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InfoComm Wrap-up 2005

Aug 5, 2005 8:00 AM

When I think of InfoComm, a snippet of an old Doobie Brothers song comes to mind: “It keeps you runnin’…” This is a big show, with much territory to cover. While not as large as NAB or CES, InfoComm has steadily grown to a size that only a limited number of convention facilities can accommodate. My feet and legs will attest to that!

Drawing record numbers of exhibitors and attendees, InfoComm 2005 in Las Vegas had much to offer in the way of new AV technology. The show also featured many opportunities for professional development by way of a diverse offering of classes, workshops, and seminars held throughout the week. This included the second running of Super Tuesday, intensive and comprehensive six-hour technology and business workshops on the Tuesday before the show.

Additionally, six technology pavilions in specially designated areas throughout the exhibit floor featured interactive exhibits and seminars, as well as the opportunity to get more in-depth information via one-on-ones with manufacturers. The Streaming Media Pavilion proved to be a popular location. Sponsored by Sound & Video Contractor, Video Systems, and SRO magazines, it’s now in its second year. Other pavilions included the Audio Pavilion, Collaborative Conferencing Pavilion, Digital Signage Pavilion, Presentations Pavilion, and Residential Pavilion.

ICIA Executive Director Randal Lemke said the audio area of this year’s show was markedly larger, and commented on the popularity of the pavilions. “The audio section of the exhibit floor grew dramatically, with over 200 companies offering a full range of audio technologies and solutions,” Lemke says. “As the total information communications trade show, InfoComm is responsive to attendees’ needs to explore all solutions in one convenient location: audio, video, display, projection, conferencing, streaming media, lighting, staging, digital signage, presentations, control, [and] networked and wireless AV systems, as well as how these technologies are used in various professional applications.”

On the Show Floor
Sony kicked off the InfoComm exhibition with an early-morning press conference that introduced the newest members of its Ipela line of IP-based videoconferencing systems. The PCS-TL30 standalone videoconferencing desktop system supports H.264 standards to deliver video at up to 2Mbps. The PCS-G50 Video Communications System uses H.264 and H.263 to deliver video at up to 4Mbps, and it bridges mixed calls between ISDN and IP networks. Sony says videoconferencing currently constitutes a $534 million annual industry, and it's growing 9.7 percent annually. Even schools are getting in the game: Sony says the Pasadena (Texas) Independent School District is installing 800 SNCDF70 Ipela cameras for general surveillance.

As for front projectors, Sony says the market continues to grow. In 2003, 2.3 million units were sold; last year, it was 3.5 million. At the show, Sony introduced the VPL-CX20A and VPL-CS20A, two sub-5lb. LCD projectors rated at 2000 ANSI lumens. The enhanced VPL-CX76 and VPL-CX86 projectors now offer 802.11b/g wireless networking capability for even faster wireless performance using Sony's airshot system. The new XGA-resolution VPL-PX41 features 3500 ANSI lumens of brightness and a 10BaseT/100BaseTX interface for device monitoring and web-based control.

At InfoComm this year, JVC did not unveil projectors designed primarily for the integrator/installer market, though the existing DLA-QX1 did make its ultra-high-resolution presence known in the Large Venue Hall. The only display introduced was the D-ILA-based DLA-HRM1, a 30in. deep 1920x1080 reference monitor designed for the most critical display applications, like HD post and HD surveillance.

Most interesting to integrators, though, are the new ProHD DVD players that JVC unveiled. The SRDVD-100U is a standard red-laser DVD player. Designed as a "loop player," it's perfect for digital signage applications and plays HDV MPEG-2 transport streams (up to 30 minutes on a standard red-laser DVD disc) and handles other emerging "HD-lite" formats like DivX and Windows Media 9. Available in September, the SRDVD-100U also plays standard-def DVDs and can even upconvert them to HD. There's a USB 2.0 connector on the front panel for playback of files stored on external hard drives.

Big news from Sampo at InfoComm was that its new line of LCD and plasma displays is network-enabled. They're IP-addressable, with RJ-45 (Ethernet) and RS-232 ports, so they can be controlled remotely by an existing network infrastructure. Network administrators can use PDAs or web browsers to power-on and -off the units, as well as control picture in picture or switch the video source. Sampo showed the LME-42X8, a 42in. LCD panel with 1366x768 native resolution built-in TV tuner set to retail for only $3,999.

The theme of display networking continued at the Samsung booth. The display manufacturer showcased several new plasma and LCD monitors. Samsung has partnered with DynaTek Media on digital signage software that pushes content to display locations. Networking is a $700 option on Samsung screens, which puts a Windows CE computer in each panel. New plasma screens included the 42in., 1024x768 PPM42M5H; the 42in., 852x480 PPM42M5S; and the 50in., 1366x768 PPM50M5H. As for LCD screens, Samsung introduced network-enabled 46in. SyncMaster 460pn and the 40in. SyncMaster 400pn, and the non-network-enabled but otherwise identical 46in. SyncMaster 460p and the 40in. SyncMaster 400p. All four displays feature a resolution of 1366x768.

Samsung also showed a home-theater projector, the SP-H800, which uses gamma curves to reproduce color standards accurately. And though there are no plans yet to distribute it in the U.S., Samsung showed a tiny DLP-based pocket projector with a 25-lumen LED light engine.

LG expects to ship a 55in. LCD in Q4 and a 71in. plasma in September or October. Both are touted to be the "largest production model" in their respective categories. The 55in. LCD (the L5500C) features full 1920x1080p resolution for the highest pixel count currently available. Also features at InfoComm was the L4200A, a 42in. plasma with high 1366x768 resolution. According to LG, Super In-Plane-Switching technology delivers both the fastest response time and the widest viewing angle (178 degrees) to the LCD displays. As for the 71in. plasma, the MW-71Y10 is also a 1920x1080 progressive-scan device.

Electrosonic showed a powerful new image processor designed for sending RGB and digital video to extremely large video display walls. The VN-Quantum uses the new Vector processor, and a single-frame system can carry up to 144 full-frame video sources and 64 graphics sources for simultaneous viewing. Alternately, the VN-Quantum can serve up to 28 displays at once. The key to the system is the RAPT bus that carries data at 10Gbps.

Silicon Optix recently bought Teranex, a company renowned for its image processing technology. Building on this technology, Silicon Optix introduced its HQV chip last year. The chip performs a trillion operations per second to output 480p (standard DVDs, for example) as 1080-line HD. In uprezzing 480p content to 1080 via 10-bit processing, the HQV chip "invents" about 80 percent of the pixels, but manages to keep the picture sharp. NEC is using the chip in the TheaterSync processing unit, a standalone device that connects to NEC's plasams, and JVC has it in the aforementioned DLA-HRM1 rear-projection unit.

Panasonic announced a variety of new products at InfoComm 2005, including a touchscreen module for its 65in. plasma. The TY-TP65P7S add-on uses an optical sensor system to allow users to interact directly with the screen via their finger or a touch pen. Panasonic also introduced two new standard-def plasmas, the 42in. Th-42PWD8UK and the 37in. TH-37PWD8UK, claiming a 20 percent improvement in peak brightness for the eighth-generation models. Panasonic also introduced the PT-D3500, a one-chip DLP projector with XGA resolution and a brightness rating of over 3,500 lumens. That projector weights 17.4lbs.; at the other end of the scale are the company's new PT-LG30U series. The wireless PT-LB30NTU weighs only 5.7lbs. and its companion PT-LB30U weighs 5.5lbs. Still, they're comparatively bright at 3000 lumens each, and both have XGA resolution.

NEC arranged its booth to reflect the major application areas that the company serves: the classroom, the home, the boardroom, etc. Now the number-two manufacturer of professional projectors and plasma displays, it claims, NEC introduced six new projectors at InfoComm. The VT series is designed for schools and business. The new VT models range from the VT27 (NEC's least expensive projector at $795, an SVGA model with 1500 lumens of brightness) to the VT676 (XGA native resolution, 2500 lumens). The LT series is designed to appeal to business travelers who might want to use their projectors as home-theater units on the weekends. The LT20 is only 2.2lbs. and features XGA resolution and 1500 ANSI lumens of brightness. Besides projectors, NEC introduced five commercial and four residential plasma displays at InfoComm, ranging from 42 to 61in.

Sharp debuted the PN-455, a 45in. LCD monitor with native 1920x1080 resolution, which can show 1080i HD content with pixel-for-pixel accuracy. With a 60,000-hour life for its backlight, the monitor can run continuously for about seven years. The PN-455 retails for under $10,000. On the projector side of its business, Sharp continues to offer both DLP and LCD models. It introduced four new models in its Educator Series of single-chip DLP projectors. They range from the XR-10S, with SVGA resolution and 2000 lumens of brightness, to the XGA-resolution XR-20X projector with 2300 lumens. The Conference Series includes the XG-C68X (3600 lumens) and XG-C58X (3300 lumens). Both have native XGA resolution and a separate cooling system for each LCD panel.

Hitachi America introduced several projectors, including a pair of XGA-resolution LCD models that serve different sides of the company’s customer base. The X3450 is designed business use, especially for travelers—it’s light at 5.5lbs. and offers 2000 lumens of brightness. The ED-X3400 is designed more for educational environments, with 1500 lumens of brightness that would be more than enough for controlled lighting situations. Hitachi says that the new XGA projector has an extended lamp life. And is designed for untrained users. Hitachi was also touting its projector line’s compatibility with Avocent's new point-to-multipoint wireless transmission systems for component video.

Avocent’s new Emerge WMS1000, a wireless product that sends analog video up to WXGA resolution up to 1,000ft., eliminates the need for a dedicated computer for each display and for extensive cabling within a facility. It's $1,195 for a point-to-point pair. The WMS1000 will be available in Q3 this year, says Avocent.

Optoma introduced a trio of DLP-based projectors at InfoComm. The H27 is an entry-level home-theater projector with 850 lumens of brightness and a native resolution of 854x480. The tiny EP729 has XGA resolution and weighs only 2.2lbs. Designed for business travelers, the EP729 features 1600 lumens of brightness and a contrast ratio of 2200:1. The Optoma EP719 is a larger version of that, with XGA resolution and a brighter lamp rated at 2000 ANSI lumens.

Comprehensive Video Group introduced a scaler and seamless 7X switcher, the CVG-719DS, designed for applications such as lecture halls. The CVG-719DS converts composite video, S-Video, component video (SDTV and HDTV), VGA through UXGA, and DVI-D signals to 14 user-selectable pixel rates. The company also introduced HDMI and DVI cable that's designed to travel 50ft., which will obviate the need for extenders or repeaters in many situations.

Though AC power is necessary to keep all these displays running, AC noise threatens to degrade the pictures that the displays put out as well as the circuitry of the displays themselves. Furman Sound has carved out a niche for itself in the realm of AC power conditioning. At InfoComm 2005, Furman introduced SMP+ technology, which stops electrical surges and spikes, reduces noise, and responds to overvoltage conditions that would damage AV equipment. It's being implemented in two new rackmount products, the AR-15 voltage regulator and power conditioner and the Power Factor Pro R power conditioner, as well as in the AC-215 power purification and protection unit, a box that sits behind a plasma or LCD screen. In addtion, Furman offers power strips that incorporate SMP+ technology for $100-$150.

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