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Sharp, CEC partner up for cheap LCDs in China

by Steven Kim posted Sep 2nd 2009 at 8:49AM

Sharp CEC
Sharp and Sony are planning to dazzle and amaze us with the latest and greatest 10G LCDs rolling off the production lines of their shared facility in 2011, but there will still be plenty of money to made on older tech. With an eye on the bottom line, Sharp has partnered up with the generically-named China Electronics Corp. (CEC) in Nanjing. Not only will Sharp be selling 6G equipment for smaller displays to the Panda group of CEC, but the two will also be firing up an 8G LCD plant in Nanjing in March of 2011. Thanks in part to government stimulus action, China's developed a voracious appetite for affordable LCDs, and the Nanjing plant will aim to serve up 80,000 cheap panels to the market. So far, this collaboration is all about LCDs, so don't expect any CHBD-infused toys from Sharp any time soon.

Chrontel chip eases HDMI-CEC integration

by Steven Kim posted Oct 8th 2008 at 9:19AM

Chrontel logoUniversal and centralized remote control of HT gear has long been the promise of HDMI-CEC, but the efforts of some CE manufacturers aside, all the flavors of HDMI-CEC have spoiled the party for everyone. Between talk of a unified HDMI-CEC standard and off-the-shelf solutions like Chrontel's CH7323 chip, we're hoping for a more standard, um, standard. The chip is a HDMI 1.3a-compliant, single-component solution that manufacturers can use alongside HDMI transmitter silicon to bring HDMI-CEC (even vendor-specific commands) to devices, whether the device operates as a "master" or "slave" in the control chain. We're not expecting full HDMI-CEC to explode on the scene overnight, but we'll take these baby steps for now.

HDMI founders to finally rally around single CEC standard

by Darren Murph posted Sep 21st 2008 at 9:08PM


Back in March, we called for HDMI members to put aside their differences and unify around a single HDMI-CEC standard. According to Steve Venuti, president of HDMI Licensing, LLC, that movement is about to begin. While speaking to CE Pro at CEDIA, the bigwig confessed that the HDMI founders (Hitachi, Panasonic, Philips, Silicon Image, Sony, Thomson and Toshiba) have finally agreed to team up on a "unified CEC plan." If executed, the result would mean that HDMI-CEC-enabled VIERA plasmas could be controlled in unison with HDMI-CEC-enabled Sony receivers, and the whole VIERA Link / BRAVIA Sync / Anynet+ / AQUOS Link garbage could finally be disposed of. Mr. Venuti also claimed that there would "probably be an announcement at CES 2009," so we'll be keeping an ear out in around 100 days.

[Image courtesy of AVReview, thanks Lindsay]

Onkyo's TX-SA606X receiver handles AQUOS, Viera and REGZA HDMI control schemes

by Darren Murph posted Mar 25th 2008 at 3:33PM


Here at Engadget HD, we have a special place in our hearts for HDMI-CEC, but things can get sticky when buying components from different manufacturers. Fret not, as Onkyo's latest AV receiver manages to play nice with Panasonic's Viera Link, Toshiba's REGZA Link and Sharp's AQUOS Link all the same. The TX-SA606X, which is available in silver or a Mr. T-approved gold finish, also boasts HDMI 1.3 connectors, Dolby TrueHD / DTS-MA decoders, a 185-watt x 7 internal amplifier, optical / coaxial audio inputs and a smorgasbord of other video ports. Unsurprisingly, such a multifaceted unit won't run you cheap, as interested consumers will be asked to hand over ¥84,000 ($839) when it lands on April 29th.

[Via AkihabaraNews]

HDMI execs clear the air on various topics

by Steven Kim posted Jan 8th 2008 at 10:32AM

HDMI execs clear the air on various topicsExecutives from HDMI Licensing took some pre-CES time to clear up some questions about the HDMI. Click on through for details from the interview, but a couple of topics stood out to us. First, we've seen CEC customized by various hardware manufacturers, with no guarantees of interoperation between branded implementations. HDMI is working on a unified CEC branding scheme and guaranteed core functionality. Second up, field-terminated cables are a no-go. As much as we'd love to make our own custom length HDMI cables, the connector density combined with the high bandwidth makes this "just impossible." Leave cable construction to the pros, folks.

Philips launches BDP7200 BonusView-enabled Blu-ray player

by Erik Hanson posted Jan 6th 2008 at 5:39PM

Philips BDP7200 Profile 1.1-capable Blu-ray Disc playerPhilips has announced the second generation in its line of Blu-ray players with the BDP7200, sporting 1080p/24 and Deep Color support, and BonusView (aka Profile 1.1) picture-in-picture capability. The player can also upscale DVDs to 1080p, and control connected devices using the EasyLink HDMI Consumer Electronics Control (CEC) protocols. Philips will release the BDP7200 in April for a $349 price, putting it towards the low end on the Blu-ray player price list, but the one thing we wish Philips had let us know was the level of audio codec support, with no mention at all of DTS or Dolby's high-end audio formats.

[Update: Also see our hands-on with the BDP7200.]

Click on for a couple more photos

Continue reading Philips launches BDP7200 BonusView-enabled Blu-ray player





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