Bang and Olufsen

Our new Showroom heralds a new era for Bang & Olufsen in N21

2011-12-14T07:46:00.000-08:00

This saturday will see a new chapter in Bang & Olufsen of Winchmore Hill's history when we move into our brand new showroon at 727 Green Lanes.
This new state of the art premises is a big change from when Mr Braham Senior opened the original business in Winchmore Hill back in 1942, 80 years ago.
We look forward to meeting customers both old and new at the latest premises.
What new technologies will develop in the next 80 years?

Bang & Olufsen and 3rd party products

2011-09-27T09:04:00.000-07:00

It is a common misconception that integrating Bang & Olufsen Televisions and HiFis with other products is hard work.

The technical department in Struer have worked tirelessy to now make Bang & Olufsen products the easiest to integrate with a wide variety of systems and products.

Take a look at the publication above and see how easy it can be.

Alternatively call Bang & Olufsen of Winchmore Hill to find out more;

+44 208 360 5088

email winchmorehill@bang-olufsen.co.uk

Servers and Streaming-some clarification

2011-09-22T02:08:00.001-07:00

For some time now Bang & Olufsen of Winchmore Hill have been suppliers of the superb Kaleidescape Movie and Music Server. There is a lot of confusion about electronic delivery of home entertainment. Streaming is a method for delivering movies by which the movie is presented to the viewer as it is being delivered over the Internet. The movie is not stored locally, so the quality is limited to what your Internet connection can deliver in real time, and you must be online to watch the movie. Netflix uses streaming for their electronic rental business.

An Internet download works differently. The movie is copied to local storage from which it is played back later. For example, a movie purchased from the iTunes store can be downloaded to an iPad and viewed offline. Downloads work well for movies you purchase because you can view your collection without relying on a service "somewhere in the cloud." Both streaming and downloads are growing, but not nearly as fast as Blu-ray Disc purchases.

We believe that people will continue to collect movies for a long time, just as they collect books and art. We buy movies we love. We buy movies our children love. We sometimes buy a movie to ensure that it will be possible to watch it, even outside of an "availability window." Children watch the same show over and over, which makes buying more economical than renting. Another great reason to purchase is that DVD and Blu-ray offer the best video and audio quality.

In this context, our view on downloads is quite simple: It is just another delivery mechanism for purchasing movies. Today, DVDs and Blu-ray Discs offer the broadest selection and the best fidelity. If you buy movies you must store them, and we believe a movie server is the best place to keep your treasured collection of movies. A natural evolution for the Kaleidescape movie server — one that we have planned from the beginning — will be to support downloads in the future. Indeed Kaleidescape plan to provide online purchasing of Bluray quality movies early in 2011.

The selection of movies available via streaming suffers from the same limitations as other movie rental services: restrictive availability windows and studio licensing deals. In addition, streaming services limit video and audio quality to save bandwidth. Today, streaming is a convenient source of entertainment when immediate availability is more important than quality and choice. Streaming serves important needs, but it does not take the place of a high-quality movie collection. Will the Kaleidescape movie server support streaming in the future? Maybe, but it's not a high priority for us because streaming is already supported by various devices in the home, and because Kaleidescape is focused on transforming your personal collection into a magical experience.

Mulichannel Audio

2011-09-12T08:10:00.000-07:00

Below is a very interesting article from the Bang & Olufsen technical team re Dolby DTS surround sound

Multichannel Audio
People familiar with movies in the cinema or on DVD-Video will know that “surround sound” is comprised of what is known as 5.1 channels of audio. The 5 channels are sent to the Left, Centre, Right, Left Surround and Right Surround loudspeakers, and the .1 channel refers to the LFE (Low Frequency Effects) channel which is usually produced by a subwoofer. This channel is called a .1 channel since it has about one-tenth of the frequency content of the other 5 channels.
The current high-performance medium for distributing films is BluRay which is a disc capable of supporting up to 8 channels of audio. This is typically used as a 7.1-channel system which includes the 5.1 channels of DVD-Video plus an additional 2 channels, probably used for extra surround information. There are different options for the placement of the two extra loudspeakers, depending on the movie’s mix.
In order to get the 7.1 channels of audio from your BluRay player into your surround processor - a name for a very fancy volume knob with a switch to allow you to choose between your BluRay and other players,- you can either connect 8 separate wires that send analogue audio signals between the two devices, or one single cable called an HDMI cable which supports not only the 8 channels of audio, but also the video signal for your television. If the audio signal is sent on the HDMI cable, then it is transmitted as a digital signal, a stream of 1’s and 0’s, referred to as a PCM (Pulse Code Modulation) signal. PCM is probably the most common method of using a digital signal to represent an audio signal. It is the method used in compact discs, but in fact has been used for decades before the introduction of the CD. When the PCM digital audio signal on the HDMI cable contains more than one channel, it is known as a “multichannel PCM” signal.

Audio Compression
In order to send a large document via email, it is common to compress the file in advance, usually using a .zip format, to reduce its size for sending. You create the document, “zip” it to shrink it, and send it. The person receiving the file “un-zips” it to return it to its original size and content. The same is true for audio on a BluRay – in order for all 7.1 channels to fit into the storage available on a BluRay, the audio signals must be compressed to make them smaller. There are a number of compression formats that are available with different levels of quality for fitting the audio on the BluRay disc. Some of these compression systems are “lossy” which means that they throw away information to make the storage requirements smaller. Some of the systems are “lossless” which means that, although they reduce the amount of storage space required, they do so without any loss in information.
Two examples of these “lossless” compression systems are Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio

Dolby TrueHDTrueHD is Dolby’s system for lossless compression and is optional as a format on BluRay movies and players. This means that not all players are able to decode a movie that uses the TrueHD compression algorithm, and that not all BluRay movies have audio that uses the format. In order to ensure that, in either of these cases, you will still be able to hear audio from your film, the soundtrack is always available in Dolby Digital format, the same lossy compression format used on DVD-Video, as a “backup” solution.
Some quick facts about Dolby TrueHD:

- it is a successor to the Dolby Digital, also known as “AC-3”, lossy compression format
- it can support up to 14 channels of audio, although most films are mixed in either 5.1 or 7.1
- if higher-resolution audio is used, then the number of channels is reduced. 8 channels of 96 kHz, 24-bit audio or 6 channels of 192 kHz, 24-bit audio

DTS-HD Master Audio
The competitor for Dolby TrueHD is from DTS (Digital Theatre Systems) and is called DTS-HD Master Audio. It is an extension of the original DTS lossy compression format available on some DVD-Videos. This means that the original format forms the “core” of the new format. If your player cannot play the DTS-HD Master Audio format, it will play the portion of the audio signal that is in the DTS signal, however, more capable players can decode the entire stream and give you a lossless stream equivalent to the original signal.
Some quick facts about DTS-HD Master Audio:

- it is an extension of the DTS compression format
- like Dolby TrueHD, if higher-resolution audio is used, then the number of channels is reduced (8 channels of 96 kHz, 24-bit audio or 2 channels of 192 kHz, 24-bit audio

Summary
It is important to not confuse “multichannel PCM” with either Dolby TrueHD or DTS-HD Master Audio. The latter two are the compression systems used to fit the audio on the distribution medium, like BluRay, for example, whereas multichannel PCM is the format that is probably used to transport audio on your HDMI cable between devices in your home. For example, it is likely that your BluRay player reads either the Dolby TrueHD or the DTS-HD Master Audio file on the disc, decodes it, and then sends it to your surround processor on the HDMI cable using multichannel PCM digital audio.

The Digital age and Older B&O link systems

2011-08-16T08:19:00.000-07:00

Many years ago, Bang & Olufsen were one of the first manufacturers to introduce multi-room audio as a standard feature in their systems.

There have been various incarnations of this concept, the curent being the 'Masterlink' or 'ML' system which has been around for more than 15 years now. This allows the users to control and listen to various audio and video sources including CD/Radio/DVD/ and Satellite broadcasts.
Two of the great features of the system , aside from excellent audio quality, is its reliability and simplicity.

We have many systems that we have installed more than 10 years ago and customers constantly ask the question, do we have to start again in order to benefit from the convenience of sources such as iPods and other sorts of Digital media, such as Sonos, Spotify and the like?
Well the good news fom Bang & Olufsen of Winchmore Hill is that in most cases we can integrate these items into your exisitng system and are happy to discuss any bespoke requirements.

This just goes to prove what a great investment that Bang & Olufsen Masterlink System was!

Master Link Gateway full integration solution

2011-03-19T05:04:00.000-07:00

The intelligent home has become increasingly popular among many core Bang & Olufsen customers to whom simplicity and ease-of-operation are of prime importance.

In addition to the fantastic A/V integration and control offered by the Master Link system, Bang & Olufsen is therefore offering to provide customers with a solution that also integrates seamlessly with other electronic equipment in the home.

Seamless integration Via the Master Link Gateway, customers can now control and operate all their home automation equipment from the Beo6 remote control all over the house.

Customers can combine actions involving both home automation and A/V equipment; for instance, it is possible to switch on the light and the TV in the kitchen by a single touch on the programmable Beo6 remote control. Customers can also choose to control their A/V system from their home automation panel if that is convenient.

Operation is completely flexible as the Master Link Gateway allows as many as 130 commands per room, ranging from local commands such as closing the curtains in one room to global commands like switching off the lights in the entire house.

With Master Link Gateway and the Beo6 remote control, Bang & Olufsen thus ensures that the control and user interface of third party products are taken to another level.

The user-friendly Master Link Gateway platform offers seamless integration between A/V products and third party products with no perceived barriers between these. Master Link Gateway simply translates Bang & Olufsen Master Link commands into LAN (ethernet) or RS 232/RS 485 commands that home automation systems can understand and vice versa.

Adding advantages
With Master Link Gateway, Bang & Olufsen uses its extensive experience within system control to augment the existing Master Link system.

For many years, Bang & Olufsen has offered integration of non-A/V products such as lights, curtains, projectors and home automation systems, which have all been handled as add-ons to the A/V setup on an individual basis according to customer needs.

The integration of these products has therefore been done on an ad hoc basis and not as a natural part of the product concept, causing this to be somewhat less flexible and seamless than had it been part of the product concept from the start.

To achieve the highest level of integration, Bang & Olufsen has entered into strategic partnerships with a range of third party suppliers. Together with strategic home automation partners such as Busch Jaeger (building on the KNX standard, used by more than 120 other producers of home automation systems), LK Schneider, Lutron and Conson, Bang & Olufsen has ensured that Master Link Gateway is synonymous with seamless integration.

In this way, Master Link Gateway and the programmable Beo6 remote control ensure optimal ease-of-use for the Bang & Olufsen customer regardless of the applications connected.

Master Link Gateway is thus the perfect choice for the Bang & Olufsen customer who is looking for exceptional comfort, efficiency, security, ease-of-use, flexibility and last but not least pure enjoyment.

For more information or a free home survey, visit the Bang & Olufsen of Wincmore Hill website;

http://beostores.bang-olufsen.co.uk/london-winchmorehill/welcome

Bang & Olufsen of Winchmore Hill Press Release

2010-06-04T02:45:00.000-07:00

Bang & Olufsen of Winchmore Hill are now proud to announce the release of their two-way solution for the Sonos system.

Sonos is one of the most popular and successful network music systems in the world. Bang & Olufsen is the leader in high end Televisions, Loudspeakers and multiroom audio.

Now through the ingenuity of Bang & Olufsen of Winchmore Hill these two leading systems can work together.

People love the simplicity and reliabililty of the Sonos system, they are also love Bang & Olufsen's comprehensive, easy to use remote controls.

Now our customers can get the best of both worlds and control their Sonos system through Bang & Olufsen remotes and listen via their fantastic BeoLab speakers.

Bang & Olufsen of Winchmore Hill
733 Green Lanes
London
N21 3RX

tel: 020 8360 5088

BeoVision 7 - Bang & Olufsen

2010-06-02T06:58:00.000-07:00

BeoVision 7 - Bang & Olufsen

Bang & Olufsen Home Automation Evening

2010-05-25T07:37:00.000-07:00

For the past 12 months we have been working very closely with Control4, a leading provider of the operating system for the smart home and are very pleased to have been appointed the official supplier and product support for Bang & Olufsen dealers. We feel that we have developed a unique solution that will appeal to all Bang & Olufsen users who wish to take maximum advantage of the business opportunities offered by the Home Automation revolution.
Therefore we would like to invite you to one of our special open evenings on the 7th or 9th June at 6.00pm-10.00pm. We all will be on hand to guide you through what’s on offer.

Just imagine being able to operate via Beo4/Beo5 on any Current Bang & Olufsen TV or iPhone/iTouch/iPad ;
• iPod dock with full on-screen navigation on one or every screen!
• Full on-screen navigation of iTunes music library on one or every screen!
• Full control of PTZ CCTV cameras on one or every screen!
• Full control of HVAC system with feedback of current temperature on one or every screen!
• Full control of your lighting system with feedback of current levels on one or every screen!
• Multizone/multisource music
• Your lights dim automatically when your Kaleidescape movie starts
• Lights raise in level automatically when your Kaleidescape movie pauses• Door Entry on one or every screen!
• And of course remote operation via the same GUI on iPhone/iTouch/iPad

All the above is easily achievable and the cost of it won’t break the bank! Come to one of our evenings and let us show you how.

Bang & Olufsen of Winchmore Hill

733 Green Lanes

London

N21 3RX

tel:020 8360 5088

Bang & Olufsen help towards Green Living

2010-05-21T09:26:00.000-07:00

Conserving energy isn’t just good for your conscience and the environment, it’s good for your bank balance too! Bang & Olufsen of Winchmore Hill give you the power to be green by helping you manage lighting and temperature control in your home. With our help our customers can significantly reduce their energy consumption without compromising their lifestyle.

You can automate your lights so they come on when you need them and go off when you don’t.

Lights can be programmed to turn on and off at the appropriate time of day and year in order to reduce waste.

Motion sensors let the system know when to turn lights off in unoccupied rooms.

The system can dim lights to reduce energy consumption with the ability to manage energy-saving dimming that is imperceptible to the human eye.

Blinds and curtains can be automated to open and close with the sunlight to reduce demands on your climate control system.

Thermostats can be programmed to the most efficient temperatures so you can enjoy the convenience of temperature control from virtually anywhere in the world.
How much can you help the environment with a home automation system?

We use dimmers, timers and occupancy sensors to reduce energy waste.

A typical 3-bedroom home with our system will eliminate over 850 pounds of CO2 emissions each year. That’s like not driving a car for a month! We also let you control the amount of wattage used by light bulbs, which not only saves electricity and reduces energy bills but extends the life of bulbs as well.

Bang & Olufsen and 3D TV

2010-05-14T04:51:00.000-07:00

During recent years the cinema industry has been investing heavily in 3D cinema equipment to be able to compete with private home cinema set-ups. These home cinema setups are getting more and more sophisticated with large size full HD TV screens, Blu-ray Disc players and multichannel surround sound and are keeping an increasing number of consumers away from the professional cinemas.

However, there is little doubt that eventually also 3D technology will penetrate the consumer electronics industry with applications within home cinema, gaming and even regular television. After the commercial success of the digital TV transition, the upgrade to full high definition, the introduction of 100Hz and 200Hz LCD technology, the roll-out of LED backlit LCD panels and the commercial promotion of green products, the CE industry is again looking for new ways to get a premium among otherwise quickly eroding TV prices. 3D technology appears to provide such an opportunity.

Throughout history, several unsuccessful attempts have been made to introduce 3D in the film industry. However, this time, all the necessary ingredients for a successful introduction of 3D cinema, 3D gaming and 3D television seem to be in place.

3D in Bang & Olufsen products

At Bang & Olufsen we are currently studying and evaluating the different available and upcoming technical solutions for 3D TV. We already know that the first generations of 3D components and products will have serious drawbacks which compromise the full potential of the 3D viewing experience. Some of these drawbacks are:

Crosstalk, an unsharp 3D picture due to unwanted mixing of the images for the left and the right eye, an effect seen most severely in LCD screens.

Low picture brightness, caused by the use of shutter glasses and the inability of the current screen generation to produce more light.

The lack of standardisation of the shutter glasses, which (depending on the brand) makes it impossible to share a 3D programme with friends or family bringing their own glasses.

With this in mind, we are investigating which hardware and software modifications are needed in our TV platform architecture to include the necessary 3D facilities. As always, we are aiming for a technical solution that can deliver the performance level customers expect from a Bang & Olufsen product. The availability of some of the components for such a solution is still somewhat uncertain. Because of this uncertainty, a firm schedule for the launch of the first Bang & Olufsen 3D-ready TVs cannot be given yet.

Furthermore, we will continue to closely follow and investigate all developments within 3D technology, with special focus on auto stereoscopic displays, which will allow viewers to enjoy 3D video without the need for wearing glasses. The auto stereoscopic displays available right now still have major drawbacks and are not yet suitable for application in the living room. But, with continued research efforts in the industry, this type of 3D displays will become mature for consumer applications eventually and will truly revolutionise television just like the introduction of colour TV did in the 1950s.

AV system planning for your property development

2010-05-13T02:44:00.000-07:00

Everyday we have clients coming into our showroom after beautifully refurbishing either their exisiting or new home, asking for wireless products as they have not planned for any distributed Audio or Video. Although there are wireless solutions available they come nowhere near the quality or reliability of a wired system.

Of course with our installer's years of experience we can always perform a 'retro-fit' and make sure all the cables are discreetely hidden. However, on occassion, we have to make compromises owing to how the home is finished. Marble floor tiles, for example, look gorgeous but do make our life hard once they are laid with regards to running cables!

Did you know that you use the same type of cable to send Telephone, High Quality Audio and Video, Internet and Bang & Olufsen signals? Yes, planning for that state of the art AV system can be very simple if organised properly.

Come and speak to us at Bang & Olufsen of Winchmore Hill, London, and we can give you a free one hour consulation to help you plan your Audio Visual system and with the option of integrating your lighting system. With just a bit of pre planning you can be sure of a system in your newly refurbished home that will give you years of pleasure and be very cost effective.

Bang & Olufsen of Winchmore Hill, London

tel: 020 8360 5088

http://www.bang-olufsen.com/winchmorehill

The New BeoLab 11 Subwoofer. Bass is now Beautiful

2010-05-01T03:10:00.000-07:00

BeoLab 11 is a new elegant subwoofer from Bang & Olufsen which combines excellent bass performance, intriguing design and unorthodox placement possibilities.

In the past you would have been forgiven for thinking of subwoofers as ugly boxes that just give out a thumping sound dominating the music. Well the BeoLab 11 delivers a very smooth bass performance that can enhance your listening experience and compliment your existing speakers.

The BeoLab 11 is a new small subwoofer from Bang & Olufsen that delivers amazing bass quality for its size.

http://www.bang-olufsen.com/beolab11

With BeoLab 11, Bang & Olufsen has revolutionized the subwoofer category by creating a subwoofer with an entirely new look. Despite its strong sculptural presence, BeoLab 11 has a discreetness about it that makes it easy to integrate in a home environment without turning the room into a sound studio.

Don't take our word for it come to our showroom at Bang & Olufsen of Winchmore Hill, bring your favorite music with you and let the BeoLab 11 show you what you have been missing.

To enquire about a home demonstration send us an email

The Kaleidescape Experience in London N21

2010-04-29T08:53:00.000-07:00

At Bang & Olufsen of Winchmore Hill we have worked with many media servers over the years but in our opinion the one that gives the best overall experience is the Kaleidescape system.

Kaleidescape's designers started from the ground up to develop a dedicated media server based on its own operating system, not relying on a embedded Windows PC running extra software. This ensures smooth and flawless performance.

Have a look at the short film attached to this blog to see how easy the system is to use.

It will oraganise, categorise, store and protect your Film and Music content so that all the material is available whenever and where ever you want. It will work with any flat screen television, although it integrates perfectly with Bang & Olufsen.

It may not be the cheapest but as far as we can see it is the best.

At our North london store we have the system on display and can, subject to status, lend it to clients for home demonstrations.

A Good Day

2010-04-28T12:33:00.000-07:00

Everyone worked really hard today setting up the showroom for the Cinema event.

With just a button press on the Beo4/Beo5 the projector turns on. With another button the film sequence starts on the Kaleidescape system and then when the film starts the lights dim down automatically and even flash during action scenes to give extra effects.

The BeoSystem 3 handles the surround sound and full Hd picture just perfectly.

Don't worry when the phone rings you can just pause the film and, hey presto, the lights go back up to full brightness without you having to do a thing. When you finish the call hit play and you are back to watching te film with the lights dimmed again. Sheer simplicity, sheer magic.

A big thank you to the following, without whom we couldn't have held this event;

James Buckle
Hamish Neale
Richard Gibbs
William Tse

and last but not least, our incredibly supportive Bang & Olufsen area manager;

Ben Dalrymple

Looking forward to a great evening

Coke and popcorn

2010-04-28T08:04:00.000-07:00

Just returned from the supermarket with our supplies of popcorn etc and a few bottles of wine for the cinema evening.

If you have your own favourite DVDs bring them along.

Cinema Evening

2010-04-28T00:52:00.000-07:00

Lights, Camera, Action

Over the past couple of days we have been working hard setting up the showroom for our Cinema experience evening on Thursday 29th April at 7pm.

With a fantastic 113" projection screen and fantastic Hi Def projector our customers are in for a cinematic treat.

This link will give you a flavour of whats on offer;

http://www.bang-olufsen.com/home-cinema

To reserve your place mailto:aw.winchmorehill@bang-olufsen.co.uk or call 020 8360 5088.