Each day brings its share of new products and innovations. For our second day we have decided to focus on the " Battle of the Standards " in the DVD market. The HD DVD and the Blu-ray technologies, that will ultimately replace today's DVD, that has become too limited given the clear trend to high definition viewing, are represented at the CES 2005 by the two major consortiums that want to win over the public to create THE standard for the future. It is not yet clear yet which will prevail, but one thing is sure : each manufacturer is doing absolutely everything possible to conquer this Market and as quickly as possible !
BRD Panasonic
HD-DVD Sanyo
HD-DVD Toshiba
And then joining in this battle is the Media Center by Microsoft , created to simplify life for consumers in the world of the numerical convergence, which has created a very noteworthy presence at the CES stands this year. In less than two years, this new system that was conceived to unite in one product all the necessary multimedia and audio/video components, has achieved acclaim from the general public while convincing numerous manufacturers in the belief that this strategy is the future way to watch and "use" the TV.
Currently, three "families" of Media Center products are now available reflecting different corporate strategies. First, those that comply directly with the initial design blueprint established up by Microsoft , closed "all in one" systems with dedicated software and hardware configurations. The second category includes set-ups with dedicated hardware but using software developed by the different companies manufacturing the products. The third approach developed by firms such as Sharp , Panasonic and Philips offers alternative solutions for the TV via IP (Internet Protocol).
TV with Wi-Fi PC Card by Sharp
This last configuration has considerable competitive advantages, as the consumer will be able on his own TV, Plasma, or LCD, manage (and even wireless !) ALL of the audio and video data (films, pictures,…) that are on his PC through the use of the interface designed by the independent manufacturer.
Build around the third strategy above, Philips offers two new products that are very functional and with nice style. The consumer is offered a system that will be able to replace his HiFi but with a connection WiFi ( type 802.11G) and integrating ultra complete management interface. For example, he will be able to read his MP3 from any computer source or simply via his Philips MP3, CD or DVD player (which includes a hard disc) or even play directly music and video streamed via Internet or a local internal network.
Different alternative solutions, more or less expensive, are also offered owners of IPod . Sonance , specialized in the development of in wall speaker systems and multi-room equipment has created Inwall iPort which allows the user to plug in his IPod and particularly manage his play list which is in another room. In a similar strategy Boston is offering for a "happy few" given the price… and only in the US … and only in about a year… a multi-room solution to connect to the playlist.
Sonance IPort
Ipod plugged inside the Boston system
Microsoft's is going open (no official data was given) a Cable/Satellite channel targeted for the US market only (which is what they say now …) which will offer multi channel capabilities, and particularly HDTV capacity in the WMVHD. Given the fire power of the firm from Richmond , reflected in the mega-enormous stand again this year, we can only conjure that their strategy will certainly be a major factor in the development of future standards in our industry….