Meridian's iRIS Universal Dock for iPod will be available in November, at a manufacturer's suggest price of $379, the company announced at CEDIA on Thursday.

It's somewhat hard to believe that a consumer, let alone a high-end consumer that Meridian caters to, is going to be inclined to watch iPod-encoded video on an HDTV; as PC Magazine display guru Robert Heron put it: "there's only so much you can do" to the source video. More to the point, a good display may also have some basic video-enhancing features, if not true upconversion.

On the other hand, the recent addition of the iPod touch (does this use the standard iPod connector?) and its built-in YouTube feature provides a quick and easy way to get crazy Youtube videos off the 'Net and onto a TV. Let's face it -- Apple TVs and Media Center Extenders and all the other ways to get Web video on a TV notwithstanding -- there aren't many solutions as simple to use as an iPod. And docking it to an already-established iRIS is child's play.

Here's what the iRIS has to offer:

"The Meridian iRIS circular design provides a standard Apple 30-pin dock connector on its top surface, accepting any current or recent "3G" iPod or iPod Video model, while its rear edge includes HDMI, component, and standard-def S-Video and composite video outputs, plus coax and optical digital-audio, and headphone and line-level analog-audio outputs," according to the press release.

"There's also an HDMI input to accept an outboard non-iPod source such as a DVD player or game-console, and a simple source-select button to switch between a docked iPod and an external source--so the iRIS needn't "use up" an HDMI input on the home system. Another simple iRIS button selects video format/aspect-ratio, matching the displayed clip to the home screen. A third automatically synchronizes the iPod with a computer linked via USB."

(Apologies to Meridian: since the company has traditionally catered to the caviar class with its high-end audio and video equipment, I thought it a safe bet to skip the company's press conference here. Mistake.)