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.
Samsung at its CES booth is showing nine pairs of sample prescription-ready 3D glasses under glass and plans to bring a model to the U.S. market in the second half, a company spokeswoman told us. The glasses were designed by eyewear company Silhouette and models feature color frames and styles “you would want to wear out,” she said. Using RF technology, the glasses weigh less than a pound and have the battery positioned at the end of the temple to help balance weight, she said. It was unclear whether the glasses use Zigbee RF technology. A battery gauge on the side of the temples indicates remaining power, and an energy-management feature automatically powers on the glasses when motion is sensed, she said. Samsung is working with an optometrist in Korea to determine the proper lens positioning of the prescription lenses that will clip to the 3D glasses’ frames. The glasses are active-shutter types, the spokeswoman said, reaffirming Samsung’s position that active-shutter technology provides the best 3D viewing experience. The glasses’ temples are flexible, enabling users to mold the products to their ears and temples for a comfortable fit, she said. The spokeswoman couldn’t tell us whether glasses like those coming to the U.S. are selling in Korea. Samsung also showed a wireless induction charger that powers up to four pairs of 3D glasses simultaneously. Users place the 3D eyewear on a tray for charging. Price and shipping information were not available.
Reaffirming its commitment to active-shutter 3D technology, Xpand introduced new 3D glasses at its CES news conference Wednesday, led by a high-end model called Youniversal that’s upgradeable through an onboard mini USB port. Due in stores in April at $200-$250, Youniversal glasses are said to be customizable to each viewer according to age, viewing distance, preference for “aggressive” or “mild” 3D, ambient light, TV model and other factors, according to Ami Dror, chief strategy officer. Users provide viewing preferences and viewing parameters to the glasses via a smartphone app that will initially be available for iPhones and Android models. The glasses will communicate via infrared, Bluetooth, radio frequency or DLP-Link, the company said. Xpand also showed an entry-level family pack of affordable universal glasses -- “very similar” to the new series but without the programmability” -- that will begin shipping in February. The pack is designed to be an affordable entry point to 3D for a family of four, said CEO Maria Costeira, who said pricing will be set by retailers. Costeira and Dror blasted the wave of passive TVs coming out, for potential ghosting and blurry images due to loss of resolution resulting from passive technology. “We understand there are manufacturers who make low-cost panels and this is the only way for them to get in to 3D,” Dror said. “But 3D must be better or people are not going to buy it.”
"Video will be the next voice,” Cisco CEO John Chambers said at a CES news conference Wednesday introducing his company’s Videoscape connected TV platform. Cisco says that by 2014 more than 90 percent of consumer Internet traffic will be video, and the amount of video will expand sevenfold. The Videoscape architecture -- which Chambers said centers not on boxes and hardware but on software, network and partnerships -- is designed to bring together digital TV and online content with social media and communications “to create a unified, networked entertainment solution.” Chambers spoke of anytime, anywhere content driven by video that will “reinvent the TV experience.” He showed a multitasking TV allowing users to answer phone calls, send and receive video e-mails and watch sports while bringing up related statistics, buying sports gear with the TV remote and communicating about the game with friends on a social networking site. He said the open platform uses the cloud, the network and client devices to deliver new video experiences over the Internet. Devices in the chain include a Videoscape media gateway to integrate voice, linear and online video, high-speed data, Wi-Fi and network traffic routing and an IP set-top box supporting all video formats and delivery methods. Those include pay TV, broadcast, premium channels, VoD and the Web and Videoscape software clients that extend the experience to home and mobile devices including connected TVs, tablet PCs and smartphones. Chambers said Cisco is working with several major global service provider customers, including Telstra in Australia, to enable video experiences through the Videoscape platform.
LAS VEGAS -- Sharp came to CES showing some of its largest and smallest LCD-based devices to date, bowing its first 70-inch LCD TV and a tablet PC that’s currently available in Japan in 5.5- and 10.8-inch screen sizes. Few details were available for the Galapagos tablet PC that will be introduced in the U.S. during second half 2011. The Japanese tablets operate on the Linux operating system but OS, processor, screen size, price and availability haven’t been set for the U.S. market, said Bob Scaglione, chief marketing officer.
Canadian loudspeaker maker Paradigm Electronics is introducing a new brand called Paradigm Shift at CES that’s targeted at a younger demographic. The brand will comprise powered loudspeakers, earbuds, headphones and gaming headsets, Marketing Director Mark Ailing told Consumer Electronics Daily. The 28-year-old company, known for high-quality loudspeakers at affordable prices, has a target market of 25-34-year-olds for its traditional loudspeaker line, Ailing said. With the new line, the company wants to create brand loyalty that will grow with customers as they advance in income level and audio sophistication.
LAS VEGAS -- Calling 2011 “the tipping point,” when the number of connected consumer electronics, mobile devices and tablet PCs surpasses the number of PCs in the home, Netgear CEO Patrick Lo said at a CES news conference Wednesday that his company is entering the “second phase” of its tech roadmap that began 15 years ago. Netgear is launching at CES eight consumer products to connect mobile and entertainment devices to the Internet, to deal with the “major shift in how people use the Internet.”
LAS VEGAS -- When it emerged from bankruptcy last year, General Motors made it clear that it expected its OnStar subsidiary to play a major role in the company’s revival by “extracting value” from OnStar technology and the brand, OnStar President Chris Preuss told a news conference at CES. OnStar responded with what Preuss called Tuesday a “bold and transformational move” to take the safety, navigation and communications service to the aftermarket in 2011 over the Verizon Wireless network.
Independent retailers are coming off an erratic holiday season marked by gains in audio over the previous year but offset by steep discounting on the video side, retailers told Consumer Electronics Daily. “TV was the most challenging category and the most hit and miss business out there,” said David Workman, executive director of PRO Group. Year-over-year numbers experienced a 20 percent decline in ASPs, he said. Citing big box competition with “more aggressive” opening price points than in previous years, combined with unit increases required to offset those ASP declines, “the math didn’t work,” he said.
ZigBee said Tuesday it’s developing an RF-based 3D sync standard for 3D glasses. The standard will support programmable frame rates and shutter open/close intervals, multiple user experience modes for seamless switching between 2D and 3D modes and gaming, and “frequency agility” to avoid interference with other RF-based devices, the company said. The glasses will resolve interoperability issues among 3D TVs from different manufacturers, interference issues resulting from too many IR signals in a room and the need for line of sight to maintain a 3D signal with IR glasses, Zigbee said.