Digital Media: Listing of Digital Media Stories - Cedia Expo 2009

Digital Media

Thursday, September 17, 2009

11 Networked Components at CEDIA Expo 2009

If your electronics don’t stream content directly to your living room, they’re just plain lazy.

TV, Blu-ray player, receiver and media server manufacturers are pairing up with content providers to cut out the middleman — that being the consumer who actually has to go to a store to get movies or music.

Manufacturers at CEDIA Expo 2009 announced partnerships with Netflix and Vudu, showing off the fruits of their collaborations.

Vudu had a huge presence in LG's booth. LG kicked off the show by announcing that it's BD390 Wireless Network Blu-ray Player now has Vudu access.

Vudu, along with Netflix, YouTube and Yahoo Widgets, can also be streamed via LG’s line of Broadband TVs. The following components represent just a sample of the digital streaming products at CEDIA…

Posted by Tom LeBlanc on 09/17 at 06:19 AM
News, Product News, Slideshow, Displays, Receivers, Blu-ray, Digital Media, (3) Comments, Permalink

Monday, September 14, 2009

Video: Envive at CEDIA Expo 2009

Chris Bortner, CEO of Envive talks with CE Pro's Lisa Montgomery about Envive's TheaterStation product line and the new TheaterStation client.

View larger video here

Posted by CE Pro Editors on 09/14 at 11:15 AM
Video, CEDIA, Digital Media, Media Servers, (0) Comments, Permalink

Friday, September 11, 2009

LG BD390 Blu-ray Player to Add Vudu Streaming

LG Electronics and on-demand movie rental service Vudu are covering their bases pretty well these days.

LG announced at CEDIA Expo 2009 that it's adding Vudu to its full-featured BD390 Blu-ray player via a firmware upgrade later in September.

That just adds to the crazy amount of video streaming and viewing options available on the wireless BD390 ($399), which can also stream YouTube, Netflix, and CinemaNow. It also supports networked video files and, of course, 1080p high-def Blu-rays and regular ol' DVDs.

For Vudu, it gives the service a pretty nice trifecta of recent partnership activity — we’ll count the one it already had with LG. Prior to CEDIA, the company had announced it would be able to stream its videos (plus other services it features such as Pandora web radio and Flickr photo sharing) directly from the latest LG…

Posted by Arlen Schweiger on 09/11 at 07:36 AM
News, Product News, CEDIA, Blu-ray, Digital Media, (2) Comments, Permalink

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Sharp BD-HP52U Blu-ray Player to Stream Netflix

Sharp’s new BD-HP52U Aquos Blu-ray Player will feature Netflix streaming.

The BD-HP52U, which is displayed in Sharp's CEDIA Expo 2009 booth, will ship in October.

Sharp expects Netflix streaming to be available in November. “We’re in the midst of signing a contract with Netflix,” says Sharp spokesperson Melissa Non.

The BD-HP52U models that ship in October will be able to get the Netflix "watch instantly" feature through an update, while the ones shipped after the contract is signed will be Netflix-ready.

Other features:

RS-232 port
BD Live support
HDMI 1.3 digital output
Deep Color
AQUOS link
Surround-sound formats include Dolby TrueHD and DTS HD Master Audio via HDMI digital output
Decodes Dolby Digital Plus
Anti-vibration chassis

Sharp will join a growing list of manufacturers that have partnered with Netflix to offer its “watch instantly” library of 17,000 movies and TV titles. MSRP: $379

Posted by Tom LeBlanc on 09/10 at 11:40 AM
News, Product News, Expos, CEDIA, Blu-ray, Digital Media, (0) Comments, Permalink

Wednesday, September 09, 2009

Sony BDP-N460 Blu-ray Player Streams Netflix, YouTube, More

Sony has introduced the Profile 2.0 BDP-N460 Networked Blu-ray Player here at CEDIA Expo 2009 in Atlanta.

The BDP-N460 features access to YouTube and to Bravia Internet Video. Sony says Netflix streaming will be added later in the fall.

The BDP-N460 doesn't feature Wi-Fi, but it comes with built-in software for a $95 Linksys Wi-Fi dongle.

Other features:

Full HD 1080/60p and 24p True Cinema output
7.1 channel Dolby TrueHD, Dolby Digital Plus, DTS-HD High Resolution Audio, and DTS-HD Master Audio
7.1 channel L-PCM via HDMI after decoding
Upscaling of 480i signals to "near HD quality"

The BDP-N460 also supports Deep Color video output and x.v.Color technology. Also included is an external port for local storage, and a front USB port to display photos.

MSRP: $250 in October

Sony BDP-N460 Networked Blu-ray Player

Posted by Steve Crowe on 09/09 at 04:29 PM
News, Product News, CEDIA, Blu-ray, Digital Media, (0) Comments, Permalink

Sherwood NetBoxx Internet Receiver Streams Online Media With PlayOn

Sherwood R-904N NetBoxx Internet Receiver

Sherwood America has begun shipping its R-904N NetBoxx Internet A/V Receiver, which will be on display here in Atlanta at CEDIA Expo 2009.

The 7.1-channel receiver can play back both physical and Internet/streaming media from a PC or NAS device.

The NetBoxx Receiver supports PlayOn and streams Hulu, Netflix, CBS, CNN, ESPN, Rhapsody, Amazon Video On Demand, CinemaNow, YouTube, and SHOUTcast Internet Radio stations.

NetBoxx can also access personal media, including photos, video (720p/60 resolution), and audio files on a home network. Consumers with broadband access can surf the Web directly with the receiver's remote control through an intuitive TV interface and a built-in search engine.

Other features:

Dolby Volume, Dolby TruHD and DTS-HD Master Audio formats
DTS 96/24, Neo 6 Cinema and Music, Dolby Digital and Dolby ProLogic IIx audio formats
Two 32-bit digital signal processors for audio
TMS320DM6446 digital media processor for video
Option playback in a second room
Support for conventional radio broadcast…

Posted by Steve Crowe on 09/09 at 04:28 AM
News, Product News, CEDIA, Receivers, Digital Media, (3) Comments, Permalink

Friday, July 31, 2009

ReQuest Hits Trifecta for Media Servers: YouTube, Hulu, Netflix

ReQuest may be the first manufacturer in the custom channel to incorporate Netflix into its media servers, and the new application will be shown at CEDIA Expo 2009.

Sure you can find the streaming video service in numerous TVs, settop boxes, and Windows Media Center (see our digital media roundup), but our favorite integrator-friendly servers have been slow to adopt the service … until now.

ReQuest is incorporating Netflix into its high-end Intelligent Music and Movie Client (IMC), which connects to a ReQuest media server.

What started out as a nice way to access your own movies and music from a server has emerged to become a nice vehicle for streaming media – all through a single streamlined user interface.

First there was YouTube, then came Hulu (definitely a first in our industry) and now Netflix.

Posted by Julie Jacobson on 07/31 at 07:14 AM
News, Product News, CEDIA, Digital Media, Media Servers, (5) Comments, Permalink

Saturday, September 06, 2008

Wadia Says iTransport Transfers Full-Resolution Files

Some attendees at CEDIA Expo 2008 were buzzing about Wadia Digital's 170iTransport iPod player dock, calling it the "coolest thing at the show."

The company says iTransport is the only dock that reproduces CD-quality, full-resolution files stored on iPods. The product, announced a while back, is now shipping.

Other features include:

Bit-perfect S/PDIF digital audio output
High-resolution component video output
Analog audio and S-video outputs for connection with most A/V systems

The iTransport measures 2.7-inches high x 8-inches wide x 8-inches deep and charges the iPod while it's docked.

Wadia president John Schaffer says the product has been getting a strongly positive reaction from dealers on the exhibit floor.

MSRP of $379 includes the iTransport, a digital cable, iPod dock inserts for all compatible models, and a Wadia remote control.

Posted by Jason Knott on 09/06 at 09:50 AM
News, Product News, Audio Sources, CEDIA, Multiroom Audio, Digital Media, (0) Comments, Permalink

Wednesday, September 03, 2008

TiVo Launches HD XL DVR, Teams Up with DirecTV

TiVo has launched its new TiVo HD XL Digital Video Recorder, which the company says offers more recording capacity than other available DVRs.

The THX-Certified DVR, being displayed here at CEDIA Expo 2008 (booth 1083), stores more than 150 hours of HD content and has one HDMI cable.

TiVo HD XL also boasts dual tuners so users can record two different HD shows at the same time, while watching a third pre-recorded show.

TiVo, which just reported profits in Q2, says the HD XL offers enough storage to "appease even the most devoted entertainment fans."

"What is great about the XL is it gives content lovers plenty of room for all the programming they love, saving them from having to decide if they need to prematurely delete a favorite movie or a big game memory when space gets tight," says Andrew Morrison, director of product platforms at TiVo.

Posted by Steve Crowe on 09/03 at 09:00 PM
News, Product News, Video Sources, CEDIA, Digital Media, (0) Comments, Permalink

LG Officially Launches BD300 Blu-ray/Netflix Player

LG officially launched its BD300 network Blu-ray player, which streams movies and TV shows from Netflix, at a press conference at CEDIA Expo 2008.

The BD300 targets homeowners by offering 1080p Blu-ray video compatibility, upscaled DVD content playback and instant access to Netflix's online library.

The player supports 24Hz and 60Hz video refresh rates and next generation audio formats. While the player comes as BD-Profile 1.1 (Bonus View), company officials emphasize that firmware updates are easy because it's an Ethernet-based networked player.

Steve Swasey, vice president of corporate communications for Netflix, says that LG was the first electronics company to realize the potential of the new service Netflix was about to offer.

"[The streaming media announcement at CES 2008] garnered enormous attention from the news media and LG was the first to embrace and the first to make it a reality," says Sweeney.

Netflix has a library of about…