Hasta La Gadget!

Anyone who has watched James Cameron’s Titanic would be able to remember the immortal moment when Jack and Rose “flew” on the bow of the ship, but in real life, getting such a window suite is not going to be that easy unless you wield plenty of clout and influence. Those who are late in their bookings will not have to lose out on such an experience, although you would have to settle for a virtual one. Royal Caribbean is currently offering “virtual balcony staterooms” that will boast of 80” floor-to-ceiling High Definition displays that have been specially framed in order to resemble that of an actual balcony. The HDTVs will display video that is extremely close to real-time from the bow and stern of the ship, as these video are shot on RED Epic HD cinema cameras – alongside audio thrown into the mix as well.

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80” HDTVs Recreate ‘Virtual Balcony Staterooms’ On Cruise Ship original content from Ubergizmo.

Many of the so-called smart TVs today have built-in browsers, apps and other fancy features, but most of them can only be viewed one at a time, i.e. when you’re not watching TV. A new company called SeeSpace wants to make cable TV smarter with InAiR, a device that displays information without interrupting what you’re watching.

InAiR is meant to plug in between your HDTV and your cable box. It also needs a spare USB port for power as well as a Wi-Fi connection. Once it’s online, supposedly InAiR will be able to detect what you’re watching and provide links to contextually-relevant content. How it detects the content you’re watching is unclear, other than to say that they have a patented content recognition engine which works this magic.

For instance, the video below shows InAiR displaying information about an F1 race being shown on TV. The concept videos and photos also imply that you’ll be able to connect to social networks with InAiR. All of the things that InAiR displays will appear to float on top of your TV. The floating effect should be more distinct on a 3D TV, but InAiR will work on non-3D HDTVs as well.

You should check out the demo video below if you have a stereoscopic 3D display or a pair of stereoscopic 3D glasses.

You’ll be able to control InAiR using your Android or iOS mobile device as a wireless trackpad. SeeSpace will also add support for reading gesture commands with the Kinect and Leap Motion.

Pledge at least $89 (USD) on Kickstarter to get an InAiR unit as a reward. You’ll need to pony up at least $119 if you want the 3D capable version. While SeeSpace says the InAiR is compatible with all cable, satellite and broadcast TV content, it’s unclear if it works with streamed content or movies played from disc.

[via InStash]

Whether for an impromptu movie session or to use as a giant monitor, there are occassions where one needs to connect their laptop to their television or other display. Such … Continue reading

[CES 2014] It wasn’t a complete secret that LG wanted to use Web OS in its TVs, at least to begin with, but the company has now made it official: Web OS will take LG smart TVs to the next level. This is not the Web OS that you may have known from the Palm days. LG might be using the core code, but it has revisited the user interface (UI) and the user experience (UX) design to make it truly shine on the big screen. LG wants to “make TV simple again” and it we love the idea because it is the one thing that TVs have always been good at. Is it possible to make a Smart TV simple? Maybe. (more…)

LG + WebOS = Simpler TV? Possibly! original content from Ubergizmo.

CES 2014 is upon us, and even though I can’t yet set foot into any booths, plenty of companies are trying to get a jump on things with early product announcements. Perhaps one of the biggest items we’ll see at this year’s show – based on sheer size – is LG’s massive 105-inch Ultra HD TV.

This enormous set offers a large curved screen with a resolution of 5120 x 2160 pixels, which LG is calling “5K”. Yes, kids – this set has over 11 million pixels. Of course, my point and shoot camera has even more pixels, so I’m sure this isn’t the end of the display resolution wars. The display has a 21:9 cinematic aspect ratio, and incorporates a Harmon Kardon sound system, offering enveloping 7.2 surround sound using only speakers in the display.

While I’m pretty sure I’ll never have one of these in my living room, I’m certainly looking forward to checking it out on the CES floor this week.