CES 2009: New Harmony touchscreen remote

Logitech’s Harmony remote control division announced their latest remote, the successor to the Harmony 1000, their first foray into the true touchscreen market. The new remote, the Harmony 1100, has some cosmetic upgrades as well as some major behind the scenes software retooling that should make the remote both more user and programmer friendly.

The remote now features “soft buttons” that can be personalized to allow users to customize the remote to their exact specifications. Also touchscreen icons, images and buttons can all be personalized on the 3.5-inch, QVGA resolution color screen. Also, they have incorporated some tactile guides around the screen to help position fingers and locate buttons without looking at the remote.

The remote will be RF capable with an optional extender kit, allowing users to control gear even when it is out of in another room or behind closed cabinets.

The remote felt good in my hands, and comes in a cool matte-black finish. Look for the 1100 remote around February at a cost of $499.--John Sciacca

CES 2009: News Flash - Economy is down!

Wonder what LG, Toshiba, Sharp, Panasonic, Samsung and Sony all had in common at their press events yesterday? Besides launching new TV, Blu-ray players and describing Green initiatives to help save the planet, they all acknowledged the tough economy.

Throughout the day’s press conferences, we were continually reminded that the world’ markets have been posting a lot of red numbers lately. Comments like “we’re in the grip of global recession,” “it’s been a tough year,” “challenging economic times,” “market instability,” “staggering economic malaise,” and “the times in which we’re living” were heard throughout all of the 45 minute conferences. To bring a little levity to the potential doom-and-gloom, Toshiba’s Vice President of TV Marketing, Scott Ramirez, took the stage to REM’s “It’s the end of the world as we know it.”

Sharp gave some forecasted numbers of global LCD sales, which are expected to be down by 16% this year ($64 billion in 2009 versus $76 billion in 2008). However they expect to see sales rebound 10% to $70 billion by 2010.

Fortunately, the big six are all pressing forward making great new products, and with the digital switchover looming just days away, many out there will be looking to upgrade to newer technology.--John Sciacca 

CES 2009: Toshiba unleashes Cell TVs

  Unknown to many, Toshiba played a major role in co-developing the Cell Broadband Processing chip with Sony and IBM. This little piece of silicon magic happens to be the brains behind Sony’s PlayStation3 and forms the basis of IBM’s next-generation of Roadrunner super computers. The Cell processor featuring eight accessible Synergistic Processing Elements (SPEs) that can all be tasked to run individual program workloads that run in parallel. While Toshiba has hinted at using Cell technology in sets before, they have announced that they will demonstrate working prototype TVs featuring Cell processors.

News was sparse in their press release but here’s the info:

-Prototype Cell TVs
The high performance of the Cell platform brings superb picture quality and networking
interactivity to TVs. Demonstrations at CES will include real-time super resolution
imaging, using a 56-inch, 4k x 2k pixel panel to display images that the Cell platform
upconverts from 1920x1080p to 3840x2160p, and also upconverting of content such as
Internet video to high picture quality by application of “Resolution+” technology in
combination with newly developed noise reduction technology. In addition, a 55-inch
backlit LED panel controlled by the Cell platform will be showcased and demonstrate
high-speed control of all picture parameters, including an innovative local dimming
function. Visitors can also see how the Cell TV goes beyond breathtaking image quality
to deliver extremely fast and easy operation of networking functions.

They said that the massive processing horsepower will produce the clearest picture ever seen, with incredible control over local dimming. And in the time that a current flagship Regza set could analyze an image, the Cell could have done it multiple times ensuring that jaggies are totally eliminated. Additionally, it will offer advanced recording capabilities, such as simultaneously recording up to six HD channels.--John Sciacca

CES 2009: Toshiba Regza line-up reboot

With no mention whatsoever of the whole HD-DVD fiasco which dominated last year’s press conference, Toshiba pressed on with several announcements of interest.

As technology improves and better features continue to find their way ported down to lower priced models, manufacturers need to continue developing bleeding-edge technology to convince consumers to step up and part with more of their dollars for the higher-end sets. Toshiba is incorporating some unique features to its highest-end, Regza, models to do just that. Not surprisingly, the most exciting news of Toshiba’s event related to Regza announcements. 

Generally, manufacturers add just a few new features to a set, but Toshiba is essentially rebooting the entire Regza line-up with tons of new features and a full cosmetic redesign. Among the cool step up features, all Regza models will feature Instaport for faster HDMI switching, which should eliminate the often lengthy HDCP handshake that occurs when switching sources.

Additionally, all Regza sets will feature a new cosmetic design that Toshiba calls “Deep Lagoon” that creates a sense of depth to the frame, based on the concept of a beach disappearing into clear, ocean waters.

The ZV and SV series will feature ClearScan 240, which uses 120-Hertz scanning along with Toshiba’s new Backlight Scanning technologity to create smoother, less blurred moving images.

The ZV and SV series are also the first TVs to offer Dolby Volume, which addresses one of the biggest consumer complaints by reducing the wild volume swings and providing more consistent volume levels between channels.

The flagship, SV series (shown in the opening image) will feature FocaLight LED backlighting with local dimming to produce the blackest blacks without sacrificing peak whites.

While pricing wasn’t available, here is the entire Regza line-up with release dates:

 

REGZA XV645 Series
40XV645U (May 2009)
46XV645U (May 2009)
52XV645U (May 2009)
REGZA ZV650 Series
42ZV650U (April 2009)
47ZV650U (April 2009)
52ZV650U (April 2009)
REGZA SV670 Series
46SV670U (May 2009)
55SV670U (May 2009)

--John Sciacca

CES 2009: Toshiba names TV trends of 2009

Following up on their trends from last year's show (for those who don't remember, they prognisticated: Black is the new black, 1080p is the new 720p, 120 Hertz is the new 1080p and there is no significant volume over $3,000) Toshiba announced what they feel will be the TV selling trends of 2009. Namely, Gradation is the new black, 240 is the new 120, some will say you can’t be too thin, and there’s no real sales volume over $2,500 or in sizes over 55-inches. This prophecy seems to be playing out, as nearly every other video manufacturer today besides Sharp (Samsung, LG, Samsung, Panasonic, and Sony) announced 240-Hertz models and talked about ultra-thin sets.--John Sciacca

CES 2009: The Return of The Sharper Image

Today marks the return of your favorite gadget guys, The Sharper Image. They were at CES showing off the products that will be showing up shortly in stores near you. Their retail shops are long gone, but their products will be back - in catalogs, magazine, and retailers such as Macy's.  Not your typical locations.

What categories of products? Home audio, electronics, home security, health, travel - typical fun stuff. At CES, they're showcasing iPod-compatible stereo systems, wireless iPod speakers, and other "bedside" devices.

The products won't be available until . . .

150 Inches, Not the Sky, is the Limit

Well, I might as well cancel my tickets and hotel reservations now. Looks like no one is going to attempt to out-size the 150-inch TV display at CES (Consumer Electronics Show) this year. Why bother going if not to gawk at the latest prototype monstrosity being shown as the "World's Largest Display" at the show? Neither Panasonic nor Sharp, the two likeliest contenders, are planning on going large. Whenever I get back from Vegas, that's all anyone can ask me about. What will I talk about if not the world's biggest display?

In a recent interview, the president of Panasonic's Professional Display division has said that the current size is the "natural stopping point." Reasons?

The New Net TV

The days of waiting for information to come to you on TV are over. Samsung, Sharp and Sony announced at the Consumer Electronics Show TV services that enable you to instantly pull in data from the Internet for information such as news, stock quotes and weather. Samsung inked a deal with USA Today for content from the media company and Sharp has contracted with Weatherbug, NASDAQ, UClick for a daily comic strip, Gallery Player for high-res 1080p artwork, Traffic.com for local weather and NBC for news content. Sony has inked deals with Sports Illustrated, CondeNast, CondeNet, Blip.TV and others for feeds viewable on Bravia TVs.

The services are free and require an Ethernet connection to the back of the TV. The Sharp TV's, using the company's AQUOSNet feature, will also enable remote technical support to help consumers set proper color settings and troubleshoot technical issues. The Sharp AQUOSNet TVs will be sold with optional HomePlug accessories that enable consumers to connect to a home network over the powerline.--Rebecca Day

Wireless Goes Whoopsie

One of the buzzwords coming into the 2008 Consumer Electronics Show was the intriguing wireless TV. The idea is that you can shoot video or pictures from a digital video source to a TV without so much as an HDMI cable in between. But wireless TV may still be a work in progress as evidenced by demos on press conference day at CES. Samsung took the first stab, attempting to send recorded video of the press filing into the press conference room. What came on the TV instead was footage of luxury cars, a loop used to demo the company's new line of HDTVs. (Companies must hate when that happens in front of a room full of cynical journalists). Samsung did get the demo to work after an adjustment which may have been simply an input tweak.

Not so fortunate was Sony. When company officials attempted to show off the Sony's new TransferJet near-field media transfer technology from camera to TV, the screen displayed the message No File Available for Viewing. Sony chairman Sir Howard Stringer promised the company will get it right, and when it does, expect HD transfer capability with transfer speeds of 500 Mbps.--Rebecca Day