CEDIA Expo 2018 – Show Coverage

At first, I thought the IMAX Enhanced certified Sony Master Series Z9F was the OLED – the picture was absolutely mesmerizing. It produces over 1,800 nits and looked great in the brightly lit convention center. The A9F looked really smooth and contrasty, but obviously a bit dim for this type of environment. Although it does use an LG OLED panel, Sony televisions are known to have the best processing chips. They’re setting the bar with the new X1 Ultimate. I wouldn’t be surprised if both of these MASTER Series panels are in the world’s Top 5.

Sony‘s modular Crystal LED display system – The best giant screen for picture quality on the planet.

Sony‘s dual 4K (8K) HDR projectors demo was by far and wide, the best picture from a projector I’ve EVER seen. The demo from the movie Jumanji looked like what I remembered from watching that movie on my OLED TV – but at a much larger and immersive scale. Incredibly deep and accurate colors, contrast, and resolution. The IMAX Enhanced certified Sony VPL-VW995ES goes for $34,999.99 – and you’ll need two.

Klipsch sets up their One Stop Shop. They were exhibiting many audio solutions for both residential and commercial custom integrations. This includes their new Klipsch Heritage Theater Bar (passive LCR, horn-loaded soundbar) and new IP-controlled, ultra-compact Klipsch C-Series subwoofers. They also demoed a few outdoor speakers.

Earthquake Sound – This demo was of Unbroken (2014) was unbelievably fun. I was describing to Abraham Sahyoun (VP of Ops of Earthquake Sound Corporation) how their MQB-1 tactile transducers add so much enjoyment and immersion to the movie watching experience. It was something missing from all the other crazy Dolby Atmos setups at the show. These movies contain information under 20 Hz. If we can’t hear them, we might as well feel them.

These are some hardcore locks…

Bluesound NODE 2, POWERNODE 2, and VAULT 2 were on full display. Rip, stream, and play your music without breaking the bank or taking up a huge amount of space. I love the look of these components.

The world’s first 8K DLP project – The Digital Projection INSIGHT LASER 8K. Looked pretty good!

A very refreshing setup at the show – even got a nice T-shirt! I have both Alexa and Google devices and I’ve found Google to be consistently “smarter.” I have a Google home/mini in every room and use Roon to group play to them. I also have a few Nest smoke alarms that tie in very well with the ecosystem.

Yale and August make some of the most sophisticated smart locks out there.

High Definition Golf – It’s a thing.