Dr. Dan Cohen, CEO of BodySound Technologies, Inc., shares the excitement of BodySound’s customized home theater technology and the vibrancy it brings to watching movies at home.
CEDN: Can you give us some personal background?
DC: I’m trained in medicine, but my career’s been in business. In 1982, I co-founded CNS, Inc. to make brainwave equipment. Later, we licensed and launched the Breathe Right® nasal strip—GlaxoSmithKline ultimately acquired us.
CEDN: How did that lead to Experiential™ seating with BodySound™ technology?
DC: Apart from CNS, a few of us were doing some research using sound and vibration for relaxation, which worked well. In the process we realized that we had the beginnings of a great entertainment product. Doctors like watching movies and listening to music too.
CEDN: At the time did you have a theater room at home?
DC: We had an entertainment room with expensive seating, big screen TV and surround sound, all professionally installed. I was disappointed though. Room surround sound didn’t really enhance the experience that much.
CEDN: What have you done differently to improve the experience?
DC: First, we allow every user to personalize their sound space. People can be sitting together and experience different sound levels. He can have it loud, and she can have it quieter. With individualized mixer settings and up to seven speakers, every seat can have personal surround sound.
CEDN: So every seat must have its own sound system, right?
DC: Yes, although each seating arrangement is customized—row or curve of seats, couch, recliner, etc.—every seat can be individually controlled. Everyone sits in their sweet spot and the technology is hidden, which is what you should expect from high-end seating.
CEDN: How else is it different?
DC: BodySound technology includes an automatic volume adjust system so that loud commercials are less bothersome and quiet segments of the movie soundtrack are clearly audible—you can put down the remote, but still be in control. The system can accept eight channels of HD audio from up to two different sources simultaneously. When you display picture-in-picture, you can even embed sound within sound. Another unique feature creates frequencies you can feel from high frequency sound. You can feel the stands shake when fans cheer while watching sports.
CEDN: What produces the vibrations?
DC: We provide full-spectrum sound through the seat driver and both spine speakers, which is enhanced through the continuous steel frame. You not only feel explosions and low frequencies, but you can also feel mid-range frequencies, again, all user-adjustable. It really gets you into the movie and the music. It’s also fun for gamers, but the bottom line is that it really changes the experience when you feel what you hear and hear what you feel, at safe sound levels.
CEDN: What do you hope to achieve at CEDIA this year?
DC: We’re beginning a regional roll-out of the product in the upper Midwest and then we’ll expand to the West Coast. We’re looking to introduce our products to other select CEDIA members to accomplish our expansion goals.
CEDN: Best of luck at the show. BodySound technology will certainly be well received.
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