Theta tech history continued:
Casablanca Music and Cinema Controller
Most innovations in consumer electronics are refinements on pre-existing
ways of doing things. Casablanca began as a more abstract concept,
a departure from previous assumptions about how to process music
and sound.
In 1995, It was becoming evident that high-end consumer electronics
was changing in fundamental ways. What had been the realm of "audiophiles",
who delighted in the faithful reproduction of musical performances,
was becoming "home entertainment", increasingly the
province of home theater. Theta hadn't addressed the reproduction
of movie sound tracks apart from their nature as audio signals,
but clearly would need to do so or become obsolete.
Devoted to two-channel, Theta's challenge was to embrace multi-channel
as well.
This was a time when new standards were proliferating at an increasingly
accelerated rate, creating tremendous confusion. Theta, positioned
on the leading edge of "state of the art" was expected
to guess (correctly) which of the new standards and technologies
would turn out to be important; even to anticipate the advent
of new technologies and standards announced in the press. HDCD,
for example, was a "hot" technology in 1995.
Theta had a fundamental policy of non-obsolescence and upgradeability
to uphold. The founders of Theta were dedicated to offering "no
waste" components that people could cherish, maintain, and
upgrade. How to reconcile the latest in cutting edge technology
with non-obsolescence became a very serious question, as Theta's
customers expected both.
All of these factors provoked a radical shift in thinking about
the nature of audio components. In 1995, Theta's answer to all
of these challenges was the Casablanca Music and Cinema
Controller.
"Open Architecture"
The November 1995 press release announced:
Casablanca is a multi-purpose component, flexible beyond any
previous audio or video equipment. It can be configured to meet
current needs for individual audio and video systems, and then
be reconfigured as systems grow, to meet changing standards
and keep current with the state of the art in audio and audio/video.
…A further development in Theta Digital’s history
of inventing whole new types of components as the needs and
technological capabilities arise, Casablanca will bridge a gap
between audiophile level sound reproduction and the need for
a quality interface with video.
Casablanca accepts both analog and digital input signals, and
can be configured as a preamplifier/digital to analog converter.
It can also be configured to perform digital domain surround
sound processing. There is also a high end video switching option.
Casablanca can be operated by remote control or by buttons on
its faceplate. Communication is done via its active LCD display,
or via a video display on a TV monitor.
Casablanca is easy to use. Both the LCD front panel and the
on-screen video display offer information and choices of various
functions and selections of surround modes.
Signals coming in through any of Casablanca's six analog inputs
can be converted to digital, for DSP controlled surround sound
processing, or directed through normal "stereo" as
pure, unprocessed analog. For Dolby 5.1 surround sound, AC-3
inputs are available as an option.
The tremendous flexibility of the Casablanca is designed in,
using a "mother board" and "daughter boards"
in an open architecture topology. The mother board provides
signal routing and the daughter boards contain the actual circuitry.
Casablanca can be expanded, changed and upgraded by changing
daughter cards, which is very easy to do.
The separate daughter cards are: Main digital in, Video in/out,
Analog in, Analog out, Main/Dolby Pro Logic processing, Dolby
5.1 processing, and DTS coherent Acoustics processing.
There are two levels of digital to analog conversion: consumers
can choose one using high quality stock parts such as you might
find in other companies' D to A converters, or opt for more
powerful digital signal processing computers running Theta’s
proprietary digital signal processing algorithm..."
The heart of a Casablanca is basically a cluster of computer boards.
Casablanca comprises a relatively simple, unintelligent motherboard
for "command central" and a flock of specialized daughter
boards, each devoted to designated subordinate functions, including
the actual signal processing circuits.
Writing the software for these systems turned out to be very tricky,
difficult and time consuming. In beta testing, numerous "bugs"
turned up in the fresh software; some glitches arose from "standard"
protocols which were not as specified, and some surprises came
from the sheer complexity of all the interactions called for in
Casablanca’s manifold functions. There were things that needed
to be smoothed out before Casablanca was ready to go out in the
world. Casablanca turned into a major programming project with
complications unforeseen in the optimistic design phases.
The mathematician who wrote Theta's original processing algorithms
and who was writing Casablanca's software, responding to a family
obligation, left the team, putting the whole project into a deep
setback. The engineer who took over software development continued
to be optimistic, though. As a result, Theta placed Casablanca
advertisements for about a year before any were finally made available.
Over the course of time it took to refine the software, Theta’s
engineers developed new innovations which had to be incorporated.
By the time Casablanca came to market in 1997, it had acquired
more options and capabilities. Notably, it offered a
phase-perfect electronic crossover, of great value in fine-tuning
overall sonic balance to the peculiarities of room acoustics,
and fully balanced circuit options became available.
Parts quality was uniformly exceptional. The
analog volume control was a tour-de-force
in high-quality discrete resistors. Extensive shielding of signal
paths, power supplies and digital RF (noise) sources from each
other, and multiple, high-grade power supplies made the Casablanca
quite a hefty piece. While an average audio/video component weighed
8 to 12 lbs., a fully loaded Casablanca weighs nearly 50 lbs.
Casa Nova Music and Cinema Controller
Casa Nova was developed as a less expensive version of Casablanca.
Theta's habit is to design an all-out assault on a given problem,
and to follow that up with refinements and improvements; then
"plan B" is to see how much we can cut costs with a
minimal impact on performance. Casa Nova was the inheritor of
a great deal of knowledge acquired from Casablanca's design, but
with cost savings in mind.
Casa Nova was introduced in November of 1998. Benefiting from
Theta’s R&D advances since Casablanca’s introduction,
it actually offered some improvements
over the original Casablanca.
Casablanca II Music and Cinema Controller
Casablanca II is the recipient of a great many improvements
on the original Casablanca, and all of the updates necessary to
keep pace with current technology and standards for sound processing.
Perhaps the most significant improvement was that the Casablanca
II simply sounded better than the original.
For a complete list
of Casablanca II standard capabilities and optional features,
click here.
Some innovations in the II version are new and different enough
to call for particular attention.
Theta has originated several unique features and modes that no
other company can offer.
Center Power Redistribution
(CPR) corrects for theater
sound mixes, which bunch up much of the sound in the center channel
– great for a vast theater, but terrible in a home environment
where the center channel is often the weakest. CPR enhances the
quality and dynamic range of sound while making much better use
of the best speakers.
"Center Circle Surround" (Theta’s proprietary
application of Circle Surround) offers superior channel separation
to THX EX on Center Rear Channel.
A Party Mode generates a sum of all channels, which is
added to the signal going to each speaker. This provides a low
level of "fill-in" sound in the vicinity of each speaker,
though each individual channel remains predominant for each speaker.
Casablanca II base model includes Dolby Digital, Pro Logic, and
DTS processing.
Circle Surround
is an option that makes it possible to produce a convincing
multichannel soundfield from any stereo (two-channel) source.
Ideally, there should have been a Casablanca II available sometime
in the years between the first and second versions. As new ideas
took shape and demanded the time to fully implement (and debug
them), new technology from outside Theta also had to be accommodated;
this also demanded time to incorporate into Theta’s circuitry.
The original Casablanca was complex enough that it was important
for the dealer to be deeply involved in the initial setup of a
new Casablanca owner’s system. Theta began offering factory
training on how to optimize the performance of entire audio/video
systems using Casablanca’s many control features. By the
time Casablanca II was ready, it was clearly not something the
average consumer could be expected to know how to set up for optimal
performance. Theta announced to dealers and distributors worldwide
that each dealer and distributor would be required by Theta to
have their key technical staff members attend training seminars
offered at the factory, at trade shows, or in classes Theta held
in Europe for those not traveling to the US. Despite a flurry
of exasperated calls from both domestic dealers and overseas distributors,
Theta flatly refused to ship a Casablanca II to any location not
thoroughly factory-trained.
Casablanca II Xtreme DAC
Card
"EZ
set up guide"
Casa Nova & Castle
Computer Assisted Setup -Theta Logic Enabled (CASTLE)
Introduced in 2000, this new tool
greatly assists set-up of Casa Nova
CASTLE is a windows-based setup program for the Casa
Nova.
CRYSTAL
is the new program for Casablanca II, which is related to CASTLE,
but offers comprehensive programming to assist in all aspects
of Casablanca II’s more extensive setup.
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