LATEST ADDITIONS

Readers new to the home theater universe might not be aware that the Blu-ray video disc format wasn't always the only game in town. Back in the late aughts it was engaged in a brief but hard fought format war with a similar competitor for the consumer's high definition dollars: HD DVD.

SVS designs subwoofers, speakers, electronics, and even cables for audiophiles seeking quality and performance at a fair price. But those who know its roots know it made its name with subwoofers. At CEDIA 2022 in Dallas, the company had its 3000 In-Wall on display. And not just static display, they had it churning out tunes!

This year at CEDIA Sony had a huge booth containing three home theater demo rooms. There’s the mega-system with the VPL-GTZ380, which I describe in this post. But that projector’s $80,000 price point and 10,000-lumen output are beyond what most home theater owners want to spend or need in terms of output. However, the company is quick to point out that in terms of how the image is created—with three of its new 4K-native 2160 x 3840 resolution SXRD chips its Z-Phosphor light source, and the X1 Ultimate for projector processor—the three new laser models share the same hardware with the big pro model.

Samsung’s MS1A is a 110” 4K micro-LED TV. It uses the same direct-view LED technology as modular, professional video walls that are used for billboards, giant video displays like you see in sports arenas, and super high-end home theaters. What Samsung has done is shrunk the LEDs to the point where 4K worth of pixels fits in a 110” screen and packaged it as a TV, no assembly required.