For most technophiles and home theater hobbyists, the advancement of technology is a double-edged sword: sure, we love the new features and higher performance offered with each new advancement, but we hate having to buy new components every year or two just to stay current. Electronics manufacturer NAD feels your pain and that's why they're continuing their MDC (Modular Design Construction) program.
If you bought one of their MDC-enabled home theater receivers last year or the year before, you won't have to ditch it in order to add HDMI inputs, DTS-HD and Dolby TrueHD decoding, or even 3D passthrough. Instead, NAD is offering an upgrade. Now in its third generation, NAD has recently announced a trio of new upgrade modules for its MDC program. In addition to future-readiness, the MDC program also allows for custom configurations and easy servicing. Talk about a good investment!
First up is the VM 150 High-speed Digital Video Module, which allows support for all 3D video formats and analog-to-digital conversion for video signals to HDMI. It outputs all sources in their native resolutions and supports NAD's other two new modules (see below). Other features include audio return channel and a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) circuit to accommodate future software features. The VM 150 module has a total of three HDMI inputs and two HDMI outputs.
Designed to replace the Component Video Module on MDC-equipped A/V receivers, the VM 150X HDMI Expansion Module also has three HDMI 1.4a inputs, an Ethernet Port, and a data port. The latter can accept NAD's IPD 2 Dock for iPod connectivity. It also works with the above VM 150 Module. Between the two, you can add six 3D-ready HDMI inputs to your NAD receiver.
In case you couldn't tell by the name, the CM 200 Control4 Director Series Module packs the Control4 Operating System into MDC-equipped receivers. This means the receiver can be a true hub, not just for your A/V setup, but lighting, security, and climate control as well. Aside from featuring three HDMI 1.4a inputs, four RS-232/IR outputs, an Ethernet port, a USB port and a ZigBee antenna, the CM 200 overlays Control4's 720p Flash User Interface on active video up to 1080p in resolution. It also lets Control4 commands run without interrupting other programs and adds in home theater operational software. This module also works with the new VM 150 Module.
All three of the new MDC modules will be available sometime in the first quarter of 2011. NAD has yet to announce any pricing.
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