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CES 2008: ZyXEL debuts first digital media adapter with built-in HomePlug AV
While WiFi is great for a lot of things, but there are instances where it isn’t the best solution for home networking. Perhaps you live in a palatial mansion that outstrips the range of ordinary WiFi technology, or maybe you live in a drafty Scottish castle with five foot thick walls that completely blocks all your signals. Or maybe every other sod in the near vicinity already has a WiFi router clogging up the airwaves. Whatever. There’s a way around it that works really well called HomePlug AV, which uses your mains sockets to carry your network. The trouble so far has been that you always have to buy a costly set of HomePlug AV adapters – one for each of the devices you want to plug in and one to plug into your router / hub.
CES 2008: SlingCatcher makes a late arrival, brings new features
Last year we were promised that Sling Media would be touting its SlingCatcher accessory by Xmas. That time came and went and there was nothing. This year, it’s back at CES again, but amidst Sling’s busy year, the Sling Catcher has been through a couple of changes. It was originally – and to a large extent still is – a kind of reverse Slingbox; it takes web content and shows it on your TV (instead of taking content from your TV and transmitting it to your PC).
CES 2008: Sandio 3D mouse demonstrates why mice need even more buttons now
You know what’s wrong with control pads and mouse and keyboard control styles? They need two hands. That’s just wasteful. Especially if you can get full 3D controls with just one device. That’s what Sandio believes and they have come up with the mouse to prove it: the Sandio 3D game O2
CES 2008: More Samsung HDTVs heading to UK
The last thing we really need is another foot long list of HDTV specs so I’ll keep this brief. Most of Samsung’s latest HDTV range is heading to the UK. The main theme this year is 1080p – 2008 is being geared up to be the year of Full HD and Samsung is aiming to get reduce the price difference between 1080p and 720p sets down to just a £100 leap.
CES 2008: Samsung Sound Bar – space saving virtual surround sound system with Bluetooth
Okay, it’s not much to look at, admittedly, but that’s part of the idea. The HT-X810 Sound Bar consists of one rather large speaker block and a subwoofer that’s designed to save you serious amounts of space in your lounge. The bar is wall mountable and has an in-built DVD player.
CES 2008: Samsung HDTV Series 7 range heading to the UK
Samsung, like most other TV manufacturers, has a ton of new TVs on show at CES. Normally though, these are primarily destined for the US leaving us to just wait and see whether we’ll ever actually get our hands on them. I’ve been round the Samsung booth and had a look through all the models that are definitely heading to the UK, and been given a few release dates.
CES 2008: Skype coming to Slim and Lite PSPs
Confirming one of the more concrete rumours from last week – made all the more believable by the fact that Sony had itself mentioned it on its own CES page – Sony is demonstrating its upcoming Skype update for PSPs. A new firmware upgrade, expected to be arriving later this month, will include a full Skype system allowing for PSP to PSP calls, PSP to PC calls and PSP to normal phone calls as long as you have Skype credit, which you can purchase direct from the PSP software.
CES 2008: Texas Instruments DualView technology spells death for split screen gaming (in a good way)
Co-op gaming has been on the rise over the past couple of years as there’s nothing better than buddying up with a friend to take on the armies of evil. The problem is that if you actually want to be sat beside your friend while you play, you’re going to have to sacrifice half of your screen just so they can see what they’re doing. Selfish bastards. Well not anymore. Texas Instruments is showcasing a new screen technology that displays two separate image sources at the same time on a DLP HDTV screen, meaning that each player can enjoy full screen gaming whilst sat beside and watching the same TV as their partner.
CES 2008: Sony’s sub-$200 PC Blu-ray drive
Following Warner’s Blu-ray announcement and HD DVD’s sheepish cancellation of its press conference, the movie side of Blu-ray is looking rather peachy right now. However, there’s still the PC end to consider – there already more than a few HD DVD laptops and PCs out there, and the lower cost of HD DVD discs makes it a relatively appealing choice of storage medium. Sony is at least to keen to tackle one aspect of the price disadvantages that Blu-ray tends to suffer when compared with HD DVD by launching a $199.99 Blu-ray PC Drive.
CES 2008: Sony’s world's first digital noise cancelling headphones using artificial intelligence
Sony has unveiled a new set of noise cancelling headphones that claim to be the world’s very first set to use digital technology. The headphones convert the analogue audio signal into a digital signal, apply some digital equalising to enhance mid-range vocals and bass, then let you listen to it. Or something like that. Observe the diagram for an even less clear explanation.
