MusicGiants Press Release
HARDWARE MANUFACTURERS DEMONSTRATE STRONG SUPPORT FOR MUSICGIANTS’ HD MEDIASTORE AT CES
Cutting Edge PC’s, Envive, FUZE Media Systems, Logitech, Olive, Qsonix, ReQuest and Russound embrace MusicGiants’ HD Media Store in their media/music servers and players; laud its selection and unprecedented audio quality.
Las Vegas – CES 2008 – January 7 – 10, 2008 – Grand Lobby GL-5
As part of its ongoing effort to “put the media in media servers,” MusicGiants, the source for high-definition entertainment, is hosting numerous companies from its growing roster of hardware partners at its CES booth to demonstrate the unprecedented ease of use, power and high-end performance that its embedded HD MediaStore can deliver to the new generation of digital home audio and video systems.
Using any one of the systems shown here, a consumer can build a large catalog of high-resolution audio and video content. Unlike other digital services, music tracks available at the MusicGiants HD Media Store force no compromises on the user; absolutely nothing is lost in terms of sound quality compared to a traditional CD.
Users of the all of the unique and innovative hardware systems shown at the MusicGiants CES booth receive seamless access to MusicGiants’ premium library of more than 630,000 audio tracks—including more than 100,000 DRM-free tracks. Each and every song is delivered in the Windows Media Audio (WMA) lossless compression format to deliver a premium bit-for-bit match with the original CD. And now, in addition to music, MusicGiants also offers its new VideoGiants service, which adds movies and other video content to the equation for systems that can handle video as well as audio.
“The presence of these innovative, visionary companies in our booth—as well as the support for MusicGiants built into their products year-round—reflects the significant momentum building behind our HD MediaStore,” said Scott Bahneman, CEO of MusicGiants. “All of these companies are focused not only on ease of use and convenience but, above all, sound and picture quality. Our hardware partners recognize that MusicGiants is the only service that can provide the audio tracks that their customers want, along with delivering the superior, unblemished, uncompressed sound that their systems were designed to deliver. And now that we have video in our arsenal, our store is poised to become a one-stop shop for high-resolution digital content.”
The hardware partners on hand at the MusicGiants booth (Grand Lobby GL-5) are:
Cutting Edge PC’s. Cutting Edge PC’s, maker of high-quality Media Servers, Media Extenders and Custom Software, is excited to announce its partnership with MusicGiants and its commitment to bring HD content together with its HD media servers. Cutting Edge PC’s has developed a seamless integration of the MusicGiants experience in true MCML (Media Center Markup Language) that blends into the “10-foot” Media Center experience like never before—now users can purchase and own the highest-quality music and videos in digital format via remote control, without ever leaving their couches. By providing the best content available on the market today, Cutting Edge PC’s and MusicGiants are paving the way for consumers to legally own and enjoy digital HD content. Booth visitors can experience the speed and performance of Cutting Edge PC’s Evolution Model media server while test driving the new MusicGiants HD MediaStore.
“The relationships we build at Cutting Edge PC’s are chosen carefully to provide the best possible experience for our consumers,” said John Oliver, C.T.O. of Cutting Edge PC’s. “When we experienced the fidelity of high definition delivered by MusicGiants coupled with our own high definition audio capabilities, we knew this was the content provider for us. We enhanced the user experience from MusicGiants and made it a truly integrated part of Media Center. Our new product line has opened the multimedia and home automation market for all consumers.”
Envive. Envive will be supporting the MusicGiants HD MediaStore not only in its complete media server lineup, but also in its new break-out product, TheaterStation™, which has been designed as a complete content management and delivery platform. By building a unique but interactive user interface, Envive is delighted to give users a whole new way to experience their media.
“We’re excited to have a strong partner in MusicGiants which will help us deliver a vast array of High Definition digital content to all of our end users,” said Chris Bortner, co-founder and CEO of Envive. “MusicGiants’ growing library of music and video content will continue to fuel the demand for getting the content you want, when you want it.”
FUZE Media Systems. The FUZE Media System is the most elegant and complete whole-home media system available today. Homeowners with a FUZE system get access to all of their media throughout the entire home—live and recorded TV, movies, videos, music and digital photos are stored centrally but are available at every TV and speaker throughout the home. The homeowner no longer needs multiple DVD players, stereo systems, iPod docking stations or Media Centers. Instead, the FUZE system enables them to access all of their media content—anywhere, instantly, at the touch of a button.
FUZE believes media companies should make it ever-easier for end consumers to get lots of media content without having to buy CDs and DVDs—and then rip them by themselves. With MusicGiants’ Concierge Collections, FUZE will deliver attractive, prepackaged music, video, and photo content to its customers, who will, upon turning on their FUZE systems for the first time, have a large amount of media content available instantly. It will also provide FUZE customers with access to MusicGiants’ HD MediaStore, so they can easily buy additional music, movie and photo content as time goes on.
At the booth, a fully-functional FUZE Media System will be shown, with two zones of HD video and two zones of audio (the system is capable of delivering seven video and 19 audio zones overall). Using one preprogrammed remote and a common, simplified user interface, users will be able to watch movies, recorded TV or digital photos, as well as listen to any number of thousands of songs.
“Together with MusicGiants, we are delivering a revolutionary first in the industry: preloaded movies, music and photos that come preinstalled on a whole-home media system’s hard drive,” said Bob Silver, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for FUZE Media Systems. “That has never been done before. FUZE customers have always had one common remote, a simple user interface, and the ability to access live and recorded TV, movies, videos, music and digital photos. Now, thanks to MusicGiants, they can have movies, music or photos preloaded on their systems and add new content as time goes on.”
Logitech. DRM-free tracks at MusicGiants’ HD MediaStore are fully compatible with Logitech’s two new network digital music players for the home, which will be operating in the MusicGiants booth: the Logitech® Transporter Network Music Player and the Logitech® Squeezebox Network Music Player. The Transporter streams audiophile-quality digital music with sound that surpasses even the most exotic compact disc players, while the third-generation Squeezebox is the easiest way to listen to music stored on Macs and PCs as well as virtually any Internet radio station through a stereo system. Both Logitech music players seamlessly stream MusicGiants’ high-definition audio content to anywhere in the house.
Olive. Olive will show its top-of-the-line Olive OPUS Nº5, with new world-class audio components. The new OPUS Nº5 is the world's first digital audio system bringing together the sweet sound of vinyl and the accuracy and convenience of digital audio. Based on its revolutionary Pure Audio System™ (PAS™) technology, fusing state-of-the-art audio with digital technologies, it delivers a warm, full-bodied, and spacious sound with an exceptionally realistic soundstage. A sound so lively it makes you want to reach out and touch the performer. It is clearly the most uncompromising music playback system on the world market today, giving you instant access to up to 2,200 of your CDs. For ultimate convenience, Olive's OPUS is also available preloaded with high-quality music from MusicGiants.
“Olive and MusicGiants bring together the best of both worlds, the convenience of digital music and the audio quality of CD, which is up to 7 times the audio resolution that is available from other music download websites,” said Robert Altmann, VP of Business Development and Operations at Olive Media Products, Inc. “We are extremely pleased to be able to demonstrate this breathtaking music experience to all music enthusiasts at the MusicGiants booth at the CES 2008.”
Qsonix. Visitors will be transported “back to the future” with Qsonix’s new QJB-110 nostalgic Jukebox Management System. Qsonix, creator of the simplest and fastest user interface for lossless digital music storage and management, will enable visitors to find their favorite songs at MusicGiants’ fully integrated, high-quality HD MediaStore within the QJB-110 as well as the Q-110 Music Management System. Qsonix’s new Version 2.3 software provides its award-winning Album Browser™ drag-and-drop interface that allows users to quickly and easily browse, sample, purchase and play MusicGiants tracks, while its all-new All Media Guide (AMG™)-powered Tapestry playlist-recommendations software now features expanded personalization. Qsonix systems feature high-quality components, digital-to-analog (D/A) converters and digital playback technology to deliver the finest possible sound output. Users can download as many as 18,000 CDs and still experience unblemished sound.
“We’re excited to work alongside MusicGiants at CES,” said Oscar Ciornei, CEO of Qsonix. “Our partnership delivers and stores the best quality content available. For us and our customers, the dedication is to quality.”
ReQuest. ReQuest will demo MusicGiants on its iQ System, which is a first-of-its-kind multiroom audio system based on music server technology that delivers unrivaled performance at a price level that is unmatched for a music server-based system. The two key elements of the system are the hard-disk-based iQ Intelligent Media Server and the 16-channel iQ Intelligent Multiroom Amplifier. In-wall, 3.5-inch full-color display touchpanels and 15-inch tabletop color touch screens provide control of the system. Both deliver the intuitive command of the ReQuest operating system, with flexible access to browsing, searching and managing the most extensive music collections.
“We are excited to be able to offer our customers the ability to have their systems arrive pre-loaded with high-resolution content complete with cover art and full metadata from MusicGiants,” said Bill McKiegan, Vice President of Sales & Marketing for ReQuest.
Russound. Since 1967, innovation, quality and reliability have been the pillars of the Russound® product tradition. Located in Newmarket, N.H., Russound, the #1 brand in multiroom audio*, offers the products and expertise customers need to enjoy multiroom audio and video systems in the home. With more than 40 years experience, Russound continues to cater to installation professionals and their customers by pairing powerful systems using the latest technologies with intuitive controls to give customers high-performance, easy-to-use solutions.
“The concierge concept represents a quantum leap forward for the custom installation business,” said Jeff Kussard, Russound's Vice President of Strategic Development. “At a time when dealers and installers are looking for new ways to build their business, the concierge service represents an exciting way to increase profitability by offering the end-user an important new option for acquiring and accessing entertainment. It’s the perfect complement for our advanced selection of Smart Media Consoles and an unbeatable way for Russound dealers to improve their bottom line.”
Also on hand at the MusicGiants booth is D-Tools, which will be demonstrating its award-winning System Integrator 5 (SI5) software. SI5 enables custom electronics integrators to specify, propose, design and manage the integration of custom electronics systems. Having MusicGiants’ HD music service available to integrators at the critical design phase makes it easy for them to include MusicGiants service with any media server system they offer.
“We’re very pleased to partner with MusicGiants and help enable broad adoption of its HD MediaStore to our integrator customer base,” said Tim Bigoness, VP Sales & Marketing for D-Tools. “By showing how integrators can easily include MusicGiants service as a part of their Media Server solution proposals, more end users will be able to experience true HD-quality music as part of their home theater experiences.”
Visit and access the MusicGiants HD MediaStore through Windows Media Player 11 or at www.MusicGiants.com.
MusicGiants delivers high definition and premium entertainment from all of the giants of the industry right into customers’ home theaters. Our MG media store is integrated into many of the top media servers for convenient delivery of premium content. MusicGiants is the perfect companion for home entertainment systems and anywhere else that high quality content matters. For more information on MusicGiants visit www.MusicGiants.com.
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