IFA Berlin, Germany 2006: Show Floor Highlights Part 1
In part 1 of our IFA show floor highlights, we bring you a showcase of Blu-ray and HD DVD, Lite-On's next generation ODD solutions for both camps and feature booths of Samsung, Toshiba, LG and Hitachi. Read on for the full coverage!
At the IFA Show Floor
At the time of this writing, it's already September 3rd or Day 3 of the IFA event in Berlin, Germany. With more than 26 halls (and for some, sub-halls on different levels) of varying sizes for us to cover, it is probably a good idea to first understand the scale or scope of the exhibition grounds.
So many halls, so many press conferences, which one to go to? Which one to go to?
IFA 2006 can be separated into six main segments. These are:
- Television & Entertainment (14 different halls)
- Sound & Car Media (11 halls)
- Personal Computing & Games (2 halls)
- Digital Imaging & Digital Music (1 hall)
- Personal Communication (2 halls)
- SNC Satellite, Network & Cable (1 hall)
Not only that, the exhibition ground has halls for conference speeches, a Science and Technology Forum and convention halls, lounges and an impressive Press Center. Of course, the main attraction of the event is probably what the players in Television and Entertainment have to offer. These are from players like Samsung, Philips, Toshiba, LG, Grundig, Sharp and Loewe. Of course, beyond flat-panel displays, we will also see plenty of showcases by proponents of the Blu-ray Disc Association (with some from the HD-DVD camp like Toshiba), from the likes of LITEON, Sony, the movie studios (Warner Brothers, Buena Vista, Paramount, Sony Pictures, etc.), Hitachi, Philips and so on.
Beyond TVs and optical discs, we have familiar networking companies like Linksys, Belkin and Netgear, music/video player products from MSI, Creative, SanDisk, ARCHOS and SonicGear, a Pavilion entirely dedicated to Korean, Taiwan and Hong Kong companies, a HD Cinema pavilion and themed displays by AMD, Intel, Fujitsu-Siemens, ATI and so on.
Over the next half dozen pages or thereabout, we bring you highlights of some of the more unique products we saw at the event over the past few days. Read on and dazzle yourself!
Blu-ray Disc Showcase
The Blu-ray Disc Association, a consortium of movie studios, tech manufacturers and so on, including CE players like Hitachi, Philips, Sony, Panasonic, Samsung and Dell, had a prominent booth in the HD Cinema hall, and they made an effort to help promote it with the help of their "Blu-ray Girl".
A wall lined up with Blu-ray recordable and re-recordable by the likes of Ricoh, Memorex, Fujifilm, Ritek, Verbatim, TDK and so on. Expect these brands of BD-R and BD-RE discs to invade our shores in abundance soon. In Europe, the 50GB BD-R (write-once) costs 35 Euro (about S$70) while the 50GB BD-RE (rewritable) costs 45 Euro (about S$90). TDK upped the ante further with the recent announcement that they�ve achieved a Blue-Laser Disc Technology supporting a 200GB capacity disc, which improves on their previous 100GB prototype disc technology.
Several Blu-ray Disc set-top players were shown at the booth. These include Sharp, Panasonic, Hitachi, LG, Samsung, Pioneer and Philips. While some Blu-ray players have already made their way to U.S. and Japan shores, several, like Samsung's BD-P1000 will finally make its way to European shores.
Besides set-top Blu-ray disc players, we also saw internal Blu-ray writers for the desktop and notebook PC by Panasonic (pictured), Sony, Hitachi and Philips. We recently reviewed LG's Blu-ray writer. Be prepared for a few more in the coming months.
While Sony did not participate in this year's IFA 2006, their products cannot be missed, especially when their flagship products like the Sony VAIO AR18GP notebook (which we've reviewed) that uses the Blu-ray drive�
�and of course, Sony's upcoming PlayStation 3, which was out of bounds but had several looping game demos. According to an earlier conference, a Sony PlayStation 3 executive confirmed that the console is targeted for launch by November in Japan.
A corner was dedicated to showcasing Dell's Blu-ray solutions in the form of the XPS M1710 notebook (using a Panasonic drive module) and XPS 700 desktop (using a Philips).
Music aficionados will love to know that DTS, Inc. would be releasing both Blu-ray and HD DVD movie discs with the new DTS-HD Master Audio format. DTS-HD Master Audio is part of the standards for both format and allows for a "bit-for-bit" identical reproduction of the original master soundtrack in up to 7.1 channels of audio. It is also backward compatible with all existing DTS surround sound equipment.
Lite-On goes Both Ways in the Next-Gen Optical Disc Format
For the first time, Taiwan-based optical disc drive manufacturer Lite-On showed its Blu-ray Disc playback device on top of showcasing its HD-DVD players. The BDP-X1 is a Blu-ray Disc player that supports 25/50GB Blu-ray disc playback on top of DVD-Video. Supported media include BD-ROM, BD-R, BD-RE, DVD-RAM, DVD-R/RW, DVD+R/RW, among other formats. Audio support includes Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, DTS and DTS-HD. The player has optional connectivity for Ethernet, USB 2.0 with HDMI, Component out and digital audio out, among a few others.
Lite-On's HDP-Z1 is its HD DVD Player plays both single-sided (15GB) and double-sided (30GB) HD DVDs. Supported media include HD DVD-ROM, HD DVD-R/RW, DVD-RAM, DVD-ROM, and so on. The player has the same audio support and connectivity options as the BDP-X1. It wouldn't be surprising if some day, we actually see a dual-drive set-top device with both a HD DVD and Blu-ray drives in one chassis (wishful thinking, but who knows eh?)
Lite-On also showed their first internal and external Blu-ray writers�the LH-2B1S and LX-2B1U�which records BD-R single/double layer and BD-RE single/double layer media.
Verbatim was on hand to offer solutions for both Blu-ray and HD DVD in the form of a 25GB Blu-ray disc with ScratchGuard+ surface and 15GB HD DVD. This is on top of a 2nd generation MP3 player called the Store 'n' Play MP3 player series, 12GB Store 'n' Go USB HD drive (available in Oct 2006), new 8cm Mini 2.6GB DVD+R DL media (the Mini DVD+RW and DVD-RW versions support 1.4GB) and the world's first Mini DVD-R DL media (with printable surface). The Mini DVD-R DL comes in 4x speed while Mini DVD+R DL is at 2.4x.
Of course, the highlight is its recordable/rewritable media, including the 15GB HD DVD media (shipping Q4 2006) shown here. Did you know that the HD DVD-R manufacturing process is developed at MKM's Singapore factory - which according to Verbatim, is the location of the world's premier dual layer DVD production facility. Verbatim expects to launch dual layer HD DVD-R 30GB single-sided discs later this year.
HD DVD Showcase
If you walk the IFA halls this year, you will realize that beyond a smattering few displays of HD DVD recordable discs by the likes of Verbatim, Lite-On and so on, the format itself is hardly seen anywhere except at the Toshiba booth, which the company is championing aggressively. This wall within the Toshiba booth highlights some of the movies its movie studio partners are planning or have already released, which looks pretty updated with DOOM, Serenity and Batman Begins among some of the titles shown.
Toshiba's newest HD DVD player shown playing a HD DVD clip here. According to Yoshihide Fujii, CEO and President from Toshiba Digital Media Network Company and Chairman of the HD DVD Promotion Group, who gave his keynote on the second day of IFA, he will be personally pushing for a 45GB single HD DVD disc towards the end of this year (current single side HD DVD supports 15GB while double sided discs support 30GB).
Toshiba showcased two of its HD DVD players�the HD-E1 and HD-XE1�which will be available to European consumers by November/December 2006 respectively. While both play HD DVD movies with upscaling functions for DVD movies to 720p and 1080i, the XE1 allows you to upscale conventional DVD movies to 1080p resolution. In terms of sound support, expect no less than Dolby Digital Plus support, DTS-HD and Dolby TrueHD. Dolby Digital Plus itself has a bit rate of up to 3Mbps.
Toshiba also showed several HD DVD internal drives for notebooks and desktops. Notice the three different HD DVD technology laser pickup modules at the top for 9.5mm, 12.7mm and 44mm heights.
Toshiba also showcased its Qosmio G30 (which we reviewed recently) that has built-in HD DVD drive at the show to highlight the notebook as a gaming device, digital TV playback receiver but also as a HD DVD playback device by linking its integrated HDMI link to Toshiba's REGZA TVs.
Samsung's booth at Hall 20
As a follow-up to our coverage of Samsung's International Keynote address by Mr. Gee Sung Choi, Samsung's exhibits at Hall 20 of the IFA 2006 covered its theme of 'Creating Richer Experiences' with a plethora of LCD TVs, its 102-inch plasma TV, Blu-ray players, multifunction devices and MP3 players that allow users to share music with everyone in the vicinity (such as the slide speaker function found in the new YP-K5).
Samsung showed a 40-inch LCD TV with high powered LED Backlight technology. This gives it 146% wide color gamut and a high contrast ratio of 10,000:1. It is also based on Samsung's exclusive 100 Hertz video technology but more importantly, its LED technology helps increase the panel life two fold compared to previous CCFL panels. The light source is also environmentally friendly because it uses no mercury.
Among the existing Full HD Plasma and LCD TVs it already has, Samsung also showed 40" and 46" LCD models supporting Full HD resolution (1920 x 1080p).
Samsung showed the difference of an LCD TV with 100 Hertz frequency versus a conventional TV using a 40-inch model.
amsung demonstrated the usefulness of its SDC-MS61 6-megapixel digital camera multi-function recording device by comparing how its 16:9 aspect ratio compares with a 4:3 distorted image on two Samsung LCD TV screens.
Samsung's BD-P1000 is its first Blu-ray player that offers full 1080p output via HDMI. While it has been launched in the US since June, it will be available in Europe from October.
The Samsung SDC-MS61 was mentioned in our previous article on IFA 2006. It's a testimony to Samsung's aim to create the ultimate convergent device - this device not only takes photos at 16:9 6-megapixel resolution but supports MPEG4 SP-recording capabilities. Featuring ISO 1600, with a big 3-inch wide LCD screen, it has a 3x optical/5x digital zoom and web camera functions. A camcorder, video recorder, web camera, MP3 player and so much more, the MS61 supports SD and MMC cards.
Toshiba's booth at Hall 21
oshiba's booth at Hall 21 was an interesting walkthrough of various industries that Toshiba is involved in - from memory cards, robotics, notebooks, its new REGZA TVs to HD DVD solutions (covered in detail previously).
For its REGZA TVs, Toshiba showcased its new WLT68 series, which follows on the popular WLT66 series launched earlier this year. Featuring three models - 32", 37" and 42" - these 1366 x 768 resolution models are one of the first 100Hertz HD LCD TVs in the world. The company is also the first to market with no fewer than THREE HDMI inputs (2 rear inputs, 1 side input). Based on Toshiba's Active Vision M100 technology, the WLT68 series creates a smoother motion on screen as the input signal is scanned 100 times a second versus conventional LCD TVs which are mainly based on 50Hz.
Toshiba's 8GB SD-HC memory cards with a 5-year warranty.
We're not sure if Toshiba developed this cute robot but it's called the "Ear AriAlpha V3" robot and what it does is that it has an auditory function that detects verbal orders from plural users from any direction. It has 6 microphones that allow it to listen to sound from a 360-degree radius, and executes its tasks based on a prioritization process.
LG's booth at Hall 11
LG Electronics occupied a significantly large exhibit area in Hall 11, focusing on its new Full HD TVs and TVs built with internal DVR functions. Of course, you'll also find a notebook section, mobile phones (including their Chocolate) and upcoming Blu-ray recorders.
LG Electronics introduced the 47-inch Full HD LCD TV (47LB2RF) at IFA. With 1920 x 1080p Full HD resolution, this TV is expected to be released in Europe in September (it's already available in Korea since May).
LG Electronics showed a 50-inch plasma TV with DVR built-in (50PC1RR), with plans for a European launch starting September. The DVR can be programmed to record for 1 hour immediately after the TV is turned on or the channel is changed. TV viewers can pause and rewind live broadcasting on an 80GB HDD or record their favorite programs up to 40 hours on basic quality. While it has a 10,000:1 contrast ratio, LG has decided to keep the 50PC1RR as a HD Ready WXGA panel (1366 x 768). With the 50-inch model, LG would have upped the ante on plasma TVs with built-in DVR functions for its 37" and 42" LCD TVs and 46" and 50" Plasma TV range.
While not exactly new, LG Electronics' plan to also showcase a wireless home entertainment system for the living room illustrates an urgent need to speed up optical wireless audio transmission technologies. The LG LH-WH9601A system uses 2.4GHz wireless LAN to transmit signals among the main receiver and the five other speakers.
Hitachi's booth at Hall 23
Hitachi's focus was on its range of Picture Master 9000 series iDTVs, consisting of four new HD-Ready LCD and Plasma TVs, as well as its Blu-ray solutions, hard disk drives and its hybrid DVD/HDD camcorder. It is also one of the proponents of the IPS alpha display technology, first touted by Panasonic at the Press Day conference.
At first sight, the Hitachi W42P-HR9000 Plasma TV may seem like any other TV, but look closer and you'll realize that this TV comes with an internal hard disk recorder. Hitachi's Picture Master 9000 series consists of a 42-inch and 55-inch Plasma TV and 32-inch and 37-inch LCD TV. The flagship 42PD9700 is the first 42-inch plasma panel based on its ALIS 1080 Plasma screen that offers 1080 lines without any upscaling or additional signal processing.
An onlooker at the Hitachi booth, comparing IPS alpha technology on Hitachi's new 9000 series 32LD9700 and/or 37LD9700 LCD TVs versus conventional LCD TVs. The IPS-alpha LCD panel technology is a type of Plane Switching (IPS) technology that allows LCD to perform more like Plasmas, with bigger viewing angles, better contrast and improved response times.
There may be plenty of set-top HDD/DVD recorders (seriously) at the IFA 2006 from the CE players, big and small, but you have to stop and look at this HDD/DVD recorder from Hitachi called the DV-HD1000W. It is a one-terabyte (1000GB's worth) multi-format HDD/DVD recorder that gives you 128 hours of 17Mb/s HDTV broadcast recordings or 1700 hours of standard definition TV programs.
Many IFA visitors got excited by Hitachi's Hybrid DVD camcorder series, which let you capture video to conventional DVDs of any format or an 8GB hard disk drive. The series comes in two specifications - the DZ-HS303 with its 3.3-megapixel CCD, and the DZ-HS301, with 1.3-megapixel. The best part is that these camcorders are on true 16:9 widescreen format.
Stay tuned for more updates shortly on other booths and features!
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