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Posts with tag digital home

Taiyo Yuden and Sigma Designs showcase WiMedia-based UWB HD streaming

If you're looking to pick up any UWB device to stream high definition video / audio around your crib anytime soon, chances are it might have a little Taiyo Yuden and Sigma Designs beneath the shell. The two firms are showcasing a WiMedia Alliance-based UWB wireless HD streaming solution here at CES, which highlights "Taiyo Yuden's antenna array on its mini-PCI reference design module with Sigma Designs' Windeo chipset." The unique three-antenna array offered on Yuden's solution supposedly offers up extended range possibilities, and fully supports Sigma's "Intelligent Array Radio" technology. Unfortunately there's no word on any end product uses just yet, nor any expected dates for this newfangled system to hit the mainstream, but with the ginormous pressures being felt around here to get wireless HD streaming out to consumer, we're sure it's pretty high up there on each company's priority list.

ZyXEL intros DMA-1000 HD media streamer / adapter

We've already seen what's likely to be one of the most popular HD media adapters to end up stateside hit the scenes at CES today, but networking guru ZyXEL Communications is apparently trying to steal a bit of that digital home marketshare by offering up an HD media streamer / adapter of its very own. The forthcoming DMA-1000 is a network device that channels your audio / video files from a networked source or locally connected storage device to your home stereo and television, and like most of the similar alternatives, this unit streams video up to 1080i over Ethernet or 802.11g and delivers the content via HDMI / S-Video. Reportedly housed in a compact form factor, it also boasts an onboard USB 2.0 port for attaching files locally, and is completely self-sufficient, not needing a PC to call the shots. Aside from being UPnP and DLNA-compliant, this box hits at a very reasonable price point if you're willing to sacrifice 1080p streaming, and while no snapshots are currently available, this elusive device will be hitting shelves for $175 during the first quarter of this year.

MediaGate finally launches MG-350HD, MG-35, and MG-25P in the US

This might not be quite as earth-rattling as iTunes getting ported to Windows, but it comes fairly close. MediaGate is finally launching its heralded media serving products here in the US of A, after spending two painstakingly long years parading around and thrilling folks in Japan. The "new" MG lineup are self-proclaimed "convergence products," and have done quite a swell job fusing data / media between the PC and TV, and now we Americans can get a taste of what we've been missing out on (or finding elsewhere). The MG-350HD entertainment server plays nice with Windows, Linux, and OS X-based operating systems, holds your choice of 3.5-inch hard drive, outputs in NTSC and PAL, and includes onboard Ethernet / WiFi, USB 2.0, stereo and digital audio outputs, DVI, S-Video, composite, and component. Moreover, it supports high definition streaming, MPEG1/2/3/4, AVI, M2V, DAT, VOD, XviD, OGG, WMA, BMP, GIF, and JPEG, and that's just to name a few popular formats. Aside from lacking WiFi, the MG-35 mimics its more feature-packed sibling just about to a T, but does tout Ximeta NDAS technology. The miniscule MG-25P boasts the most of the same functionality as its bigger brothers, but makes room for a 2.5-inch HDD, lacks a DVI out / WiFi, resides in a more durable enclosure for tight spots (like vehicles and shirt pockets), and also acts as "instant network storage" when you're done dishing out media. MediaGate's trio of media slingers are all supposedly available right now, with the MG-350HD costing $250, the MG-35 demanding $125, and the diminutive MG-25P running just around $80, all sans hard drives.

Asus launches its own wireless HDMI over UWB offerings

Looks like CES 2007 is the place to be for wireless HDMI, as now we've seen offerings from AMIMON, Philips, and Tzero showcasing the ability to stream beautiful 1080p HD sans wires, and now Asus is joining the fold. Apparently basing its self-branded product line on technologies from Tzero and Analog Devices, the admittedly vague press release simply informs us that the company will be fighting tooth and nail in the wireless HDMI over UWB arena, and notes that we'll be seeing "accessory devices and embedded designs that dramatically simplify connections between home audio and video electronic components." Per usual, Asus' box will accept component, composite, S-Video, and HDMI (HDCP-compliant) signals, and the video is then compressed using Analog Devices' ADV202 JPEG2000 video codec, where it's then combined with audio, packetized and encrypted, and transmitted via the Tzero MAC and PHY chip. So until we can mosey on over to see some of this stuff in action, we'll just have to take Asus' word for it, as the company withheld information regarding model numbers, prices, and release dates for the time being.

Cyberlink unveils streaming media software: Digital Home Enabler Kit

While most folks would probably take the hardware-based media streaming approach to get computer / HDD-based media onto their snazzy HD sets, Cyberlink is offering up a reasonable software-based alternative for those looking to pass media around from PC to PC (or HTPC). By installing Cyberlink's Media Server on your media-packed computer, it provides a hassle-free way to open up your files to the home network and share them easily with other connected users. Aside from allowing any UPnP-certified player to locate media across the network, it also supports multiple simultaneous users so long as each connected PC is outfitted with a copy of the firm's SoftDMA application. Although nothing here is truly revolutionary, it does offer up a fairly straightforward approach to achieving the "digital home," and you can pick this up (or download, actually) for $79.95 right now, which will include two SoftDMA licenses to get you going.




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