January 06, 2008 (IDG News Service) -- The decision by Warner Bros. to drop HD DVD in favor of Blu-ray Disc for high-definition movies has set the electronics industry abuzz. Announced on the eve of the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), the move put a single question in the minds of thousands of industry insiders heading to the event in Las Vegas: Could the high-definition format war be over?

Since both formats launched, they have been locked in a battle that has pitted some of the industry's biggest consumer electronics companies against one another. Backing Blu-ray Disc are Sony, Panasonic and Samsung; HD DVD's main supporters include Toshiba, Microsoft and Intel.

The battle also divided Hollywood and left consumers with a difficult choice: With their favorite movies likely split between the two formats, there was a risk that the player they bought would eventually become irrelevant. As a result, consumers have kept away from both formats, leading to sluggish sales.

View more stories from 2008 International CES Warner's decision will give Blu-ray Disc an advantage in terms of content. With its move, five of the big seven Hollywood studios now back Blu-ray Disc with only two, Paramount and Universal, backing HD DVD.

The Warner announcement certainly put the HD DVD Promotion Group's CES plans in disarray. Within hours of the announcement, the group canceled a scheduled Sunday evening news conference and subsequent media interviews at CES.

"They're definitely regrouping and considering their options at the moment; this could be extremely important," said Tom Coughlin, a storage analyst at Coughlin Associates. "This could be the beginning of a major pivotal turning point in the high-def format war.

If we could define the format which is going to win, [it] would be extremely important for the industry, because this would free up consumers to start making decisions on the purchase of their systems."

Better sales would help consumer electronics manufacturers boost production and that could, in turn, lead to lower prices, said Coughlin. Those lower prices would then lead to better sales, which would help the entire industry, he said.

Warner touched on the format battle's impact on the consumer electronics industry in a statement announcing its move. "A two-format landscape has led to consumer confusion and indifference toward high definition, which has kept the technology from reaching mass adoption and becoming the important revenue stream that it can be for the industry," said Kevin Tsujihara, president of Warner's home entertainment group.

Whether or not the fight is over remains to be seen.

Toshiba said in a statement that it was "quite surprised" that Warner made the announcement "despite the fact that there are various contracts in place between our companies concerning the support of HD DVD. We will assess the potential impact of this announcement with the other HD DVD partner companies and evaluate potential next steps. We remain firm in our belief that HD DVD is the format best suited to the wants and needs of the consumer."

For some, the Warner decision marks the end of the format battle.

"I think the war is over. HD DVD has lost. It really is game over for Toshiba and the other vendors," said Robin Harris, an analyst at Data Mobility Group LLC. "The basic issue is not technology. It's about distribution, it's about marketing, it's about content, and Blu-ray has been winning the content war for sometime. I don't know why [Toshiba] keeps pouring money into it. It's time to stop."

Harris credited Sony's inclusion of Blu-ray Disc in the PlayStation 3 with being one of the instrumental moves in winning the fight for Blu-ray.

"I think Sony's brilliant move, and one of the few they have made in this effort, is putting Blu-ray into PS3," he said. "Even though PS3 hasn't sold so well in the console wars, in terms of being a platform for Blu-ray distribution, it's been a success for them, and I think that's what really put Blu-ray over the top."

The praise comes as Sony has started to see PS3 sales pick up, after a year of sluggishness. Ironically, the company has been often criticized by analysts and the media for including Blu-ray in the device, because it contributed to a price that put many consumers off from buying the high-def gaming console.

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CES 2008 will see the Bowers & Wilkins name prominently positioned in the Las Vegas Convention Center, at South Hall 20544, with a stunning new booth designed to highlight today’s B&W, and the far more varied activities, products, and expertise that the firm has developed over the decade-and-a-half interval.

“We are thrilled to be back on the floor and demonstrate our dedication to true sound,” says Evert Huizing, B&W Executive VP of Business Development. “Audio is a fundamental component in experiencing great entertainment, whether in the home or in the car. With a lot of new categories emerging, we are thrilled to show our latest new ventures at this years’s CES.”

Bowers &Wilkins promises to take advantage of its high-visibility at CES ’08 to remind the world that today’s B&W is about a good deal more than “just” the famed 800-series loudspeakers—even though these are all but universally recognized as the world reference standard in state-of-the-art professional and home audio systems. The striking flagship Nautilus will of course be prominently displayed, but B&W’s expansive, high-tech new show booth will feature sectors devoted to four exciting new “themes” as well:

• Bowers & Wilkins Automotive - With the stunning new Jaguar XF sedan, B&W’s partnership with Jaguar Cars dramatically confirms that a truly great car merits a truly great audio experience. Bowers & Wilkins will display the XF, and its remarkable B&W premium audio system, the culmination of nearly three years of highly targeted engineering. B&W will be the only exhibitor at CES ’08 to feature this amazing automobile.

• Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin - Packed with world-leading technologies and finished in stylish stainless steel, B&W’s stunningly designed Zeppelin is the speaker system your iPod has been waiting for and the winner of the coveted Consumer Electronics Association’s Best of Innovations 2008 Design and Engineering Award.

• Bowers & Wilkins Liberty - Bowers & Wilkins will unveil a game-changing new wireless flagship-level 5.1-channel surround entertainment system, incorporating benchmark audio and wireless technologies, and a dedicated multifunction centerpiece component. ?

• Bowers & Wilkins Society of Sound – The Society of Sound was created as a social media platform for B&W consumers to engage with them on an ongoing basis. The Society of Sound has also spawned exciting joint ventures with the MIT Media Lab and Peter Gabriel.

Bowers &Wilkins’ CES 2008 display will be open all show hours, from Monday, January 7, 2008 through Thursday the 10th. An open-house breakfast for press invitees and open guests will be held the morning of Day 1 at 9AM at their booth. B&W will also maintain a meeting-room/hospitality suite in the Hilton Towers, and invites press and guests to stop in each afternoon from 5-7PM for cocktails and social (or business) chat.

About Bowers & Wilkins
Bowers & Wilkins (B&W) is Britain’s leading exporter of loudspeakers, and is also the number-one imported brand in North America. Since 1966, B&W’s 'Quest for Perfection' has resulted in a succession of technical loudspeaker innovations that have satisfied the world’s most demanding listeners. B&W’s rave reviews and universal acceptance as the monitor for classical music recordings have helped B&W become the dominant premium loudspeaker company throughout the world.

For additional information visit www.bowers-wilkins.com

admin 02:56 PM |

LAS VEGAS, January 7, 2008—Anthony Gallo Acoustics (AGA), an award-winning manufacturer of high-end stereo and home theater speakers, will display and demo its all-new Reference 5LS line source loudspeaker at CES 2008 in the Venetian Hotel in room #29-334. Scheduled to be shipping by the second quarter of 2008, the towering speaker stands 78” tall, boasts an incredible 12 custom aluminum 4” sub-woofers and features seven of AGA’s proprietary CDT II tweeters, which possess power-handling, off-axis response and efficiency that approach the textbook definition of ideal. In addition, the Reference 5LS has eight 4' carbon fiber midrange drivers, each housed it its own 5' spherical enclosure. All enclosure parts utilize brushed stainless steel and cast aluminum throughout.

“The Reference 5LS is really the ‘big brother’ of our award-winning Reference 3.1,” states Derek Covin, vice president of national sales for AGA. “While it’s not completely omni-directional, it is the closest any line source has ever come to being omni-directional. This loudspeaker is the culmination of more than 25 years of loudspeaker design research. After an arduous and diligent design process, we’re extremely excited to show off our new flagship to the public at the CES show.”

Many line sources horizontally offset their various drivers, but AGA alternates tweeter cylinders with mid-range spheres – vertically one atop the other - in perfect time alignment. As a result, the phase and dispersion anomalies caused by the horizontal driver offsets are entirely eliminated. For additional flexibility, the 5LS features an additional pair of binding posts that offer a 2db increase in high frequencies for optimization of more varied room acoustics.

The 5LS offers the options of bi- or tri-wiring, as well as bi- or tri-amping. Although capable of handling massive power, the crossover-less design and high efficiency of both the CDT II tweeters and carbon-fiber midrange drivers are perfect mates for low-powered, high-performance amplifiers.

At 7” wide by 11” deep, the Reference 5LS sports quite a slender profile. The twelve 4” rear-firing subwoofers are “time corrected” with the front firing drivers and nearly equal the surface area of a 15” subwoofer, while offering the speed and transparency that a large single driver cannot match. In addition, the Reference 5LS features AGA’s patented S2 Technology, as well as their trademark spherical enclosures, which minimizes external diffraction and internal standing waves.

For even more flexibility, AGA offers an optional Reference SA amplifier, which features volume, phase, equalization and crossover adjustments. The Reference SA allows the speaker to be positioned for optimal imaging and soundstaging performance without compromising bass linearity. The amp was also designed to be used as the primary subwoofer amp from an LFE output to integrate the 5LS into a home theater environment without the use of an outboard subwoofer.

admin 02:52 PM |

CES Las Vegas, NV and Torrance, CA – January 6, 2008 - Stewart Filmscreen Corporation®, the industry leader in precision projection screen technologies for the home cinema and commercial markets, announces the availability of the StarLift, a motorized mechanism designed to raise and lower the innovative StarGlas rear projection screen.

StarGlas is a remarkable engineering and visual achievement that takes a thin image layer and sandwiches it between two pieces of glass. The highly versatile StarGlas qualifies as safety glass and is extremely durable allowing architects and A/V integrators to use this specially engineered glass for exciting and distinctive visual applications. The StarLift is a convenient and efficient way to house this large piece of glass, allowing an installer to place a StarGlas screen virtually anywhere such as in a bedroom or media room. The StarLift mechanism can be integrated into a piece of furniture, allowing the screen to be hidden from view until needed.

The StarLift is available in two models and comes pre-installed with a StarGlas screen. The 65H (diagonal) can be fully extended with a height of 34-inches and 57-inches wide. The larger 72H (diagonal) is 37-inches high with a width of 63-inches. There are two types of StarGlas materials that can be used depending on the application, the StarGlas 60 and the StarGlas 100. The StarGlas 60 is the largest black screen in the world and offers a peak gain of .60 making it highly resistive to ambient light. It is suitable for a variety of residential applications such as media rooms and patio theaters. The StarGlas 100 is set at a peak gain of 1.0 and is an alternative to flat panel TVs and front screens that would be used in darker environments. Capable of blocking 100% of UV light, the StarGlas screens are abrasion and stain resistant. Unlike other screen materials StarGlas is completely non-combustible.

“StarGlas is one of the most successful and intriguing products we’ve ever introduced, especially for the commercial market,” says Joaquin Rivera, Director of Sales for Stewart Filmscreen. “The StarLift, however, provides us the opportunity to bring this unique product to the residential market in a big way. Flat Panel TVs are extremely popular but they are limited by size and visual performance. Our installers like to create unforgettable and WOW-type installations for their customers. The StarLift provides them with the needed solution to specify StarGlas as a new type of screen material in home installations.”

The StarLift is available in tempered or non-tempered glass. The 65H (diagonal) will start at $8999 MSRP.

Stewart is well known for several core technology families including the FireHawk, GrayHawk, StudioTek, CineCurve and StarGlas screens. As a solutions-based company, Stewart’s state-of–the art projection systems are the first choice among systems integrators for a wide variety of residential and commercial applications. Stewart screens are engineered to meet the most rigorous optical and installation requirements, excelling at custom designs for unique projects with highly technical specifications.

About Stewart Filmscreen
Stewart Filmscreen is the world’s premier projection-screen manufacturer for both the home and commercial markets. In 2007, Stewart celebrates its 60th Anniversary. A family-owned business, Stewart Filmscreen maintains the highest standards in screen design and craftsmanship. In fact, each screen is handmade. Founded in 1947, Stewart Filmscreen has grown from a small business to an international one, with offices in Denmark and Singapore, in addition to two in the United States, including a manufacturing facility in Ohio and their headquarters in So. California. More information on Stewart Filmscreen Corporation is available at www.stewartfilmscreen.com.

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