BRISTOL NEWS: See and hear the future of home entertainment in high definition

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Today's your last chance to come and see our demo of high-definition video and audio at the Bristol Sound and Vision Show.

Our system (pictured above) is based around hard-disk storage rather than optical disc. So we've kitted out our demo room with an I.US Media Centre and Apple TV running through Classé's flagship pre/power amp combo, feeding two 50in Pioneer Kuro plasma screens and a 5.2 set of Monitor Audio's new Platinum speakers.

To prove just how good audio and video can be when played off a hard disk, we've split the demo into three parts: first up, we've ripped Apple Lossless music files to the Apple TV, which we're playing through the Classé amp and Monitor Audio speakers in stereo.

Part two is a clip from the DVD of Live at Abbey Road ripped to the media centre, playing in 5.1 surround sound.

And finally, we've ripped a short Pixar animation from the Blu-ray disc of Ratatouille to the media centre, and are playing that back in high-definition and multichannel surround sound.

So, if you think PCs and hard disks have no place in your home entertainment system, prepare to be amazed! You can see the future of home entertainment every half hour on the What Hi-Fi? Sound and Vision stand.

Technorati Tags: Apple TV, Full HD, hi-fi, Home cinema in a box, media server, plasma

Andy Clough
Andy Clough

Andy is Global Brand Director of What Hi-Fi? and has been a technology journalist for 30 years. During that time he has covered everything from VHS and Betamax, MiniDisc and DCC to CDi, Laserdisc and 3D TV, and any number of other formats that have come and gone. He loves nothing better than a good old format war. Andy edited several hi-fi and home cinema magazines before relaunching whathifi.com in 2008 and helping turn it into the global success it is today. When not listening to music or watching TV, he spends far too much of his time reading about cars he can't afford to buy.