Audio News for July 18, 2007

Home Video Networking Grows – A Nielsen survey last year found that the typical home now has more than one video display for every occupant in it.  Flat panels – both HD and not – have caught the public’s fancy, and now video display panels are being put places in the home where they previously wouldn’t fit, let alone were practical. Another survey found that nearly two-thirds of consumers want their video displays to link to the Internet.  So home networking is migrating from its beginnings around the PC and just involving audio and data files to connecting a variety of consumer video devices – including DTVs, DVD recordings, cable modems, DVRs, set-top boxes and video game consoles.

By the end of 2006, 76 million home LANs (local area networks) were in use worldwide. By 2011 Wi-Fi will be the main interface for video connected devices, followed by CAT-5 wiring, power lines and coax cable. The demand for IPTV and multiroom DVR is caused cable, satellite and telecom operators to consider a variety of new high-speed networking technologies for the home besides Wi-Fi. Makers of TVs and other devices with video displays are incorporating Internet Protocol-based connectivity so that users can access both Internet-based media portals as well as their own user-created content. Consumers are now beginning to expect the same portability with their video media as they have with audio. That means portable versions to take with you on the go, and in the home being able to view video content in any room, no matter the source. Distributed video in the home is gaining ground as a status milestone. It is felt that eventually there will be no difference between installing a distributed audio or video system in a new home; all the content and control information will be in the digital domain over a single IP-based home network.

New Chipset Supports Video Networking – An example of what is being done to support the need for wireless delivery of video content on the home network is a new 802.11n-compliant WLANPlus chipset family from Metalink Ltd. and Brilliant Technologies Company of Japan. It supports up toe 300Mbps transmission speeds using either the 2.4GHz or 5GHz frequency bands. Japan, as the world leader in electronics manufacturing, is the home of many of the companies fulfilling the demand for home entertainment devices that operate wirelessly and can support HD content with wire-like quality. The emergence of 802.11n, the new Wi-Fi standard, has made this possible.

McIntosh Laboratory Trade-UP Program – McIntosh, longtime leader in high end home audio systems, has announced a special incentive program for loyal owners of McIntosh power amps. During the program, consumers may trade in their McIntosh amp – regardless of age  – and receive up to 75% of hits original SRP toward a new model McIntosh power amp. To qualify, all trade-ins must be functional and maintain their original design.