Not sure why we've been putting this off, but we'll just come right out and say it: there's no doubt that this was the year for 3D at CES. We walked the show floor for countless hours and can tell you that just about everyone was showing something related to 3D at their booths. Most of these demos required a bit of a wait to experience them (thanks, hype), and everywhere you went people were talking about 3D. Granted, not all of that talk was positive, but it was talk nonetheless. Whether or not the technology will be seen in history as a success in the market place is obviously still up in the air, and much like a finely crafted episode of Lost, 3D at CES this year was littered with more questions than answers.

Sub-$200 Blu-ray players certainly aren't new -- heck, some guys have been doing it since the year 2008 -- but you'll never catch us kvetching about a little more competition. JVC has today introduced (in the briefest way possible, might we add) its newest Blu-ray player just ten months after deciding to play the BD game here in the States. The ultrathin (and "now available") XV-BP11 should slide into just about any AV rack, bringing Blu-ray / DVD playback, AVCHD support, HDMI 1.3, a USB socket and compatibility with a slew of audio formats. Curiously enough, the outfit doesn't bother to mention if this thing is Profile 2.0, but we're guessing (read: hoping) that it wouldn't do something as ludicrous as charge two bills for a Profile 1.1 deck in late 2009. Then again, we've seen zanier things go down...

Update: Ouch -- this thing is only Profile 1.1. Dud. [Thanks, Aaron!]

We know, life's tough. You want to buy the latest ultraslim HDTV, but find that your home theater speakers will look monstrously bulky sitting alongside it. JVC wouldn't want to cause you such headaches, which is why it's trotted out the above pair of 31mm thin speaker satelittes -- known as the SP-FT1 in black and SP-FT2 in their white garb -- and the AX-FT amplifier squeezed in between them. While you should probably not expect Telos 5000-like output, the amp will deliver 80W of total output over 4 independent channels, and has support for Dolby Digital, DTS and AAC formats. Prices are expected to be around ¥24,000 ($267) for the amp and ¥20,000 ($223) for the speakers when their black iterations hit Japan later this month, with the willowy white option showing up in November.
[Via Akihabara News]

Did we mention that CEDIA was a whirlwind of activity? There are a few bits of good stuff we didn't manage to get our HD hands on, including the new JVC projectors aimed at folks who just can't swing the mortgage-busting $175,000 for the company's pick o' the litter. The DLA-RS35, DLA-RS25 and DLA-RS15 are available through the "professional channels" CEDIA targets, but the equivalent DLA-HD990, DLA-HD950 and DLA-HD550 are in the consumer lineup. Everyone of the 1080p, D-ILA beamers gets the 120-Hz treatment, HQV Reon video processing, motorized lens zoom and focus, horizontal and vertical lens shifts and of course, ISF calibration modes so you can get things tweaked just so. Sounds great, but you can't expect JVC to deliver this feature set on the cheap -- $5,000 for the HD550, $5,500 for the RS15, $8,000 for the RS25 or HD950, and an even $10,000 for the RS35 or HD990.

JVC introduced its HD Everio GZ-HM400 in Japan way back in late July, but at long last, the time has come for the Yanks in attendance to grab one as their own. Shipping now (as in, right now) here on US soil, the Full HD camcorder packs a 10.3 megapixel sensor, 32GB of internal storage, an SD / SDHC expansion slot and the ability to capture stills at 9 megapixels. Over on the video side, users will have access to a trio of slow-motion recording modes (600fps, 300fps and 120fps), though we can't express in mere words how disheartened we are to hear that this thing utilizes the thoroughly worthless AVCHD format. If you aren't bothered in the least by that, you can pick yours up now for a nickel shy of a grand.

Back in January, JVC slated its TH-SB100 soundbar + subwoofer + Blu-ray player system as "3.1-channel," which kind of made sense since the soundbar housed LCR drivers. There's been something funny in the punch since then, because the TH-SB100 has morphed into something with 4.1-channel status. It's still a soundbar system, but JVC is using magic called "front surround" to get the outermost drivers to handle the left/right channels and the inside two drivers to handle the center + surround audio. It sounds crazy to us, but we'll try to keep an open mind because otherwise things look pretty good -- 220-Watts total, wireless subwoofer, and Dolby Digital, Pro Logic II and DTS processing in the soundbar. If all you've already got a Blu-ray player, opt for the $400 TH-BA1 (soundbar + sub only), otherwise get onboard with Blu-ray and grab the $700 TH-SB100 (complete with Blu-ray deck).

By and large, any 4K x 2K projector that we've seen -- be it at CES, CEDIA or any other trade show -- has been solely for looks. Oh sure, they're for sale, but they're only being sold to cinema owners and the select few that find themselves within the same tax bracket as Bill Gates and Lawrence Ellison. But the DLA-RS4000... the DLA-RS4000 is different. Introduced here in Atlanta, the ultra high-definition projector spots a native resolution of 4,096 x 2,400, enabling it to display up to four screens of Full HD content (you listening, college football / NFL fans?) at once. Naturally, it's fully ISF and THX certified, and it packs 3,500 ANSI lumens, a Xenon lamp, 10,000:1 contrast ratio, RSVP4 video processing unit, Ethernet port and an RS-232c control port. Interested in showing 1080p what's really up? Great! Crack open that wallet and yank out $176,000 -- $175,000 for the beamer, and a grand to rent the forklift you'll need to get a 110 pound box into your home.

Jumpin' Jehosaphat! We know exchange rates have been sort of crazy of late, but we can say with a good deal of certainty that the in-home 3D revolution isn't going anywhere with MSRPs like this. After introducing the 46-inch GD-463D10 3D LCD HDTV in various overseas markets, JVC is announcing here at CEDIA that its flagship 3D panel is now available on US soil for a solid chunk of change. The 1080p display touts a 2,000:1 contrast ratio, three HDMI sockets, 178-degree viewing angles, a depth of 1.5-inches and two incredibly awesome sets of 3D goggles. If you're not concerned that actual 3D content is all but nonexistent for home users, you can snag this now for $9,153 (and not a penny more).

U.S. buyers wanting to slide a Blu-ray playing & recording deck into their setup finally have an option coming from JVC, but the domestic limitations are almost as high as the pricetags. Unlike their Japanese and European cousins, there isn't any support for DVRing television content to the hard drive or discs here, with support limited strictly to unprotected Blu-ray content, or imported video from cameras or other sources via the Firewire, SDHC and USB ports. Still, professionals and prosumers interested in easily duping their own Blu-ray discs, video editing or quickly creating one-offs the SR-HD1500 (250GB, $1,995) and the SR-HD1250 (500GB, RS-232, Final Cut Pro .mov file support $2,550) may find a home for these when they ship in October.

Hey, remember that ultra skinny, LED-backlit HDTV that JVC showed off at CEDIA UK earlier this year? The seven millimeter-thin LT-32WX50? Yeah, that very panel is making a second debut here in Atlanta, but it has somehow managed to slim down to 6.4 millimeters (at its thinnest point) and get a November ship date in the US. Weighing just 12.5 pounds, the 32-inch set packs a 4,000:1 contrast ratio, edged-light LED backlight system, a super wide color gamut (100 percent of sRGB and 90 percent of Adobe RGB), a 1080p native resolution, two HDMI sockets, VGA input and an RS-232c control port. The pain? Just under $3,000, or in other words, a small fortune.

If you're the kind of person who happens to have a number of LCD HDTV's lying around, we suggest you give University of California, San Diego's Calit2 Visualization Team a ring. Researchers from the group have constructed a three-column, nine-panel 3D display using flat screens from JVC, stereoscopic glasses, and "game PCs with high end NVIDIA game engines." Dubbed NexCAVE, it's a much more inexpensive version of the its projector-powered StarCAVE used for data analysis, although its range is more limited -- on the plus side, however, since this is LCD, it can be used in bright rooms. At 6,000 x 1,500 pixel, the resolution isn't as mind-blowing as we'd hope, but the team is currently building a version for Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah University for Science and Technology (KAUST) that's 7 columns (totaling 21 panels) and 15,000 x 1,500 resolution. If nothing else, any chance we can play Mirror's Edge on this? Video demonstration of the nine-panel rig after the break.

[Via PhysOrg]

Lookie here -- time for yet another HD camcorder in the quickly expanding Everio family. Launched today in the Land of the Rising Sun, the JVC Everio GZ-HM400 is a Full HD shooter with a 10.3 megapixel CMOS sensor, 2.8-inch flip-out LCD, 32GB of built-in storage, an SD / SDHC expansion slot, HDMI output, a 10x optical zoom and a fairly preposterous (in a good way) 600fps slo-mo mode, just like that ultra-sleek GZ-X900 we peeked back in March. The unit can also snap 9 megapixel still shots and hold nearly three hours of Full HD content before needing a USB-led cleansing. Indeed, this here camcorder mimics the aforesaid GZ-X900 in pretty much every way save for design, and it's expected on Japanese store shelves early next month for ¥110,000 ($1,157).

[Via Akihabara News]

Read - JVC press release
Read - Hands-on shots

Not satisfied with just rolling out prototypes and specs, JVC is putting its 4K compact camcorder prototype to work to screen a live solar eclipse throughout several live venues (also in 4K at some locations) in Japan. This camera is the first to deliver its high res, 60p video in real-time, so it can be broadcast a look through the 190-degree fisheye lens shown attached in the picture above in sky domes by 4K projectors. Anyone want to see if they can get Cinedigm on this?

After a showing in Japan, JVC's taken its GD-463D10 3D monitor to CEDIA in the UK, confirming that polarized glasses can make people look dorky on any continent. Otherwise the specs are the same, adjusted for a £8,000 price tag, though that's only a concern if you can grab one of the 2,000 JVC plans to sell, whether that's just for the UK or all regions though, is unclear. Just like its slender cousin, we're still waiting to hear when this hits the U.S.

CEDIA's UK show is going on right now across the pond, and while things are rather quiet overall, JVC has definitely garnered a fair bit of attention with its 32-inch LT-32WX50. The 1080p set features 100Hz dejudder technology, a 4,000:1 contrast ratio, 90 percent of Adobe's RGB color space and -- here's the real kicker -- a thickness of just seven millimeters. The whole panel weighs just 11 pounds, meaning that even the weaklings should be able to transport, move and install this one sans any overpriced help from Geek Squad. Around back, there's a pair of HDMI inputs, a PC port, an SD card slot and a USB connector. If all goes well, it should start hitting retailers this fall, but there's no mention of when it'll ship stateside.