Although I wasn’t able to attend this year’s CES, I’ve kept track of some of the highlights that I found interesting.

HDTVs – Bigger and Better

Manufacturers such as Samsung and LG were showcasing their new OLED TV’s.  OLED (Organic Light-Emitting Diode) is a technology that allows for blacker blacks as there is not back light on OLED TVs, this also allows them to make them much thinner than an LCD TV.   Be prepared to pay a premium for these up and coming units.  Another fad were the large format TVs, larger than 80″.  Panasonic had a 152″ panel on display!  Of course who could forget the 3D crowd.  Manufacturers like Toshiba was showcasing a 3D TV that no longer require you to wear those awkward glasses.

Ice Cream Sandwich Anyone?

With Apple not present at this years show, other tablet vendor’s came out with some offerings using the new Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich OS.  Lenovo especially, turned some heads with their tablets the IdeaPad S2 and IdeaPad K2 which boasts some powerful processing from a quad-core Tegra3 processor.  These new tablets are great additions to any control system as they will be familiar to use and cost effective.  I personally would not mind the new Asus Transformer Prime tablet in my bag.

Before...

This was a fun project to work on as it was one of our larger media room projects last year and it sort of played out like one of those reno shows on HGTV.   I call this the reno/retro project as although it was a renovation, we did have to retrofit wiring to get the end result.  Our main goal  was to maximize the space and still make it functional.  With the old setup, my client had a large plasma display with some mix and match Bose speakers along with some shelving and a credenza to hold the equipment.

The new design involved a built-in unit that would frame a projection screen, and to help maximize the space we utilized some in-wall LCRs so we didn’t have to worry about placing tower speakers in the space.  Contrary to what some people believe, in-wall or in-ceiling speakers do sound amazing if installed and setup properly.  That said, we opted to use Proficient Audio’s flag ship line of Kevlar made in-wall LCRs for the front stage.  We also replaced the surround speakers with the matching models so that all speakers would have all the same sound characteristics, very important in a home theater.  For the low end we employed a couple of existing Velodyne subs, which fit nicely underneath the granite stage.  We also used my clients’ existing Denon A/V receiver to power all the speakers.

As you can see from the after picture, the end result was a clean and spacious room. You might wonder where is all the equipment and wire? This is where the retrofit part of the project came in. All the wire had to be routed back to an adjacent mechanical room where all the a/v equipment for the entire house is racked.

Epson Pro Cinema 9700UB

The projector chosen for this project was Epson’s flagship model, the Pro Cinema 9700UB. A winner of Sound & Visions Editor’s Choice Award, this projector gives you the best bang for you buck! Equally important for producing the outstanding video was the use of Screen Innovations Reference Motorized Screen. The reference series screen features a tab-tension design to create the flattest area as well it is acoustically transparent as the LCR speakers are behind the screen.  All Screen Innovations screens can be custom ordered to suit any install environment.

Screen Innovations Reference Motorized Screen

If you are thinking of setting up a dedicated theater room such as this, there are many things to consider when it comes to budget.  From the electronic equipment to the room decor and furnishings.  For this project the budget for the custom installation and electronics was in the range of $20K-$25K. With the use of the products mentioned above, we were able to achieve an excellent cost/performance ratio.  When the room was revealed, the owner was ecstatic of the sound and video quality, comparing it to a much more expensive system he has in his 2nd home which includes a Runco projector!

Welcome everyone to 2012!  This is Cliff Designs’ 6th year of business, thank you to our clients for your support throughout the years.  As with the beginning of every year, we hit it off with CES.  For those who you who don’t know what CES is, it stands for the Consumer Electronics Show held in Las Vegas every year in January.

CES is the largest electronics trade show where all electronics manufactures come out and showcase their latest offerings.  From stereos, TVs, mobile devices and of course custom installation products like automation and control systems will be available for visitors to see.  Unfortunately CES is not open to the public, but if your lucky enough to know someone in the industry who will attend, maybe you can get invited.  We will cover some of the cool products coming out this year from manufactures like URC in the next few days.  So keep in touch and for more CES coverage, visit their website at www.cesweb.org.

Welcome to the brand new Cliff Designs Media Systems website.

We are very excited of the launch of our new website.  We now have full integration with social media like twitter and facebook as well as a very powerful content management system.  This all makes updates a breeze and allows us to easily provide you with the latest industry information.

Besides our standard company information such as the services and products we provide for various types of projects, we now have a section for some of the latest products available in the custom electronics industry.  We also have a section for featured projects which will showcase one of our past projects.  This new section will be very helpful to newcomers who want to get an idea of a project type’s budget and applied products.

We hope you find our new site informative and enjoyable to visit. Don’t forget to follow us on your favorite social media avenue to get the latest industry news and product info.

The MX-780 Remote Control provides the reliability you need when controlling your entertainment system. Its gorgeous 1.5” OLED screen gives you a higher contrast ratio than LCD screens and uses less energy as well – this means you’ll enjoy more vibrant and deeper color levels, especially in low light settings!

You can control up to 255 devices located in any room throughout your home with the MX-780. You can use your MX-780 to control components via RF, through walls and cabinet doors without having to point.  This new remote is priced aggressively to compete with Logitech Harmony products, the advantage you get with URC is flexibility, scalability and solid performance!

URC is The Pioneer in Control Technology.   Let Cliff Designs setup a control solution for you today.

Now available from Screen Innovations, the Black Diamond Zero Edge – the first affordable large flat-panel alternative, in custom diagonal sizes up to 142”.  The Zero Edge ultra-thin rigid panel sets a new aesthetic standard - with a pencil-thin bezel, the projected image appears to float off the wall.

Black Diamond Zero Edge coupled with the new Black Diamond G3 screen materials offers the most cutting edge screen technology money can buy.  Cliff Designs is an authorized SI dealer and can help you setup that new home theater with the latest projection screen technology.

Screen Innovations (SI) is a leading manufacturer of projection screen technologies for residential and commercial applications. Delivering needed solutions, aesthetically pleasing designs and competitive price points, SI screens provide unparalleled ambient light rejection and video image reproduction.

CasaTunes Ver. 3.00 is now available.

CasaTunes is an innovative multi-room music system allowing each family member to select and control the music they want to listen to. You can control CasaTunes with a web-based browser, from your iPhone or Android device or from wall-mounted keypads.

Version 3.0 is now available and adds a new plugin architecture allowing service providers to add features to the software by developing plugins. Spotify, last.fm, and Grooveshark music services are some of the new music services available in CasaTunes which use the new plugin framework.  Also an expanded list of supported A/V receivers have been added for utilizing a receiver for a zone.

To find out more information about the CasaTunes music system, visit their website at www.casatunes.com.  Cliff Designs Media Systems is an exclusive dealer for CasaTunes in Western Canada.