LAS VEGAS -- Summit Semiconductor is targeting the top 40 percent of the home theater market this year with its Summit Wireless SoC technology, positioned as an audio/video receiver replacement. Summit Wireless, which debuted in the fall at CEDIA in speakers from Aperion Audio, is under development in 21 projects, according to the company, and will appear at the $1,000 hi-fi level before going mainstream in 2012 in flat-panel TVs and $500-level home-theater-in-a-box systems.
Haier America is taking a wait-and-see approach before entering the 3D fray in the U.S., Kenji Higa, product specialist in the company’s digital products group told us at CES last week. “It’s dicey right now because of lack of content,” Higa said. Still, the company showed both passive and active-shutter prototypes of 3D TVs in a back room at its booth, including a 46-inch LED TV that’s selling in China, and a 47-inch passive 3D model paired with polarized glasses that will ship in the Chinese market this year. There are no plans to bring the 3D set to the U.S., Higa said. Haier also unveiled its first connected TVs for the U.S. market. Called Net Connect, the TV’s tap into the Internet through the Yahoo Connected TV platform, using on-board Wi-Fi. Additional apps are said to include Netflix, Blockbuster on Demand, Film Fresh, and Pandora. The edge-lit, 1080p LED LCD connected TVs are due in second half 2011 at $1,699 (55-inch), $1,199 (46-inch), and $899 (42-inch), the company said. A built-in ambient light sensor is said to detect room light and automatically increase or decrease the TV’s backlight to adjust for low-light and bright-light conditions. The company also debuted its first sound bars at CES. The Haier 5.1-channel 40-inch 3D Sound Bar packs “3D sound technology” from Switzerland-based Sonic Emotion said to use wave field synthesis to expand the “sweet spot” throughout a room to reach more listeners, regardless where they're sitting. The sound bar bundles an iPod dock with charger. The SVEV40-3D is due in stores in April at $399 list. Also from Haier is an EV series 2.1-channel sound bar, without Sonic Emotion technology, that’s said to deliver 2.1-channel surround-sound from an enclosure measuring 1.1-inch deep. Higa said the slim design is geared to consumers’ desire for flat electronics. The separate powered wireless subwoofer is rated at 40 watts per channel. The 40-inch sound bar’s price is $299, he said, and the product will be available in April or May.
LAS VEGAS -- The Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) extended its certification program to software applications, President Nidhish Parikh, told us at CES. By extending certification to apps, the alliance can expand the reach of the “DLNA ecosystem,” Parikh said, not only with new devices but also by bringing legacy devices that aren’t DLNA-certified into the fold. Those can include PCs that are software upgradable, he said, but most notable are iPhone and iPad devices that Apple has chosen not to put through DLNA certification. DLNA was formed in 2003 to develop an interoperability platform for digital devices based on open and established industry standards that support media sharing over wired or wireless networks.
Despite some TV manufacturers’ strong preference for active-shutter 3D, eyewear maker Oakley will not introduce active 3D glasses, Chris Petrillo, category manager, told us at CES last week. The company does have eyewear that incorporates electronics including a built-in MP3 player and Bluetooth headset, but the downsides of active-shutter technology in the 3D viewing experience outweigh the benefits, Petrillo said. He cited interference issues with competing infrared signals in a room, sunlight and backside glare. “Everything interrupts IR,” he said, “and there’s no peripheral vision.” The company showed a pair of $120 passive 3D glasses at CES. The glasses incorporate the company’s corrected lens technology that’s said to maintain the proper left and right eye alignment, said Petrillo.
LAS VEGAS -- The video industry is putting great faith in the Ultraviolet video content sharing solution to stop the hemorrhaging in recorded video sales, but many issues loom, months before its midyear launch, according to retail, studio, distribution, CE and technology executives speaking at a panel sponsored by the Digital Entertainment Content Ecosystem (DECE) at CES.
LAS VEGAS - LG’s film-pattern retarder technology is “not sustainable long-term" Samsung executives said at a display roundtable at CES last week. Among the “many obstacles” FPR presents are limited viewing angle and crosstalk resulting in interference between the left and right image, said Bong-Ku Kang, senior vice president, Samsung product marketing group. “That’s why Samsung, Sony and Panasonic” remain committed to active-shutter technology, he said, which is “full HD-capable.” Resolution in the LG FPR system is reduced by half, he said, resulting in image quality that’s “not full HD.”
Comcast will be the first company to incorporate GreenPeak’s ZigBee RF4CE remote control chipset when it ships its next generation of HD set-top boxes in November, Ross Gilson, senior engineer, told us at CES. Comcast demoed the technology at the Zigbee Pavilion at CES, showing how the RF benefits of remote control technology are expected to streamline the cable remote control setup process for consumers. Because Zigbee is two-way communication, consumers won’t have to go through a tedious setup process to find the right code for their TV. When they hit the right one, a tone confirms the right model has been selected. The Zigbee cable remote will communicate by RF to the set-top and then by infrared to the TV, he said. The two-way communication also allows cable companies to add a remote locator button on the box which sends a signal to the remote to beep. The second benefit of the Zigbee technology is upgradeability, Gilson said. When TV companies update database codes, the information can be pushed to the set-top through a firmware upgrade. Gilson said the box will be deployed system-wide but wouldn’t name the manufacturer.
Energy management could be the killer app that finally pushes appliance makers into the connected home. Control4 said Thursday that Sub-Zero is the latest company to join the Control4 partner program, enabling consumers to tie Sub-Zero freezers and refrigerators into their home control systems. Control4 President Glen Mella said that the driving force for appliance makers is demand-response programs from utility companies that charge consumers differently for peak and nonpeak energy usage. Consumers can use their Control4 systems to program a refrigerator to make ice when energy is less expensive, he said. The partnership, covering Wolf ovens and Sub-Zero refrigerators and wine-storage units, is the first combining the companies’ appliances and home automation. Although the concept of an “Internet refrigerator” isn’t new, Mella said current trends including consumers’ interest in energy management, concerns over safety and security in the home and effortless entertainment are making connected appliances more relevant. With a connected oven, the user can have an alert sound through the home’s audio system when the temperature has reached a pre-heat setting, he said. Owners of the wine storage unit can receive alerts when temperature or humidity settings change or someone opens the unit without permission.
Barnes & Noble has released the Android developers’ kit for NOOKcolor, according to Claudia Backus, director of developer relations, who demonstrated several Android apps for us at Digital Experience Wednesday in Las Vegas. The apps will be available to NOOKcolor users exclusively through the Nook store on the Barnes & Noble website, she said. Apps won’t be available in January, she said, but she wouldn’t provide further timing details other than “early this year.” The demo unit packed about 10 apps. Backus said “there will definitely be more than 10 available” at launch.
LAS VEGAS -- The Digital Entertainment Content Ecosystem (DECE) delivered a 2011 roadmap for its Ultraviolet digital content purchasing solution Thursday. The system is designed to enable consumers to buy digital content that’s viewable on home and mobile devices for “wherever, whenever” access. At CES, the cross-industry consortium announced technical specs and a licensing program enabling studios, distributors, and device and application makers to begin developing UltraViolet-based offerings for consumers. DECE said the UltraViolet Account system infrastructure, developed by Neuter and now operational, will be available to support the launch of UltraViolet products and services in mid-2011.