Sony developing wireless power for HDTVs

Wireless HDMI is a developing technology that will be able to transmit high-def video directly to a screen without running any cables from the video's source. Unfortunately, it still leaves the issue of actually providing power to the screen; even with wireless HDMI, an HDTV needs to be plugged into a wall socket to actually work. Sony is trying to change that.

Sony has just announced that it has developed a wireless power technology that can transmit 60 watts over a distance of half a meter. The technology uses magnetic resonance to wirelessly transmit electricity with up to 80% efficiency. According to Sony, since both the transmitter and receiver would have the same unique resonance, the transfer would remain consistent, and wouldn't affect objects placed between the two devices. It's still in its early stages, but applications for home theater use seem obvious, when Sony demonstrated the technology using an LCD screen.

Sonypalooza, Pt. 4: A/V receivers!

It wouldn't be CEDIA without some new A/V receivers, and Sony did not disappoint. It just announced the STR-DA5500ES and STR-DA3500ES, two new receivers aimed at high-end installations.

The 5500ES puts out 120 watts across each of its 7 channels, and features a whopping 6 HDMI inputs and 2 HDMI outputs (great for flat-panel/projector combination setups). It supports plenty of audio formats, including 8-channel linear PCM, and can process 1080p/24 cinema video and Deep Color and x.v.Color video codecs. The receiver can manage up to three zones, including a 1080p video main zone, a 1080i secondary zone, and an audio-only third zone. It's also networkable and compatible with any DLNA-compliant device, and can access Shoutcast and Rhapsody music services. It will retail for $2,000 when it ships next month.

Sonypalooza, Pt. 3: New projectors!

Among its other new products at CEDIA, Sony has unveiled a pair of new home theater projectors: the VPL-VW85 and VPL-HW15.

The VPL-VW85 is a new high-end home theater projector, a home installer-friendly model with a 120,000:1 contrast ratio, a 120Hz refresh rate, and a 1.6x zoom lens with motorized horizontal and vertical adjustment. At $8,000 it's not exactly an impulse buy, but its flexibility for installations and included access to CEDIA-certified tech support sweetens the deal.

Sonypalooza, Pt. 2: Slim HDTVs!

It's CEDIA, so of course Sony has new HDTVs to show off. The new Bravia XBR10 screens are ultra-thin models controlled wirelessly through a separate box that holds all of the screen's inputs and electronics.

With edge-lit LED backlighting, the new screens are incredibly thin (though Sony hasn't announced exact depths yet), and exceed EnergyStar 3.0 standards. They feature a 240Hz refresh rate, and the controller boxes feature 4 HDMI inputs and RS232C support. They can also access streaming Internet content through Bravia Internet Video, including Amazon Video-on-demand, Slacker Radio, and Netflix.

Sonypalooza, Pt. 1: Blu-ray!

If you thought Sony's $300 gaming monster, the Playstation 3 Slim, was the only new Blu-ray Disc player in the company's bag this season, you were wrong. Sony has just announced the BDP-N460, an all-new Blu-ray player with a slimmer price tag and broader home theater features than the PS3.

For starters, the BDP-N460 can stream Netflix video, a feat the PS3 has yet been unable to achieve. It supports Deep Color and x.v.Color, and can decode Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio. While it doesn't feature the wireless Internet connectivity of the PS3, its Ethernet port is built to work with Linksys' Wireless-N Ethernet Bridge for easy Wi-Fi setup.

PS3 Slim supports high-end audio bitstreaming

The Playstation 3 is one of the most popular Blu-ray Disc players on the market, mostly because it pulls double-duty as a game console. However, it still lacks a few key aspects that make it a really good home theater device. Mainly, it doesn't bitstream Dolby TrueHD or DTS-HD Master Audio codecs, and its internal decoding was prone to distortion and garbling the audio of those codecs. If you want to watch your Blu-ray Discs with the most advanced audio tracks available, you're out of luck if you have a PS3.

Sony's new PS3 Slim, the smaller Playstation 3 the company announced this week, corrects that oversight. According to EngadgetHD, the new console can bitstream Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio tracks straight to a receiver. It's a small addition, but one that should be welcome among home theater enthusiasts. Since the PS3 Slim will have the same $299 price tag as the PS3, it could become the newest most-popular-Blu-ray-player.

— Will Greenwald

Sony Playstation 3 Slim will be $300 in September

The internet has been abuzz with talk of a skinnied-up PS3 for months, but now Sony has made it official. The Slim will cost $299 and sport a same 120GB hard drive, but it will be lighter and smaller by more than a third. It will also use substantially less power, which is great news for people who leave their machines on at all times. Release is slated for September, which means Sony is really counting on these things flying off the shelves for the holiday season. I can only wonder what kind of deals we'll see on Black Friday.

If you're not keen on waiting for the Slim to show its pretty head, you can pick up a chubby 8GB model for that $299 pricepoint. That seems like kind of a silly move, though, unless you're really dying to play Killzone 2. In that case, I guess I can't blame you.

SCEA Summer Preview: Batman, Pets, and More

Today, Sony Computer Entertainment (the folks behind the Playstation 3 and Playstation Portable) held a preview event, showcasing their upcoming titles for the rest of the year. The 2009 holiday season will be good for gamers, but multimedia buffs don't have a whole lot to look forward to that isn't Beatles-related.

The Playstation 3 is a multimedia beast, with Blu-ray Disc playback and an extensive library of downloadable SD and HD movies over the Playstation Network. On the plus side, that's not changing any time soon. On the minus side, that's not changing any time soon. The PS3 still lacks Netflix support, a rather significant content hole that its competitor, the Blu-ray Disc-less Xbox 360, filled over a year ago. Unfortunately, Sony still has no plans to add Netflix playback in the foreseeable future. If you don't mind paying per film, the Playstation Network will still add movies to its library on a weekly basis.

Among the 20-plus upcoming games SCEA showed off, The Beatles Rock Band was the big one for audiophiles to look forward to. Sony set aside an entire floor for the game, so I'm going to set aside an entire blog post for it. In the mean time, here are the highlights of SCEA's upcoming titles.

Sony to replace old UMDs with digital files

Adding 16GB of built-in storage to the PSPGo was a great move on Sony's part. It's something fans have been asking for since launch and it makes integration with the PS3 that much easier. But, by nixing the UMD drive, they have put upgraders in a tough spot. But, so they don't end up with a sack of unplayable games, Sony has said that they'll be offering digital files of the games to owners. They haven't exactly revealed how many of the titles will be available at launch (it won't be all of them) or how much it will cost, but we will be very impressed if they do it for free. But, Apple didn't even give away their upgraded iTunes tracks for free, so that might be something of a pipe dream.

While the PSP might not have a lot to do with home theaters, the concept of getting a digital file of media you have already purchased is one that hits close to home. How many different copies of The Godfather have you paid for? It's quite a few over here. It's great that DVDs have started to come with digital files, but what about the thousands we have already bought and aren't legally allowed to rip? We're not holding our breath, but seeing this kind of program, especially from Sony, is definitely at least a little encouraging.

4K, 3-D, 2 companies, 1 cinema experience

3-D has been making a pretty big resurgence lately, especially in movie theaters. From My Bloody Valentine to Coraline, moviegoers have been lining up to put on some silly-looking glasses and watch the special effects jump out at them.

While it's still making inroads for moviegoers, 4K resolution seems to be the display tech of the future. At around 4096 x 2048, 4K digital cinema has four times the resolution of 1080p high-def video. Many filmmakers are filming their movies in 4K, and 4K digital projectors are (very) slowly creeping into theaters across the country.

Two-character number/letter combinations never before seemed to destined to combine forces, though not perhaps in the way you might think.