” BeoSound 3000: the design may be a Bang & Olufsen classic, but BeoSound 3000 and BeoSound Ouverture refuse to rest on their laurels. Access to new musical sources and fresh loudspeaker options ensure that the concept remains an open invitation to make something special out of your music.
With BeoSound 3000 everything is upright and out in the open so that you can see how it works and understand how it reacts when you press its buttons. Even the simple act of placing a CD has been made part of the overall experience and enjoyment. It combines radio with an advanced CD player, and – as something new – lets you access your digital music files directly from your own PC. As well as offering radio and CD, the BeoSound Ouverture also has an intelligent tape function ” (B&O catalogue 2001 – 2002)
Both products can be put together with any BeoLab loudspeaker – which gives you the option of an impressive set up on matching stands with two BeoLab 4000 speakers, or a more compact solution between newly redesigned BeoLab 2500 speakers.
With a design that’s undoubtedly becoming a Bang & Olufsen classic, BeoSound 3000 and BeoSound Ouverture are an open invitation to make something special out of your music. BeoSound 3000 is the former Beocenter 2300 (first introduced in 199) but with a whole host of new electronics, features and look including a larger metal CD ‘cover’ and N.MUSIC. The new styling was released to the UK market in September, 2001.
With BeoSound 3000, everything is upright and out in the open, so that you can see how it works and understand how it reacts when you press its buttons. Even the simple act of placing a CD has been made a part of the overall experience and enjoyment.
It combines radio with an intelligent CD player that can name your favourite 200 discs, store your own preferred track sequences for them or skip unwanted ones permanently. With the latest Beolink® PC2 software application, you can also access your digital music collection directly from the BeoSound 3000.
Features
Bring new life to old CDs by changing their track sequence with the Random Play function. Or program it to skip over any unwanted tracks and to play the ones you want, in the order you prefer. Name your favourite 200 CDs and store your own track preferences for them in the extended memory and the BeoSound 3000 will remember it the next time you play one of the CDs. With the CD function of the BeoSound 3000 you’re also able repeat a desired passage of a CD, whether it is within the same track or stretching over a number of tracks.
There’s room for up to 60 pre-set stations on the BeoSound 3000’s intelligent AM/FM radio. You can also name each individual radio station, to give you a complete overview of your radio listening. With the BeoSound 3000 you can wake up to your favourite piece of music. The BeoSound 3000 can be programmed for the entire week and will automatically turn itself off again after playing for any length of time you choose.
Sliding Doors
Just raise a hand and watch as the glass doors glide silently aside. It’s the BeoSound 3000’s way of saying “welcome” and reveals that a special experience is about to begin. Of course, a simple on/off button would do, but then what would be so special about that? Beocenter 3000’s unassuming rubber key pad hides a contact foil, which, in turn, covers a matrix of vertical and horizontal cords. When a control is pressed, the cords connect and the microprocessor is activated.
Placement
It’s a dream come true – a music system that can fill your life with music without filling your home with equipment. The flat upright design of BeoSound 3000 means that it’s slim enough to sit by itself upon the narrowest shelf or light enough to be hung directly on a wall with any pair of loudspeakers in the BeoLab range.
Setup
It used to be that your music system was placed in one room in your home and you had to go there to listen to it. Not anymore. With Beolink®, you can place extra loudspeakers in any room in the house and access the musical options of your BeoSound 3000. The BeoSound 3000 is also equally at home in a Surround Sound setup and will give you an unmatched sound experience.
Internet Music
There’s so much good music on the Internet, but until now you had to be in the same room as your computer to enjoy it. Not anymore. With the latest Beolink® PC2 software application, you can access your digital music collection directly from the BeoSound 3000 in the living room – and send it from there to any other room in the house via the Beolink system.
How the glass doors work
The glass doors on the BeoSound 3000 and BeoSound Ouverture are opened and closed by steel wires driven by an electric motor via a gearbox. The motor is triggered by an infrared system that detects your approach.
Mounting Options
This classic design was reincarnated over a 21 year period with various mounts and stands. Floor stands were available with a pole stand or CD and tape storage, wall mount solutions allowed for the Hi-Fi only, or with BeoLab2500 speakers until these were discontinued
If you want superior sound, but not the size, and a full array of functions but without the complication – then take a look at the BeoSound Century. Designed by David Lewis, it has a very slim depth and brings together CD, tape and FM radio into a slim-line form that can stand by itself or hang from a wall. Everything is operated by buttons that light up to guide you quickly through the various playing options.
BeoSound Century is a clever combination of excellent performance and ease-of-use. This system is known in fact by two different names – BeoSound Century in Europe and BeoSound 2000 in North America. With everything built in, this is the perfect stereo for those who with a limited space as it’s only 11cm deep. It’s for those who don’t want Beolink® capabilities and can be equipped with a handle with a built-in active antenna making it very portable. The speakers use the active construction as that of all BeoLab speakers. In the late nineties the Century was released in a special limited series with polished aluminium instead of the black plastic on the CD holder. This became so popular that it became the standard! There are two different stands available: a wall stand and a special table stand. The unit may also be controlled by the optional Beo4 remote control.
Deep bass
BeoSound Century integrates a powerful sound reproduction system: two active loudspeakers with electronic crossover network and Adaptive Bass Linearisation, for the optimum relationship between bass reproduction and sound pressure level. The very small two-way bass reflex loudspeakers comprise a net volume of only 1,1 litres, but the large front grille gives room for fairly large woofer membrane diameters.
Bass and treble have separate power amplifiers, which means that they can be tailored to compensate for one another’s shortcomings and deliver a sound spectrum as close to reality as possible. On top of that, BeoSound Century can play at high volume, but cuts out before it has an opportunity to burn out its units.
The fine art of control of BeoSound Century
The backlit push buttons of the BeoSound Century are cast in opalescent plastic, painted black on the inside and the text is then burnt away with a laser. The light of a diode behind each button is muted for even distribution, and the button is hinged in four places. A sturdy and relatively inexpensive construction, but it takes just a bit more work!
Operation of BeoSound Century
How do you make operation easy when there are 26 buttons to push? On BeoSound Century, only the buttons you need for the specific function will light up and guide you step by step through operations.
BeoSound Century was awarded the Danish Design Centre’s IP Prize in 1994.
Mounting Options
Supplied with a table mount foot for mounting on top of a cabinet. The optional wall mount bracket allowed for wall mounting.
If you want superior sound, but not the size, and a full array of functions but without the complication – then take a look at the BeoSound Century. Designed by David Lewis, it has a very slim depth and brings together CD, tape and FM radio into a slim-line form that can stand by itself or hang from a wall. Everything is operated by buttons that light up to guide you quickly through the various playing options.
BeoSound Century is a clever combination of excellent performance and ease-of-use. This system is known in fact by two different names – BeoSound Century in Europe and BeoSound 2000 in North America. With everything built in, this is the perfect stereo for those who with a limited space as it’s only 11cm deep. It’s for those who don’t want Beolink® capabilities and can be equipped with a handle with a built-in active antenna making it very portable. The speakers use the active construction as that of all BeoLab speakers. In the late nineties the Century was released in a special limited series with polished aluminium instead of the black plastic on the CD holder. This became so popular that it became the standard! There are two different stands available: a wall stand and a special table stand. The unit may also be controlled by the optional Beo4 remote control.
Deep bass
BeoSound Century integrates a powerful sound reproduction system: two active loudspeakers with electronic crossover network and Adaptive Bass Linearisation, for the optimum relationship between bass reproduction and sound pressure level. The very small two-way bass reflex loudspeakers comprise a net volume of only 1,1 litres, but the large front grille gives room for fairly large woofer membrane diameters.
Bass and treble have separate power amplifiers, which means that they can be tailored to compensate for one another’s shortcomings and deliver a sound spectrum as close to reality as possible. On top of that, BeoSound Century can play at high volume, but cuts out before it has an opportunity to burn out its units.
The fine art of control of BeoSound Century
The backlit push buttons of the BeoSound Century are cast in opalescent plastic, painted black on the inside and the text is then burnt away with a laser. The light of a diode behind each button is muted for even distribution, and the button is hinged in four places. A sturdy and relatively inexpensive construction, but it takes just a bit more work!
Operation of BeoSound Century
How do you make operation easy when there are 26 buttons to push? On BeoSound Century, only the buttons you need for the specific function will light up and guide you step by step through operations.
BeoSound Century was awarded the Danish Design Centre’s IP Prize in 1994.
Mounting Options
Supplied with a table mount foot for mounting on top of a cabinet. The optional wall mount bracket allowed for wall mounting.
At the end of 2001 several variations of the BeoVision Avant were on offer – the BeoVision Avant 28 with and without VCR, and BeoVision Avant 32 with VCR or DVD player built in as standard. Then from March 2002, the BeoVision Avant 28 DVD was introduced to join its larger-screened brother.
BeoVision Avant encourages you to lose yourself in a sound and picture experience – and not in the technology. That’s why Bang & Olufsen hang the 16:9 Real Flat wide-screen on its own smooth wall and conceal everything else behind it – including a set of speakers that will outpace the average hi-fi and a video recorder that tunes itself automatically.
You could choose a built-in DVD player or video tape recorder and from a range of five colours. There was also the option of a simplified 66cm version – the BeoVision Avant CTV – with no integrated entertainment source.
Features
Watching movies should be about simple entertainment, not complicated technology. That’s why the Avant is available with its own built-in DVD or video recorder. Its presence is only given away by a discreet lid on the front. All cables are hidden in the back of the set.
To ensure even greater viewing comfort, the Avant has its own motorised stand that turns effortlessly through a 70 degree arc. You can program it to turn automatically towards your favourite viewing chair, or use the Beo4 to turn it in the opposite direction. When you switch the Avant off again, it returns silently to its original position in line with your furniture.
A red LED display on top of the cabinet gives you a discreet status of the source you are viewing, without intruding on the picture. It also shows the volume status when you adjust the volume level, and other information related to recording, Dolby Surround and so on. On the back of the display is a hidden push button panel for the most frequently used controls.
The Beo4 remote control is used to access all the various functions of video-playback and recording, menus, tuning, text-television, picture optimisation, sound properties and so on. Beo4 is designed for user-friendly and ergonomical operation with one hand. The buttons in a star-shape for search, ultra-sharp still-picture, super slow-motion, programme shift and fast forward can be controlled by your thumb only, you don’t even have to move your eyes.
Beo4 also controls all the latest B&O audio systems as well – it’s the key to complete home entertainment!
A discreet display on the upper right hand corner of the Avant lets you know what source is playing and a small control panel placed behind it offers hands-on control of all basic functions.
The sound quality of the active loudspeakers can compete with any modern audio system. When the herd of horses approaches your seat from within the widescreen, you can feel the tremble of the horses’ hooves – so powerful is the bass. And as a video-master in a Beolink® system, Avant can distribute sound and vision all over your home – just as it can play the music from your audio system in its speakers.
The Perfect Illusion
Press a key on the Beo4 remote and the electronic curtain glides aside to reveal a perfect picture. A theatrical gimmick or another technological leap forward? Actually, a bit of both! In the short reaction time before the curtain glides aside, a comprehensive circuit adjusts contrast levels, brilliance and colour to the prevailing light conditions in the room, ensuring the optimum picture reproduction every time.
An anti-reflective coating on the picture tube, as well as on the contrast screen is provided to eliminate reflections from windows, carpets and furniture. If you watch television during the day you’ve probably experienced the glare and reflections caused by direct sunshine. To minimise the problem, the Avant’s picture tube and contrast screen have been given a special anti-reflection coating that reduces reflections by up to 99%.
Home Cinema
There was a time when watching a movie on TV was a poor imitation of the real thing. But not anymore! BeoVision Avant brings the movies directly into your living room with a smooth, true-to-life picture and totally convincing sound.
BeoLab 2 completes this ultimate surround setup and – together with the other four active loudspeakers – allows you to make the most out of the advanced sound opportunities offered by the Avant’s built-in Dolby® Digital* module.
Colours
BeoVision Avant comes as one integrated unit. All you have to do is to plug in the mains and the antenna and you’re ready to watch. There are no other visible cords, allowing the Avant to be viewed from all sides – so it does not have to be set up in a corner or next to a wall. It fits nicely into any kind on home, thanks to the range of many available cabinet colours: pearly blue, pearly black, pearly red, pearly green and silver.
When the system is turned off, it turns back to its original position, the sound fades away and the curtains glide in front of the screen. Just like being in your own private small-screen cinema!
Features of the two Avant DVD models: Set-Top Box Controller module and Anti-Reflex coated Contrast Screen fitted as standard. All other modules are optional.
Motorised stand
The motorised stand of the Avant is rigorously tested. It’s built to be able to turn through an arc of 70° at least 20,000 times. If the TV was turned on and off 5 times a day, the motorised stand should perform flawlessly for more than ten years. In its tests, B&O stopped after 80,000 turns. A painted iron base plate, an aluminium top plate which carries the entire weight, with the actual turning mechanism of a 36 ball bearing race between them is how the stand is made up. Tests such as dropping it several centimetres directly onto the rim of the bottom plate ensure that the stand has many years of life in front of it.
*Dolby Digital is a trademark of Dolby Laboratories Licensing Corporation
TV isn’t just something you watch, it’s something you experience. That’s why BeoVision Avant makes a big deal about giving you the best in audio-visual entertainment. The BeoVision Avant was created as a video system, but during its design, the idea came up of making the television a picture on the wall. This has been achieved by deceiving the eye: this is a familiar ploy in the very best of designs.
The BeoVision Avant gives you a television that acts like a picture on the wall: a wall you personally position in the room. It has a built-in video which is invisible to the viewer. Everything is operated via the Beo4 remote control. You have full control from the best seat in the living room, and the television turns towards the viewer using the motorised base.
BeoVision Avant – designed by David Lewis – was a totally new concept from Bang & Olufsen and was introduced in 1995. This video system is completely integrated holding a widescreen television, a hi-fi stereo VCR and a couple of active speakers in its attractive-looking cabinet. It was also the first wide-screen TV from Bang & Olufsen ever. Although by the end of the twentieth-century widescreen TVs were taking more and more market share, most TVs still used the 4:3 format. When Bang & Olufsen started planning for this model they originally envisaged to use the same technology then currently used in the MX series but along the way they decided to develop a completely new chassis. This new chassis is much more advanced.
The Avant is also a very environment-friendly TV using a lot of recycled material as well being recyclable itself at the end of its serviceable life. The set can also be expanded with several add-ons. For example: picture-in-picture (PIP), satellite receiver and Dolby Pro-Logic or Dolby Digital decoder. The Avant is the pathway to the future of video systems; a whole new concept of the most advanced video system from Bang & Olufsen to date.
The widescreen format 16:9 picture tube is used for the first time in the BeoVision Avant. This created conflict between designer David Lewis and Bang & Olufsen’s technicians, as the designer could not see the point of it. A new picture tube that could not be filled by the TV picture. Where randomly placed grey stripes on the picture tube were a part of the framing of the picture most of the time. The technicians did not think it could be their fault. Wide format 16:9 was an attempt to consolidate a whole industry around a new market standard. The designer’s talk of trimming and stretching the picture to fill out the frame was, in their eyes, simply distortion. There was no ideal solution to the dilemma.
Together they had to find the solution that would work best in practice. It was not possible to fill the 16:9 format with a 4:3 TV picture. The necessary trimming and stretching annoyed the eye too much. On the other hand, wide format had a lower limit. In the eyes of designer David Lewis, that lower limit lay in the 14:9 format. The technicians struggled to implement the format with as little distortion as possible. They also checked to see whether designer David Lewis would notice the difference if the format was a little bit smaller. Just a few millimetres smaller on the longer element! But David Lewis saw it straight away. There was a distinct limit in the eye’s perception of the transition to wide format, and it lay at 14:9.
Finally, they managed to come up with a method that could handle the problem satisfactorily in practice. A method that has subsequently been further developed to implement the 15:9 format that is close to the aesthetic ideal: the golden rectangle. Programmes recorded and distributed in 16:9 are the ideal way of filling the wide format, but the range is still limited. Bang & Olufsen’s wide-format TV offers a practical solution to filling the screen with ordinary TV and video programmes. It was created by trained eyes.
TOP TIP
Information valid for:
BeoVision Avant 50 HZ MK I MK II
Intermittent jamming of cassettes during eject; VTR fails
Symptom: Intermittent jamming of certain types of cassettes in the tape mechanism during eject.
Cause: An edge of the cassette or a misfitted label, etc. may catch the lower part of the cassette lid and prevent the cassette from being ejected.
Solution: Replace the cassette lid by the new type, which is fitted with two small round knobs on the lower part of the lid.
To avoid colour differences the lid is supplied together with side panels and the small triangle (BeoVision Avant TV, service manual pos. 9016).
This solution is implemented in the production as from Avant serial number 12159658 (week 38 of 1996)
Its standard features were: VisionClear Technology and multi-format picture. It houses a 16:9 widescreen television with automatic picture adaptation, which means that every broadcast, no matter where it originates, is automatically shown with the optimum reproduction, from news reports in standard format, to movies in widescreen.
BeoVision Avant features the same functions as Beosystem AV 9000. When you turn it on, first it turns on its motorised stand toward your favourite watching-place. Then comes the sound, produced by four active loudspeakers hidden directly underneath the widescreen, while behind the black curtain the picture adapts to its format and to the lighting conditions in the room, before the curtains glide aside and reveal a perfect picture.
BeoVision Avant encourages you to lose yourself in a sound and picture experience – and not in the technology. That’s why we hang the 16:9 Real Flat wide-screen on its own smooth wall and conceal everything else behind it – including a set of speakers that will outpace the average hi-fi and a video recorder that tunes itself automatically.
You can choose a built-in DVD player or video tape recorder and from a range of five colours. There’s also the option of a simplified 66cm version with no integrated entertainment source.
Design
Close your eyes and imagine the perfect TV. Open them again and take a look at BeoVision Avant. It’s a widescreen TV that’s easy to understand, effortless to use and always a pleasure to watch.
Though a widescreen TV is never going to be small in size, it doesn’t mean that it has to dominate its surroundings. The Avant has a subtle presence and comes in a range of colours that allow it to compliment any environment in which it’s placed.
At Bang & Olufsen, it is taken for granted that when you watch TV, you want to concentrate on the experience rather than on the technology. That’s why the Real Flat screen is ‘hung’ on its own “wall” with everything else concealed behind.
Widescreen
The picture quality provided by the Avant is as close to the real thing as you can get. Its smooth Real Flat widescreen provides the perfect format for movie watching – and together with the exceptional sound creates a spatial illusion that’s second to none.
Switch on the Avant and it automatically adjusts any broadcast to the optimal widescreen picture – no matter what format it was produced in. News and sports broadcasts are expanded from the traditional 4:3 format into 15:9, while movies shot in widescreen are reproduced in a 16:9 format that’s as close to the original cinema version as you can get. And, if you don’t like the picture as it is, you can easily change to another format with the Beo4 remote control.
BeoVision Avant models:
BeoVision Avant 100Hz MK III (832x)
BeoVision Avant 100Hz MK I MK II (830x)
BeoVision Avant 28 DVD (834X)
BeoVision Avant 32 MK II MK III (842x)
BeoVision Avant 32 DVD (844X)
BeoVision Avant 50Hz MK III MK IV (810x)
BeoVision Avant 50Hz MK I MK II (81xx)
BeoVision Avant CTV (836x)
BeoVision Avant RF 28 (833x)
BeoVision Avant RF 28 CTV (837x)
BeoVision Avant RF 32 (843x)
BeoVision Avant US (8490)
Features
Watching movies should be about simple entertainment, not complicated technology. That’s why the Avant is available with its own built-in DVD player or video recorder. Its presence is only given away by a discreet lid on the front. All cables are hidden in the back of the set.
To ensure even greater viewing comfort, the Avant has its own motorised stand that turns effortlessly through a 70 degree arc. You can program it to turn automatically towards your favourite viewing chair, or use the Beo4 to turn it in the opposite direction. When you switch the Avant off again, it returns silently to its original position in line with your furniture.
A red LED display on top of the cabinet gives you a discreet status of the source you are viewing, without intruding on the picture. It also shows the volume status when you adjust the volume level, and other information related to recording, Dolby Surround and so on. On the back of the display is a hidden push button panel for the most frequently used controls.
The Beo4 remote control is used to access all the various functions of video-playback and recording, menus, tuning, text-television, picture optimisation, sound properties and so on. Beo4 is designed for user-friendly and ergonomical operation with one hand. The buttons in a star-shape for search, ultra-sharp still-picture, super slow-motion, programme shift and fast forward can be controlled by your thumb only, you don’t even have to move your eyes. Beo4 also controls all the latest B&O audio systems as well – it’s the key to complete home entertainment!
A discreet display on the upper right hand corner of the Avant lets you know what source is playing and a small control panel placed behind it offers hands-on control of all basic functions.
This television became the basis for renewed efforts in the US television market which has been overall successful.
Let the show commence!
It has been said that ‘Bang & Olufsen’s products are enchanting’ ! And the magic, the good idea, often comes into being in the course of finding a solution to some practical problem. The practical problem here was that there was a short time lag between pressing the button and a picture appearing on the screen. So you would sit and wait expectantly for a little while. The experience of waiting reminded designer David Lewis of a theatre before the curtain went up! Behind the curtain, preparations are being made for the performance.
The lighting and sound are adjusted and the actors take their places. The curtain only goes up when everything is ready. The first television to have a curtain was the BeoVision AV 9000. The curtain was a thin steel sheet that was slid to one side by a clever mechanism when the stage was set. Bang & Olufsen’s wide-format television, the BeoVision Avant, is equipped with an electronic curtain. From the moment you press the button until the curtain slides away, the technology is busily working unnoticed. No pop from the loudspeakers, no random flash of light from the screen. Only when the sound is ready and the picture is in place can the performance begin.
VCR
Underneath the loudspeakers is the access to the VCR. The Avant incorporates the same video-technology as the V8000 systems, namely a stereo VCR that can play back recordings of all standards. The video machine has, naturally, record indexing and it can show the elapsed or remaining time of any cassette being played. Dolby Surround is an option, and when installed, Avant can take the place of the AV9000 video system. Another option is a PIP-module (Picture-In-Picture).
Sound
The perfect picture deserves a sound to match and that’s exactly what the Avant offers. A pair of specially developed loudspeaker units – capable of outperforming many traditional hi-fi setups – are discreetly placed below the screen and offer an exceptional sound performance that will enhance the best action-movie or concert footage.
The BeoVision Avant features a built-in Dolby® Digital* module that lets you bring the cinema directly into your living room. With a pair of loudspeakers from Bang & Olufsen’s BeoLab range positioned at either side of the TV and two more placed at the rear, you can put yourself in the middle of a surround sound experience that’s second to none.
The sound quality of the active loudspeakers can compete with any modern audio system. When the herd of horses approaches your seat from within the widescreen, you can feel the tremble of the horses’ hooves – so powerful is the bass. And as a video-master in a Beolink system, Avant can distribute sound and vision all over your home – just as it can play the music from your audio system in its speakers.
The Perfect Illusion
Press a key on the Beo4 remote and the electronic curtain glides aside to reveal a perfect picture. A theatrical gimmick or another technological leap forward? Actually, a bit of both! In the short reaction time before the curtain glides aside, a comprehensive circuit adjusts contrast levels, brilliance and colour to the prevailing light conditions in the room, ensuring the optimum picture reproduction every time.
An anti-reflective coating on the picture tube, as well as on the contrast screen is provided to eliminate reflections from windows, carpets and furniture. If you watch television during the day you’ve probably experienced the glare and reflections caused by direct sunshine. To minimise the problem, the Avant’s picture tube and contrast screen have been given a special anti-reflection coating that reduces reflections by up to 99%.
Home Cinema
There was a time when watching a movie on TV was a poor imitation of the real thing. But not anymore! BeoVision Avant brings the movies directly into your living room with a smooth, true-to-life picture and totally convincing sound.
BeoLab 2 completes this ultimate surround setup and – together with the other four active loudspeakers – allows you to make the most out of the advanced sound opportunities offered by the Avant’s built-in Dolby® Digital* module.
Colours
BeoVision Avant comes as one integrated unit. All you have to do is to plug in the mains and the antenna and you’re ready to watch. There are no other visible cords, allowing the Avant to be viewed from all sides – so it does not have to be set up in a corner or next to a wall. It fits nicely into any kind on home, thanks to the range of many available cabinet colours: pearly blue, pearly black, pearly red, pearly green and silver.
When the system is turned off, it turns back to its original position, the sound fades away and the curtains glide in front of the screen. Just like being in your own private small-screen cinema!
Wax & fix
The weight of the Avant’s widescreen picture tube called for new thinking in terms of construction. High density fibre board turned out to be as solid a solution as it is environmentally healthy. To disguise its low tech appearance, it is treated to a high quality two-component lacquer of the same type as is used at the upper end of the car industry. It will not scratch easily, but should this happen, a minor scratch can be polished away using liquid silicone car wax.
*Dolby Digital is a trademark of Dolby Laboratories Licensing Corporation
At the end of 2001 several variations of the BeoVision Avant were on offer – the BeoVision Avant 28 with and without VCR, and BeoVision Avant 32 with VCR or DVD player built in as standard. Then from March 2002, the BeoVision Avant 28 DVD was introduced to join its larger-screened brother.
BeoVision Avant encourages you to lose yourself in a sound and picture experience – and not in the technology. That’s why Bang & Olufsen hang the 16:9 Real Flat wide-screen on its own smooth wall and conceal everything else behind it – including a set of speakers that will outpace the average hi-fi and a video recorder that tunes itself automatically.
You could choose a built-in DVD player or video tape recorder and from a range of five colours. There was also the option of a simplified 66cm version – the BeoVision Avant CTV – with no integrated entertainment source.
Features
Watching movies should be about simple entertainment, not complicated technology. That’s why the Avant is available with its own built-in DVD or video recorder. Its presence is only given away by a discreet lid on the front. All cables are hidden in the back of the set.
To ensure even greater viewing comfort, the Avant has its own motorised stand that turns effortlessly through a 70 degree arc. You can program it to turn automatically towards your favourite viewing chair, or use the Beo4 to turn it in the opposite direction. When you switch the Avant off again, it returns silently to its original position in line with your furniture.
A red LED display on top of the cabinet gives you a discreet status of the source you are viewing, without intruding on the picture. It also shows the volume status when you adjust the volume level, and other information related to recording, Dolby Surround and so on. On the back of the display is a hidden push button panel for the most frequently used controls.
The Beo4 remote control is used to access all the various functions of video-playback and recording, menus, tuning, text-television, picture optimisation, sound properties and so on. Beo4 is designed for user-friendly and ergonomical operation with one hand. The buttons in a star-shape for search, ultra-sharp still-picture, super slow-motion, programme shift and fast forward can be controlled by your thumb only, you don’t even have to move your eyes.
Beo4 also controls all the latest B&O audio systems as well – it’s the key to complete home entertainment!
A discreet display on the upper right hand corner of the Avant lets you know what source is playing and a small control panel placed behind it offers hands-on control of all basic functions.
The sound quality of the active loudspeakers can compete with any modern audio system. When the herd of horses approaches your seat from within the widescreen, you can feel the tremble of the horses’ hooves – so powerful is the bass. And as a video-master in a Beolink® system, Avant can distribute sound and vision all over your home – just as it can play the music from your audio system in its speakers.
The Perfect Illusion
Press a key on the Beo4 remote and the electronic curtain glides aside to reveal a perfect picture. A theatrical gimmick or another technological leap forward? Actually, a bit of both! In the short reaction time before the curtain glides aside, a comprehensive circuit adjusts contrast levels, brilliance and colour to the prevailing light conditions in the room, ensuring the optimum picture reproduction every time.
An anti-reflective coating on the picture tube, as well as on the contrast screen is provided to eliminate reflections from windows, carpets and furniture. If you watch television during the day you’ve probably experienced the glare and reflections caused by direct sunshine. To minimise the problem, the Avant’s picture tube and contrast screen have been given a special anti-reflection coating that reduces reflections by up to 99%.
Home Cinema
There was a time when watching a movie on TV was a poor imitation of the real thing. But not anymore! BeoVision Avant brings the movies directly into your living room with a smooth, true-to-life picture and totally convincing sound.
BeoLab 2 completes this ultimate surround setup and – together with the other four active loudspeakers – allows you to make the most out of the advanced sound opportunities offered by the Avant’s built-in Dolby® Digital* module.
Colours
BeoVision Avant comes as one integrated unit. All you have to do is to plug in the mains and the antenna and you’re ready to watch. There are no other visible cords, allowing the Avant to be viewed from all sides – so it does not have to be set up in a corner or next to a wall. It fits nicely into any kind on home, thanks to the range of many available cabinet colours: pearly blue, pearly black, pearly red, pearly green and silver.
When the system is turned off, it turns back to its original position, the sound fades away and the curtains glide in front of the screen. Just like being in your own private small-screen cinema!
Features of the two Avant DVD models: Set-Top Box Controller module and Anti-Reflex coated Contrast Screen fitted as standard. All other modules are optional.
Motorised stand
The motorised stand of the Avant is rigorously tested. It’s built to be able to turn through an arc of 70° at least 20,000 times. If the TV was turned on and off 5 times a day, the motorised stand should perform flawlessly for more than ten years. In its tests, B&O stopped after 80,000 turns. A painted iron base plate, an aluminium top plate which carries the entire weight, with the actual turning mechanism of a 36 ball bearing race between them is how the stand is made up. Tests such as dropping it several centimetres directly onto the rim of the bottom plate ensure that the stand has many years of life in front of it.
*Dolby Digital is a trademark of Dolby Laboratories Licensing Corporation
With BeoCom 2500 means of communication couldn’t be simpler. The display on the phone allows you see the caller’s number, the time of the call and even the caller’s name if it’s listed in the 121-number memory. And if you can’t get to the telephone, or just don’t want to be disturbed, BeoCom 2500 can act as a passive answering machine registering the numbers of the last 24 callers.
BeoCom 2500 also has optional volume control for recent B&O AV equipment and is available in a good choice of bright and bold colours.
BeoCom 2500 features:
The display informs you of the duration of a call and gives status information on the functions available
All primary functions are available directly from the keypad of the BeoCom 2500
the ultra-light handset weighs only 115 g and is comfortable to use even during the longest conversations
BeoCord V8000 video tape recorder matched the Beovision MX range of Bang & Olufsen televisions in looks as well as performance.
You could store a channel on the Beovision MX TV and it was automatically communicated to the V8000. Recording was a simple matter of selecting the programme directly from Teletext using the Beo4 remote control. It could be positioned by using one of the stands as part of a Beovision TV.
BeoCord V8000 rewound a three-hour tape in 95 seconds and it shifted from fast forward to play in a split second.
Other features included NTSC stereo playback. Looks-wise it embodied a black fascia with a choice of cabinets in pearlescent shades of blue, green, red, grey and black, plus glossy grey and glossy white.
BeoCenter 1 combines a state-of-the-art TV, a superior-quality DVD player and an intelligent FM radio in one product, and lets you control everything with a single, easy-to-use remote control – the Beo1.
With its impressive picture quality and powerful active speaker system, Beocenter 1 provides total entertainment in a minimum of space. And the integration doesn’t end with the technology. With six strong colours and five diverse stands – all with motorised turning – to choose from, Beocenter 1 can easily be assimilated into any setting.
In a world full of choices, Bang & Olufsen has already made the best ones for the consumer – and put it all at the command of a four-buttoned Beo1 remote control – the remote control unit dedicated to both Beovision 1 and Beocenter 1.
However, as from October 2002, both Beovision 1 and BeoCenter 1 were delivered with Beo4 remote control instead of Beo1 which was discontinued. In January 2003 a Dolby Digital Surround Sound kit will be available for both these TV models.
BeoCenter 1 is able to read and play DVD-R and DVD-RW discs.
BeoCenter 1 – Press Release 2000
” Bang & Olufsen announces the newest addition to it’s product portfolio. In combining an FM radio, a DVD player, a 25″ TV and a pair of active loudspeakers, BeoCenter 1 offers experiences as yet unmatched on the marketplace. Featuring appealing design and simple operation, the product also has the flexibility to fit in anywhere.
In continuance of the Beovision 1 concept, launched in November of 1999, the key features of BeoCenter 1 remain focused on versatility, simplicity and uncompromising picture and sound quality.
With the new BeoCenter 1, Bang & Olufsen is taking account of the varying needs of consumers when it comes to usage of audio and video equipment in the home. “
Different uses
Bang & Olufsen’s second compact A/V product (the first was BeoCenter AV5, launched in 1997), BeoCenter 1 features an elegant and unmistakably B&O design that makes its presence known, while astonishingly remaining discreet. And a wealth of the company’s long-standing values and innovative finesses lie packed in beneath the surface.
A combined A/V solution like this represents a whole new way of living with these different media – at least in modern times. But look back a few decades and radiograms and combined TV/gramophone units were de rigueur. Back then the TV was the altar at which the family congregated. But as the TV came to play a less dominant role in the home, so consumers rejected large combined systems in favour of smaller, individual audio and video products – thanks in part to new technology requiring less space.
Goes anywhere
Now the combined solution is back with a vengeance – but in minimalist guise, expressed through a design with an emphasis on flexibility rather than dominance.
BeoCenter 1’s flexibility stems primarily from a choice of five unique placement possibilities: from floating almost magically out from the wall, to sitting on a more traditional floor stand, to standing tall on a 160 cm column. Utilising the built-in motor, BeoCenter 1 can also be turned to face in different directions, simply and intuitively operated with the Beo1 remote control.
Externally, BeoCenter 1 offers a truly colourful experience. It is available in six different colours: green, black, yellow, blue, red and grey. This finishing touch helps ensure that BeoCenter 1 blends into any home interior.
But for a A/V centre to blend in absolutely anywhere, it needs to look good from every angle – not just head-on. So a lot of time was spent on making BeoCenter 1 look good from the back too – wave goodbye to gaping sockets and ungainly cable holders.
Furthermore, an A/V centre that goes anywhere also needs to produce a picture that looks good anywhere. BeoCenter 1’s automatic contrast, brightness and colour control means superb picture quality in more or less any light. Add the standard anti-reflection coated contrast glass to the 25″, 4:3 format screen, and the amount of incoming light is reduced by almost 99%, when compared with ordinary front glass.
To top it all off, the sound is rather special too. Two powerful active loudspeakers once again make Bang & Olufsen’s acoustic competencies heard loud and clear. Topping out at 96 dB stereo, the sonic experience remains true to the Bang & Olufsen goal of natural reproduction of sound.
Integrated DVD player
Surprising, intelligent, magical and discreet are some of the words of praise attracted by the DVD player. The DVD tray glides out like a tongue beneath the TV screen and naturally you get all the functions you would expect from a DVD player: Instant access to any particular film episode, pictures in studio quality and a thrilling sound experience.
Built-in FM radio
Seamlessly integrated into the compact cabinet of BeoCenter 1, the FM radio features 59 programme presets and a standard Radio Data System (RDS) module. The RDS module allows the user to see the name of the radio station in the display, provided the broadcaster transmits the proper identification signal.
Personalised Channel Groups
Another major innovation is that each user can create his or her own personal group of up to 18 TV channels (terrestrial, satellite and cable) and radio stations. Again this is in the name of simplicity – it can be hard to keep track of the rapidly increasing number of TV channels available. Another option is to have subject groups rather than personal groups – like sports channels or movie channels. Up to eight different channel groups can be created.
Simplicity even extends to remote control
The Beo1 remote control is a miniature sculpture completely unlike its traditional counterparts, in that it features a built-in base so that it can stand upright on the table. And with only a few buttons, it is also striking in its simplicity – one of the themes in BeoCenter 1. All system components are operated by using the Beo1. Simply navigate through the simple options on the display beneath the TV screen.”
The Socket Unit contains most of the electronics, as well as all external connections. This greatly helps the organising and concealment of the numerous cables needed in a typical A/V set-up. In BeoCenter 2 only a single thin cable, available in 1.8, 3, 5 and 10 metre lengths, connects the Master Unit to the Socket Unit. A 1.8 metre cable is delivered as standard.
The Socket Unit is fitted with MasterLink, RGB, PowerLink, power connections and other connectors so that you may connect a pair of BeoLab active speakers or link it to a home cinema system.
A great advantage of the compactness and relative lightness of the BeoCenter 2 Master Unit is great flexibility in placement. It can be wall mounted, attached to a dedicated floor or table stand, or simply placed on a table or shelf.
Digital Radio Module
BeoCenter 2 DAB digital radio module: this module allows users access to terrestrial free-to-air broadcasting of high quality audio and data. DAB digital radio is a new way of broadcasting radio via a network of terrestrial transmitters. It provides listeners with more choice, better sound quality and more information. DAB digital radio is like analogue radio, only much better. When available – from 3 November 2004 – the module will become a standard feature of BeoCenter 2 in the UK.
In order to make the module compatible it has been necessary to update both the Socket Unit and the Master Unit. This, however, means that DAB will not be available with past and current BeoCenter 2 models. It was originally stated upon the launch of BeoCenter 2, that it would be possible to ‘upgrade’ to DAB. Where customers purchased the model on that understanding, Bang & Olufsen will honour that commitment. The first Master Unit serial number with software suitable for the DAB functionality is 18139286.
Note: To have the DAB module fitted to your BeoCenter 2 is essential that both the Socket Unit and Master unit are the latest versions. Mixing existing stock of Master Units (pre-serial number 18139286) and DAB Socket Units (part number 1280020) is not possible.
Master unit connections: MasterLink x 1, Digital Out, SCART, S-VHS, FM Aerial, AM Aerial, audio in (L&R), audio out (L&R), PowerLink x 1 (See Specifications).
By touching ‘load’ on the anodised aluminium top panel, BeoCenter 2 opens to receive your chosen media. The product is made up of two units linked together by a special cable: the Master Unit (or Media Unit which is the player itself) and the Socket Unit.
BeoCenter 2 Press Release October 2003
Bang & Olufsen’s new music system, the BeoCenter 2, is in many ways a classic Bang & Olufsen product. It has mystique, it is elegant, it is simple and logical.
If you look at the BeoCenter 2 from a distance, the design says nothing about the many functions the system contains. Only when you make physical contact is the content behind the symmetrical polished aluminium doors revealed. If you press “load” lightly, the two wing-shaped aluminium doors slide aside elegantly to reveal a combined CD and DVD player. When the music or film is playing, the doors slide back to conceal the disc, clearly signalling that the experience is more important than the source.
It is by no means unusual for a DVD player to play CDs, but a system that offers radio, CD, DVD and MP3 CD playback is a new way of combining all sources of entertainment in one unit. “At Bang & Olufsen we always focus on integrating technologies and with the BeoCenter 2 we give our customers the chance to combine music and video sources in one unit,” says President and CEO Torben Ballegaard Sorensen.
With the oval shape of the master unit, BeoCenter 2 is yet another design step away from the traditional box-shaped units of yesteryear for playing music and images. The size of the display ensures that it can be read at a distance and a light meter behind the glass adjusts the intensity of the display according to the brightness of the room. This avoids the display completely illuminating a dark living room.
In addition to RDS (Radio Data System), the tuner in BeoCenter 2 allows you to program and name up to 60 radio stations. And, of course, the BeoCenter 2 can be integrated into a Beolink network. When connected to a Beolink PC2 it can also play digital music files stored on a computer.
Clean up the Mess
It has always been important for Bang & Olufsen to make it nice and easy for consumers to enjoy music and moving pictures. Most obviously, the concept helps to eliminate the many remote controls that typically pile up on the coffee table, replacing them with one remote control – the Beo4 – which can control all the functions of all the appliances connected, plus the lighting in the room.
Another example is the tradition of concealing cables in stands and behind screens so that the necessary cables do not mar the visual appearance of the products. And where it is not possible to conceal the cables completely, special holders are provided for the cables, making a virtue out of necessity. Finally, there is the design itself. By avoiding visual trivialities and unsightliness, which can mar an audio/video product in themselves, the products look simple and elegant.
BeoCenter 2 is a continuation, a natural development, of this line of thought. The division of the product into two separate parts means that there is great freedom to place the elegant master unit where it is best suited in the room. This may be on a table, mounted on the wall or on an aluminium floor stand specially designed to match the oval shape of the master unit.
From the master unit there is just one cable to the socket unit containing the sockets for all the cables connecting BeoCenter 2 to the mains, speakers, TV, aerials, etc. The socket unit can be concealed under a piece of furniture or behind a curtain. This means that the visible part of the BeoCenter 2 is not spoiled by the jumble of cables required to integrate it into the network of the TV and speakers.
World Class Aluminium Processing
BeoCenter 2’s two sliding aluminium doors were a challenge to Bang & Olufsen. Both doors are cut from the same piece of aluminium, but only after the front has been polished in the oval shape that follows the lower edge of the display. This ensures that all details in the polishing are echoed on both doors. Both these sliding doors stay together throughout the complicated process of milling and the two surface treatments. So the doors on the final product match perfectly.
The precision requirements Bang & Olufsen sets for the visual appearance of the product mean that the machine which grinds the edges of the doors works to very small tolerances. For every 1/100 millimetre along the edge, the machine calculates and self-corrects to ensure a perfect oval shape.
When the aluminium is surface-treated in the anodisation plant, tiny pores appear in the surface. These pores are used in the screen printing employed to apply numbers and characters to the front of the doors of the master unit. By pressing the coloured lacquer down into the pores and then surface-treating the doors, very durable printing is achieved. As a result, it is virtually impossible to wear the printing off, even with very frequent use.
Controlling the BeoCenter 2 is a masterpiece of precision. The area beneath the master unit is milled down to 0.5 millimetres. So when the user presses the unit, the thin aluminium sheet bends very easily. This activates the electrical circuits used for the control function. You can neither see nor feel this, but it is enough for it to make contact with the film of conductive material underneath.
The precision processing goes one stage further with the “wheel” on the right-hand door. In a wide circle around the control areas, a further 0.1 millimetre of aluminium has been milled off. The functions of the wheel include adjusting the volume, and it functions according to the same mechanical principle as the rest of the master unit.
