Tech Digest

BBC Vision to restructure corporation for the digital age

Leaving issues of licence fees and huge wages for A-list celebrities gracing the BBC, it's fair to say that they're a fairly innovative bunch.

DG Mark Thompson wants to expand on their current new media offerings by setting up a department called BBC Vision that will bring together the top production names of comedy, soaps, drama, entertainment, documentaries, and kids' TV (that's pretty much everything then) to look at ways of allowing audiences to access the shows any way the want.

Thompson said he wanted the BBC to be "the most creative organisation in the world, delivering content that our audiences will simply love".

We've already seen examples of integration across terrestrial, digital, web and mobile on a number of shows including Doctor Who, the World Cup, and the Proms.

There are other changes afoot, all designed to push the BBC forward ahead in the digital age.

If you were in charge of the BBC (oh if only) what would you do to keep it at the cutting edge of new media, and make the viewers experience more dynamic?

CEDIA 2006: IP based control sytems announced

IP-based control systems for your home haven't really happened in a big way yet. Perhaps because most installers understandably see anything to do with the PC as a bit flakey, preferring dedicated control systems from the likes of Crestron and Lutron. But that might be about to change with several companies showing IP control systems at the CEDIA show that at least seemed to work (always a good start).

From iDomus there's the Harmony Media Center Extension. Expanding the existing capabilities of Harmony's Home Automation Server software, it now gives you control over the heating, lighting, security automated curtains and blinds. The enhanced product also incorporates built-in CCTV, IP camera and webcam/video source support.

Meanwhile, Norwegian company Adapt demonstrated a similar solution called Adapt Home Control. Capable of controlling a wide range of electronic devices, including heating/lighting as well as AV and security systems, the Adapt system can be used in conjunction with touch screen panels as well as wi-fi equipped PDAs/smart phones etc.

CEDIA 2006: Crestron Adagio now shipping

At this year's CEDIA show, journalists were given an impressive demonstration of Crestron's new entry-level home entertainment system, the Adagio. Although much cheaper than previous Crestron control offerings, the Adagio system provides bags of useful features.

Perhaps most useful of all is iPod control. Using a  Crestron touch screen panel and an iPod docking/recharging station it's possible to recreate the exact interface of the iPod on the display. This means that you can plug your iPod into your home entertainment system located, say, in the equipment  cupboard and control it (through the wired system) in the living room. Simply press the 'virtual' buttons on the screen just as you would on the iPod itself.

Also, unlike previous Crestron products, the Adagio is much more than a control system. It's a fully functioning home entertainment set-up comprising the AADS six room audio distribution system, the AAS Audio Server (compatible with Windows Media Player and iTunes), the AAE audio expander and AES entertainment system. For more information go to Crestron's website.

CEDIA 2006: Several new video servers launched

Music servers from companies like Imerge and Audio Request - which are a bit like giant iPods really - have been around for some time. But video servers, which let you store your entire DVD collection, are now starting to become popular, at least for those with a few quid splashing about.

Displayed at CES was a new server from Kaleidescape which now combines audio and video functionality. What's particularly neat is that you can store all of your CD or DVD covers as images on your TV screen and simply click on them when you want to play them. The downside is that the system is still quite expensive, costing around £17,000.

A more affordable, but less advanced and even less attractive, solution comes from Xperinet. Expected to retail from around £7000, the entry level Xperinet Polaris has a 1.5 Terabyte storage capacity and can store up to 300 DVDs or 3,300 CDs. Alternatively there's a model with 2.4 Terabyte capacity which can store up to 480 DVDs or 5,300 DVDs and retails for just under £11,000.

Freeware Screen Capture Utility

As you can imagine you get to do quite a few screen grabs in this business and here at Propellerhead we mostly use the standard Windows Print Screen utility (PrtScn to capture full screen or Alt + PrtScn to capture active window). There are plenty of good commercial and shareware offerings but they all have their strange little ways and in the end the Windows capture options are good for 99 percent of jobs. However, we’ve been quite smitten with a freeware utility, or rather the free ‘lite’ version of a program called Screenhunter.

It can be fired up with a simple keyboard shortcut, or the PrtScn key, at which point the mouse pointer turns into a crosshair, and you can define precisely the part of the screen you want to capture. The resultant Bitmap, JPEG or GIF image is then sent to a file location of your choice. There are lots of options, it is very easy to use, and if you like it for a small fee you can upgrade to the even more sophisticated Plus and Pro versions. Don’t forget there’s a whole website full of useful utilities, Top Tips and freeware downloads at PCTopTips

Grand Designs Live: House of the Future...today

There was a time when those arty-farty designer types in flowery shirts wouldn't have anything to do with technology, thinking it might spoil their superbly crafted interiors. Oh how times have changed.

At the absolutely packed Grand Designs Live Show (it's amazing what Channel 4 branding can do to boost show numbers) there was more interest in homes with properly integrated tech than ever before. As well as stands showing Biometric finger print readers, mirrored TV screens, home control systems based around Windows Media Center and radiators shaped like Madonna's boobies (OK not really tech but we like them), there was also this House of the Future...Today from CEDIA.

And while none of it is particularly news to technical folk like us, it shows what can be achieved without spoiling your grand design home. Check out the video footage by clicking on the link below.

Smart home at Grand Designs

CES 2006: Gagdets for girls

Once again CES has a special section which focuses on the year's best gadgets for girls. You can read about the products they have chosen as the best for the ladies at our sister blog Shiny Shiny.

1. Don't know about you, but I am sure it isn't just the girls who like the look of these HiVi Swan S200A speakers.

CES 2006 on Tech Digest

The New Year’s hangover has been and gone and Christmas is but a fading memory which means it is must be time for the traditional first week of January jaunt to Las Vegas for the CES show. The world’s largest gadget-fest CES is the place where as many 150,000 industry bods crane their necks to take a look at the hottest new goodies from the biggest names in electronics. So over the next few days we’ll be reporting live from the show keeping you up to speed on the big launches from the major players as well as ferreting out the weird and wacky stuff that makes CES such a blast.

Here’s the timetable

Wednesday morning – you can find out which gadgets have won the coveted CES Innovations awards

Thursday morning – we’ll have the low down from the previous day’s press conferences.

Friday morning – we’ll be reporting live from the show.

IFA 2005 preview

So what’s going to be big news at the Berlin gadget-fest IFA? Here are a few things our man will be checking out.

Samsung – Expect Samsung’s stand to be dominated by products that feature integrated digital TV tuners. Everything from media and DVD players through to camcorders will sport tuners that work with the DMB (Digital Multimedia Broadcasting) system, a variant of the DAB digital radio format that has already been very successful in Britain. You may have a wait before you see anything on those screens for while Germany will have a range of DMB channels, including one offering World Cup football next summer, it probably won’t be until 2007 before a similar service arrives in the UK.

Humax – Those very clever Koreans Humax have lined up a 40in high-def ready LCD TV that incorporates a pair of Freeview digital TV tuners and a 40GB hard disk video recorder.

Hitachi – Expect to see a European outing for Hitachi’s DVD recorder with built in terabyte hard disk. The chances of it ever arriving in the UK though are pretty slim.

Blu-ray vs HD-DVD – In a re-run of IFA 1997, where Tosh and Sony battled it out to establish a DVD format, this year the pair will be pushing their DVD successors in HD DVD (Tosh) and Blu-ray (loads of others). Both are designed to offer the kind of storage capacity that will enable consumers to record high definition TV.

Flash- based camcorders - Sanyo will be displaying the Xacti E6, its latest Flash-based video camera, whose key feature is a prominent three-inch screen. Samsung will also be ramping up its Flash memory video camera range.

Panasonic - Promises to focus on High Def TV and SD. So maybe we’ll see some top-end flash based personal media players and some stonkingly large plasma and LCD screens.

Sharp – We’d put our money on a European debut for its 65inch LCD TV – the world's biggest apparently - which will go on sale in the UK next year.

U3 – Smart USB storage that can also hold software programs and settings as well as files, thereby enabling users to instantly personalise any computing device. It says it will kill off the laptop. We say oh yeah.

IFA 2005 is go

He’s packed his toothbrush, checked his passport and perfected the German, for ‘do you have vegetarian Bratwurst?’ Yes Tech Digest's roving reporter Chris Price (that's not his picture btw)is currently winging his way to IFA, Berlin’s every other year answer to CES. Over the next few days the 3G card in his laptop will be working overtime dispatching the latest from what is invariably the most entertaining gadget-fest of the year. Our predicted highlights include loads of streaming stuff from Philips, Samsung going mad on mobile TV devices and everyone hyping High Definition TV. You can read it all here over the next few days.

Tech Digest goes to the EIEF

Tech Digest has been lucky enough to blag tickets for the fantastic Edinburgh International Entertainment Festival. The festival runs from now until Sunday. Game fanatics take note, because over the next few days we’ll be giving you the latest news and announcements straight from the festival, including info on the New Tomb Raider, Peter Molyneux’s ‘The Movies’, Far Cry Instincts, Burnout Revenge and much, much more. All of the gaming news will be on fantastic sister site Games Digest, although you can expect us to report on any tech goodness from the festival on Tech Digest, as per usual.

MacWorld: Steve Jobs' Keynote

Well, the keynote is under way and while we all sit impatiently waiting for news of all these iPod Flashes and iPod phones and everything else the various tech sites have been whipping themselves into a frenzy speculuating over, it sounds like Steve Jobs has just been making some software announcements. So far, that is.

Mac OS X is getting an update. Tiger will be shipping in the first half of 2005 and will come with 200 new features, the most important of which is Spotlight, a desktop search engine that lets you find anything you want, searching 250,000 files instantly. Microsoft will also be adding support for Spotlight to its Mac applications. There will also be Automator: an app that initiates routine tasks and a new version of Mail - which Spotlight can also search through.

New "Smart Mailboxes" monitor the content of your emails and react accordingly. For example, images sent as attachments will automatically initiate a slideshow button that lets you click to view the images or save them straight into your iPhoto library.

For full details, and even more coverage of the software updates on offer, check out Engadget's brilliant minute by minute account here.

CES 2005 kicks off

And here we go again… We have landed in our favourite city in the entire world – Las Vegas – where we'll battle bravely against jet lag, hangovers and our craps addiction to deliver updates from the number one gadget-fest, CES. The show doesn’t officially open until Thursday but already the exhibition centre is buzzing with talk of a new Xbox, some very innovative new products from Sony and about a million different iPod clones. Hang on cos the madness starts here.

Details for world's largest LCD TV

We mentioned last week that Sharp would be unveiling the world's largest LCD TV at CEATEC and now we've got some more details about it, but not many. The 65-inch set will go on sale in Japan early next year. There's no news on a roll-out for Europe or America though.

The company, which is the number one player in TVs in its domestic market, says that it should be possible to build LCD sets with screens as large as 100 inches. Sharp's biggest LCD screen for Europe - the 45-inch LC-45GD1E - will be on sale in the UK in November priced at around £6,500.

Sharp

Sanyo TV phone

One of the more exciting things we saw at CEATEC was Sanyo's prototype mobile phone that includes a TV tuner for viewing digital TV. Although we were pretty sceptical about why anyone would want something like this, having seen it in action, we've become complete converts. The EX-DO handset enables viewers to watch up to two hours of programmes and there's also an MPEG4 video decoder. The handset, which has not been given an official launch date in Japan yet, also comes with a 260K screen and a 2-megapixel camera.

Sanyo

Tokyo calling

For one week only Tech Digest has jetted east for a gadget-crawl round the land of the rising sun. We'll be reporting on the world's biggest LCD TV, which is due to be unveiled by Sharp tomorrow (Oct 5th), take a field trip though Tokyo's legenday gadget dictrict Akihabra and spend a day or so at CEATEC, arguably the world's most influential consumer electronics show.

Look out for big announcements from Sony and Panasonic, the debut of the first Japanese mobile phones to feature hard disks and the first European outing for all manner of groovy gadgets.

Loads of new phones @ CeBIT

It’s a big week in consumer electronics for come Wednesday half the industry will be hotfooting it to the, ahem, picturesque city of Hannover for Europe’s biggest tech-fest CeBIT.

Last year's show was, quite frankly, pants and not even a speech from German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder could raise a smile on the faces of the delegates.

This year looks much better with plenty going on especially in the mobile sphere. Read on for the scantest of details of what is likely to be launched.

Mega pixel camera phones
Sharp, Motorola and Sony Ericsson have already unveiled their models, now the other manufacturers are certain to lay their mega pixel handset on the table. Look out to for Austrian maker Tel-Me, which is set to unveil its T939 a Microsoft Windows CE based PDA/phone, with a two-mega pixel snapper on board.

3G phones
Wicked whispers are CeBIT will premier new 3G handsets from Sony Ericsson and Sanyo. T-Mobile is also set to unveil its European 3G rollout.

Personal video players
The big news is ceratin to be the European launch of models from Creative and I-River, which use Microsoft’s Personal Media Center operating system. Expect also to see loads of far eastern companies trying to sell their models too.

Other stuff

Synosphere will be displaying its Blue Dock system, which enables a PDA to work like a desktop PC, in that it can be connected to a monitor, mouse and keyboard.
Siemens will show off a pen phone that allows users to write letters and numbers on any surface and enter the data directly into the device.
Samsung is expected to reveal a range of new phones.
02 is planning to launch several new handsets: no clues yet as to what they will be.

Sky + on your mobile?

As ever CES was awash with start up companies hoping to attract the attention of the industry big wigs with their innovative solutions. One of our favourites is called AllMiMedia from a company BravoBrava. Essentially AllMiMedia is a combination of software and services designed to enable users control and access all their media no matter where they are. In reality that means being able to program a hard disk recorder from a mobile phone, or watching TV programmes you’ve recorded over the web on a PDA in your hotel room miles from home.

In a bid to drum up business the company is offering consumers a three month trial of the service by logging on here. The bad news is that you have to own a TiVo Series 2 recorder or a Windows Media Center XP PC to check the system out. TiVo Series 2 recorde4rs never made it to the Uk, while I suspect Allmimedia's software will only work with Media Center software in the US.

Imagine Sky incorporating it into its new generation Sky + box. Now that would be cool.

CES's coolest wireless device

Annoyingly many of the media centre type devices displayed at CES don’t allow user to access web based content like Internet radio stations and streamed video. We think this is a huge oversight. So full marks to Actiontec for offering a wireless Digital Media Player that combines web content access with the ability to display movies and images stored on your PC on a TV.

The Actiontec device has too other really cool features. Firstly it also incorporates web browser enabling use to surf the web via their living room set. Another neat touch is a built in card reader so you can instantly check out image stored on a SD/memory stick CF card etc. The only downside of the device is that it s rather large – bigger than many contemporary DVD players. The device, which uses the 802.11b format, ships to US retailers in February for just $169.95. Here’s hoping for a UK launch (the company has a presence in the UK here) soon.

Sony's iPod killer (again)

At CES Sony unveiled its iPod killer. Yet those hoping for a hard disk audio device to rival Apple’s player were disappointed. Instead Sony unveiled an enhancement to its MiniDisc format which enables users to store up to 45 hours of music a one Gigabyte £5 MD.

While undoubtedly impressive that figure refers to tracks encoded at 48kbps. So a fair comparison with 128kbps MP3 music would be 30 hours on one MD.

The new version of MD, dubbed HiMD, will be rolled out on a range of players including Sony’s top end model, the MZ-NH1. It is slated to launch in April for around £300.

Sony emphasised MD’s other major advantage over the iPod and its rivals is that the MD players offer 50 hours of playback from its batteries - significantly more than the iPod’s eight hours.

Sony also announced the impending arrival of its music download service Connect, which is expected to launch in Europe and the UK in late spring and offer tracks for around $1 a download.

Other highlights from Sony included a12-inch portable broadband touch screen LCD TV with the industry's first dual-band wireless connection for location- and PC-free TV viewing or Internet browsing.

In addition to streaming video, accessing email and displaying digital photos, the unit can control A/V components throughout the home.

Later in the year a personal video player with a four-inch screen will be launched. Its USP is that will include integrated Wi-Fi to enable users to stream video/audio or take part in video messaging

For news of new camcorders, DVD recorders and PCs go to Sony’s website.

Microsoft goes back to its roots

CES kicked off in traditional style with Microsoft CEO Bill Gates delivering the opening keynote speech to a packed crowd at the Hilton hotel. Whereas last year Gates majored on hardware launches, this year the emphasis returned to the company’s core software products. In particular Gates announced two new versions of the MSN.com websites, an update to the existing free service and an enhanced premium service aimed at broadband users.

It was very late on in the speech before Gates revealed this year’s key hardware announcement. Contrary to rumours on sites like The Register Gates announced that the living room-friendly, remote controlled version of Windows XP, Media Center, would be updated later in the year.

The key enhancement is the introduction of a range of Media Center Extender devices, wireless boxes that connect to TVs and Xboxes to enable users to see and hear music, video and still image files they have stored on their PC. The key advantage the Microsoft system has over rival set-ups from Sony and Philips is that it is incredibly simple to use and the intuitive interface is repeated on all the other devices. Manufacturers committed to producing the device include Samsung, HP and Dell. They are expected to be cheap too with US prices predicted to be around $120. There will also be a TV with a Media Center Extender built in from HP.

Gates also announced the imminent arrival of the Microsoft SPOT watches (see separate story) and the summer launch of the hard disk based Media Center Personals.

More from The Guardian

Philips - CES details

Once again Philips is majoring its Connected Planet range of products. These are devices for the living room that enable the owner to access the cool content (in other words MP3 music, MPEG video and JPEG images) that they have stored on their PC. All the products work wirelessly using the 802.11g standard. Some are designed to be incorporated within existing wireless set ups, while others are for those starting from scratch.

For Philips top billing goes to the 23PF9976i is a 23inch LCD set with wireless facilities built in. As well as accessing content on a PC it can also connect to the web to deliver streamed video and Internet radio stations. It is due to reach the UK in the summer.

Other products include the SL300i and SL400i which are devices that connect to a TV to enable it to do pretty much the same as the 23PF9976i. These are due in the UK in April.

Philips also debuted the latest version of its range of camera keyrings. The Key019 is the first of the series that’s able to capture moving as well as still images. It can store up to 24 minutes of MPEG4 quality video, take two mega pixel images and play back MP3s. It is due in May for around 200 quid.

Philips also has a pair of DVD video recorders, one of which, the HDRW720, also features an 80Gigabyte hard disk. The recorder also boasts an onscreen programming system called TV Guide, yet we don’t know yet whether this will work in the UK. It is due in the summer and is expected to sell for around 500 pounds.

CES 2004 preview

While the view from your window is probably rainy and grey, from mine the sun twinkles over the Eiffel Tower, the Empire State Building and the Pyramids.

Yes it is the start of January, which means one thing – time to visit the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in the capital of kitsch, Las Vegas.

The show officially kicks off on Wednesday with a host of press conferences and a rousing speech from Microsoft’s CEO Bill gates. Needless to say we’ll be delivering coverage on a daily basis highlighting all the major announcements as well as trawling the smaller halls for the weirder stuff.

Anyhow we have been doing out detective work, so read on for a quick preview of the products likely to launch in the next few days from…

Microsoft, Philips, Sony, HP, Shell and many others

The big stories so far

Microsoft – Set to deliver SPOT watches, which receive data over FM so they can display the latest news, sports, weather etc. Also rumoured is an upgrade to the remote control PC operating system Media Center XP. We’ll be looking too for Portable Media Center devices (personal audio/video hard disk based unit that pair large capacity hard disks with three/four inch LCD screens).

Sony – We are eagerly waiting the arrival of the XXX, Sony’s personal audio/video player. There’s likely to be some big news on the Blu-ray front – the company’s next generation ultra high capacity DVD recorder, - and a slew of convergence products.

Philips – Top billing goes to a DVD+RW/hard disk video recorder and a wireless LCD based TV a bit like the Sharp Aquous.

Shell – A new package that will enable users to control their heating/lighting/small devices remotely via a dedicated website accessible from both PCs and mobile phones.

HP – A move into TVs, plus apparently some major news from the calculator division…

Dell – LCD TVs, MP3 players and a host of other consumer electronics goodies

Toshiba – A tiny 4Gigabyte hard disk for use in MP3 players

Panasonic – The latest version, and hopefully a launch date, for its Cocoon hard disk based home entertainment wireless server.

Comdex news

Not exactly a huge number of gadgets coming out of the Comdex exhibition in Las Vegas this week. The show, which once was the biggest of its kind in the world, has been eclipsed by the CES more consumer-oriented show in January. These days Comdex is more the preserve of those whose interests are mainly corporate.

Still The Guardian has a round up of some of the new gadgets including the iPen from Pretec in Taiwan. Claiming to be the first of its kind in the world the iPen, is a ballpoint pen, a stylus for a handled PC or smartphone and also a mini VGA camera. No news on UK availability but you can find more details here.

Fujitsu robot shows off goalkeeping skills

At CEATEC in Japan it seems the machines have finally taken over, as several manufacturers brushed off their intelligent robots.

Fujitsu showed off two models – its miniature HOAP-2 humanoid robot, which impressed visitors with its footballing and dancing skills, and a cute mobile agent robot, MARON-1. Slightly more sinister was ALSOK’s GuardRobo. In development since 1982, the GuardRobo is already being used in Japan for patrolling and surveillance.

A red lamp on the robot’s shoulder flashes if it detects an intruder, while an alarm and camera images are relayed to a central control centre. We think that the GuardRobo looks a like a mechanical matron! Oo-er, missus.

Wrist-watch TV unveiled

The trend for cramming as much technology into small, portable items as possible continues apace.

Looking like something out of The Jetsons, the V@mp TV watch, shown at CEATEC by Japanese-based company, NJH, incorporates a 1.5in TFT display with a built-in micro tuner. NJH also unveiled its D-Zign digital camera with a 2.1in OLED display. The 3.2 mega pixel camera is equipped with MPEG4 video playback and has an integrated 1.5 gigabyte hard disk drive.

Sanyo's digital TV mobile

Just as we’re getting used to camera phones, Sanyo has gone one step further and introduced a moby with built-in digital TV.

Demonstrated at the CEATEC show in Japan, the TV phone features a 2.2in TFT high resolution display and can even record and playback TV images, thanks to a built-in flash memory. The ‘palmtop TV’ screen can also be flipped over from vertical to horizontal.

Dual Layer DVD - 16 hours on one disc

The DVD+RW Alliance, including Sony, Philips, Thomson and Yamaha, announced the launch of a dual layer DVD+R disc at the CEATEC show in Japan.

Demonstrated by Philips, the dual layer technology will allow you to record DVD quality video of up to four hours (16 hours in long play mode) on a single disc. PC DVD+R disc users will be able to enjoy increased storage capacity of up to 8.5 gigabytes on dual layer discs – that’s up from 4.7 gigabytes on single layer discs.

Recordable media and products using the new dual layer technology are expected as early as 2004.

Hot news from Japan

Berlin’s IFA might be the biggest consumer electronics exhibition in the world, while CES in Las Vegas is easily the most glamorous, but when it comes to which show is the most influential it has to be the CEATEC show which is held this week in Chiba, Tokyo. For it is here that the Japanese giants get to parade their latest innovations for the first time. In many instances they display products which won’t arrive in the UK for at least a year.

Our team at the show will be filing reports for Tech Digest on a daily basis. So you’ll read it here first.

This year we are expecting

Sony – The PSX, an all in one device that packs TV tuner, DVD recorder, hard-disk drive, and the PlayStation 2 game player into a single white box. The goss is that a European launch will be in mid 2004.

Philips – Dual layer DVD+R disc – This will increase the recording time on this write-once DVD disc to 8.5GB enabling it to store over four hours of top quality video.

Toshiba – A palm-sized portable fuel cell its said it capable of charging a cell phone battery about six times. Also a new Blu laser videorecorder.

Also in the offing...

Sony – The debut of a personal video player product, click here for details.

Panasonic – The unveiling of 2 and possibly 4 Gigabyte Secure Digital (SD) cards

Plus major mobile phone news, a glut of wireless home video entertainment servers and new Blu-ray video recorders.

Stuff Live - Show news

The Stuff Live show (Kensington Olympia, September 26-28) was an entertaining afternoon out, but boy could it have done with a few more big stands. Some of the stuff (no pun intended) was great. Apple was showing off its range of iPods while over at the Panasonic stand you could play around with the company's latest line-up of DSnap digital cameras. There was some big news at the Archos stand, and Palm seemed to be doing good business in tempting punters with its range of PDAs. There was also another chance to see a scaled replica of Subeo's two and three man yellow submarines (the Gemini and the Aquarius) - pictured below.

But for hardened hacks like us there were very few scoops. And many of the stalls around the edge of the show seemed to be showing decidely tacky-looking gadgets that wouldn't be out of place in the old Innovations catalogue. There were plants that doubled as table lamps (www.plantalamp.com) so when you touched the leaves the bulb would glow. And there was a brace you put round your neck (the U-Beat Vibrowoofer) that was supposed to generate bass sounds when listening to movies - sadly it didn't work very well and it looked stoopid...

Another gadget that surely looks destined for a carboot sale near you soon was the £349 Eyetop (www.eyetop.net). It's a headset with a built in screen so you can watch videos, DVDs etc. rather than using a TV. Unfortunately, the screen was poor and you'd feel a right idiot putting it round your head.

However it wasn't all rubbish. There were some half decent gadgets, including the PC Notes Taker - a special pen which captures handwriting from any writing surface (www.pegatech.com) and displays it on a PC screen - and a pair of MP3 goggles from Feonic - handy if your yellow submarine should ever sink. Unfortunately though the bloke from Feonic abandoned the show on the first day, due to a stand mix-up, so we never got chance to check out whether the goggles were any good!

Stuff Live 2003

It may not match the Berlin IFA or the Las Vegas CES show for sheer size and innovation, but Stuff Live is the closest we've got in the UK to a fully-fledged consumer electronics show where you can see all the latest gear. Taking place at the Olympia Exhibition Centre London from 26-28 September, this year's show promises several top names, including Sony, Panasonic, Xbox, Archos and BT.

Highlights at this year's show include:
* Yres Technologies Aveio PC and home entertainment system.
* The UK debut of the Eyetop Multimedia eyewear.
* The latest version of the Apple iPod.
* GPS from Kane Gear, Garmin and Navman.
* Debut of the wireless multi-room music system from Cyrus.

Says Tom Dunmore, editor of Stuff, the magazine behind the show. "Stuff Live is the UK's biggest tech show and it demonstrates Stuff magazine's commitment to support Britain's consumer electronics industry. To that end, we're celebrating the very best in technology with the announcement of the Stuff Award winners at the show - they will all be on display at the Stuff stand. There will be plenty of new gadgetry there too, and I'm confident the show will be a success."

For more information visit the official website. We will of course have a full report live from the show over the weekend.

IFA News Thursday

IFA, the world's largest consumer electronics show with over 1000 exhibitors, kicks off in Berlin today with most of the major players hosting press conferences. Click here for full stories

Here's the news from the show so far:
* Wireless on wheels - a wearable PC for bike couriers
* Samsung delivers hard drive camcorder
* Thomson's handheld video device
* Sharp's wireless TV
* Metz hard drive TV with internet control
* KiSS Technology to debut wireless home TV
* Meridian Audio hits the G Spot

Wireless on wheels

It wouldn't be a consumer electronics show without someone announcing a new piece of PC clothing. But as it's the Fraunhofer-Institut (they invented MP3 doncha know) we are actually taking their revolutionary Bicycle Courier concept a bit more seriously.

It's actually an item of electronic clothing comprising PDA, mobile phone, and a screen and control panel woven into the fabric. The clothing also includes a navigation system, kidney warmer (we're not making it up ) and automatic security that recognises the owner of the bicycle and releases the bicycle's lock. The whole system is powered by the bicycle's dynamo. Sadly it won' t stop them cutting you up at the lights though.

www.iao.fraunhofer.de/

Samsung delivers hard drive cam
It appears that Samsung's IT Cam - the first ever hard disk-based camcorder which premiered at CES - is heading for Europe. It stores video, still images and pretty much anything else you want on a 1.5Gigabyte hard disk.

As each chunk of footage is saved as a separate file it is very simple to find scenes and edit them. It is pretty small, sports an LCD screen and comes with a USB 2.0 connector for fast downloads. Video at just 30 frames per second won't win any Oscars though. We reckon it should retail for around £400.

Getting worried about the number of boxes under your TV set? Samsung has come up with a solution in offering a digital terrestrial decoder with an integrated DVD player. Not had a good look at it yet so can't say what the Electronic Programme Guide is like. If, however, it can give information on programmes up to a week in advance, and if next year Samsung bungs in a hard disk video recorder into the package, it could be a real winner.

www.samsung.com

Thomson announces handheld video

Take-anywhere handheld video players are big news this year thanks to Archos' AV320 video jukebox and Microsoft waiting in the wings with its Media2Go devices.

Latest to join the party is French firm Thomson with its video system for sale in Europe (pictured is the American version, branded under Thomson's RCA name). The RD2780 is a compact unit that features a 20Gigabyte hard disk and a 3.5inch LCD screen (slightly smaller than the Archos). Recordings can be made direct from a TV and then viewed later on its screen. Apparently it can store up to 80 hours of video.

Its retail price will be less than £500 which makes it cheaper than the Archos. There's no news on how long the battery will last though.

www.thomson.net

Hard drive telly offers internet control
Though unknown in the UK, German manufacturer Metz is displaying a couple of interesting products at the Berlin IFA show.

Metz is joining the growing band (well Samsung and Philips) of manufacturers to debut a TV with an integrated hard disk recorder. Its widescreen set sports an impressive 100Gigabyte hard disk with enough space for 200 hours of programmes. Best of all though the set can be programmed via the net so if you have forgotten to set the recorder you can log on at work and activate it.

It is also showing what it calls the first Granny (or should that Gross Mater) proof remote control. Its handset is well specified and will control all kinds of AV devices. However, it also comes with a switch that when pressed turns it into a basic remote with simple channel and volume up/down settings.

www.metz.de

Sharp's Spaghetti Free TV
It is what we have all been waiting for - a TV set without a mass of wires that turn your living room into Spaghetti Junction.

Billed as a revolution in television technology, Sharp's system is a TV without any wires or antennae. Powered by an integrated Lithium Ion battery it's an LCD set that connects wirelessly to a unit that sends out video signals (including TV signals, DVDs etc).

Sharp even claims it is possible to take the set and watch TV in a sunny garden. The TV will be available soon with a price tag of around £1200. The only downside is that the battery needs a recharge after two hours - long enough for Premiership football game but your screen will go blank well before Titanic sinks.

www.sharp.co.uk
Danish company KiSS Technology, which has released several DVD players that sport Ethernet connections, is set to massively expands its range at IFA.

Its key launch could well be a 42in plasma screen that includes an integrated DVD player and a wireless Ethernet connection to access the internet and content from a PC.

Other new products include the DP-1000, a slimline DVD player compatible with DivX movie files and the DP-508, a DVD player with an 80GB hard disk and the ability to access music, video and photo files stored on a PC.

Completing the range, the DP- 558 has all the 508's functionality plus an integrated TV tuner.

Unlike its previous DVD players the new products can all be integrated within a wireless home network.
All products are due to be launched in Europe by the end of the year.

More here

Cambridge-based company Meridian Audio marks its first new product range for over a decade with the launch of 12 new 'G range' CD/DVD products at IFA.

Pictured is the attractive G91 DVD Audio Player Controller which includes multiple video inputs and outputs including component video. An RS-232 port is provided for communication with a Windows-based application for set-up, configuration and customisation. The G91 is expected to cost around £3,500

www.meridian.co.uk

Posted by Shiny Media on August 28, 2003 in Show news | Permalink | Comments (3)