entertainment

Visitors to this year’s IFA Show and especially the Vodafone booth will get a glimpse into the future of Vodafone music and video, featuring Connected Home products and services that network all kinds of home entertainment components such as video, music and photos. Through the use of Vodafone’s new Innovative Media Center and Tablet Media Center terminals, home users will be able to enjoy the latest in On Demand entertainment.

Broadcom announced that LG Electronics has selected its BCM3556 digital TV (DTV) system-on-a-chip (SoC) solution for their new line of DVB-based HDTVs. Broadcom has also said that Humax has also selected  the BCM3556 and BCM35421 panel processor to enable the design of next generation digital video broadcast (DVB)-based platforms. Humax is a leading supplier of DVB-based high quality, feature-rich digital TV products including digital TV recorders, high definition (HD) set-top boxes (STBs) and HD-ready integrated DTVs with built-in personal video recorders (PVRs).

Dolby Laboratories, best known for high-quality audio and surround sound technology announced that NXP Semiconductors has become the first semiconductor company to successfully implement the new Dolby Multistream Decoder-also known as the Dolby MS10 Multistream Decoder-with its TV543 iDTV single-chip system solution. The Multistream Decoder implementation and system kits are available starting today.

DivX and Film Fresh have announced that Film Fresh customers can now download and own their favourite films from distributors such as Lionsgate, Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment and Warner Brothers in the high-quality secure DivX format.  Film Fresh is the first U.S. download-to-own (DTO) online store to provide major motion pictures from some of Hollywood’s biggest movie distributors.   Owners of DivX certified appliances can now download and play to their heart’s content on their favourite device, be it DVD players, digital TVs, gaming consoles, Blu-ray disc players, and portable DVD players.

MIPS Technologies announced that Taiwan-based ALi Corporation has joined MIPS Technologies' Early Access Program for the Android platform(tm) on the MIPS(r) architecture.  The Early Access Program provides a set of key strategic customers and partners access to specific Android on MIPS hardware and code optimizations and enhancements before they become publicly available. These customers -- including RMI Corporation and Sigma Designs -- are working closely with MIPS' engineering team, providing critical feedback and market expertise to drive Android beyond mobile handsets.

MIPS Technologies and Sigma Designs have announced their collaboration on bringing a full high-definition (HD) experience to the revolutionary Android platform. Both companies are leaders in their respective fields.  Sigma Designs is a leader in digital media processing system-on-chip (SoC) solutions for consumer electronics and MIPS Technologies is a leading provider of industry-standard processor architectures and cores for digital consumer, home networking, wireless, communications and business applications.

Onkyo has introduced three network and internet-radio-capable, 9.2-channel THX Ultra2 Plus certified AV receivers that deliver all the power, processing, and features to support cutting edge home theater and whole-house entertainment. The three new models, the Onkyo TX-NR1007, TX-NR3007, and top-of-the-line TX-NR5007, will all be shipping to dealers before the end of September. Pioneer will also be shipping their new AV receivers SC-LX82 and SC-LX72 AV in September.

Coming to a shop near you next month are two of the latest in AV home entertainment technology from Pioneer.  These two systems will set the benchmark in high power AV receiver performance.  The SC-LX82 and SC-LX72 AV receivers are design to bring enhanced clarity, detail and dynamic “quick response” from lossless Dolby True-HD and DTS-HD Master Audio soundtracks used in Blu-ray Disc entertainment.  Both SC-LX82 and SC-LX72 AV receivers offer seamless digital audio connectivity to iPhone® and iPod® devices.

Panamax and Furman as announced some new products as a preview to this year’s CEDIA show in Atlanta - 9th to 13th September.  The companies will introduce a new enhancement to its range of UPS battery backup for home theater systems. Named BlueBOLT and is due out Q4 2009.

OpenTV will be demonstrating some of its next generation television solutions at this year’s IBC show at the RAI in Amsterdam.  The solutions are designed to allow service providers to cost-effectively deploy advanced television services and enable a next generation digital television experience, the solutions allow operators to provide their subscribers with a unique and robust viewing experience enabling the effective discovery and viewing of the content they want to watch.