News Stories

World’s First Internet Car Radio

1.7.2009

In June 2008 miRoamer introduced its media platform for accessing Internet radio stations on portable music players, mobile phones, MP3 players and home theater systems.

This week at CES, miRoamer announced a partnership with Blaupunkt to introduce “the world’s first Internet car radio,” providing access to a diverse selection of Internet radio content through car stereos.  Drivers with new Blaupunkt stereos can now tune in to miRoamer’s tens of thousands of radio stations from around the world.

miRoamer is giving live demonstrations in the North Hall

miRoamer is giving live demonstrations of its technology in the North Hall

Where to see it:

  • miRoamer, North 5418

 

And in HD Radio news…

iBiquity Digital, the developer and licenser of HD Radio technology, is highlighting progress in adoption of the technology and the subsequent growing number of new receivers entering the market.

hd_radio_bmw

iBiquity Digital reports the number of available receivers is fast approaching 100, nearly double what was on the market during CES last January.  And that’s not all … 11 automakers have announced their backing of HD Radio and some 1,800 U.S. stations are now broadcasting in digital, with more than half featuring HD2 and HD3 multicast channels.

This year’s HD Radio Booth in the LVCC Central Hall features the following:

  • HD Radio-ready receivers from Alpine, JVC, Kenwood, Pioneer and Sony.
  • New tabletop HD receivers from Acoustic Research, Gigaware, iLuv and Teac.
  • New automotive HD receivers from Dual, Jensen Mobile and JVC.
  • Home HD Radio receiver lines from iLuv, Coby, Denon, Onkyo/Integra and Yamaha.

hdradio2

 

Where to see it:

  • HD Radio Booth, Central Hall 9034

LG Shows its Hand – and Wrist

1.7.2009

“Despite the recession we will not reduce market spend or R&D investment,” asserted Michael Ahn, president and CEO of LG North America, at CES’ first press conference.

The company outlined strategies and developments, including: Network Blu-ray players and home theater systems; lower energy consumption; network connectivity in plasma and LCD TVs; and partnerships with Yahoo!, CinemaNow, YouTube and Netflix.

Among the announcements:

  • 3-D chip set: LG aims to include in displays to support 3-D formats.
  • Touch Watch Phone (LG-GD910) with 3G service and GSM capabilities: This wristwatch/phone includes a touchscreen, Flash interface, MP3 player and a built-in camera.  Scheduled to go on sale later this year.
LG exec at press conference showing off his Touch Watch

LG exec at press conference showing off his Touch Watch Phone

  • Noise cancellation technology that the company plans to add to many of its mobile phones during the second half of the year.
  • Green initiatives, and CES attendees can get their cell phones charged with the LG Skycharger in the Central Hall.  The mobile phone charging station runs on wind and solar power.

As previewed yesterday at CES Unveiled:

  • LG BD 370: Blu-ray player and Netflix streamer capable of displaying HD content to connected TV.  Will also stream YouTube and CinemaNow.  Available in Spring 2009 for $299.
  • LG Slim Wireless LED Backlit 55″ TV: Connects wirelessly to interface box to display HD.

In all, LG presented 12 HD TV product lines – nine series of LCD models and three plasma – with screens ranging from 19- to 60-inches.  Select sets will include LED backlighting, TruMotion 240Hz, wireless capabilities–and LG’s “NetCast Entertainment Access” for streaming movies, TV shows and video (includes new alliances with Yahoo!, Netflix and YouTube).

Ahn reported that LG had sales of over $13 billion in 2008, a 16% increase from the prior year.

Where to see it:

  • Central 8214

< PREVIOUS ARTICLES

Specification for Naming VFX Image Sequences Released

ETC’s VFX Working Group has published a specification for best practices naming image sequences such as plates and comps. File naming is an essential tool for organizing the multitude of frames that are inputs and outputs from the VFX process. Prior to the publication of this specification, each organization had its own naming scheme, requiring custom processes for each partner, which often resulted in confusion and miscommunication.

The new ETC@USC specification focuses primarily on sequences of individual images. The initial use case was VFX plates, typically delivered as OpenEXR or DPX files. However, the team soon realized that the same naming conventions can apply to virtually any image sequence. Consequently, the specification was written to handle a wide array of assets and use cases.

To ensure all requirements are represented, the working group included over 2 dozen participants representing studios, VFX houses, tool creators, creatives and others.  The ETC@USC also worked closely with MovieLabs to ensure that the specification could be integrated as part of their 2030 Vision.

A key design criteria for this specification is compatibility with existing practices.  Chair of the VFX working group, Horst Sarubin of Universal Pictures, said: “Our studio is committed to being at the forefront of designing best industry practices to modernize and simplify workflows, and we believe this white paper succeeded in building a new foundation for tools to transfer files in the most efficient manner.”

This specification is compatible with other initiatives such as the Visual Effects Society (VES) Transfer Specifications. “We wanted to make it as seamless as possible for everyone to adopt this specification,” said working group co-chair and ETC@USC’s Erik Weaver. “To ensure all perspectives were represented we created a team of industry experts familiar with the handling of these materials and collaborated with a number of industry groups.”

“Collaboration between MovieLabs and important industry groups like the ETC is critical to implementing the 2030 Vision,” said Craig Seidel, SVP of MovieLabs. “This specification is a key step in defining the foundations for better software-defined workflows. We look forward to continued partnership with the ETC on implementing other critical elements of the 2030 Vision.”

The specification is available online for anyone to use.

Oops, something went wrong.