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Top Story: Residential AV
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Media Center Integrator
Alliance Debuts at CEDIA Expo 2008
By Rebecca Day
Seeking to enlarge the reach of the Media Center in the custom
installation world, Microsoft has spearheaded the formation of the Media
Center Integrator Alliance (MCIA). According to the charter of the
alliance, which made its debut at CEDIA Expo 2008 last month, MCIA will
offer the industry a central point of contact and interaction for all
things related to the Media Center platform. A goal of MCIA is to offer
installers and manufacturers opportunities to benefit from the best
practices, education tools and certification programs established
through the alliance.
Heading up MCIA is Kevin Collins, director of the custom installation
channel at Microsoft, who says the organization was formed at this time
to build on the momentum gained in the Media Center arena over the past
year. He cited Microsoft’s Ultimate Home contest, which drew entries
from the custom install world, along with the expansion of Media Center
PCs to include up to eight CableCard tuners and 10 Media Center
Extenders. The boost in source/zone capability positions Media Center
servers to be the center of a comprehensive whole-house electronics
system versus last year’s high-end Media Center PCs that maxed out at
four CableCard tuners and five extenders.
more>>
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Viewpoint: Connected Home
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Coming Home to Windows Home
Server, Part 10
By Eric B. Rux
It was bound to happen. Heck, it's happened many times before. I lost a
hard drive in my PC last month. If such a disaster has ever happened to
you, you understand the sinking feeling of discovering that all of your
hard work is gone.
Wait a minute! What am I thinking? My PC is backed up every night by my
Windows Home Server (WHS) system. Phew! I've tested the WHS
backup/restore process in the lab, and I've even written a detailed
how-to article on my WHSHelp website. However, now I was going to have
to do it for real. I knew the process worked, but in the back of my mind
I wondered if WHS would really save me. more>>
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Installation News
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Basement Turns Into
State-of-the-Art Home Theater
Auralex Acoustics recently played an integral role in the extraordinary
transformation of a standard, family-style basement, complete with
work-out gear and foosball table, into an impressive custom-built,
high-tech home theater. Indiana-based custom electronics integrator and
dealer TriPhase Technologies worked with interior designer Shanna
Haecker of Universal Design Group to renovate the Indianapolis space and
create a trendy, state-of-the-art residential entertainment zone, where
the family could enjoy movies and sporting events. more>>
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New Products
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Sonance Visual Performance
Series Wins Manufacturers Excellence Award for Best New
Product
The Sonance Visual Performance Series of
custom-installed loudspeakers provides a flexible range of aesthetically
pleasing loudspeakers designed for in-ceiling, in-wall, indoor/outdoor,
home theater, and single stereo applications. Visual Performance
loudspeakers are available in a variety of sizes, shapes, and
performance levels that provide a wide array of audio solutions for the
custom installation and design community.
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Analog Stereo
Audio Distribution Amplifier Available from TV One
TVOne-task’s 1T-DA-124 is actually two separate analog audio
distribution amplifiers in one case. It consists of a 1'×4' Analog
Stereo Distribution amplifier via 3.5mm Mini-Stereo connectors and a
1'×4' S/PDIF Distribution Amplifier via RCA coaxial connectors. Inputs
between the two amplifiers do not cross over and there is no
Analog-Digital conversion between the two. The unit is now shipping and
has a suggested retail price of $135.
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Wisdom Audio Partners with
D-Tools to Provide System Integrators with Detailed Sage Series Product
Information
Now that the much anticipated award-winning Sage
Series high-end architectural and freestanding speaker systems have
begun to ship, Wisdom Audio, the leader in planar magnetic technologies,
is proud to announce that it has partnered with Concord, Calif.-based
D-Tools, Inc. This collaboration within the Manufacturers Vantage Point
(MVP) program will now make it easy for users of D-Tools’
award-winning System Integrator software to specify Wisdom Audio’s
Sage Series audio systems for client projects.
more>>
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