[CES 07] Philips Sticks With Plasma Enhancements
January 9th, 2007 — By Arnie WilliamsPhilips Introduces New All-in-One Home Theater Speaker System at CES
Ten years ago Philips introduced the world’s first flat panel plasma TV, helping to usher in a market that that has taken consumer interest - and pocketbooks - by storm. Since that time, the company has been a leader in the lucrative plasma flat-panel market, and with 30 new plasma models planned for 2007, Philips is playing to its strengths. The Philips product line extends beyond TVs, however, as shown by a variety of new product announcements at its Las Vegas CES press briefing that included nifty gear such as Internet phones, wireless HDMI, and a total-immersion gaming system. But for home theater audio enthusiasts, the real eye-brow raiser was Philips’ new Ambisound home theater system.
Slated for release in April, the HTS8100 Ambisound SoundBar sports Philips’ proprietary technology in its array of 8 speakers (six woofers and two tweeters) and five amplifiers that mimic 5.1 surround. Including a DVD player and designed to be wall mounted below a Philips Ambilight flat panel TV (or a flat panel by any other manufacturer), the $799 HTS8100 will compete against other one-enclosure surround systems such as the Polk Audio Surroundbar and the Yamaha YSP-1 Digital Sound Projector.
Philips executives said the SoundBar address the lifestyle preferences of many customers who want the experience of surround sound without the speaker and cable clutter that comes with more traditional multichannel systems.
