CES 2007: Day One Brings A Ton Of Product Announcements

Posted Monday, January 8, 2007

Verizon wants to bring live video to your phone — following the lead of some third party companies already doing so — and is reworking it’s infant FIOS-TV service to be more user friendly, while Sharp announced the largest flatscreen TV in the world, a 108-inch LCD screen, LG showed off its dual HD-DVD/Blu-Ray player, the people who brought you SlingBox, which allows you to watch TV content on PC, have a new box to allow you to surf the Web and watch Web video on your TV. All-in-all, there was a lot happening on the traditional “press day” at the Consumer Electronics Show, which formally opens today in Las Vegas.

Following a keynote address from Microsoft’s Bill Gates, his 11th in 11 years, which again preached the home network, product announcements began to fly with fury.

LG Bridges HD-Disc War With New Player
Consumers waiting out the HD-Disc format between Blu-Ray and HD-DVD may finally have an option with the long anticipated BH100 Super Multi Blue player which plays both kinds of discs, as well as traditional DVDs, which it upconverts to higher resolutions.

The unit, which should ship before the end of March and cost $1,199, is more honestly a full-blown Blu-Ray player that plays HD-DVDs, minus those discs interactive features, but offers full functions on Blu-Ray discs. The company also announced PC drives using the same technology.

Warner Home Video is expected to announce a new disc format, HD Total at the show that works in either kind of player.

Verizon: Live On Your Phone
Verizon showed off a new live mobile TV service plus improvements to barely launched fiber-optic FIOS-TV service.

Verizon wireless customers will be able to watch live video from major networks, including NBC, CBS, Fox and MTV. The service resembles that already available to some wireless customers via MobiTV. Live video is departure for Verizon, which previously has only offered Vcast, which shows video clips on demand.

The new live service will initially only be available on two forthcoming phones, one each from Samsung and LG.

The upgrades for FIOS-TV allows users to get content, like movies, TV shows, digital pictures, games and music from the Internet onto both TVs and PCs, although it’s unclear whether streaming Internet video is supported, such as live broadcasts of sports teams. The new software package is currently in beta test in New Jersey.

Sony: ‘Net Video on TV
As part of what seems to be the early mantra of the 2007 CES, Sony announced it would sell a module for its TVs that would allow users to watch Internet video on their TVs — at least video from AOL and Yahoo.

The company also showed off a new user interface for its TV, Xross Media Bar, that appears to be based on the one used for PlayStation 3

Sony also introduced an icon-based user interface, called that is similar to a system already found on its PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable gaming devices.

Sharp Ups Flatscreen Ante
Sharp showed the largest flat-panel TV in the world, an LCD screen measuring 108 inches, bypassing the old record held by a 103-inch plasma made by Panasonic.

The display measures 93.9-inches wide by 52.9-inches high and was built at Sharp's Kameyama Plant No. 2, which the company says is the first plant in the world to use eighth generation glass substrates. The new process allows Sharp to get as many as six displays from a single run of silicon, basically doubling the screen output, which should lead to continued price drops for LCD displays.

The company also announced it would ship a Blu-ray player in the U.S. It will cost $1,199.

Cingular Finally Gets Fast Palm Smart Phone
Months after rival Verizon was able to ship a broadbrand speed Treo, Cingular announced the Treo 750, which goes on sale today. Like the Verizon-centric 700W, the 750 runs on Windows Mobile and can access Cingulars faster 3G /UMTS wireless data network. It will be sold at Cingular Wireless stores and on the Web for $399 with a two-year contract and $100 mail-in rebate. Service plans start at $40 per month..

Sling Goes Both Ways, Now
Sling Media, which has made it possible for people to watch their own home TV programming from virtually anywhere via a PC, now plans to take data in the other direction, allowing people to see Internet content on their TVS with SlingCatcher/ Although pricing has not been set, it is expected to retail for less than $200. The unit connects to a TV and must be used with a home computer network. Users must installI the free SlingPlayer media software on their laptop or desktop computer (PC only, for now) to convert the content for play on the TV.

Samsung Boosts Line of LCD TVs, New Blu-Ray Player
Samsung announced three new 1080p LCD TVs (40-, 46-, and 52-inches) which the company says offers better picture quality and new advanced features, including full 1080p high-definition (1,920 x 1,080 pixels) resolution, which is nearly twice as high as 720p displays (1,366 by 768 pixels).

The company also announced its second-generation BD-P1200 Blu-ray disc player. The new player features HQV video up-conversion processing, HD video and audio, 1080p/1080i/720 up-conversion, Dolby Digital, BD/DVD/CD playback and HDMI1.3 interface, Ethernet port, and picture-in-picture viewing. It should hit stores in March 2007.