CEDIA 2016

t may be unglamorous, but many of us have a need to darken our home theater spaces, particularly when using a projector and a conventional screen. Normally this involves either a tedious process of manually closing the drapes, or buying expensive, custom, powered blinds...

Riva Audio came to CEDIA 2016 to demonstrate its first two wireless multiroom-audio speakers and outline plans for additional high-performance multiroom products in 2017.

Yes, that image above is of a projection screen in dark room—a common sight here at CEDIA. What you’re actually looking at is a Kaleidescape server menu displayed on the TAM-1T, a new variable aspect ratio projection screen from Seymour-Screen Excellence.

At last year’s CEDIA we reported on a new DLP imagining chip from Texas Instruments that offered one-half the pixels required for full 4K resolution. To produce 4K, the digital micromirrors first display half the pixels in the image, then microseconds later shift by a fraction of a pixel to show the others. While this is similar to the pixel shifting (a.k.a. wobulation) now used by JVC in most of its projectors (the new BLUEscent excepted), and by Epson in its laser model, TI argues that its micromirrors can shift far more rapidly.

Sony only announced a few new products at its CEDIA 2016 press conference, but the ones it did roll out are significant. A highlight of the event was the unveiling of the company’s first Ultra HD Blu-ray player, the UBP-X1000ES.

Projectors with real 4K resolution—or close to it—will make news this year at CEDIA, with a new D-ILA model anticipated from JVC and a number of DLP models coming out that incorporate Texas Instruments’ new 4K chip with pixel-shifting technology. Sony, on the other hand, has been offering native 4K projectors for several years now. The company dropped the news at its press conference on Wednesday that a new 4K model, the VPL-VW675ES, will be available in November.