Is it just me, or do most people get a headache trying to transfigure our HD video to work from one device to the next? Wouldn't a transcoder that would take either HD or SD MPEG-4 AVC or MPEG-2 media, convert and wirelessly transmit it to another device in either MPEG-4 AVC or MPEG-2 at VGA (640 x 480 or 640 x 240), or QVGA resolution at a lower bitrate that most portable devices demand be a perfect solution?
Does such a device exist?
Each year at the Consumer Electronics Show, the Consumer Electronics Association highlights top new products in select categories and honors them with Innovations awards. The tech press got a peak at winners last week at a pre-CES event in New York. Just how innovative are they? Here's what we think.
The Kensington LiquidFM Deluxe for iPod ($99)
Award: Audio Accessory
Rationale: The Quick Seek feature finds the clearest station in seconds, and ClearFM technology provides superior sound.
Truly Innovative? What we really want is a product that automatically finds the clearest frequency and keeps it clear all the way up I-95, but getting RDS artist and track info on the head unit display is a nice touch.
Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin ($599)
Award: Audio Components
Rationale: The Zeppelin is a one-piece amplified speaker system and docking station that transforms an iPod into a capable yet highly compact stereo music system.
Truly Innovative? Everybody and his brother is coming out with a music system for the iPod, but you gotta believe that B&W does it better than most. At more than 2 feet wide, though, it overwhelms the little iPod. If only the wingspan were narrower….
