Indianapolis, IN–Escient’s new Vision Series Media Management products will begin shipping in February, 2008, providing users with the ability to play and import all their movies, videos, music, and photos using the front-panel drive and home network. This front-panel feature was not available on the products Escient first unveiled at CEDIA EXPO in September.
Escients Vision Series products, include two versions of an all-in-one server/player, Models VS-100 and VS-200, as well as the VC-1 networked audio/video zone player (all with HDMI 1.3 capability), and the large-capacity VX-600 media server.
The VS100 and VS200 are advanced hard drive-based components, with RAID backup, that let users store, manage, and stream all of their DVD (not yet HD DVD or Blu-ray) movies, music, and photos to a host of devices within their home network. The Vision Series line also includes access to the Rhapsody music services music catalog, offering exclusive content from MTV, VH1, and CMT and professionally programmed Rhapsody Channels.
Bill Carson, general manager of Escient, noted that each new product in the series is designed to give custom installation professionals all the tools they need to bring their clients whole-home networked audio and video entertainment solutions. Escients vision for the future is one in which people have an easy way to access and enjoy all their entertainment media throughout the home via a single intuitive interface, and our new Vision series products literally make this promise a reality,” Carson said.
Escients fifth-generation Vision Series products allow users to store movies, music, and digital photos and instantly enjoy them from any room of the home through the all-new high definition Escient User Interface. Through a variety of features, the Escient Vision Series makes it possible for users to watch a DVD on the HD projector in the theater, listen to music in the bedroom, or view a slideshow of favorite family photos (complete with an audio soundtrack) on the new HD display in the den.
The Escient Vision Series products provide the most sought after features by custom installers and consumers who wish to create a digitally connected home. The VS-100 and VS-200 all-in-one server players and the VC-1 networked audio/video zone player all feature HDMI 1.3 support and upscaling to 1080p for the ultimate in image quality from all sources. All three also feature external control capability via Ethernet.
The VS-100 provides dual 500GB drives, while the VS-200 provides dual 1TB drives, and both also feature reliable RAID 1 redundancy. The VC-1 is a high-performance networked audio/video zone player that can stream audio and video from Vision servers, allowing playback of music, movies, and photos from any room of the home. Finally, the large capacity media server, Model VX-600 features four 1TB drives in a RAID 5 configuration and provides virtually unlimited storage expansion capability for Vision VS and VC devices. The VX-600 provides advanced early detection monitoring systems for reliable installations in any networked home.
The Vision series supports the external control capabilities of the Escient Fireball Media Management product line.
Escients Vision Series products are scheduled for shipment in February 2008 at the following suggested retail prices: VS-100 (SRP: $3,999), VS-200 (SRP: $5,999), VC-1 (SRP: $1,999), VX-600 (SRP: $7,999).
