Barb Gonzalez

CES 2012
Tablets as a Second Screen
Barb Gonzalez  |  Jan 15, 2012
This year most TV manufacturers are pairing tablets with TVs to create what they call a “second screen” or “Dual Screen” experience. Why interrupt what you are watching to bring up menus that shrink the screen or overlay TV guide grids that block your picture, when you can bring up the menus and guides on your tablet?

Toshiba, Samsung, Panasonic, Sony, LG and others showed up their apps that run on tablets to control and enhance your TV viewing experience. Although they would like you to buy their tablets, the apps will run on any Android or iOS device.

Continue Reading >
CES 2012
Tablets as Remote Controls
Barb Gonzalez  |  Jan 15, 2012
Your universal remote control may become a thing of the past. TV manufacturers are creating apps that can not only control the TV, but can be programmed with macros to control your whole home theater system.

Remote control apps have been appearing over the past year. These apps work over wifi to control connected TVs and devices.

This year, Sony and Samsung are showing tablets with IR (infrared control), that can send commands to most any home theater device.

What do you think? Are you ready to chuck your home theater remote for an app on a tablet?

CES 2012
Tablets as Media Servers/Media Renderers
Barb Gonzalez  |  Jan 15, 2012
Along with control and second screen capabilities, TV manufacturers are pairing their tablets to TVs allowing users to send media to their big screen directly from their tablet.

The TV apps make it possible to “fling” photos, music, or movies that are stored on the tablet towards the TV and have it play on the big screen. Most apps will be able to find media stored on other sources--computers, media servers--in a home network and push that media to the TV (Media Renderer capabilities).

Both the tablets apps and the TVs are DLNA certified which makes the media sharing possible. While this is possible on other DLNA certified media apps, the paired apps will undoubtedly create a seamless experience.

CES 2012
Chicago Plays at Monster Retailer Awards
Barb Gonzalez  |  Jan 15, 2012
Attendees of the Monster Retailer Awards could wax nostalgic with Chicago. Many who swayed and sang along with the hit-filled concert could not have been born 45 years ago when the band began, yet the audience sang along with hits from five decades.
Continue Reading >
CES 2012
Samsung Ultraviolet Digital Copy Blu-Ray Disc Player
Barb Gonzalez  |  Jan 15, 2012
Samsung announced a Blu-ray Disc player that let’s you get digital copies of your movies. This does not mean that the Blu-ray Disc is making digital copies of your movies. Instead, you put a DVD or Blu-ray Disc into the Blu-ray Disc player, and it will access Ultraviolet where you can purchase a digital copy of the movie and save it to your Ultraviolet cloud locker.
Continue Reading >
CES 2012
Tell Your LG TV What You Want
Barb Gonzalez  |  Jan 14, 2012
LG smart TVs will have voice recognition capabilities in 2012. LG’s new magic wand remote will act as a microphone that can be used to speak commands to your TV.

Play, pause or stop the current movie you are streaming. Or change the channel with simple voice commands.

Voice recognition can be used to tell the LG to search for a specific movie title or TV show. It can also be used to dictate tweets or Facebook updates.

Details of the LG voice recognition’s full capabilities and features will be announced when the TVs are released in Spring 2012.

CES 2012
3D Was Everywhere at CES 2012
Barb Gonzalez  |  Jan 14, 2012
In case you thought 3D was dying out, LG’s booth was proof that 3D is alive and well, and expanding. As you walked into the LG booth, you were urged to grab passive 3D glasses. Once in the booth almost every TV was set to show 3D content. Most visitors of the booth who donned the new stylish LG glasses were treated to butterflies floating in mid-air, baseballs soaring toward home plate and other fantastic 3D images.

LG showed also showed off their 3D mobile phones that come equipped with 3D cameras to shoot photos and videos that can be transferred for viewing on LG’s 3D TVs.

CES 2012
LG’s Upgraded Smart Upgrader
Barb Gonzalez  |  Jan 13, 2012
LG showed an upgraded model of its Smart Upgrader media player and streamer. The new model is 3D compatible, and is able to play almost any kind of video file.

The 2012 model will come with the LG magic wand remote that can act like a virtual mouse for navigation.

Upgraded from last year’s models this LG Smart Ugrader has a web browser that includes both Flash 10 and HTML 5, which means it can stream videos from many TV and movie websites.

LG will still offer a less expensive model similar to its 2011 Smart Upgrader. Both include Vudu, Netflix, YouTube and access to download 1200 LG smart TV apps.

CES 2012
Locking HDMI Cables
Barb Gonzalez  |  Jan 13, 2012
If you have any TVs or monitors with a vertical HDMI connection where the HDMI cable comes loose and wriggles itself out, you’ll appreciate the locking HDMI cables being shown by Perfect Path. The cable locks into place because its end cover slides back and forth to lock or release the cable.
Continue Reading >
CES 2012
Panasonic Announces MySpace TV
Barb Gonzalez  |  Jan 12, 2012
Myspace CEO Tim Vanderhook, and co-owner, Justin Timberlake announced Myspace TV at the Panasonic CES press conference. Available on Panasonic TVs as part of VIERA Connect on their next generation of Smart VIERA TV HDTVs, Myspace TV allows users to share and comment on the TV shows that they’re viewing.

Vanderhook began by explaining,“Historically, TV has been a shared experience, as people gathered together to watch their favorite programs.” Viewers can make comments on programming creating a group conversation that will show up on their friends’ Myspace TV.

Continue Reading >

Pages

X