I was going to return this year, for CES 2012, but I was getting married on February 4th and I realized that I was crazy planning a trip to CES less than a month before my wedding! In retrospect I’m glad I didn’t go, there was plenty enough to do preparing for the wedding and honeymoon. Not to mention burning three weeks of PTO for the trip. But I still missed scratching that itch.

Now I’m hoping to return for 2013! Registration opened today and I just registered as Press. They’ve changed their requirements since 2009 and no longer have a dedicated ‘Blogger’ category, so hopefully they’ll still consider me a valid Press member. I’m hopeful; I think Gizmo Lovers meets all of their requirements for online media – it qualified before. But if they don’t accept me as Press I’ll register again as a standard attendee.

I’m looking forward to jumping back into the fray. The Cable Show was good, but there’s nothing quite like the zoo that is CES. It’s a consumer electronics geek mecca – information overload. As Stanley Spadowski said, “You get to drink from the fire hose!” I’m looking forward to it.

Three tuners, but it can record up to six HD channels at once? What kind of dark voodoo is this? Well, note the asterisk: “*DURING PRIMETIME HOURS”. And now note this from the quote above “ABC, CBS, FOX and NBC”. How it manages this trick is actually pretty simple, but requires a little explanation.

I’ll oversimplify a bit, but for analog broadcast TV you have one channel per frequency. A tuner did just that – it tuned a given frequency and therefore a program. But with digital content frequencies and channels have a more nebulous relationship. A single frequency block may contain several digital channels all multiplexed, or MUXed, together. And this is precisely how satellite works. They can’t use a dedicated transponder and frequency for each channel, rather channels are MUXed together. So ‘tuning’ a single channel is actually a multi-step process.

First the tuner tunes the desired frequency and this allows the unit to receive the data stream that is the MUX. Normally the next step is that the signal is de-MUXed and the desired channel is extracted, with the other data being discarded. This one channel is then saved to the drive as a recording. Can you see where I’m going?

Since DISH controls everything end to end, what they’ve done is place ABC, CBS, FOX and NBC in one MUX. And instead of de-MUXing the data as it is received they’re saving the entire MUX to the drive, all four channels. Then it is de-MUXed at playback time, not record time. That’s how it can record up to six channels with three tuners. You have one tuner recording the MUX, for four channels, and two tuners each recording a single channel.

But this is limited. As the page states, they do this during prime time hours only. And recording four channels takes up four times the space, even if you’re never going to watch all four channels. The Hopper has a 2TB drive, but only half is available for user recordings – up to 250 hours. The other half is used to store these PrimeTime Anytime MUX recordings, as well as pre-cached OnDemand content pushed the the box. And you can’t record up to six programs you select, you can only record up to three individual programs. Or two programs while the third tuner is occupied recording this MUX.

So you can record any three channels or the four-channel prime time MUX of the major networks and any two other channels – which is how they get six total. And it only does this during prime time, 8-11pm Eastern, so you won’t be doing this for day time programming, etc.

In addition to this PrimeTime AnyTime feature, the Hopper also supports TV Anywhere place shifting with the Sling Adapter add-on.

Last week DISH launched a new YouTube channel and they’ve gone on a tear uploading videos – most of which have to do with the Hopper. They do provide some useful product info:

They even have a couple of TV spots for it, though I’m not really sure if I should be amused or offended seeing as I currently live in central MA and my wife is from South Boston. And no, she does not have this accent:

They’ve even uploaded videos from the launch at CES:

Similar to the Sling Media deal, Monsoon Multimedia made deals to incorporate their place shifting technology into chips from C2 Microsystems and Zenverge. Moonsoon’s tech has been ported to C2′s Jazz product line and is coming to their Tango chip line.

“Monsoon and C2 Microsystems have been working together now for more than two years,” said Gene Liu, CEO of C2 Microsystems. “Monsoon’s engines are now ported to our Jazz product line. We expect that Monsoon will enable our TV customers in China to start showing OTT streaming from their TVs to smartphones, PCs and tablets in or outside of the home. Our highly cost effective Tango chips will start featuring placeshifting this spring.”

Zenverge is incorporating Monsoon’s tech into their ZN200 Quad-Stream Transcoder. Interestingly it sounds like Monsoon Multimedia is using Zenverge’s chips in their Vulkano products.

“Monsoon is very excited about leveraging the flexible HD transcoding and encoding capabilities of the Zenverge architecture in our Vulkano placeshifting products,” said Colin Stiles, Monsoon’s EVP of Sales and Marketing. “We see great potential in adding multi-stream HD transcoding features to our streaming products and we have selected the ZN200 to provide high value solutions to our OEM customers.”

“We are very excited about the new products our customers are launching to truly enable the connected home and extremely pleased to have Monsoon as both a partner and a customer,” said Shawn Saleem, EVP of Marketing for Zenverge. “Portable devices such as the Apple iPad and iPhone, and Android tablets and cell phones, have created a significant market demand for consuming content wirelessly from multiple sources such as Over-The-Top (OTT) and broadcast. The ZN200 is being used with Monsoon’s industry leading placeshifting technology and provides the perfect solution for streaming in and outside the home.”

Monsoon developed five integrated modules for licensees to use in incorporating their tech:

Adaptive Bit-Rate Encoding continuously measures the available network bandwidth and adjusts the encoding bit rate to deliver smooth video streaming Quality of Service (QOS) over a wide range of network conditions.

Http Live Streaming (HLS) has been extended by Monsoon to support a real-time bit-rate control method of delivering live video sources via the industry standard HLS protocol, without requiring pre-encoding and caching of multiple bit-rate copies of the file.

Proprietary Streaming Protocol moves video from inside the home to outside the home with much finer granularity of the video encoding and without requiring any router set up. UDP protocol with hole punching and Network Address Translator (NAT) traversal is deployed to eliminate the need for router port forwarding.

Connection Management is a secure cloud-based service that allows clients to connect to servers without using fixed IP addresses or Domain Named Service (DNS).

Multi-Screen Client Technologies include video playback of placeshifted live TV streams, recording and trick play (pause, fast forward, rewind) on clients, and virtual on-screen remote control for set-top boxes, EPGs and sideloading. Client technologies are available on PCs, Macs, iPhones and iPads, Android smartphone and tablets, BlackBerry phones and tablets.

Between Sling’s deals and these it seems like we might be seeing place shifting in a growing number of products.

I should note that while TiVo’s upcoming transcoder box is using a chip from Zenverge, it does not use Monsoon’s tech. I explicitly asked about this when I talked to TiVo, just to make sure. TiVo’s box uses a home-grown solution.

On today’s call Tom Rogers stated that the transcoding box would ship “later this year”, which I believe is the first firm public statement.

From a technical perspective, based on my conversations with TiVo, the unit that comes to market will probably resemble the unit previewed at CES, but it may not be exactly the same. It is planned to be an Ethernet only device, most likely installed near the router in the home. It will stream content from TiVo Premiere units using the same system as the Premiere-to-Premiere Multi-Room Streaming (MRS) available today. The content will then be transcoded to H.264 and forwarded to devices running TiVo’s client app – such as Android or iOS phones and tablets. Users will be able to view the streams in real time, or they can be saved on the device for later viewing – which is how side-loading is accomplished.

The hardware itself is powered by Zenverge, so it looks like my prior speculation was close to the mark. However, the unit is not planned to have MoCA. I asked Jim Denney about this and he said that MoCA was considered, but given the envisioned use case it was felt that the added cost wasn’t justified. And after discussing it with him, I see his point. Even if the TiVo units are on MoCA, that MoCA network will need to be connected to a non-MoCA network to reach the client devices. And that connection point is a logical place to connect the transcoding box. It doesn’t really make sense to connect it to the MoCA network when it’d have to send the transcoded signal back over the same network to eventually be bridged off to the client network. Keeping the unit dirt simple – just a power connection and Ethernet – keeps it small and keeps the component costs down.

From a capability standpoint, the unit can accept and transcode up to four streams simultaneously. And on today’s call Rogers made the interesting comment that it could be a recording, or LiveTV. I believe the latter is new. Today streaming is only between units that have their own tuners, either Premiere-to-Premiere or Premiere-to-Preview, so there isn’t a need to grab a tuner on the remote device for ‘live’ TV. But for those who want to watch live on a second screen device, it’d be a necessity. (As well as for another application that’s coming, but I’ll leave that for another post. )

I asked about the streaming technology – is it based on Sling Media or Monsoon Multimedia, or anyone else? It is not. It is an in-house implementation using Zenverge’s silicon and developer tools. So it is unique, and the clients will come from TiVo. That gives me some hope. While Sling & Monsoon Multimedia treat their clients as a revenue stream, TiVo has been giving away their client software. And since you need a TiVo with an active subscription to use this transcoding box they have that revenue stream to draw upon. Rather than milking the customer for anther payment, I’m hopeful they will continue to provide the client software for free, relying on the sales of the hardware, and the TiVo subscription, for revenue.

If they do this it also makes me hopeful that they might publish the client APIs for 3rd parties to build support, as well as create clients for other platforms that aren’t Android or iOS. But that might be a bridge too far since I’m sure they’ll need to protect the content to keep the content owners happy, and that means they couldn’t tell others how to decrypt.

From my conversation with Jessica & Jim, the current plan is for streaming within the home, with side-loading for ‘on the go’ viewing. But not for place shifting streaming content outside of the home. Jim & I talked about this for a while, since I’m a long time Slingbox user and for me streaming beats side-loading hands down. He made the valid point that side-loading has some popular use cases – the most obvious is for when streaming isn’t an option, such as on an airplane. I know parents also use it to load up a bunch of their kids’ favorite shows to whip out on demand to pacify them, etc. So I’m not going to argue against side loading. It isn’t a use case that really interests me, but I acknowledge that it is valid.

As far as streaming outside of the home, Jim was sure to stress that it has not been “designed out” of the product. It isn’t currently planned, but it is something that could be added if there is demand. A lot of the concern is over quality of the experience, bandwidth requirements, etc. I made the point that I’ve been using a Slingbox since I had 768kbps upstream ADSL and only 2.5G EDGE data on my phone, giving me maybe 200kbps if I was lucky, and it was usable even with 320×240 resolution. And these days I have a 5Mbps uplink and 4G LTE on my phone, which has a 720p screen and HDMI output capabilities.

I’ve streamed HD video from my Slingbox PRO-HD from Worcester, MA to Seattle, WA and viewed it on my laptop while I’m out there for work. Being able to access my personal content at home, in real time, while I’m on the road just can’t be matched by side-loading. So I’m strongly in favor of TiVo enabling remote streaming as well. I argued that bandwidth costs continue to drop as speeds continue to increase, and device capabilities have never been greater. Now more than ever before streaming is viable.

I felt it was a good discussion and that TiVo is very much open to feedback on this issue. So it’d be good to hear from the user base. Do you want remote streaming? Or does local streaming and side-loading meet your needs?

No pricing or specific release dates are available at this time, so I can’t comment on that. But if they can bring this to market at a decent price point I think this would be very attractive, especially if they add remote streaming. By way of comparison, the DirecTV Nomad is $149, but you also need to subscribe to the Nomad Mobile DVR Service. My impression of this TiVo unit is that it is a one-time purchase, so it may retail for more than the Nomad. By while the Nomad is strictly store-and-forward side-loading, with real-time transcoding, the TiVo unit does streaming and side-loading, and it sounds like it will transcode for side-loading in better than real time.

I, for one, would be very interested in getting my hands on one of these units.

The Broadcom press release specifically mentions the BCM7425. That’s a MoCA 2.0 enabled chip that can simultaneously decode two HD video streams and transcode them for streaming, generally to portable devices. such a chip could be embedded in a set top box, or it could take the form of a standalone network-based transcoder that takes in the default HD streams, which are generally MPEG-2, and transcodes them to H.264 for streaming.

The ViXS press release speaks in more general terms about the XCode chip family. The Sling Media software has been integrated with the ViXS Xtensiv software stack for the XCode chips. The XCode family has varying features; the high-end 5100 can transcode six HD streams simultaneously while the 4200 can transcode dual streams. All of them have Ethernet support, so they could be embedded in an STB or used in a network-based transcoder. They don’t appear to have MoCA support, but a separate MoCA transceiver chip could handle that, as in the TiVo Premiere Elite.

Support for Sling’s streaming technology in these chips opens the door to the potential for SlingLoaded devices from vendors other than EchoStar. I think that would be very interesting. While EchoStar’s own efforts to market SlingLoaded devices haven’t met with much success, to date they’ve been limited to the Dish Network ViP922 DVR in the US and the EchoStar HDS-600RS Freesat+ DVR in the UK, licensing the tech to other vendors could be a more successful approach.

MVPDs have been showing an increasing interest in place shifting technology as a value add to attract customers. Dish, of course, already has the ViP922 and the Sling Adapter for the ViP722. DirecTV has the Nomad ‘store and forward’ network transcoding box. Various MSOs have trialed or tested place shifting hardware. Building it into their STBs, or offering a network-based add-on box to enable streaming, could be a way for MSOs to leverage the market leading Sling technology.

TiVo was showing of a technology demo of just such a box at CES, though there is no indication that Sling Media’s tech was involved. Still, now that EchoStar and TiVo aren’t involved in a blood feud, perhaps they can finally combine their respective best in breed technologies. TiVo’s demo box has a single Ethernet connection and power, it wouldn’t surprise me if it was using one of the ViXS chips. I doubt it is using the Broadcom chip as that’s slated for availability in 3Q12, though if TiVo brings such a unit to market I would very much expect the production version to have MoCA to ease integration with the Premiere Elite and to make it more appealing to their cable MSO partners. I’m hoping to have more to say about what TiVo was showing as CES soon.

Right now only a few HDTV models from Toshiba and Samsung have MHL-enabled inputs, but it is expected that many vendors will be announcing 2012 models at CES with MHL support as usage is exploding on mobile devices. Since it uses the physical microUSB port already on the device for data and charging it eliminates the need for a separate microHDMI port, and this makes it easier to shrink the size of the device while also reducing parts count and therefore cost. As part of the announcement Roku states that they already have a deal with Best Buy to bundle the Streaming Stick with a new Insignia HDTV model later this year.

So what is the stick? It’s a Roku box, only smaller. It is Roku’s entry into the Connected TV, or Smart TV, market. The stick contains the main SoC (System on a Chip) – which is the CPU, video decoder, etc. As well as RAM, Flash, and 802.11n WiFi. It has all of the channels and software features of today’s Roku boxes – on a stick. Everything – power, video and audio output, and control is handled through the single MHL connection.

Part of the MHL standard is that the TV’s remote control is used to control the attached MHL device using CEC (also used on HDMI). With phones this is so you can connect the phone and then sit back on the couch to watch – without a twenty foot MHL cable allowing you to control things from the phone. This works nicely for the Streaming Stick, though it implies the gaming features introduced on the Roku 2 family will be absent as there is no Bluetooth motion controller for the stick and TVs will generally lack such controls.

I have to say, this seems like a very clever solution. Roku rightfully points out that people don’t replace their TVs every two years, yet technology advances rapidly. With mobile devices we have a constant increase in storage, memory, and CPU power, and connected TVs suffer from lock in. What you buy today is what you’re stuck with for however long you keep the TV – and that connected experience will probably seem pretty dated in five years, let alone ten. Software upgrades will only go so far before they run into technological limits. Just as the Series2 TiVo couldn’t support Netflix, YouTube, etc., because it can’t decode H.264, today’s connected TVs may be left out in the cold by the next evolution in video codecs. And even if the hardware is capable, companies won’t update the software for old devices forever.

The Roku Streaming Stick offers the advantages of a decoupled STB, which can be readily (and relatively cheaply) upgraded as technology advances, plus the advantages of a tiny form factor and integration into the TV. Since control is through the TV and it offers a full Roku experience, it should be much like owning a ‘Roku Powered’ connected TV. Perhaps the only slight difference will be having to select the MHL input instead of a dedicated ‘Apps’ button. But if they’re successful in partnering with vendors, such as Insignia, there may well be a ‘Roku’ button on the remotes.

The combination of the form factor and use of MHL is what makes this work. I wonder if we’ll see this imitated by other vendors as well. Google TV, Apple TV, Boxee – all on a stick?

There aren’t any images of an actual Roku Streaming Stick yet, but Roku did post these renders:

The second is from the LA Times:

The EchoStar HD DuoDVR SlingLoaded ViP 922 won CNET’s “Best of CES” today, and two of G4’s judging panelists, Attack of the Show host Kevin Pereira and Wired’s Chris Hardwick, both picked EchoStar’s SlingLoaded 922 as their very favorite out of the entire 2009 CES. The EchoStar 922’s unique user interface and remote control were also selected as CES Innovations 2009 Design and Engineering Award honorees prior to the show.

More:

ECHOSTAR’S SLINGLOADED 922 WINS CNET’S ‘BEST OF CES’ AWARD FOR HOTTEST HOME VIDEO PRODUCT AT 2009 INTERNATIONAL CONSUMER ELECTRONICS SHOW

Las Vegas, Jan. 10, 2009

Attention editors: EchoStar Technologies L.L.C. and Sling Media, subsidiaries of EchoStar Corporation, announced today that it won a “Best of CES” award from the editors of CNET (www.CNET.com) for its EchoStar SlingLoaded™ 922 HD DVR, the world’s first high definition digital video recorder that incorporates Sling Media’s patented placeshifting technology.

CNET, in cooperation with the Consumer Electronics Association, selected the EchoStar 922 SlingLoaded set-top box out of hundreds of entries from CES. The EchoStar 922 won in the home video category, besting the other finalists Panasonic and LG.

The EchoStar 922 is an entertainment centerpiece combining the best of video and IP technologies into a capacitive-touch set-top box. By integrating Sling Media’s Slingbox technology, the EchoStar 922 lets TV aficionados watch and control their favorite TV shows and sporting events from anywhere in the world via a broadband Internet connection on their laptop or mobile phone. Accessing multiple video sources, viewers will never run out of shows to watch. The EchoStar 922 features a massive 1 terabyte hard drive for up to 1,000 hours of storage and supports external hard drives.

The EchoStar 922 is a revolutionary departure from the traditional cable or satellite set-top box. Its touchpad remote control, which eliminates half the buttons of a standard remote control, gives users cursor-like navigation on their TV screen. With a slide of the thumb, viewers experience scroll-over activation of widget-like tiles and pop-up menus, all selectable by an underside index finger trigger.

The new user interface goes beyond traditional text-based user interfaces by using movie poster graphics, tiles or widget-based menus, and cursor-type navigation for a powerful yet simplified user experience that is highly adaptable to future applications.

EchoStar will deliver the EchoStar 922 to its first operator, DISH Network, in spring 2009 as the HD DuoDVR™ SlingLoaded™ ViP® 922, furnishing satellite TV customers with a break-through TV experience.

Selected by CNET’s unbiased expert editors, winners are recognized as having the hottest products in their respective technology categories for their unmatched innovation and creativity, and their ability to excite consumers and help them explore a world gone digital. CNET editors reviewed hundreds of entries, as well as scoured the 2009 International CES show floor for products to consider for the prestigious award.

The ten categories include car tech; cell phones and smart phones; computers and hardware; digital photo and video; gaming; GPS; home audio; home video; MP3 and portable video players; and televisions. A video of the winners and finalists showcasing their technologies can be found at http://www.cnet.com/ces.

For images of the 922 and its award winning remote control and user interface, please visit: http://www.slingmedia.com/go/press-downloads.

Disclaimer: Yes, I work for Sling Media, which is owned by EchoStar. I’m proud of my company winning this award and think this is a pretty cool product.

Yes, that’s me doing my day job.

Press release:

Jan 8, 2009 06:30 ET

Sonic Brings Hollywood Hits to Connected CE and PC Devices with CinemaNow Software and Services

New CinemaNow SDK Accelerates Time to Market for CE Vendors Seeking to Deliver Premium Content to the Digital Home

LAS VEGAS, Jan. 8 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Sonic Solutions® (NASDAQ: SNIC) , today announced the CinemaNow SDK to enable consumer electronics (CE) manufacturers to rapidly integrate and deploy movie sell-through and rental store services in their devices. Sonic also announced it is providing entertainment delivery services for a new array of connected CE devices and digital home platforms.

Video entertainment from Sonic’s CinemaNow will be available on new Network Blu-ray Disc players from LG Electronics, through the Fujisoft-enabled Nintendo Wii game console in Japan, and featured in the newly announced digital home services platform from Prodea Systems. CinemaNow content will also be available as part of the Widget Channel television application framework developed by Intel and Yahoo, which will bring Web-based services to a number of broadband-connected products from major CE original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). Demonstrations of the CinemaNow ecosystem are available by appointment in Sonic’s private meeting room at the Renaissance Hotel (Copa Conference Suite A and B) during the Consumer Electronics Show, January 8-11, Las Vegas, NV.

“We are extremely pleased to be providing premium content services to a broad range of innovative new products that are helping to shape the future of digital home entertainment,” said David Cook, executive vice president and general manager of Sonic’s Premium Content Group. “These latest agreements, along with the release of a CinemaNow SDK, will help further our goal to provide consumers trouble-free access to ‘buy anytime, watch anywhere’ digital movies, TV shows and music videos.”

The CinemaNow SDK streamlines the integration of digital entertainment delivery and sell-through services. The SDK provides consumer electronics manufacturers with a cost-effective way to rapidly deploy content services on a range of devices such as Blu-ray Disc players, Web-connected televisions and set-top boxes. By featuring CinemaNow, manufacturers are able to provide customers with a flexible entertainment solution that offers a-la-carte purchase options as well as extended multi-device playback compatibility.

“Our collaboration with Sonic on Blu-ray Disc players brings additional exciting digital entertainment options to consumers,” said Peter Reiner, senior vice president, marketing and strategy, LG Electronics USA. “With our premium 2009 line of Blu-ray Disc players, LG is bridging the gap between packaged media and video-on-demand services to provide entertainment solutions that fit consumers’ digital lifestyles and demand for broad variety of content.”

CinemaNow is at the forefront of digital video distribution, offering high-quality Hollywood movies, TV shows and music videos to users across multiple platforms. CinemaNow streamlines distribution and solves device interoperability at the time of delivery. CinemaNow has relationships with more than 250 content providers and a content portfolio of over 14,000 titles that includes entertainment from major Hollywood studios and independent distributors, broadcast and cable television shows, and music videos from major labels. CinemaNow supplies premium entertainment services to a host of PC and consumer electronics device manufacturers including ARCHOS, Dell, EchoStar Communications, Hewlett-Packard, Macrovision, Microsoft, Pioneer, Samsung, Technicolor and TiVo.

About Sonic Solutions

Sonic Solutions (Nasdaq: SNIC; http://www.sonic.com/) enables the creation, management, and enjoyment of premium and personal digital media content through its Hollywood to Home(TM) products, services, and technologies. Sonic’s products range from the advanced authoring systems used to produce Hollywood DVD and Blu-ray Disc titles to the award-winning Roxio®-branded photo, video, music, and digital-media management applications, field-proven SDKs and services. Sonic’s Premium Content Group, which includes CinemaNow, is helping provide consumers convenient access to Hollywood entertainment for download and enjoyment on a broad range of digital devices. Sonic Solutions is headquartered in Marin County, California.

Forward Looking Statements

This release may contain forward looking statements that are based upon current expectations, including the launch, distribution, and market acceptance of the CinemaNow service and SDK. Actual results could differ materially from those projected in the forward looking statements as a result of various risks and uncertainties, including those discussed in Sonic Solutions’ annual and quarterly reports on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission. This press release should be read in conjunction with Sonic Solutions’ most recent annual report on Form 10-K, Form 10-Q and other reports on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which contain a more detailed discussion of the Company’s business including risks and uncertainties that may affect future results. Sonic Solutions does not undertake to update any forward looking statements.

Sonic, the Sonic logo, Sonic Solutions, Roxio, the Roxio logo, CinemaNow, Creator, Toast, Hollywood to Home, AuthorScript and Qflix are trademarks or registered trademarks owned by Sonic Solutions in the United States and/or other countries. All other company or product names are trademarks of their respective owners and, in some cases, are used by Sonic Solutions under license. Specifications, pricing and delivery schedules are subject to change without notice.

Source: Sonic Solutions

CONTACT: Chris Taylor Sonic Solutions, +1-408-367-5231,
chris_taylor@sonic.com

Web Site: http://www.sonic.com/

It streams content from popular sites such as BBC.com, CNN.com, ESPN.com, EuroSport.com, NBC.com, PGATour and TMZ.com, as well as video powerhouses YouTube, Google Videos™, Yahoo Videos™ and MetaCafe™. NETGEAR’s Internet TV Player supports streaming of live TV broadcasts from Internet sites around the world, and premium, paid movies on demand such as CinemaNow.com, in addition to downloaded videos from sites such as BitTorrent®. Its superior VTap™ video search capabilities enable the intelligent search of Internet videos, including targeting video sites by country, topic of interest, person or popular website. Consumers are also able to play video, music, and photos from a local USB flash drive as well as from the NETGEAR ReadyNAS® family of storage solutions.

And it does all this with an MSRP of $199 – that’s sounds like a pretty good price for a box that does all of this, and I fully expect it to be updated with more content access. It is connected to your network via the built-in Ethernet port, or via a USB WiFi adapter. It will be available in early summer.

The other unit is higher end, the Digital Entertainer Elite EVA9150, slated for a February release with a $399 MSRP. For that higher price you get a built-in 500GB drive, easily user upgradable to larger capacities, and support for Blu-ray quality output at 1080p. It works simultaneously with Windows, Mac, and Linux PCs, as well as NAS devices. And it supports a wide array of formats and codecs:

— Video formats: AVI, DivX, Xvid WMV, MOV, M4V, MP4, VOB, MPG, MP1, MP2, MP4, ISO, IFO, MKV, TS and M2TS;
— Audio formats: MP1, MP2, MP3, WMA, WMA-Pro, AAC, FLAC, AIFF, WAV, LPCM, Dolby AC3 5.1 stereo downmix, Dolby AC3 5.1 passthrough, DTS 5.1 passthrough, Dolby TrueHD Downmix, Dolby+ Passthrough and DTS-HD Master Audio passthrough;
— Subtitle formats: SUB, SRT, SMI, SAMI, TXT and DVD Subpicture; and,
— Video codecs: MP1, MP2, MP4, Xvid, VC-1/WMV-9, H.264 and OpenDivX.

That’s quite an extensive list. It has an Ethernet port, but also built-in 802.11n wireless for high-speed WiFi connections. And it is dual-band – operating in both 2.4Ghz and 5GHz bands, which means you can get higher performance in areas saturated with 802.11b/g 2.4GHz signals. It sounds like a fairly impressive unit, I’d like to play with one.

Press release:

Jan 7, 2009 12:00 ET

NETGEAR Unveils Two New Internet-Connected Set-Top Products to Enrich TV Entertainment for Internet Families and Serious Media Enthusiasts

Bringing the World of Internet Videos, Live Internet TV, YouTube, Popular Websites, HD Media Collections, Family Photos, Music and More to the TV

LAS VEGAS, Jan. 7 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — At the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) opening today, NETGEAR®, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTGR) , a worldwide provider of technologically innovative, branded networking solutions, introduced two new products that enable consumers to enjoy the world of Internet videos and digital entertainment content on their HDTV screens. Designed to enhance the connected lifestyles of Internet-generation families and serious media enthusiasts, the NETGEAR Internet TV Player (ITV2000) and the NETGEAR Digital Entertainer Elite (EVA9150) will be demonstrated this week in the NETGEAR booth, 30769, in the South Hall 3 of the Las Vegas Convention Center. (See press release, “NETGEAR Delivers the Connected Lifestyle at the 2009 Consumer Electronics Show.”)

“Internet video consumption is at an all-time high,” said Vivek Pathela, NETGEAR’s vice president and general manager of home/consumer products. “Just in the month of October 2008 alone, comScore® estimated that almost half of the total U.S. population viewed more than 13.5 billion online videos. That’s a large number of Internet videos that are viewed mostly on PCs, even though many people would rather watch them on their TVs.”

Pathela added, “Our new family of Internet-connected set-top products will, for the first time, enable users to benefit from viewing the broadest spectrum of Internet videos and digital content on their HDTVs, in the comfort of their living rooms. We’re offering a diverse line-up of networked entertainment products designed to suit the needs of various connected lifestyles, from the Internet family to the serious media enthusiast.”

Internet TV Player (ITV2000)

NETGEAR’s Internet TV Player (ITV2000) is a compact, easy-to-use, “plug in and go” Internet set-top device with a simple remote control that enables viewers to catch up on the world of Internet videos including YouTube™, live Internet TV, popular Internet video websites, premium video-on-demand and online video searches retrieving billions of Internet videos from a place it was previously unavailable — the TV in their living rooms. Rather than watching videos on PC screens in separate rooms, families can watch video from a variety of Internet sources on the TV together, in the comfort of their den or family room.

The Internet TV Player unlocks the value of new HDTVs as well as old analog TVs. It is ideal for the Internet families who enjoy online video, and for those who are geographically displaced from their preferred television content, such as international sporting events and Bollywood productions. It streams content from popular sites such as BBC.com, CNN.com, ESPN.com, EuroSport.com, NBC.com, PGATour and TMZ.com, as well as video powerhouses YouTube, Google Videos™, Yahoo Videos™ and MetaCafe™. NETGEAR’s Internet TV Player supports streaming of live TV broadcasts from Internet sites around the world, and premium, paid movies on demand such as CinemaNow.com, in addition to downloaded videos from sites such as BitTorrent®. Its superior VTap™ video search capabilities enable the intelligent search of Internet videos, including targeting video sites by country, topic of interest, person or popular website. Consumers are also able to play video, music, and photos from a local USB flash drive as well as from the NETGEAR ReadyNAS® family of storage solutions.

Slightly larger than a deck of cards, the compact Internet TV Player connects to the home network and the Internet via Ethernet or wireless USB adapter. It does not require a PC to play Internet video, nor does it require installing any PC software or setting up file sharing or firewall settings.

The NETGEAR Internet TV Player (ITV2000) is expected to be available in early Summer 2009 through leading retailers, e-commerce sites, and value-added resellers, at an MSRP in the U.S. of $199. More information can be found at (http://www.netgear.com/Products/Entertainment/DigitalMediaPlayers/itv2000.aspx).

Digital Entertainer Elite (EVA9150)

An ideal solution for serious media enthusiasts, NETGEAR’s Digital Entertainer Elite (EVA9150) is the most powerful and flexible digital media player available, incorporating the latest video, audio and wireless technologies to deliver an unparalleled living room experience. Its integrated 500GB hard drive, easily user-upgradeable to larger capacity disks, makes the Digital Entertainer Elite the world’s most powerful home video jukebox on the market. Consumers can play on their TVs Blu-Ray quality up to 1080p digital video, high-resolution digital photos, MP3s and recorded television shows from their PCs or storage on their network. They can also enjoy Internet content, such as YouTube, Internet radio, Flickr™, RSS feeds, and videos from popular websites. The Digital Entertainer Elite automatically finds all digital media files on the home network and organizes them into an easily accessible library.

The Digital Entertainer Elite is exceptional in that it works simultaneously with Windows®, Mac® and Linux computers, and Networked Attached Storage (NAS) devices, such as NETGEAR’s award-winning family of ReadyNAS® storage solutions. It supports an unmatched list of file formats, including:

— Video formats: AVI, DivX, Xvid WMV, MOV, M4V, MP4, VOB, MPG, MP1, MP2,
MP4, ISO, IFO, MKV, TS and M2TS;
— Audio formats: MP1, MP2, MP3, WMA, WMA-Pro, AAC, FLAC, AIFF, WAV,
LPCM, Dolby AC3 5.1 stereo downmix, Dolby AC3 5.1 passthrough, DTS 5.1
passthrough, Dolby TrueHD Downmix, Dolby+ Passthrough and DTS-HD
Master Audio passthrough;
— Subtitle formats: SUB, SRT, SMI, SAMI, TXT and DVD Subpicture; and,
— Video codecs: MP1, MP2, MP4, Xvid, VC-1/WMV-9, H.264 and OpenDivX.

The Digital Entertainer Elite’s two USB ports also enable instant access to content on a USB flash drive, digital camera, iPod® or other USB storage device. Three of NETGEAR’s exclusive RangeMax™ internal metamaterial antennas and Dual-Band wireless 802.11n give the Digital Entertainer Elite the best wireless performance of any digital media player on the market. More specifically, the Dual-Band wireless enables the Digital Entertainer Elite to pick from not only three 2.4GHz channels, crowded by 802.11g wireless networks in the neighborhood, but up to twenty clearer channels in the 5GHz band. Further, the Sigma Designs 8635 chip ensures the most powerful and flexible audio and video performance.

Multiple NETGEAR Digital Entertainer Elite units can work in concert throughout a house. Using “Follow Me,” consumers can pause a video in one room and resume it in another. While in “Party Mode,” they can synchronize music playback for whole-home listening.

The Digital Entertainer Elite also features NETGEAR’s award-winning Push ‘N’ Connect to seamlessly and securely connect wireless clients based on Wi-Fi Protected Set-up (WPS), eliminating the need to remember or input password keys. Further, NETGEAR’s Digital Entertainer Elite includes environmentally friendly features, such as an energy-efficient power supply and auto-sleep mode.

Backed by a one-year warranty and full 24/7 technical support, the NETGEAR Digital Entertainer Elite (EVA9150) is expected to be available in February through leading retailers, e-commerce sites, and value-added resellers at an MSRP in the U.S. of $399. More information can be found at (http://www.netgear.com/Products/Entertainment/DigitalMediaPlayers/eva9150.aspx).

“NETGEAR’s product introductions take advantage of two major trends that we are seeing with consumers — digital media and connectivity,” said Kurt Scherf, vice president and principal analyst of Parks Associates, which specializes in research and analysis for digital living technologies. “First, as digital media collections grow, we anticipate that the average broadband household will require a significant amount of additional storage and media centralization capabilities. Second, our Digital Media Evolution study finds high demand for connected CE experiences that can deliver premium Web content to the living room.”

About NETGEAR, Inc.

NETGEAR (NASDAQGM: NTGR) designs innovative, branded technology solutions that address the specific networking, storage, and security needs of small- to medium-sized businesses and home users. The company offers an end-to-end networking product portfolio to enable users to share Internet access, peripherals, files, multimedia content, and applications among multiple computers and other Internet-enabled devices. Products are built on a variety of proven technologies such as wireless, Ethernet and powerline, with a focus on reliability and ease-of-use. NETGEAR products are sold in over 29,000 retail locations around the globe, and via more than 41,000 value-added resellers. The company’s headquarters are in San Jose, Calif., with additional offices in 25 countries. NETGEAR is an ENERGY STAR® partner. More information is available by visiting www.netgear.com or calling (408) 907-8000.

(C) 2009 NETGEAR, Inc. NETGEAR®, the NETGEAR logo, RangeMax and ReadyNAS are trademarks or registered trademarks of NETGEAR, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. Other brand and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders. Information is subject to change without notice. All rights reserved.

Note: Maximum wireless signal rate derived from IEEE Standard 802.11 specifications. Actual data throughput will vary from maximum signal rates stipulated. Network conditions and environmental factors, including volume of network traffic, building materials and construction, and network overhead, lower actual data throughput rate.

Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 for NETGEAR, Inc.:

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Specifically, statements concerning the expected performance characteristics, specifications, market acceptance, market growth, specific uses, user feedback and market position of NETGEAR’s products and technology are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Safe Harbor. These statements are based on management’s current expectations and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties, including, without limitation, the following: the actual price, performance and ease of use of NETGEAR’s products may not meet the price, performance and ease of use requirements of customers; product performance may be adversely affected by real world operating conditions; failure of products may under certain circumstances cause permanent loss of end user data; new viruses or Internet threats may develop that challenge the effectiveness of security features in NETGEAR’s products; the ability of NETGEAR to market and sell its products and technology; the impact and pricing of competing products; and the introduction of alternative technological solutions. Further information on potential risk factors that could affect NETGEAR and its business are detailed in the Company’s periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including, but not limited to, those risks and uncertainties listed in the section entitled “Part II – Item 1A. Risk Factors,” pages 31 through 44, in the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended September 28, 2008, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on November 7, 2008. NETGEAR undertakes no obligation to release publicly any revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20030730/NETGEARLOGO)
Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20030730/NETGEARLOGO
AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org/
PRN Photo Desk photodesk@prnewswire.com/

Source: NETGEAR, Inc.

CONTACT: Shira Frantzich of Sterling Communications, +1-408-884-5156,
sfrantzich@sterlingpr.com, for NETGEAR, Inc.

Web Site: http://www.netgear.com/

Clear as mud?

Short version – the cards will hold more and respond quicker. Of course, you’ll need new devices with SDXC support to take advantage of the new capabilities.

I do have to stop for a moment and just hold one of my SD cards and stare at it and think of something like that holding 2TB – and how my first hard drive was huge and held 40MB, 80MB with Stacker! (Hands up if you remember Stacker.)

Press release:

Jan 7, 2009 06:00 ET

SDXC Signals New Generation of Removable Memory With up to 2 Terabytes of Storage

SDXC Memory Cards Provide Consumers with Massive Storage, Incredible Speed in Familiar, De Facto Standard

LAS VEGAS, Jan. 7 /PRNewswire/ — CES Booth South 3 #31277 — The next-generation SDXC (eXtended Capacity) memory card specification, announced today at the 2009 International CES, dramatically improves consumers’ digital lifestyles by providing the portable storage and speed needed to store weeks of high-definition video, years of photo collections and months of music to mobile phones, cameras and camcorders, and other consumer electronic devices. The new SDXC specification provides up to 2 terabytes storage capacity and accelerates SD interface read/write speeds to 104 megabytes per second this year, with a road map to 300 megabytes per second.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090107/AQW041)

The SDXC specification, developed by the SD Association, leapfrogs memory card interface speeds while retaining the world-leading SD interface. Specifications for the open standard will be released in the first quarter of 2009. SDHC, Embedded SD and SDIO specifications will also benefit from the new SD interface speeds.

“SDXC combines a higher capacity roadmap with faster transfer speeds as a means to exploit NAND flash memory technology as a compelling choice for portable memory storage and interoperability,” said Joseph Unsworth, research director, NAND Flash Semiconductors, at Gartner. “With industry support, SDXC presents manufacturers with the opportunity to kindle consumer demand for more advanced handset features and functionality in consumer electronics behind the ubiquitous SD interface.”

Turning mobile phones into media centers

SDXC allows users to enjoy more from their mobile phones. Larger capacity and faster transfer speeds allow for expanded entertainment and data storage. A 2TB SDXC memory card can store 100 HD movies, 60 hours of HD recording or 17,000 fine-grade photos.

“With SDXC, consumers can quickly download higher quality content to their phones, including games, video and music — giving consumers a richer media and content experience,” said James Taylor, president of the SD Association. “The SD interface already has proven itself valuable in mobile phones. Now, SDXC memory card capabilities will spur further handset sophistication and boost consumer content demand.”

Shooting pictures at the speed of life

SDXC is also the first memory card specification to provide 2TB storage without hindering the high-speed performance necessary for high-end photography. It will provide maximum speeds even when the SDXC specification achieves its maximum 2TB storage capacity.

“SDXC is a large-capacity card that can store more than 4,000 RAW images, which is the uncompressed mode professionals use, and 17,000 of the fine-mode most consumers use. That capacity, combined with the exFAT file system, increases movie recording time and reduces starting time to improve photo-capturing opportunities,” said Shigeto Kanda, general manager at Canon. “Improvements in interface speed allow further increases in continuous shooting speed and higher resolution movie recordings. As a memory card well suited to small-sized user-friendly digital cameras, the SDXC specification will help consumers realize the full potential of our cameras.”

SDXC will enable camcorders to provide longer, professional level HD video recording with a small form factor.

The SDXC specification uses Microsoft’s exFAT file system to support its large capacity and interoperability in a broad range of PCs, consumer electronics and mobile phones. The exFAT system was designed for increased compatibility with flash media, from portability of data to interoperability with multiple platforms and devices on removable media.

“The SD Association is committed to answering and anticipating consumer demand for easy-to-use memory card storage that is interoperable in any device with a matching SD slot,” Taylor said. “The SDXC card gives consumers a new, yet familiar, high-performance card that will be used in hundreds of manufacturers’ device offerings.”

SD Association

The SD Association is a global ecosystem of more than 1,100 technology companies charged with setting interoperable SD standards. The association encourages the development of consumer electronic, wireless communication, digital imaging and networking products that utilize market-leading SD technology. The SD standard is the number one choice for consumers and has earned nearly 80 percent of the memory card market with its reliable interoperability and its easy-to-use format. Today, mobile phones, Blu-ray players, HDTVs, audio players, automotive multimedia systems, handheld PCs, cameras and camcorders feature SD interoperability. For more information about SDA or to join, please visit the association’s web site, http://www.sdcard.org/.
Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090107/AQW041
AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org/
AP PhotoExpress Network: PRN7
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com

Source: SD Association

CONTACT: Alisa Hicks of SD Association, +1-775-720-5071,
media@sdcard.org

Web site: http://www.sdcard.org/

And while I do work for Sling Media I wasn’t aware of this until I saw this press release come across the wire from SRS Labs. I did confirm it is accurate.

Sling has been making a number of announcements around CES, but since I work there and act as blogger liaison I haven’t been posting them since it wouldn’t be cool to ‘scoop’ other sites. I may post a summary later – unless Mark jumps in with more posts in the meantime.

Press release:

Jan 7, 2009 08:00 ET

SRS Labs Optimizes Audio Playback Experience for Slingbox Users

Sling Media licenses the popular SRS WOW HD™ audio solution to enable top quality playback of live and recorded TV programs

SANTA ANA, Calif., Jan. 7 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — SRS Labs (NASDAQ:SRSL) , the industry leader in surround sound, audio, and voice technologies, announced today that Sling Media Inc., a leading digital lifestyle products company, has licensed the SRS WOW HD for use in their SlingPlayer™ for Windows software in order to enrich the users audio entertainment experience. In conjunction with the Slingbox™, SlingPlayer allows consumers to watch and control their home TV or DVR on their Windows® computer, just as if they were in their living room, from around the home or around the world.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20070322/LATH036LOGO)

SRS WOW HD is a patented, state-of-the-art audio solution that makes a remarkable improvement in the sound quality of any digital media. By detecting and restoring audio cues buried in the original audio source material, SRS WOW HD makes a demonstrable difference in the overall entertainment experience — content sounds more natural, with renewed depth and clarity. SRS WOW HD provides an immersive 3D audio experience with ultra-clear high-frequency definition and deep, rich bass, breathing new life into any TV show, movie, or video.

Sling Media produces a wide range of networked media products, including hardware, software, mobile software, backend web services and the recently announced Sling.com website. The Emmy® award-winning Slingbox is a small piece of hardware, which when connected in their home, allows a customer to watch and control their TV and/or DVR, through a home network or over the Internet, from any of the SlingPlayer software applications. The SlingPlayer for Windows software, now utilizing SRS WOW HD, works hand-in-hand with the Slingbox hardware back at home, making the entire living room TV viewing experience available on the laptop or desktop computer — anywhere. Users can view their favorite live sporting events and recorded programs when they are away from home, with full control of multiple entertainment devices, including DVRs, cable or satellite set-top boxes, and even DVD players.

“As new convergence products and product categories are created, the demand for audio performance and optimization becomes even greater,” said Allen Gharapetian, Vice President of Marketing for SRS Labs. “The broad range of SRS technologies provides solutions for any digital audio application, especially those associated with the rapid growth of television viewing on computers over the internet. Working with an industry leader like Sling Media is a natural partnership, and we are pleased to help them deliver a premium audio experience to the consumers in this growing and popular new market.”

SRS WOW HD, when integrated into the SlingPlayer for Windows software, will provide users with premium sound through the remote computer’s built-in speakers, separate desktop speakers, or headphones. The upgraded SlingPlayer software, available to customers in the first quarter of 2009, will be provided initially to Slingbox PRO-HD owners. Sling Media expects to support other Slingbox owners in subsequent releases. Existing customers will be able to upgrade their systems to add SRS WOW HD through the automatic update process built into the SlingPlayer software.

“With a goal of delivering the best possible picture and sound quality to Slingbox owners, making the decision to integrate advanced audio technologies from SRS was an easy one,” said Ted Malone, Vice President of Product Marketing and Product Management for Sling Media. “SRS is the recognized authority in the audio processing space, with a strong track record in both the television and broadcast fields. We are very excited to partner with them in order to deliver improved sound quality to our customers.”

About SRS Labs, Inc.

Founded in 1993, SRS Labs is the industry leader in audio signal processing for consumer electronics. Beginning with the audio technologies originally developed at Hughes Aircraft, SRS Labs holds over 150 worldwide patents and is recognized by the industry as the foremost authority in research and application of human auditory principals. Through partnerships with leading global CE companies, semiconductor manufacturers and software partners, SRS audio, surround sound and voice processing technologies have been included in over one billion electronic products sold worldwide including HDTVs, mobile phones, portable media devices, PCs and automotive entertainment. In fact, SRS Labs is the de-facto standard of HDTV audio processing with nine of the top ten name brand flat panel TVs featuring SRS technology. Additionally, SRS Labs surround sound solutions provide the professional broadcast and recording industries with high-performance production, back-haul, storage, and transmission capability. SRS Labs supports manufacturers worldwide with offices in the US, China, Europe, Japan, Korea and Taiwan. For more information, visit http://www.srslabs.com/.

Except for historical information contained in this release, statements in this release, including those by Mr. Gharapetian, may constitute forward- looking statements regarding our assumptions, projections, expectations, targets, intentions or beliefs about future events that are based on management’s belief, as well as assumptions made by, and information currently available to, management. While the Company believes that its expectations are based upon reasonable assumptions, there can be no assurances that the Company’s goals and strategy will be realized. Numerous factors, including risks and uncertainties, may affect the Company’s actual results and may cause results to differ materially from those expressed in forward-looking statements made by or on behalf of the Company. Some of these factors include the acceptance of new SRS Labs’ products and technologies, the impact of competitive products and pricing, the timely development and release of technologies by the Company, general business and economic conditions, especially in Asia, and other factors detailed in the Company’s Form 10-K and other periodic reports filed with the SEC. SRS Labs specifically disclaims any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise.

SRS Labs, Inc. Contact:
Cyndee Pelino, Sr. Marketing Manager
949-442-5518
cyndeep@srslabs.com

Press Contact:
Chuck Back, Noyd Communications Inc.
310-614-2358
chuck.back@noydcom.com

Investor Relations Contact:
Matt Glover, Liolios Group, Inc.
949-574-3860
info@liolios.com

Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20070322/LATH036LOGO
AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org/
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com

Source: SRS Labs, Inc.

CONTACT: Cyndee Pelino, Sr. Marketing Manager of SRS Labs, Inc.,
+1-949-442-5518, cyndeep@srslabs.com; or Press, Chuck Back of Noyd
Communications Inc., +1-310-614-2358, chuck.back@noydcom.com, or Investor
Relations, Matt Glover of Liolios Group, Inc., +1-949-574-3860,
info@liolios.com, both for SRS Labs, Inc.

Web site: http://www.srslabs.com/

Well, would you look at that, TiVo just unveiled an all new search interface – but astute readers will recognize it immediately as a variation of the interface design which leaked back in September. TiVo was kind enough to give me a sneak peak ahead of the embargo lifting so I could grab a few screen shots. I’m already in Las Vegas, so I did this using SlingPlayer from my Slingbox PRO-HD back home. You’ve got to love technology. I certainly didn’t cover all of the possible permutations in the interface, but it is very nice indeed. It is the first real interface which takes advantage of high-definition. I hope more of the TiVo interface is re-written like this, it really looks sharp and the functionality is very nice. I can’t wait to get home and play with it on my 61″ DLP and not just in a SlingPlayer window.

Lots more behind the cut:

Press release:

TIVO TRANSFORMS THE TV WORLD ONCE AGAIN BY OFFERING A NEW WAY TO SEARCH & DISCOVER CONTENT

Introduction of New TiVo Search Means Channel Surfing is a Now Thing of the Past Find What You’ve Been Missing

LAS VEGAS, NV. January 7, 2009 -TiVo Inc. (NASDAQ: TIVO), the creator of and a leader in television services for digital video recorders (DVRs), today showed the future of television, unveiling a redesigned TiVo Search feature that offers improved search results with a completely new High Definition design, all at no additional charge. TiVo Search brings users the power of choice, offering millions of pieces of content not available via cable or satellite, along with thousands of linear TV choices. Delivered via broadband, TiVo Search combines a graphics rich experience with simplicity and relevancy that makes it a truly revolutionary way to get more out of your TV.

“What Google did for the Internet, TiVo is now doing for the TV, bringing people a combination of excellent search results and innovative discovery that can’t be found anywhere else,” said Tom Rogers, CEO and President of TiVo Inc. “TiVo has always been known as the best way to watch what you want, when you want it. Now we’re taking that to a new level, using TiVo technology to find just the right program from hundreds of channels and thousands of broadband options, all in seconds. It is clear TiVo is leading the way in providing more choice, and also leading the way in finding content quickly. TiVo Search is a new way to find what you’ve been missing.”

TiVo Search takes advantage of extra screen size afforded by high definition televisions by showing more details about a highlighted program than ever before, eliminating the need to dig down into each and every program to learn what it is about. It ensures the most important information is surfaced right up to the screen you’re already on, equaling less navigation and quick, accurate results.

“One of the best things about the new TiVo Search feature is how it works as a discovery engine, helping users find content they didn’t even know they could get,” said Jim Denney, Vice President of Product Marketing at TiVo Inc. “We’ve added a new discovery bar that gives a quick guide to relevant content, and the search experience incorporates content from broadband sources like Amazon Video on Demand and YouTube. The newly tuned search engine also displays the most popular search results of the day automatically, even when typing only a single letter. Searches work not with just the first word of a title, but any word of the program, which is especially handy when looking for programs with specific search words.”

The new interface not only displays in high definition, it has a focus on finding high definition television content. TiVo search automatically recommends high definition television channels and episodes when users schedule a program to record. Additionally, users can now browse shows season by season and select any episode they want utilizing a robust episode guide. Depending on availability users may record content from cable/antenna, download it from Amazon Video on Demand, or use WishList searches to record it the next time the content is broadcast.

Seeing equals believing, and the new TiVo Search is no exception. Starting today broadband connected TiVo Series3, TiVo HD, and HD XL subscribers can experience a beta version of the feature on their TiVo DVR, which can be found under Music, Photos, and Showcases. For an online preview and to provide your comments and feedback on this new search tool to TiVo visit www.tivo.com/tivosearch.

TiVo Search will be on display at the TiVo Inc Booth at the Consumer Electronics Tradeshow, Room N202 running January 8th – 11th.

# # #

About TiVo Inc.

Founded in 1997, TiVo (NASDAQ: TIVO) pioneered a brand new category of products with the development of the first commercially available digital video recorder (DVR). Sold through leading consumer electronic retailers, TiVo has developed a brand which resonates boldly with consumers as providing a superior television experience. Through agreements with leading satellite and cable providers, TiVo also integrates its full set of DVR service features into the set-top boxes of mass distributors. TiVo’s DVR functionality and ease of use, with such features as Season Pass™ recordings, WishList® searches and TiVo KidZone have elevated its popularity among consumers and have created a whole new way for viewers to watch television. With a continued investment in its patented technologies, TiVo is revolutionizing the way consumers watch and access home entertainment. Rapidly becoming the focal point of the digital living room, TiVo’s DVR is at the center of experiencing new forms of content on the TV, such as broadband delivered video, music and photos. With innovative features such as, TiVoToGo™ and online scheduling, TiVo is expanding the notion of consumers experiencing “TiVo, TV your way.” The TiVo® service is also at the forefront of providing innovative marketing solutions for the television industry, including a unique platform for advertisers and audience measurement research.

The company is based in Alviso, Calif. TiVo, TiVoCast, ‘TiVo, TV your way.’ Season Pass, WishList, TiVoToGo and the TiVo Logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of TiVo Inc. and its subsidiaries worldwide. © 2008 TiVo Inc. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners. All rights reserved.

This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements relate to, among other things, TiVo’s future business and growth strategies including TiVo’s mass distribution strategy and retail bundling efforts, profitability and financial guidance, distribution of the TiVo service domestically with Comcast, DIRECTV, and Cox and internationally, growth and innovation in TiVo’s advertising and audience research measurement business, the timing and availability of broadband content, the results of TiVo’s litigation with EchoStar, how TiVo intends to exploit its intellectual property, TiVo’s future marketing spend and related activities, and financial performance. Forward-looking statements generally can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as, “believe,” “expect,” “may,” “will,” “intend,” “estimate,” “continue,” or similar expressions or the negative of those terms or expressions. Such statements involve risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to vary materially from those expressed in or indicated by the forward-looking statements. Factors that may cause actual results to differ materially include delays in development, competitive service offerings and lack of market acceptance, as well as the other potential factors described under “Risk Factors” in the Company’s public reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended January 31, 2008, our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the fiscal periods ended April 30, 2008 and July 31, 2008, and our Current Reports on Form 8-K. The Company cautions you not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which reflect an analysis only and speak only as of the date hereof. TiVo disclaims any obligation to update these forward-looking statements.

The first four SoCs to be Flash-enabled are the BCM3549, BCM3556, BCM7400 and BCM7405. I find this intriguing as the BCM7405 looks like a newer generation of the BCM7401 which is the main chip in the TiVo HD. It has basically the same features – plus more: Flash support, DivX support, faster CPU core (400Mhz vs. 300MHz), etc. Makes me wonder if maybe this could be used in TiVo’s rumored ‘Series4′ model. But that’s just idle speculation.

With the announcements from LG, Samsung, Roku, and now this, I think one of the major trends this year is getting Internet/broadband content onto the TV screen.

The press releases:

Jan 6, 2009 08:00 ET

Adobe and Broadcom Bring the Adobe Flash Platform to TVs

Collaboration Extends Flash Platform Ecosystem to Digital TVs and Set-Top Boxes

LAS VEGAS, Jan. 6 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — 2009 International CES — Broadcom Corporation (NASDAQ:BRCM) and Adobe Systems Incorporated (NASDAQ: ADBE) today announced the integration of the Adobe® Flash® Platform into Broadcom’s latest digital television (DTV) and set-top box (STB) system-on-a-chip (SoC) platforms. The collaboration paves the way for rich Flash based entertainment experiences on televisions that offer viewers new options for accessing web content on their TVs.

With Adobe Flash Lite™ 3 software supported in the Broadcom® BCM3549, BCM3556, BCM7400 and BCM7405 SoC solutions, TV viewers will be able to view Flash based content and applications from popular online providers and entertainment sites. Broadcom DTV and STB platforms with integrated Adobe Flash support are expected to be available to manufacturers in the first half of 2009. Broadcom will demonstrate Adobe Flash support on its BCM7405 and BCM3549 solutions at this week’s 2009 International Consumer Electronics Show.

The technology collaboration between Broadcom and Adobe will further accelerate the transition to high definition (HD) web-based video on televisions, fortifying the TV as the main entertainment hub within the home. With Adobe Flash as the number one video format on the web, coupled with Broadcom’s leadership position in digital television and set-top box platforms, the collaboration will enable a consistent viewing experience across TV screens, addressing format fragmentation and authoring challenges that exist today. As online video viewing shifts from the PC to the TV, the number of worldwide viewers will reach nearly one billion by 2013, according to a study by ABI Research. The dramatic increase of free and premium online video content, and the emerging trend of watching web-based video on televisions, will help drive its overall adoption according to ABI.

“Consumers with broadband Internet access increasingly enjoy viewing the wide array of video content available to them and it is clear that they want to watch their favorite online video content on their televisions for the best viewing experience,” said Dan Marotta, Senior Vice President & General Manager of Broadcom’s Broadband Communications Group. “By integrating Adobe Flash support in our latest portfolio of digital television and set-top box solutions, Broadcom will pave the way for an exciting new entertainment experience in the home.”

“Consumers want to experience rich and consistent applications and web content across devices and screens,” said David Wadhwani, General Manager & Vice President, platform business unit at Adobe. “Broadcom’s leadership in designing highly integrated and advanced TV and STB platforms provides an ideal stage for the over one million Flash developers to showcase their content. We look forward to our continued efforts with Broadcom to broaden the availability of great multi-screen experiences.”

Broadcom is a recognized leader in the set-top box market with 161 million set-top box chipsets shipped to date. The company’s recent acquisition of the AMD digital TV business expands the number of TV brands utilizing its highly integrated silicon solutions. Broadcom’s ongoing commitment and significant contribution to connected home technologies, such as the Digital Living Network AllianceSM (DLNA®), furthers the quest for seamless content distribution and connectivity – changing the way that consumers interact and share content in the next generation digital home.

Adobe Flash is the most widely distributed technology on the web, enabling virtually anyone to view and interact with a vast selection of rich content. With Adobe Flash Player supporting all major operating systems and browsers, Flash technology has become the number one video format on the web. Ninety-nine percent of Internet-connected desktops have Adobe Flash Player installed and more than 800 million mobile devices have shipped to date with Flash Lite, Adobe’s Flash Player for mobile phones and devices. Adobe Flash Player is a key component of the Adobe Flash Platform, a complete system of integrated tools, frameworks, clients and servers to develop Web applications, content and videos. For more information about the Adobe Flash Platform, visit www.adobe.com/flashplatform.

About Adobe Systems Incorporated

Adobe revolutionizes how the world engages with ideas and information – anytime, anywhere and through any medium. For more information, visit www.adobe.com.

About Broadcom’s Broadband Communications Group

Broadcom offers manufacturers a range of broadband communications and consumer electronics system-on-a-chip solutions that enable voice, video, data and multimedia services over residential wired and wireless networks. These highly integrated silicon solutions continue to enable the most advanced system solutions on the market, which include digital cable, satellite and IP set-top boxes and media servers, broadband modems and residential gateways, high definition and digital televisions, Blu-ray Disc® players and recorders and personal video recorders.

About Broadcom

Broadcom Corporation is a major technology innovator and global leader in semiconductors for wired and wireless communications. Broadcom products enable the delivery of voice, video, data and multimedia to and throughout the home, the office and the mobile environment. It provides the industry’s broadest portfolio of state-of-the-art system-on-a-chip and software solutions to manufacturers of computing and networking equipment, digital entertainment and broadband access products, and mobile devices. These solutions support Broadcom’s core mission: Connecting everything®.

Broadcom is one of the world’s largest fabless semiconductor companies, with 2007 revenue of $3.78 billion, and holds over 3,000 U.S. and over 1,300 foreign patents, more than 7,500 additional pending patent applications, and one of the broadest intellectual property portfolios addressing both wired and wireless transmission of voice, video, data and multimedia.

Broadcom is headquartered in Irvine, Calif., and has offices and research facilities in North America, Asia and Europe. Broadcom may be contacted at +1.949.926.5000 or at www.broadcom.com.

Cautions regarding Forward Looking Statements:

All statements included or incorporated by reference in this release, other than statements or characterizations of historical fact, are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on our respective current expectations, estimates and projections about our industry and business, management’s beliefs, and certain assumptions made by Broadcom and Adobe Systems, all of which are subject to change. Forward-looking statements can often be identified by words such as “anticipates,” “expects,” “intends,” “plans,” “predicts,” “believes,” “seeks,” “estimates,” “may,” “will,” “should,” “would,” “could,” “potential,” “continue,” “ongoing,” similar expressions, and variations or negatives of these words. Examples of such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, the ability of the collaboration between Adobe and Broadcom to further accelerate the transition to high definition (HD) web-based video on televisions and to enable a consistent viewing experience across TV screens, the availability of Broadcom DTV and STB platforms with integrated Adobe Flash support, the growth in the number of worldwide viewers of online video, and Broadcom’s ability to pave the way for an exciting new entertainment experience in the home . These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future results and are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause our actual results to differ materially and adversely from those expressed in any forward-looking statement.

The respective Annual Reports on Form 10-K, subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, recent Current Reports on Form 8-K, and other Securities and Exchange Commission filings of Adobe Systems and Broadcom discuss important risk factors that could contribute to such differences or otherwise affect their respective businesses, results of operations and financial conditions. The forward-looking statements in this release speak only as of this date. Neither Adobe Systems nor Broadcom undertakes any obligation to revise or update publicly any forward-looking statement, except as required by law.

Broadcom, the pulse logo, Connecting everything, and the Connecting everything logo are among the trademarks of Broadcom Corporation and/or its affiliates in the United States, certain other countries and/or the EU. Adobe, Adobe Flash and Adobe Flash Lite™ are trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated. Blu-ray Disc is a trademark of the Blu-ray Disc Association. DLNA and Digital Living Network AllianceSM are trademarks of the Digital Living Network Alliance. Any other trademarks or trade names mentioned are the property of their respective owners.

Broadcom Trade Press Contact
Dana Brzozkiewicz
Senior Communications Specialist
949-926-6367
danabrz@broadcom.com

Adobe Systems
Stefan Offermann
408-536-4023
sofferma@adobe.com

Broadcom Investor Relations Contact
T. Peter Andrew
Vice President, Corporate Communications
949-926-5663
andrewtp@broadcom.com

Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20060609/BROADCOMLOGO
AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org/
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com

Source: Broadcom Corporation; BRCM Corporate

CONTACT: Broadcom Trade Press Contact, Dana Brzozkiewicz, Senior
Communications Specialist, +1-949-926-6367, danabrz@broadcom.com, or Broadcom
Investor Relations Contact, T. Peter Andrew, Vice President, Corporate
Communications, +1-949-926-5663, andrewtp@broadcom.com, both of Broadcom
Corporation; or Stefan Offermann of Adobe Systems, +1-408-536-4023,
sofferma@adobe.com

Web Site: http://www.adobe.com/

Jan 6, 2009 08:00 ET

2Wire® Selects Broadcom’s Chipset to Power Its MediaPoint™ Digital Media Player

Broadcom® BCM7405 Enables the Delivery of On-Demand Internet Content and Personal Media to the TV

LAS VEGAS, Jan. 6 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — 2009 International CES — Broadcom Corporation (NASDAQ:BRCM) , a global leader in semiconductors for wired and wireless communications, today announced that its BCM7405 digital set-top box (STB) system-on-a-chip (SoC) solution has been selected by 2Wire, a provider of integrated broadband solutions, to power its new MediaPoint™ digital media player. The MediaPoint player enables service providers to quickly provide their customers with entertainment offerings delivered directly to their TVs, including movies, video, music and other on-demand Web-based media content, as well as personal music and video content.

In November 2008, 2Wire and Blockbuster Inc. announced that the 2Wire® MediaPoint player would be utilized to provide movie fans with instant access to BLOCKBUSTER® ONDEMAND content, including thousands of titles from the latest movie releases to classic favorites.

“The MediaPoint digital player, featuring BLOCKBUSTER ONDEMAND, is entertainment made easy. We are bringing Blockbuster, and the thousands of movies in our digital library, straight to customers’ televisions,” said Jim Keyes, Blockbuster chairman and CEO. “The player is simple to use, delivers DVD quality video, and there’s no monthly subscription commitment. We are delighted to bring consumers this great entertainment product.”

2Wire is leveraging the capabilities of the BCM7405 STB SoC to further enhance the performance of the MediaPoint broadband entertainment solution to meet next generation service provider requirements and provide a cost effective means to deliver on-demand Internet content and personal media directly to the TV. At this week’s International Consumer Electronics Show, Broadcom is demonstrating the capabilities of its BCM7405 on the 2Wire MediaPoint digital media player, accelerating the delivery of entertainment services that bridge the television and Internet together.

“MediaPoint services, enabled by the Broadcom BCM7405, create a new way to access multimedia entertainment content on the television, using any broadband connection,” said Jonathan Symonds, Vice President of Product Marketing at 2Wire. “The MediaPoint player lets users seamlessly browse, download and view high quality video and movies, easily discover music stored anywhere on the network and listen to it through the home entertainment system, upload, view and share photos, and access personal networked media content on their TVs.”

“The 2Wire MediaPoint player underscores our commitment to enhancing the consumer entertainment experience in the home,” said Dan Marotta, Senior Vice President & General Manager of Broadcom’s Broadband Communications Group. “Powered by the BCM7405, the MediaPoint solution gives users the ability to watch movies, video and other on-demand Web-based media content directly on the TV, while allowing service providers to enable customized Web-based services, from online radio to legal music downloading and even photo sharing services.”

BCM7405 Product Information

The highly integrated, low power BCM7405 STB SoC 65 nanometer solution leverages Broadcom’s proven track record and market leadership in set-top box technologies to deliver unprecedented levels of processor performance, memory bandwidth, graphics speed, system security, peripheral integration and cost savings. It supports the latest in interactive features and a wide range of video compression standards (i.e. VC-1, WMV9, H.263-H.264, MPEG-4 and DivX®), and includes support for new video compression standards.

The BCM7405 STB SoC can decode and display simultaneous high definition (HD) and standard definition (SD) video with picture-in-picture and mosaic support. Multiple planes of HD graphics, powerful content security, and support for peripherals including USB 2.0, SATA II, Ethernet and HDMI 1.3 are provided. As a result, manufacturers can build next generation HD digital broadcast and IP set-top boxes supporting the latest interactive features and networked personal video recorder (PVR) functionality.

About Broadcom’s Broadband Communications Group

Broadcom offers manufacturers a range of broadband communications and consumer electronics system-on-a-chip solutions that enable voice, video, data and multimedia services over residential wired and wireless networks. These highly integrated silicon solutions continue to enable the most advanced system solutions on the market, which include digital cable, satellite and IP set-top boxes and media servers, broadband modems and residential gateways, high definition and digital televisions, Blu-ray Disc® players and recorders and personal video recorders.

About Broadcom

Broadcom Corporation is a major technology innovator and global leader in semiconductors for wired and wireless communications. Broadcom products enable the delivery of voice, video, data and multimedia to and throughout the home, the office and the mobile environment. We provide the industry’s broadest portfolio of state-of-the-art system-on-a-chip and software solutions to manufacturers of computing and networking equipment, digital entertainment and broadband access products, and mobile devices. These solutions support our core mission: Connecting everything®.

Broadcom is one of the world’s largest fabless semiconductor companies, with 2007 revenue of $3.78 billion, and holds over 3,000 U.S. and over 1,300 foreign patents, more than 7,500 additional pending patent applications, and one of the broadest intellectual property portfolios addressing both wired and wireless transmission of voice, video, data and multimedia.

Broadcom is headquartered in Irvine, Calif., and has offices and research facilities in North America, Asia and Europe. Broadcom may be contacted at +1.949.926.5000 or at www.broadcom.com.

Cautions regarding Forward Looking Statements:

All statements included or incorporated by reference in this release, other than statements or characterizations of historical fact, are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on our current expectations, estimates and projections about our industry and business, management’s beliefs, and certain assumptions made by us, all of which are subject to change. Forward-looking statements can often be identified by words such as “anticipates,” “expects,” “intends,” “plans,” “predicts,” “believes,” “seeks,” “estimates,” “may,” “will,” “should,” “would,” “could,” “potential,” “continue,” “ongoing,” similar expressions, and variations or negatives of these words. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future results and are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause our actual results to differ materially and adversely from those expressed in any forward-looking statement.

Important factors that may cause such a difference for Broadcom in connection with BCM7405 digital set-top box SoC solutions include, but are not limited to

— the rate at which our present and future customers and end-users adopt
Broadcom’s technologies and products in the markets for next
generation set-top box applications;
— delays in the adoption and acceptance of industry standards in those
markets;
— general economic and political conditions and specific conditions in
the markets we address, including the volatility in the technology
sector and semiconductor industry, trends in the broadband
communications markets in various geographic regions, including
seasonality in sales of consumer products into which our products are
incorporated, and possible disruption in commercial activities related
to terrorist activity or armed conflict in the United States and other
locations;
— the timing of customer-industry qualification and certification of our
products and the risks of non-qualification or non-certification; and
— the timing, rescheduling or cancellation of significant customer
orders and our ability, as well as the ability of our customers, to
manage inventory.

Additional factors that may cause Broadcom’s actual results to differ materially from those expressed in forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to the list that can be found at http://www.broadcom.com/press/additional_risk_factors/Q42008.php.

Our Annual Report on Form 10-K, subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, recent Current Reports on Form 8-K, and other Securities and Exchange Commission filings discuss the foregoing risks as well as other important risk factors that could contribute to such differences or otherwise affect our business, results of operations and financial condition. The forward-looking statements in this release speak only as of this date. We undertake no obligation to revise or update publicly any forward-looking statement, except as required by law.

Broadcom, the pulse logo, Connecting everything, and the Connecting everything logo are among the trademarks of Broadcom Corporation and/or its affiliates in the United States, certain other countries and/or the EU. 2Wire and MediaPoint™ are trademarks of 2Wire Inc. Blu-ray Disc is a trademark of Sony Corporation. DivX is a trademark of DivX, Inc Blockbuster® is a trademark of Blockbuster, Inc. Any other trademarks or trade names mentioned are the property of their respective owners.

Broadcom Trade Press Contact Broadcom Investor Relations Contact
Dana Brzozkiewicz T. Peter Andrew
Senior Communications Specialist Vice President,
Corporate Communications
949-926-6367 949-926-5663
danabrz@broadcom.com andrewtp@broadcom.com

Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20060609/BROADCOMLOGO
AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org/
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com

Source: Broadcom Corporation; BRCM Broadband

CONTACT: Broadcom Trade Press Contact, Dana Brzozkiewicz, Senior
Communications Specialist, +1-949-926-6367, danabrz@broadcom.com, or Broadcom
Investor Relations Contact, T. Peter Andrew, Vice President, Corporate
Communications, +1-949-926-5663, andrewtp@broadcom.com, both of Broadcom

Web Site: http://www.broadcom.com/

Picked up from Gadget Lab at Wired.

The TV’s can be networked with their built-in Ethernet ports or via a USB WiFi adapter. The TV Widgets will come from Yahoo! properties such as Flickr, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Weather and Yahoo! Finance as well as third parties like USA TODAY, YouTube, eBay and Showtime Networks. They claim it will be extended to include video streaming and other content.

The most interesting piece of this, I think, is that the platform is open to 3rd party developers to create their own TV Widgets. It sounds like interested developers will be able to create their own widgets and provide them to Samsung TV users with an open market. And I suspect Yahoo! will be looking to license this platform to other vendors as well.

In addition to the features reported in their press release, last week Electronista spotted a post in AVForums.com that Samsung’s new HTDVs would also have some very interesting network content support:

# Now supports playback of movies in the following formats upto 1080p: MKV/ WMV/ VOB/ AVI/ TS/ 3GP/ MPG/ ASF

# Now supports the following video codecs:

* XviD
* DivX 3.11/4.x/5.1/6.0/
* H.264 BP/MP/HP
* MPEG-1
* MPEG-2
* MPEG-4 SP/ASP
* Motion JPEG
* Windows Media Video V9
* VC1

That’s quite extensive format support. Models in the 7, 8, and 9 series will also be DivX Certified with support for DivX Video On Demand.

Press release:

SAMSUNG AND YAHOO!® BRING THE BEST OF THE WEB TO TELEVISION

Internet@TV – Content Service to Open a Whole New World of TV Interactivity for Consumers

SEOUL, Korea and SUNNYVALE, CA – January 5, 2009 – Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., a market leader and award-winning innovator in consumer electronics, and Yahoo! Inc., a leading global Internet company, today announced a new Internet-based service to Samsung televisions available in the spring of 2009. Select models in Samsung’s 2009 flat-panel HDTV line-up will be powered by the Yahoo! Widget Engine, a fifth-generation applications platform that enables TV watchers to interact with and enjoy a rich set of “TV Widgets.” TV Widgets make it easy to interact with Internet content and services to complement and enhance the traditional TV viewing experience. The lightweight Javascript and XML applications bring content, information and community features available on the Internet within easy reach of the remote control. The new televisions will be displayed at CES 2009 in Samsung’s booth located at Central Hall, Booth #11033.

Select models in Samsung’s 2009 flat-panel HDTV lines will support the new TV Widget service, called “Internet@TV – Content Service.” The service, which adapts the Yahoo! Widget Engine, enables users to engage in a variety of experiences that traditionally could only be enjoyed on a PC. Not only will users be able to track their stock portfolio and stay on top of headline news, but they may also browse through videos, share photos and interact with friends. Users can access the service by connecting the HDTV to a home network via the built-in Ethernet port or using an optional Wi-Fi USB dongle.

The suite of TV Widgets range from a host of Yahoo! properties, including Flickr™, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Weather and Yahoo! Finance, to third-party content from well-known brands, including USA TODAY®, YouTube™, eBay® and Showtime Networks® among others. The content and services offered will grow to include video streaming and other popular internet services.

Developers worldwide will be able to develop and deploy TV Widgets for the television by using the open-platform Widget Development Kit (WDK). At the same time, Samsung will continue to provide high-performing TV hardware so that developers can easily deploy widgets on Samsung HDTVs. Samsung and Yahoo! will expand their collaboration further to bring more developers to the Internet@TV –Content Service and build an open ecosystem where more developers can create various TV Widgets for consumers to enjoy on their televisions.

“Samsung has been a proven innovator in Internet-enabled TV technology for some time now, offering the ground-breaking InfoLink service last year in 2008. There’s no denying that the easy-to-use, one-touch of the remote control service successfully provides information simply and effectively,” said Boo-Keun Yoon, Executive Vice President of the Visual Display Division at Samsung Electronics. He continues, “The collaboration with Yahoo! lets viewers go one step further. This new interface allows them to interact and connect with many of their favorite Web services on a personal level. It’s frankly way beyond just passively watching broadcasts and is no doubt the future of TV.”

“As a leader in developing innovative technology platforms to provide indispensable Internet services to millions of users, Yahoo! is excited to be working with Samsung to enhance consumers’ television viewing experience by bringing the best of the Web to their televisions,” said Patrick Barry, vice president of Connected TV at Yahoo! “Through this partnership, we can combine the Internet benefits of user choice and personalization with Samsung’s leading product innovation and global reach to deliver a new experience to users around the world.”

Samsung HDTVs with the Yahoo! Widget Engine and TV Widgets will be available in 13 countries in 2009 including the U.S, Canada, Mexico, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, The Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and Finland. This provides publishers and developers the opportunity to create exciting TV Widget experiences that will reach and engage millions of Samsung TV viewers.

About Samsung Electronics

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. is a global leader in semiconductor, telecommunication, digital media and digital convergence technologies with 2007 consolidated sales of US$105.0 billion. Employing approximately 150,000 people in 134 offices in 62 countries, the company consists of four main business units: Digital Media Business, LCD Business, Semiconductor Business, and Telecommunication Business. Recognized as one of the fastest growing global brands, Samsung Electronics is a leading producer of digital TVs, memory chips, mobile phones and TFT-LCDs. For more information, please visit www.samsung.com.

About Yahoo!

Yahoo! Inc. is a leading global Internet brand and one of the most trafficked Internet destinations worldwide. Yahoo! is focused on powering its communities of users, advertisers, publishers, and developers by creating indispensable experiences built on trust. Yahoo! is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California.

For more information on Yahoo!’s Connected TV news, visit http://connectedtv.yahoo.com/newsroom

The new ‘Broadband HDTVs’ will support HD Netflix streaming directly over their built-in Ethernet connections. These new LCD and plasma HDTVs, along with five new Blu-ray players and home theater systems, will join the BD300 in LG’s Netflix-enabled lineup.

The press release is below:

Jan 5, 2009 07:00 ET

LG Electronics First to Unveil ‘Broadband HDTVs’ That Instantly Stream Movies From Netflix

Netflix Members Can Instantly Watch Movies Directly On New LG Plasma and LCD HDTVs

ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS, N.J. and LOS GATOS, Calif., Jan. 5 /PRNewswire/ — LG Electronics today extended its groundbreaking partnership with Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) , as the two companies announced the first broadband-enabled HDTVs with Netflix streaming software embedded directly in the TV, requiring no external device. LG’s new LCD and plasma “Broadband HDTVs” will display the growing library of movies, TV episodes and high-definition (HD) content that Netflix members can watch instantly directly on the TV with Ethernet connectivity.

Available this spring, the new LCD and plasma HDTVs will join the LG BD300 Network Blu-ray Disc Player, the first Blu-ray disc player to stream movies instantly from Netflix. These products – and five new models of Blu-ray Disc players and home theater systems planned for 2009 – will offer consumers a variety of ways to enjoy more than 12,000 choices of movies and TV episodes instantly from Netflix. Netflix members owning one or more of the devices pay as little as $8.99 per month for unlimited instant streaming and unlimited DVDs from a catalog of more than 100,000 DVD titles in more than 200 genres.

LG Electronics and Netflix will demonstrate these broadband HDTVs this week at the 2009 CES®, Booth #8214, Central Hall, Las Vegas Convention Center.

“Embedding the Netflix streaming software in the television is a natural progression of our partnership with Netflix and our innovative product line,” said LG Electronics USA President Teddy Hwang. “This is an LG industry-first, which provides another flexible option for consumers seeking to access exciting content directly through their HDTV.”

“LG Electronics was first to embrace Netflix as a streaming partner a year ago, and was first in 2008 to introduce a Blu-ray disc player that streams movies from Netflix,” said Netflix CEO Reed Hastings. “So it’s fitting that LG is the first to introduce Netflix instant streaming directly to the TV with these next-generation HDTVs.”

Netflix began offering its instant streaming functionality on the PC in January 2007 and made the leap to the TV last year via Netflix ready devices such as the LG BD300 Blu-ray disc player. With today’s announcement, Netflix will be streaming, for the first time, directly to the TV with no external device required.

Instantly streaming content from Netflix to the LG HDTVs will rely on a broadband connection and Queue-based user interface. Netflix members will use the Netflix Web site to add movies and TV episodes to their individual instant Queues. Those choices will automatically be displayed on members’ TVs and available to watch instantly through the HDTV. Once selected, movies will begin playing in as little as 30 seconds. With the accompanying remote control, Netflix members will be able to browse and make selections right on the TV screen and also have the ability to read synopses and rate movies. In addition, they will have the option of fast-forwarding and rewinding the video stream.

“The partnership between Netflix and LG Electronics continues to give consumers more and better options for home entertainment,” said Hastings.

About LG Electronics USA

LG Electronics USA, Inc., based in Englewood Cliffs, N.J., is the North American subsidiary of LG Electronics, Inc., a global force and technology leader in consumer electronics, home appliances and mobile communications. In the United States, LG Electronics sells a range of stylish and innovative home entertainment products, mobile phones, home appliances and business solutions, all under LG’s “Life’s Good” marketing theme. For more information, please visit www.LGusa.com.

About Netflix, Inc.

Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) is the world’s largest online movie rental service, with more than eight million subscribers. For one low monthly price, Netflix members can get DVDs delivered to their homes and can instantly watch movies and TV episodes streamed to their TVs and PCs, all in unlimited amounts. Members can choose from over 100,000 DVD titles and a growing library of more than 12,000 choices that can be watched instantly. There are never any due dates or late fees. DVDs are delivered free to members by first class mail, with a postage-paid return envelope, from over 100 U.S. shipping points. More than 95 percent of Netflix members live in areas that generally receive shipments in one business day. Netflix is also partnering with leading consumer electronics companies to offer a range of devices that can instantly stream movies and TV episodes to members’ TVs from Netflix. For more information, visit http://www.netflix.com/.

Source: LG Electronics USA, Inc.

CONTACT: John I. Taylor of LG Electronics USA, Inc., +1-847-941-8181,
jtaylor@lge.com; or Nathan Friedman, +1-312-397-6009,
nathan.friedman@ogilvypr.com, for LG Electronics USA, Inc.; or Steve Swasey of
Netflix, +1-408-540-3947, sswasey@netflix.com

Web site: http://www.lgusa.com/
http://www.netflix.com/

Going into this CES I’m not sure what the big deal is going to be this year, if there is one. The economy is down and I haven’t really felt any particular buzz about any given area of the market. HDTVs get bigger while getting thinner and faster (refresh rates). We may see some interesting 3D technologies which will start to enter homes in the next few years. Palm is expected to announce Nova and new hardware, but I’m not excited. I was a die-hard Palm OS user for many years, since 1998, and still carry a Treo 680. But after five or more years of waiting for Palm OS 6 Cobalt Nova I just don’t feel that inspired. I’m already focused on Android as my next likely platform, and it would take a lot for Palm to sway me. Even if they produce an incredible OS, they have an uphill battle ahead to win over developers. I don’t think they have a real chance at this point to gain significant market share. And without that the developers won’t come – and the apps really make the platform.

Going forward I think the mobile market will effectively be, in no particular order, Windows Mobile Professional, BlackBerry, Symbian S60, iPhone, and Android. The original Palm OS is the walking dead, and I don’t see Nova/Palm OS II carving out enough market share to be viable. Symbian UIQ is effectively dead as SonyEricsson and Motorola have pulled out and the Symbian world is focused on the S60-based open source effort. Windows Mobile Standard (aka Smartphone) is rapidly dying as Professional-based touch screen devices move into the lower end of the market where Standard used to focus. I expect Android, which is basically just coming into the market, to post the biggest gains as more devices land. I think the LiMo/LIPS effort will falter and expect to see some of the vendors who have been working on it switch to Android. I think those five platforms will provide the bulk of the smartphone market, anything else will be a small niche.

We’ll probably see more tru2way devices on display from a number of vendors this year, but I don’t know that we’ll see anything revolutionary in that market. I’m hoping TiVo may be showing off their ‘Series4′ tru2way-enabled model, which they’re believed to have been working on for a while. And they may be showing their new DirecTV software, which I expect will be running on the HR20/21/22 DirecTV DVR Plus hardware. I’m not expecting anything else major, maybe some new content partnership announcements and perhaps plans to bring TiVo to more countries. (I’m surprised they haven’t re-launched in the UK yet with the DVB-T model actually.)

The past couple of years the Blu-ray vs. HD-DVD fight provided some interest. But that was effectively over with CES2008, and officially ended when Toshiba threw in the towel in February. There aren’t likely to be any big announcements in the Blu-ray world, aside from more content partnerships like LG adding CinemaNow and YouTube to Netflix on their players. Maybe someone will be showing off higher density disc or 3D content concepts.

I’m hoping to be surprised by something at the show, something just unexpected. If you know of something I should be on the look out for, do let me know. And if you’re going to CES drop by the Sling Media booth and say hello. I believe I’m on the afternoons of Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday, and on Friday morning. I’m also scheduled to present for Sling Media at CntrStg on Saturday. Frankly I’m nervous as hell about that. It has been years since I’ve done a presentation or talk at a tradeshow and never at anything as big as CES.

OK, off to finish packing.

But the real interesting addition here is CinemaNow, and not so much that it is being added but how it is being added. CinemaNow will be streaming to the Blu-ray players. That’s very interesting – as far as I’m aware this is the first indication we’ve had that CinemaNow was adding streaming support to their content. To date CinemaNow has been all download-based, not streaming, including on TiVo. Right now on TiVo only Disney content is available from CinemaNow, but it has been stated that additional content would be added. Since TiVo supports streaming, as used by YouTube and Netflix, I have to wonder if CinemaNow content will also be available via streaming on TiVo.

In general we’re certainly going to be seeing more of this kind of thing, adding content sources to devices to make them multi-function. Just to support Blu-ray content and to comply with the BD-Live specification a Blu-ray player has to be capable of decoding MPEG-2, H.264, and VC-1 video in high definition, as well as handing a number of audio formats. The hardware used to do this is more than capable of handling most online video formats. BD-Live requires an Ethernet connection and 1GB of local storage, which is plenty to handle streaming buffers. And the BD-J programming environment allows for complex applications. It makes a lot of sense for Blu-ray players to pick up additional features like streaming video to make them more competitive and appealing to consumers.

Press release:

Dec 30, 2008 09:00 ET

LG Electronics Announces New Streaming Content Partners for Its Network Blu-ray Disc Players

LG to Offer Consumers Unparalleled Access to Streaming Entertainment from CinemaNow, YouTube and Netflix

ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS, N.J., Dec. 30 /PRNewswire/ — LG Electronics today announced the expansion of network entertainment options for its Network Blu-ray Disc players through new alliances with CinemaNow and YouTube™.

Available on new LG Network Blu-ray Disc Players in the first half of 2009, these new services complement LG’s instant streaming from Netflix and advanced Blu-ray capabilities to deliver consumers an exceptional entertainment experience. (In 2008, LG was the world’s first manufacturer to stream movies instantly from Netflix on a Network Blu-ray Disc Player.)

CinemaNow – an innovator in digital entertainment technology, delivering high-quality movies, TV shows and videos to users through online connectivity – and YouTube – a leading online video community for people to discover, watch, and share originally created videos – will be available in LG’s 2009 line of Network Blu-ray Disc players to be unveiled next week at the 2009 International CES®.

“As millions of U.S. consumers view and download movies or TV shows through the Internet, they are demanding easier ways to access content and more home entertainment options,” said Tim Alessi, director of product development, LG Electronics USA.

“From Blu-ray to instant streaming from Netflix to CinemaNow and YouTube, LG is bridging the gap between packaged media and video-on-demand services to provide entertainment solutions for consumers’ demand for content,” he said. “With these new alliances, LG continues its innovation leadership by allowing consumers easy access to multiple entertainment options in one device.”

CinemaNow: Instant Streaming of Hollywood’s Latest Hits

CinemaNow has pushed the envelope of digital video distribution, becoming the first Web site to offer Pay-Per-View movies from major studios and the first broadband distributor of high definition (HD) content. Collaborating with CinemaNow will enable LG Electronics to offer consumers access to more than 14,000 titles from the major movie studios, broadcast and cable television shows, more than 250 independent film titles and music videos from all major labels. Key benefits include the capability to:

— Browse the entire CinemaNow premium content catalog, including latest Hollywood hits,
— Instantly stream content to enjoy on compatible devices, and
— Access and watch movies purchased from other CinemaNow-powered stores.

“We are extremely pleased to be providing CinemaNow premium content services to these innovative new products from LG Electronics that are helping to drive convenient consumer access to digital entertainment at home,” said Mark Ely, executive vice president of strategy, Sonic Solutions (NASDAQ: SNIC) , parent company of CinemaNow.

YouTube: Original Streaming Video Content

Leading the way in providing unlimited access to online content, LG’s alliance with a prolific online video community, YouTube, will allow consumers to instantly stream millions of Web videos directly from the Internet to an LG Network Blu-ray Player for viewing on their television (without a personal computer). Key benefits include:

— Unlimited access to millions of videos on topics such as current events, instructional videos for hobbies and interests, comedic and viral videos and
— Easy searching, thumbnail previews and multiple screen size viewing options.

Netflix: High Definition Instant Streaming

Now available to consumers as a free on-line upgrade, LG’s first Network Blu-ray Disc Player (BD300) now delivers a growing number of Netflix titles in high-definition (HD). This new access to high-definition streaming content enhances the existing standard-definition streaming service that LG and Netflix first brought to consumers in 2008.

Future LG Network Blu-ray Disc Players will also offer consumers a variety of ways to enjoy more than 12,000 choices of movies and TV episodes from Netflix. Netflix members owning these devices pay one low monthly subscription for unlimited DVD rental and unlimited streaming.

LG’s full line of Network Blu-ray Disc Players, additional new content alliances and other new products will be revealed at the LG Electronics CES press conference on Jan. 7, 2009 at the Venetian/Sands and will be on display at the 2009 International CES – Booth #8214, Central Hall, Las Vegas Convention Center.

About LG Electronics USA

LG Electronics USA, Inc., based in Englewood Cliffs, N.J., is the North American subsidiary of LG Electronics, Inc., a global force and technology leader in consumer electronics, home appliances and mobile communications. In the United States, LG Electronics sells a wide range of consumer electronics (digital display and digital media) products, digital appliances and mobile phones under LG’s “Life’s Good” marketing theme. For more information, please visit www.LGusa.com.

About CinemaNow

CinemaNow, part of Sonic Solutions (NASDAQ:SNIC) , delivers high-quality Hollywood movies, TV shows and music videos to users across multiple platforms. CinemaNow is partnered with some of the biggest brands in consumer electronics and digital entertainment including ARCHOS, Dell, EchoStar Communications, Hewlett-Packard, Macrovision, Microsoft, Pioneer, Samsung, Technicolor and TiVo to deliver thousands of video titles directly to consumers. CinemaNow works with more than 250 licensors including 20th Century Fox, Disney, EMI, HDNet, IFC, Lionsgate, MGM, Miramax, NBC Universal, Paramount Pictures, Sony, Sundance Channel, Vivendi Entertainment and Warner Bros. For more information: www.CinemaNow.com.

Headquartered in Marin County, Calif, Sonic Solutions (www.sonic.com) enables the creation, management, and enjoyment of premium and personal digital media content through its Hollywood to Home™ products, services, and technologies.

About YouTube

YouTube is the world’s most popular online video community allowing millions of people to discover, watch and share originally created videos. YouTube provides a forum for people to connect, inform and inspire others across the globe and acts as a distribution platform for original content creators and advertisers large and small. YouTube, LLC is based in San Bruno, Calif., and is a subsidiary of Google Inc.

* Specifications are subject to change without notice.

Source: LG Electronics

CONTACT: John I. Taylor, +1-847-828-2777, jtaylor@lge.com; or Ojas Naik,
+1-312-397-6008, ojas.naik@ogilvypr.com, both for LG Electronics; or Chris
Taylor, chris_taylor@sonic.com, for CinemaNow

Web Site: http://www.cinemanow.com/
http://www.lgusa.com/
http://www.sonic.com/

Of course, back in January Digeo’s then COO, now President, Greg Gudorf told me that their cable DVR would ship by the end of 1Q08. So we’ll see how this roll out goes.

The other Moxi DVR will be a CableCARD consumer product sold at retail and expected to ship in January. That will be a year after Digeo suddenly canceled all of their planned consumer products, just days after showing them at CES and talking up the launch plans.

Details on the consumer product are thin, I’m presuming they’ll have something to say about it at CES in January. Of course, they did last year too. Unsurprisingly it will be a CableCARD-enabled DVR, and it will not be tru2way-enabled. It sounds like they’re pitching all the same features they were on the canceled products – music and photo access, content partners, home control integration, etc. For music content Digeo has lined up FineTune, Rhapsody and Sirius and they have Flickr for photos.

The one new item that I found interesting is that they’re implementing DLNA support. I’d like to see more products supporting DLNA, standards are good and DLNA has growing support across a number of products such as the Xbox 360, PS3, HP Media Smart TVs, Blu-ray players, etc.

Digeo is also apparently still working on their Moxi TV for PC software, which I was told was in beta and close to release at CES 2008 in January. Though according to TWICE they have it running on XP, Vista, and Media Center versions of Windows now, and not just XP as at CES. No word on when it might be available to consumers.

Gudorf told TWICE that Digeo is working on future products for post-July 2009 which will support tru2way. Digeo signed the tru2way accord in June. But I’m not even going to devote any mental energy to that until Digeo manages to ship something to consumers.

Digeo started talking about launching new consumer products two years ago, in September 2006. (Which I picked up, amusingly enough, from an article in TWICE.) I talked to them at CES 2007 where they were showing mock ups and no real products with the promise of shipping later in the year.

They insisted they’d ship in time for the 2007 holidays up through September. (Oddly enough, another article from TWICE. Is covering Digeo a September tradition for them?) Then in November they admitted they weren’t going to ship in 2007.

Then I talked to them again at CES 2008, and they were showing off some of the same mock-ups they’d had at CES 2007, as well as some actual products. Just a week later they canceled the products and laid off nearly half of their staff. Digeo’s Gary Gudorf talked to me the next day to offer clarifications, including that their cable MSO product would ship by the end of 1Q08, which it didn’t.

We didn’t hear anything else until April when details on the cable product emerged. And then in May they exhibited at The Cable Show and issued a press release announcing Charter’s intention to carry it. In June Digeo signed the tru2way accord.

And now here we are in September again, two years after they first announced their intention to enter the consumer DVR market, and they’re promising a box ‘expected to ship in January’. You’ll pardon me if I don’t hold my breath. Assuming they do exhibit at CES in January, I’ll check out their offerings, again. As I said when I covered them this year, I think they have some good design points. But none of it matters until they manage to get a box on retail shelves.

I hear it’ll come bundled with Duke Nukem Forever.

Tipped off by EngadgetHD.

EDIT: This got some attention in AVS Forum, including from a Charter rep, who wasn’t encouraging:

Ironically yesterday I got whispers from a contact in St Louis who works with someone who’s got a beta 3012 (Don’t get hopes up, so far it seems only a few elite managers and tech ops people in St Louis have gotten to beta this unit)

Apparently it’s still got quite a few bugs, which I think is very odd, given really all they needed to do was improve on the existing hardware and leave the software alone.

At any rate I don’t expect to see them in 2 weeks, heck at the rate things are going, I’d consider us lucky if we see them before Q3 2009

I’d say I’m surprised or that this is unusual so close to a planned release – but frankly this is what I’ve come to expect from Digeo. They’ve had one product actually make it to market, the BMC9000 STB series from Motorola running the Moxi software. But that launched back in 2004 and has been out of production for a long time now. At its peak it only reached around 400,000 users, and the number of Moxi uses is believed to be much smaller now as units have been replaced with newer, non-Moxi DVR models. Unsurprisingly the main MSO to use Moxi was Charter, which, like Digeo, is controlled by Paul Allen. But even with it being ‘in the family’ Charter’s use of Moxi was minor.

Moxi’s history since they were acquired by Digeo has been one of failed execution. Early on Moxi was on their way to being a competitor in the consumer DVR space and they had some cutting edge plans, then Digeo acquired them and refocused them on cable MSOs instead of retail. Digeo acquired Moxi way back in 2002 – and in six years what have they done? One product which never achieved more than minor market penetration, and is now well out of date and discontinued. Aside from that they have a history of press releases and announced partnerships, awards won for products announced but never shipped, staff layoffs, and repeated product delays and cancellations. If they didn’t have Paul Allen backing them I don’t see how they’d still be in business. Digeo needs to ship a product, a good product, to significant numbers of users, if they want to earn consumer trust again.

After five years running at CES I’ve decided on two important guidelines:
1. Book early.
2. If the hotel isn’t on a monorail stop, I’m not interested. (Seriously, since the monorail opened things are much better. Best way to get around.)

As you might have guessed, I just got around to registering for CES 2009 and booking my hotel. Once again I’m at the Sahara. Not the swankiest joint in Vegas, but it is on the monorail (and conveniently the other direction from the LVCC than most of the other hotels, which means most people are trying to pack into trains going the other way), the rooms are fine for me (I’m a man of simple needs – a clean room to crash in), and it is inexpensive. I’ve stayed at the Sahara the past couple of years. The Imperial Palace is also on a monorail stop and cheap, and I stayed there a few years ago, but frankly it was kind of nasty. The hallway carpeting was sticky and there was a funky odor. Ick.

This time around I’ve registered as Press/Blogger, though I have to see if Gizmo Lovers passes muster and they accept me. We’re no Engadget or Gizmodo, but I’d like to think we qualify. I’d like to be able to attend some of the press-only events that I couldn’t get into last year.

I’m looking forward to covering CES once again in January.

This was my fifth CES in a row (and I’m already thinking about next year), so maybe I’m getting a little jaded, but I was a bit disappointed this year. There didn’t seem to be any ‘hot’ item, something that everyone was talking about, some new idea that fired people up. For example, a couple of years ago a lot of people were talking about Sling Media when they launched their first Slingbox. I don’t think it was just me, since I had similar conversations with a number of people on the show floor, the monorail, etc – and it seemed to be a common sentiment. Sure, there was a 150″ TV, which was impressive, but it is really just a bigger TV. You kind of expect bigger TVs each year. Pioneer’s 9mm thick Kuro was also impressive, but it isn’t something we’ll be able to buy for a few years, if ever. So this year seemed to be more evolutionary and predictable. The only real surprise news was Warner’s Blu-ray announcement, which certainly got a lot of buzz throughout the show.

Sure, there were some cool announcements, and specifically relating to this blog, and my interests, we had TiVo’s web video announcemnt, several Sling Media announcements, etc. But it just wasn’t as big as past years with the TiVo Series3 being unveiled or the initial announcement of the SlingCatcher. Oh well, you can’t have big news every year – there’s always next year.

There was one item that I didn’t expect to inspire my techno-lust to the degree it did – the Optimus Maximus keyboard from Art. Lebedev Studio. I’ve been watching the development of this since it was first shown as a concept several years ago, and it seemed to be perpetual vapor ware. CES was my first chance to see it in person, and I expected it to be nifty, but not to be as cool as it was. Photos just don’t do it justice, the keys look great, and they really ‘pop’. The colors are bright, the graphics are sharp, and if I had $1,500 to spare I’d probably buy one. Of course, since my main personal machine is a laptop, it would be a little silly. But it is just so cool in action. Even simple things like the case of the characters displayed on the keys changing when you press shift inspires my techno-lust. I can see this kind of tech spreading as the parts become cheaper.

But the real highlight of CES for me was getting to meet people I’d only seen online previously. I got to meet Ben Drawbaugh and Steven Kim of Engadget/EngadgetHD, Charlie White and Curtis Walker of Gizmodo, and, of course, Dave Zatz of Zatz Not Funny (and Sling Media). There were a few people I was hoping to see that I didn’t manage to catch in the chaos, but it is nice to get to meet some folks in person. Maybe one of the years some company (like Sling perhaps?) will throw a little gathering for tech bloggers. I don’t mean a press event, but sponsor a gathering just to get everyone together in one place to finally put faces to the names. (And if someone has done this, damn, I didn’t know about it.)

I’m already looking forward to next year.