The biggest electronics show on earth, CES, has come once more to the biggest party town on earth, Las Vegas.
As always, AVReview is here to glean the great and the good from the AV industry and get first hand, first look reports delivered direct to you so you can start planning your purchases for 2008.
It's never been a more exciting event either, with a keynote opening speech from none other than Microsoft's Bill Gates and some amazing new technology on show. Expect to see the 'green issue' raising its head on the manufacturing and materials front; developing convergence into smaller and ever more portable products and of course the development of HD into ever sexier, ever better performing home entertainment kit.
Roll on 2008!
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| JVC NX-PN7 Dual iPod Speaker Dock |
JVC NX-PN7 Dual iPod Speaker Dock
£TBC
Take one iPod to the party? Why bother when you can take two, asks JVC with its new NX-PN7 Dual Speaker Dock. The PN7 lets you play and charge two iPods simultaneously side by side and features AM/FM tuner and a clock. The remote sports dedicated iPod controls and simulates the click wheel layout for familiar and thus easier navigation. And yes, we're still wondering why you would need a dual dock too.
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| JVC RA-P31 iPod Speaker Dock |
JVC RA-P31 iPod Speaker Dock
£TBC
A little more conventional from the Victor Company of Japan, the P31 is a single iPod dock with the trad clock radio feature. There's an FM tuner, calendar, dual alarm and 2in stereo speakers, plus aux input for another device should you be hankering after that dual docking so ably offered by the NX-PN7. Can be mains or battery powered for added portability.
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| JVC AA-T100BT Bluetooth transmitter |
JVC AA-T100BT Bluetooth transmitter
$80 (£TBC)
The busy bods at JVC have also launched the AA-T100BT, a Bluetooth transmitter that plugs into your fourth gen or newer iPod to deliver wirelesss tunes direct to your compatible headset. Powered by the iPod, there are no additional batteries required.
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| JVC LT LCD TV Range |
JVC LT LCD TV Range
£TBC
Continuing the iPod theme, JVC has also announced four new LCD TVs, all of which sport a front-mounting iPod dock so users can watch video stored on their iPods directly via the TV. Dock the iPod and a menu appears on-screen, which you can then navigate to choose music or video with the TV remote controlling the iPod. It even houses a circular keypad to appeal to lovers of the click wheel. Lo-res video files like internet clips can be shown in 'small screen' mode while higher-res video plays at full screen with a choice of nine aspect modes.
All four models include a trio of HDMI, dual component, S-Video and SDIF inputs alongside analogue audio out for teaming the iPod or TV with a home ent system. The models are the 32in 768p LT-32P679, 42in 1080p LT-42P789, 47in 1080p LT-47P789 and 52in 1080p LT-52P789. All will be available from March.
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| JVC LDV TV Range |
JVC LDV TV Range
£TBC
One of the big pushes this year seems to be slimming down TVs, with the move from CRT to LCD and plasma only fuelling consumer hunger for the 'size zero' TV. One of the strong contenders comes from JVC with its LDV range.
Measuring 1.5in thin from most every angle with a thickest point of 2.9in at its centre, they are indeed svelte. The two models offer Full HD 1080p and come in the 42in LT-42SL80 and 46in LT-46LS89 sizes. Fully VESA compliant for wall mounting (clearly what they were designed for), JVC will also be releasing its own wall-hugging mount for these specific sets.
Due to their diminutive dimensions JVC also claims the sets use less power than conventional LCDs, thus making them greener. They will arrive 'early summer'.
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| Pioneer Project KURO |
Pioneer Project KURO
£N/A
Part of Pioneer's new super high-end KURO range, the latest display unveiled at CES is enough to make the likes of Sharp's, JVC's and Hitachi's skinny screens reach for the slimming aids. The new Pioneer concept KURO 50in plasma is a lunatic 9mm thin. That's nine millimetres! No more details were released other than its weight - a feathery 18.6kg, but in the flesh this thing really is unbelievable - thinner than a standard magazine from the newsagents. How have they done it? Go figure.
Alongside the 9mm KURO, Pioneer unveiled another benchmark step with its Extreme Contrast Concept TV that eliminates the need to have contrast ratios, as it emits absolutely no measurable light. In other words, it has a contrast ratio that is 'literally beyond measurement' - when you walk into a completely dark room the television is invisible. Pioneer says it achieved this by 'cracking the code on plasma luminance… previously thought to be impossible'.
Neither of these concept sets will be available in 2008 says Pioneer, but they are undoubtedly on their way.
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| Pioneer DV-310 & DV-410V |
Pioneer DV-310 & DV-410V
$69 & $99 respectively (£TBC)
Alongside its concepts, Pioneer has also announced two new slimline and ultra cheap DVD players that feature upscaling and multimedia functionality. Both the DV-310 and DV-410V can upscale to 1080p, play all the standard disc formats including SVCD and VCD, and via the front-mounted USB port are compatible with WMA and MP3 codecs, while DivX certification is also included.
Photos and video stored on USB can also be played. Dolby and DTS 5.1-channel sound is catered to, and Pioneer promises top notch video quality courtesy of its PureCinema 2:3 Progressive Scan function. The DV-310 is available from May and the HDMI-equipped DV-410 from June.
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| iPod Ladybug Speaker Dock |
iPod Ladybug Speaker Dock
$110 (around £55)
A novel twist on a familiar theme, these new 'Ladybug' iPod speakers unravel from their ball-like hibernation and turn into, yep you guessed it, a ladybug. Around five inches across, the speaker wings fold out to reveal the iPod dock with controls running neatly along the bottom. It kicks out stereo sound with a rear-facing centre channel sub and will be available in red and silver in the first quarter of the year.
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| Toshiba SD-6100 & D-R140 & D-VR660 |
Toshiba SD-6100 & D-R140 & D-VR660
£TBC
No doubt reeling from the news that Warner Studios has dumped HD-DVD in favour of Blu-ray, Tosh has launched a swathe of current-gen DVD players with upconverting capabilities. First up is the SD-6100 that delivers 'near High-Definition' image quality via HDMI with upconversion all the way up to 1080p. Elsewhere there's the ubiquitous REGZALink, DivX certification with WMA, MP3 and JPEG playback, progressive scan and ColorStream Pro component video out.
The D-R140 is a DVD recorder that also upconverts to 1080p with HDMI and support for -R/RW and +R/RW recording and playback.
Last (and in all honesty least) is the D-VR660 - a DVD recorder and, believe it or not, VCR combi player not really seen since DVD first became popular enough to threaten the might of videocassette. No school like the old school, eh Toshiba?
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| LG LCD TV Range |
LG LCD TV Range
£TBC
LG has released what can only be described as a bountiful range of LCD TVs for its 2008 onslaught. All HDTVs, there are eight series consisting of 24 models, 17 of which are Full HD 1080p compliant. Screen sizes range from 19-52in, premium of which are its 1.7in thin model, unique wireless HDTV and one that's LED backlit.
The premium model is the LGX Super Slim LG75 that's 1.7in thin (though that looks positively thick compared to the likes of Pioneer, JVC and Hitachi's efforts) and comes complete with red-coloured backing, round aperture with LED lift and unique teardrop design. LG calls it the 'epitome of elegance'. The set's aesthetics are further enhanced by the new invisible speaker system that incorporates speaker actuators around the perimeter of the bezel eliminating the traditional need for speaker drivers and grilles.
The LG75 also offers a 1,000,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio, 24p TrueCinema, Four 1.3 DeepColour HDMI ports, content specific AV modes for movies, sport and games, USB 2.0 jack for MP3 and JPG playback and LG SimpLink connectivity.
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| DLP Pico Projector |
DLP Pico Projector
£N/A
We last saw a very rough glimpse of this at last year's IFA technology show, but it has reappeared at CES in a far bigger and better way. Actually, that should be smaller, as DLP now has a full working model ensconced in a mock mobile phone around the same size as the iPhone. Working with Sypro and Young Optics, DLP's Pico works as a standalone as well as integrated product and opens up the ability to share video and graphic content in a bigger way.
'We see increased opportunity and an abundance of applications that can be created with these devices. With help from DLP, Young Optics is able to deliver a mobile product design to enable the global market in 2008,' said Claude Hsu, President, Young Optics.
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| DLP DualView TV |
DLP DualView TV
£N/A
Texas Instruments' DLP Products has unveiled a new technology that it calls Dual View - the ability to watch two separate sources at the same time on the same DLP HDTV screen, and it actually works. Using a supplied set of specialist glasses, two viewers can enjoy independent full screen views - so one person can be, say, gaming, and the other watching EastEnders. Genius. Particularly good for gamers, any current split screen two-player games can be played in Dual View using two consoles and a 3D-ready DLP HDTV.
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| Anthony Gallo Acoustics Strada |
Anthony Gallo Acoustics Strada
$700-$800 (£TBC)
The Anthony Gallo Strada Series of speakers sport sleek new cast aluminium frames and stands, and apparently offer 'unparalleled high-end performance' from the proprietary CDTII tweeter coupled with the extended low-frequency response of its patented S2 technology. Four-inch proprietary carbon fibre drivers with neodymium magnets are the same as those used in the Reference Series speakers.
Available in Matte White, Silver Gray, Black and Stainless Steel finishes, each is shipped with a wall mount though floor and table stands are available as optional extras. Due in the second quarter Stateside, with a UK release 'guaranteed' but not specified.
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| Marantz BD8002 Blu-ray player |
Marantz BD8002 Blu-ray player
€2,000 (£TBC)
Marantz's first Blu-ray player, the BD8002, arrives with few available statistics for us to chew on. What we do know is this: it's 36-bit DeepColour capable with HDMI 1.3a interface, 10-bit video processing and support for Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Raw Data, RS232c control, Silicon Optics realta Video Decoding and a 126Mhz, 14-bit Video DAC. Available this year, likely around the end of the second quarter.
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| Marantz ES7001 Sound Bar |
Marantz ES7001 Sound Bar
£900
Nicknamed the Cinemarium, the ES7001 sports three 32-bit processors, one used for Dolby/DTS decoding and the other two to implement the complex algorithms that produce the 'room-filling surround sound with ultimate accuracy and speed'.
Instead of bouncing its sound off the walls to create the surround effect, Marantz has developed a proprietary technology called OPSODIS (OPtimal SOurce DIStribution) in conjunction with the institute of Sound and Vibration Research in Japan.
Connectivity is catered for by dual HDMI inputs and one out, three optical digital and two analogue phono inputs ensuring tremendous Hi-Def sound quality and eliminating signal loss. There's also a subwoofer out that's compatible with every brand of active sub.
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| Sharp BD-HP50U |
Sharp BD-HP50U
$800 (£TBC)
Taking over from the BD-HP20 comes Sharp's latest Blu-ray player, delivered with BD-ROM Profile 1.1 support and 1920x1080 pixel 24p compatibility. The BD-ROM Profile 1.1 means Picture-in-Picture (PIP) capability with secondary audio to boot. There's also a very welcome quick start function meaning you can be up and watching a Blu-ray disc in less than ten seconds. Multichannel audio support (Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD) is included alongside Dolby Digital Plus. Due Quarter Two with no word on a UK release quite yet.
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| Marantz AV8003 Pre-Processor & Power Amp |
Marantz AV8003 Pre-Processor & Power Amp
£3,000 (for the two)
We were lucky enough to get a demo of Marantz's latest home AV combination in the very impressive and very, very weighty AV8003 pre-processor and power amp. Stats were almost non-existent, but the power amp outputs 145 watts through eight channels and it has the unique ability to stream music and films at 1080i HD quality from a network using nothing more that a network cable. Looks and sounds amazing.
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| Samsung SyncMaster 2263DX |
Samsung SyncMaster 2263DX
$550 (£TBC)
Samsung's latest idea is to take a normal 22in LCD monitor and tack a 7in screen onto it to 'boost productivity'. The SyncMaster 2263DX targets business users who want a second screen for accessing things like widgets and tools quickly and easily. The smaller monitor is attached via a multi-directional pivoting arm, while the main unit offers 1680x1050 resolution and sports a 2.0Mp webcam, dual-array microphone and in-built speakers.
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| IsoTek Sirius |
IsoTek Sirius
£TBC
The latest power conditioning solution from IsoTek features a slimmed down, more aesthetically acceptable design complete with in-built wall mounts. More pertinent perhaps is the new Inductive Resistance Gate, which creates the ideal operational environment for filters to function while optimising separation between outlets for minimal interference.
Also new is KERP technology (Kirchoff's Equal Resistance Path), a technology usually reserved for the company's reference range that ensures optimum power sharing from one socket to the next. The Sirius can handle up to 22,500 amps pf instantaneous current absorption, essential for removing high-voltage spikes.
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| Crystal Cable Dreamline |
Crystal Cable Dreamline
£Varies
The Dreamline is the high-end cable series from connect aficionados Crystal Cable. Crafted in German and Swiss chemical labs, Crystal Cable has created a breakthrough silver/gold metallurgy that, married to dielectrics including Kapton, PEEK and Teflon, creates the most impenetrable multi-shield ever. Terminating the cables will be exclusive new WBT next-gen RCAs, Neutrix XLRs and proprietary Rhodium plated copper/silver alloy bananas and spades.
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