Smart Home Lifestyle

September 30, 2006

Media centers offering 1-stop entertainment access take spotlight at tech expo

As little as five years ago you could have mistaken CEDIA EXPO for a “star trekkie” convention, unlike this year’s trendy “high-techie” convention. No Klingons here. Just headliner Kid Rock, plus the coolest in gadgets and music and home theaters, oh my.

"CEDIA gives the opportunity to see all the new products first hand and make our own decisions about performance, free of marketing hype," said Adam Eberhardt, Comtec Senior System Design Consultant. "Sometimes you need to see it with your own two eyes and not in a perfectly lit advertising picture."

The Comtec guys said CEDIA was bigger and better than ever, with more than 600 exhibitors displaying the latest technologies and products to over 28,000 people.

So, what was hot? Media Centers. Last year iPod integration took center stage, but this year, manufacturers kicked it up several notches to a multi-media fusion.

“Convergence between your PC and your entertainment system has been talked about for years,” said Eberhardt. “It finally seems to be happening, with the support of just about all major manufacturers and vendors.”

Media Centers bridge the gap between home theater, digital entertainment and personal computing. Imagine having all your photos, movies and music in one place. Plus, access the Internet and e-mail from any computer or television in your home.

HP’s new ad campaign, “One for all, all for one” pretty much sums up their Digital Entertainment Center. HP give access to all your multimedia, but the best part is it’s built in DVR.

It also includes features like HDMI connectivity, fixed-line audio out and streamlined software build, that helps custom integrators provide digital entertainment and digital automation to various types of residential developments, taking the entertainemnt experience beyond just the home theater.

The Momentum Group, a technology integration firm specializing in custom residential and multi-dwelling units, selected HP as its preferred technology supplier for an 800-unit, five-star development in Miami. HP will supply HD TVs, printers and Media Center-based PCs and DECs.

“This project represents the future of home technology and how it will be integrated into everyday lifestyles,” said Daniel Kippycash, president and chief executive officer, The Momentum Group. “Residents of this project are very excited when they learn that HP products are being featured because of its reputation for innovation and quality.”

Pioneer Electronics jumped on board too, displaying their new line of Elite plasma TVs with computer networking connections built in. Pioneer’s Home Media Gallery connects via Ethernet or USB, and like other media centers, it gives access to movies, music and photos stored on a networked PC.

Finally, the Niveus booth caused quite a stir this year. Known as a high-end PC manufacturer, Niveus followed the trends, combining home theater with PC for high quality unit dedicated for your entertainment center. Plus, they saw the need to incorporate high definition options.

“We see HD DVD as the natural successor to the DVD format, with its superb high-resolution video quality powered by the VC-1 video compression standard, great audio quality and innovative interactivity powered by HDi™. We are very pleased to see Niveus bring together the power of HD DVD and Media Center together in such an attractive way,” said Amir Majidimehr, corporate vice president of the Consumer Media Technology Group at Microsoft Corp.

According to Eberhart, it was obvious that CEDIA 2006 boasted products that enhance the home theater experience while possibly replacing some of the current componts.

“With the success of the iTunes store, it seems downloadable media is here to stay and is being integrated into your home theater,” said Eberhardt. “But just remember, with all these new high bandwidth technologies, correctly installed structured wiring is more important than ever.”

Author: Diana Kostigen, Marketing/Public Relations Director, Comtec