handle power up to 5kW!

Several of the 3D projectors at CEDIA use passive-polarized glasses, which means they require a special silver screen to preserve the polarization of the light from the projector. However, such screens are not ideal for 2D images—their high gain results in hot spots and other issues that degrade the quality of 2D content. Stewart Filmscreen has come up with an ingenious solution—the Daily Dual, which consists of a fixed silver screen and a retractable white screen that covers the silver screen when displaying 2D material. It ain't cheap—a 132x74-inch system will set you back $15,000—but if you prefer polarized 3D projection as I am starting to, it's clearly the best way to go.

In addition to its range of anamorphic lenses, Schneider Optics introduced its own single-chip, 2D DLP projector, fitted with an anamorphic lens. The trick feature here is that the motorized mechanism that moves the lens in and out of position is built into the lens case, with no need for outboard sled hardware. $23,500, including ther anamorphic lens. Available early in 2011.

Vivitek wants to be your projector company, either with its premier H9080FD LED-lit, single-chip DLP projector ($15,000) or with its new $5000, H5085 lamp-lit single chipper, or the H1085 DLP. The latter carries an alarming price of $1499 with a specified light output of 2000 lumens.