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Toshiba, Samsung Among First Manufacturers
Toshiba* and Samsung* are among the first CE manufacturers to deliver new devices based on the Media Processor CE 3100. Toshiba plans to launch AV devices including LCD TV, LCD TV/DVD Combo and a standalone network player supporting the Widget Channel applications framework. Toshiba demonstrated a concept of the system during CES and is expected to bring the new products to the United States market segment in the second half of this year.
"The Widget Channel is an excellent, highly consumer-friendly platform," said Yoshihide Fujii, corporate senior vice president, president and CEO of Digital Media Network Company, Toshiba Corporation. "Combined with the power of the Media Processor CE 3100, it will deliver instant access to a vast amount of rich Internet content on a TV. At the heart of our digital products strategy is the goal of creating a new realm in home entertainment, and this initiative matches that vision. We are excited to feature the superb capabilities of the Widget Channel framework in our TVs, network players and other devices, and look forward to bringing great value and benefits to our customers."
The Samsung* set-top box is featured in the integration demonstration for Widget Channel and tru2Way, and is equipped with triple HD DVR tuners, and supports cutting-edge features such as MPEG4 video format and embedded DOCSIS 3.0 cable modem.
"As a leading vendor in the set-top box industry, Samsung is very pleased to show a new device concept through cooperation with the industry's top leaders," said Geesung Choi, president of Samsung Electronics Telecommunications Network Business. "We believe that with this set-top box, cable operators can provide various kinds of web-based, customer-centric services."
Range of Demonstrations at Intel CES Booth
Technology demonstrations in the Intel booth showed a range of new capabilities enabled by the Media Processor CE 3100 such as a Blu-ray Disc reference design integrated with Widget Channel. The reference design showed how Blu-ray Disc systems can be enhanced with Internet content and services. Also demonstrated was a media player from Giga-Byte Technology*, LTD* and Futarque A/S*, and an innovative user interfaces and 3-D graphics from Information Technologies.*
Major film studios such as Universal Pictures also showcased prototype Widgets that enhance the user experience around their Blu-ray movie titles. Universal showcased The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor that enables viewers to delve deeper into connected interactive capabilities like upcoming movie trailers, exclusive content, tutorials and bonus features. These new Blu-ray Disc Widget prototypes present opportunities to build greater consumer relationships and will open the door to new revenue generation through commerce and advertising.
Widget Channel Gallery Expands with New Content and Services
Intel and Yahoo! have spurred the industry to start developing TV Widgets since first announcing the Widget Channel at the 2008 Intel Developer Forum. Since then, TV Widgets from content services providers have been developed by companies such as Accedo*, Associated Press*, CBS*, CinemaNow*, eBay*, Joost*, MySpace*, TF1*, and Yahoo!*, including Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Weather, Yahoo! Finance and Flickr® services. The MyMedia Widget, developed by Intel, incorporates personal media like music, photos and videos into a widget for display on TV. These new services add a new dimension to TV and provide capabilities such as games, shopping, community, information services and movie downloads.
Advancing the Intel SoC CE Platform
Intel is committed to expand the capabilities of the Intel SoC CE Platform and recently announced collaboration with Adobe Systems* to optimize the Intel Media Processor CE 3100 to support the latest Adobe® Flash® technology.
Intel and Yahoo! are working with industry members to promote the development of open and consistent standards necessary to grow the Widget Channel ecosystem and are sharing a Widget Developer Kit (WDK) with leading content service providers. The WDK is expected to be more broadly available in the near future.
