about-electronics.eu

Register: Sky subscribers could be treated to 3D TV this coming Christmas, the broadcaster has said. The firm’s Chief Engineer, Chris Johns, said that there’s the possibility that homes could “see 3D” by the end of the year and it’s aiming to “build a content library over the coming year”.

Sky’s already claimed to have successfully demonstrated 3D TV at its London HQ. And it said back in January that a commercial 3D TV service “could be launched any time in the next two years”. 3D broadcasts will most likely be available through Sky’s existing Sky+ HD platform, the company has since said.

Early adopters will have to fork out extra for a new telly capable of displaying the stereoscopic images and special specs to separate out the left- and right-eye views.

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Engadget: Jonathan Berger, professor of music at Stanford (US), has been conducting some pretty interesting tests on incoming students, and he’s been recording results that’ll surely make audiophiles cringe.

He has been asking his students to listen to tracks in MP3 format as well as in formats of much higher quality, all while asking them to select the one they like best; increasingly, youngsters have been choosing the sizzling, tinny sounds of MP3 over more pure representations.

The reasoning may have more to do with psychology that audiology, as many conclude that generations simply prefer what they’re used to.

Ever known someone to swear that vinyl sounds best, pops and all? So yeah, what we’ve really learned is that MP3 is more of an “acquired taste,” but those still attempting to build their SACD collection should be genuinely afraid of the future.

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Core77: Philips’ Master LED bulb has the same form factor as the old-fashioned kind, making it “simple for people to use and feel good about using.”

The bulb draws just 7 watts but gives off light equivalent to 40 watts’ worth, and lasts 45,000 hours, as opposed to the 1,500 of its incandescent predecessors.

The bulbs are now available in Europe.

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Electronista: Google’s decision to launch an open-source mobile platform may be key to Android phone sales overtaking the iPhone’s by 2012, according to estimates by Informa.

Researcher Gavin Byrne predicts that phones like the T-Mobile G1 will eventually outrun Apple as a new focus on software over hardware will reportedly favor Android’s open development system versus closed systems like Apple’s.

Other open-source platforms like LiMo and the eventual Symbian update should also benefit, Byrne says. The analyst points to Nokia’s current performance as an example of the importance of open-source software and of software.

Where the company once held 65 percent of the smartphone market in 2007, that number dropped to 49 percent in 2008 as the company’s share was eroded by very software-oriented devices like the iPhone or RIM’s BlackBerry line. While moving Symbian to open-source may not directly hurt these two rivals, Byrne sees it as “crucial” since it gives phone makers a reason to pick Symbian over Android and regular Linux platforms and will also damage Windows Mobile

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CNet: Denon’s DN-HS5500 is a DJ deck aimed at the digital generation, comprising two decks in one.

It works using a ‘layer’ system. When you switch between the two layers, you switch which deck you’re controlling. There are three configuration options. You can either opt for one with a built-in CD drive, a built-in hard drive or go for a plain deck.

We used the latter model, so we got music onto it using a memory card. The brilliance of the DN-HS5500 is that the platter on the deck actually moves. While such CD or MIDI controllers generally have a control surface, it’s usually static.

We really liked the way the DN-HS5500 works. The moving platter gives you a more tactile way to interact with your music. Purists will argue that the best and most tactile way of interacting with music is to use vinyl.

That’s almost certainly true but, in this day and age, so much music is digital that using vinyl is really for people who have existing collections. Of course, this being 2009, you can also connect the DN-HS5500 to a PC and use its MIDI interface to control a piece of DJ software.

We used Traktor 3. Using the two in collaboration is incredibly simple — just connect with a USB cable, and download the relevant template file for Traktor from the Denon site. There are other software packages that work just as well with the DN-HS5500 too.

The only downside of using Traktor is that you lose the spinning platter when the DN-HS5500 is connected in USB MIDI mode. If you want to get around that, then using Traktor with the Audio 8 DJ interface might be a decent solution, even if it is a costly nightmare in terms of cabling and connectivity.

The main concern we have with the DN-HS5500 is that the platter feels like it won’t survive much abuse. That said, if you’re using it at home, it’s not likely to be at risk. If you want to lug your DJ deck to a new club every weekend, you might want something a bit sturdier.

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ZDNet: HDTV prices have been falling for as long as anyone can remember, and given the poor state of the economy, there was no reason to believe those prices were going to stop dropping anytime soon.

Throw in the fact that the holiday shopping season and the Super Bowl (a.k.a. the other big time to buy a new TV) are behind us, and the fact that consumer electronics Web site Retrevo is reporting that HDTV prices jumped 10 percent in February is pretty remarkable.

Ironically, retailers were apparently so willing to discount sets during December and January to bolster sales and clear inventory that they chose one of the most challenging sales month to bring prices back into control.

At the same time, it appears that LCD panel prices are firming up, which makes it harder for manufacturers to pass on the savings on panels to consumers. But with the economy looking like it’s in no hurry to turn itself around, it will be interesting to see just how long TV makers and retailers can hold the line on current prices without seeing sales dry up.

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Inhabitat: Spring is slowly emerging and we are dreaming of outdoor barbecues and parties on the deck. We have a couple of solar powered lanterns along the pathway, but we have been waiting for some lights with a little more pizazz.

Last year we were excited to hear that Ikea would be stocking solar products, and now the first products are about to hit the market!

These hip little lights are exactly what you need to brighten your outdoor spaces this summer. Powered by the sun, Ikea’s lights store the power in replaceable and rechargeable batteries.

The lights themselves are all LEDs, which consume 70% less energy and last up to 4 times as long as regular bulbs. The beauty of outdoor solar powered lights is that you don’t have to bury any electric lines or run outlets through the yard. Not only do they reduce your electric demand, but they are just practical and handy. You can take them with you on camping trips, bring them to you neighbor’s party or even use them indoors.

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Gizmodo: Compact discs weren’t always impromptu drink coasters. Once, in the not-so-distant past, they played music, contained pictures, and let people play video games with tacked-on FMV sequences.

And today, the venerable CD turned 30. Happy birthday! 1979-2009.Thirty years. Pretty amazing that it’s been that long since those crazy Dutchmen at Philips spun the technology off of laser discs as part of an optical digital audio disc demo in Eindhoven.

Of course, the CD didn’t immediately take off right then and there. It needed a little help from Sony, which worked with Philips to get the format standardized.

The standard they named Red Book, which included everything from playing time (initially 60 minutes), to the disc diameter to sampling frequency. Put simply, the collaboration worked out, and Red Book was a success.

In the book The Compact Disc Story, Philips reps lauded the task force they established with Sony. The CD that team created was “invented collectively by a large group of people working as a team,” Philips said. If only Apple and Microsoft could say the same, no? Oh, the things they could build.

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Gizmag: Among the display of new camera models at PMA 2009 FUJIFILM demonstrated a compelling 3D photo and movie technology, that uses a dual lens/sensor camera to record 3D images.

These images can then be played back without the need for special glasses on a digital display, or even printed.

Both the display and prints generate their 3D effect by use of a special lenticular lens laminated to their surfaces. FUJIFILM is claiming that the prototypes shown could be commercialized as soon as this summer in some form.

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TGDaily: With the US presidential inauguration, major awards shows, X-Games and other major events occurring recently it is no shock that users took to YouTube to catch up on things missed and to check out the videos they want to see again.

It’s even less surprising that YouTube has much to be excited about, as the company surpassed the 100 million viewer mark in the United States alone, making them the #3 most visited website on the the Internet (and also #3 in U.S.), and #3 in most traffic, accounting for around 17% of all Internet traffic world-wide.

This gives an idea as to the demand and growth of the online video industry. When Google acquired the video site in 2006, they obviously made a great decision as the site now ranks as the most popular provider of online video in the United States.

In January alone about 6.4 billion videos were viewed, this is the equivalent of 43 percent of the video market in the United States.

The figures released from comScore reveal that web surfers in the United States alone sat down to watch over 15 billion videos each month over many different video sites, however YouTube is the site drawing the most attention and the majority of users.  At one point, YouTube accounted for over 20% of all Internet traffic (May/June, 2008).

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BBC Click: The opening months of every year are a good time for technology conferences. CES takes place in January, the Mobile World Congress is in February and if it is March then it is time for Cebit.

Held in the German city of Hanover, the giant trade fair is typically has more than 400,000 attendees who come to see, try and buy the latest in hardware and software.

The difficult economic conditions means that some of the larger players, such as Samsumg, are not attending. But their absence has given smaller companies a chance to show off their innovations.

Pocket-sized 3D laser scanner
One such firm is David Vision Systems which is fighting for a place in the 3D scanning market. “Others are expensive because they require complicated and precise mechanics, our scanning systems consists of standard components that are available at a low price,” said Sven Molkenstruck from David Vision Systems. The company has come up with a pocket-sized 3D laser scanner.

Internet car radio
Another innovation on display at Cebit was the world’s first internet car radio by Blaupunkt. The device has come out of a collaboration between Blaupunkt and Australian internet radio platform miRoamer.

Drivers need a 3G mobile phone that is Bluetooth-enabled to listen to 35,000 radio stations from across the world. This encryption device can can be connected to mobile phones

Voice encryption
Feeding off the trend for handset gadgets at Cebit, those conscious of phone eavesdropping can turn to voice encryption devices. Rohde & Schwarz has developed a small device that can be connected to mobile phones and encrypts a user’s voice.

“To protect your transmission, your speech, you have to do it end to end,” said Henning Krieghoff from the crypto tech firm. “On the other end we have a decrypter mobile as well, or we have some boxes which can be connected to normal telephones, be it analogue or digital telephones.”

Full article at BBC Click.

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FT.com: TomTom, the Dutch navigation company known for gadgets that attach to windscreens, yesterday unveiled its first built-in satellite navigation device as part of a deal with Renault, the French car manufacturer.

By offering the units for €490 ($615) in the dashboards of Clio, Scenic and Megane models, TomTom and Renault are hoping to greatly increase the rate at which new car buyers opt for navigation devices, from about 14 per cent now.

It was the low take-up rate of built-in navigation and its high costs, which can still run to €1,500 to €3,000, that first gave TomTom an entry into the navigation market when it launched its first “personal navigation device” (PND) to attach to a windscreen in 2002.

TomTom, which last year sold 12m PNDs, believes the new in-dashboard devices could be taken up by up to 50 per cent of car buyers. Yesterday it also said it had extended a deal with Toyota to sell “semi-embedded” navigation aids that clip into a car radio.

The company is touting its system as superior to existing in-dashboard navigation systems because the devices can be updated with software and maps downloaded from the internet, in the same way as its range of TomTom PNDs. Although the market for PNDs is expected to remain healthy for some years, analysts forecast a shift to either built-in navigation or the use of mobile phones.

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