Meridian’s booth highlights ‘Faroudja by Meridian’
EH Expo Fall 2005, Anaheim, CA November 9, 2005–Meridian Audio’s booth (Demo Alley #1) at EH Expo will feature ‘Faroudja, by Meridian’, highlighting the exclusive licensing agreement, announced earlier in the year, between the internationally-acclaimed British high-end audio manufacturer and Genesis Microchip Inc, the developer and supplier of high-definition chip-based video processing technology. Under the agreement, Meridian now exclusively manufacturers and distributes a complete line of high-end digital video products to complement its audio lines — to create the ultimate in luxury home entertainment: the Meridian Digital Theater.
The system shown at the EH Expo includes Meridian’s popular digital loudspeakers featuring their unique DSP (Digital Signal Processing) system. The system configuration includes the DSP7000s in the front, DSP5200s for side channels, and DSP5500s in the rear. A digital signal is fed to each unit — in this case from a G68 Digital Surround Processor. Inside each speaker cabinet is a powerful crossover implemented entirely in the digital domain, permitting parameters and performance that are simply impossible with conventional passive designs. The crossover outputs are fed to individual precision digital to analog converters per band, and these each drive their own power amplifier, which is coupled directly to the drivers. The result is an elegant self-contained unit that sounds as good as it looks. In addition, the system features a SW5500 analog/digital woofer, optimized for both music and movie soundtracks, making it an ideal companion to the system.
The loudspeakers are driven by a G68 surround processor, which decodes surround audio signals in the vast majority of current formats including Dolby Digital and DTS. It’s fed by a G98 DVD-Audio/Video player, which can play back almost any PCM-format disc including CD, DVD-Audio, DVD-Video and the DVD side of a DualDisc.
The digital video signal from the G98 is fed via its HDMI output to a Faroudja DVP1080 Digital Video Processor. This accepts a wide range of analog and digital video formats and delivers full-bandwidth High Definition processing, optimizing current advanced 1920x1080p digital displays by converting 1080i interlaced HD video and other formats to a clean, 1080p progressive output.
Full High Definition cross-conversion and Standard Definition processing are included, with patented technology for de-interlacing, motion tracking, color fidelity and image detail enhancement, making the DVP1080 an essential central video component of any high-performance theater. All types of displays benefit from this processing, including plasma, DLP, LCD, DILA and CRT-based devices. US retail price is $6,995.
The DVP1080 drives a Faroudja DILA1080pHD Digital Projector, which utilizes three 1920x1080p DILA-based display chips. With a native resolution equal to full bandwidth High Definition, all the beauty and drama of the original source are reproduced with stunning accuracy. Each projector is Theater Optimized by video expert William Phelps, using proprietary firmware and optical equipment to offer a contrast ratio of 2100:1, excellent shadow detail and film-accurate color.
The Faroudja projector can be driven directly by an HDMI-equipped Meridian DVD player. Alternatively, the DVP1080 HD Digital Video Processor can be used to convert all analog and digital high definition and standard definition sources to the native 1920x1080p resolution of the projector. The DILA1080pHD retails for $37,995.
Meridian Audio Limited is based in Huntingdon, near Cambridge, UK, and was founded in 1977 by Allen Boothroyd and Robert Stuart. With a 25-year history of innovation and development of the highest quality consumer audio systems, the award-winning company is widely recognized as a world leader in digital and analog audio reproduction. Meridian developed the world’s first audiophile CD player, the world’s first consumer digital surround controller, developed the MLP lossless packing systems mandated for use in DVD-Audio and now in emerging high-definition disk formats, and is the only UK audio hardware manufacturer to be a member of the DVD Forum. The company’s optical disk players, DSP-based loudspeakers and Digital Theater systems are unique in the industry, maintaining a super-quality digital audio signal throughout the path from the source to the amplifier, and using digital signal processing to generate advanced crossover characteristics that would be impossible with conventional passive analogue systems. Meridian has recently become the exclusive manufacturer and distributor of Faroudja High-Definition video processors and projectors.
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Note to Editors: Data sheets and hi-res images of the products are available from media.meridian-audio.com
