Brain Dump of the evening
James hosted the evening with Matt, broken foot and all staying back from a busy day in store to help out.
For those that are unaware The B&O Camberwell Store is the oldest in Melbourne. It is in its 4th location and as such has some of the longer term B&O customers. Prior to Camberwell we had Swanston St; we now have B&O Collins St, Armadale and The David Jones store...
The Camberwell Store of which James is the showroom Manager has all the latest B&O kit including the Samsung projector. Gently nestled in the corner was Matt behind a Beovision8 computer monitor configuring a Beo5 for the evening’s activities? Interesting point was that the config tool accesses B&O's site checking for firmware updates when the config is committed...
James showed us all the Beoliving arrangement. He has a Samsung Projector with all 83 inches of incredible picture and resolution a Beolab 7-2, Beovision 4-65 with Beolab10, 4x Beolab5's and other kit. The projector was played on an ordinary "pull down screen". A greyhawk Stewart screen provide s a better image though I don't know how (yes James I know). The Beovision4-65 served at the TV side of the cinema room and the projector configuration the theatre. The Beo5 controlled the transition from one to other including lights and speaker changes.
The Kingdom, a movie I am destined never to see and a HD recorded selection on a green tree frog were selected. I was more interested in the AC/DC concert played prior to the others arrival. It’s also interesting to note that most of these projectors are sold by B&O or to B&O customers.
Key takeouts from the projector demonstration (or that which I remember);Globe last for about 800 movies, the project is silent or 22db, the picture quality is the best I have seen which is most due to Joe “somebody” his brilliance and a single chip thingy as well... Better leave that there...
James most of us our first real demonstration of the Beo5, how it works and can be setup. The drop test was also demonstrated. Prior to the demonstration a few of us thought the Beo5 was over complex. I think Peter was out to configure his with 3rd party products...
On the technical front we had one of B&O's Australia's longest serving and most passionate employees with us. Stuart, whom has spent most of the last few years travelling, most of which in China.
The Beomaster 5 and Beosound 5 were described in a very different way than I imagined. Stuart mentioned the product release will be in sometime early next year, jokingly at the end of the nominated month. the reason for the delay is that the product needs further development plain and simple. It’s just not ready. When describing the product the physical aspect of turning the wheel, the time spent ensuring album covers match the fast moving selection list, the real world description of how MOTS works, the interface and the sound quality all was compelling listening, Stuart mentioned that there is a need to live with the product to see just how well it works. MOTS was described as selecting tracks based on 11 different settings sampled from 30sec of music. It does not use the genre or label at all. The potential of this system to open up your music collection needs to be experienced to believed. Suffice to say that I look forward to its release. There is some hope that the Beosound5 will replace the Beosound9000 as the definitive B&O product we shall see.
The Beosystem3 platform was discussed. Particular mention was made of the picture processing power of the unit. Individual sections or elements of the picture are targeted towards displaying at their optimal level without tiring the eyes. Stuart and James went into technical’s on picture processing that I have trouble translating to english. ...Also discussed were the way the product has been designed and how it could be upgraded if and when that decision is made. Comment was made on the Beovision7-32 being too small for the modified Beosystem3 which is a shame.
Development of Masterlink has been stopped. It will still be in use for some time. I was always hoping that multi source solution would become available but it’s not to be. CAT6/7 is the next step, scheduled for 2010 but is needed earlier.
I was interested in the media server offering which will be a third party product Tvix with media server. The unit will distribute up to 4 high definition signals centrally via CAT5 to linked rooms with control via beo4 beo5 and maybe 8 or 16 SD channels. It has heaps of storage and is a welcome departure from the previous B&O Media solutions. Costs were mentioned for the product (reasonable) through a riping service as yet needs to be negotiated in Australia of which there are a couple of options. Initially a little box will be connected to the link TV's.
I asked a question on the PUC codes that are entered into the B&O TV's and beosystem3. Mentioning its confusing to know what is available and when the updates become available. Answer to this was updates are added to the list every 6 months and ask the dealer what is not applicable in your country.
The Beovision 7 which I consider the best value for money product is in for some upgrades, options on a Blue Ray player and the full HD Tuner (that is 1080 rather than 720) is due next year and it will
continue to be developed later next year. Those MK2 and MK1 owners with cable problem just make the cables holes larger if needed. No mention of larger screen then again I'm not sure anyone asked. Shortly we will see a PAL inbuilt HD tuner rather than a converted NTSC unit which can only improve picture quality.
Discussed the Beovision3 and Avants and their ability to have STB controllers updated. Some can and some have problems in doing so, it’s best to get this sorted with B&O service. With more 3rd party products being able to be controlled and owners with significant investments in them it would be great to have further information.
There was a demonstration on lighting and the screens on a BV732, BV740, BC6 and a BV6. It showed the lighting, direct, indirect etc made no difference to the picture.
The Beovision 8 will be available in Australia shortly with the options for a HD tuner finally. James has the prototype in the store. The addition will be a separate card rather like the link module. I think this is due before Christmas in Aus so it’s worth a visit to check.
I was particularly impressed with a demonstration of the Beolab9's, I was not originally. Played with Def Leppards "Hysteria" and setup properly this time the speakers demonstrated their true potential.
One member both a musician and audiophile looking at moving to B&O systems and more than enough technical questions on the products and James was more than up for the task. John had a pretty in depth discussion and demonstration with James and Stuart .No doubt a visit is planned with a SACD player and a truck load of CD's.
There was an interesting point made about Phillips.....If it were not for the injection of funds from Phillips a B&O today. Partner relationships with Nokia Samsung, Phillips and others are important in many ways to B&O...
Ed filled us in with his experiences within the UK. Seems there are dealers that run functions within store, one even bringing in a grand piano...
Thanks to all that braved the elements to make it to Camberwell. The weather was unseasonably wet, with one of the largest down pours seen for some time.
BTW - I hope Peter did not get into too much of an issue with his wife after leaving a dinner party to attend....
Great to see all those who attended... Thanks to James, Matt, Stuart and most especially to our wives and partners who put up with this obsession.
Beoaus.