News

New BeoWorld launches on 16 April

13 April 2007 [permanent link]

BeoWorld has been the subject of a much-anticipated redesign and is due to be re-launched on 16th April. The statement from Beoworld gives some more details:

"It is with great pleasure that I can announce the launch date for the new BeoWorld Website. After a huge amount of hard work and dedication from the sites Moderating team, and the skill of Van and the team at Firebrand we will finally be ready for launch on Monday 16th April. A time is yet to be set, but expect sometime mid-morning/lunchtime. Text copyright © Beocentral. Unauthorised reproduction prohibited.

"I would sincerely like to thank everyone for their patience in waiting for the new site, and I am sure all will agree it has been worth waiting for. We are currently fervently working through the new site editing, refining and perfecting as we go along. Text copyright © Beocentral. Unauthorised reproduction prohibited.

"Please remember though, that it is a completely new site and totally untested in the volume of traffic that we will be putting through it. Problems may occur, but be assured they will be rectified as soon as they happen, as we will have the programming team on standby should anything fundamental happen. We have beta-tested as much as we can, and although we will hopefully have ironed everything out - saying it will be faultless will curse us!

"All that remains to say is “Welcome” when the new BeoWorld launches, and hopefully you will all join as Gold Members!"

Gold membership should be very popular, as all Gold members are entered into a monthly draw, with some excellent prizes to be won. Text copyright © Beocentral. Unauthorised reproduction prohibited.

Everyone at Beocentral wishes the BeoWorld team good luck and lots of success with their launch!

BeoLab 9 launch day is 10 March

6 March 2007 [permanent link]

BeoLab 9 and BeoVision 9 will be launched in the UK on Saturday 10th March. Customers are being invited to bring their favourite CD or DVD to the showroom to see and hear what the new products are capable of. Text copyright © Beocentral. Unauthorised reproduction prohibited.

It’s certainly worth going along to listen. BeoLab 9 fills the gap between BeoLab 5 and the rest of the loudspeaker range, in terms of both pricing and sound quality. The diminutive size of BeoLab 9 is the first surprise, it looks much smaller than the publicity photos lead you to expect. But just as B&O have said, they really do produce a sound you’d expect from much larger speakers. Text copyright © Beocentral. Unauthorised reproduction prohibited.

In direct contrast, BeoVision 9 is mighty. It’s appreciably larger than the BeoVision 5 it replaces, and really demands a large room to accommodate it. For all its size, it has plenty to offer: an HD ready 50” plasma screen, built-in hard disc recorder, digital surround sound processor, Acoustic Lens centre channel loudspeaker and an optional Beomedia module. Text copyright © Beocentral. Unauthorised reproduction prohibited.

As an incentive to come to the showroom, invited customers are being offered a free copy of ‘This is Different’, a CD which demonstrates the capabilities of B&O equipment. It contains a number of collaborations between Kipper, a renowned producer, and artists such as Sting, Judie Tzuke, Richard Marx, Curtis Stigers and Mike Lindup. We’ve been listening to it for a while, courtesy of our local friendly B&O shop, and it’s thoroughly recommended. Text copyright © Beocentral. Unauthorised reproduction prohibited.

BeoVision 8-32 and 8-26 pictures

5 March 2007 [permanent link]

Although it looks suspiciously like a montage created in Photoshop, the picture below from B&O shows how the 26” and 32” variations of the Beovision 8 will compare. Text copyright © Beocentral. Unauthorised reproduction prohibited.

We’re sure that it’s the same set photographed from two angles, with the one at the rear enlarged by the appropriate amount. The ‘reflection’ in the larger screen also looks suspect, being at slightly the wrong angle to be a true reflection. There is also the fact that not all dimensions of the 32” variant will scale proportionately from the smaller-screened original, so this should only be seen as an approximation of how it might look. Text copyright © Beocentral. Unauthorised reproduction prohibited.

More BeoVision 8 details

12 February 2007 [permanent link]

B&O have followed up their BeoVision 8 teaser by releasing technical details and more pictures of this new entry-level LCD TV. The screen size will be 26” with a resolution of 1366x768 pixels and a contrast ratio of 1200:1. There is no glass contrast screen, but there is a low-reflection coating on the LCD itself. A 32” model will be launched some time after the 26” version. Text copyright © Beocentral. Unauthorised reproduction prohibited.

The BeoVision 8‘s cabinet emphasises the width of the 26” wide-screen by framing only three sides of the LCD. The lower edge of the screen butts up against a protruding shelf which houses the loudspeaker system. It’s this shelf, fronted by a contrasting aluminium grille with a large ‘Bang & Olufsen’ script which gives the new set its distinctive appearance. Text copyright © Beocentral. Unauthorised reproduction prohibited.

The loudspeaker system unconventional in more than appearance - it’s a new concept on a B&O TV, maybe even on any TV. Although it’s stereo it uses three speakers, two 50mm mid-range/tweeter units for the left and right channels and one central 100mm bass unit. The bass unit combines sound from the left and right channels, rather than being a true centre channel. The left and right drivers are housed in closed box chambers, while the centre channel’s chamber is of the bass-reflex type. A similar system is used to good effect by BeoSound 1, and should mean that the BeoVision 8’s sound performance should be very good for its size. Text copyright © Beocentral. Unauthorised reproduction prohibited.

B&O’s picture optimisation system, VisionClear, is not mentioned by name in the specifications, but the set will adjust picture characteristics according to lighting conditions. The top right corner of the cabinet has a translucent window behind which the necessary sensors would be housed, as well as the IR sensor for the remote control. Text copyright © Beocentral. Unauthorised reproduction prohibited.

There are numerous placement options: floor or desk standing, wall mounted or on a cabinet. The most harmonious of these is a new floor-standing cabinet with a profile which matches the BeoVision 8’s sloping front and integrates the protruding loudspeaker enclosure perfectly. Text copyright © Beocentral. Unauthorised reproduction prohibited.

You can see B&O’s sneak preview here. B&O are also inviting comments in their forum, which will be responded to by staff involved in the project. Text copyright © Beocentral. Unauthorised reproduction prohibited.

HDR 1 can be upgraded

8 February 2007 [permanent link]

HDR 1 owners will be able to increase the capacity of their machines from 80GB to 250GB. Bang & Olufsen have announced the upgrade on their website with a short paragraph appeneded to the page describing the new HDR 2. Text copyright © Beocentral. Unauthorised reproduction prohibited.

With the upgrade, the HDR 1’s capacity is increased from 20 hours to 59 hours, at the highest recording quality. The new capacity is identical to that of the HDR 2. Text copyright © Beocentral. Unauthorised reproduction prohibited.

The upgrade provides no other extra functionality, so we expect that it is simply a replacement hard drive. A quick check of Dabs.com shows that 250GB hard drives retail between £45 and £50, but as the upgrade will be performed by an authorised B&O agent without invalidating the warranty, the hard drive itself will probably not be the largest component of the overall cost. Text copyright © Beocentral. Unauthorised reproduction prohibited.