Written by LAS VEGAS, March 2 /PRNewswire/

Sony today introduced its swivel high-speed HDMI cables, allowing for easier installation of audio and video components against walls.

“HDMI cables are a critical link for the ultimate high definition viewing experience,” said Andy Bubala, marketing director for audio accessory products at Sony Electronics. “As the leading HD company, we continue to innovate in areas like HDMI cables to provide holistic solutions for customers’ AV performance and system setup needs.”

A New Spin on Cables

Created for tight spaces and wall mounting applications where a hard bend is required, the swivel HDMI cables feature rotating connectors that swing the cable plug up to 90 degrees to create a right angle between the connector and the cable, reducing the space needed for mounting by about half. The cables lock at both 90-degree and 45-degree angles for flexible application use. All of this is realized without compromising the capability to support full HD 1080p resolution or the high bandwidth of the cables (10.2 Gbps).

Integrated connectors on each end of the cable eliminate the need for costly 90-degree adaptors, which can cause signal degradation or connection issues.

As one of the only manufacturers of high-speed swivel cables, Bubala said Sony recognizes that wall mounted TVs are becoming the norm and entertainment centers are becoming more cramped for space. The new swivel cables feature space-saving angled grips in addition to high-speed bandwidth supporting 120Hz refresh rate, deep color, extended color gamut and lossless audio for a true digital cinema experience. These new HDMI cables also feature seamless gold plated plugs, triple shielding and oxygen-free copper wire, in addition to the swivel connectors.

HDNA through HDMI

Sony has been manufacturing HDMI cables since 2004. The company is also a founding member of the HDMI consortium, which reviews technical specifications for HDMI-enabled products.

Tom Ivan

Game Brief’s Nicholas Lovell has predicted the death of PSP at the hands of Apple’s iPod Touch.
“The iPod Touch is rapidly becoming the portable media player of choice amongst a younger audience, exactly the place that Sony wanted to be with the PSP,” the analyst wrote on CasualGaming.biz.

“But the iPod doesn’t have expensive processors or a unique format disc like the UMD; it is an easy-to-use device that offers consumers their music, podcasts, short-form video and accessible games on the move and in my opinion, will be the final nail in the PSP’s coffin,” he added.
According to the piece, there are three times more games available for the iPhone than there are for DS, and five times more than there are for PSP. It’s about quality, not quantity though, we reckon, although we admit PSP could do with some more big hitters.

It’s just as well then that Sony - which will no doubt laugh off these claims - has moved to deliver on its recent promise to reinvigorate its handheld in 2009, having earlier this week announced plans to bring LittleBigPlanet, MotorStorm, Assassin’s Creed and Rock Band to the platform.

By  Samantha Rose Hunt     

 

Chicago (IL) - Last week, the Wall Street Journal reported that Comcast and Timer Warner were negotiating with cable networks such as USA, MTV and TNT in an attempt to put broadcast shows from those channels online. The shows will not be delivered for free to the general public, but instead will give paid cable subscribers a new way to access streaming video content online from wherever they are, taking the television out of the living room and on the go.

 

 

Having cable programming move their content onto the web is a huge step forward in terms of the future of viewing. Rather than having a physical service connected only to the box in your living room, web-based TV follows you wherever you go, building upon the basic cloud concept of computer use, ensuring the “here am I, and there’s my content” motto always holds true — so long as there’s a good Internet connection.

 

Individuals who currently enjoy their favorite programs via Hulu and other similar sites would lose access to many of their favorite shows, however, which are currently hosted and streamed for free. It seems now that this previous free access was just a “testing of the waters”, so to speak, to see how popular online viewing would be with its reduced signal quality and limited audio abilities. Consumers have grabbed hold of these features though with both hands, and now the companies appear to be moving in for the kill so they can profit from market interest.

Comcast is reportedly in discussion with programmers such as Viacom Inc. and Discovery Communications Inc. along with Time Warner Cable, Direct TV and other providers. The companies would like to discuss delivering cable programming to the web, and will more than likely do so at an industry meeting this week according to individuals who are familiar with the plans.

Subscribers would be allowed to watch up-to-date cable television programs via the web and potentially on mobile phones. The service would be free to individuals who subscribe to regular cable, and could potentially be brought to market as early as the summer. It is likely that over time the movement to a portable form of media playback, coupled to the ability to deliver high resolution content at home, will prove out as the form of content delivery we all eventually use, making every mobile form eventually able to access all kinds of related streaming video content.

It is yes unknown whether each provider would have their own site in which to watch television, or if a single site would be set up where users could be verified via their own cable provider.

 

Streaming television programming, and the luxuries we’ve gone accustomed to for free might soon be a thing of the past. However, the ability to take our favorite TV shows, the ones we’re already paying to access with our cable fees, out of the living room and have them follow us wherever we are may be dawning. And it’s all part of the “cloud like” suite of services we’ll likely all be up to our necks in over the next few years.

by Brian Heater 
LAS VEGAS—The E-Filliate USB cable was one of the surprise hits at this week’s CES Unveiled event at the Sands Expo. Conceptually, E-Filliate’s Flexicord Cables are pretty basic. Still, it’s easy to imagine more than a few instances in which they could come in handy.

The cords can be flexed into various configurations and will hold their shape—sort of the cable equivalent of a pipe cleaner. E-Filliate calls them “always the right length,” because they can be straightened to 10 feet or wrapped around themselves to measure a far shorter lengths than that.

The Flexicord Cables are available in USB, phono jack, S-Video, and HDMI versions.

Speaking of basic, the cords ship with a “coiling tube,” a transparent plastic tube that “allows the consumer to return the cable to its original coiled shape.