CONFERENCE 2008

摘要

With its 25th anniversary celebrated last year, EISA (the European Imaging and Sound Association) is now firmly established as a truly pan-European phenomenon comprising some 50 magazines from 20 different countries. The association is divided into audio/home theatre, photo, video, in-car and convergence panels whose members are drawn from the editorial staff of contributing magazines. The EISA Awards are typically announced around the time of the Berlin show in late August, the product of a three-day general meeting held earlier in the year where the very best products are selected and voted upon en masse. It is a rare demonstration of European unity in action! The judging season begins in earnest at the EISA Conference held, somewhat fittingly, in Brussels. Over four days, every major brand is given the opportunity to present its corporate strategy and key product line-up for the coming year. Many demonstrations are deliberately low key while other producers will ship-in a raft of engineers and top brass to deliver the sort of presentation that would grace a major international audio/AV fair. This year, so-called green issues including sustainable manufacturing processes, reduced shipping weights and volumes together with reduced product power consumption were a common theme among the larger corporations. The global brands also seemed keen to out-do each other in the quest for the thinnest flat panel TV.