Meridian Unveils iRIS Universal Dock for iPod

[NicollPr]

Meridian Audio, the British firm credited with creating digital home theater, will introduce and demonstrate a unique new enabler for the Apple Computer’s hugely popular iPod™ family of personal media devices at the 2007 CEDIA Expo. Like many other iPod “docks,” the Meridian iRIS ™ Universal Dock for iPod accepts the full range of current iPod models and delivers battery charging and home audio-system integration and control. Additionally, the Meridian design features high-end video up-conversion processing (up to 1080p) that produces astonishing images with clarity and detail, delivering true big-screen performance from iPod Video.

The Meridian iRIS design incorporates uniquely sophisticated and specialized video processing courtesy of its Qdeo™ digital processing engine from chip-maker Marvell®. This empowers the Meridian iRIS to derive upscaled and upconverted video—including full-HD-format 1080-progressive mode—with unprecedented quality. Instead of the lower definition resolutions “native” to small-format iPod Video clips, downloaded video can be displayed on the large screen in impressively tight, HD-formatted full-screen video—up to 1080p on HDMI, or 1080i or 720p via the Meridian iRIS analog component-video outputs. Qdeo technology further incorporates advanced DSP for per-pixel, motion-adaptive video processing that corrects both color and contrast losses.

Simply put: Users can play iPod videos on the big screen, with big-screen quality, clarity, and freedom from video-noise, “jaggies,” or blocking-artifacts—a first for any iPod Video-integrating solution.

“It’s not big news that the iPod continues to influence every aspect of home entertainment,” says Meridian co-founder and Chairman Bob Stuart. “But the video side of the ubiquitous portable’s capabilities has eluded effective usefulness in any sort of high-performance environment—until now. With the Meridian iRIS, Meridian can offer astonishingly good big-screen playback on today’s HD displays, from an affordable device that features simple, ‘dock-and-hit-play’ usability.”

The Meridian iRIS circular design provides a standard Apple 30-pin dock connector on its top surface, accepting any current or recent “3G” iPod or iPod Video model, while its rear edge includes HDMI, component, and standard-def S-Video and composite video outputs, plus coax and optical digital-audio, and headphone and line-level analog-audio outputs. There’s also an HDMI input to accept an outboard non-iPod source such as a DVD player or game-console, and a simple source-select button to switch between a docked iPod and an external source—so the iRIS needn’t “use up” an HDMI input on the home system. Another simple iRIS button selects video format/aspect-ratio, matching the displayed clip to the home screen. A third automatically synchronizes the iPod with a computer linked via USB.

Volume up/down keys complete the very simple and entirely intuitive iRIS controls. However, the Meridian solution also supplies a compact wireless remote controller that commands the docked iPod as well as the Meridian iRIS itself, and since Meridian iRIS displays iPod menus on-screen in the same format and organization as on the portable itself, there’s no new interface to learn.

Meridian’s iRIS Universal Dock for iPod is available November, at a manufacturer’s suggest price of $379.

[JerryDelColliano]

I saw the demo and it was GOOD.

No BS.

It can polish a terd into a gem.

Behold the power of video scaling at affordable prices.

[deacongreg]

I do not know how I missed this one. But, this is astonishing to me. It seems there is nothing that Meridian can not do. They are without question a company at the fore front of todays technology.

Now, however, this may seem like a real dumb question, but here it is. I have either a HD DVD player, or PS3 and maybe like kennyt, a Esoteric SV - 60 universal player at home too!! Right??, Okay, now, why would I use my I - pod to playback a video, when I have these other top notch players?? I would think, that watching Siguorny Weaver in Alien in HD, would be better than thru my I - pod, yes?? Even with Meridian`s technology??

Or, is this for those who may not even have a DVD player?