Category: Platforms

Philips Announces Digital Media Adaptors

Philips have announced two wireless digital media adaptors that enables the playing of computer-stored content, be that films, photos or music, to be played on TV or in a traditional HiFi system.

The SL300i and SL400i have both been labelled by Philips as a Wireless Multimedia Link can be used with a supplied remote control. Only the SL400i comes with an LCD display, so users can select music without having to have the TV on, and includes the 802.11b USB wireless adaptor.

We feel with year will be the year of the Digital Media Adaptor (DMA) with products expected from many of the major players as well as new entrants.

Philips SL300i

Philips SL400i

Lower-cost Mini-iPod Rumoured

Rumours, even covered by Reuters, are growing about a new, lower cost addition to the super successful Apple iPod range. Thoughts are that Apple CEO Steve Jobs will announce the so-called “Mini iPod” during his keynote speech at Macworld Expo on 6 January.

Pundits are guessing that they will have a capacity of between 2 and 4Gb and will cost from $100, and are designed to take on the lower-end MP3 players from Creative and Rio.

Most speculators think that the players 400-500 song storage will be based on Flash-memory, but we suspect that could contain tiny 1-inch mini-hard drives, or microdrives. Hitachi have already announced their intention to bring out 4Gb drives by the end of 2003 which uses their fantastically named, patented “Pixie Dust” media technology.

Reuters story

PSX Spec Downgraded but Still Sells Out

Following the recent launch of Sony’s PSX, which combines the functions of a PlayStation 2, PVR and DVD burner (full details), there have been a number of dissenting voices over the reduced specification of the released product. Despite this, the first shipment to shops is reported to have nearly sold out on launch day, with long queues on the day of its release. The size of the initial shipment has not been disclosed. A spokesperson for Sony added that they plan to ship one million PSX systems by the end of 2004.

Quite a number of what would appear to be vital functions and features of the PSX have been downgraded or removed, which Sony say is to time pressures in hitting an xmas released date. The most surprising omission is of a functioning Ethernet port, clearly vital for accessing online content and sharing content between rooms in a household.

A number of formats will not initially be supported. MP3 playback will be missing, but Sony’s copy-protected ATRAC will be and TIFF and GIF graphics formats, although JPEG will continue to be supported. Two disk formats, CD-R and DVD+RW have also been dropped. The speed of the DVD recording has been halved from x24 to x12 which should have too much of an impact.

Financial analysts have been damning in their views of the changes with Kazumasa Kubota of Okasan Securities has described the PSX as a “publicity stunt”, while Kazuya Yamamoto of UFJ Tsubasa has claimed that “lowering the specifications of the PSX hurt Sony’s image”.

We feel the removals have been more about anti-piracy than a need to “rush” the release and are probably victims of the long-running struggle between Sony’s content and CE division.

Sony PSX site

First Wireless Broadband Videophone Launches

D-Link have launched the first wireless broadband videophone, which plugs into a television and communicates using either 802.11b (WiFi) or 802.11g, working without the need for a PC. The DVC-1100, otherwise know as the AirPlus i2eye VideoPhone complies to ITU-based H.323 protocol for video streaming and can operate at up to 30 fps.

Its support of H.323 protocol which enables it to be used other similar compliant devices or software like Microsoft NetMeeting and requires no service fees, contracts, or subscriptions.

If having a wireless video camera in your lounge makes you nervous, there are several privacy controls, enabling either the audio or video to be turned off independently or to reject all incoming calls by switching to Do Not Disturb.

It is expected to have a street price of $229 (~€185, ~£130).

We feel there is an interesting future for this kind of device, connecting increasingly globally-distributed families. As VoIP comes further to the attention of the general public, and they become more familiar with the idea, the addition of video will be a logical progression for them

DVC-1100 AirPlus i2eye VideoPhone

First Reviews of Nintendo IQue Player Arrive

Back in September this year, Nintendo announced they would be creating a home games console that would sell exclusively in Chinese market. Initially to be sold in Shanghai, Guanzhou and Chengdu, this will be the first games console to be sold in China.

As details emerged of the IQue Player (rough translation, God’s Playing Machine), we realised that its form would be a handheld games controller that plugged directly in to the TV, doing away with the box under the TV. Based on N64, which at its original launch in 1996 was one of the most powerful consoles available, Nintendo clearly plan to leverage its large amount of licensed game content to run on it – very clever when you consider it is currently just sitting earning nothing. It also has hardware-emulation of Nintendo’s pre-N64 console, the Super Nintendo, enabling it to play the enormous library of games that were available for it. The games will be converted to Chinese language and, to minimise piracy often perceived as a problem in China, games will be loaded on to the 64Mb Flash-based memory cartridges at local retailers and will be, at least to Western standards, very cheap.

Time and thinking has moved on a long way from the N64 and the IQue Player benefits from a number of innovative features. It will be launched with one full game and four other demonstration versions of titles will be preloaded on to the cartridge, that will last for between one and ten hours of playing before removing themselves. As touched on above, the new software will be distributes electronically to shops located around China and will be loaded on to Flash memory cartridges at the shops. The operating system, dubbed UOS, is automatically updatable when new games are bought and installed, this may well be to ensure they stay ahead of hackers attempts to copy games.

The IQue Player has now been released in China priced at 598 Yuan (~$72, ~€59, ~£41) slightly above the originally expected 498 Yuan. The games sell for a very competitive, at least to Western eyes, 48 Yuan (~$6, ~€5, ~£3.50).

Two site have now published the first European reviews of the IQue Player, one in English and another slightly more technical one in German.

The video games and content worlds will be watching the progress of this platform in China, not just to get a grasp of the level of enthusiasm for gaming in China, but also for the success of the anti-piracy measures and to see if they are prepared to pay for reasonably priced content.

bSQUARE Launch Power Handheld in UK

bSquare have launched their Power Handheld in the UK in a deal with Vodaphone. The unit, which had various code names including “Maui” and “Power Reference Design”, runs Microsoft CE.NET on its large VGA resolution colour screen and a thumb-driven QWERTY keyboards that extends from its side.

Connecting to the mobile networks using GPRS, it enables its target market, business users, to compose and exchange emails and browse the Web – oh and it is a phone as well. Strangely it does not support either WiFi or Bluetooth, so exchanging content with other computers is via USB or Infra Red (IrDA). Applications, content and the operating systems (OS) can be updated over-the-air as well as via the USB port.

Its size (140mm x 87mm x 19.5mm) and weight (290g) has caused some concern, being that it is too big and heavy to carrying in a pocket. It only has four hours talk time as well.

bSQUARE Power Handheld

Thomson Announce Portable Multimedia Player

Giant media group, Thomson, has announced the launch of a portable multimedia player that has 20Gb of hard drive storage and a built in colour screen which plays videos, show photographs and plays music. Sold in two guises, Europe (THOMSON LYRA Audio/Video Jukebox PDP 2860 – €749, ~£520) and USA (RCA RD2780 – $499.99), it will play back both MPEG-1 & MPEG-4 video and mp3, Windows Media Audio. It can also be upgraded to mp3PRO.

Depending on the compression used, Thomson claim the unit can hold up to eighty hours of video, which can either be played on its own screen  (3.5-inch Thin Film Transistor (TFT) LCD ) or displayed on a television set using analog composite leads. Alternatively the unit can either be used as portable computer storage, store up to 5,000 music tracks or 100,000 JPEG images. Images can be organized into slideshows to accompany the playback of music.

The content can either loaded via a computer (PC or Mac), using a USB 2.0 connection, or the unit can either record video; using it built in MPEG-4 encoder, and audio directly. When the unit encodes video content, forty hours of content can be stored.

Battery life is reported to last up to twelve hours when playing music but only four when playing back video.

The unit is pretty compact (5.31″ x 3.15″ x 1.06″, 13.5cm x 8.00cm x 2.70cm) and light (10.5 ounces, under 300g) and we suspect will seduce many enough to add it to their xmas list.

RCA RD2780

NEC DLP Projector Sits 2.5″ from Screen

Video projectors are great for showing large, high quality video images, but they have a few problems. They normally have to be placed a significant distance from the screen they are being projected on to, to ensure the projected image is large enough; and, because the light is projected a long distance to the screen, walking between the projector and the screen blocks the projected image. This normally leads to the projector being mounted to the ceiling to try and minimise the impact of these disadvantages.

A while back NEC took note of these and produced a DLP (Digital Light Processor) projector that takes a different approach. The WT600 is a short-throw projector that, unlike other projectors, uses four aspheric (convex) mirrors. This means it can be placed as close as 2.5 inches from its screen, and still produce a 40″ image. Placing it 26″ away results in a 100″ image. It can be placed in front of or behind the screen, on the floor or the ceiling and can run as quietly as <32dB. This week they've installed a number of them for an exhibition called Ecce Homology at the Fowler Museum at UCLA as, due to the restricted space available and the need for the viewers to interact with the projected graphics, no other projector could fit the bill. A really interesting feature is provided by some of the software, called ImageExpress, that ships with it and other projectors in the NEC range. It enables a number of computers/laptops to switch between projecting what is displayed on their screens on to the projected screen, either using an Ethernet cable or wirelessly using 802.11b. Great news when a number people bring content to a meeting that they want to share with everyone, such as a group friend showing holiday photos. The 13-lb., 1500 ANSI lumen, XGA resolution DLP projector currently retailing for just under $7,000 (~£4,150), placing it in the same price range as plasma displays. NEC WT600 specification

Ecce Homology at the Fowler Museum at UCLA

Samsung Two Hours-capable Video Camera Phone

Samsung are releasing a new phone in South Korea next week, the SCH-V410 camcorder phone, that is able to record video, play music, and control some consumer electronics products, giving control over volume and channel selection of many video and audio devices, like TV’s.

The selection and control over the music playback, is achievable without having to open the flip phone.

Out of the box, the phone is able to store thirty songs, of around 3Mb. They are planning a PCS version called the SPV-V4300 that will be able to hold up to two hours of video.

Manual for the SCH-V4100 (Korean PDF)

Microsoft Announce Partners for Portable Media Centers (nee Media2Go)

Microsoft has been talking about portable devices for a while that would enable owners to watch videos, view photos, play music, labelling them as Media2Go.

This week they have announced not only a new official name, but two companies that will help them create designs. AboCom Systems Inc and Tatung Co. will be the original design manufacturers (ODMs) of the now re-christened Portable Media Centers.

These designs will then be passed on the manufacturers, who are already lining up to get involved. So far Creative, iRiver International, Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., SANYO Electric Co. Ltd. and ViewSonic Corp have thrown their hats in to the ring – others are expected to follow.

Intel has had this type of device, labelled a Personal Video Player (PVP), in development for a long time ($100 ZVUE!.

We imagine that Microsoft will hope to win the consumer, via strong integration of these devices with their operating system and the content owners, by highlighting their Digital Rights Management (DRM).

Archos Video AV320 information

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