Companies tout HD technology at CES

LAS VEGAS--Although high-definition DVD suffered from the news that Warner Brothers will only be providing content in BluRay format this year, the HD market in general was in fine shape at the Consumer Electronics Show this week in Las Vegas. HD was at the forefront of many companies and attendees’ agendas, as technology providers announced new capabilities and TV manufactures introduced thinner, larger, better quality TV sets.

One such vanguard company was XStreamHD, a privately backed HD-driven endeavor. Actor Michael Douglas, an investor in the five-year old startup, introduced CES media attendees to the company’s HD delivery system, which it claims is the first-ever transport network to deliver HD movies and music directly to the home. Through partnerships announced this week with digital technology company DTS and storage company Seagate Technology, the XStreamHD platform features1080p video and up to 7.1 channels of DTS-HD Master Audio, as well as Seagate’s DB35 Series hard drives with up to one terabyte of storage.

The Virginia-based company will offer access to HD movies, music, broadcast TV and electronic games in what CEO Gorge Gonzalez called the “ultimate experience" delivered on the consumer’s schedule. The platform, set to ship in the fourth quarter, is a whole-home solution anchored by a home media server and an HD receiver. “It’s not VOD,” Gonazalez said. “We say it’s better.”

Users can essentially choose a library of more than 200 movies that they are interested in and have them available until they are ready to refresh their options. Titles are brought directly to the home via a satellite connection, and consumers are made aware of title launch dates and receive that content as soon as it is released. Gonzalez said that the partnerships with Seagate and DTS allow the company to bring the highest quality pictures with the most robust audio possible.

“This is the first network worldwide that can deliver DTS audio. Imagine loss-less audio to your home,” he said, adding that this is a new transport system, not a compression technology.

Although no deals have been signed at this time, Gonzalez said that studios are aware and supportive of the technology. The service will run on a hybrid pay model, either subscription-based or pay-per-view. This, along with how or whether advertising will be used, is a service-level question to be answered by the partnering studios, Gonzalez said.

“This is the closest to theatrical-grade products that are possible in the home,” he said. “Our platform is all about pioneering a new system of media.”

In other purported HD firsts, chipset maker SiBEAM announced at CES the availability of a WirelessHD-based chipset that enables loss-less, uncompressed wireless transmission of HD video content to HDTVs, DVRs, DVD players, HD video cameras and other home entertainment devices. Panasonic was among the first to partner with SiBeam, unveiling its HD audio-video transmission system based on the WirelessHD standard that allows users to enjoy an in-room HD experience without hassling with cables.

Panasonic, along with most major Asian carriers, also unveiled its latest HDTV set, which happened to be 150 inches, called the “Life Screen” plasma. ZyXEL Communications said that these kind of monitors open the door to really taking advantage of the resolution and screen quality. With this in mind, the broadband networking supplier released the DMA1100P, a digital media adapter that includes built-in technology that ZyXEL said is power-packed with support for 1080i HD streaming, HDMI connection to HDTV and USB 2.0 support. The DMA1100P streams digital music and HD video to consumers’ home entertainment systems from a home computer or networking storage device over existing power lines in the home.