CES 2008

The Vudu XL: 4 times the storage for 2.5 times the cost

(Credit: Vudu)

With its ability to deliver on-demand movies to your TV via a broadband Internet connection, the Vudu was one of the more promising home theater gadgets of 2007. The company is building on that momentum by adding a second, step-up model to its lineup: the Vudu XL. Physically, it's a near doppelganger of the original model--which remains available--but it ups the internal hard disk to 1 terabyte of storage. That's 4 times the size of the current version, and--according to Vudu--enough to store up to 500 standard-definition movies. The XL is also designed to be more friendly for home installation, thanks to the inclusion of an IR dongle. That'll allow the XL to be controlled by standard universal remote controls unlike the current RF-only Vudu, (Alas, there are no plans to make the USB dongle available to owners of the standard Vudu box.) Look for the Vudu XL to be available from home installers and high-end AV retailers in February for $1,000.

Separately, Vudu also announced that its slate of HD movies is expanding to 70 by the end of this month. Unlike the company's earlier experimentation with the HD movies--it had offered just the three Bourne movies in high-def last fall--the new slate of movies will be available for rental: $5.99 for new releases and $3.99 for older catalog titles. Vudu isn't touting its studio partners, but a quick look at some of the promised titles--including Blades of Glory, A Mighty Heart, the Star Trek movies, and Hostel: Part II--indicates that Paramount and Lionsgate are on board. For customers with a 4-megabit or faster broadband connection, Vudu is pledging the same instant-start feature for HD movies that's available on all its standard-definition content. Those with slower connections, meanwhile, will need to wait a bit while enough of the bandwidth-intensive HD video queues up for uninterrupted viewing.

Logitech Squeezebox Duet: Music streaming meets superior ergonomics.

(Credit: Logitech)

Digital audio is great--especially if you've got a multigigabyte music collection sitting on your computer or you subscribe to an "all you can eat" music service like Rhapsody. The problem, for a lot of people, is that they're stuck listening to all that great music on the tinny speakers of their computer--or perhaps patching the laptop into their living room stereo system. Dedicated audio streamers have helped somewhat, but they have tiny little screens, which--like docked iPods--aren't very useful if you're sitting on a sofa across the room. And the best solution to date--the excellent Sonos Digital Music System--costs a prohibitive $1,000. Enter Logitech's new Squeezebox Duet: the $400 network digital audio streamer employs a winning handheld remote with a brilliant color screen (not unlike an iPod) that lets you navigate your entire music collection--including some online services and the majority of free Internet radio stations--from the palm of your hand, even while you hear the music from the big speakers of your home stereo.

(Credit: Sling Media)

It's been hinted at for months, but Sling Media has finally officially confirmed that a BlackBerry version of the company's SlingPlayer software is on deck. The software--which allows live TV to be streamed from any Slingbox model--is designed for broadband-enabled (3G wireless or Wi-Fi) BlackBerry smartphones. The software will cost the same one-time $30 fee as the similar versions already available for Windows Mobile, Palm, and Symbian phones. Sling will be demoing an early version of the software on the Pearl 8120 at CES next week, and the company hopes to have it ready for public release by the end of 2008.

New MediaSmart TVs will sport full MCE functionality

(Credit: HP)

HP has updated its MediaSmart TVs for the new year. On the surface, the new SL4282N (42-inch) and SL4782N (47-inch) are very similar to their 2007 counterparts: full 1080p resolution LCD flat-panels with 3 HDMI inputs, built-in high-def and analog tuners, and--the big differentiator--the ability to stream digital video, audio, and images via their built-in 802.11a/b/g/n wireless networking connections. But the big upgrade for 2008 is the inclusion of Media Center Extender functionality, which offers easy connectivity to PCs running most flavors of Vista. Prefer a non-HP TV, but want those same media features? HP's got you covered there, too: the company's external MediaSmart Receiver x280N attaches to any TV and delivers the same functionality.

HP's MediaSmart Receiver x280N streams media via a home network, or from an optional internal hard drive (shown on the right)

(Credit: HP)

HP likes to hedge its bets. In addition to a couple of big-screen flat-panel TVs with built-in Media Center Extenders, the company is now offering a set-top box as well. Like the MediaSmart TVs, the MediaSmart Receiver x280N has the ability to stream a wide variety of video (including MPEG-2, DivX, WMV, WMV-HD, and H.264/MP4 files), audio (MP3, WMA, WMA-Pro, WAV, AAC/m4a), and images (JPEG, BMP, GIF, and PNG photos) from networked PCs to your living room TV via its wired Ethernet or wireless 802.11a/b/g/n connections. Local media playback is also available via plug-in USB drives or HP's own proprietary Pocket Media Drive (also found on many of the company's desktop PCs). The box boasts HDMI and component video output at HD resolutions up to 720p and 1080i. The MediaSmart Receiver x280N will connect easily to PCs running most flavors of Windows Vista--and will go head-to-head with very similar models from Linksys and D-Link when it becomes available later this year.