CES 2011

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CES 2011
Samsung Welcomes Jeffrey Katzenberg
Scott Wilkinson  |  Jan 07, 2010  | 

Samsung introduced a bunch of new TVs at its press conference, but they were turned off before I could get some photos, so I'll have to wait until I can shoot them in the booth to tell you about them. Meanwhile, I can say that Samsung is bullish on 3D, partnering with DreamWorks and Technicolor to get content to consumers as quickly as possible. DreamWorks CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg, shown here on the right with Tim Baxter, president of the Consumer Electronics Division of Samsung Electronics America, made a guest appearance to talk about the importance of 3D and deliver a copy of the world's first 3D Blu-ray, <I>Monsters vs. Aliens</I>, to Baxter.

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CES 2011
Samsung's 3D Arena
Thomas J. Norton  |  Jan 07, 2011  | 
Sony's ultra wide fully LED media wall may have been bigger than this, but Samsung's, made up of individual LCD/LED 3DTVs was plenty impressive running 3D sports images.
CES 2011
Samsung's Waterfall of HDTVs
Thomas J. Norton  |  Jan 07, 2011  | 
Inverted HDTV waterfalls are always in style, and Samsung's was no exception. I'd like to have seen it under construction!
CES 2011
Sensio
Scott Wilkinson  |  Jan 11, 2010  | 

Sensio is one of several companies that provide 3D infrastructure to manufacturers. In fact, Vizio announced at the show that it will use Sensio technology in its XVTPRO720SV LCD TV, and THX Media Director now incorporates Sensio's 3D flag, which allows a compatible TV to automatically switch between 2D and 3D depending on the content. According to the company, the algorithm encodes the right and left views of a 3D image into one datastream that requires no more bandwidth than a 2D signal, and it works with any type of 3D display technology.

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CES 2011
SENSIO Makes 3D Easy
Darryl Wilkinson  |  Jan 08, 2011  | 
3D format creator and content aggregator SENSIO introduced SENSIO Autodetect, a feature that automatically detects the input format of video content, whether it’s 2D, side-by-side, or top-and-bottom and displays the images in the corresponding output format. It’s designed for integration into AVRs, set-top-boxes, 3DTVs, and BD players. SENSIO also introduced SENSIO S2D Switch, a technology that can convert 3D material to 2D. SENSIO S2D Switch is intended to be incorporated into future 3DTVs.
CES 2011
Shameless Self-Promotion
Darryl Wilkinson  |  Jan 09, 2011  | 
Since you’re reading this on a computer, you’re obviously on the cutting edge. You can get even more edgier by subscribing to the digital version of Home Theater Magazine using Zinio for your iPhone, iPad, or computer. 12 issues are only $9.75.
CES 2011
Sharp 3D Projector
Thomas J. Norton  |  Jan 07, 2011  | 
While I don't have a great shot of Sharp's XV-Z17000 DLP 3D projector, it looked bright and beautiful on a 100" screen with a stated gain of 1.0. It was clearly one of the best 3D projectors I've seen so far, and also the least expensive at about $5000.
CES 2011
Sharp Products
Thomas J. Norton  |  Jan 06, 2011  | 
Sharp's big announcement was the addition of a 70-inch Quattron set to its lineup. The LE935 will have full LED backlighting with local dimming and is expected by spring. A 70-inch set was said to offer 62% more viewing area than a 60-incher. There will also be new sets in the LE835 an d LE830 ranges, all connectable with Wi-Fi. The XV-2 17000 3D DLP projector under $5000), first shown at CEDIA EXPO 2010 last September, will also be on display here at CES.

Sharp also announced three new 3D Blu-ray players (February), the BD HP25U, 35U, and 75U. Sharp also launched an E-Media Tablet and reader, the Galapagos. (Tablets appear to be a big item this year, thanks to Apple's iPAD!).

CES 2011
Sharp QuadPixel
Scott Wilkinson  |  Jan 07, 2010  | 

Sharp unveiled its new LCD lineup, which uses a new technology called UV<SUP>2</SUP>A (UltraViolet-induced multi-domain Vertical Alignment) in what are dubbed X-Gen panels, which reduce light leakage for deeper blacks and increase the aperture for brighter whites. But the biggest news at the press conference was Sharp's QuadPixel technology, which adds yellow subpixels to red, green, and blue to expand the color gamut beyond the HDTV spec&#151;not a good idea in my book.

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CES 2011
Show Report Coming Soon!
Scott Wilkinson  |  Jan 04, 2010  | 

We will be reporting live from the show floor.

CES 2011
Silbatone Acoustics Strikes a Chord
Mark Fleischmann  |  Jan 07, 2011  | 
As you'd expect, I'll start with a cheap joke: Each of these Silbatone Acoustics SGW-24 speakers can double as a studio apartment. Even if you have a roommate. But believe it or not, this massive horned loudspeaker has a plausible reason to exist in the home theater realm: It's an attempt to recreate Western Electric theater speakers from the early days of the talkies. Western Electric, in case you didn't know, was the manufacturing arm of the Bell System (later AT&T) for more than a century. Oh, and it was my father's employer for several decades, though he worked on the phone side of the business, not the cinema side. More on the SGW-24 here. Believe it or not, it had dynamic power, the focus associated with horns, and even a certain delicacy. But I would say that, being a Bell Baby.
CES 2011
Sonawall Takes Sound to New Heights
Darryl Wilkinson  |  Jan 08, 2011  | 
Sonawall’s Spodak UW-200 system is an add-on to any surround system that’s designed to move the focal point of the sound up to where the TV image is. The system includes a pair of tiny on-wall pod speakers and a special crossover that lets you fine tune the blend of the pod speakers with the rest of your system. MSRP is $350 for the system. The company also makes a 5.1-channel system ($800) and a 2.1-channel desktop system ($500) using the same pod speakers and a subwoofer.
CES 2011
Sonus Faber
Shane Buettner  |  Jan 08, 2011  | 
CES 2011
Sonus Faber Thinks Both Big and Small
Mark Fleischmann  |  Jan 07, 2011  | 
You'll probably read some blogs from our two-channel colleagues about The Sonus Faber, a fridge-size floorstander selling for $200,000/pair in a limited production run of 30 pieces. Playing a solo cello recording, TSF mustered some of the best sound at the show. But there were also brand new home theater worthy models at Sonus Faber's suite in the Venetian, namely the Toy Monitor Grand (center) and Toy Wall (upper righthand corner). They're sold in pairs, for $2,000 in both cases, but you can add the Toy Center for $995/each.
CES 2011
Sony 3D Camcorder
Thomas J. Norton  |  Jan 06, 2011  | 
Sony's new HDR-TD10 3D High Definition Flash Memory Handycam Camcorder (about $1500, April) is one of the first the full HD 3D consumer camcorders. It includes two separate 1920 a 1080 CMOS sensors and two lenses to capture distinct 1920 x 1080 data streams for each eye. It's also capable of 2D still image capture at 7-megapixels. At present, playback is from the camera only via an HDMI link to the video display. The future should bring dedicated playback devices (such as a 3D Blu-ray player with a flash card slot). Oh, and you can view the image you're shooting in autostereoscopic 3D on the 3.5" viewfinder—no 3D glasses required.

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