Gemstar to provide TV Guide scheduling to Sony HDTVs directly
The payoff for Macrovision in its having acquired the online and print publisher of TV Guide's regular schedules, appears to have been swift and immediate with a deal that puts Macrovision equipment into Sony displays.
The interactive program guide (IPG) from the most recognized brand in TV viewing scheduling, will now be integrated into Sony digital TVs sold in the US, as the result of a multiyear agreement between TV Guide publisher Gemstar and Sony.
Analysis: Ten reasons why discs won't die
Scott Fulton, BetaNews: Well, all the cards are pretty much on the table now at CES 2008, and it's time to start looking at what it all means. For that we've brought along our former Gartner analyst and BetaNews' own Senior CES Analyst, Sharon Fisher.
And Sharon, I'm thinking the place to start this week is with the notion that the high-def format war may be drawing down, if not to a complete close, and the real excitement has shifted over to streaming video.
Microsoft issues out-of-cycle fix for critical Windows RPC fault
If the Vista kernel can't be spoofed, it appears some of its key Internet Protocol kernel drivers can be. An IBM security division discovered the problem, and this morning, Microsoft issued what it hopes will be a fix.
A division of IBM involved with security research is being credited for having discovered a seriously exploitable vulnerability in both Windows XP and Windows Vista. The subject this time around deals with two critical components used by the TCP/IP stack: Internet Group Management Protocol (IGMP) and Multicast Listener Discovery (MLD) for IPv6, the latter applying only to Vista.
Warner: Rising gas prices drove its Blu-ray decision
Scott Fulton, BetaNews: In one of the stranger explanations provided thus far, for a format war that has already seen a treasure trove of awkward moments, a key Warner Bros. executive late yesterday blamed the state of the US economy for having driven its decision to back out of the HD DVD group and publish high-def movies on Blu-ray exclusively, as first published by Reuters.
Kevin Tsujihara, President, Warner Bros. Entertainment Group: We've typically been recession proof. But the thing that we saw in the fourth quarter...was gas prices beginning to affect sales. And since we're considered an impulse purchase, it's beginning to impact us."
Comcast to announce all-on-demand service this morning
Scott Fulton, BetaNews: During his keynote address later this morning at CES 2008, Comcast CEO Brian Roberts is slated to introduce a venerable onslaught of brands to the public at large, at least one of which could have a significant and perhaps historic impact on cable television service.
For now, the big announcement is being referred to as "Project Infinity," and it involves nothing short of the deprogramming of the programs it offers from all its content providers.
OQO to upgrade its UMPC to include Sprint Xohm WiMAX
You can't run out and buy it yet, but OQO is demonstrating what it said is the first ultra mobile PC (UMPC) to support Sprint's Xohm Mobile WiMAX wireless data system.
Sharon Fisher, BetaNews Senior CES Analyst: WiMAX is a wireless wide-area network built as a complement to the cellular network, so unlike WiFi, it can transmit data up to three miles away, at speeds of from 2 to 5 Mbps. Sprint Nextel showed off its WiMAX capability at last year's CES, and said it expected WiMAX service to be available to 100 million subscribers by this year. The company also said last year it expected to invest $3 billion in its WiMAX network over the next couple of years.
Sony confirms PSP will soon get Skype
It is now official: Sony announced yesterday afternoon that Skype calling service, including free conferencing and text chat capabilities, is due to be a feature of its PlayStation Portable, presumably with a future firmware upgrade.
While this doesn't exactly make the PSP the equivalent of a roaming cellular phone, this will give PSP users both presence and connectivity when in range of a Wi-Fi router.
Broadcom bypasses STBs on the one hand, partners with Microsoft on the other
Scott Fulton, BetaNews: With connectivity between devices being the runaway principal theme of this year's CES, Broadcom is making an intriguing play: Yesterday afternoon, the provider of technologies embedded in devices announced it's producing the components for HDTV manufacturers to embed video-on-demand-ready features directly into their sets, bypassing set-top boxes.
Sharon Fisher, BetaNews Senior CES Analyst: Broadcom Corp. is demonstrating a digital television that hooks up directly to the Internet, eliminating the need for a PC or a set-top box to gain access to video-on-demand, Internet-based TV, and interactive TV services.
Toshiba picks up the pieces of its HD DVD plan
Faced with an embarrassing postponement, if not outright cancellation, of the HD DVD consortium's CES festivities, the champion of the format is going ahead with marketing plans for its "third-generation" consoles.
The timing for Toshiba couldn't have been worse, when one of its key technology partners in the creation of HD DVD -- Warner Bros. -- broke ranks to join the Blu-ray Disc Association last Friday. Faced with no other option, Toshiba played damage control as best it could on Sunday at CES. The president of its US consumer products division, Akiyo Ozaka, told reporters at a briefing this morning that while his company was "disappointed" by Warner's move, citing rising sales numbers since Black Friday, its format "is not dead."
Sony: PS3 ranks swell by 1.2 million since Black Friday
If Sony is to make a comeback this year, it will need to make a huge splash at CES. That's exactly what it has in mind, and helping the company along is some positive news -- for a change -- about its star gaming platform.
In recent weeks, Sony has been working feverishly to convince consumers that its PlayStation 3 console has been on a comeback trail. The problem is, even though sales do appear to have picked up, its two main competitors -- Microsoft's Xbox 360 and the winner-and-still-champion Nintendo Wii -- are also on the rise.
Live running analysis from the Bill Gates keynote
Scott Fulton, BetaNews: It is the annual ritual event that officially marks the end of the holiday season: the Bill Gates keynote at CES. This year, once again there's speculation over whether this will be the Microsoft chairman's last such keynote appearance, similar to the speculation throughout the '70s and '80s over whether this year's Bob Hope Christmas extravaganza would be the final one.
As far as prognostication is concerned, Gates has been a little off the mark in recent years. Last year, you may recall, he demonstrated the wonders of electronic wallpaper which was capable of changing its mood from bright and bold to warm and cozy, for those moments when you ned to tidy your house real quickly before your grandmother drops by. (Literally, that's the analogy he used.)
Vudu opens the gates with high-def streaming movies
The theme of this year's CES could very well be "Leaving the Format War Behind," as already Sunday morning, the emphasis from manufacturers has been centered around device connectivity and streaming service. "HD" is left in, and "blue-laser" is on the sideline...at least thus far.
Monday promises to be "Blu-ray Day," with a flurry of Blu-ray related events to help rub HD DVD's nose in the dirt, after the historic snubbing of HD DVD by Warner Bros. on the weekend.
CES Trend #4: Will the quadruple-play finally cinch the 'last mile?'
What could eventually resolve the value proposition for mainstream consumers to accept an incoming ultra-high-bandwidth pipeline into their homes is the ability of high-definition, on-demand video. But that will require a level of cooperation that competitors thus far have been unable to muster.
"Convergence," used by CE manufacturers to promise solutions the way some political candidates promise "change," has once again become the big problem. The conventional logic is that converging the various communications services -- landline phone, wireless phone, broadband Internet, and HD video -- is the only way to make them both appealing to the consumer from a cost standpoint, and cost-effective to implement from the producers' and manufacturers' vantage point.
Warner Bros. moves to Blu-ray camp exclusively
In a move that could upset the balance between the competing high-definition disc formats yet again, Warner Home Video today said that it is switching its allegiance entirely to the Blu-ray camp, in an effort to reduce confusion.
Beginning next May, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment announced late this afternoon, it will cease releasing new movie titles on the HD DVD format, preferring Blu-ray exclusively.
HP to update media PCs with AMD Phenom, hybrid high-def drives
While even HP has admitted consumers' shifting preference toward notebooks as desktop PCs, for 2008, it plans to give desktops a boost with multimedia form factors, new AMD CPUs, and some intriguing price points.
If the desktop PC form factor has any room left in which to grow this year, it's in the media form factor. There, it has to be willing to assume an odd shape, perhaps not so much an element of your desk as something that can be wedged in an open cavity between cabinets in your home entertainment system.
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