Gizmodo: meridian

Tag Heuer Headset Constantly Whipsers 'You're So Rich' Into Your Ear

Mark Wilson — Mon, 18 May 2009 13:40:00 EDT

This Tag Heuer Bluetooth headset isn't quite as gorgeous as the company's watches, but it's still unlike anything else on the market.

The light, 40g headset snaps in/out of what is essentially a combination flash drive/USB charger. Rather than just offering a charging cable or dock, this design allows you to carry all that stuff in one sleek pack that doesn't even use cords. (A bulky stick of gum comes to mind.) Then again, since the device is from luxury brand Tag Heuer, you'd better really, really hate cords...and really, really love gum...to ever justify buying it. [Le Journal du Geek via Newlaunches]

Meridian 10MP Projector Displays on 25-Foot Screen With No Pixelation

Benny Goldman — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 06:00:00 EDT

Meridian's 810 projector boldly claims to be the Reference Video System, and after seeing it for myself I think that's a fair assessment. The $185,000 box (that's right!) uses specially calibrated JVC D-ILA light engine panels to deliver a resolution of 4096 x 2400 pixels, or put simply, 10-freaking-megapixels. Compare that to 1080i's one paltry MP of resolution, or 1080p full HD's skimpy 2MP. So how does the 810 do its magic? With a very unique scaling engine.

The 810's Marvell-designed engine seen above stitches four 1080p scalers together with DVI connections to bump any digital source from 480i to 1080p up to a full 10MP. The projector can pump out a few different aspect ratios: 4:3, 16:9 and using a CinemaScope lens, 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen that's mostly used in old school films. It's also got a lamp that goes up to Hollywood-reference levels of 4000 lumens and a 10,000:1 contrast ratio which is odd since their $15K projector claims 30,000:1.

Either way, the picture projected by the 810 is pretty unreal. I stuck my nose up to the screen and couldn't see a pixel to save my life, and Meridian says that it will project on a screen up to 25 feet wide without any pixelation. The 810 comes in short, medium, and long-throw packages, as well as a very short throw package for rear-projection. It'll be available in September, if you can afford it. [Meridian]

Meridian's Latest 1080p Projector Is One Bad MF10

Wilson Rothman — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 13:00:43 EDT

How much contrast does one man need? Meridian's MF10 1080p projector is said to deliver 30,000:1, and for the low-end-automobile sticker price of $15,000. (Too bad it's not scalable: I'll settle for 10,000:1 for $5,000—or hell, a 30:1 for $15.) This projector doesn't use the more common lower-end engine based on TI's DLP chip, but a three-chip system based, like Sony's SXRD, on an LCD derivative called "liquid crystal on silicon." In this case, it's JVC's D-ILA technology. Each chip has the 1920x1080 resolution, and manages red, green or blue. There's a motorized lens with 2X zoom capability for smaller rooms, but who are we kidding? If you can afford this, you're gonna have a room big enough to do it justice. [Meridian]

Extreme Hi-Tech Log Cabin Would Make Al Gore Cry (Gallery)

Wilson Rothman — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 08:55:44 EST

Ahh, the great outdoors. Wouldn't it be nice to get out to the woods, to a log cabin far from the things of man? Naturally, you'd still need motorized Lutron Sivoia QED window shades, a "corporate-style" phone system from Panasonic, a whole-house music system and an AMX home control system to bring it all together. Oh and...

...a Meridian sound system with Vidikron Vision 90 DLP projector and a 130-inch screen for the home, I mean cabin, theater. And what about two kitchens, one for you and one for your guests? After all, you're not a caveman. Speaking of caves, it might pay to replace some of the natural rocks around the property for high-end speakers that just look like rocks, am I right?

So how much for this 10,000-square-foot relax-o-dome located (I believe) near Fort Collins, CO? You know the drill: If you have to ask, you'll never know. For more shots of decadence, hit EH's article. [Electronic House]

Meridian iRIS Is World's First 1080p-Upconverting iPod Dock

Wilson Rothman — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 12:40:00 EDT

Meridian, best known for building ridiculously expensive A/V gear, has just introduced a $379 iPod dock called the iRIS which, among other things, converts crappy little iPod video files to full 1080p-resolution HD. Though Meridian would be the one to pull this off, its specific claim is almost too bold:

Says the press release:

Users can play iPod videos on the big screen, with big-screen quality, clarity, and freedom from video-noise, "jaggies," or blocking-artifacts.

I will believe it when I see it, or I guess when I don't see it. The system can handle 1080p through an HDMI connection, and 720p or 1080i through the component analog connection.

Speaking of connectors, that little dock has a boatload of them: HDMI, component, and standard-def S-Video and composite video outputs, plus coax and optical digital-audio, and headphone and line-level analog-audio outputs. It even has HDMI input for a pass-through, so you don't lose an HDMI jack on your TV or receiver, and a USB jack for iPod syncing to a computer.

And of course iRIS comes with a wireless remote control, in addition to control buttons on its face for source selection, iPod syncing, and shifting video format and aspect ratio to fit the screen.

Meridian Unveils iRIS Universal Dock for iPod
A First From iPod Videos: High-Quality Video on HD Screens

Cambridgeshire, England, September 5, 2007—Meridian Audio, the British firm credited with creating digital home theater, will introduce and demonstrate a unique new enabler for the Apple Computer's hugely popular iPod™ family of personal media devices at the 2007 CEDIA Expo. Like many other iPod "docks," the Meridian iRIS ™ Universal Dock for iPod accepts the full range of current iPod models and delivers battery charging and home audio-system integration and control. Additionally, the Meridian design features high-end video up-conversion processing (up to 1080p) that produces astonishing images with clarity and detail, delivering true big-screen performance from iPod Video.

The Meridian iRIS design incorporates uniquely sophisticated and specialized video processing courtesy of its Qdeo™ digital processing engine from chip-maker Marvell®. This empowers the Meridian iRIS to derive upscaled and upconverted video—including full-HD-format 1080-progressive mode—with unprecedented quality. Instead of the lower definition resolutions "native" to small-format iPod Video clips, downloaded video can be displayed on the large screen in impressively tight, HD-formatted full-screen video—up to 1080p on HDMI, or 1080i or 720p via the Meridian iRIS analog component-video outputs. Qdeo technology further incorporates advanced DSP for per-pixel, motion-adaptive video processing that corrects both color and contrast losses.

Simply put: Users can play iPod videos on the big screen, with big-screen quality, clarity, and freedom from video-noise, "jaggies," or blocking-artifacts—a first for any iPod Video-integrating solution.

"It's not big news that the iPod continues to influence every aspect of home entertainment," says Meridian co-founder and Chairman Bob Stuart. "But the video side of the ubiquitous portable's capabilities has eluded effective usefulness in any sort of high-performance environment—until now. With the Meridian iRIS, Meridian can offer astonishingly good big-screen playback on today's HD displays, from an affordable device that features simple, 'dock-and-hit-play' usability."

The Meridian iRIS circular design provides a standard Apple 30-pin dock connector on its top surface, accepting any current or recent "3G" iPod or iPod Video model, while its rear edge includes HDMI, component, and standard-def S-Video and composite video outputs, plus coax and optical digital-audio, and headphone and line-level analog-audio outputs. There's also an HDMI input to accept an outboard non-iPod source such as a DVD player or game-console, and a simple source-select button to switch between a docked iPod and an external source—so the iRIS needn't "use up" an HDMI input on the home system. Another simple iRIS button selects video format/aspect-ratio, matching the displayed clip to the home screen. A third automatically synchronizes the iPod with a computer linked via USB.

Volume up/down keys complete the very simple and entirely intuitive iRIS controls. However, the Meridian solution also supplies a compact wireless remote controller that commands the docked iPod as well as the Meridian iRIS itself, and since Meridian iRIS displays iPod menus on-screen in the same format and organization as on the portable itself, there's no new interface to learn.

Meridian's iRIS Universal Dock for iPod is available November, at a manufacturer's suggest price of $379.

Meridian Audio Limited is based in Huntingdon, near Cambridge, UK, and was founded in 1977 by Allen Boothroyd and Robert Stuart. With a 30-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 included in emerging high-definition disc formats, and is the only UK audio hardware manufacturer to be a member of the DVD Forum. The company's optical disc 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 analog systems. Meridian is also the exclusive manufacturer and distributor of Faroudja High-Definition video processors and projectors.

Ferrari and Meridian Empty Your Savings with F80 All-in-One Entertainment Center

Louis Ramirez — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 18:55:30 EST

Now that they've dipped their toes into the world of laptops and cell phones, Ferrari is teaming up with Meridian to tackle the world of home entertainment with their new F80 do-it-all entertainment center. The retro-styled radio can play CDs/DVDs, hook up with your iPod, and manage to pump out 80 watts of power. I think it looks cool, but at $1,495, it's asking a little too much from my wallet. The F80 will be out by the end of the month in 5 different colors. – Louis Ramirez

Product Page [via Shiny Shiny]

DVD Player Faceoff: $18 Durabrand vs. $20,000 Meridian

Charlie White — Fri, 26 Jan 2007 09:07:36 EST

If you remember the dark days when the cheapest DVD player in the world cost $1000, you might get a kick out of this one by Chinese manufacturer Durabrand, selling at the British subsidiary of Wal-Mart for £9 (just under $18.00). How low can they go, indeed. That would qualify as disposable.

We'd like to get two copies of the same DVD and compare the output of this cheapshit unit with the $19,950 Model 800 DVD player from Meridian Audio. You think there would be $19,932 worth of diff? – Charlie White

How Low Can They Go? [DVD Dossier]