Week of January 19, 2009

More hot new products on display at CES 2009

Friday, January 23, 2009

Sonneteer was showing the Bard USB, a $500 USB dongle that inserts into any computer & can wirelessly transmit any music from the hard drive, Internet or CDs & DVDs to the Bard Receiver, which then attaches directly to any amplifier & speakers. It has a range of 30-100 meters & doesn't compress the music data at all.

Texas Instruments showed their very small Pico chipset, which will allow for tiny video projectors, like the Samsung MBP200 that can connect to mobile phones & laptops to project a 50" image, although the availability or price of this unit has not yet been announced. Already available for $400 is the Optoma Pico PK-101, which is 4" x 2" in size, weighs 4 ounces & will attach to iPods or any display device using composite cables (but not laptops).

For those who are looking for true stealth surveillance, Swann Security was showing a $100 combination video camera & DVR with 2GB of internal recording memory that was in the form & size of a normal fountain pen. By unscrewing the top, you can then attach the unit directly to a PC to transfer the videos via the built-in USB connector.

Other hot new products on display at CES 2009

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Intel had an exhibit of available new "netbook" computers, using their Atom processor to provide basic notebook functions, like web browsing or email, in very compact units weighing around 2 pounds & with 7-9" screens. Although they lack large hard drives, high-end processors & DVD drives, the units on display (including the Aspire One, the Lenovo Idea Pad, the Asus Eee PC & the Samsung NC10) were priced very affordably, ranging from $250 to $500. While they're too slow for any complex computer processing functions, they're extremely attractive for basic wireless uses.

There were some great new HD pocket videocams on display, like the $229 VADO handheld camcorder, which is only 4" x 21/4" x 5/8" in size, but can record up to 2 hours of 720p HD using H.264 compression on its 8GB flash drive. Sony was also showing their new $199 Webbie MSH-CM1 HD video camera, capable of recording 5 1/2 hours of 1080p high-definition video using MPEG-4 compression on a 16 GB Memory Stick DUO, with an even smaller version (MHS-PM1) going on sale in March for $169.

Internet Radio Becomes More Affordable

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

One of the technologies with a much higher profile at this year's CES was Internet radio. Radios customized to provide easy access to Internet audio streams without a computer have been around for a few years, but they have been relatively expensive, like the Tivoli Audio NetWorks global radio which sells in mono form for $600.

Even more impressive was the Morpheus Music Center from Sonneteer, a strikingly beautiful unit that has the capability to directly access Internet radio streams without a computer, as well as accessing digital media via home networks from hard drives, memory sticks & mobile phones to play them through its 100-watt amplifier. However, it costs around $4000 & doesn't even include any speakers.

Thus, it was quite significant to note that Sanyo (which Panasonic is buying) will be selling their new R227 stereo clock radio that includes both FM & Internet audio access for only $170, when it is released in the US later this month.

What's the future for Internet TV?

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Some existing TV sets, already for sale in Japan by Toshiba, use a plug-in card that accepts a CAT-5 connection that carries component video (eventually, even HDMI) & Internet video. In fact, Panasonic, Samsung, Sharp & Sony (among others) all offer sets with some kind of Internet availability, but the access of websites is strictly limited, depending on the manufacturer.

Another option is the Netgear Internet TV Player, the ITV2000, which is only the size of a deck of cards, but allows the Internet (mainly, using designated Internet websites like You Tube) to be displayed on any TV set via composite, component or HDMI connections. It's due to be sold this summer for $200.

So, while the difference between a computer display & a TV set is certainly being blurred, TV sets still can't access every Internet site because they lack the processing power needed to run a browser, nor do they have the on-board storage needed to hold browser updates.

More on HDTV from the CES

Monday, January 19, 2009

Pollack media President, Tommy Hadges continues his series on what was hot at the CES with more on HDTV. One particularly exciting area for the long-term future is the development of HDTV sets using OLED (organic light-emitting diode) displays, which can create breathtaking images because each diode creates its own light (so the black-level is perfect, since there is no backlight) & color frequency (so the purity of the image is excellent). Sony is still selling their $2500 XEL-1 with an 11" screen that is only 3mm thick, while both Sony (21" & 27") & Samsung (14" & 31") had some larger OLED prototypes on display, like last year. Meanwhile, LG showed a 15" set that is promised for sale this summer, but with no price attached.

Some front-projection sets, useful for home theatres with huge images, were using LED light sources, instead of high-pressure mercury bulbs. Not only will these units produce better brightness (so the room does not have to be totally dark), but they should last 4 to 8 times longer. Even more into the large-screen future is 4K resolution, which uses a matrix of 4096 x 2160 pixels, compared to the 1920 x 1080 matrix for 1080p HDTV (also known as 2K). 4K is now the standard for theatrical digital projection, but it was being used at the CES in the form of some very large traditional displays, like the Ultra HD 63" plasma & 82" LCD panels from Samsung.

Next in our series is an update on Internet TV