Bob Ankosko

Cool new gear: JVC’s smart HDTV, a Bluetooth receiver for audiophiles, and a novel—uh, make that unusual—iPhone/Pod sound/security system, and more.

Hands on with Walmart’s Vudu In-Home Disc to Digital Service and Disney’s Digital Copy+

Walmart’s Vudu To Go app (Digital Vudu Revisited), a follow-up to the Disc to Digital service launched last year that lets you unlock digital copies of DVD and Blu-ray movies you buy or purchase digital rights to discs you already own, is now up and running (in beta form as of this writing). Unlike the original service, which required you to bring discs to Walmart (UltraViolet: Building a Movie Library in the Cloud,), the app lets you convert discs from a Mac or Windows-based PC in your home and store them in the cloud so they can be accessed for streaming or downloading on multiple devices.

Autonomic announced at CEDIA 2013 that its Mirage whole-house distributed audio system is now compatible with SiriusXM Radio 2.0, Slacker Radio, and Gracenote and supports remote diagnostics for troubleshooting via the Internet. The system comprises Mirage Media Servers with a choice of two digital amplifiers, two in-wall control options, and mix and match applications for iOS and Android devices.

The company has also enhanced the user experience by blending control across multiple rooms with music browsing. When a song is heard on Sirius XM, the TuneBridge feature allows listeners to jump to the entire album on Rhapsody or create a new Pandora station. Pricing for four- and eight-zone versions of the system is $4,945 and $8,350, respectively.

When it comes to audio system design, the importance of room acoustics is overlooked all too often. You can put thousands of dollars worth of speakers and electronics in a room with bad acoustics and it’s going to sound like…well, crap. “It’s not about creating an acoustically perfect environment, it’s about getting the right amount of acoustic treatment in the room,” said Primacoustic’s James Wright in an impromptu interview at CEDIA 2013. “You want to get the right amount of absorption into the space, which means treating 20-25 percent of the room.”