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Jan 07

Verizon and Panasonic demo broadcast Full HD 3D at CES

Posted in: Panasonic, Today's Chili, verizon, video

Currently the only way to feed your 3DTV full HD 3D (1080p per eye) is to watch a Blu-ray disc, which is great and all unless you’re a sports fan, than not so much. Motorola and others have been working on ways to deliver Full HD 3D via typical broadcast delivery avenues — yes, we also want to know what happened to 1080p60 2D — but at the CES Bloggers Lounge Verizon and Panasonic were demoing said 3D format over a Verizon FiOS TV lab setup. The press release and embedded video (after the break) were short on details, but Verizon did tell us that it takes twice the throughput of 1080p 2D — which isn’t actually the case, but what do you expect when you don’t get to talk to the engineers? We assume the demo is using H.264 Multiview Video Coding like Blu-ray uses — especially since the demo was on a Panasonic Blu-ray player — but many in the industry question this codec’s application in the broadcast world since ESPN claims that its backwards compatibility with 2D isn’t as valuable as Dolby and Sensio’s way of encoding full HD 3D, which are more efficient. We’re very skeptical that this demo will actually amount to any foreseeable measurable benefits to consumers, but are reassured that both companies like 3D enough to spend the time to get together and make a demo happen.

Update: Verizon PR responded and confirmed that the demo is using the same format as 3D Blu-ray; H.264 Multiview Video Coding.

Continue reading Verizon and Panasonic demo broadcast Full HD 3D at CES

Verizon and Panasonic demo broadcast Full HD 3D at CES originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 07 Jan 2011 21:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jan 07

Sifteo Makes Playing With Blocks Fun Again

Posted in: Games, Today's Chili, Toys and Games, Wireless

LAS VEGAS — Tired of playing endless sessions of Spider Solitaire on your laptop? Fear not, weary game enthusiasts. MIT Media Lab alums Jeevan Kalanithi and David Merrill have a solution that blends real-world objects with computer circuits and LCDs.

Sifteo is a very different kind of game cube. Using 1.5-inch blocks that communicate through a Wi-Fi connection, Sifteo brings puzzle games that might otherwise be played on a computer screen to the tactile, tabletop environment.

Instead of loading Text Twist on your PC desktop, you can play a game of Word Play on your literal desktop, physically rearranging the letters that appear on the blocks’ full-color 128-pixel display screens to form words.

Inside each cube is a 32-bit ARM microprocessor, powered by a lithium-ion polymer battery. And just like the iPhone and other smartphones, there’s an accelerometer that can determine the cube’s position, which enables some pretty cool ways to play games.

In Shaper, seen below, players must arrange the cubes into the configurations that appear on each block’s screen.

Sifteo co-founders Jeevan Kalanithi and David Merrill were talking about the idea of Sifteo a year ago at TED, back when the blocks were still called “Siftables.” The two met as undergrads at Stanford University, and both went to the east coast to earn MS degrees at the MIT Media Lab , where they built the Sifteo hardware.

“When we were still in the early stages of development, we took the blocks to an elementary school for testing,” Kalanithi told Wired.com in an interview. “It was amazing to see a bunch of 8-year-old girls moving the blocks around intuitively.”

Right now, Sifteo only has in-house developers working on games for the hardware, but the company wants to eventually open the API up to any and all 3rd-party developers that want to create games for it. “We’re looking for feedback,” Kalanithi said. “Opening this up to different people brings the best possibilities for interesting games.”

Sifteo is currently in an early access testing period, but the company plans to release the product in the Fall. Priced at $150, starter kits will come with three Sifteo blocks, a charging dock and AC adaptor, and a USB wireless link for your Mac or PC. If all goes as planned, by next Christmas you won’t have to play yet another round of Settlers of Catan with the ‘rents again.

Gaming on the Motorola Atrix laptop dock… upside down

Posted in: motorola, Today's Chili, video

The Motorola Atrix is definitely one of the more impressive devices to launch at CES this year, but we’ve been wondering how stable that laptop dock is — if the phone is prone to falling out it’s really not much use at all. Well, worry no more — we just watched a Moto rep boot up Need For Speed: Shift while docked up, and in addition to playing the game normally, he flipped the whole rig all the way over to show off how tightly the phone is docked. Video below.

Continue reading Gaming on the Motorola Atrix laptop dock… upside down

Gaming on the Motorola Atrix laptop dock… upside down originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 07 Jan 2011 21:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jan 07

Audi gets on the LTE bus, wants to make infotainment more modular

Posted in: NVIDIA, tegra, tegra 2, Tegra2, Today's Chili

Another automaker getting on the bus with 4G? Yes, it’s Audi, who doesn’t actually make busses but is the latest to announce its LTE intentions, though not exactly what it intends to do with it. Mobile SkypeHD video calling? They wouldn’t be the first. Audi has also indicated that its 2009 partnership with Elektrobit, dubbed e.solutions, is coming to fruition. The result is a way to build a layer of abstraction between the car and the hardware running the infotainment system. Currently Audi is down with NVIDIA’s Tegra 2 but obviously that’s not going to be the new hotness forever, the idea being that users could swap out units at their dealers whenever they want a taste of what’s new and good. You know how you pulled the factory head unit and its big, scratched up knobs out of your ride in ’96 and threw in that Clarion unit with all the blinkenlights? Like that — but probably a lot more expensive.

Audi gets on the LTE bus, wants to make infotainment more modular originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 07 Jan 2011 21:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jan 07

Crapgadget CES, round one: the Magic MousePad returns!

Posted in: multitouch, Today's Chili

We stumbled upon Fortrend here at CES expecting to find their existing Magic MousePad and were shocked to discover something else entirely: a new and improved Magic MousePad! You’ll still get the same multitouch trackpad / keypad combo as before, but it now comes with a “high texture” glass surface, and “friendlier” design available in a range of colors. We’re sure you’ll agree those changes make all the difference.

Gallery: Magic MousePad hands-on

Crapgadget CES, round one: the Magic MousePad returns! originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 07 Jan 2011 20:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jan 07

Calibur11 Vault eyes-on, protecting your Xbox from tactical nukes and stuff

Posted in: case, Games, gaming, hands-on, Today's Chili, xbox 360, Xbox360

Although it won’t protect your console from a certain red ring, the Calibur11 Vault will fend off pretty much everything else. Calibur11 claim that the MLG approved plates that latch on to your Xbox 360 increase console airflow, while adding an integrated game interaction through the use of LED / USB lighting effects and the extravagant 3D extremities protruding from the sides of your console. The pieces themselves are interchangeable as well as customizable with colors, decals, nameplates and accessories packs. Calibur11 has several versions of the Vault available, including an MLG special edition as well as an upcoming chainsaw-wielding blockbuster-title special edition sometime in Q3. Calibur11 plans to release at major retailers like BestBuy in March 2011, so we’ll have to keep our consoles safe from nuclear attacks the old fashion way till then.

Gallery: Calibur11 Vault Xbox 360 case eyes-on

Calibur11 Vault eyes-on, protecting your Xbox from tactical nukes and stuff originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 07 Jan 2011 20:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jan 07

Dish Network’s Sling Receiver lives

Posted in: hands-on, Today's Chili

Originally shown at CES last year, the Sling Receiver promises to bring HD content from your Sling enabled Dish Network box to another TV in your home, as well as the rest of the DVR’s UI. What we hope is the big difference this year is that the device actually ships to Dish Network customers and brings the dream of multi-room viewing — like the other satellite TV provider has. No word on exactly when it will be available or how much it’ll cost, but for all those that are delaying upgrading to the ViP 922 because of the lack of TV2, you will finally be able to stop waiting.

Dish Network’s Sling Receiver lives originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 07 Jan 2011 20:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jan 07

TARDIS iPhone Dock Pumps Out Transdimensional Tunes

Posted in: Accessories and Peripherals, ios, iPhone, ipod, Today's Chili

LAS VEGAS — Speakal has created a dock for your iOS devices in the shape of the iconic TARDIS from Doctor Who. The bottom of the box slides out like a tray, revealing a small docking station. Speakers are built into the windows, and there’s a volume knob in the back.

The company has also created an iOS app that turns your iPhone or iPod into a wireless remote control for your home theater, controlling the TV, stereo and DVD or Blu-ray player. The free app connects to the TARDIS via Bluetooth, and the commands are beamed to your various home theater devices using a small infrared emitter in the lamp at the top of the TARDIS.

It will be available this spring for around $130, and it will be slightly smaller than this demo unit (It’s actually bigger on the inside than it is on the outside).

Speakal has a few other official BBC-licensed products, including a dock shaped like Stig’s helmet from Top Gear. Your iPhone plugs into the top, which looks kind of silly, but it’s still a wicked cool piece of art.

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Jan 07

Turtle Beach Earforce PX5 gaming headset preview

Posted in: bluetooth, headset, impressions, preview, Today's Chili

On the show floor of CES the madness is virtually endless. But lucky for us, within the sea of rabid gadget lovers and enthusiasts we came across Turtle Beach’s booth and got our greasy In-n-Out Burger fingers on the just-announced Earforce PX5. Not only did we get to wear the headphones and feast our eyes on the wireless hub, we experienced Dolby 7.1 surround sound while playing Halo: Reach on the Xbox 360. We’ve got pics and our initial impressions after the break, so hit it!

Gallery: Turtle Beach Earforce PX5 gaming headset hands-on preview

Continue reading Turtle Beach Earforce PX5 gaming headset preview

Turtle Beach Earforce PX5 gaming headset preview originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 07 Jan 2011 19:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jan 07

iriver Story HD e-reader preview (video)

Posted in: e reader, e-book, e-books, e-readers, hands-on, impressions, preview, Today's Chili, video

Our trailer was just visited by an iriver rep bearing his company’s Kindle killer in waiting, the Story HD. This 6-inch e-reader touts a bodacious 1024 x 768 resolution, which contributes to an even better contrast ratio than on Amazon’s E Ink slate, while software optimizations between now and release are expected to make the Story HD the fastest-refreshing device of its kind. The display itself is built by LG Display and is accompanied by a Freescale Cortex A8 CPU, 2GB of onboard storage, and an SDHC card-reading slot. Sun rays are, as expected, absolutely no problem and we have to admit that on first sight we thought the device had a sticker affixed to its front — its that good at reproducing printed materials. Physically, it seems to have been constructed with the third-gen Kindle as its dimensional blueprint, albeit with quite a different control scheme. The hand-built proto unit we played with wasn’t really ready to have its ergonomics judged properly, but iriver has plenty of time until the expected May launch to iron out any kinks. Content distribution partnerships have already been sewn up for the US, so now it’s just a matter of patience until we get our e-reading on in gorgeous XGA resolution. Video hands-on after the break.

Gallery: iriver Story HD hands-on