CEDIA 2014

Controlling an automation system with an iPhone/Android device is great, but can become a little more tricky as you move about in a large home. The way systems are typically programmed, a home/project is divided into rooms or areas, and then you need to select which room you are in to control it. As you walk around, however, you might find yourself needing to scroll through lists of rooms trying to find the right one to control. This can become a real issue in large homes with many room. Crestron’s new PinPoint proximity detection beacon will simply solve this problem, making sure that your device opens up ready to control the room you’re in!

Starting this November, the new Home Entertainment Motion Controller (HEMC) from D-BOX will bring the company’s advanced motion coding experience to far more than just movies on Blu-ray and DVD disc. D-BOX will now be delivering its proprietary excitement of the fourth dimension of motion from any source, including movies streamed from services like Netflix, Vudu, and Apple TV and even from movies viewed on cable and satellite.

Definitive Technology's Dolby Atmos demo sounded excellent, with the A60 elevation speaker ($499/pair) plugged into the top of the BP8060ST powered tower ($1998/pair). The height effects were good, the midrange was well dialed in, and the powered tower's bass was awesome. Why, then, are we running a picture of The Borg? It's actually part of Def Tech's new line of products built on the DTS Play-Fi wireless platform. You're looking at the W7 powered speaker ($399). It joins the W8 powered speaker ($699), the rack-mountable W Adapt ($399), the W Amp ($499), and the W Studio soundbar ($1299). The beauty of Play-Fi is that it's not limited, Apple-style, to a single manufacturer. There will be more Play-Fi products from the likes of Polk, McIntosh, Paradigm, and MartinLogan. Oh, and Def Tech plans to provide 24-7 tech support for its Play-Fi products. Play-Fi is going to be huge. Resistance is futile.

For VERY high end home theaters, Digital Projection offers the Insight 4K projector. It has the professional 4K resolution of 4096 x 2160, and is available with either LED or laser illumination. In the latter form, it's specified for an output of 12,000 Lumens, a laser lifetime of 20,000 hours, and a color gamut beyond Rec. 709. Yours for $120,000.

With LED illumination the output drops to a still considerable 3000 Lumens, the claimed LED lifetime increases to 60,000 hours, and the price rises to $150,000. In LED form it's also claimed to be the first projector capable of the Rec.2020 color gamut. In a darkened room demonstration, however, the LED version had heavily oversaturated colors, suggesting not that there was anything wrong with the projector, but rather that the playback gamut didn't match the gamut of the source material--a guarantee of inaccurate color. The laser version was being demonstrated in the open area of the booth, and its color looked excellent.

At a pre-show press conference, Dolby rallied the AV/home entertainment industry around the new Dolby Atmos surround-sound platform, calling it the most significant advancement in home theater in 20 years.

Dynaudio's Xeo 6 provided some of the best sound we've heard at CEDIA 2014. The smallish powered three-way tower, triamplified with 50 watts per driver, has a wireless hub built into it that transmits lossless audio up to 53 meters. It handled well recorded vocals in a highly naturalistic manner. But it really showed its true colors with "Uranus" from Holst's The Planets, delivering vivid orchestral textures in a way only a truly great speaker can. It sells for $4300/pair. Dynaudio's Platinum tower ($17,500/pair) was operating in the nearby Wolf Cinema booth and also sounded great.