Advanced HD Encoder/Transcoder Chip for Consumer Devices – Broadcom Corp. has announced the industry’s most advanced real time system-on-a-chip to enable both music and video to be shared between different types of entertainment devices while at the same time maintaining high levels of security. The new chip will reconcile disparate video and audio content in cable, satellite and IPTV set-top boxes, home media centers, portable media players, cell phones and a wide range of entertainment devices. The chip provides a fast, efficient yet flexible transcoding solution to change the format, bit rate and resolution of audio and video content in real time, so that consumers can easily connect their various entertainment devices with a home network. The BCM7043 chip supports H.264/AVC, MPEG-2 and MPEG-4SP video compression and is also capable of real time simultaneous standard definition encoding and transcoding. Consumer electronics manufacturers will be able to add more features, provide portability and offer more flexible product offerings due to the lower power consumption, smaller footprint size and higher levels of integration and functionality in the new chip.
Nokia Offers Unlimited Music on Cell Phones – The world’s largest maker of cell phones has made an agreement with top music company Universal Music Group to provide buyers of certain Nokia devices unlimited access to millions of music tracks for a year, and let them keep the music afterwards. Pop artists such as Sting and Mariah Carey are involved, and Nokia is already talking to the three remaining major labels about a similar deal. This model could make up for falling CD sales in the music industry, which Apple’s iTunes has not yet affected seriously even though it has an 80% share of the digital music market. Mobile music represents about 13% of global recorded music retail value already and is expected to grow to $11 billion by 2011. Details were not revealed but it is thought that Universal will get a flat fee plus some of the price of each Nokia phone with the music service. The new venture is dubbed “Comes With Music” and is due to start in the second half of 2008. Experts feel it could turn the mobile music market on its head.
KEF Instant Home Theater Speakers – Many solutions to providing painless setup of a surround sound system for home theater and music are becoming available. British speaker maker KEF has announced their KIT120 and 140 systems which come as only four stylish boxes in silver and high gloss black. One is a combination DVD player with power amps, one a subwoofer, and there are two small speaker units which use NXT panels and other tricks to create a virtual surround field. Everything hooks up with single HDMI cables. SRP is ₤1200 or 1500.
