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AV Systems
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Pieces for your presentation
InfoComm showcases latest AV technologies
Aug 25, 2005
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by Mark J. Pescatore
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InfoComm 2005 brought the promise of better presentations to the Las Vegas Convention Center in June, with exhibitors providing access to some of the AV industry’s hottest new products. Pretty pictures dominated the show floor, with projectors, plasmas, and other displays, but there plenty of other items of interest, from new transmission technologies to a very potent professional DVD player.
As usual, there was a new crop of projectors on the show floor (see our chart starting on page 32). LED projectors from Mitsubishi and Samsung peaked my interest (see Government Video, July 2005), but certainly aren’t ready for primetime. However, LG Electronics introduced an innovative design that could spark a new trend in the industry.
The AN110 is a wall mounted projector that is hung like a picture frame (though it can also work as a desktop or ceiling model). The 10-pound DLP projector provides 1100 ANSI lumens and native WXGA resolution. LG is marketing this projector to home theater enthusiasts, but it could also be a nice fit for conference rooms. Throw in some security features and it could have potential in the education market as well.
Flat Talk
LCD monitors have become a legitimate player in flat panel marketplace. Just two years ago, InfoComm exhibitors were thrilled to show me a 40-inch LCD, and last year brought the debut of a few 46-inch LCDs. This year, Samsung demonstrated an 82-inch LCD. It’s not available for purchase, but it illustrates that size is no longer an issue for most installations. And with many models with 1920x1080 resolution, HD imagery is no longer a question, either.
Philips, for example, showed off the BDL5511, a new 55-inch HD LCD panel. Designed for public digital signage, it features a rugged metal enclosure, the option of portrait or landscape mounting, and hidden control buttons so passers-by aren’t tempted to adjust the image. LG also introduced the L5500C, a 55-inch LCD monitor with 1920x1080 resolution.
Samsung’s high-end digital signage solution is the new SyncMaster 460pn, a network-enabled 46-inch LCD monitor. With Samsung’s MagicNet software, users can control several displays and provide unique content to those displays using a single computer. The company also introduced a 40-inch LCD, the SyncMaster 400p, with WXGA resolution.
Of course, if you’re looking for the biggest flat panel option, plasma is still king. In fact, Samsung showed a 102-inch plasma at its booth.
As far as production models go, however, the big winner was LG. The company showed off its MW-71-PY10, a 71-inch plasma with 1920x1080 resolution. The marketing line was that it’s the first plasma display to be measured in feet, not inches. Considering that it has a picture that’s almost six feet across, they may have a point.
Pioneer Electronics expanded its professional line with a 61-inch plasma, the PDP-614MX. Another new model, the PDP-505CMX PureVision 50-inch plasma, offers WXGA resolution and features the new First Surface Pure Color Filter, which uses one less piece of glass but reduces reflection and increases black levels. Yes, I could see a difference.
Panasonic brought out its new, eighth generation plasmas, the 37-inch TH-37PWD8UK and the 42-inch TH-42PWD8UK. The SD panels offer advanced picture-in-picture capabilities, hidden touch controls, and improved brightness.
From Here To There
Communications Specialties offered a sneak preview of its Pure Digital Fiberlink 7240/7241, a transmitter/receiver pair that transmits high-resolution RGB, stereo audio, two-way 10 Base-T, and two-way data over a single mode or multimode fiber. Another new addition, the Pure Digital Fiberlink 7242/7243, will share RGBHV, stereo audio, and one-way data over a single fiber. Both systems should be available from CSI this fall in box and card versions.
Speaking of RGBHV, AutoPatch showed its new CatPro transmitters and receivers. The system can send RGBHV and stereo audio up to 1,000 feet over CAT 5 cable. The transmitter includes loop-through outputs for local audio and video, while the receiver offers active digital skew adjustment. CatPro can be used as a standalone system or with AutoPatch’s HD-15 connector matrix switchers.
If you need to save what you say, Sonic Foundry and Advanced Media Design offered some new choices. The Mediasite 440 Series of rich media recorders from Sonic Foundry includes updated mobile and rack-mountable models, as well as the new Mediasite VL440 for videoconferencing. It helps you record and reuse AV content through browser-based, on-demand access.
AMD introduced the DMR300, which lets you record all conference content, as well as local and remote camera video. You can then select how you want to view all three streams during playback. The DMR300 has up to 400 hours of record time and supports up to XGA resolution.
If you need to annotate during your presentations, Hitachi Software showed its new T-17SXL interactive tablet. The pen-driven display features SXGA resolution and eight hardware function buttons, so you don’t constantly need on-screen menus. It also includes the StarBoard suite of presentation and collaboration software, which allows annotation over Windows applications or video.
Additional Items
Extron hasn’t forgotten the “A” in AV. After more than two years of development, the company introduced its System INTEGRATOR speaker series at InfoComm 2005. Sold in pairs, the series includes ceiling, all weather surface mount, and in-wall choices in various sizes. The speakers were designed for music and voice reproduction.
Of course, it wouldn’t be Extron without a couple of new black boxes, too. The company introduced the GSS 100, a compact still store that accepts BMP or JPEG images and can be used for events, conference rooms, digital signage, and more. It has a user-friendly GUI, and its integrated Web server allows remote configuration and file upload. Also new is the DVS 304, a digital video scaler with 59 selectable output rates that can handle SD, HD, and RGB sources.
RGB Spectrum also announced a new scan converter, the RGB/VideoLink 1690
M-2, that’s also an MPEG-2 encoder. Computer signals are encoded in real time for audio and video transmission over LAN and WAN networks, so it’s useful for videoconferencing, security/surveillance, and digital signage. Features include variable bit rate, auto sync, 16 levels of flicker filters, and pan and zoom functionality.
Thermal management has been a hot topic for Middle Atlantic Products for some time, and its new Ultra Quiet Fan Panel Series (UQFP) is designed to keep equipment cool. It features a remote sensor that measures the temperature in your rack, and the unit varies fan speed in proportion to the temperature. As a result, the fans only run when needed, which keeps noise to a minimum while extending fan life. Plus, the unit features a built-in temperature display screen and alert capabilities. The 2 RU panel is available with two or four fans.
Finally, to complement its recently announced new line of ProHD cameras and VTRs, JVC introduced the SRDVD-100U. It’s more than a professional DVD player — it allows you to play HDV footage that’s been saved on DVD as an MPEG-2 transport stream. (You can store up to 30 minutes of HD on a single layer DVD or 60 minutes on a dual layer DVD.)
Compatible with Windows Media 9, the SRDVD-100U also features a USB 2.0 connector, so you can view footage from a variety of media sources. Its auto-play and auto-repeat functions make the player useful for digital signage applications as well, and you can play remote files through the SRDVD-100U (without a recorded DVD) using a network connection. All this, plus it upconverts standard DVDs to HD.
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