Audio Video News

Integrated A/V systems may not appeal to home theater elitists, but they have enormous appeal for people with less-than-capacious living quarters---apartments, condominiums, and town houses. That's a category that includes most people in most cities. It's also a market niche traditionally catered to by Bang & Olufsen.

The Danish electronics maker has taken some bold steps with its new BeoVision 5. The company's first plasma home cinema solution features a 42" screen with inboard sound system and multiple placement possibilities. The screen occupies the top half of the squarish frame, while the bottom half houses four speakers, 70 watts of amplification, and a Dolby Digital processor. It also houses five video inputs (including VGA) and a proprietary video scaler for TV tuner and other video sources.

Designed with decorating flexibility in mind, the BeoVision 5 can be customized with frames in any of five colors, and grilles in any of six colors. Like B&O's clever CD changer/receiver, it can be wall-mounted with cabling hidden inside the wall. An optional motorized swivel base allows floor or tabletop mounting, and provides storage for DVD players and other equipment.

The BeoVision 5 is available in Europe now, and should appear in US stores by late summer. Anticipated US price is $22,000.