LATEST ADDITIONS

LCD TV Reviews
Sony KDL-52XBR9 LCD HDTV
Scott Wilkinson  |  Sep 14, 2009
Price: $3,400 At A Glance: Great detail and color • Lower black level than most conventional LCDs • Integrated Internet TV • Menu system not my fave • Some off-axis discoloration

The Right Stuff

I’m old enough to remember when Sony introduced its first XBR models, which were top-of-the-line CRT TVs. Since then, the company has continued to use XBR in the model designation of its flagship flat panels, adding a number to indicate each new generation.

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TV Reviews
Samsung PN50B860 Plasma HDTV
Thomas J. Norton  |  Sep 14, 2009
Price: $2,400 At A Glance: Excellent resolution and color • Full adjustability • Blacks could be better • Ultra-thin 1.2-inch profile

Plasma Soldiers On

LCD televisions are everywhere these days. They fill the back walls of Best Buys, are lined up like hedgerows near the entrance of Costco, and fly out the door at Walmart. Even at this moment, they’re undoubtedly being flogged out of the back of a fleet of white vans in parking lots across the land.

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CEDIA 2009
Kaleidescape Mini
Tom Norton  |  Sep 14, 2009
The new, smaller Kaleidescape Mini System can hold up to 225 DVDs or 2500 CDs with expanded optional storage (75 and 825 respectively with the standard storage that comes with the unit. $7995 with standard storage.
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CEDIA 2009
The Biggest Torus
Tom Norton  |  Sep 14, 2009
From Bryston in the Great White North comes the Torus RM100 BAL, a power line conditioner designed to not only totally isolate your system from garbage and spikes on the AC power line, but to provide higher instantaneous peak current, acting as a very low impedance current source, to juice-hungry components such as large power amps. This monster, with its humongous toroidal transformer, is MUCH bigger than the picture suggests (27"x 20.5" x 10.5", 220 lbs). $8500.
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CEDIA 2009
The Biggest Torus II
Tom Norton  |  Sep 14, 2009
Here's the business end of the Torus RM 100BAL discussed above.
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CEDIA 2009
Digital Projection LED
Tom Norton  |  Sep 14, 2009
From Digital Projection we get the M-Vision Cine LED. This single chip DLP projector, if you're following the drift here, uses LED illumination to replace the projection lamp. As with the other digital projectors we saw at the show, from Runco, Projectiondesign, and SIM2, it's not a torch, is rated at a modest 600 lumens. Includes dynamic black for a rated peak contrast ration of 10,000:1 (2,000:1 native), and is best used on screens no wider than 8 feet. The screen it was used with at the show was 5.5' wide Stewart with a gain of 1.3. Or that's what a Digital Projection rep said. It did look a bit larger than that.
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Audio Video News
Asus' wireless Eee Keyboard coming in October
SV Staff  |  Sep 14, 2009
Most home theater PCs are either big bricks or tiny set-top gadgets, always tethered to your system. Next month, Asus is changing that with a system the size of a computer keyboard that wirelessly pipes video to your screen. The Eee Keyboard is...
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CEDIA 2009
The REL of Gibraltar
Shane Buettner  |  Sep 13, 2009  |  First Published: Sep 14, 2009
REL subs have produced some of the best bass performance I’ve ever heard for music and cinema. Thudpuckers that can crank out LFE are a dime a dozen. Subs like REL’s that can rattle the roof, but also keep up with the rhythm and pace of music are rarer by far. The Gibraltar is a concept piece with a gorgeous finish. Final specs and release date aren’t known, but a woofer that looks like this and sounds like a REL will be welcome. There’s a reason that most black box subs are often hidden from sight. A hot looking box like the Gibraltar might occupy a more prominent spot in people’s rooms!
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CEDIA 2009
Hydra Power
Shane Buettner  |  Sep 13, 2009  |  First Published: Sep 14, 2009
It’s not every show that I see a truly unique new display category emerge, but Seura’s displays are just that. Damned difficult to photograph, but fascinating. Building flat panel displays into pretty looking art and picture frames is one thing, and Seura does that too. But Seura is building flat panels seamlessly into mirrors, kitchens, bathrooms and even showers. Shown here is the waterproof Hydra and its color matching options. I tried to get a shot of one of the mirror displays, but the reflections were out of hand. You have to see it to believe it. Utterly unique. I can’t wait to shower with Monday Night Football!
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CEDIA 2009
Definitely Definitive
Shane Buettner  |  Sep 13, 2009  |  First Published: Sep 14, 2009
Things are tough all over. This man is the prettiest model that Definitive Technology could afford to show off its new Mythos XTR-50 ($799 each). Bada-bing. Actually that’s Definitive’s man in charge, Paul DiComo. The new XTR-50 is Definitive’s answer to the flat panel’s ongoing bout with anorexia. Although the speaker also ships with attractive table-top stands, the XTR-50’s wow factor is its shocking 1.6” depth, which is all the more startling when wall-mounted around one of the latest wafer-thin flat panels. Wall mounting is ultra simple with the supplied brackets, and they can be oriented horizontally or vertically (even the Definitive logo detaches and re-attaches to match). Now all you need is a flat panel that doesn’t look fat when surrounded by two or three XTR-50s.
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