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

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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…

Electrograph Systems (InfoComm Booth C1230), a leading national distributor of display technology products and services, will showcase the widest array of AV displays and accessories to be seen in one booth, including exclusive showings of several digital signage products, during InfoComm 08, June 18-20, in Las Vegas. Read on at The Briefing Room

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Kramer Electronics is pleased to announce the introduction of the VS-66HDMI high performance matrix switcher for HDMI signals. The product is a 6×6 HDMI switcher that re-clocks and equalizes the signal and can route any or all of the six inputs to any or all of the six outputs simultaneously. It is ideal for a wide range of Pro AV and residential applications. Read on at The Briefing Room

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AMX continues to simplify technology with its introduction of a new, pre-packaged solution that provides AMX dealers with the tools they need to sell, design and install complex meeting room systems. AMXmeetingroom simplifies set up and execution for faster installations, higher reliability and increased dealer profitability. This first-of-its-kind solution includes all functional system programming and can be fully operational within only a few minutes. AMX is demonstrating AMXmeetingroom in booth C2902 at InfoComm 2008, being held June 18 – 20 in Las Vegas. Read on at The Briefing Room

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Just back from the massive Crestron booth (N5600), where marketing manager Jeff Singer squired me around several new products and initiatives, which wasn’t easy considering Cresetron has something like 70 new products on display at InfoComm. Jeff had some definite thoughts on major industry trends and pointed me to how Crestron is addressing them. In particular, the following caught my attention:

*Jeff filled me in on Crestron’s new Research Center, which opened a few months ago in a new building on 3,000 square feet of land at Crestron’s headquarters in New Jersey, with over 300 fulltime hardware and software engineers working there. The Center was designed to be an AV research center for Crestron as it dives into new products. Singer says manufacturers of other technologies have even made inquiries about renting time in the facility to do their own research. more…

InfoComm Booth C1740 — Offering three separate functions in a single-box solution, the GefenTV Home Theater Scaler Pro switches between four audio/video sources, converts component, composite or s-video inputs to the enhanced HDMI v1.3 format, and upscales all four sources to 1080p full HD before outputting to one HDMI display or projector. Read on at The Briefing Room

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Adder, a leading developer of KVM switches, extenders and KVM over IP solutions, announced the launch of the AdderLink X50 video extender. The AdderLink X50 is a link transparent USB and high-performance video extender that delivers bright, sharp, high-quality video at up to 1920×1200 together with 44.1kHz digital stereo audio over a single CATx cable. Read on at The Briefing Room

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Started InfoComm 2008 this morning with a nice chat with Furman‘s marketing manager, John Benz (booth C3483). We got to talking about the often misunderstood world of power management, Furman’s stock in trade, and the company’s efforts to do something about that. John explains that companies like Furman compete with the antiquated notion that their products aren’t needed, as much as with direct competitors–”we mainly compete with the wall outlet,” is how he put it. Even many contractors, he says, are still having a hard time fully understanding the world of power management and control.

He then mentioned the variety of educational material the company supplies with each of its products and on its Web site, including a new series of AC Power Management videos to address these issues. (Check out www.furmansound.com/video.php) to see them. more…

Here on the InfoComm exhibit floor, all the AC power swings down from the high ceiling on big cables and from the vantage point of the Penton booth N7649, I can look across the hall and see the AC cables swinging around and a few minutes later, the booths are lighting up. I’m anticipating new developments in the area of digital audio networks and I’m going to be watching for any new hardware that helps translate between any of the various proprietary protocols. There are a lot of them out there now so we’ll soon see if anyone comes up with any new stuff to help them talk to one another when necessary.

Last night I was given a demonstration at the Educators’ reception. It appears that Extron will have a big surprise for everyone in the area of control and system configuration software. I saw it work last night and as one who uses an Extron system to control and monitor several dozen classroom AV systems on a daily basis, I’m really excited about the possibilities. If it’s as good as this looks, I want to be one of the first “local gurus” on using it. This is one time I won’t mind being something of a lab rat!

Things are really picking up here now. The noise level is building a little and more people are showing up here at the Penton booth.