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Cirque du CEDIA…In Pictures

If CEDIA EXPO, September 7-11 in Indianapolis, was any indication, the custom installation industry is alive and well. New and improved products were on display, new CEDIA University training courses received strong support, and if you attended Saturday nights Awards Banquet, you were treated to the mesmerizing performances of Cirque du CEDIA. In case you couldnt make it to Indy this year or attended and want to reminisce, heres CEDIA EXPO 2005, in words and pictures.

More than 26,000 custom electronics professionals convened September 7-11 at the Indiana Convention Center and RCA Dome in Indianapolis for CEDIA EXPO 2005the largest in EXPOs 16-year history. Ushering the throngs of people into the show was CEDIA executive director, Billilynne Keller.

On the show floor, Crestrons vice president of technology, Fred Bargetzi, explained how the companys Adagio Home Entertainment Solutions is designed as a complete plug-and-play solution. It consists of several products, including whole-house audio distribution, a home entertainment system, a digital audio server, and an audio room expander.

During a press conference, H-P Products floor care marketing manager, Amy Wesely, described her companys new, more powerful, and quieter Dirt Devil Dynamic systems, which are priced competitively and no higher than their predecessors. The new units represent H-P Products quietest systems to date.

Cheap Trick rocked out to 3,000 industry dealers September 8, at the Murat Center in a show hosted by SpeakerCraft. SpeakerCraft, which also hosted the CEDIA Opening Reception on September 9 released 52 new lines at EXPO, including Tantra, a new series of speakers for in-wall, home theater applications.

At CEDIA EXPO, Key Digitals vice president of marketing Masha Lakhter and president Mike Tsinberg presented their four informative and practical HDMI digital interface and HDCP copy protection trainings. The company also introduced its iSync HD digital video processor and video/audio switcher.

Panasonics display group vice president, Andrew P. Nelkin posed with the companys 50-inch Viera plasma. Panasonic also introduced the PT-AE900U, a native high-definition home theater projector that produces images with a 5500:1 contrast ratio. Below, acrobats perform at the Awards Banquet Cirque du CEDIA show.

Universal Remote Controls new Aurora MX-950 RF/IR remote gives users like Doug Cole, the companys vice president, complete control over every component in a home from anywhere inside or outside.

Len Safhay, KEF Americas director of communication and administration, displayed the companys new Ci Series 9000ACE. The three-way in-wall speaker is outfitted with a 6.5-inch Uni-Q driver array.

projectiondesign demonstrated the first single-chip DLP front projector capable of displaying full 1920 x 1080p HDTV resolution. projectiondesign U.S. operations president Gary Plavin and Norway corporate president Jorn Eriksen explained that the Action! model three 1080 is the first HD DLP front projector to utilize the much-anticipated true 1920 x 1080p HD resolution DLP chip from Texas Instruments.

At a press conference, Beam Industries marketing director Larry Hartley presented the new Beam Prism Wireless Control System for central vacuums. The radio control mechanism eliminates the need to run wiring between the power unit and wall inlets.

Emphasizing the concept that evolution is guided by information, Ray Kurzweil was the keynote speaker at CEDIA EXPO 2005. He has been referred to as an inventor, entrepreneur, author, and futurist and had a lot in common with this CEDIA crowd.

Outside a busy show floor, installers competed at EXPO in feats of strength, will, and wiring integrity in the Installer Olympics. Teams of two were invited to battle for prizes including a Mitsubishi Digital Electronics 55-inch projection television, a Niles Audio multi-zone receiver.

After escaping Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, Richard Grays Power Company namesake Richard Gray, Home Cinema Designs Doug Clem, RGPCs VP of sales Jeff Lubintsky, PDI Technologys president Anthony Cataldo, and RGPC president Dick McCarthy held a press conference introducing the new PowerBridge 2000 VA UPS parallel power control system. It is designed to respond within one millisecond of a power failure, technically anticipating a power outage instead of reacting to it.

Middle Atlantic Products vice president of sales and marketing, Michael Baker, showed how to keep equipment cool with the new designer-inspired Ultra Quiet Fan Panels. The UQFP features a remote sensor that monitors enclosure temperature and built-in intelligence that varies speed in direct proportion to that temperature level.

At EXPO Mark Levinson indicated that it is expanding its range of 400 series power amplifiers with the No433 triple-mono 200-watt power amplifier. Shown are Blair Wallin, Mark Levinson technical services coordinator and Walter Schofield, Mark Levinson vice president sales and marketing.

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