Madrigal Announces Its Entry In To The Video Display Device Category

A new line, Madrigal Imagingô, enters the consumer video market with two high-end CRT projectors. Eight and nine-inch models, called the MP-8 and MP-9, are the first products scheduled for production later this fall. The MP-8 is expected to sell for US $45,000 and the MP-9 for US $60,000.""I am pleased that Madrigal has taken this path,"" said Dr. Sidney Harman, Chairman of Madrigalís parent Harman International. ""Specialty retailers and installers need to differentiate themselves with video products from companies like ours and we are responding to that opportunity.""Said CEO Phil Muzio, ""Madrigal is in an ideal position to develop display devices. Because of Madrigalís involvement with every component in the chain, we can improve on the interactivity of our products within complete Madrigal systems. Since we understand the different technologies, we are able to design integrated systems that offer feature and performance benefits to our customers. Every family member should be able to easily operate an audio/video entertainment system.""""The goal for Madrigal Imaging is to offer quality and performance levels consistent with our other products"" added Mark Glazier, President of Madrigal. ""Our customers are the most advanced consumers of audio and video products in the world. They want video products that meet the standards of their audio system, so we created Madrigal Imaging.""The MP-8 and MP-9 include technologies and manufacturing techniques that achieve performance levels not previously available at any price. The projectors have been optimized for accurate frequency response, color reproduction, dynamic focus, ease of convergence and other performance features. The benefit to consumers is said to be better picture quality with a variety of sources and the capacity to fully realize the tremendous potential of HDTV. Industry guru and Widescreen Reviewís Technical Video Director, Joe Kane worked on both the MP-8 and MP-9 designs. According to Madrigal, most good projection devices never reach their full potential because of setup problems and poor maintenance after the installation. Madrigal Imaging projectors address this problem by offering numerous ways to customize and recall different parameters (e.g. geometry, gray scale, black level and white level) for the variety of the source signals they will encounter. After initial setup, a digital automatic convergence feature lets customers regularly tweak their projection systems without the necessity for frequent dealer service calls.Madrigal claims numerous operational and feature benefits are derived from a system approach involving other Madrigal products. For example, a simple ""play link"" can automatically bring components out of standby, select audio and video inputs, preferred language, surround mode, loudspeaker configuration, and choose the preferred projector aspect ratio for the selected source.Madrigal plans to distribute the projectors through a limited number of qualified retail and custom installation specialists. For additional information, check the Madrigal Web site periodically at www.madrigal.com or contact Jon Herron at 860 346 0896 x256.