Sony’s Unannounced iPod/iPhone, DVD, USB, SD/MS Card Video Shelf System WHG-SLK1

Sony showed off a pretty interesting shelf system during CES 2010 called the WHG-SLK1. It’s a slim and stylish shelf system with a 9″ LCD that has touch sensor buttons to the right side of the screen. I was surprised to read that it has 100W of audio power in the speakers, as the device isn’t that large. Some of the main features include the ability to play video content from DVD’s, a USB source, Memory Sticks and SD cards. It also can charge, play or control content from an iPod or iPhone. I also noticed a cool calendar and clock feature that really could make this a cool item for the living room, a guest room, or even the kitchen. The possibilities are really endless. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to get more information on a release date or price, but I imagine it will be around $200.

Hands-on With BD Remote – The Sony iPhone/iPod Touch Remote App

One of the most overlooked announcements by Sony at CES 2010 was the new iPhone/iPod Touch application called “BD Remote” that will be compatible with all 2010 Sony Networked Blu-ray Players. Sony mixed things up by making their Blu-ray remotes Bluetooth, and Sony will also offer an additional Wi-Fi Blu-ray remote control application for iPhone and iPod Touch devices on the App Store. It should be available very soon – Sony wants the app to be available before the Blu-ray players so people who stumble upon it will be enticed to learn more. We’re very excited that Sony is going in this direction by offering consumers multiple choices for controlling their Blu-ray players. However, it seems that most of their 2010 Blu-ray players will not have a IR sensor for older multifunction remotes, which could be a big bummer for some home theater enthusiasts.

I inquired about the application receiving updates, and they said if the feedback was good enough that they would follow that path.

Let’s take a look at the interface:

Upon opening the application you’ll see Simple Remote, a new simplistic remote interface concept by Sony that allows you to quickly and easily move around in the menus and select options accordingly. Response was perfect. As you can see there are also dedicated options to Return, access the Options, or go Home. We were really impressed with this section of the application.

The Full Remote interface is just as advanced and feature-rich as the dedicated remotes that come with their 2010 Blu-ray players. As you can see in this one section, we have all of the normal video control options in one easy to use interface.

Another section of the Full Remote interface is multi-colored buttons, Eject, Subtitle, Favorites, and Audio options.

In this part of Full Remote, we can also see a more simple layout that is essentially the same as the Simple Remote tab – back, forward, up, down, select, Top Menu, Pop/Up Menu, Return, Home and Options.

Another great feature within the BD Remote application is the ability to see Disc Info, where it will pull up a great deal of information about the content you are watching, all figured out by Gracenote. The amount of information within somewhat reminds me of IMDB. Here’s what you’ll see first (If you were watching Surf’s Up Blu-ray, for example):

It also has a listing of the cast in the movie you are watching, and you can also learn more about each additional actor:

The settings are fairly basic, but we did notice that you can control multiple devices with this application:

There is also the whole registration process, which is extremely easy:

Michael Jackson’s Thriller Costume For The “This Is It” Tour

This Is It was a planned series of fifty concerts by Michael Jackson to be held at The O2 arena in London. They were scheduled to begin in July 2009 and continue through March 2010. Less than three weeks before the first concert date, and with all concerts sold out, Jackson died after suffering cardiac arrest. During CES 2010, Sony had a special glass booth that showed off Michael Jackson’s Thriller Costume (designed by Zaldy) for the “This Is It” Tour. It also had a shirt worn by Michael Jackson in rehearsals, courtesy of the Michael Jackson Estate.

Michael Jackson’s “This Is It” will be available on Blu-ray January 26th.

Pictorial: Scenes From Sony’s CES 2010 Press Conference

CES 2010 is nearly over but lucky for you I’m just starting to post some of the amazing content captured during our time at the show. CES was far different this year for Sony Insider than last year, as the site has matured dramatically since then and the level of respect and treatment we receive from Sony reflects that. We were allowed to use a 24.6 megapixel Alpha A900 DSLR and other tools to ensure that Sony Insider’s content stays at the high level in which you’ve become accustomed to. Sony’s CES 2010 press conference was quite impressive this year, and here are some pictures I took that I think you’ll enjoy. I wanted to make sure that you, the fan, could feel like they were right there with me.

Before you get to sit down at the press conference though, you usually check in with the Press Relations desk first. As we can see, Sony’s Social Media Evangelist Sukhjit Ghag and crew were busy making sure that the press were taken care of and that there was substantial updates on the various Sony social media pages for the online fans. The anticipation was building amongst the crowd.

Things were similar to the setup they have had in years past, and basically they slide the door open right before things start and you try to take any open seats within. Somehow, fortunately, there was one special seat wide open just for me right in front of the main stage. I looked over to my left and saw most of the Sony Corporation Executives (not USA, the overall Sony), and Chairman/CEO of Sony Pictures Michael Lynton. It was pretty amazing to be sitting amongst these people who run various aspects of Sony.

Sir Howard Stringer came out to kick things off..

..and it wasn’t long until Taylor Swift came out and played to the press and to the fans watching online.

After Taylor’s performance, COO/President of Sony Electronics USA Stan Glasgow came out and whisked everyone through the various products that Sony was debuting at CES. Stan is an excellent public speaker.

I remember that when the Dash was revealed that many people seemed surprised. Sony really hasn’t done anything like this before, but my appetite rests on a VAIO tablet.

Sir Howard Stringer would come back into the presentation at various points, and somehow I captured this unique angle of him while he was speaking. I promise you it was not a prolonged pose on his part by any means.

Professional Photographer Nigel Barker also came out on stage to demonstrate Transfer Jet with COO/President Stan Glasgow.

I liked Sony’s VAIO line-up announced at CES for the most part. The W Series Eco is a truly revolutionary “green” offering, hopefully it will start a trend amongst other manufacturers. I also am so thankful Sony put a Core i7 processor in one of their PC’s, as they did with the F Series.

To the right of the stage there was also a nice 2010 Sony BRAVIA setup.

Glitter was strewn about all over the floor from Taylor Swift’s performance. Unfortunately, the glitter reflected heavily on the mainand also made lighting rather odd on the speaker’s faces at times.

I really enjoyed COO/President Stan Glasgow’s face on this picture when he announced Sony’s most advanced TV’s to date.

Sir Howard Stringer always has such a warm, friendly demeanor that really invites you to listen, plus he simply knows how to have fun – he reminds me of Akio Morita at times.

It was interesting to observe the photographers on the floor -

Here is the moment right after the press conference, one of my favorite things in the world for some reason.

Sony’s On-Demand Movie Service “Qriocity” Coming February 2010

We shot exclusive video footage during CES 2010 of a new Sony service called Qriocity, starting in February, and it is the basically the beginning of the Sony Online Service. Sony is going to bring streaming SD and HD to the consumer, but we’re not sure on pricing and I’m starting to believe there might be a subscription model. It’s significance is so strong that it will be added as a main icon on the XMB and as a button on many 2010 Sony remote controls that belong to networked TV’s and Blu-ray players. You can see it in the picture of the BRAVIA LX900′s remote above in the middle right.

You can see the movie titles when you enter the store through a great looking interface with rich album art. At the main menu is the option to go to Media Library, Choose Account, Search, New Releases, Genre, and Most Popular. You can log in with your PSN account, and have multiple accounts for parents and children. There will be the ability for master accounts to control sub accounts so your children dont access the content you don’t want them to.

Upon debut, Qriocity will have “hundreds” of HD and SD movies initially available, with titles from 20th Century Fox, Paramount, Walt Disney Pictures, Lionsgate, Warner Brothers, Universal, MGM, and of course Sony Pictures. I was able to watch the HD version of The Taking Of Pelham 1 2 3 for an extended version of time and felt that it was similiar to 720p/1080i quality with the 6mbps connection they had, and was certainly no Blu-ray. However, I liked how the software judges your Internet connection and plays a bandwidth optimized version. With higher bandwidth connections (very easy in many markets), it could be that kind of solid 720p/1080i that leaves you satisfied, however – especially for a streaming situation. The whole scene looks so much better than the Comcast On Demand I have at home. It was better than anything I’ve seen on a computer too, including Hulu. I noticed some artifacts on certain darker shades of colors, but I think that was because of the connection. A minor detail in comparison to the overall quality, however.

I would say this is a big power play for Sony and allows them to cater an On Demand experience to nearly everyone with the latest 2010 Sony networked home entertainment devices such as the LX900, BDP-S370 and so forth.

I’m pretty sure that Qriocity will also be coming to TV’s, VAIO PC’s, and Windows users overall in 2010. No word if this is coming to the PS3.

The Evolution Of The Playstation Network – Sony Network Entertainment, Inc.

Sony CEO, EVP, and President of Networked Products & Services Group Kazou Hirai spoke to during Sony’s CES 2010 press conference about the current state of the video content available on the Playstation Network, and how similiar services will be integrated into nearly all Sony network devices in the future. This sounds very much like the promises we heard from Sony during their late 2009 Investor/Analyst meeting, where they outlined the “Sony Online Service.” If you don’t remember, the Sony Online Service will be a personal and premium digital ecosystem – the vast majority of Sony’s entertainment offerings, including music, movies, games, and books. They are also going to offer applications. Sony will also embrace many 3rd party content providers to bolster their initial offering – something they have proven themselves capable of with their current partners in the Playstation Store and streaming partners in their latest networked Blu-ray products.

Sony plans to bring this premium service to BRAVIA TV’s, VAIO Laptops and Blu-ray players. They will leverage the existing Playstation Network interface and deliver a more advanced infrastructure, one that can cater across all product lines. Fortunately, those of you with existing Playstation Network ID’s will be able to log in with the same username and password, and those of you who sign up to this new service will be able to log into the Playstation Network. Hundreds of movies from all major studios will be able be streamed in standard and high definition, with support from such studios as 20th Century Fox, Paramount, Walt Disney Pictures, Lionsgate, Warner Brothers, Universal, MGM, and of course Sony Pictures. Kaz mentioned this will start next month for VAIOs, Blu-ray players and networked BRAVIAs – as well as any Windows PC.

This venture inspired a new company called Sony Network Entertainment, Inc., with Tim Schaaf as President who will report to Kaz.

Kaz has also mentioned that more European countries will have access to the Playstation Store’s multimedia content by the end of 2010. More than 780 million pieces of content have been downloaded so far, and monthly downloads exceed 25 petabytes, which is equivalent to about 5 million single layer DVD’s.

Hell Freezes Over – Sony Introduces SD/microSD Storage Cards

For the first time ever, Sony is expanding its line of consumer media with the addition of five new SD/SDHC memory cards for digital imaging products, and three new microSD/microSDHC memory cards for mobile phones. The new SD/SDHC and microSD/microSDHC memory cards, which – except for the microSD 2GB card – are all class-4-speed for high-definition recording, include unique benefits for consumers. Easy-to-use animated picture sharing software (x-Pict Story) is available via free download and allows consumers to create animated slide shows of their pictures set to the music of their choice. File Rescue software is also free via download, and helps consumers recover accidentally deleted files.

Sony also announced that the majority of their Handycam and Cyber-shot cameras would have dual compatibility with MemoryStick Duo and SD.

“The new cards will complement Sony’s existing Memory Stick line, satisfying the needs of a broader range of users, and strengthening Sony’s position as a full line media supplier,” said Shane Higby, director of the consumer media business at Sony Electronics.

Sony will continue offering a full range of Memory Stick media for consumer and professional products, to support and enhance features such as stable recording or high-definition video, high-speed burst shooting and high-speed data transfer. Memory Stick is the recommended media for Sony products, offering a range of unique benefits. For example, the high-speed “HX” Series’ capabilities are optimized when using the burst shooting mode in Sony’s α (alpha) DSLR cameras, as well as high-speed archiving of high definition movies shot with Handycam® camcorders and Cyber-shot cameras.

The full line of SD/SDHC and microSD/microSDHC memory cards, which will ship in packaging that is easy to separate and recycle, will be available this month, at the following suggested list prices:

• SF-2N1 (2GB SD Class 4) – $14.99
• SF-4N4 (4GB SDHC Class 4) – $29.99
• SF-8N4 (8GB SDHC Class 4) – $44.99
• SF-16N4 (16GB SDHC Class 4) – $79.99
• SF-32N4 (32GB SDHC Class 4) – $159.99
• SR-2A1 (2GB microSD) with adapter – $14.99
• SR-4A4 (4GB microSDHC Class 4) with adapter – $29.99
• SR-8A4 (8GB micro SDHC Class 4) with adapter – $44.99

Sony 3D Technology Center Opens At Sony Pictures Studios

Sony announced that it will open the “Sony 3D Technology Center,” located at Sony Pictures Studios in Culver City, California, to train and nurture a community of experts in the rapidly growing market of 3D entertainment. The announcement was made today at the Consumer Electronics Show by Sir Howard Stringer, Chairman, CEO and President of Sony Corporation. The new center will offer professionals from across the industry a hands-on opportunity to learn more about the techniques and equipment used to create top-quality 3D productions of all kinds – including sports, movies, television and games. The center will also feature Sony’s top-of-the-line business and professional products, which are widely used in capturing, manipulating and displaying 3D productions.

“Our mission is to support the spread of high quality 3D throughout the marketplace,” said Chris Cookson, President of Sony Pictures Technologies, Sony Pictures Entertainment, and Chief Officer of the Sony 3D Technology Center, Sony Corporation of America. “Modern technologies and techniques can create much more natural and realistic 3D than most people had experienced in years past, so we have an interest in helping the industry as a whole seize this opportunity to give audiences really great 3D experiences. People must reliably and consistently be able to enjoy what is presented in 3D for it to gain acceptance in the long term.”

“Making 3D is easy, but making good 3D is hard,” said Buzz Hays, Senior Vice President of the Sony 3D Technology Center, Sony Corporation of America. “I’ve had the pleasure of making 3D movies with Hollywood’s true pioneers over the last five years, and I am excited to dedicate my time fully to sharing what we’ve learned as this medium makes its way toward primetime.”

Sony Pictures Digital Productions studio Imageworks has been a leader in both 3D animation and live-action 3D conversion. Imageworks has produced more recent 3D movies than any other studio. Sony Pictures Releasing International has released multiple 3D films for the studio including Columbia Pictures and Sony Pictures Animation’s September 2009 3D release of “Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs” which has earned more than $200 million dollars to date in worldwide box office ticket sales.

The 3D Technology Center is scheduled to open in February 2010.

Video: Taylor Swift Performs “Love Story” At Sony’s CES 2010 Press Conference

Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American country pop singer-songwriter, record producer and actress. At one point in 2009, Taylor had 8 songs on the Billboard Top 100 chart along with CMA wins for Album of the Year, Female Vocalist of the Year, Video of the Year, and Entertainer of the Year. Not only did Taylor sell out her 52-city tour in 2009, but her 2010 tour dates sold out within minutes of being onsale. Her multi-platinum album, Fearless, is nominated for Album of the Year at the 2010 Grammy Awards, along with 7 other nominations. Forbes ranked Swift 2009′s 69th-most powerful celebrity, earning $18 million.

Taylor’s rise to superstardom might seem at times to have happened in the blink of an eye, but in reality it has taken a decade of hard work. Her family recognized Taylor’s talent and determination at an early age, and they started taking regular trips to Nashville to shop her music around. She began writing with local songwriters, and after a few years, during which the family made the decision to move to nearby Hendersonville, Tenn., a showcase at the Bluebird Cafe caught the eye of music-industry veteran Scott Borchetta, who was planning to launch a new label. What he saw on that stage was a young girl with an innate ability to entertain and a true gift for writing great songs.

Taylor Swift surprised onlookers with her unannounced performance of “Love Story” at Sony’s CES 2010 press conference (starts at 1:40). Briefly before that she spoke to Sony’s Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President Sir Howard Stringer about how she will use Sony products in 2010 to share her “beautiful experiences” online and also mentions her upcoming tour. The screen behind her was showing the performance live in 3D, too. I think we both can agree that 3D isn’t necessary to enjoy this, though.

NEW Sony VAIO Notebooks Emerge at CES 2010

Today Sony showed off a few new VAIOs and finally some of the users prayers were answered – a backlit keyboard is featured in certain VAIO models.

Let’s start with a power-house VAIO F series. This one is great for HD enthusiasts. The F Series brings PC functionality solidly into the multi-media entertainment and gaming arena.  The F Series will feature a 16:9 full HD display on select models, Blu-ray Disc playback throughout the line as well as an HDMI™ output for connecting to compatible HDTVs.

•       16.4-inch, 16:9 aspect ratio widescreen display; Up to Full HD (1920×1080)
•       Intel® Core2Quad technology for sizzling performance
•       Backlit keyboard (select models)
•       HD multimedia powerhouse/ gaming notebook
•       Blu-ray Disc™ playback and HDMI

Transfer Jet technology will also find its way into Sony’s VAIO notebook line, starting with the F Series. The TransferJet™ feature, a wireless high-speed data transfer technology that allows two TransferJet-enabled devices to communicate and transfer files simply by touching the TransferJet marks on each product together.

Joining the F Series is another new high-performance notebook, the Z Series, weighing in at just three pounds (with standard battery).

•       13.1-inch, 16:9 aspect ratio widescreen display with LED backlight
•       Dynamic hybrid graphics—three modes: Auto, Speed, Stamina
•       Backlit keyboard
•       Noise cancelling headphone supplied  for music and video conferencing
•       Ultra-portable SSD notebook weighing under 3 lbs with durable carbon-fiber/aluminum chassis

Sony also introduced a new line to its VAIO family – the Y series. This is a very affordable light weight notebook with a nice battery stamina. Sort of a nice contender to the X series, only on the cheaper side:

•       13.3-inch, 16:9 aspect ratio widescreen display with LED backlight
•       Less than 1.3 inch thin
•       Up to 7 hours of standard battery life
•       Both standard and large battery supplied for the total of 17 hours battery life (select models)
•       HDMI™ output for enjoying movies, photos and more on a compatible HDTV

An updated VAIO W netbook also is here to grab your attention, as it is eco-friendly if that matters to you:

•       10.1-inch, 16:9 aspect ratio widescreen display with LED backlight (1366 x 768)
•       Eco-friendly PC– chassis made from recycled plastic/ comes in carrying case using recyclable materials
•       Functional keyboard with springy and responsive isolated keys
•       Kidzui and Online Family Norton software to safely manage kids online activities
•       Microsoft® Windows® 7 Starter operating system

Stay tuned for more hands on experience and other news in the VAIO world…