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InfoComm 2010 Pick Hits

InfoComm rolled back into Las Vegas June 5 to 11, 2010. And by any standards, this was a monster event, attracting 32,002 AV professionals from more than 90 countries

InfoComm 2010 Pick Hits

Jul 12, 2010 12:00 PM

InfoComm rolled back into Las Vegas June 5 to 11, 2010. And by any standards, this was a monster event, attracting 32,002 AV professionals from more than 90 countries. It was definitely the place to be for anyone serious about audio and video systems and digital signage/display technologies. Since merging with the NSCA Expo several years ago, it’s also become the premier event for live and installed sound technologies.

With 925 exhibitors filling the halls of the cavernous Las Vegas Convention Center, there was no shortage of cool new products, and the SVC crew was there to check out the action. Here (listed alphabetically) are our Pick Hits—our selections for the show’s top contracting products.

Ashly Audio pêma

Ashly Audio pêma

Intended to simplify small-to-medium business installs, the pêma (Protea Equipped Media Amplifier) merges Ashly DSP with 4- or 8-amp channels (125W and 250W) in a 2RU box. It offers feedback suppression, automatic mixer, filters, EQs, and delays, as well as DSP control for bridge mode, constant voltage system HPF settings, ducking priorities, remote gain, etc. Setup is via 10/100 Ethernet protocol and Ashly’s Protea-NE PC software. I/Os are balanced mic/line and/or CobraNet and EtherSound digital.

Audinate Astoria

Audinate Astoria

Audinate offered a preview of Astoria, its IP-based Dante audio networking PCIe sound card for the PC or Mac. Intended as an OEM product for networking and MADI replacement, Astoria can handle up to 256 channels (128×128 at 48kHz/96kHz; or 64×64 at 192kHz) of uncompressed digital audio over Gigabit Ethernet with ultralow latency, while offering an upgrade migration path to AVB.

Aviom Wall Frame 6 and Pro64 Modular I/O

Aviom‘s Wall Frame 6 is a slick housing that holds up to six of the company’s new modular A-Net Pro64 modules (which so far include a quad mic pre, quad analog output, and 2×2 AES3 I/O with word clock) in a wall frame that can be surface- or flush-mounted in a standard NEMA electrical enclosure. Just add a Cat-5e feed, and you’re ready to go with a fast, clean installation.

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InfoComm 2010 Pick Hits

Jul 12, 2010 12:00 PM

Behringer Eurocom

Behringer Eurocom

Behringer enters the contracting biz with a new Behringer Install Group (BIG) division showing 50 products created by founder Uli Behringer, industry veteran Costa Lakoumentas, and a design team. The Eurocom line includes on-wall, ceiling, and PA loudspeakers; stylish, tabletop mixer/amplifiers; mixers; and amps. Designed for commercial installs, the tabletop units have flip-down doors with futuristic illuminated controls, with snap-on end-covers concealing rack hardware and features such as automixing, flexible signal routing, and Class-D amps that are switchable between 70V/100V and Low-Z outputs.

Edirol V-1600HD

Edirol V-1600HD

The V-1600HD multiformat video switcher combines a high channel count and the ability to accept various video formats, with 16 inputs providing connectivity to HD/SD-SDI, DVI-D/HDMI, RGB, component, S-Video, and composite formats (as well as still images). Built-in scalers and frame syncs on the 14 mix channels allow mixing regardless of the resolution or format, while dual independent multiformat outputs offer multiscreen options such as spanning the output to two projectors with the ability to edge-blend the center region or driving more than one screen with different visuals on each. Users can create a virtual multicamera environment by Multi-Zooming a close-up from a longer shot routed into another input and switching between the two. Other effects include a downstream keyer, a composite keyer, picture-in-picture, and multiple transitions.

 
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Gefen Extender for HDMI with POC over Cat-5

In a tantalizing technology demonstration, Gefen showed off its extender-in-development for HDMI with POC (Power Over Cable) for Cat-5. It’s a long-range sender/receiver system that frees displays and projectors from being tethered to the power outlet. One Cat-5 cable delivers 1080p full HD video, multichannel audio, 110V/220V power, Etherenet, IR, and RS-232 up to 330ft. This extender once again draws on the Valen semiconductor HDBaseT that Gefen brought to last year’s Extender for HDMI 1.3 over Cat-5 with Ethernet; the new extender adds POC and supports the entire scope of HDMI v1.3 features, pass-through HDMI v1.4 capability for 3DTV, multichannel HD audio, and HDCP compliance.

HaiVision Makito Decoder

HaiVision Makito Decoder

HaiVision‘s flagship Makito Encoder—which debuted in 2009—has already gained a following for its inexpensive, reliable streaming of HD over IP networks. This year, HaiVision let the other shoe drop with a companion decoder IP appliance. (It also comes as a miniblade.) When paired with the encoder, the system delivers less than 100 milliseconds of end-to-end latency, which is the way you want to see HD. The decoder particularly shines in applications where stream security is required (it supports AES security decryption of unicast or multicast signals) and when HD-SDI or HDMI are a consideration.

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InfoComm 2010 Pick Hits

Jul 12, 2010 12:00 PM

JBL Control Contractor 60

JBL Control Contractor 60

A solution for installations in rooms with very high or open ceilings, JBL‘s new Control Contractor 60 hanging pendant loudspeaker line consists of four models. The ultracompact 2in. Control 62P mid-high satellite loudspeaker is designed for use with a Control 50S/T or 40CS/T subwoofer. Three larger coaxial models (Control 65P/T, 67P/T, and 67HC/T) all employ JBL’s innovative Radiation Boundary Integrator, where the woofer’s LF energy passes through openings in the conical HF waveguide for even pattern control and coverage, so all listeners experience consistent, flat frequency response, even when using fewer loudspeakers.

K-Array Kobra KK50vb

K-Array Kobra KK50vb

Housed in a rugged mil-spec enclosure, K-Array‘s KK50vb 3D line-array system is only 2.2in. deep, weighs 4.4lbs., and has a peak output of 120dB. It can change vertical coverage from the usual 7 degrees to 120 degrees with the flip of a switch and can be mounted vertically or horizontally.

Meyer Sound Mina

Meyer Sound Mina

Designed for front-fill, under-balcony, and small theater systems, Meyer Sound‘s low-profile Mina curvilinear array is a 1.5ft.-long package that outputs up to 128dB. The newest and smallest member of the Milo family of self-powered line arrays, Mina offers a 75Hz-to-18kHz response over a wide 100-degree horizontal coverage area, and its 47lb. weight is a benefit for integrators working in historic theaters and other venues with strict rigging requirements.

NEC Vukunet

NEC’s digital signage software management platform is noteworthy as much as a business model and paradigm-builder as a software product. Last month, NEC made it available free to any network operator, a play to help build the digital signage industry by making it easier for companies to toe-dip into un¬familiar territory and see what kind of business models they can conjure up for digital signage. By focusing on the revenue model (making it easy to deploy, manage, and sell ad units), NEC acknowledges that no matter how good all the digital signage hardware and software is out there, it will go virtually nowhere without a business mission.

Omnimount ProHDCart

Omnimount ProHDCart

We probably shouldn’t get too excited about a rolling, flatpanel display stand, but Omnimount‘s ProHDCart really delivers, with fast, Lift n’ Lock installation of most 37in. to 55in. screens and a telescoping height adjustment of 52in. to 72in.—either horizontally (traditional landscape) or vertically (for digital signage and specialty display applications). A rear AC cord wrap stows the power cable during transport. Other cabling can be hidden inside the center post, which also has an adjustable shelf for peripherals. Large 4in., locking casters and a nesting base design for storing multiple carts complete the package.

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InfoComm 2010 Pick Hits

Jul 12, 2010 12:00 PM

Projectiondesign FR12 Remote Light Source

Projectiondesign FR12 Remote Light Source

Projectiondesign has been making the rounds this year with this intriguing new projector, which relocates the lamp from the projector to a rackmount enclosure up to 100ft. away. That means no fan noise. Light from the Remote Light Source (RLS) travels in a kind of science-fiction-ish way over a slim cord to the head, which is rendered maintenence-free, while maintenance is also simplified at the lamp end. Pegged for 24/7 installs such as command and control, the projector will not win any imaging awards, nor does it diverge from traditional lamps as LED projectors do. But it addresses a very real problem for some projection installations.

Renkus-Heinz IC2

Renkus-Heinz IC2

The IC Squared line array combines the power and focus of point-source loudspeakers with the control and flexibility of a digitally steered array. Four 8in. Neodymium LF transducers and 1in. Titanium Nitride coated HF drivers offer high SPL performance, while individual steering control of each driver provides robust vertical pattern control for maximum intelligibility, even in highly reverberant spaces. The use of these two-way, 8in. modules offers a versatile design, whether used as a standalone high-performance single system, a small ground stack, or a flown array of up to 20 cabinets.

Roland M-300 V-Mixer

Roland M-300 V-Mixer

This automated, 32-channel audio console shares many features the largerM-400 but in a compact format. It sets up in minutes by plugging in a single Cat-5e cable from a choice of digital snake stage units. Remote Control PC software lets users store data or prepare channel setups/configurations before arriving at the install.

Symetrix Jupiter

Symetrix Jupiter

Drawing its inspiration from the apps paradigm of smartphones like Apple’s iPhone, Jupiter is a turnkey audio processing platform, with hardware available in three I/O counts (4×4, 8×8, and 12×12). From the main application shell within the (free) Windows-based Jupiter configuration software, users select the desired app, ranging from familiar installs such as airports, auditoriums, banquet rooms, boardrooms, commercial buildings, courtrooms, cruise ships, government chambers, home theaters, houses of worship, night clubs, racetracks, shopping malls, stadiums, theaters, and transit stations. The main screen presents a view of the overall signal flow and an extensive library of signal processors including gain sharing and gating automixers, matrix mixers, feedback fighters, ambient SPL computers, and filters (including FIR), to name just a few. All inputs are software-selectable for line/mic levels with phantom power. Supported external controllers include Symetrix ARC wall panels, binary or analog control voltage inputs/outputs, and IP control of virtually all app parameters.

More Product News

There was a lot more at InfoComm, and you can check out the product announcements at blog.svconline.com/briefingroom/category/2010-infocomm-newslink, and get the editors’ take on new products at blog.svconline.com/infocomm. Meanwhile, InfoComm returns to sunny Orlando, Fla, next year, June 11-17. Mark those calendars now.

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