New Surround Speaker Line Uses Summit Wireless Technology – SB Acoustics of Indonesia will be exhibiting at the January CES a series of speakers integrating Summit technology to broadcast wireless hi-def surround sound. Popular Science Magazine gave Summit its “Best of What’s New 2009” award in the home entertainment category as the first and only wireless 7.1 surround sound solution of its kind. The audio integrated circuit of Summit Wireless sets a new standard for home theater digital audio fidelity, easy of setup, instant calibration and sweet spot designation. It can map speaker location with one inch, scale automatically from 2.0 to 7.1, and has instant volume and time alignment. SB Acoustics marries the design talents of Danesian Audio of Denmark with manufacturing partner Sinar Baja Electric of Indonesia. Focus Enhancements Inc., of Campbell, CA, is the designer of Summit Wireless.
First Hybrid Broadcast Broadband TV Set-Top Box in Europe – Humax, one of the world’s leading set-top box makers, has selected the ANT Galio HbbTV platform for its new iCord HD+ set-top box, which is the first hybrid set-top box to be deployed. Consumers are allowed access to hybrid (standard or HD) video services including ARC Mediathek, Tagesschau, ARTE, Internet Radio, Maxdome, and Wikipedia. The idea is to combine the richness of broadcast and broadband content thru connected TVs and set-top boxes. The consortium aims to enhance TV offerings with interactive hybrid services such as Video on Demand, Catch Up TV, interactive ad vertising, personalisation, games and social networking. ANT is the leading provider of client software solutions and services to the digital media industry. It develops client software and applications to enable operators to exploit digital media across a broad range of onsumer devices from TV set-top boxes and iDTVs to portable media devices such as mobile phones and personal media players, regardless of content delivery platform.
Enhancements in New Yamaha Soundbar – The Yamaha YSP-5100 is an update to the popular YSP-4100 Soundbar, which has appealed to those not able or willing to install multiple surround speakers around their listening room. The unit’s 55-watt power rating remains, as well as support for DTS-HD, and Dolby TrueHD, but the 5100 has much richer sound quality and significant improvement in the bass. The improved virtual surround sound should be ideal for smaller rooms. The updated unit will be exhibited at the January CES.
Best Buy Delivers Solid Quarter – The current third quarter fiscal report from the Best Buy chain shows that both consumer electronics and home office sales gained. For the three months ending Nov. 28, the first increased 39% and the latter 33%. The large retailer, a good barometer of consumer tech spending, was up 5% from a year ago. In the U.S. revenue was up 9% from a year ago, the Best Buy’s international business was down 6% from a year ago. Flat panel TVs, notebook PCs, mobile phones and appliances were the sales leaders.
Walmart Drives Electronics Business Home – Walmart has several holiday electronics initiatives going now, with one focusing on the Nintendo Wii systems, as well as on hi-def HDTVs for Christmas. They have targeted electronics for growth, promoting their operation as the low-cost provider of basic and mainstream electronics. The timing is right, with Circuit City gone. The evolution of the market has increasingly pushed the software involved into commodity territory. Walmart challenges Amazon, Target and Best Buy.
