Earlier that March, after attending only the third ever, and first open-to-the-public Imaging Science Foundation seminar, I was overcome with the sensation that my destiny forward had been established, entirely outside my control. What could this possibly have to do with AVPro Edge’s Single Room Experience, you rightly inquire? Hang on…
SRE - SINGLE ROOM EXPERIENCESimple, Reliable, Excellent
I remember it vividly well, like it was yesterday. I would say, life-changing, actually. It was a brutally cold Michigan December, 1995. Though I worked selling upscale retail electronics, that day, fate found me on the other side of that ledger, completing a dealer-cost personal television purchase, a 32-inch model with an MSRP of $3,300. I still can recall shuddering at the thought of looking forward to 1996 and a year of nightly ramen noodles. But the sacrifice would be worth it. A nightly feast my eyes would partake of.
Earlier that March, after attending only the third ever, and first open-to-the-public Imaging Science Foundation seminar, I was overcome with the sensation that my destiny forward had been established, entirely outside my control. What could this possibly have to do with AVPro Edge’s Single Room Experience, you rightly inquire? Hang on…
Earlier that March, after attending only the third ever, and first open-to-the-public Imaging Science Foundation seminar, I was overcome with the sensation that my destiny forward had been established, entirely outside my control. What could this possibly have to do with AVPro Edge’s Single Room Experience, you rightly inquire? Hang on…
Pip Pip Hooray!
I was about to acquire the finest analog Sony direct-view CRT consumer television the company had ever produced. A two-piece affair, the KV-32XBR100 was an unheard-of, 800-line horizontal resolution monitor, connected via a 36-pin umbilical cord to its outboard Feature Box, containing dual tuners and sporting inputs for five external devices. My decision to purchase this TV system, selling for approximately one-half the showroom floor sticker price of a 1995 GM Geo Metro automobile, was primarily based on its superb video quality. Still, another important factor was the tantalizing capability for this TV to “matrix” any video input with a tuner channel, or a channel from each tuner, in a dual-window picture-and-picture or picture-in-picture, with the added ability to rescale the PIP image window into three different sizes. Utilizing the dual onboard tuners, a Favorite Channel feature displayed seven preset channels, updated sequentially, in an “L” shape around the main image. For sports and major news events, acting as my own program manager was as magical as personal TV viewing could get.
So what happened to those halcyon, enchanting, multiview analog days of yore? The Buggles regaled that Video Killed the Radio Star (the first video broadcast on MTV, August 1st, 1981, if you ever find yourself face-to-face with Ken Jennings on Jeopardy). Sadly, as consumer video transitioned away from its analog roots, it can also be said, and in song if that should be your want, that Digital Video killed the PIP. That is, until now…
Game (Channel) Changer
Displaying multiple images simultaneously on a single large screen is a benchmark feature and a dynamic lure for upscale sports bars. Until recently, this was only accomplished using multiple costly, professional video devices. This magic, alongside a gourmet burger, was the principal reason to routinely visit your local game day haunt.
With the new AVPro Edge AC-MV-41 4K 4x1 Multi-viewer, any television or projection system can display four separate HDMI-deliverable sources, including CATV, streaming devices, and NextGen over-the-air ATSC 3.0 tuners. AVPro Edge has put multiview back into every sports fan’s vernacular.
Digital Comes of Age
Technically, Sony accomplished its elegant foray into multi-source viewing by rudimentarily digitizing incoming signals. In PAP and PIP modes, two separate sources retained full video motion. The Favorite Channel feature captured a snapshot of each selected channel and displayed it as a frozen moment. This was crude but effective and unlike anything else available at the time. The remote enabled audio to be toggled between the two picture-with-picture frames with a simple button press.
Leap ahead thirty years, and marvel at how the AVPro MV-41 provides fluid, artifact-free, natural motion video displayed in traditional quad-style equally partitioned images. Or get creative with PAP, PIP, or combinations of three image panes adjacent to, above, or below a larger, main picture. AVPro Edge includes a comprehensive source and image layout drag-and-drop control application, called STILE, with the MV-41 for seamless integration with existing video source devices, eliminating the added cost of a third-party automation system (though the MV-41 and its in-depth API are comfortably incorporated into outboard over-control systems).
Controlled by STILE, the MV-41 in turnkey fashion enables video displays in gathering rooms, dedicated home theaters, bedrooms, and patio/poolside respites to handily outclass local sports-themed hangouts, without the hassle of finding a parking spot or an overburdened waitstaff failing to bring extra napkins. Never again be forced to choose between bailing out of an overtime game to catch the start of the day’s premier matchup.
Doing It In STILE
STILE has also been designed to operate the new AudioControl Bijou series of compact, high-performance integrated 2.1, 3.1, and 5.1-channel amplifiers.
Nothing complements the on-screen excitement provided by the MV-41 better than replacing anemic, flat-panel TV sound with dynamic, articulate, expressive audio from cutting-edge, cool-running, GaN-based amplification technology offered by the Bijou series. Designed to power passive soundbars from premium speaker manufacturers effortlessly and reimagined to take full advantage of HDMI eARC connectivity, each new Bijou amplifier is crafted to match the requirements of individualized single-room experiences
Born On The Bijou
AudioControl’s Bijou Series integrated amplifier range is the company’s first consumer amplification design to incorporate gallium nitride-based semiconductor material in output stage power transistors. GaN designs run substantially cooler yet deliver superior high voltage punch for loudspeakers while occupying significantly less internal chassis architecture. GaN devices make for a tremendously competent, yet considerably compact chassis footprint.
Included in the new Bijou series is the 2100, designed for a simple yet refined high-quality two-channel stereo with a powered subwoofer if desired. Augmenting TV sound in its spare time, the 2100 places a spotlight on musicality, focusing on music streaming apps like Spotify or SiriusXM, trafficked through Smart TVs that enable easy visual app management. Today’s discerning music consumer is not willing to once again forfeit sound quality for convenience, discovering years earlier that iPod convenience decoupled the raw impact and stirring emotions music evokes from the listener. Controlled by STILE, the Bijou 2100 updates AudioControl’s five-decade legacy of premium audio fidelity, delivering it conveniently and uncompromisingly.
Bijou model 3100 adds a third channel, making it a premium passive soundbar’s BFF: Best Fidelity Facilitator. Emphasizing Dolby and DTS content, the 3100 localizes dialogue to the center channel to intensify drama or highlight the winning call in the weekend’s best game, while also delivering second-to-none for all-channel musical playback.
Occupying the top-of-the-range is Bijou 5100D, a full 5.1-channel Dolby and DTS surround sound controller, big on sound yet maintaining space-saving compact Bijou series dimensions. Integrators partner the latest generation of in-wall and even behind-the-wall speakers with the 5100D to create completely stealth surround systems that are aesthetically pleasing and sonically effective. Only the TV or projection screen provides any hint that a high-performance system patiently lurks out of sight. And with Dante audio support, the 5100D can extend the single room experience to any networked Dante device, from the primary bedroom to the primary bath, without missing a moment of the action.
The Single Room Experience Equals Single Room Excitement
When combined with the MV-41 and controlled by the STILE app, potent self-contained single-room systems, with features temptingly appealing to consumers at any level, can be designed to effectively deliver maximum impact while retaining affordability and ease of use. The Single Room Experience combines multichannel viewing with multichannel audio for multifaceted entertainment. The MV-41 revives your father’s PIP, but delivers it in HD to your standards. Seamlessly controlled by STILE, SRE proves that sometimes, less really equals more.
By Michael Hamilton
AVPro Technical Writer
