Consumer Electronics Daily News

Pioneer Preps Car-Based 'Information Hub'

The Pioneer AVIC-N4 DVD based in-dash navigation system is designed to serve as the hub for information, communication and entertainment in the car by providing drivers with detailed route guidance, audio and video playback and connectivity to popular portable devices.

The in-dash system features nearly 12 million points of interest, XM NavTraffic integration, voice prompting, telephone number search, CD, DVD and compressed audio playback, iPod audio and video integration and expanded Bluetooth capabilities including wireless audio streaming, all controllable through a seven-inch touch panel display.   

“The need to enhance the driving experience is so prevalent among drivers these days," says Larry Rougas, Vice President of Marketing and Product Planning for the Mobile Entertainment Division at Pioneer Electronics (USA) Inc. "The amount of time spent in the car has increased significantly making products like the AVIC-N4 a necessity for driving consumers. The AVIC-N4 will deliver a heightened driving experience with its multi-functional capabilities.” 

The AVIC-N4 is available for a suggested price of $1600. For more information, visit www.pioneerelectronics.com.

Self-Diagnostic, Self-Healing HDMI Cable

Honeywell is showing off the world's first HDMI digital cable with CURxE Light technology that automatically corrects corrupted HDCP and EDID data that would otherwise degrade high-definition picture and multi-channel audio performance.

"We've made this cable intelligent by integrating a chip into the connector that performs two major functions," says David Coleman, Program Manager, CE Cable Products, Honeywell. "First, the chip's line driver cures corrupted HDCP and EDID data that can lead to serious audio and video artifacts. Second, we added 'light' in the form of LEDs embedded into the connector that let installers monitor the most critical elements of the HDMI interface for problems."

HDCP and EDID data becomes corrupted as a result of inconsistencies of hardware manufacturers' implementation of HDMI, or excess transmission distances. Working in the background, CURxE Light Technology automatically cleans the bad data to its intended dynamic range for the best picture quality. Left uncorrected this corrupt data causes dropout of the picture or audio signal, incorrect resolution, intermittent "snow" in the picture, or a pink or blue hued screen.

For more information, visit www.honeywellcable.com.

DVD Recorder Sales Rise as Player Sales Fall

The worldwide sale of DVD players is in continued decline, new research from In-Stat reports, coinciding with a steady rise in DVD recorder sales. Sales of DVD player units declined from 126.4 million in 2005 to 124.8 million in 2006, and DVD recorder sales rose from 14 million in 2005 to 16 million in 2006, the high-tech market research firm says.

The cause is the complete saturation of DVD players on the market and a sales peak in 2005. Combined with a longer-than-expected draw out of the next-generation blue laser format war (HD DVD vs. Blu-ray), consumers are turning to conventional, rewritable DVD as both a movie format solution and data storage solution.

"Currently, there is no clear-cut winner in the HD-DVD vs. Blu-ray format war," says Alice Zhang, In-Stat analyst. "In-Stat believes that the universal combination player, which plays both HD-DVD and Blu-ray technologies, will not be a sustainable solution as it exists today, as its current price is higher than the price to purchase the two players separately."

The In-Stat research, Next-Generation DVD Players and Recorders, covers the worldwide market for DVD players and recorders, and forecasts DVD player and recorder unit sales, revenues and average selling prices by region through 2011. Also included are forecasts for HD units.

For more information or to obtain a copy of the report, click here.

Sony, Samsung and Others Ready New Equipment Featuring DTS-HD Master Audio

At next week's CEDIA Expo, DTS will highlight the next generation components from leading CE brands including Sony, Samsung, Onkyo, Denon, Pioneer, Toshiba and Yamaha -- all featuring DTS-HD Master Audio technology.

"The consumer electronics industry has been incredibly supportive of DTS-HD Master Audio, and we expect to see a wave of products featuring DTS-HD capabilities this fall and beyond from all of the major manufacturers," says Brian Towne, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Consumer Division at DTS. "Our licensees recognize the benefits of the DTS-HD Master Audio one-stream codec -- for both manufacturers as well as consumers - -and DTS is proud to enhance the next generation of home entertainment."

The company will be showcasing HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc demonstration discs featuring DTS-HD Master Audio movie and music clips produced in 1080p high definition video with audio that is bit-for-bit identical to the master soundtrack. The discs, which will be showcased by A/V manufacturers at CEDIA, will include 7.1-channel tracks from famed musicians BT and Omar Hakim, as well as 5.1-channel tracks from Peter Gabriel and Pat Metheny, and clips from the films Ice Age: The Meltdown and Fantastic Four.

For more information about DTS' upcoming DTS-HD Master Audio demonstrations and technology, visit www.dts.com.

Panamax Debuts Power Management Family

Panamax/Furman, a provider of AC power management solutions, is now offering installers release four new MAX power management products designed to improve the audio and video quality of home theater components.

The M4300-PM, M5100-PM, M5300-PM and M5400-PM offer advanced linear filtration for noise reduction and patent-pending circuitry to protect components from damaging power irregularities.

According to Panamax/Furman, the M4300-PM power conditioner offers Level 2 power cleaning and Linear Filtration Technology (LiFT) to eliminate common symptoms of AC line noise, allowing equipment to perform at full capability for an optimal home theater experience. For increased protection against AC noise, the M5100-PM offers Level 3 power cleaning and LiFT for a 60 percent increase in noise-eliminating efficiency over Level 2. The M5300-PM offers Level 4 power cleaning, while the M5400-PM's Level 4+ performance adds voltage regulation for the clearest sound and image quality possible.

The M5100-PM features three isolated outlet banks, while the M5300-PM and M5400-PM offer five, including two high-current outlets. All three conditioners offer sequential startup/shutdown, which prevents internally generated voltage transients that occur when home theater components are powered on or off at the same time. A 12-volt trigger input allows source equipment to activate or deactivate the delayed outlets.

For more information, visit www.panamax.com.

Amazon.com: Eight Free HD DVDs With the Purchase of a Toshiba Player

Apparently not content with the HD DVD Promotion Group's offer of five free movie discs with the purchase of a new HD DVD player, Amazon.com has upped the ante and is now giving consumers the ability to receive eight free HD DVDs with the purchase of a Toshiba HD-A2, HD-A20 or HD-XA2 HD DVD player between now and September 23.

Only available through their site, the offer gives shoppers purchasing a standalone Toshiba HD DVD player access to three free titles, from a selection of more than 50 movies. Combined with the current HD DVD Promotion Group rebate offer, shoppers get a total of 8 discs with any eligible purchase.

For more information on the HD DVD deal, click here.

Amazon.com is also offering a similar deal for Blu-ray titles purchased in conjunction with a new PlayStation 3 console. Like the HD DVD deal, shoppers get three free movie discs of their choice through Amazon's site, as well as access to Blu-ray's current five free titles deal, for a combined bonus of eight free movies with each console purchase.

As opposed to the HD DVD offer which expires September 23, the online electronics retailer does not specify how long the Blu-ray/PS3 bonus is going to last -- but encourages shoppers to purchase quickly as supplies are limited. For more information, click here.

Samsung Beefs Up UMPC Line, Adds SSD

Samsung Electronics America, Inc., has added three new models to its Q1 Ultra family of Ultra Mobile PCs -- the Q1U-SSDXP, the Q1U-ELXP and the Q1U-XP. All three of the new models are based on the Microsoft Windows XP Tablet Edition operating system.

"Since pioneering the UMPC form factor one year ago, Samsung has relied on customer insights to deliver a range of ultra mobile computing solutions that best meet the varied needs of our customers," says Bret Berg, Senior Product Marketing Manager, Samsung Electronics America. "With the Q1U-SSDXP, Q1U-XP and the Q1U-ELXP, Samsung has delivered three new solutions that appeal to a broader range of personal and professional users."

The Q1U-SSDXP is the first Q1 Ultra to incorporate a solid state Flash NAND hard drive (currently 32GB) instead of a traditional rotational disk drive. The Q1U-XP and Q1U-ELXP are fully featured UMPCs pre-installed with the Windows XP Tablet Edition operating system, the Q1U-XP and Q1U-ELXP enable full PC compatibility with all XP legacy applications. To protect secure information, the Q1U-XP, Q1U-ELXP and the Q1U-SSDXP come standard with a built-in biometric fingerprint reader. They also include integrated 802.11b/g Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR.

The Q1U-ELXP -- powered by the 600MHz A100 Ultra Mobile processor and a 40GB hard disk drive -- is available for an MSRP of $999. The Q1U-XP UMPC -- powered by the 800MHz A110 Ultra Mobile processor and a 60GB hard disk drive -- is available for an MSRP of $1149, while the Q1U-SSDXP -- powered by the 800MHz A110 Ultra Mobile processor and a 32GB Flash NAND solid state drive -- is available for $1649.

For more information, click here.

Sony, LG Join Brand Source's HES

Brand Source's National Convention and Buying Fair kicked off with a bang this week in Las Vegas, with word today that the Sony and LG have been added as suppliers through the Home Entertainment Source (HES) division.

The move, revealed in a welcome address by HES Executive Director Jim Ristow, allows high-end Sony and LG home theater products to be fulfilled by HES members through Brand Source's Expert Warehouse program. Ristow's announcement garnered cheers from the 500-member division, and he explained that the details of the program would be revealed at next week's CEDIA Expo.

The first order for LG products has already been placed, Ristow said, and product is expected to be available through the warehouse in mid-September. For more information, visit www.brandsource.com.

Olevia Debuts 65'' LCoS 1080p HDTV

Syntax-Brillian, makers of Olevia brand HDTVs, have added a 65-inch LCoS HDTV, model number 665H in the popular Olevia line-up. On display at next week's CEDIA Expo, the Olevia 665H features full-HD 1080p resolution and utilizes the award-winning, six-megapixel Brillian UltraContrast LCoS light engine technology with true 1920x1080p resolution and Pixelworks DNX video processing

The 65-inch set has a 4ms response time , dynamic contrast ratio of 2000:1, a cinematic 16:9 aspect ratio and 90 percent fill factor to eliminate pixelation. The high-end HDTV also includes one ATSC/NTSC combo tuner, two HDMI with HDCP, two component, VGA, two S-video, two composite, PC Input supporting HDMI, VGA-1920x1080 @ 60 Hz and RF Inputs for standard definition TV, 480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i and 1080p

According to Syntax-Brillian, the 665H will be available in 4Q07, with an  MSRP of $1999. For more information, visit www.olevia.com.

DirectTV On Demand Service to Feature HomePlug 1.0 Connectivity

Intellon Corporation, a provider of HomePlug-compatible integrated circuits (ICs) for home networking, networked entertainment, broadband over powerline (BPL) and smart grid applications, today announced that its HomePlug 1.0 with Turbo powerline communications IC will provide No New Wires® connectivity for DirecTV’s video on demand service scheduled to launch this fall.

DirecTV On Demand will offer customers access to thousands of movies, music, popular television shows and more, through their DirecTV Plus HDDVR. According to Intellon, customers who sign up for the new service will have access to a HomePlug-enabled surge protector and a HomePlug powerline-to-Ethernet adapter, manufactured by TII Network Technologies. This will enable the consumer to connect each HR20 set-top box to the Internet for DirecTV content downloading, using existing home wiring.

“DirecTV is pleased to offer the HomePlug option to consumers,” saysRomulo Pontual, DirecTV’s CTO. “Our new DirecTV On Demand service is designed for ease of use and HomePlug supports that objective by enabling a simple installation process.”