DTS Neo:X 11.1-Channel Surround Sound – At the recent CeBIT Show in Hanover, Germany, DTS introduced its 11.1 surround sound system and Neo:X technology to the European market. It is said to be the world’s first 11.1-channel surround system and the next generation of immersive 3D entertainment for home theater fans and industry audio professionals. Neo:X provides a semi-spherical soundfield using a 11.1 speaker configuration – adding height and width speakers to create a natural, immersive, spacious and lifelike 3D surround soundscape. (At least that’s what the announcement said.) The technology is tied in with Intel processor-based home storage solutions. No details were provided on how the 11.1 channels were generated. The penetration of DTS in the consumer audio field has grown greatly due to its DTS-HD Master Audio lossless technology being used on the soundtracks of most Blu-ray discs. It has also emerged into the PC space with its DTS Premium Suite and a growing presence in mobile, networked and online media-capable devices.
Head of Universal Goes to Sony – The former head of the No. 1 record label Universal Music Group, who was pivotal in the creation of the top music online destination VEVO, will join second-place Sony Music Entertainment as its CEO on July 1. Doug Morris will replace Rolf Schmidt-Holtz at Sony, who has run the company since 2006. In October 2008 Sony bought out Bertelsmann AG (RCA Victor) for $900 million.
New Toshiba Hi-Res TV Controlled From iPad – Toshiba’s Regza Z2 Series will feature a high-performance image processing chip built into its 37 to 47-inch models. Previous super-resolution technology processes a single displayed frame, but the Z2 technology uses information from four frames (displayed, two past frames and the next frame). As a result, it can reproduce original video with higher resolution and also reduces video noise. When digital video signals are transmitted they are compressed to ¼ of their normal size, and the Z2 technology is said to restore that information. Toshiba has also improved the contrast ratio by 45% and reduce the boot-up time of the screen program guide from 1.8 to .3 seconds. Up to four 2TB hard disks can be connected to record TV programs, and the sets come with three tuners built in, and are controllable from an iPad.
Best Buy and Home Depot Close Stores in China – China may be the world’s biggest and fastest-growing consumer market but some U.S. retailers are find it to easy sell as tough competition and an online shopping boom is prompting some big names to pack it up or change their marketing strategy. Best Buy this week closed all nine of its brand name stores in China, and Home Depot has closed down in Beijing, and that’s only one of several outlets it has closed since 2009. Some stores in the provinces where costs are lower and competition less have been retained.
Wayne Shorter – In Memoriam
Rememberance of the artist
