CEDIA Expo Gives Home Theater and HDTV Fans Plenty to Cheer About: BigPictureBigSound

Published: 2007-09-16 - 17:38:00

CEDIA Expo Gives Home Theater and HDTV Fans Plenty to Cheer About

By Chris Boylan

Quickly becoming a "mini-CES" for the home theater and custom installation industry, CEDIA Expo recently completed its second (of three) annual shows in Denver, Colorado, with over 29,000 attendees (a new record) from around the country and around the world.

It was an exciting upbeat event with plenty of good news for those who live and breathe home theater, including many affordable new 1080p HDTV displays and projectors, new hardware and software announcements from both the Blu-ray Disc and HD-DVD camps, and some unique new audio and video products and accessories that can improve the home theater experience or bring a taste of audio/video excellence to new places through the power of portability.

CEDIA (Custom Electronic Design and Installation Association) Expo began as a show primarily for custom installers, but it has expanded over time to encompass traditional electronics vendors and press, and has become a platform to launch many new products related to the home theater and HDTV market. The show is getting so popular that they've announced a second show ("CEDIA Spring EXPO") which will be hitting Dallas, Texas in April/May, 2008.

This year, some of the big news at CEDIA revolved around just "how low can you go..." for 1080p that is, with new front projectors delivering full HD 1920x1080 resolution for as low as $3,000. New 1080p plasma models were introduced by Panasonic and Pioneer, and just about all of the top LCD flat panel makers were introducing 120 Hz processing to their HDTVs in order to improve their rendition of black levels and fast-moving images. Also, you'll be happy to hear that both Blu-ray Disc and HD-DVD are winning the next generation DVD format war, with both camps claiming leads in stand-alone player market as well as a competitive advantage on the software side due to significant studio support.

Full coverage of the announcements made and products shown at CEDIA Expo is available in our home theater news, but here are a few things things that caught our eye:

At a Silicon Optix-sponsored press event, a DPI 2K projector, Silicon Optix video processor, and 18 foot Stewart screen combined to produce an incredibly large (and detailed) rendition of BBC's "Planet Earth" series.

Planet Earth - Actual Size.

Move over Bose, Sony's DAV-IS10/W compact home theater system features the smallest satellite speakers we've ever seen in a home theater in a box.

I'm still standin'... on a big-screen TV! With its 2.5-inch thick safety glass, Stewart Filmscreen's new StarGlas rear projection screen can turn your floor (or ceiling or wall) into a high-quality, heavy duty HDTV.

Terrestrial Digital has found a way to make outdoor HDTV antennas small and (dare I say) attractive?

Pioneer's new 1080p models in their KURO plasma line presented some of the most beautiful images at the show.

Gateway's XHD3000 offers 2560x1600 resolution, that's twice the detail of Full HD 1080p. The 30-inch LCD display will be shipping in October for $1699.

In addition to a new 1080p projector, sporting a 50,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio, Epson was showcasing their new complete home cinema system, the Ensemble 1080.

Toshiba and CBS/Paramount are hoping that this phaser-shaped remote control will help win the war for HD-DVD.

Meridian's $3000 clock radio. Worth. Every. Penny.

Onkyo (and its high-end brand Integra) are the latest brands to enter the next generation DVD format war, on the side of HD-DVD.

Does your HDMI cable have a need for speed? Monster thinks so.

Pioneer bowed their second generation Blu-ray Disc player at CEDIA, the Elite BDP-95FD.

Sanyo's PLV-Z2000 1080p front projector is one of the first to crack the $3,000 barrier.

LG showed off their "Super Blu" BH200, a second generation dual format player that plays both HD-DVD and Blu-ray Discs, with full support for each format's interactive layer.

Sharp's first Blu-ray Disc player will be shipping this fall for $549.

Green alien women, phasers and executives decked out in Star Trek uniforms spiced up Toshiba's CEDIA press conference announcing the latest models in their REGZA line, as well as advances in HD-DVD.