some issues seen in magazines today

Universal Hi-definition DVD update

Toshiba's HD DVD and Sony Blu-Ray will not be in a battle according to Electrical Engineering Times (www.eetimes.com) as several chipmakers are now completing microprocessor designs which will cope with both formats

Broadcom, NEC ans STMicroelectronics are all working on multi-format designswith the Broadcom HD/BD decoders were being shipped in late 2006. A NEC chipset which can handle 16 formats including HD-DVD, Bluray, DVD and CD will be available soon.

These universal drives will still need separate optical pick-ups because the different formats store data a different depths on a disc. But it is currently expected that universal hi-def disc players will be available during 2007 with widespread use in 2008 according to iSuppli analyst Chris Crotty.

Wireless audio

A small US start-up, Neosonik (San Fransisco) have developed their own wireless transmission standard for HDMI-encoded video. Reportedly they have recently transmitted signals about 150 feet (50m) from a garage to a trailer using a high-gain direct line-of-sight antenna. The hi-definition TV was accompanied with 5.1-channel audio delivered to five self powered loudspeakers.

Universal remote

The new universal remote control from Nevo (www.mynevo.com) offers a customisable multi-option screen together with a selection of hard buttons.

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the device is that it can be supplied with an RF base station with remote IR flashers to help operate remote legacy devices around the home.

Now available for $1099

Netherlands switch to digital TV

The Netherlands became the first country to switch to digital TV in Dec 2006. The move will give the state monopoly, Dutch telecom Royal KPN NV more space for additional digital channels in the now spare analogue broadcast spectrum. They have licensed the bandwidth until 2017.

Stereo Bluetooth updating

Currently in its infancy, this technology is likely to become moe common in 2007. Sales are currently expected in the region of 9 million units in 2007 (compared to 2 million in 2006). Most existing solutions are currently designed for a specific application with either an iPod, USB, LG or Nokia phone dongle.

Future devices are now likely to become more universal and the industry is currently considering various aspects of the future design to enable this to happen. A2DP (Advanced Audio Distribution Profile) will help to create the stereo stream – otherwise it is just high speed mono. AVRCP (Audio Video Remote Control Protocol) will let the headset control functionality of the audio device remotely i.e pause, play, skip a track etc. Bluetooth 2.0+EDR (Enhanced Data Rate) is an upgrade to the original standard which amongst other improvements will remove echo introduced by the Bluetooth error correction.

journey out

A long but largely uneventful journey out to a rather chilly Las Vegas on a plane full of anticipation. Rain and cloud obscured the view for most of the journey but during the last hour a few views of the rockies were stunning. By the look and sound of many of my fellow passengers, a lot of them were also destined for the show. The person in the seat next to me turned out to be the editor of a technical website (www.tech.co.uk) and he said that he was just one of five reporters from Future Publishing Ltd that will be covering the show this year - it seems that there is now a massive rise in interest from the UK compared to my previous visit!

introduction

With a last minute agreement I am now registered and heading off to CES2007. This is the largest Consumer Electronics show in the world and this year is the 40th event. With thousands of exibitors and about 140,000 people (plus me) it should be an exciting preview on next years emerging technologies. Presentations from Bill Gates and many others together with the releases of a raft of new software and gagetry should also help to set the trends in home computing, wireless communications, network security and home entertainment that is begining to emerge and once further refined and updated is likely to be with us for years.