All items written by audioXpress Staff
Bang & Olufsen Reimagines Wireless Speakers with BeoSound 1 & 2
September 19, 2016 by audioXpress Staff

Bang & Olufsen Reimagines Wireless Speakers with BeoSound 1 & 2

Originally introduced at IFA 2016, the latest wireless speakers from the famous Danish brands also caused a positive impression at CEDIA 2016, even though the company had several other installation-specific announcements. With smart speakers and connectivity causing all the rage in Dallas this year, the new BeoSound 1 & 2 certainly surprised many by raising the bar on how flexible high-quality wireless speakers can actually be.
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Sony Electronics Unveils First 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Player for Custom Installers and Expands ES Family of Audio-Video Receivers
September 18, 2016 by audioXpress Staff

Sony Electronics Unveils First 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Player for Custom Installers and Expands ES Family of Audio-Video Receivers

At CEDIA 2016, Sony Electronics announced the addition of four new audio-video receivers to join their current ES flagship model, the STR-ZA5000ES. Designed specifically to meet the needs of custom installers, the STR-ZA3100ES, STR-ZA2100ES, STR-ZA1100ES and the new entry-level STR-ZA810ES, support 4K HDR capability and incorporate both Dolby Atmos and DTS:X immersive audio. Sony also unveiled its ES Series 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Player for custom installers, combining 4K video and Hi-Res audio.
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Lutron HomeWorks QS and RadioRA 2 Lighting Control Systems to Work with Amazon Alexa
September 16, 2016 by audioXpress Staff

Lutron HomeWorks QS and RadioRA 2 Lighting Control Systems to Work with Amazon Alexa

Voice Personal Assistants are grabbing the AV industry’s attention for multiple applications. At CEDIA 2016, voice control is one of the hot topics, and Amazon’s Alexa Skills Kit (ASK) and the Alexa Voice Service (AVS) are allowing developers to build new capabilities for Alexa and integrate Alexa into their own products. Lutron announced Alexa integration with its control systems allowing users to adjust the lights, shades and temperature simply using voice commands.
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Free Neutrino Plug-in Unleashes New iZotope Audio Processing Technology
September 16, 2016 by audioXpress Staff

Free Neutrino Plug-in Unleashes New iZotope Audio Processing Technology

iZotope has released a new free plug-in that offers a glimpse into the company’s newest mixing technology, while helping studios to create better-balanced mixes without sacrificing dynamics. Neutrino is designed to improve the overall spectral balance of an entire mix by making subtle changes to each individual track on which it’s used, adding balance, clarity, and focus. More products based on the technology will be announced soon.
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Ear Trumpet Labs Celebrates Five-Year Anniversary
September 16, 2016 by audioXpress Staff

Ear Trumpet Labs Celebrates Five-Year Anniversary

It is rare in the pro audio world for a company, of any size, to be able to boast a 100% sales growth, yet that is exactly what boutique microphone company, Ear Trumpet Labs (ETL) continues to achieve. ETL will celebrate their 5-year anniversary this fall touting that exciting news along with many other accomplishments that paint the picture of a thriving company with an enthusiastic and growing customer base. For the past three years ETL has doubled in sales every year, and 2016 is no exception.
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Sennheiser Introduces AMBEO VR Mic Compact Ambisonics Microphone
September 15, 2016 by audioXpress Staff

Sennheiser Introduces AMBEO VR Mic Compact Ambisonics Microphone

High-quality 3D audio that eliminates the boundaries between playback and reality – this is the promise of the AMBEO VR MIC that was showcased by Sennheiser at IBC 2016. Up until now, VR productions had to record immersive audio with quite complicated microphone set-ups. The AMBEO VR Mic puts everything into a compact and easy-to-use handheld – making it an ideal tool for any professional VR and spatial audio production. The microphone will become commercially available in November 2016.
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Media Excel Integrates MPEG-H Audio Encoding from Fraunhofer in New UHD Broadcast Encoder
September 15, 2016 by audioXpress Staff

Media Excel Integrates MPEG-H Audio Encoding from Fraunhofer in New UHD Broadcast Encoder

In advance of the launch of the world’s first terrestrial 4K TV broadcast service in South Korea, Media Excel, a leading supplier of software solutions, is taking the first step to integrate MPEG-H Audio software from Fraunhofer IIS. Media Excel’s latest UHD HEVC encoder will be among the first encoders to support MPEG-H Audio real-time encoding of immersive and interactive sound.
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New Microchip Development Board for Designing with 16-bit and 32-bit PIC Microcontrollers
September 15, 2016 by audioXpress Staff

New Microchip Development Board for Designing with 16-bit and 32-bit PIC Microcontrollers

Microchip Technology announced the new Explorer 16/32 Development Board for designing with 16-bit and 32-bit PIC microcontrollers. This new board is offered at a reduced cost from Microchip’s popular Explorer 16 Development Board and comes with an integrated programmer/debugger and several new features that address the latest embedded systems design needs. The board provides a flexible, convenient and easy-to-start tool while being backwards compatible to the classic Explorer 16 Board.
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Cadence Offers Industry’s First Licensable MPEG-H Audio Decoder for Tensilica HiFi DSPs
September 15, 2016 by audioXpress Staff

Cadence Offers Industry’s First Licensable MPEG-H Audio Decoder for Tensilica HiFi DSPs

Cadence Design Systems announced immediate availability of the next-generation MPEG-H Audio decoder based on Cadence Tensilica HiFi DSPs. MPEG-H Audio is a future broadcast standard and is expected to be one of the key audio technologies adopted worldwide for new TVs. Through close collaboration with Fraunhofer, one of the developers of the open ISO MPEG-H Audio standard, Cadence is first to market with an implementation for a licensable DSP.
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A Different Kind of Speaker: Onyx from Orion Labs is Like an IP Walkie-Talkie Featuring Amazon Alexa
September 15, 2016 by audioXpress Staff

A Different Kind of Speaker: Onyx from Orion Labs is Like an IP Walkie-Talkie Featuring Amazon Alexa

Orion Labs announced that its smart walkie-talkie with unlimited range, Onyx, is now available across the US and that Onyx will have Amazon Alexa integration in Q4 2016. Onyx is a different kind of smart miniature speaker, allowing voice connections at the touch of a button using cellular networks or Wi-Fi, including group conversations. A free software update will add integration with Amazon Alexa, creating an ideal portable and hands-free voice personal assistant.
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