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Industry News

InfoComm Joins Event Management Sustainability Group

InfoComm has joined the ISO/PC 250 Sustainability in Event Management International Standard Development Technical Advisory Group (TAG). Thirty-one countries have begun work on a new standard on sustainable management of events -- a standard that will guide event planners, venues, and other stakeholders in improving and maintaining sustainability measures for a number of common events and gatherings. The document will require identification of key sustainability issues such as venue selection, operating procedures, supply chain management, procurement, communications, and transport through a management systems approach. All types of events, including exhibitions, sporting competitions and concerts, will be covered by the standard.

The standard is expected to be finalized in 2012 in time for the London Olympics. The United States is participating as a delegation member to ISO, sponsored by the CIC-Convention Industry Council, administered by the ASTM, and authorized by ANSI. A limited number of live events audiovisual professionals are needed to participate — to volunteer, send an email with your qualifications to standards@infocomm.org.

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Lighting

Lutron Shows Off Energy Suite

Lutron’s newly launched, fully scalable Energy Suite can control light levels and usage across multiple floors, whole buildings and entire campuses throughout  corporate, industrial and public sector facilities. Some of the products in the Energy Suite shown at ISE included Lutron’s new Green Glance, Radio Powr Savr and Rania Wireless RF Switch, the GRAFIK Eye QS Wireless (multi-zone control unit) and Lutron’s Energi Savr Node QS.

A display software package called Green Glance provides real-time and historic reporting on energy savings within a building. Green Glance can educate as well as motivate employees to be energy efficient and socially responsible. On top of this, businesses can use Green Glance to display other environmentally efficient facts about their buildings such as details on waste reduction programs or water efficiency systems.

Lutron’s new Radio Powr Savr and Rania Wireless RF Switch are an innovative, wireless sensor and switch designed to automatically turn the lights off when a space such as a conference room, small office, staffroom, classroom or cloakroom is unoccupied.

GRAFIK Eye QS Wireless is a preset light and shade control system for the easy adjustment of lights and shades in any commercial space.

Lutron’s Energi Savr Node QS controls light by connecting occupancy sensors, daylight sensors and wall-stations to DALI (digitally addressable light interface) ballasts. Additional Energi Savr Node QS modules can be linked together to allow integrated control of several floors. The system is totally scalable as it can be linked to Lutron’s Quantum solution for whole-building light management. In addition, installation and commissioning are simple thanks to its Apple iPhone and iPod Touch application.

To learn more, go here:  http://www.lutron.com/CMS400/default.aspx?app=energy

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Projection

Next-Gen Christie Series 2 Digital Cinema Projectors Now Showing

For some theater owners, How to Train Your Dragon is not just the latest 3D movie to be released, but an accurate description for making the tech transition from yesterday’s 2D cinema to today’s 3D movie business. Christie is addressing this transition-apprehension with the Solaria series (beginning with the Christie CP2220), described by Christie as “the most practical, cost-effective solution today, based on time-tested, highly reliable DLP Cinema technology.”

Since shipments began in January and with orders coming in daily, Christie now confirms full production, shipping and installation of this latest generation of 4K-ready DLP Cinema projectors based on next-gen Series 2 DLP Cinema technology.

Designed to meet all Digital Cinema Initiatives (DCI) specs, the Christie Solaria is upgradeable to 4K digital cinema and features Christie Brilliant3D technology. Christie stresses these next-gen DLP Cinema projectors produce more light with less energy. They also say they made a lot of other improvements to the new Series 2 platform to make the units easier to service and simpler to operate.

Christie now leads digital cinema deployment with 70 percent of all digital cinema installations worldwide since the intro of DLP Cinema projectors (which Christie was also the first to market).

Go here to learn all about the Series-2 Digital Cinema Technology: http://www.christiedigital.com/AMEN/Products/christieCP2220.htm

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Integrator Solutions

Crestron Releases HDMI over Fiber

Crestron announced the release of the HD-TX3-F and HD-RX3-F transmitter/receiver pair that Crestron says provides uncompressed HDMI, analog  audio, Ethernet, USB HID and control signals up to 1000 feet over single multimode fiber. Crestron also says the pair supports HDMI 1.3a with Deep Color and 7.1 channel lossless audio, manages EDID and HDCP, handles resolutions up to 1920x1200 and 1080p60, and is compatible with both DVI and DisplayPort Multimode.

Want more specs? Go to:  http://www.crestron.com/products/show_products.asp?jump=1&model=hd-tx3-f

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Chief Releases 3 New Mount Accessories

Chief Manufacturing announced several new AV shelf accessories -- a large shelf accessory for swing arm mounts (PACCS1) and two video conferencing camera shelves (PAC716 and FVS251).

The PACCS1 holds AV components below a TV display that is installed using Chief swing arm or ceiling mounts. This accessory allows AV equipment to move with the display. In addition, it allows vertical and extension adjustments to fit most component and flat panel combinations, it’s compatible with any Chief medium or large swing arm and ceiling mounts that use the 14x14" (200x200mm) Q-Latch mounting system and it includes slots to provide room to strap components to shelf for safety using the PAC103 accessory.  It can be seen here:  http://www.chiefmfg.com/productdetail.aspx?AccessoryID=1153


The PAC716 is a 14" (200 mm) video conferencing camera shelf that can be installed above or below the mounted monitor. The shelf is a great solution for boardrooms and other video conferencing applications, and is compatible with all Chief carts, stands, swing arm mounts and ceiling mounts that use a 14 x 14" (200 x 200 mm) Q-Latch system. It can be seen here:  http://www.chiefmfg.com/productdetail.aspx?AccessoryID=1140

And, the FVS251 is a 14" (200 mm) video conferencing camera shelf that is specifically designed for FUSION™ fixed or tilt wall mounts. The shelf can be installed above or below the display without adding any depth to the installation and allows horizontal and vertical adjustments.  It can be seen here: http://www.chiefmfg.com/productdetail.aspx?AccessoryID=1114

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SurgeX Launches VA Line UPS Surge Eliminator

SurgeX showed its latest UPS surge eliminator, the SU-1000Li, a 1000 VA line interactive UPS that SurgeX says incorporates their Advanced Series Mode patented surge elimination technology to shield computer and AV equipment from catastrophic damage.
 
The SU-1000Li includes common mode and normal mode Impedance tolerant EMI/RFI filtering, and provides a web browser-based interface to manage power settings, customize diagnostics, monitor multiple computers and schedule shutdowns and restarts. Automatic voltage regulation provides a stable AC source during less than optimal power conditions without the constant use of internal batteries. Housed in a 2U rack-mount enclosure, it stops all surges up to 6,000 volts without producing harmful side effects such as ground contamination or common-mode disturbances.

Go here to read all the specs:  http://www.surgex.com/products/su1000li.html

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Sony's Latest 40" LCD Touts Low Power Consumption

Dubbed the FWDS42E1, Sony’s newest 42” LCD panel is a native 1920x1080 resolution display that’s designed for 24/7/365 operation in both portrait and landscape mounting configurations.  At a list price of $1950, it claims to be one of the lowest power consumption LCDs on the market at 98 watts typical (hmmm...) operation and 0.5-watts in standby. 

You can see all the specs at:  http://b2b.sony.com/Solutions/product/FWDS42E1

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Home News 

BDA to Release 128GB Blu-ray Disc Format

The Blu-ray Disc Association will release a new commercial HD disc format that offers up to 128GB of write-once capacity. The association also plans to release a rewritable disc format for consumers that will support up to 100GB of data, or 2x today's Blu-ray capacity.

The specifications for BDXL (High Capacity Recordable and Rewritable discs) and IH-BD (Intra-Hybrid discs) are expected in the next few months. The BDXL specification is targeted at filling the data archiving needs of broadcasting, medical and document imaging companies, provide customers with write-once options on 100GB and 128GB capacity discs and rewritable capability on 100GB discs.

The discs reach these capacities by incorporating three to four recordable layers. Because both BDXL and IH-BD are specially designed formats for specific market segments, new hardware is but because the new media specs extend current Blu-ray Disc technology, future BDXL and IH-BD devices can be designed to support extent 25GB and 50GB Blu-ray Discs.

Want to see the entire spec?  Go to:  http://www.blu-raydisc.com/assets/Downloadablefile/BDXL-IH-BD-Release-draft-3-%28mwh%29-16971.pdf

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Home Audio

Integra Ships 9-Channel Amp

Dubbed the DTA-70.1, the new 9-channel home theater power amplifier is rated at 150 watts per channel and, according to Integra, it’s the industry's first 9-channel power amp specifically designed for home theater apps. After being tested by THX, the Integra DTA-70.1 was awarded their top-level THX Ultra2 certification, supposedly indicating its ability to drive all of the speakers in a modern nine-channel home theater system to full THX output levels and beyond.

DTA-70.1 is an all-analog discrete-component power amplifier with a giant power supply and balance line inputs (Huh? Yep, balanced!). Each channel has identical symmetric circuit layouts, configured in a push-pull topology utilizing high-performance three-stage inverted circuitry and what Integra claims is custom-designed output transistors.

The large (giant), 11.7-Amp power supply of the DTA-70.1 uses a massive toroidal power transformer with dual 22,000 µF capacitors with an FTC Dynamic Power specification of 180 Watts into 8 ohms, and 400 Watts into 3 ohms. The power bandwidth is 5 Hz to 100 kHz, +/-3dB, and the IHF A-weighted signal to noise ratio is an excellent 110 dB.

For complete specs, go to:  http://www.integrahometheater.com/index.cfm

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WAT's Thin, Thin Speakers Get Fat Funding

Warwick Audio Technologies just received £1.5 million (British Pounds) to develop its "Bend-it-Like Beckham" speaker technology.  WAT developed "flat flexible laminate" (FFL) speakers and launches its first commercial product this year. Between 0.25 to 1mm thick, the FFL speaker is lightweight and flexible enough to fit into most contoured spaces (such as car interiors or anywhere space is at a premium) – including being built into drywall.

WAT is a spinout from the University of Warwick's technology transfer office Warwick Ventures, with funding from Porton Capital and Birmingham-based Mercia Technology Fund.

The investment has been led by Finance Wales with £600,000 equity. But for that amount of money, you have to go to Wales to spend it: the spinout company coincidentally plans to establish an engineering and prototype manufacturing HQ facility in South Wales. OK, it's part of the investment deal but it's a fat deal for thin speaker technology.

For more details on the technology, go to:  http://www.warwickaudiotech.com/content.php?menu_id=3

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SurgeX Announces New Eliminator Series for HomeAV Market

SurgeX just announced the first product in its Eliminator Series, a new line of products for the residential market, the XU115. The XU115, a 1000VA line interactive UPS is, SurgeX says, the only UPS product in the market that completely eliminates surges and transients that can not only degrade AV system performance but shorten system life as well.
 
The XU115 includes both common and normal mode Impedance Tolerant EMI/RFI noise filtering, and provides a sophisticated browser-based interface to manage power settings, diagnostics, and schedule shutdowns and restarts. Automatic voltage regulation provides a stable AC source during less than optimal power conditions without the constant use of internal batteries, which increases battery life. The 2U rack mount provides proven protection from surges, spikes, blackouts and brownouts - guaranteed.

The XU115 comes equipped with the patented SurgeX Advanced Series Mode surge elimination technology, which eliminates all surges up to 6,000 volts/3000 Amps and SurgeX says it does this without producing harmful side effects such as ground contamination, common-mode disturbances, or voltage let-through.

To learn more about the new XU115, go to:  http://www.surgex.com/pdf/XU115-LR.pdf

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Elite Launches New Dual-Mode Screens

Last month, Elite Screens launched their new Osprey dual format 2.35:1 and 16:9 (in one) projection screen designed for projectors with dual-mode anamorphic stretch capabilities.  The Osprey dual motorized screen features a dual screen format running a native 2.35:1 and a 16:9 screen in tandem with the push of a button while maintaining a centered image coordinated to the projector’s lens memory. It utilizes a 1.1 gain, tensioned front projection material with wide diffusion uniformity and is included with internal IR and RF receivers, IR and RF remotes, and a RJ45 port for 5-12 volt triggers and external wall boxes.  They range in sizes from 97” to 133” diagonally.

To get all the specs, go to:  http://www.elitescreens.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=15&catid=1&Itemid=19&lang=en
 

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Extron Debuts SDI to DVI and Component Converter

Extron debuted the DVC 501 SD, which converts SDI, HD-SDI, and 3G-SDI serial digital video signals to DVI-D and analog RGB or component video formats. It extracts embedded AES3 audio, automatically equalizes incoming SDI signals to optimize transmission over long cables, and includes RS-232 serial control. The DVC 501 SD is ideal for applications including television production, medical imaging, military simulation, houses of worship, and live events that require interfacing SDI signals from broadcast-type sources to professional/consumer-level displays and signal distribution systems that only accept DVI or analog signals.

The DVC 501 SD is compliant with SMPTE 259M, 292M, 424M, and ITU digital video standards. It accepts data rates from NTSC and PAL to HDTV 1080p/60 and 2048x1080. An input loop-through delivers reshaped and restored multi-rate SDI signals for re-transmission over long cables. The RGB output can be set for RGBHV, RGBS, and RGsB. Bi-level or tri-level sync can be selected when the unit is set for component video output.

For complete specs, go here:  http://www.extron.com/product/product.aspx?id=dvc501sd

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Final Words

Well, that's it for this edition of rAVe Asia. Thank you for spending time with us as we muse the industry's happenings. To continue getting the newsletter, or to sign up a friend, visit the website: www.raveproasia.com

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