NASCAR and Guitammer Bring ‘4-D’ Racing To Fans

Taken from: http://news.prnewswire.com/DisplayReleaseContent.aspx?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/03-31-2009/0004997994&EDATE=

New Technology Gives Fans the Feeling of Being In The Driver’s Seat

 

CHARLOTTE, N.C., March 31 /PRNewswire/ — In an effort to bring the ultimate viewing experience to race fans, NASCAR and The Guitammer Company have partnered to give fans the feeling of being in the driver’s seat using “ButtKicker” brand products and technology.

 

The new wireless ButtKicker Kit is a complete, consumer-friendly, do-it-yourself “silent subwoofer” for home theater and gaming that quickly and easily transforms any type of furniture to become part of a “4-D” theater. The wireless ButtKicker Kit allows viewers to literally feel sound that is ideal for NASCAR televised race coverage, NASCARsimulated online racing, video games and watching DVD’s.

 

The ButtKicker(R) product compliments a listeners home theatre system with low frequency audio transducer s to recreate amplified audio signals through the product which attaches to your couch, seat, or even floor sending low frequency sound directly into the listener’s body. The product is available on Amazon.com and other retailers, visitwww.shakemycouch.com for more reseller information.

 

Additionally, taking this technology to the next step, Guitammer has worked with the NASCAR Media Group and NASCAR broadcast partners for this patent pending television broadcast technology, ButtKicker Live!(R). This product enables fans to feel that action on the track while they watch the race at home in a natural, integrated way.

 

“This product is another example of how NASCAR is providing innovative ways to bring the sport to its fans,” saidBlake Davidson, managing director of licensed products for NASCAR. “Not every NASCAR fan can make it to the track each week, but with products and technology like the ButtKicker Kit and ButtKicker Live!, our sport will come into their living room packed with a unique and realistic experience. “

 

ButtKicker Live!(R) and ButtKicker(R) enabled NASCAR(R) race footage will be featured in the NCTA’s ‘Broadband Nation’ booth in the Off Broadband Theater at the National Cable & Telecommunications Assoc. CABLE SHOW, April 1 -3, 2009 at the Washington D.C. Convention Center.

 

Mark Luden, President of Guitammer, states, “We are very pleased to announce that the ButtKicker Kit is now an officially licensed NASCAR(R) product and look forward to working closely with NASCAR, its partners and especially the fans to provide the most realistic racing experience possible – whether online, DVD or broadcast based. We will be releasing the first ever “ButtKicker enabled” NASCAR DVD as part of special “Collector’s Edition of the Kit” in the near future with more and more enhanced media to follow as we together add more value to the fans. Additionally, we will continue our sponsorship of numerous online racing leagues making the NASCAR racing experience even more realistic and exciting. We are thrilled to be able to work with a leader like NASCAR and look forward to doing more and more with the league and its fans in the coming year.”

 

“Over the years the technological enhancements made to the sport allow NASCAR to maximize the ButtKicker product,” said Jay Abraham, Chief Operating Officer, NASCAR Media Group. “Everyone that has ever been to a NASCAR race knows that our sport separates itself from others as an extraordinary sensory experience where sound and feel are part of the experience – you not only see and hear the sport, but you feel it too. With this new product the fans can now feel the roar of NASCAR from their own home.”

 

Used by Disney, IMAX, Universal Studios, The Kennedy Space Center, dozens of Grammy Award-winning musicians and thousands of home theater owners worldwide, ButtKicker brand low frequency audio transducers provide high quality low frequency audio and realistic special effects, adding a powerful and exciting effect to sports, movies, music and games. ButtKicker brand products are award-winning pro audio “silent subwoofers” that provide powerful, musically-accurate low frequency effects, without airborne sound.

 

About NASCAR(R)

The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, Inc. (NASCAR) is the sanctioning body for one of North America’spremier sports. NASCAR is the No. 1 spectator sport – holding 17 of the top 20 highest attended sporting events in the U.S., and is the No. 2 rated regular-season sport on television. NASCAR races are broadcast in more than 150 countries and in 20 different languages. NASCAR fans are the most brand loyal in all of sports, and as a result more Fortune 500 companies participate in NASCAR than any other sport.

 

About NASCAR Media Group

The NASCAR Media Group is a rights management, content licensing, distribution and entertainment company designed to better enhance the fan experience with NASCAR. NMG develops, produces and distributes a broad range of programming and content for NASCAR fans and provides a range of new services to its media partners and to develop new content platforms that will expand the reach of the sport and bring additional value to its partners while managing its partnerships with media outlets such as Fox television, ESPN/ABC, SPEED, TNT, Turners Sports Interactive, MRN, PRN, SIRIUS Satellite Radio, DirecTV. NMG is based in Charlotte, N.C. with offices in Daytona Beach, Fla. and Los Angeles. NASCAR was the first sports sanctioning body to establish an office in Los Angeles, which is charged with injecting the sport into mainstream media through relationships with film, television and music industries.

 

About The Guitammer Company

Located in Westerville, Ohio, The Guitammer Company is the leader in low frequency sound products for the home theater, pro audio, music, amusement and entertainment industries. ButtKicker brand products are used by industry leaders such as Disney, IMAX, Universal Studies, Warner Bros., The Rolling Stones, Shania Twain, Green Day, Maroon 5, along with home theater, gaming and car audio professionals and enthusiasts in more than 50 countries. For more information visit www.shakemycouch.com or www.thebuttkicker.com. ButtKicker(R) and ButtKicker Live(R) are registered trademarks of The Guitammer Company.

 

 

 

Awesome “ButtKicker” T-Shirt

Honestly, who wouldn’t want a T-shirt that says, “ButtKicker, Feel What You’ve Been Missing” on it?

Whether your an avid ButtKicker user, or you’ve never even tried one out, this shirt is completely awesome.

 

"ButtKicker, Feel What You've Been Missing" T-shirt.

The shirt is made of 100% heavyweight cotton and is preshrunk.  I also makes a great gift for a friend or spouse. 

Get one here ->

End of the Month wireless ButtKicker Kit Sale – Save 20%

Sale Announcment: 

Feb. 18, 09  through Feb. 28, 09 – The new wireless ButtKicker Kit will be on sale from ButtKicker Direct (www.buttkickergear.com) – the official ButtKicker webstore. The regular retail price of $399.95 will be temporarily marked down to $319.96 – 20% off of the retail price. This promotional pricing will not effect any coupon discounts.

Which ButtKicker Package is Right for My Home Theater?

ButtKicker LFE Kit (left) ButtKicker Kit (right)

There are several differences between the new ButtKicker Kit and the ButtKicker LFE Kit that can help you determine which ButtKicker package is right for you.

First of all, even though the ButtKicker Kit is new, it’s based on the same tried and true technology as the ButtKicker LFE Kit and is not necessarily better, but each has different strengths and is geared toward slightly different applications.

The first major difference between the two kits is weight/power.

The ButtKicker LFE Kit comes with the ButtKicker LFE transducer which weighs 11 lbs. and the BKA-1000-N power amplifier which puts out 1000 watts at 4 Ohms (one ButtKicker LFE transducer). This setup is very powerful and is used to shake huge structures like floors, stages, platforms and also large couches and chairs.

The new ButtKicker Kit comes with the ButtKicker Advance transducer which weighs 4.5 lbs. – less than half the weight of the ButtKicker LFE. The included amplifier, BKA300-4 puts out 300 watts. Together this setup is ideal for shaking one couch or chair. The ButtKicker Kit is actually the result of customers telling us that they didn’t need all of the power of the LFE Kit, just something with the guts to shake their entire couch and a few extra features.

The next major difference is expandability.

The ButtKicker LFE Kit comes with the BKA-1000-N amplifier and one ButtKicker LFE. One ButtKicker LFE running on that amplifier receives the full 1000 watts. You can, however, run up to 4 ButtKicker LFE transducers on that same amplifier. The power that each ButtKicker LFE sees will drop to around 250 watts though. This type of setup is used for rows of home theater seating and can also be purchased as a factory installed option in Berkline Seating and other seating manufacturers.

The ButtKicker Advance and BKA300-4 are made to work one to one – you cannot add multiple ButtKicker Advance units to a BKA300-4 amplifier but will instead need to purchase additional kits.

So, if you’re trying to ButtKicker enable multiple pieces of furniture, or want to add more some time in the future, the ButtKicker LFE might be the right fit for you.

Conclusion:

There are a few other feature differences between the 2 ButtKicker packages that I won’t go into full detail about in this post. For more information about the features of each kit, see this post here, this page here and also spend some time Googling the subject to see what other customers are saying.

If you have an unusual setup or are still on the fence about which ButtKicker package is right for you, give us a call: 1-888-676-2828. We’re here M-F, 9-5 EST.

ButtKicker Advance – Testing for AMC Theaters Install

Here at the ButtKicker offices on the last day of 2008 I came across our founder Ken McCaw sitting on a drum throne in the middle of the office with piles of our new ButtKicker Advance transducers wired together around him.  Noticing my quizzical look, he informed that this strange setup was actually some sort of test for an AMC Theaters installation we’re doing next month. Every seat in all six auditoriums of a new state-of-the-art AMC Theater complex will be ButtKicker enabled.  It’s in KC and it’s opening early next year. 

Row of ButtKicker Advance low frequency audio transducers

His setup was pretty interesting. Each pair of ButtKicker Advance transducers (mounted base to base with a piece of foam in between) were ‘canceling’ each other out. If you’re not familiar with how a ButtKicker transducer works, read this article on www.thebuttkicker.com.

Basically, a ButtKicker transducer has a magnetically suspended piston inside it that responds to an amplified low frequency audio signal. So the weighted piston moves to the audio signal, creating the feeling of the audio, but without any sound. It’s a similar concept to a speaker, but there is no cone involved.

Getting the ButtKickers to cancel each other out is as simple as mounting them base to base and feeding them the same audio signal. This causes the piston in each ButtKicker to move up and down at the same time, or in this case, out and in. As both pistons move out (away from each other) or in (toward each other) their forces are effectively cancelled.

Later, Ken told me his reasoning for the strange setup and the purpose of the test. “The purpose for mounting the ButtKickers end-to-end, canceling each other, is so that 12 units can be tested on one amplifier without ButtKickers walking all over the office like a dozen little R2D2’s on steroids.  This allows for “shake-free” amplifier and wiring tests.”