NFL
By Keith Richards
Buckminster Fuller, an American designer, inventor, and author, once said, “You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.” Regarding home entertainment, Buckminster Fuller’s words were displayed at the CEDIA Expo 2024, held in Denver, Colorado.
What is the CEDIA Expo?
CEDIA was founded in 1989. The group of professionals that were the founders was dedicated to advancing up-and-coming electronics systems. In their own words, “CEDIA has advanced the industry by developing timely industry education and certification, launching research initiatives, advocacy on legislative issues, building relationships with architects, builders, and interior designers, educating the consumer, and recognizing industry achievement.” One of the crown jewels of CEDIA is the CEDIA Expo.
Held September 5-7 in Denver, Colorado, CEDIA Expo 2024 was an impressive collection of innovators, exhibitors, and tech-savvy consumers. At the expo, one could find everything from smart home technology to indoor and outdoor audio systems to even power tools. The star of the expo, though, was home entertainment. CEDIA Expo 2024 was filled with numerous home entertainment players claiming to be the best.
Who is the best? That’s a subjective opinion. Team NBS Media spent a couple of days at the expo. There were a few companies that impressed me. Kaleidescape, Severtson Screens, Digital Projection, and C Seed are those companies.
Kaleidescape – The Hub on Home Entertainment
Founded in 2001, Kaleidescape’s goal was to allow customers to enjoy movies of the highest available quality. Furthermore, the company desired to provide customers with the ability to enjoy their high-quality home entertainment in any room with just the touch of a button. Thus, the Kaleidescape Premier system was born.
The Kaleidescape Premier system was revolutionary in the home entertainment space. It imported DVDs to a hard drive and made them available through an onscreen interface. As the home entertainment industry grew, so did Kaleidescape. When Blu-ray became the preferred medium, Kaleidescape adapted its system to accommodate. In 2012, Kaleidescape turned the corner and set itself on the path to what it is now.
In 2012, the home entertainment company introduced its first online movie store. At the time, Kaleidescape was the first home entertainment service offering full Blu-ray quality audio and video over the Internet. They would not look back from there. A few years later, Kaleidescape released its Strato product line, its first 4K movie system capable of playing full resolution 4K Ultra HD.
Many of the major players in the home entertainment industry, including the companies that will be profiled here, utilize Kaleidescape to present the highest-quality entertainment. Such excellence, however, does not come cheap. The entry-level system with Kaleidescape will cost $4,000. This is more affordable than expected but still a pretty penny.
If you want more storage, you can add more or upgrade to the media server. More storage equals a more significant cost. The entry-level media server system will set you back an additional $5,000 for $9,000. The best does not come free.
Severtson Screens
Severtson Screens did not start in the home entertainment industry. Severtson began in 1986 with Arizona’s Williams Air Force Base. Ron Severtson, the founder of Severtson Screens, would create a flight simulator program that became such a system that corporations and military organizations in over 40 countries would request it.
In the early 1990s, Severtson contracted with IMAX and entered the cinema screen industry. In 2003, Severtson Screen entered the home entertainment industry, launching its Home Theater and pro AV screens. Due to the company’s continued success, Severtson moved its production to San Tan Valley, Arizona, in 2019. The new facility serves as Severtson’s office and fulfills the company’s manufacturing and warehousing needs.
At the CEDIA Expo, we spoke with Aaron White, Severtson’s National Sales Director. Aaron states that the company currently provides about a third of all the country’s cinemas and even more worldwide. Celebrating its 35th anniversary in 2021, Severtson Screens is now a mainstay in the home entertainment industry.
On Severtson’s offerings, White states, “We have everything from fixed frames to electric screens. On our fixed frames, we have our thin bezel, our standard bezel, and our deluxe bezel. We have our curved screens…. And then for our electric screens, we’re going to have an on the wall and in the ceiling, both tab tension and non-tab tension in both and all those different series.”
Aaron would state, “We carry a wide variety of sizes. Everything from like on a fixed frame, from 72 inches all the way up to 390 inches…. We’re carrying everything from a 92-inch screen all the way up to a 200-inch, but we can do much larger on a custom size.”
Aaron White says what sets Severtson apart is that he feels the company has some of the highest quality in the industry. They also offer a quick turnaround. Most screens are shipped in one to three business days. Like many electric screens in home entertainment, Severtson Screens is compatible with Kaleidescape.
Digital Projection
Another major player in electric screens is Digital Projection. I asked representatives at the CEDIA Expo about the advantages of Digital Projection versus your standard flat-screen TV. Digital Projection was founded over 20 years ago in the broadcast industry. They pay special attention to making the best and most accurate colors and reproducing the content as producers and directors intend it to be.
Digital Projection also states that many consumers from Los Angeles who are movie producers and studio executives look at movies on their screens and say, “Wow! That’s the way our clients are used to seeing them.” Digital Projection is designed to replicate the in-theater experience in a scaled-down home entertainment form. Their technicians and installers work together to ensure that the display is installed correctly and will perform to its full potential. How do they do so? Lumen upon lumens.
For those unfamiliar with lumens, let us explain. Lumens are the industry-standard measurement that determines the brightness of the level of a projector’s light source: projector lamp, LED, and laser light sources. LED and laser light sources provide the highest quality and consistent brightness over a longer lifespan.
We’re all familiar with lumen counts. ViewSonic details lumen counts of common light sources:
- Candle: 14 lumens
- 100-watt light bulb: 1,600 lumens
- Sunset: 400 lumens
- Fluorescent lighting in office: 400 lumens
- Lighting on a movie set: 1,000 lumens
- Sunny day: up to 100,000 lumens
In short, the more lumens, the higher the quality of the picture. Digital Projection offers everything from its E-Vision 4000 4K-UHD, which provides 3,800 lumens, to its TITAN Laser 47000 WUXGA/4100 4K-UHD, which offers up to 47,000 lumens. That’s almost half of the lumens produced by the sun. So, if quality on larger screens is your concern, Digital Projection has you covered.
C Seed – The Unfolding TV
We might have saved the ultimate showstopper for last: C Seed TVs. C Seed was founded in 2009. After several years of R&D, C Seed products became public about a decade ago. Larry Bisagni, International Sales Director, The Americas, for C Seed details where C Seed got its name, which is creative and common sense.
Bisagni states, “The C Seed name actually comes from cinema; cinematic seed, because the idea was that the TV came up from out of the ground like a germinated seed blossoming into a plant. Watch as C Seed opens up. Our adaptive gap technology closes the natural space between panels to the naked eye, which allows you to see one solid viewing screen.”
Severtson and Digital Projection both use electronic screens as their premier products. When it comes to fixed screens in the home entertainment industry, C Seed may be in a class of its own. It’s hard to explain. You must see it for yourself.
The N1, which was featured in their booth, is their above ground solution that starts as what Bisagni calls, “A contemporary sculpture that opens up to reveal a 103, 137, or 165 inch screen of viewing bliss.” The form factor of the indoor N1 is the same as its outdoor counterpart, with the key differences being the outdoor version is IP65 rated, and boasts a 4,000 nit output, making it the brightest television in the world. Bisagni stated that this allowed an outdoor C Seed to be watched in such extreme environments as a yacht or ski resort. “The glare of the sun and reflection from water or snow are simply not a factor,” Bisagni said.
For the excellence that C Seed produces, there’s a lead time associated with their hand-built line. Yes, you read that correctly: these works of art are hand-built for the most discerning clientele. C Seed’s headquarters is in Vienna, Austria. The entire manufacturing process happens in Vienna except for the LED panels coming from an outside source. All C Seed TVs are built to the customer’s specifications. Due to NDAs, Bisagni would not reveal any clientele, but did state, “C Seed owners are who you would expect. Billionaires, celebrities, Hall of Fame level athletes, and industry titans. You can get the idea. We know going in that a C Seed isn’t for everyone. They are people who want to differentiate themselves from their peers and enjoy a viewing experience that is unrivaled by any other product in the world.”
Due to this, it takes anywhere from three to six months from the time your purchase is completed to installation. Best of all, C Seed is also compatible with Kaleidescape. So, if a fixed frame is your lane, you’d be hard-pressed to find better than C Seed. The only downside is that price must not be an issue for you. To enter the C Seed universe, it’s a hefty price tag. If you want to even call anything C Seed offers as “entry level,” one of these beauties starts at $238,000.
At Team NBS Media, we’re about everything media: sports, TV, Music, and more. CEDIA Expo 2024 opened our eyes to the possibilities of the home entertainment industry. We look forward to exploring it more, especially CEDIA Expo 2025, which will be in Denver again.
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