AV Revolution’07
Events October 27th, 2007 
Went to Hi-End Audio-Video Consumer Electronics Expo aka AV revolution at NSE grounds Goregaon. I have been following this event religiously for the past 3-4 years as it happens every year around this time. There was a change in venue this year as it normally takes place at Hyatt Regency. Also, the number of participating companies have gone down. I remember, a couple of years back, I was not able to cover the whole event in one day. Also, it was Sunday so it was way over crowded. That’s why I made it a point to go on a weekday. However, I was disappointed to see so less booths and products on display as compared to previous events. I saw nothing exceptional except for Sony’s OLED TV , Samsung’s 70″ and Panasonic’s 84″ Plasma TV.
I bet a visit to Croma would have been more meaning full then this exhibition. I was looking for a DVD player which has HDMI as well as USB connectivity and also plays the maximum number video formats available in the market. I was disappointed to find only 3 such models. 2 of Pioneer and 1 of Samsung. The Pioneer stuff was really good but unfortunately they don’t have any distributors in Bombay. So except for grey market its very difficult to get it. I don’t know what was wrong with me that I asked an Onida booth guy about a DVD player with such specifications, he said “Such technology is not yet out in the market. We are still researching to combine two different kinds of connectivity” … lol. The speaker systems were good. I liked the concert series of Jamo comprising of two front tower speakers, two rear bookshelves, one centre speaker and a sub-woofer. And unlike previous shows, the exhibitors were not allowed to play music, so one can’t judge the quality of sound produced just by looking at the speakers and its specifications. Overall a mediocre event, covered it in just 3 hours and headed off to work for an important meeting 
Click here to view few of the pics I took at the event.
November 6th, 2007 at 11:11 am
You really seem to have missed the HD VMD stall at the Goregaon AV expo. These guys had an unbelievable HD player on display. They claim 1080p output - I saw the demo looked real good on a large screen via projector. They also seem to have got their act together by tying up with Bollywood movies and promising to offer Hindi movies for the same price as normal DVDs!!! They are likely to launch in India soon. They convinced me of the pricing of Player at 10,000 RS - claiming that their technlogy was similar to existing DVD red laser technology with a simple added on HD Chip. Seems logical - after all the whole idea of BLUE LASER technology is OPTICAL STORAGE CAPACITY considering a full length movie needs some 10 or 15 GB. Blue laser does not have anything to do with High Definition besides offering storage. So if this HD VMD can give us the same High Def in 2 DVD9 Discs why should we comlain especially if the price is less than 20 % of the Blue Laser discs????
November 6th, 2007 at 2:57 pm
Well, I did check the HD VMD stall and was impressed with the resolution they provided. However, we need another different type of a player to play this. What if this type of media is not able to create a market of its own. There are still Bluray vs HD DVD wars going on without any winner yet. So, the best thing to do would be to wait and watch ..atleast for a year and then see which is a better option.