LATEST ADDITIONS

KEF Goes Wireless
Mark Fleischmann  |  Jan 10, 2007
"KEF Wireless" is the laconic name of the British loudspeaker's icon entry into cable-free audio. Proprietary algorithms (I've heard this so often, it's almost like a pickup line in a bar) resist noise from nearby appliances and ensure audiophile-ish bandwidth. The "after market" version (lower right) has a 50-watt Class D amp backed up with, I'm told, a great power supply. But you can also buy KEF Wireless built as a "doughnut" into one of KEF's slender, world-beating Reference towers (top left). Also in the works: The new Austin series, with redesigned Uni-Q coaxial driver array (KEF likes putting tweeters amid other drivers) with strengthened tweeter and bigger magnets--"not overly analytical" and "easier to place."
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JBL Goes Wireless
Mark Fleischmann  |  Jan 10, 2007
The JBL Control On Air 2.4G is so eager to identify itself that it approaches incoherence. It's based on the way-cool rubber-clad indoor/outdoor Control1Extreme speaker (whose 1980s grandpapa is the Pro III) with a 2.4GHz wireless thing. Now the name makes sense, doesn't it?
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SanDisk Goes Wireless
(Is This Getting Monotonous?)
Mark Fleischmann  |  Jan 10, 2007
I'm beginning to lose track of the number of "goes wireless" headlines I'm writing. In a move reminiscent of Microsoft's Zune, Sandisk--which last year humiliated Steve Jobs by introducing an 8GB flash memory player before Apple did--has introduced the Sansa Connect, which uses wi-fi hotspots to tap into Internet radio and yet-to-be-announced download services (in the recent past SanDisk has done business with Rhapsody, hint hint). Zune killer? The price is $249 and it ships in a few months.
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RCA Goes Way Back
Mark Fleischmann  |  Jan 10, 2007
"Among the introductions at the first CES," says the little red placard, "was a line of 23-inch RCA console televisions like this 'Chatworth' model. It was delivered to the Bucklin family of suburban Minneapolis in February 1968 and used continuously since then. Almost 40 years old and in perfect working condition, this set features 'styling that calls to mind the stateliness of English manor house furniture tradition.' Connected to the RCA DTA800 Digital Wireless Adapter, even a 40 year old TV can enter the digital age!" And some idiot can enter the picture as I'm trying to take it.
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HD FVD Wins Disc Format War
Mark Fleischmann  |  Jan 10, 2007
Taiwan-based AOSRA's HD FVD format has driven both Blu-ray and HD DVD from the market, ending an ugly format war that threatened to go on for years. This poster explains why: The price is "low," compared to the "high" prices of other formats. Said Blu-ray and HD DVD spokespeople in unison: "We surrender to HD FVD. We cannot go on living a lie. What are we going to tell our parents?" Then they burst into tears. (Enlargement, spec sheet.)
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Warner's Total HD Details Revealed
Shane Buettner  |  Jan 10, 2007

Warner revealed some critical details for its Total HD disc format, which will have Blu-ray and HD DVD transfers on opposite sides of the same disc.

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Sherwood Adds HDMI 1.3
Tom Norton  |  Jan 10, 2007

The 2007 line of Sherwood Newcastle AV receivers tops out with the R-972 ($1499.95, summer). Offering 100Wx7 into 8 ohms, it also will accept all of the new audio formats directly through its HDMI 1.3 link and decode them internally (rather than relying on the player to first convert them to PCM). Internal Faroudja processing will deinterlace and/or scale all sources to 720p, 1080i, and 1080p, as directed. The unit also includes Audyssey MultEQ XT EQ.

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Optoma's BIG Screen
Tom Norton  |  Jan 10, 2007

There weren't a lot of video projector demonstrations on the show floor at the convention center (booth prices are reportedly up significantly this year, and projector demos appear to gravitate increasingly to the custom install CEDIA EXPO in September). But one of the best demos was put on by Optoma. The projector was the HD81 LV (about $10,000, available late spring). A special version of the current HD81 1920x1080 projector, the new model is similar to the old, but uses a more powerful lamp, a different color wheel, and a different iris. It may also be equipped with an optional anamorphic lens ($12,999 for the HD81 LV projector with lens, $4000 for the lens if bought separately). The lens may also be used with the basic HD81. The HD image from <I>Phantom of the Opera</I>, from Blu-ray, with the anamorphic lens in the system, was stunning.

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Prime Meridian
 |  Jan 10, 2007

In addition to a great demo of their video projector, an interesting line of custom install electronics, an intriguing iPod dock that is actually said to make iPod video look good (and it did, indeed&mdash;a little soft but very clean), and a new Faroudja processor that dramatically improves motion smoothness by converting a 1080p/60 film-sourced video into multiples of 24fps for displays that will accept it (reported on earlier by Randy Tomlinson), Meridian also launched an AV receiver, the G95.

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Prime Meridian III
Tom Norton  |  Jan 10, 2007

Here's the back of the Meridian G95

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