The mission of theBlu is to present the world’s oceans via a Web app as a globally shared art and entertainment experience.
MIT Media Lab director Joichi Ito, National Geographic explorer in residence Sylvia Earle, and Oscar winners Andy Jones, Kevin Mack and Louie Psihoyos are involved.
“The really interesting thing about theBlu is how it brings together the biology, the activism of conservation, the beauty and the artistic elements as well as the grassroots, participatory social media movement,” explained Ito.
Wemo Media, the Venice, CA-based start-up behind the project, just received $2 million in seed funding.
The company plans to release additional titles through its media creation platform and invites artists, software engineers, animators, composers and other creatives from around the globe to collaborate.
Wemo Media is already working with the MIT Media Lab, USC School of Cinematic Arts and Carnegie Mellon’s Entertainment Technology Center.
TheBlu is currently in private beta. Invites are available by request.
Speaking at a keynote event, Robert Kyncl, vice president of global content partnerships for YouTube explained that the video site would continue to expand at a rapid pace, as it moves more toward a channel model.
Kyncl pointed out that the five most popular YouTube channels now have as many viewers as the top 20 cable channels, and further explained that content on the video site is instantly global, avoiding many of the complex licensing and distribution hurdles that exist in traditional television.
He highlighted a number of well-known personalities who would launch YouTube channels in 2012, including “The Office” co-star Rainn Wilson, and Marvel comic book legend Stan Lee.
A panel of speakers at the event, including “CSI” creator Anthony Zuiker, and a number of advertising executives, highlighted YouTube’s unique ability to target specific audiences, in contrast to the wide net cast by traditional television advertising.
“The problem with TV is that you can’t sell the same can of beer to a six year-old and a sixty year-old,” said Zuiker. “We are seeing the beginning of the extinction of traditional television.”
Los Angeles-based Neustar Media demos its UltraViolet-ready Catalyst system in this video report.
Catalyst is Neustar’s working title for its white label and completely customizable retail storefront.
This turnkey solution includes a storefront, media player application, and content distribution capabilities.
According to Neustar, Catalyst also provides “retailers the ability to offer custom merchandising and promotions, social media integration and the opportunity to upgrade physical DVDs or Blu-ray purchases to digital.”
Connected TV has taken center stage, and at this CES we are seeing production model TVs equipped with Intel’s WiDi capability out of the box.
WiDi, or wireless display, extends the laptop to the television screen.
Intel introduced the technology in 2010, but it’s just now beginning to bear fruit, with a multitude of WiDi-ready devices coming to market, including all new ultrabooks and models from 100 different OEMs.
It will also be enabling WiDi on Intel-chip tablets and phones. Intel is only now entering those markets, and was showing at its booth pre-release Lenovo tablets and phones.
Samsung and Sharp are among the manufacturers shipping sets with built-in WiDi, as is AT&T on its U-verse boxes, and consumers can expect “Intel WiDi” badges to become as ubiquitous as “Intel Inside.” Adapter boxes that retrofit existing sets hit retail last year for $100.
Connectivity-wise, WiDi is also going to be used to connect computer-to-computer, or computer-to-phone. Intel is emphasizing the creation of an optimized Android SDK for the Intel chip architecture, which should result in a number of interesting mobile apps.
CES marks the first public showing of Canon’s new digital cinematography camera, the EOS C300, since November’s launch.
Available in two weeks priced around $20,000 (body only), and in two versions: industry standard PL-lens mount or an EF mount for Canon lenses.
Records 50Mbps, 4:2:2 MPEG-2 MXF format to dual Compact Flash card slots.
Contains a Super 35mm-sized CMOS sensor, and can shoot up to 60 frames per second at 720p resolution and 30fps at 1080p.
A new set of Canon lenses is also available for the camera: 14.5-60mm and 30-300mm cine zooms in EF and PL-mount versions and 24mm, 50mm and 85mm primes for EF-mount only.
Richard Crudo, ASC has already used the camera to shoot the indie feature, “Max is Back.”
Where to see it: Central Hall 13304, North Hall N109
A technology demonstration showed how music could be transferred from a Blu-ray player to a set-top box simply by human touch.
Each of the devices is network enabled and includes electronic capacitors.
When a person — who also carries with them a digital identifier such as a smartphone — touches one of the devices the human body itself completes the circuit. Personal content stored in the cloud is downloaded to the hardware.
“Ultimately, we are the network,” said Ericsson CEO Hans Vestberg in his first ever CES keynote. He estimates there will be 50 billion connected devices on networks by 2020.
“We see a change in how we communicate — from always having our communicator in our hand and having to find ways to link it to things — to becoming more human using proximity, touch, eyes and voice,” explained Keith Shank, Ericsson director of advanced technologies. “We need to be able to link not just a few devices, but all connected devices regardless of the vendor’s ecosystem.”
The cloud is a huge presence hovering above CES, but for those who are squeamish at the idea of using mass shared storage, Iomega is offering mini-servers that function as “personal clouds.”
The concept is essentially an easy-to-use means of accessing an NAS server at home from anywhere via the Internet.
Iomega Personal Cloud also allows users to share files with up to 250 members.
When not in use the unit automatically powers down to a 1-volt sleep mode.
An entry-level 4TB setup costs about $899, and the units scale up to 12TB. Available from Fry’s Electronics and online.
Where to see it: Intel Booth, Central Hall 7253; Iomega, Venetian Renaissance Suite
Technicolor has unveiled M-GO, a free app that offers cloud-based streaming rental or download-to-own movies.
It launches in the U.S. this spring with a catalog of 10,000 Hollywood movies and an international launch inked for 2013. The studio signatories will be announced in the next few days. The service is UltraViolet compliant.
M-GO also provides cloud-based access to music, apps, live TV and other media across connected devices.
The app will be available on Intel Ultrabook devices through Intel AppUp.
It will come pre-loaded on Samsung’s 2012 Smart TVs and Blu-ray Disc players and will be accessible on Galaxy tablets. Additionally, with M-GO while watching a movie on the TV, consumers can simultaneously get bonus content.
M-GO will come pre-loaded on Vizio TVs, tablets, Blu-ray players and stream players that are part of Vizio Internet Apps Plus.
DTS algorithms look for audio cues within the 5.1 and 7.1 sound to determine how to distribute it among 11.1 speakers. Two of the 11.1 speakers are positioned above and in front of the listener, adding a discrete third dimension to the aural experience.
For example, a sound moving from front left to rear left is probably something passing on the side, while sound moving from front left, center, and right to rear left and right is probably something washing over you.
DTS is also featuring music natively produced at 11.1 in their in-booth theater.
Additionally, DTS is demonstrating advances in its Envelo sound widening technology; DTS Boost technology that delivers a bigger sound from cellphones and other small speaker devices; DTS Enhanced that restores over-compressed music to a consistent, improved quality; and DTS Symmetry which balances loudness levels as you select from multiple audio sources (change channels).
DTS was named a CES Innovations Design and Engineering Awards honoree for its integration of DTS Ultra Mobile with the T-Mobile G2x by LG.
Optoma, one of the largest producers of DLP projectors, is adding three new LED models to its mobile offerings, including the newest Pico model, the PK320.
The 8-ounce, palm-sized PK320 features WVGA resolution and produces 100 lumens when plugged in, but it can be battery-operated for up to an hour while still providing 25 lumens.
The other two projectors, the ML300 and the ML500, increase the intensity (the larger ML500 delivers images of up to 180-inches), while still maintaining a compact footprint (8.7”W x 1.7”H x 6.7”D).
The LED sources in the projectors offer longevity with a 20,000 hour lifespan and all three come equipped with media and Office viewer software to allow for PC-free playback off internal memory or SD cards.
The devices are intended to support “road-warrior” executives in need of convenience and performance, but have obvious appeal for recreational users.
The PK320 is expected to hit stores by the end of this month with the other two entering the market later this year. Prices range from $449 for the PK320 to $699 for the ML500.
Autostereoscopic displays point the way forward for the 3D TV industry, but the technology is far from mature.
Among several glasses-free displays is Stream TV’s Ultra-D technology, which will launch in Q2. The company, which makes autostereo software and firmware, says it has already signed a deal with a consumer electronics brand to embed the Ultra-D technology in its sets.
Toshiba is exhibiting its glasses-free 3D TVs, which have launched in Japan and will soon launch in the U.S. — priced around $11,500. On display are three 55-inch 4K panels of the REGZA 55X3. If they were to display 2D HD content, they would do so at a 3840×2160 pixel resolution using Quad Full High Definition (QFHD).
With the 3D function switched on, that resolution is split into 9 frames — or 9 views — of 720p HD. An automatic face tracking system will find the sweet spot for viewing by one person (problematic when there are multiple viewers).
At the 3D@Home booth is a small company claiming to trump rivals’ screens. Dimension Technologies uses a patented Time Multiplexed Backlight technology, which inserts a single active substrate between the LCD and its backlight.
“When turned on it allows the display to show real 3D images by creating light lines. These light lines are placed behind a conventional LCD panel,” said CEO Arnold Lagergen. “The ability to convert instantly from 3D to 2D display makes our displays unique. No other 3D display converts to full resolution 2D.”
Lagergen claimed interest from Samsung and Toshiba.
At CES, Dolby is highlighting Dolby Digital Plus across a range of CE devices.
Dolby Digital Plus (Enhanced AC-3) is “an advanced surround sound audio codec designed specifically for evolving media.” The company says it available on 430 million HDTVs, smartphones, tablets, PCs, game consoles, and Blu-ray players.
HBO Go will adopt Dolby Digital Plus to deliver content to connected TVs and Blu-ray players.
Samsung will use Dolby Digital Plus to support its Acetrax application for Blu-ray players in Europe.
Samsung, HP, Acer, Lenovo, and others are using Dolby in their products.
Dolby demo material includes “The Art of Flight,” which was mixed in 7.1 and graded on the Dolby PRM-4200 professional reference monitor.
Dolby is providing technical assistance for Boomdizzle co-founder LL Cool J’s CES demos.
Helsinki-based MultiTouch Ltd. is demonstrating its MultiTaction platform for large-scale interactive screens.
The company says its integrated sensor technology allows slim designs for more than 100-inch displays, a concept illustrated by its demo of the MT550W7 MultiTaction Oblique Wall.
Comprised of MultiTaction Cell 55-inch HD LCD displays with embedded Windows 7, MultiTouch is billing it as “the world’s largest asymmetric multi-user touch wall.”
The interactive display runs on Intel Core i7 processors and is designed for single-display installations for museums, retail spaces, universities, medical, corporate communications and exhibitions.
MultiTouch is also demonstrating its 2X Stacked MultiTaction Augmented Reality Table.
Motorola’s new 4G Droid Razr Maxx is built for maximum power, with a 3300mAh battery that just about doubles the industry average.
The company claims the device can run for 21 hours of talk time — or the streaming of eight movies — before needing to be recharged.
At 8.99mm the Maxx is slightly thicker than the 7.11mm of the prior version. It includes a 4.3-inch Super AMOLED display, dual-core 1.2GHz processor and Android Gingerbread 2.3.5 (upgradeable to Ice Cream Sandwich).
It also features HD video capture and playback via front and rear-facing cameras.
