LG Begins 3D Ad Campaign – Expect to see lots of “Only LG” advertising both online and in print, as LG aims to generate excitement for its Cinema 3D TVs by telling the story thru consumer’s eyes. A marketing VP said “3D needs to be experience first-hand, just like taking a roller coaster ride into a new dimension…you won’t get it unless you experience it.” The idea is to help retailers drive traffic into stores. So far this year, LG has increased its Cinema passive 3D LCD sales by more than 300% over last year.
A New Audiofest in Washington D.C. Area – July 13-15 are the dates for the Capital Audiofest at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Rockville, MD. The show began as a one-man effort and has grown to 40 exhibit rooms this time, and is planning draw as many as 1500 attendees from as far as Canada and the Midwest. One of the issues of some audio shows—sufficient electrical power—has been solved. Some of the exhibitors will mix vintage and new audio gear, there will be raffle items and both jazz performances and an acoustic duo to provide a live reference.
Anthem Announces 3D Versions of Their AV Processors – Canada’s Anthem now has 3D upgrades to their Statement D2v and AVM 50v AV processors. When they detect 3D video, the new circuits go into pass-thru mode, passing the 3D HDMI signal from a 3D Blu-ray deck to a 3D display at 1080p resolution. For added convenience, in pass-thru mode the output refresh rate is now automatically matched to the source’s frame refresh rate—useful for sources that output a mix between 24, 50 and 60 Hz (which you might run into in Canada). (But consider that you nearly always achieve better image and sound by going direct from your Blu-ray deck to your video display, with the audio connection on a separate cable, rather than thru the AV processor.)
Classical News – The New York Philharmonic is losing its longtime concertmaster, Glenn Dicterow, who will be taking a new position at the University of Southern California’s Thornton School of Music. He had been appointed concertmaster by Zubin Mehta in 1980. The Russian principal cellist in the Beijing Symphony has been fired after a video of him yelling profanities at a woman who asked him to remove his feet from a seat on a train went viral. A statement from the orchestra said his behavior had “severely harmed the reputation of the Orchestra.” The Cairo Egyptian Blind Girls Orchestra is exactly what it says: an assembly of white-veiled Egyptian women in matching black gowns, who have memorized every note of every work from Braille scores—since it is impossible to play their instruments and read Braille at the same time. The orchestra of 38 blind women, founded in 1954, travels the world playing at embassies, conservatories and other international outlets.
Wayne Shorter – In Memoriam
Rememberance of the artist
