Lee Distad

This summer has been exceptionally hot across Canada, and chances are the temperatures won’t be cooling down from patio weather any time soon. So it seems like an opportune time to look at a few products that A/V installers can use to help their clients enjoy the back yards, cottages, and front decks.

Think of backyard entertaining and most of us still think of audio exclusively, like standard outdoor speakers or those shaped like rocks (“You can only play rock music on them, right?” the joke goes.) Or perhaps more cutting-edge wireless designs like the floor-standing SoundCast (distributed in Canada by Erikson Consumer) that comes in both a senior and smaller junior design, and communicates with a wireless receiver to play tunes from a connected iPod or other music player.

Full Story

Robert Franner

Three new wireless headphones from Sennheiser compete in the high-end wireless headphones market in that the wireless transmission is based on uncompressed “Kleer” technology.

The 2.4 GHz digital radio transmission method ensures smooth transmission with a high signal-to-noise ratio of 85 dBA. The Kleer technology even allows the listening pleasure to be shared, as up to four headphones can receive radio signals via one transmitter.

Full Story

Gordon Brockhouse

Panasonic Canada Inc. has announced a new consumer camcorder, the Panasonic HDC-SDT750, that enables users to shoot 3D video content.

To shoot in 3D, users attach a supplied dual-optic 3D conversion lens. The lens captures separate left- and right-eye images, each at 960×1080-pixel resolution. These are stored by the camcorder in side-by-side format. Zooming does not work in 3D mode; the camera sets the built-in lens to full wide-angle. 3D video can be viewed by connecting the camcorder to a 3D-capable TV, such as Panasonic’s VT20 and VT25 series of 3D-capable plasmas, via HDMI, or by inserting an SD memory card with 3D footage into an AVCHD-compatible Blu-ray player that is connected to a 3D-capable TV. To view images in 3D, viewers have to wear appropriate glasses, and also select the side-by-side 3D format in the TV’s menu.

Full Story