PUBLIC RELATIONS CONTACT: Masha Lakhter Masha@keydigital.com (718) 796-7178 x 11 (phone) (718) 796-6664 (fax) www.keydigital.com/tradepress.htm
Key Digital Systems Introduces New, High-Performance 30 and 50-Foot DVI-D Cable with MDR20
Innovative KD-DVID50 Cables Enable All Displays Optimum HDTV Performance
Riverdale, NY (September 3, 2003) KEY DIGITAL SYSTEMS, Inc. (KDS), a leading developer of digital and HDTV technologies for home theater, retail, and industrial markets, announced today it is rolling out a new, fifty-foot line of DVI-D cables, models KD-DVID50/. The cables works with all displays including plasma to give customers the best possible picture quality. The cables are compatible with AVC systems and are 50-foot variations of the KDS KD-DVID30/MDR20 thirty-foot DVI-D cable with MDR20.
When home theater buffs think of designing top-notch home theater systems, the types of cables and accessories used are normally not part of the equation. Today, Key Digital Systems is changing that oldtime thinking with the debut of a whole new line of high-performance digital cable lengths, engineered for excellence, and guaranteed to deliver superior results. The new KD-DVID50/ line of digital cables carry digital DVI-D signals with virtually no signal loss, are affordably priced, and provide customers with a valuable alternative to high-priced cabling.
Unique High-Performance Cables are Compatible with Top Display Brands Our KDS DVI-D digital-only cables support all products with DVI-D outputs, like: Plasma, DLP, CRT, DILA, and LCoS displays DVDs STBs (Set Top Boxes)
Key Digital Systems Introduces NEW KD-DVID50/MDR20 DVI-D Cable
Our cables also support displays with AVC Systems, like: SHARP: LC-30HV2U, LC-30HV4U, LC-37HV4U, PZ-50HV2U, PZ-43HV2U PIONEER: PDP 433CMX, PDP 503CMX HITACHI: 32HDT20, 42HDT20, 42HDT50, 42HDT55 SONY: XBR 900
Choose the right KDS DVI-D digital cable for your application: Model #: Model #: Model #: Model #: Model #: KD-DVID30/MDR20, 30 cable supports Pioneer and Sharp with AVC, MSRP $349 KD-DVID50/MDR20, 50 cable supports Pioneer and Sharp with AVC, MSRP $499 KD-DVID50/PIN8, 50 cable supports Hitachi with AVC, MSRP $499 KD-DVID50/MDR26, 50 cable supports Sony XBRs MSRP $499 KD-DVID50, 50 cable supports all DVI-D applications, MSRP $349
Cables Engineered for Digital Facilities and Next-Generation HDTV Meet SMPTE Standards Engineered especially for Digital Home Theater Systems and HDTV facilities, the new KDS DVI-D 50foot cable line (KD-DVID50/) is designed for digital-only connections. The new DVI-D connection standard is specified by the Digital Display Working Group, to ensure pristine digital signals with virtually no signal degradation. The performance of the KD-DVID50/MDR20 is well within the guidelines set by the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE).
Save Set-Up Time and Fees Audio/video dealers as well as high-end home theater customers will love the future-ready aspects of KDS DVI-D digital cables. Michael Lakhter, National Sales Manager for Key Digital Systems, described the companys journey in researching and developing its new line of cable products and its debut of the 50-foot KD-DVID50/MDR20 DVI cable: We never waiver from out goal, which is to produce the best possible pictures at all times. Our new KD-DVID50/MDR20 cables are affordable (MSRP $499) and robust, capable of preserving the digital integrity of A/V programs and of meeting the needs of todays discerning audio/video customer.

About Key Digital Systems
Key Digital Systems (KDS) has emerged as a CES award-winning developer of leading-edge technology supporting HDTV custom installers, consumers, home theater retailers, corporations, and broadcasters. Founded in 2000 by HDTV industry pioneer Mike Tsinberg, KDS has established itself as a company uniquely capable of identifying and creating glue products that enable seemingly incompatible products to work together. The company manufactures a wide range of engineering solutions in the area of digital

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signal processing and distribution, marketed as "glue" products to the HDTV community. Key Digital System's wide range of products includes Scalers, Switchers, Distribution Amplifiers, and Video Adapters/Transcoders which effectively and economically link HDTV components manufactured to diverging specifications. By uniquely enabling non-compatible equipment to "talk" to each other, Key Digital Systems has established itself as an intelligent resource in the evolving HDTV marketplace. Products by Key Digital Systems are available nationwide in leading retail outlets as well as via an extensive dealer network. For more information please visit the corporate website at www.keydigital.com. For trade press, visit http://www.keydigital.com/tradepress.htm. ###

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Automation&Control
Connected Communitys Chicago Installation was The Little Project That Grew

by karen mitchell

Instinctive Control
Call it the little budget that grew. When Ron Romano met with his prospective clients in early 2002 to discuss ideas for the 8,000-plus squarefoot custom family home they were building on Chicagos North Side, he knew they were cautious. They had presented Romano, the owner/designer of five-year-old Connected Community Inc., of Kankakee Illinois, an A/V budget of about $35,000, and were not ready to commit to anything more. Two years later, however, the $250,000 completed project featured a whole-house Crestron control system, a dedicated media room with a 106-inch drop-down Da-Lite projection screen, a Marantz VP12S3 projector, Panasonic plasma and auxiliary equipment, and Mordaunt-Short speakers. The house is a virtual sports lovers paradise with a wall of six Sharp 30-inch LCD screens and the Marantz 50-inch plasma, and 12 Hughes satellite receivers, half of which are dedicated to the media room, others to satellite music for the house, and to his and hers HDTVs and TIVOs, including one for the master bath. A custombuilt PC wireless keyboard and mouse in the media room allows for gaming via the plasma. According to Romano, Crestron technology enabled smooth distribution of audio and video throughout the home. The Crestron CNXPVID8x4 allows us to send extremely high-quality video, high-definition and digital audio over CAT5e which normally might take four to six individual video cables, Romano said. CCI has been a Marantz dealer since the beginning, he said. They have some gorgeous plasma displays such as the 61-inch plasma in the family room. The VP12S3 projector cant be beaten at that price point. Other equipment for the installation includes Boston Acoustics, which provides nice performance for the price, Romano said. We couldnt use concealable speakers since the room was already dry-walled. Im a longtime BA fan; Ive had them for years. The upgrade, which took place after original design plans were implemented, was achieved by a combination of luck, instinct and Crestron, Romano said. You can do just so much based on any budget, he said, In the end, thanks to the Crestron system over Cat-5e, we were able to do a

R e s i d e n t i a l

S y s t e m s

O c t o b e r

Equipment List
Audio Request ARQ-NITRO-60 Boston Acoustics DSi495 (2) Boston Acoustics PV900 Boston Acoustics VR2 (2) Boston Acoustics VRC Crestron C2ENET-1 Crestron CNAMPX-16x60 Crestron CNHBLOCK Crestron CNMSX-PRO2 Crestron CN-WP12FW (6) Crestron CNX-BIPAD8 (2) Crestron CNX-PVID8x4 (2) Crestron CNXRMC (10) Crestron CNXRMCLV Crestron ML500 Crestron ST-TUNE Crestron STX-1700CXP (3) Crestron TPS 2000L (3) Da-Lite 87858 Hughes DirecTV Receivers (7) Hughes HD TiVos (2) LG Electronics LSS3200 (2) Marantz CC-4300 Marantz DV-4400 Marantz PD5040D Marantz PD6140D Marantz SR-6400 Marantz SR-7400 Marantz VP12S3 Miscellaneous Tributaries Cables Monster Power HTS-3500 (2) Mordaunt-Short MS903 Surrounds (2) Mordaunt-Short MS905C Center Mordaunt-Short MS907 Subwoofer Mordaunt-Short MS912 Front Speakers (2) Niles CM650HD (6 Pair) Niles OS6 Outdoor Speakers (4) Panasonic TH42PX25U/P ReQuest VRQ1 Sharp LC-13B4US Sharp LC-20B4US Sharp LC-30HV4U Sharp LC-30HV4U (6)
CCIs media room design rivals most sports bars with its 106-inch drop-down Da-Lite projection screen, Marantz projector, Marantz plasma, six 32-inch Sharp LCDs, and Mordaunt-Short speakers.
movie downstairs they can pause and resume in the bedroom on the plasma. With his and hers TIVOs no matter where they are in house except the childrens roomsthey have access. You have to have a comprehensive control system to manage all these TVs and to make it fast and easy to use. We couldnt have done this without Crestron. The client can walk into the media room and check on any game score by pushing one button. We have a favorite page for each TV, based on icons, most are for sports, a few for cartoons, Romano said. The other half of the basement is designed as a soccer field with dugouts. The project was CCIs largest to date. Were 60 miles south of Chicago, a little removed from the big suburbs, Romano said. Weve done a lot of nice Crestron systems in our area, and most of our residential projects are in the $20,000 to $100,000 range. Wed done programming and Crestron systems, but this project represented everything wed ever done all in one job. Were always interested in any job but now we have the expertise of a job that large, no matter who does business with us. Weve been there and done that. Karen Mitchell is a writer based in Boulder, Colorado.

gutting and remodeling a home. Like their sibling, theyre sports fans, and each asked Romano to design systems to accommodate that passion. Finally, as they got closer to moving into their new home, the first client asked to meet again, Romano said. I had shown them upgrade proposals, and we sat down and went over the wish list. Everything I had suggested made it onto the list. They counted on us to make the experience happen, placing a lot of confidence in us; these clients were a thrill. Since CCI had wired so heavily, they had more than enough Cat-5e for a nice network using some for the Crestron system without compromises. We pulled off some miracles, Romano said. We were able to fulfill their desire to
have all video sources like satellite and DVD available on any TV in the house at any time. The one equipment room, with four racks, is in the basement on the other side of the screen wall. We could poke through the wall and retrofit for what was added, he said. We took a basic system and turned it into way more than was planned, a system thats easy to use, said CCI lead installer and Crestron programmer A.J. Thompson. Without Crestron, it would have been mayhem. Theres nothing with that amount of flexibility. It was a challenge in the beginning, and the hardest was remembering every little detail in the programming for every nook and cranny. When you have that much logic its easy to skip over things. I did more testing on this than for any project because the inner workings are so complex. The result, Thompson says, rivals any sports bar. And games or any programming can be transported to other parts of the house. They can call up a video source from the media room in the basement and bring it into the bedroom, Romano said. If they want to watch a DVD in the bedroom, they can. If theyre watching a