CES - Home theater

CES: Rockchip gives Google's WebM a hardware boost

Rockchip, a Chinese chip designer that focuses on processors for Net-connected phones, TVs, and e-book readers, announced a new processor today at CES that supports Google's WebM technology for video streaming.

WebM can be used to encode video with the the open-source and royalty-free VP8 video codec and Vorbis audio codec, and Google hopes it will keep patent encumbrances off the Net. Its primary competitor is the H.264 codec, also known as AVC, whose use requires licensing an expensive set of patents.

Crucial to WebM's success, though, is hardware support that speeds decoding and saves battery power … Read more

CES: Bang & Olufsen signs chip cooperation deal with Intel

Bang & Olufsen, a company known for its distinctive audio designs, has signed a chip technology cooperation agreement with Intel.

The Danish company has expanded into many technical markets beyond audio, including video, home media servers, telephones, and home automation that brings electronic controls to electronics, curtains, and thermostats.

"This strategic cooperation with Intel provides Bang & Olufsen with access to the latest silicon process technologies. This will enable Bang & Olufsen to stay at the technological forefront in the future and increase the efficiency of Bang & Olufsen's product development," said Bang & Olufsen Chief Executive … Read more

CES: Cisco, GE, Xerox talk innovation (live blog)

Editor's note: This live event has concluded. For a brief rundown of what was announced, check out our summary post here. You can also replay our live blog in the Cover It Live module below.

Three companies that have been around the block a few times--Cisco Systems, General Electric, and Xerox--are sharing the stage this morning at CES, and we're there for live coverage of their talks.

The CEOs of the three companies--Cisco's John Chambers, GE's Jeffrey Immelt, and Xerox's Ursula Burns--are participating in a panel discussion on innovation, in what the Consumer Electronics Association … Read more

CES: Panasonic's 3D Blu-ray line gets 2D-to-3D conversion, Skype

LAS VEGAS--Panasonic is refreshing its line of 3D Blu-ray players in 2011, offering updates such 2D-to-3D conversion and more streaming services to its VieraCast online content portal. Details were scarce on all the new models, but here's the preliminary breakdown:

Key features of the Panasonic DMP-BDT110:

Wi-Fi-ready (requires USB wireless LAN adapter sold separately) 2D-to-3D conversion video processing Skype compatible (requires purchase of additional camera) DLNA compatible VieraCast suite of streaming media services (Netflix, Amazon VOD, YouTube, Pandora, Twitter, Napster, CinemaNow) Can be controlled by iPhone app Available spring 2011

Key step-up features of the Panasonic DMP-BDT210:

Built-in Wi-Fi … Read more

CES: Sony's new HomeShare streaming-audio platform takes on AirPlay

LAS VEGAS--Along with the roll-out of its typical home theater products, Sony has also announced a new wireless audio-streaming platform known as HomeShare. Sony kicked off the launch with five new products that use HomeShare, as well as an iPhone/Android app that can be used to control all of the HomeShare devices on your network.

While Sony has tried its hand at wireless music streaming before (Altus and its related platform, S-Air), HomeShare is an interesting, surprisingly nonproprietary new take. It's built around the DLNA standard, which means that HomeShare products can stream digital music from any DLNA-compliant … Read more

CES: Flix on Stix moves movies from kiosk to USB

LAS VEGAS--If Flix on Stix has its way, you may soon be downloading movies directly from kiosks to a USB flash drive.

Officially unveiling and demoing its movie service at CES this week, Flix on Stix will offer thousands of movie titles--both recent films and older titles--from its upcoming line of kiosks.

Starting in the first quarter, the company will be launching kisoks across shopping malls, supermarkets, bookstores, and college campuses. The kiosks will debut across the U.S. initially, but Flix on Stix says there's been interest from other countries as well.

Each kiosk contains a hard drive … Read more

CES: Aluratek device turns your TV into a Web-surfing PC

LAS VEGAS--A new gadget from Aluratek takes the idea of an Internet-enabled TV and ramps it up a few notches.

Being demonstrated this week at the Consumer Electronics Show, the new device lets you use your TV as a full computer with the ability to surf any Web site. The device is so new that it doesn't yet have an official name. The working title is Plug PC, but that may change based in part on the response it gets from the crowds at CES.

How does it work? Plug PC contains an embedded copy of Ubuntu Linux. Just … Read more

Philips brings 3D Blu-ray and NetApps to line of home theater systems

LAS VEGAS--Philips is adding on-demand Web content and Internet apps to its line of Blu-ray players and also adding the same functionality to a set of home theater systems. All of the devices allow access to services like Netflix, Vudu, Facebook, and Twitter.

The 3D BDP7506 ($220, April) and BDP5506 ($200, March) feature touch-screen controls and the full line of Philips services like MediaConnect (PC to TV); the BDP7506 also allows for DLNA playback.

These two top-of-the-line players are followed by the BDP3506 ($170, February, with 3D, NetApps, video-on-demand), BDP3306 ($150, February, with NetApps, video-on-demand), and the BDP3006 ($130, February, … Read more

iPont shows no-glasses 3D conversion tech

iPont, a Hungarian specialist in 3D technology, is showing a new device at CES 2011 that can convert 3D video data into signals needed by autostereoscopic 3D displays--the kind that don't use glasses.

The company doesn't plan to sell the converter box, but it does showcase its real business focus on 3D software and online services such as format conversion and distributing 3D content to digital billboards.

The converter box shows the company's technology for converting a variety of 3D data formats into a variety of output signals for 3D display. It can accept Blu-ray and YouTube … Read more