Klein + Hummel introduces the visually appealing CLS Series of slim-line loudspeakers at InfoComm08. With special features like a power amplifier and plenty of virtual effects on the FX version, the CLS-2 Series is ideal for such applications as point-of-sale digital displays or multi-media shows. In addition Klein + Hummel is also debuting the CLS-3 Series column loudspeakers for wall-mounting in locations where high ceilings or the architectural or visual design limits speaker placement for distributed public address or background music applications. Read on at The Briefing Room

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Dealing with marketing professionals is a daily occurance for a journalist, so it takes a lot to impress me, but I do have to offer kudos to the marketing team at Chief Manufacturing, led by marketing manager Karen Mefford. The reason for this pat on the back is Chief’s keen understanding of the need for, and importance of, useful online tools for customers, dealers, and the media to use in order to fully absorb the Chief message. Thus, this week at InfoComm, the company debuted the latest in a sophisticated suite of web products created by its three-person, in-house web development team–a tool called Chief MountBuilder, which Chief is calling “a visual product configurator” of use to dealers, installers, and others incorporating Chief technology into jobs.

You can check out the free, downloadable configurator for yourself at www.chiefmfg.com/mountbuilder, but the point is that MountBuilder is just the latest online tool from a company that has been, as it celebrates its 30th Anniversary this year, at its core, an engineering firm dedicated to making a very highly specialized product. Chief, in recent months, also debuted its “Online Classroom,” its “Education Center,” its “Knowledge College” and its “Design Center,” among other useful web tools. more…

Legends In Concert, celebrating its 25th year, is the longest running independently owned production show on the Las Vegas Strip. This international award-winning stage spectacular is a live musical celebration featuring the world’s greatest celebrity tribute artists. Behind the scenes, the musicians and sound engineers at the Imperial Palace Hotel & Casino know that there is no substitute for a crystal clear monitor mix. That’s why the team at Legends turns to Aviom (InfoComm Booth C4175) gear for real results. Read on at The Briefing Room

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Lots going on at LG‘s booth (N5941), but I liked the prototypes best. Cool, sort of out-of-the-box LCD displays that may, or may not, have useful applications in the world of digital signage are on display at the booth. Among them:

*LG’s “Stretch Screen” Flatiron display for an ultra-wide-screen look. It has a fancy model number, but company officials insist “Stretch” is name enough. Check it out, and you’ll see what they mean. more…

Digital Projection officials are understandably proud of the Ultra Contrast Display demo they have running in their booth (N6340). The demo uses contrast enhanced versions of their Titan and Lightning 1080p projectors stacked and configured to offer what looked, to my eye, to be a gorgeous and dynamic presentation. The philosophy of Digital Projection’s booth is to let all the front displays as you enter the booth fully embrace ambient light from the hall and celebrate their capabilities in that fashion. But in the demo theater, the Ultra Contrast displays were cooking up to a 5000:1 contrast range in real pretty ways. Marketing Manager Michael Bridwell was understandably jazzed about the demo, and also the performance of the new Titan Pro 700 series of projectors and their redesigned chassis, designed to permit some pretty radical projector configurations in various types of staging scenarios. more…

For Wideband Solutions, five is the magic number at this year’s InfoComm show (Booth C4540). WideBand Solutions is celebrating five years as one of the leading providers of high-end audio conferencing technology, by offering its dealers at InfoComm a unique sales opportunity. Dealers who purchase five SimphoniX Si-400+ Bundles or five WC301 Universal Bundles will receive an additional Si-400+ or WC301 Universal Bundle for FREE. Read on at The Briefing Room

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I kidded George Tsintzouras, Senior Product Manager for Business Products at Christie, today that he should make infommercials for a living. That joke was based on George’s incredible enthusiasm for Christie’s new M Series line of dual-lamp, 3-chip DLP projectors, directed at the AV market. Manufacturer representatives, after all, are supposed to be enthusiastic and I’ve heard some great sells over the years. But George was positively mesmerizing while discussing what Christie views as major breakthroughs with the M Series. George’s point is that the innovation inside the M Series units revolves around impressive advances in optics, allowing two lamps to produce 10,000 lumens out of a single projector.

But he also loves the weight (just 55-lbs.), swappable lamps, intelligent lens system with encoder-based motors, and much more. He was particularly jazzed, for instance, about the filter-free, dust-sealed engine design on the system. more…

SoundTube Entertainment, a leading manufacturer of high-performance commercial sound systems, has adopted manufacturing techniques that meet the RoHS directive. RoHS is a European standard for manufacturing that includes “the restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment�. In detail, the RoHS bans any new electrical equipment that contains more than the agreed to levels of lead, cadmium, mercury, hexavalent chromium, polybrominated biphenyl (PBB) and polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE). The RoHS directive and regulations came into force on July 1, 2006. Read on at The Briefing Room

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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…

Furman, a world-leading provider of power management solutions, today announced that Christos Desalernos, domestic sales manager for Furman’s Pro Division, will conduct a training session at InfoComm 2008 in Las Vegas. The hour-long session, entitled “AC Power Management for Audio/Video Professionals,� will be held on Friday, June 20, at 10:30 a.m. in Training Room 3 (MT3) of the Las Vegas Convention Center. In his presentation, Desalernos will provide a comprehensive look at the challenges caused by AC power in modern AV installations and their solutions. Read on at The Briefing Room

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