Dubai exhibition to showcase latest in home entertainment.
When the compact disc was introduced over 20 years ago ? though it was originally designed for music storage and playback ? it marked a defined, revolutionary moment: the emergence of the consumer digital audio market. And today this revolution continues, as the digital audio is becoming one of the most prevailing, exciting technologies in consumer electronics.
The UAE has always been keyed into technological advancements when it comes to lifestyle. Its residents have the money to spend on the latest in home entertainment and what is more important, the knowledge to spend right. Hometech Middle East, an exhibition in Dubai that will showcase the latest in home entertainment is one venue that will see tech savvy gadget freaks as well as connoiseurs converge. Chris Hudson, COO of Messe Frankfurt, the organiser of Hometech Middle East, says that the show will bring to Dubai the latest applications in audio systems. "Consumers here are early adopters of new technology, they are aware of cutting edge products and upscale brands in the audio segment, and as a norm they want the best and the latest," he says.
There are several factors that enable this continuous transformation. Consumer electronics experts say it's new types of digital audio content, widespread network connectivity, availability of music online and technological advances in electronic components that enable this. But what's central to all is the continuous demand from consumers for products that deliver high quality audio as sound is essential to entertainment.
Portable audio, home theatre and cinema set the pace
Evidence of undeniable audio growth has been registered by consumer electronics retailers. "Audio is booming everywhere," says Malek Ali Hassan, business development manager, Virgin Megastore. "And the iPod is a major contributor to the return of audio. There have been over 90 million iPods sold. People love it because it invites them to revisit their music and they now have a way of keeping it accessible, by storing it all on the iPod." In the beginning the iPod was limiting us to listening through headphones only, which was a drawback. As a result many companies started designing and marketing source devices that plug directly into audio systems. Now the iPod is neatly put in a dock and we're able to listen to music anywhere in the house.
Home theatre is another big contributor to the audio boom. "People have got in their houses high definition TVs, projectors, plasmas and LCDs ? they have a good picture, so they're looking for the right sound system to match it," says Aamir Anwar, CEO of Dubai Audio Center while describing the home audio revival as a natural consequence. He's also of the opinion that there are two defined segments within the audio systems: the convenience and the high end.
The Dubai Audio Center has an admirable range of home theatre systems. This includes multi-room systems from Linn (that allow up to 16 sound sources and up to 128-room distribution), hand built sub base systems from REL, the loud speaker range from Kef, Arcam's extensive audio range of amplifiers and tuners and Loewe's sculpturesque home theatre systems.
The audio developments are inherent to those in the entertainment industry, and those in the cinema environment in particular. This is the conclusion John Dahl, senior consultant and senior fellow, director of education at THX Ltd., came to. "Audio didn't come out of a box, it came from thoughtful, informed integration of the box and the theatre itself that were conducive to providing consumers with an experience as the director intended". And THX (the company name is a tribute to George Lucas' first movie THX 1138) provides products and services that are in the pursuit of delivering this experience, from exclusive technologies and quality control services. THX Certification is one in which the aim is to perfect the cinema sound experience to the same level of the professional mixing room, where the director's vision was born.
THX client database is formed of companies that cover all aspects of the creation and presentation of entertainment content including Hollywood studios, professional mixing facilities, video game developers and home theatre equipment manufacturers.
The audio arena at Hometech is equally diverse and includes Audiovox, Jensen, Acoustic Research (The high performance AR WHT6024 Wireless Home Theatre System from Acoustic Research, recently unveiled at the Las Vegas CES is not only the best and the latest, it's already considered an industry breakthrough and an audiophile's dream), Terk, Vogel's, Mitek, TeleDynamics and Basco are just few of the brands in their portfolio.
The brands will showcase their range of amplifiers, speakers, home theatre systems, and sound systems for vehicles and satellite radio at the fair.
Audiovox's range of ultra high resolution HD flat panel LCD TVs to speakers, multimedia and CD head units (models such as VM9412, VM512 and VM9022 have core MediaPlex processors that enable smooth, fast and efficient
response to user's commands, have touch screens and are satellite audio-ready), developed after years of research. These products are compatible with storage devices such as DVD, MP3, WMA, and also with the iPod.
All audio applications, whether in homes, cars or portables are subject to continuous change, as new audio formats enable new delivery mechanisms, and new network connections dictate new products, and all these point to the fact that the growth of the consumer audio digital market has just begun.
- Hometech Middle East will take place from May 13 to 15 at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre.
