Continuing on with the CEDIA 2008 coverage…

Sooloos had an impressive display on the show floor this year.  They have been working on several new products and had working prototypes of all of them.  I can’t definitively say any one was better or more exciting than the other as they are all great product offerings.

Stores: The two box storage solutions (Store:One and Store:Two) have been discontinued for three new models.  All models now feature removable hard drives giving you the option to buy a disk drive from Sooloos with your order, or you can purchase it on your own.

Ensemble: Single disk drive with all space being dedicated to storage, backup via ControlPC.
Twinstore: Two drive solution with automatic backup; one disk for storage, one for backup.
Quadstore: Four drive solution with automatic backup; two disks for storage, two for backup.

Source: The Source:One and Source:Five remain with no changes. However, it was announced that new versions of these units, with significantly upgraded DAC’s, will be available soon. As you may or may not know, the DAC’s have been abused in recent reviews and it’s great to see Sooloos taking action. There will be an upgrade program for all existing sources.

Control: The Control:One, with its outstanding user interface, still remains the highlight of the product line. The 17″ touchpanel will soon be joined by a wireless handheld, which has been talked about for many months. ControlPC, the desktop software application, remains in the line up with a UI update due shortly. There have been several updates in recent months and the software now includes the ability to import music from your computers hard disk or internal CD or DVD drive, backup and restore, edit metadata and, of course, manage music and playlists.

Additionally, you can now control your Sooloos music server with an iPhone or an iPod Touch. Finally, the new Control:Bridge is used for seamless integration with Crestron.

Software: There will be new skins available for the UI in the next couple of weeks, which is really cool, but the major announcements from CEDIA are the addition of the DVD and Blu-ray support as well as a photo collection interface. These will use a new product called the Cinema which will process the audio and video from the store and send it to one display and audio source. The Cinema is only compatible with the Twinstore and Quadstore. Ensemble owners will still have photo access, management will be done via ControlPC and images will be displayed on the Control:One touch-panel.

The last big announcement for the software is the integration with the online digital music service Rhapsody. While the exact details have not been fully released, this will make the Sooloos system even more attractive to own.

So, that’s the latest on the new releases, here’s my take on everything. First, all of the new products and features are very exciting and will secure Sooloos in the music serving market. The DVD and Blu-ray support remains to be proven simply because they are getting to the dance a little late. The industry has seen a number of companies getting into the market segment in addition to the ones who were already there. The good news for Sooloos is they have the luxury of seeing what others have successfully (and unsuccessfully) accomplished and will hopefully use this a guide for releasing they solution. The preview looked great but until we get a chance to actually use it in a live environment the jury is still out.

The photo management software and display looked great. The ability to easily manage your entire photo collection and share it to TV’s through out the house could easily be one of the leading selling points of the system.

So, Sooloos (btw: it’s pronounced sue-loose) had a very good showing at CEDIA. I stopped by the booth at different times throughout the show and they were always busy with attendees. We’re definitely excited about the new products and I’ll report back as they start hitting the streets.

Well, I’m finally getting an opportunity to catch up after the CEDIA. Things always tend to get a little busier in the fall and the show put quite a few more items on the to-do list.

The first report is from Aerial Acoustics who announced a couple of new and exciting products this year. These have been rumored, or in prototype, for a while so it’s nice to be able to finally share what they have been up to. First off, and the most exciting for me, is the announcement of the new Model 7c, the replacement for the 7b. The update includes new drivers, crossovers and a striking cabinet design boosting a curved-back cabinet. I know there are a number of other speaker manufacturers out there with a similar shape but the radius on the new 7 is a little more aggressive than some of the others I’ve seen. The result is a very visually appealing cabinet and represent a new look for an Aerial Acoustics speaker. Additionally the base is finished in black gloss which provides stability and compliments the over all look without being too industrial or out of place. The prototype speaker was finished in gloss cherry, something else new for Aerial. The available cabinet finishes are still being decided but there was positive reaction to the gloss; I would expect to see between four and seven high quality finishes in a mix of both gloss and satin. Finally, the 7c sports a new slightly curved grill which is the perfect touch to the new cabinet shape.

The second new product was the System 2. Based on the came concept as the already existing System 1, the System 2 is meant for flat screen displays or small projection systems. The speakers in include the vertical left and right channels and the horizontal center channel. Also in the mix is a new subwoofer based on dual offset 10″ drivers. The entire system (pun intended) is definitely more oriented towards a lifestyle system but without the sound quality compromise usually associated with systems of this size.

As normal with CEDIA, Aerial Acoustics had a static booth so there was not chance to demo any of the new products. Both the 7c and System 2 are in the very final stages of development so we’ll be keeping an eye on their release and will report back as soon we can get a live demo.

Well it’s time for the annual CEDIA Expo and once again it’s being held here in Denver.  I actually had a chance to get on the show floor a little early this year to help a couple of manufacturers setup their booths. In doing that I was able to get a sneak preview of a couple of interesting technologies and products that are coming out.  I’ll definitely be reporting on everything of interest over the next couple of days, in the meantime here is a quick preview on a couple of technologies I’ll be looking at and what we might expect.

Blu-ray – still the topic of major discussion even though HD-DVD is out of the picture.   McIntosh has announced it’s new player (due later this year) and several other manufactures have 2nd or even 3rd generation players announced for the show.   I suspect we’ll see a bunch of inexpensive players by Christmas and probably some expensive, high-performance models too.

OLED and SED – these are new display technologies that will change the flat panel industry from thin to very, very thin. This will be an interesting market segment to follow.

Projection – now that the initial wave(s) of 1080p players have reached the market we’re going to see a bunch of high-end projectors hit the market.  So far, the buzz is about Meridian, Wolf, Christie, JVC and, of course, 8250’s personal favorite,  projectiondesign with their new avielo product line.

Whole house distribution – a lot of new products are recently out or coming out which do various forms of HDMI distribution throughout the house as well as some innovative audio products as well

Media servers – another growing market segment is media serving. Obviously 8250 Theaterworks is interesting in Sooloos and their new product offerings as well as Kaleidescape.

If anyone out there is interested in any other technologies, manufacturers or products, let me know and I’ll be sure to check it out and report back.

SI Screens of Austin Texas recently introduced their Black Diamond projector screen.

“The exclusive technologies in our Black Diamond projector screen represent a breakthrough in picture quality for home theater applications,” explained Aaron Reilly, Screen Innovations CTO. “Black Diamond enhances projector performance by creating the ultimate contrast (blacker blacks, whiter whites) and color accuracy (with added vibrant color delivery) in both ‘dark’ and ‘bright’ environments.”

This screen is an excellent solution for any room where there is ambient light and even in dedicated home theaters as it reduces the amount of screen reflection.  This means it’s now possible to have a crystal-clear large screen display in game rooms, sports bars, living rooms and media centers and still keep the lights on or shades open.

Having seen the Black Diamond in action all I can say is WOW, and judging by the recent order reports from our local representative, I’m not the only one who has been impressed.  Additionally, the Black Diamond projector screen has already won the “Product of the Year 2008″ from Electronic House and the “Best of Demo Alley” at EHX 2008.  It’s also currently a finalist for “Best New Product” for CEDIA 2008, where the winners will be announced at the September trade show right here in Denver, I’ll keep you posted.

Pictured left, a 1.3 gain screen over the new Black Diamond screen. This picture was taken at a recent dealer show in Utah in a hotel room with all the lights on!

Fixed screen sizes currently range from 80″ to 113″ and a motorized drop-down version has been announced as part of new Reference Motorized Series.  Pricing starts at $2,099.