Dolby revealed that Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, Universal Pictures and Warner Bros. Home Entertainment will encode movies and TV programs in the UltraViolet Common File Format using Dolby Digital Plus. According to Dolby, in addition to new UltraViolet releases, there are also plans to go back to offer Dolby Digital Plus with certain UltraViolet titles that have already been made available. Continue reading CES 2013: UltraViolet Supporters Choose Dolby Digital Plus

Chinese manufacturer Huawei has been on our radar since rumors began buzzing about its long-awaited Windows Phone 8 handsets and a possible 5-inch smartphone/tablet hybrid announcement. Then news was leaked regarding its Android-powered Ascend Mate with 6.1-inch screen, designed to take on the 5.5-inch Samsung Galaxy Note 2. Well, it’s now official. The company announced today that its Ascend Mate has the largest screen of any smartphone in the world. Continue reading CES 2013: Huawei Unveils World’s Largest Smartphone Screen

Liquid Image introduced two interesting Wi-Fi-enabled products during CES Unveiled – a mountable GoPro competitor called the Ego Mini and the Apex HD+ snow goggle with integrated full HD camera, both CES Innovations Design and Engineering Awards honorees. Teamed with the free Liquid Image app (iOS and Android), the cameras can stream live view via Wi-Fi, enable viewing of recorded photos and videos, or activate remote control features. Continue reading CES 2013: Tiny Wearable Cameras Join the Downsizing Race

Lilliputian Systems introduced Nectar at its CES pre-show event, a solid-state fuel cell system that sets a new standard for portable power for mobile devices. Roughly twice as large as a smartphone, Nectar will recharge an iPhone 14 times on a roll of quarters-sized cartridge that can be brought with you on a plane. Intel is supplying the oxide-based chips that enable the technology. Continue reading CES 2013: Lilliputian Debuts Fuel Cell in Your Pocket

LG is going big with its new 100-inch class “Hecto” Laser TV, equipped with both smart TV and digital TV capabilities. Launching at CES this week, the 1080p projection system offers an in-home theater-like experience, easily controlled via the company’s Magic Remote, which utilizes voice, gesture, point and wheel control modes. LG’s Laser TV allows users to place the lens just 22-inches from the screen, while providing full HD resolution and 1,000,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio. Continue reading CES 2013: LG Unveils Theater-Like 100-inch Hecto Laser TV

In the first big news at CES 2013, NVIDIA announced Project Shield, a portable open platform gaming device designed for serious gamers that will run both Android and PC games. During a pre-show press event at the Palms Hotel on Sunday, January 6th, the company also unveiled its new powerhouse Tegra 4, which it claims is “the world’s fastest mobile processor.” Continue reading CES 2013: NVIDIA Announces Project Shield and Tegra 4

The international viewpoint of CES was presented by CEA Director of Industry Analysis Steve Koenig during the State of the Global CE Industry pre-show event staged at the Mandalay Bay on Sunday, January 6th. While most major international markets suffered a 1 percent drop in GDP last year, it is expected that as developing economies improve we will still only see single digit growth during a modest recovery. Continue reading CES 2013: CEA Presents State of the Global CE Industry

In the first press conference of the 2013 International CES, CEA’s Chief Economist and Senior Director of Research Shawn DuBravac outlined trends anticipated for this year’s confab, including mobile devices moving away from their primary role as a communication tool, and mobiles transitioning from serving as a second screen to potentially a primary screen. He also estimated that 50 Ultra HDTV models could be unveiled this week. Continue reading CES 2013: CEA Chief Economist Presents Trends to Watch

Smart TV Alliance announced on Sunday that five new members have joined to help develop and launch smart TV applications and services. The new members include manufacturers Panasonic, ABOX42 and TechniSat, and solution providers IBM and Specific Media. Additionally, the organization announced a new software development kit designed to optimize the smart TV experience with 3D video, high quality video and audio, updated DRM and more. Continue reading CES 2013: Smart TV Alliance Announces 5 New Members and SDK

Digital Entertainment Content Ecosystem’s UltraViolet launched in October 2011 and at the 2013 International CES, attendees can expect to hear news and updates from consortium members about the rollout, support and its Common File Format. A booth located in the Grand Lobby of the Las Vegas Convention Center will offer live demonstrations and an opportunity for CES attendees to register for UltraViolet accounts. Continue reading CES 2013: DECE Counts 9 Million UltraViolet Account Holders

A favorite pastime of analysts in recent years has been attempting to forecast what will prove to be the top trends emerging from the annual International CES confab in Las Vegas. Of course, this year is no different, as consumer electronics continue to branch out from purely an interest of the technorati, become more intrinsically tied to our lifestyles and subsequently draw more mainstream media attention. As we get ready to hit the show floor when the exhibition opens its doors tomorrow, we take a look at some of the more interesting forecasts recently published. (One of our favorite pastimes is discovering who will be right and who will end up missing the mark.) Continue reading CES 2013: A Look at Some of the More Interesting Predictions

The smartphone continues to grow in popularity and power as the always-on processing unit of choice. Quad-core units, phones with screen displays of 1080p and outsized “phablets” are expected to take center stage at the 2013 International CES. There’ll be a wow-factor, like the 5.5-inch flexible screen Samsung prototype, and a now-factor, like wireless pocket chargers from Energizer and Lilliputian that provide up to 20x life. Continue reading CES 2013: Phones to Tout Quad Cores, 1080p and Flexible Screens

With entertainment spending growing to $18.7 billion according to IHS Screen Digest, the entertainment industry is reaping the rewards of offering consumers more choice and options in how they consume content. TV Everywhere’s multi-channel, multi-device approach is finally complementing rather than cannibalizing. The year saw strong growth in Blu-ray discs. UltraViolet’s 7 million households and 8,500 titles now position the format to grow significantly in 2013. Video streaming or SVOD tripled in the first three quarters of the year to an estimated $1.7 billion. And studios continue to experiment with their windowing strategies for electronic sell-through. In this environment, the CE industry continues to respond and innovate. Continue reading CES 2013: Entertainment Trends Drive New Technologies

The interest in 3D entertainment and augmented reality has inspired numerous new head-mounted displays and wearable technology. Using Bluetooth technology and wireless connections to offload processing, these displays come in a variety of shapes and sizes, but all have similar aims: to create an immersive entertainment experience or overlay relevant information onto our surroundings. We expect to see some compelling new products at CES. Continue reading CES 2013: Head-Mounted Displays and Wearable Tech

Ultra HD television sets will be featured at next week’s 2013 International CES. And while the technology promises four times the resolution of current TVs, pricing for these higher-resolution models are expected to range from $8,700 to $25,000. Additionally, there is little available in terms of UHD content, other than upscaled versions of existing content. Will consumers be excited about the prospect of Ultra HD? Continue reading CES 2013: Are Consumers Ready for the Cost of Ultra HD TVs?