Bosch brands Midas and Klark Teknik announced at a booth press conference that effective July 1, Midas Consoles North America has been appointed as the exclusive distribution channel for Midas and Klark Teknik in the U.S. and Canada. Based in the Los Angeles-area, Midas Consoles North America is a wholly owned subsidiary of JAM Industries.
The move gives Midas and Klark Teknik direct control of its U.S. distribution channel as it markets the XL8 and PRO6 digital systems in the U.S. market. Midas’ David McNutt said that the existing Midas rep force in North America would be retained. more…

Busy news show for EAW (and if you’re here you should go to room 202A to see the Mackie HD speakers) but here are a few quick new product hits:

-DX1208 DSP Matrix Mixer. Next generation DSP, 12-in, 8-out 1RU matrix mixer.

-MicroWedge Series MicroSub. Stage monitor, particularly ideal for drummers (says EAW). Projects on a 45-degree angle and can stand on it’s side (points at the drummer not the drums).

And also in room 202A you can learn more about the custom product work EAW did for installations including the Orioles, the Eagles, the Met’s Citi Field, and others. This is the work of EAWs Strategic Engineering Group out of Whitinsville, Mass.

Press release

Sennheiser Electronic Corporation will introduce K-array, the newest addition to its family of distributed brands, at InfoComm 09. K-array manufactures incredibly thin, lightweight loudspeakers that deliver impressive power and sound quality for medium- to large-scale applications, including touring, events, installed sound, and broadcast. Read on at The Briefing Room

More InfoComm 09 news from The Briefing Room

Checking out the little hotel room setup at the LG booth (5321), I noticed the Pro:Centricâ„¢ LCD Widescreen monitors there, and soon found my self in a chat with LG National Sales Manager Ron Lindeman about the present and future of the hospitality market. Ron explained that the movement of LG and other manufacturers into the “smart” side of hospitality, or as he calls it, the “solutions side” is moving ahead far quicker than many of us might have imagined.

Despite the economic downturn, Ron said several major hotel chains are already partnering with LG dealers to upgrade and install user-oriented solutions networked with LG monitors designed to make visits to such hotels, and repeat visits especially, more luxurious. The notion is that they need state-of-the-art, high-end technology infrastructures to lure visitors in this challenging economy, and more importantly, after the economy finally improves. more…

In the EAW demo room, I ran into Jeffrey Cox, who’s here with a brand new title and role as VP of the newly-minted Pro Audio Group, part of a larger LOUD announcement that will be detailed in a press conference at 4 p.m.

It will likely be one of the most dissected announcements of the show, not least because it brings EAW and Martin together under Cox, an arrangement that begs the obvious question (see Jeffrey’s quote on that below). more…

Gazing at a beautiful video jukebox at the LG booth (5321) this morning (47-in. LG plasma running interactive jukebox software from Ecast), I happened to comment that it was about time video jukeboxes were infiltrating bars, restaurants and clubs. LG officials told me such systems are up and running at dozens of venues and at US Cellular Field in Chicago, where the Chicago White Sox play. They’re quite common in bars, I learned. Who knew? I don’t visit bars and, as a result, a huge gap in my learning has developed. Perhaps I’ll rectify that this week in Orlando.

–MG

Canon has a cool demo going on at its booth (5249) for the next generation of the Realis WUX10 projector. The WUX10 Mark II D prototype (expected to ship in October), in DICOM Simulation mode, is being promoted specifically for medical teaching (not diagnosis, the Canon guys emphasized out of an abundance of caution) applications.

The demo (1920×1200 resolution via Canon’s LCoS and AISYS technologies) is impressive, with gamma adjustable and grayscale detail that medical professionals will probably find even more impressive than I did.

Canon is showing various Realis configurations for all sorts of applications in its various demos—immersive in a dome, 3D, medical, and much more. Worth taking a gander at during your InfoComm wanderings.

—MG

As InfoComm 09 launched this morning, I immediately ran into an old friend, Marc Lopez of Yamaha. Marc pointed out how big a deal digital audio networking is to a manufacturer like Yamaha, and said as of InfoComm 09, that most new Yamaha hardware is now networkable with Audinate‘s Dante protocol. A formal press conference at the Audinate booth (5842) Wednesday will have more details, but Yamaha will start distributing a new Dante nework format card in September. It’s a format Marc says Yamaha “sees a lot of potential in. We are now fluid in the langauge of Dante.”

As is Yamaha with all other legitimate network protocols. And Yamaha has a variety of other software news going on this year, such as its new DME software update (DME v. 3.5). The boys in Yamaha’s labs, he admits, spend much of their time these days on software design and development even though the company will always be known first and foremost as a hardware manufacturer. These days, those two missions are hopelessly, and permanently, intertwined. more…

Once again this year, at InfoComm 08 in Las Vegas, SVC‘s editorial team fanned out to find some of the most important, leading-edge AV-related products debuting at the show, investigating if they might be deserving of our annual InfoComm Pick Hit awards. Read on at The Briefing Room

Liberty Wire & Cable, worldwide supplier of a broad range of wire and cable products for the audio/video trade, including custom installers and systems integrators, has announced publication of its first-ever guide to fiber optic products and solutions, available for the first time at InfoComm 2008. Read on at The Briefing Room

More InfoComm 08 news from The Briefing Room