Show Reports, Film Festivals and Concerts

Warren Hellman is a man with deep pockets and a deep appreciation of traditional bluegrass music.  The fact that he lives in San Francisco is just a matter of good luck for its citizens.  This year marked the ninth consecutive year that he's gifted Shaky Town with his Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival, and it's an event that locals are loathe to miss and travelers are eager to see.

By many accounts this year's show was busier than last. Some exhibitors saw their visitors increase three-fold. Curiously, in my opinion the entry level of value components moved up a notch despite the economy. There were still plenty of sub $3K components to be had, but for the most part, components weren't bundled by price, with a few exceptions. There were plenty of $3K electronic components paired with $10K speakers, and vice versa. The rooms displaying $100K amps were getting plenty of action. Secrets' Coverage from Ed Becker...Ed will be adding pics and comment throughout this week....

The SECRETS CEDIA 2009 Team is reporting in the CAVE.....do join us for all the latest news and pictures from the floor....We have a large team covering CEDIA 2009....Joining me are John, Editor in Chief, and Piero Gabucci, Adrian Wittenberg, Chris Eberle, Chris Heinonen, Jim Clements and Jim Milton.......This is our first photo upon arriving at CEDIA 2009.....and it does seem that there are fewer attendees this year than in previous years.

Jim Clements reports.....I really enjoyed the scale and spectacle of my first day at the 2009 CEDIA Expo. The Georgia World Congress Center is an excellent venue for this type of event. My mission is to track down and report on gear that might be assembled into affordable systems. This includes source components, receivers, satellite speakers, subwoofers and accesories.

Join us in the CAVE

Builder's Showcase Home featuring Paradigm and other vendors just added......

More from Piero Gabucci.......

Another CES has come and gone. Although attendance was down, some would say that the people who did come really had business to conduct and that the quality of meetings being conducted was of a higher caliber for all manufacturers.

The primary buzz at the show centered on HDTV and the advent of 240 Hz refresh rates from all the majors, Sony, LG, Toshiba and Samsung in their new LCD and plasma sets. The 240 Hz refresh rate is demonstrable in the ability to produce a picture that is clearer and more defined when fast motion objects and very detailed still frames such as a test pattern are panned across the screen. Samsung had an excellent display of three monitors comparing 60, 120 and 240 Hz refresh rates and it is clear this technology works.

Interest in the Telluride Film Festival  (Aug 29 – Sep 1) was at an all time high for 2008 as the rather expensive Festival Passes ($680) sold out early in the summer and even the ultra expensive Patron Passes ($Don't Ask) were sold out before the festival started.

Read more from the CEDIA 2008 show.

The Vacuum Tube state of the Art Conference has been out of commission since 2003 but it made a comeback this year in Vancouver, WA - right across the river from my home town of Portland, OR. Can't miss an opportunity like that so I wrangled a press pass. If you are thinking of attending a future VSAC, don't fret the price . . . . ! !

CES - 2008 - Show Report Part 4