CES has always been the biggest show for consumer electronics. It's unlikely that anyone can actually visit all of the exhibition booths and demos, and see every single new product. I know I can't.
So it's helpful to have some ideas of what you can expect at the show. If networking and storage are among your interests, here are a few of my educated guesses on what will be showcased at the show.… Read more
This past Thursday I attended an informal "summit" hosted by Craig Kallman, Atlantic Records' CEO and Chairman, to learn more about the label's plans to start releasing high-resolution music. Kallman is passionate about improving the sound of music, and I was impressed by his candor about the industry's appalling track record and declining sound quality standards.
I think the widespread overuse of dynamic range compression is far more musically destructive than the low sampling rates used in formats like MP3. I fear that if the new formats are just higher-resolution versions of the dynamically compressed MP3 … Read more
From 3D to online streaming video, home theater has been a hot category at the last few CES shows, but this year there wasn't much new technology, with design innovations taking center stage. A few major trends stuck out to us over the course of the show.
Design innovations, especially from Samsung The most impressive part of CES on the home theater side was Samsung's striking new form factors. The ultracompact Samsung BD-D7000 won the Best of CES award in the home theater category for shrinking down a Blu-ray player to the size of an external DVD drive. … Read more
LAS VEGAS--If your home doesn't have a Wi-Fi network (or even if it it does) you can still get your iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch multimedia content onto a TV screen. Bigstream is a two-part hardware solution the has a transmitter you plug into your Apple device, and a receiver you plug into the AV or video jack of your TV.
The benefit is being able to quickly play music and games, watch videos, and run Keynote presentations online. In addition to your own content, you can also launch YouTube videos, Netflix, and other third-party apps.
In the case … Read more
LAS VEGAS--If you always wished you had a Blu-ray player equipped with wireless HDMI to stream video from across the room to a wall-mounted TV, Philips has a new solution: the BDP7580 wireless HDMI Blu-ray player.
Due out in April with a price tag of $499.99, the BDP7580 offers 3D playback, NetTV, Netflix, and Blockbuster streaming, as well as Philips MediaConnect, which allows you to stream content from your PC to your TV via a Wi-Fi connection. NetTV is Philips' integrated Internet TV feature that offers a built-in browser for accessing standard Web sites, including Facebook and Twitter. The … Read moreSlingbox functionality is on its way to Google TV, according to a new report.
Technology blog ZatzNotFunny is reporting that Sling Media has developed a Web-based application for Google TV that allows users to control their DVR and access programming from the site.
Sling, which is currently showing off the product at the Consumer Electronics Show, reportedly told ZatzNotFunny that the Google TV option features the same interface available on the company's SlingPlayer Mobile Android app, which launched in June.
ZatzNotFunny says the Google TV-optimized site streams content at 1080i and should launch "sometime this year."
Further … Read more
LAS VEGAS--Samsung has definitely led CES 2011 in unusual home theater designs, but LG's HX996TS home theater system is no slouch with its futuristic look.
LG announced the 5.2 home theater system at its press conference yesterday, touting its "3D" sound. The 3D moniker may be gimmicky, but the HX996TS speakers have some interesting design choices, with the tower speakers having top-mounted drivers for what LG calls Vertical 3D Effect Channel.
The system also includes two subwoofers (not pictured), a feature rarely seen on all-in-one package systems. LG also touts its "Cinema Dome Effect," … Read more
LAS VEGAS--At last year's CES, we put together a slideshow called "Sexy sells at CES" that highlighted part of the human element that companies use to help make their gadgets stand out on the crowded show floor--or at least encourage people to stop at their booths.
For some reason, this slideshow proved to be rather popular with our readers, so we thought we'd cobble something together this year.
Don't get the wrong impression. Not every company hires models to show off their wares and talk about their products. And even when they do, the product … Read more
LAS VEGAS--Built-in Wi-Fi is becoming less and less of a premium feature in Blu-ray players, but most manufacturers are still producing one budget Ethernet-only model. Along with its line of Wi-Fi Blu-ray players and the flagship, hard-drive packing BD690, LG has announced the entry-level BD630.
Like the BD640, the BD630 offers a stripped-down set of streaming media features (Netflix, Vudu, CinemaNow, and YouTube streaming), rather than the more extensive Smart Apps platform that is available on high-end players. You also won't find other step-up features, such as 3D Blu-ray compatibility or DLNA personal media streaming. Unlike the BD640, there'… Read more
LAS VEGAS--B&W's series of Zeppelin iPod speakers have always been known for their striking design and better-than-average sound quality and at CES 2011 the company announced the Zeppelin Air, now compatible with Apple's new Airplay streaming audio platform.
AirPlay compatibility means you'll be able to stream music wirelessly directly from iOS devices (iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch), either from apps or your own music collection. You'll also able to stream music directly from iTunes on a networked computer. The Zeppelin Air still includes a dock, which is handy in case you want to charge your … Read more
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Take the best in technology for a spin with Brian Cooley.
