Danley Sound Labs was showing its dozens of new offerings in its demo room. In terms of raw numbers of new product introductions, so far Danley has beaten every other company I’ve visited. Mike Hedden gave me a rundown of the most prominent new boxes. Danley’s new GH-60 is quite a monster — 18 drivers (8 low, 8 mids, and 2 highs) per cabinet, using the company’s new Synergy horn. Hedden explained that the GH-60 avoids some of the problems associated with line array systems – for instance, that coupling filters don’t work at all frequencies. It’s got a 60 degree horizontal and 45 degree vertical pattern, and actually makes use of all of those 45 degrees (at the top). The GH-60 offers 20dB of gain (rather than a typical 6dB of a line array). Hedden claimed that when it’s hung at 25ft., the cabinet provides even coverage from 10ft. to 100ft. out.

One technological feature that helps support that last claim is the patent-pending amplitude-shading technology, which depends on a “shaded amplitude lens,” a physical means of directing the sound. (Hedden says that Altec did something similar 50 years ago). Another box (2′x2′, for possible ceiling install) that does not yet have a name uses this amplitude shading to achieve an extremely directional sound. Look out for that future product from Danley.

Barco, a world leader in advanced digital projection, is pleased to announce the latest addition to its portfolio of projectors: the NW-12. It features a native WUXGA resolution (1920×1200), offers users a greater pixel canvas, allows them to display more sources than ever in full resolution and is fully compatible with modern high-end laptops. Read on at The Briefing Room

More InfoComm 08 news from The Briefing Room

Despite having a lousy position in North Hall (N7453), Pantel is still stopping passersby. The company’s weather-proof panels are only a year in production, so Pantel is a little less well-known. But that’s about to change.

It’s all about the water when you’re in the company’s miniscule booth (well, water and the live music funneling over from stage just yonder; it makes the water seem even flashier). The water that’s being sprayed on the company’s displays is a slick graphic, hence the stopping. And the water being sprayed on the mirror-like unit? That’s a water-proof display unit that’s going into Hard Rock Hotel showers. more…

Pioneer is pushing its plasma KURO brand industrial monitors (50-inch and 60-inch) at its booth (N5661) by demonstrating them side-by-side with the consumer versions of those monitors (not much image difference that I can see, but then, my eyes aren’t that reliable–the differences are more about size, inputs/outputs and what-not).

The company has also placed the newest KUROs in all their glory next to older models of Pioneer Plasmas dating all the way back to 1997. In just barely over 10 years, as the demo and the detailed timeline that accompanies it (which details Pioneer’s innovations in Plasma technology going back to 1991) illustrate, general image quality, particularly in black levels, has dramatically improved, while energy consumption has greatly decreased. I found it an interesting reminder of how rapidly technology in the display arena is evolving.

–MG

AMX (C2902), active as always at InfoComm, offered lots of highlights to think about in keeping with the trends I’ve been watching the last couple of days. In particular, the company’s “Making Technology Green� presentation caught my eye. AMX’s approach to power monitoring and data analysis within a control interface is built on its Meeting Manager technology (version 3.28 debuted at InfoComm this week). It essentially gives administrators the ability to monitor and analyze power consumption, establish rules for power use, and receive notifications when those rules are violated—among other highlights.

AMX executive Robert Noble also emphasized the obvious—that globalization is, indeed, real. He said that AMX’s business currently is almost 50% international at this point, and that number he fully expects to grow. He confided that the Burj Dubai tower, the world’s newest tallest building, has been specked out to include, according to Noble, “hundreds of AMX systems.â€? more…

I’m looking for a quote at the Tannoy demo room in the North Hall. “Three days in, not enough sleep, too much to drink?� offers Marc Bertrand helpfully. “Nothing our customer base doesn’t already know.�

Still, there is news at Tannoy, big news actually: the launch of the VQ Series—a line of precise directional loudspeakers, built for large scale installations that need great quality–and high SPLs. Really high SPLs.

Since the press release calls them “revolutionaryâ€? I need to know why, specifically. more…

ClearOne, a leading global provider of high performance audio conferencing solutions, announced the new Converge PA 2250 and Converge PA 4160 professional audio amplifiers. The PA 2250 is a two channel amplifier that provides 250 watts per channel while the PA 4160 is a four channel amplifier, providing 160 watts per channel. The PA 2250 and PA 4160, with their ample power and exceptional audio performance, satisfy the demand for high definition, multi-channel audio for conferencing, rich media presentations, and sound reinforcement applications. Read on at The Briefing Room

More InfoComm 08 news from The Briefing Room

Chyron, known best as the broadcast industry’s standard for on-screen graphics, has developed over the last five years a strong foothold in the digital signage space. The ChyTV products are designed for basic applications that often involve only a single screen — think of a deli with a busy lunch line, entertaining its customers with a live television feed while trying to promote specials (via graphics around the border).

The focus of the ChyTV line has not changed much, except that it’s participated in the industry’s general move toward HD. The new ChyTV HD 150, for instance, accepts an SD video feed on the input and incorporates digital signage graphics on the output and upscales the aggregate signal to 720p or 1080i/p. It also plays clips via its 160GB hard drive. more…

Yamaha Commercial Audio Systems announces the availability of the PM5D-EX digital console power package. The live sound and recording system combines a Yamaha PM5D Digital Mixing Console with a DSP5D Expander doubling the I/O and processing capacity of two PM5D consoles but controlled from a single surface. The system features 96 mono and 16 stereo input channels in a very flexible configuration. Read on at The Briefing Room

More InfoComm 08 news from The Briefing Room

Talking with Ralph Bachofen, senior director of product management and marketing. He’s here in at least two roles—he spoke at a packed NXTcomm session on video quality for IPTV and he’s on the LG booth at InfoComm with Treveni’s digital signage software.

Specifically they’re showing the Treveni software riding atop the built in controller of the LG M4210N HD LCD—called the Ensignia Digital Signage Lobby system. This is a wireless virtually installation-free deployment; it also comes in a networked version, that plays into what Bachofen says is a desire for end-to-end, simple systems. “You power it up and it’s a sign,â€? Bachofen says. Treveni already has a deal to distribute the Ensignia Lobby signage system here in Vegas through Innovative. more…