13 Products Changing the Custom Electronics Industry
Products from companies like Meridian, Lutron, Cary and LG represent just how much the professional installation industry is evolving to meet the public's needs.
Now that we are closing in on the end of the year, many of us are starting our Christmas shopping and other holiday-related activities.
Following in the footsteps of St. Nicholas, we at CE Pro are making our lists, too. Our list, however, doesn't contain the names of who has been naughty and niceour list is better.
It features some of the custom-installation industry's top products from the past 12 months from the categories of A/V, home theater, lighting control and power accessories.
These product choices were chosen from products that we've either reviewed in-house or received product demos during events such as CES, CEDIA and EHX.
Plus, it's always tough for installers to find quality demo content, but within the last month there have been a couple of new releases that dealers looking for new demo content should seek out.
Home Theater: Cary Cinema 11 Preamplifier/Processor
The Cary Cinema 11 preamplifier/processor is one of a handful of products on this list that was first recognized by CE Pro's sister publication Electronic House during its annual Products of the Year back in September.
The $3,000 pre/pro features all of the latest processing options (other than the new Dolby True HD and DTS-HD formats), a plethora of digital and analog inputs, a secondary zone option, an auto setup mode and the company's proprietary connection port that enables the unit to work in tandem with the companion Cinema 11v video processor.
Beyond its comprehensive list of features however, what makes the Cinema 11 special is its killer performance. With an affordable price point and top-of-the-line sound quality, this is one unit that can serve as a two-channel preamp and a theater processor without an installer having to worry about sacrificing quality for either task.
A/V Receiver: Denon AVR-4308CI
Through the years, Denon has built a following with both consumers and installers for its line of A/V receivers, which offer solid performance, versatility and value.
Recently, the company has made considerable efforts to design its receivers specifically for the custom market and the emergence of digital convergence technologies.
The best example of the company's efforts to provide installers with a product that meets the multitude of homeowner needs is the AVR-4308CI A/V receiver. Slotted in the middle of its receiver line, the 4308 incorporates just about everything an installer will need in a product designed to serve as the brains of an A/V system.
The 140-watt per channel receiver is Wi-Fi friendly and networkable, can be configured in a number of ways to provide multichannel surround and secondary zone audio, incorporates the Audyssey calibration technology, HDMI 1.3a, Dolby TrueHD, DTS-HD Master Audio, is Vista-certified, and so on.
Perhaps, best of all for installers is that the company has redesigned its GUI to facilitate easier navigation of the receiver's menus.
Click here to continue.
Products from companies like Meridian, Lutron, Cary and LG represent just how much the professional installation industry is evolving to meet the public's needs.
Now that we are closing in on the end of the year, many of us are starting our Christmas shopping and other holiday-related activities.
Following in the footsteps of St. Nicholas, we at CE Pro are making our lists, too. Our list, however, doesn't contain the names of who has been naughty and niceour list is better.
It features some of the custom-installation industry's top products from the past 12 months from the categories of A/V, home theater, lighting control and power accessories.
These product choices were chosen from products that we've either reviewed in-house or received product demos during events such as CES, CEDIA and EHX.
Plus, it's always tough for installers to find quality demo content, but within the last month there have been a couple of new releases that dealers looking for new demo content should seek out.
Home Theater: Cary Cinema 11 Preamplifier/Processor
The Cary Cinema 11 preamplifier/processor is one of a handful of products on this list that was first recognized by CE Pro's sister publication Electronic House during its annual Products of the Year back in September.
The $3,000 pre/pro features all of the latest processing options (other than the new Dolby True HD and DTS-HD formats), a plethora of digital and analog inputs, a secondary zone option, an auto setup mode and the company's proprietary connection port that enables the unit to work in tandem with the companion Cinema 11v video processor.
Beyond its comprehensive list of features however, what makes the Cinema 11 special is its killer performance. With an affordable price point and top-of-the-line sound quality, this is one unit that can serve as a two-channel preamp and a theater processor without an installer having to worry about sacrificing quality for either task.
A/V Receiver: Denon AVR-4308CI
Through the years, Denon has built a following with both consumers and installers for its line of A/V receivers, which offer solid performance, versatility and value.
Recently, the company has made considerable efforts to design its receivers specifically for the custom market and the emergence of digital convergence technologies.
The best example of the company's efforts to provide installers with a product that meets the multitude of homeowner needs is the AVR-4308CI A/V receiver. Slotted in the middle of its receiver line, the 4308 incorporates just about everything an installer will need in a product designed to serve as the brains of an A/V system.
The 140-watt per channel receiver is Wi-Fi friendly and networkable, can be configured in a number of ways to provide multichannel surround and secondary zone audio, incorporates the Audyssey calibration technology, HDMI 1.3a, Dolby TrueHD, DTS-HD Master Audio, is Vista-certified, and so on.
Perhaps, best of all for installers is that the company has redesigned its GUI to facilitate easier navigation of the receiver's menus.
Click here to continue.
