Apple, News

Apple Increases iPad with Retina Display to 128GB

Offers Twice the Storage Capacity to Create & Enjoy Even More Incredible Content

CUPERTINO, California―January 29, 2013―Apple® today announced a 128GB* version of the fourth generation iPad® with Retina® display. The 128GB iPad with Wi-Fi and iPad with Wi-Fi + Cellular models provide twice the storage capacity of the 64GB models to hold even more valuable content including photos, documents, projects, presentations, books, movies, TV shows, music and apps. 

“With more than 120 million iPads sold, it’s clear that customers around the world love their iPads, and every day they are finding more great reasons to work, learn and play on their iPads rather than their old PCs,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “With twice the storage capacity and an unparalleled selection of over 300,000 native iPad apps, enterprises, educators and artists have even more reasons to use iPad for all their business and personal needs.”

iPad continues to have a significant impact on business with virtually all of the Fortune 500 and over 85 percent of the Global 500 currently deploying or testing iPad. Companies regularly utilizing large amounts of data such as 3D CAD files, X-rays, film edits, music tracks, project blueprints, training videos and service manuals all benefit from having a greater choice of storage options for iPad. The over 10 million iWork® users, and customers who rely on other incredible apps like Global Apptitude for analyzing team film and creating digital playbooks, Auria for an incredible 48 track recording system, or AutoCAD for drafting architectural and engineering drawings, also benefit greatly from having the choice of an iPad with more storage capacity. 

“Our AutoCAD WS app for iOS was designed to give customers seamless access to their designs anywhere, anytime,” said Amy Bunszel, vice president of AutoCAD products for Autodesk. “These files are often large and highly detailed so having the thin and light iPad with its Multitouch display, integrated camera and all-day battery life, is a real advantage for iPad users to view, edit and share their AutoCAD data.”

“The features and capabilities of iPad give us the ability to set a new standard for multitrack recording and editing on a mobile device,” said Rim Buntinas, WaveMachine Labs’ CEO. “Users of the Auria app can play 48 mono or stereo 24bit/96 kHz tracks simultaneously, record up to 24 of those tracks simultaneously, and also edit and mix with familiar tools. With its portability and all-day battery life, iPad has revolutionized recording for audio professionals allowing artists to record anywhere.”

“The bottom line for our customers is winning football games, and iPad running our GamePlan solution unquestionably helps players be as prepared as possible,” said Randall Fusee, Global Apptitude Co-Founder. “The iPad’s unbeatable combination of security, being thin and light, having an incredible Retina display and also being powerful enough to handle large amounts of data enables us to deliver a product that takes film study to a new level and ultimately gives our users the best opportunity to prepare, execute and win.”

The fourth generation iPad features a gorgeous 9.7-inch Retina display, Apple-designed A6X chip, FaceTime® HD camera, iOS 6.1 and ultrafast wireless performance**. iOS 6.1 includes support for additional LTE networks around the world***, and iTunes Match℠ subscribers can download individual songs to their iOS devices from iCloud®.

iPad runs over 800,000 apps available on the App Store℠, including more than 300,000 apps designed specifically for iPad, from a wide range of categories including books, games, business, news, sports, health, reference and travel. iPad also supports the more than 5,000 newspapers and magazines offered in Newsstand, and the more than 1.5 million books available on the iBookstore℠.

Apple, News

Apple Updates iOS to 6.1

New Version Adds LTE Support For 36 Additional iPhone Carriers Worldwide

CUPERTINO, California—January 28, 2013—Apple® today updated iOS to version 6.1, adding LTE capabilities to 36 additional iPhone® carriers and 23 additional iPad® carriers around the world, so even more iPhone 5, iPad mini and iPad* with Retina® display users can experience ultrafast wireless performance** to browse, download and stream content at blazing fast speeds. To date, iOS users have uploaded over nine billion photos to Photo Stream, sent over 450 billion iMessages and received over four trillion notifications. 

“iOS 6 is the world’s most advanced mobile operating system, and with nearly 300 million iPhone, iPad and iPod touch devices on iOS 6 in just five months, it may be the most popular new version of an OS in history,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “iOS 6.1 brings LTE support to more markets around the world, so even more users can enjoy ultrafast Safari browsing, FaceTime video calls, iCloud services, and iTunes and App Store downloads.”

iOS 6 features include Siri®, which supports more languages, easy access to sports scores, restaurant recommendations and movie listings; Maps with Apple-designed cartography, turn-by-turn navigation and Flyover view; Facebook integration for Contacts and Calendar, with the ability to post directly from Notification Center, Siri and Facebook-enabled apps; Shared Photo Streams via iCloud®; and Passbook®, the simplest way to get all your passes in one place. Additional updates in iOS 6.1 include the ability to use Siri to purchase movie tickets in the US through Fandango, and iTunes Match℠ subscribers can download individual songs to their iOS devices from iCloud.

The revolutionary App Store℠ offers more than 800,000 apps to iPhone, iPad and iPod touch® users, with more than 300,000 native iPad apps. App Store customers have downloaded over 40 billion apps, and Apple has paid over seven billion dollars to its incredible developer community. Customers can choose from apps in 23 categories, including newspapers and magazines offered in Newsstand, games, business, news, sports, health & fitness and travel.

News, Sharp

Two Advanced LCD Technologies Appear in Soon-to-Ship Consumer TV Sets

Without prior fanfare — or even prior leaks — two advanced LCD technologies appeared in TV sets shown at CES in Las Vegas. Sets with one or another of the technologies will be available this year.
The technology that will be the more widely distributed of the two will appear in many Sony Bravia models. Sony calls it Triluminos and says it produces “the best color ever,” but Sony booth personnel could not produce a coherent explanation of what Triluminos actually is. However, Seth Coe-Sullivan and Jason Carlson of QD Vision had no trouble explaining it at all. Triluminos is Sony’s implementation of color system using a quantum-dot backlight, and the backlight unit uses a quantum-dot optical element developed and made by QD Vision. The element is a polymer strip containing an appropriate combination of two kinds of quantum dots: those that convert blue light to green light and those that convert blue light to red light. Blue light? Part of the quantum-dot approach is to use blue LEDs as the backlight’s light source instead of white LEDs.

The quantum-dot approach produces narrow spectral emissions for blue, red and green, whereas the conventional approach produces a broad spectrum relatively weak in red and green components. The result is a larger color gamut and more saturated colors that produce an almost OLED-like appearance. QD Vision and competitor Nanosys have both been developing quantum-dot solutions for some time. Now, QD Vision’s implementation is significantly improving color quality across an entire line of Sony Bravia TVs.

The second innovation comes from Sharp and is genuinely difficult to explain. Sharp didn’t really try in its big press conference, simply saying that in addition to its coming 4Kx2K TVs, the company was introducing an FHD Quattron TV that produced images with close to 4Kx2K sharpness. This may sound like output of an overwrought marketing imagination after the drinking of too many glasses of sake — but the technology is real, and its implementation in a TV set in the Sharp booth was very, very effective. In addition, it is considerably less expensive to implement than true 4Kx2K.

In fact, Sharp has made no attempt to keep the technology secret, although the appearance of the set that embodies it did come as a surprise. The technology was carefully described at LatinDisplay 2010 (Sao Paulo, Brazil) by Yasuhiro Yoshida, deputy general manager of Sharp’s Display Systems Laboratories, and his presentation won the conference’s best paper award.

Very briefly, because a Quattron pixel contains four subpixels (red, green, blue and yellow) instead of three, any given color can be created with more than one combination of primaries. This redundancy can be used to create two luminance peaks per pixel instead of the traditional one luminance peak per pixel. Thus, the panel can produce a true 4Kx2K image even though it contains only 2Kx1K (four-primary) pixels.

Both Sony’s and Sharp’s innovations have something in common. Each, in its own way, produces a dramatic improvement in image quality at much lower cost than the available alternatives. 

News

The Next Trend: Curvy OLEDs?

Both Samsung and LG claim to have brought “the world’s first curved OLED TV” to CES 2013.

The curved OLED TVs are both 55″ displays that appear concave when viewed from the front and even more bent from the sides. Apparently the shape improves on viewing angles, even if an over-enthusiastic Samsung PR describes it as “IMAX-like” (never mind IMAX screens measure around 70 feet/21 meters).

Being OLED displays, both curved TVs benefit from deeper blacks and impressively crisp colors, with the LG’s offering (EA9800) also boasting Cinema 3D support.

Neither Samsung nor LG give price points or even release dates for the curvy OLEDs, but expect more details should CES 2013 drum up enough industry interest in the technology.

Here is LG’s: http://www.lgnewsroom.com/newsroom/contents/62967

Here is Samsung’s: http://www.samsung.com/us/news/20352 

New Products

Harman JBL Introduces Everest DD67000 Flagship Loudspeaker

Harman’s JBL has introduced its new flagship Project Everest DD67000 loudspeaker, incorporating a host of upgrades.
Everest DD67000 loudspeaker
The DD67000 features new woofers, a refined crossover network and additional improvements to deliver musical accuracy.

“Our previous Project Everest DD66000 was a landmark sonic achievement,” said Jim Garrett, director of marketing and product management, Harman Luxury Audio Group and Loudspeakers. “However, in the six years since it was introduced, the Harman team in Northridge have not stood still. We have continued to advance the design to push the performance threshold of this class leading speaker, resulting in significant performance improvements that is sure to thrill the most veteran audiophiles and passionate music lovers.”

The Project Everest DD67000 is striking in appearance, the company says, blending classic JBL design elements that are evocative of the company’s Hartsfield and Paragon loudspeakers with contemporary styling. The DD67000 retains curved and angled surfaces of its predecessor and a dramatically flared midrange horn, complemented by the loudspeaker’s rosewood finish with the addition of a new carbon-fiber baffle trim panel and elegant rosewood and maple finishes.

The DD67000 is equipped with two of the new 1501AL-2 cast-aluminum-frame woofers, featuring a three-layer laminated cone construction comprised of an inner and outer layer of pure pulp stock with an inner foam-injection-material core. This woofer cone combines high rigidity and fast response for taut, articulate, low frequency with extension down to 29 Hz (-10dB anechoic). Performance is further improved by the 1501AL-2’s newly designed accordion-pleated poly/cotton surround, yielding a woofer with a fundamental resonance that is 10Hz higher than previously for improved agility and “snap” and a more consistent tonal balance at any volume. Additional features include a massive 4-inch voice coil immersed in an Alnico 5DG magnet that is immune to temperature changes, a copper-steel-laminated top plate that contributes to more linear magnetic behavior within the driver, and additional details.

The 476Be midrange/high-frequency compression driver utilizes a 4-inch, pure-beryllium diaphragm that is formed as an integral one-piece diamond-embossed surround and dome. The 476Be also features a 4-inch aluminum edge-wound voice coil, a rapid-flare coherent-wave phasing plug, a pure-copper-sleeved polepiece that maintains maximum magnetic gap flux and other enhancements to deliver extraordinary transparency and natural vocal and instrumental reproduction.

The DD67000’s 045Be-1 ultrahigh-frequency compression driver uses a 1-inch beryllium diaphragm and 2-inch neodymium magnet to produce frequency response beyond 50kHz. The driver features a new precision-cast, pure-magnesium phasing plug that offers better heat dissipation for improved clarity even at higher volumes, and improved manufacturing processes have enabled the driver to provide nearly 5dB more output above 30kHz.

Both compression drivers are mounted in JBL’s computer-optimized Bi-Radial horns that are made from the company’s acoustically inert SonoGlass material, eliminating the unwanted strident colorations that can occur with conventional horn designs. The horns are shaped to provide optimum dispersion in the horizontal and vertical planes, for smooth frequency response and precise imaging over a wider on- and off-axis area.

The Project Everest DD67000 employs a unique crossover network. It is designed to let the woofers operate in different frequency ranges, which provides optimum directivity and high output. The crossover network uses a DC bias system that keeps the capacitors operating in Class A mode, yielding maximum sonic purity. The network is comprised of four separate circuit boards—one for each transducer—to optimize each board for each driver and its corresponding frequency range.

The DD67000’s performance can be fine tuned for any system and room thanks to its front-mounted control panels that enable precise adjustment of low-frequency and high-frequency level and other characteristics. The JBL Project Everest DD67000 is built with top-quality components including air-core inductors, polypropylene foil capacitors, wire-wound and metal oxide resistors used in multiples to prevent value shift during high-power operation and more.

New Products, News, Product Reviews

LG 84LM9600 Ultra HD TV

This TV is kind of a big deal, and I don’t say that just because it’s six feet wide. The new LG 84LM9600 is the world’s first Ultra HD (formerly known as 4K) 3D smart TV.

LG 84LM9600 Ultra HD TV

Because production quantities are understandably low, and this is a pricy set, it was easier for me to go to the TV rather than for the TV to come to me. I spent several hours alone with the TV and my test gear at LG’s Chicago headquarters.

Ultra HD TVs have a resolution of at least eight million active pixels – 3,840 horizontally and 2,160 vertically in a 16:9 aspect ratio – which is exactly the resolution of this model (as well as the Sony model that is also just hitting the market).

This is LG’s flagship model, so it carries a price of $19,999, though retailers are selling it for a minimum advertised price of $16,999.

The 84LM9600 includes all of LG’s top TV features, including the smart TV platform, the gyroscope-like Magic Remote (with voice features), built-in Wi-Fi and a pretty good audio system. It also comes with a standard remote. It wears an attractive, fairly narrow bezel for a TV of this size and is only a hair over 1.5 inches thick. Sharp’s 80-inch 1080p TV models are more than three inches thick.

That slim depth is a result of LG going with an edge-lit design rather than a full-array LED design, which Sharp uses in its big TVs. Edge-lit LED TVs are thinner, but they can suffer from some light blooming and uniformity issues that don’t plague full-array models.

Like all LG 3D LCD TVs, this one uses passive 3D with polarized glasses (no battery or LCD lenses). The TV comes with six sets of 3D glasses.

The LG Ultra HD comes with a small, but very sturdy-looking table stand that permits it to swivel to either side. A swivel stand is unusual in the massive class of TVs, and this one swivels remarkably well – you’d hardly guess by how easily it moves that the TV weighs 150 pounds (Sharp’s 80- and 90-inch TVs actually weight just a bit less than this).

Another issue with edge-lit TVs is their inability to locally dim the LEDs nearly as well as full-array sets. LG and other companies do employ an edge-based local dimming technology, and I’ll discuss that a little later. Again, for comparison, the big Sharp TVs do not use local dimming, but the Sharp Elite brand TVs do. (Note: I use the Sharp 80- and 90-inch TVs as a reference only because they are the closest comparable in size. Being 1080p TVs, they are considerably cheaper, but also a different technology class).

Big TVs are fun – who doesn’t love a TV that makes the neighbors’ jaw drop? But arranging a room around a TV this big raises particular issues, especially seating distance. Using the THX seating distance formula (diagonal screen size divided by .84) gives us an ideal seating distance of 8.3 feet. That might seem a bit close, especially if you’re using a 1080p TV, but with Ultra HD resolution, you can actually sit much closer (the THX calculator is for determining an immersive viewing field, and does not necessarily take screen resolution into account).  Most living rooms will put a little more distance between the TV and the sofa, so I set myself up at 10 feet.

Basic Calibration

I started off digging into the TV’s menu and doing a basic calibration. The TV has a variety of pre-set video modes, including a Cinema mode that came very close to the final value after my own calibration. It also includes a feature called Picture Wizard II, which guides you through a set of images to help you properly set the TV to your preference. I’ve used it before, and it works well. In addition to the basic controls, LG includes advanced features like Dynamic Contrast, Super Resolution, Color Gamut, MPEG Noise Reduction, Black Level, Dimming Level and TruMotion (a 240Hz refresh rate processor). This set also offers full ISF day/night modes. For some reason the advanced picture settings are divided into two menus: Expert Control and Picture Options. This can make finding the feature you want a little difficult.

After finalizing my settings, I ran through several Blu-ray discs of test patterns. On dark fields I could clearly see some light blooming around the edges from the edge-mounted LEDs. This was most noticeable on the lower right and top left corners. When a bright white element was added to the scene, I could see some light leakage affecting an area around the bright element – I was able to improve that by engaging the local dimming (which seemed to work best on Medium setting). I was told that the set had 16 dimming zones. Light issues are prevalent on every LED LCD TV, especially edge-lit ones, which comprises most of the market. You don’t encounter this on plasma T Vs, but there are no 4K plasma TVs. Among other edge-lit TVs, the blacks on this set mostly looked pretty good. On real content material, the light bleeding was minimal and not enough to be a distraction unless you tend to be fanatical about that kind of thing.

I did see some slight uniformity issues which appeared as barely noticeable bands. The only time I saw this was during very bright scenes in the disc The Art of Flight. I’ve seen this issue before on TVs, and it seems to be associated with edge-lit LEDs. This was not a major issue, and if you weren’t looking for it, you’d probably miss it. On other test patterns, like color, motion and deinterlacing, the TV performed very well.

Best 3D on TV

I switched to some 1080p Blu-ray movies. First up was Tron: LegacyThe scenes in this movie are almost all dark, and the light issues were not apparent accept in the top and bottom black bars of the Cinemascope feature. I watched clips from several other 1080p movies, including The Dark Knight, Avatar and The Art of Flight. While the Ultra HD upconversion didn’t necessarily make the 1080p video look any better (it didn’t make it worse), it eliminated any pixel structure unless you were practically leaning on the TV. It’s quite impressive to sit five feet away from a TV that’s six feet wide and still see a perfectly smooth image.

Next I switched to 3D mode. I’ve been a fan of passive 3D because the cheap, lightweight glasses make 3D a little less of a burden than active shutter glasses, but the system has a significant flaw. With 1080p TVs, polarized glasses cut the resolution in half so you end up watching less than high definition. It doesn’t look bad, but the picture isn’t as crisp as the full HD view you get with active shutter glasses.

Ultra HD TVs turn that upside down. With an Ultra HD TV, the passive glasses still cut the resolution in half, but you’re starting with double the resolution (because the TV upscales the 1080p signal). When the glasses divide up the left and right image you’re still getting 1080p in each eye, but without the flicker and irritation sometimes encountered when wearing active shutter glasses.

All of the above was preparation to report that this TV displayed the absolute best 3D I’ve ever seen on a television. I watched segments from a few 3D Blu-ray discs, but IMAX Under the Sea was the most impressive. The image was completely natural and realistic. In one scene a large grouper swims up close to the camera, and I could swear the fish was three inches from my nose. The illusion was that convincing. Other, less dramatic scenes still produced a depth and clarity that was stunning.

After all the 1080p material, which is what most buyers will watch on this set, I switched over to some Ultra HD video LG supplied on a hard-disc server. These clips were mostly landscape shots of attractive cities and towns around the world, and they all looked amazing. From 10 feet the resolution shouldn’t have made much of a difference, but the effect was more subtle than just more pixels – it created the closest thing to looking through a clear window I’ve ever seen. A single 3D Ultra HD clip (this one animated) was also pretty amazing.

What’s Next for Ultra HD?

So is Ultra HD the future of television? Well, maybe, probably. How’s that for a firm answer? There are a couple of ways to look at this. First, Ultra HD is a natural progression from 1080p, and unlike some other TV innovations (3D), it is an actual improvement. More real pixels means more real picture information. But how many pixels are necessary for a given screen size? I honestly don’t think I can answer that for every person, but I can say that on this 84-inch TV, the extra 2,000,000 or so pixels made the picture more realistic, added depth and improved clarity, especially in 3D.

But what about 4K content? Sony is offering buyers of its 84-inch 4K TV a hard-disc server with ten Ultra HD movies, but Sony’s TV also cost $8,000 more than the LG unit. For now, this LG (and all the other Ultra HD TVs that will launch in 2013) will mostly be used for watching the high-definition sources you already have, and this TV does a good job of that.

Remember, TV broadcasters don’t even send out 1080p video. We already watch lots of 480p, 720p and 1080i content on 1080p TVs. An Ultra HD TV just upscales those lower-resolution signals even further to make them more viewable on a very large screen. Having a good built-in video processor and extra resolution improves the visual experience of plus-size TVs and dramatically improves passive 3D.

New Products

Marantz Launches Flagship AV Preamp Processor

Marantz is establishing a new top-end price point in tuner/preamp/surround processors with the shipment of the $3,599-suggested AV8801, which can be paired with the new flagship MM8077 seven-channel power amp at $2,399.

Marantz’s $3,599-suggested 11.2-channel AV8801 tuner/preamp/surround processor.


The 11.2-channel component joins the recently shipped $1,699 7.2-channel AV7701 and the $1,599 AV7005 preamp processors in the Marantz lineup of AV separates and exceeds the price of a previous flagship preamp processor, the $2,999 AV8003, which was discontinued a few years ago, a spokesperson said.

Compared to the AV7701, the flagship model adds AM-radio band and 4K up-scaling from standard-definition sources, not just from HDMI-connected sources. The flagship also offers 192kHz/32-bit processing compared to 192/24 processing. With the new preamp processor and amplifier, the brand’s line of AV separates consists of three preamp processors and three amps.

The new preamp processor is the brand’s first audio component with 11-channel capability and Marantz’s first component with DTS Neo:X post processing, which adds add two front-height and two front-width channels to a traditional 7.1 home-theater system. The 11.2-channel component supports Neo:X’s full 11.1-channel capabilities, whereas some Neo:X-equipped audio components in the industry support up to 9.1 Neo:X channels. The AV8801 is also Marantz’ first product to incorporate Audyssey’s XT32 room-equalization technology and Audyssey Sub EQ HT processing, which optimizes sound for dual-subwoofer setups. It’s also Marantz’s first audio component with four-port Ethernet switch.
Like the 7.2-channel AV7701 preamp processor, the flagship features DLNA 1.5 networking, AirPlay, HD Radio, Internet radio, 4K passthrough and up-scaling with GUI overlay, 3D passthrough, optional stereo Bluetooth, two simultaneous HDMI outputs, a third HDMI out for a remote zone, and Audyssey DSX post processing, which adds front-wide and front-height channels to a 5.1 system.
Both preamp/processors also stream photos and audio from networked PCs and connect to broadband modems to stream Internet radio stations, Pandora, SiriusXM Internet radio, Spotify and Flickr.

New Products

Sony Unveils 4K Server for 84-inch LCD TV

Sony Electronics formally took “4K Ultra High Definition” to the next level Thursday by introducing the first 4K playback device supporting its newly released 84-inch LCD TV.

The new 4K Ultra HD Video Player is a hard-disk server that connects easily to Sony’s matching XBR-84X900 84-inch LED LCD TV, allowing consumers to view 4K resolution movies and short-form 4K videos. The server and 84-inch 4K Ultra HD LED LCD TV sets were scheduled to be officially unveiled and demonstrated at an invitation-only event with Sony recording artist John Legend.

Sony said it is making the device available as a bonus “loaned”—as the company put it—exclusively to U.S. customers purchasing the Sony 4K LED TV. The hard-disk server, which has been used for in-store demos of the company’s flagship 4K Ultra HD TV screen, comes loaded with content, including both full-length Hollywood features and a gallery of videos, creating the first true home 4K experience, Sony said.

Currently, the device is the only method consumers can use to play natively produced 4K Ultra HD content on the new high-resolution displays. As a stand-alone unit, the Sony XBR-84X900 TV up-scales all video inputs, including the more than 7,000 Blu-ray Disc titles currently in distribution, to what Sony said is “a near-4K resolution” through the use of Sony’s proprietary 4K X-Reality PRO three-chip picture engine.

“Sony is a company of firsts, and this introduction of the first 4K technology platform continues that pioneering, innovative spirit,” stated Phil Molyneux, Sony Electronics president and COO. “We were the first to introduce 4K projectors to cinemas in 2005, the first to introduce a 4K projector designed for the home in 2011, and the first to offer a 4K up-scaling Blu-ray Disc player earlier this year. Now we’re the first to begin closing the content loop, offering native 4K content for the home and delivering the most immersive, awe-inspiring entertainment experience yet.” 

As it has done with high-definition and 3D, Sony is looking to take the point for the consumer electronics industry in leading the way into the next new video format. Sony pointed out that “it is uniquely positioned to be first to market in delivering 4K Ultra HD solutions,” in its multiple roles a content producers, and consumer and professional equipment manufacturers. Sony said its spin on the 4K Ultra HD Home Experience for the home includes its “84-inch 4K LED TV, the video player, and an Xperia Tablet S that serves as a remote control through an easy-to-use app.”

Apple, New Products

Philips Offers Smartphone-Controlled Lighting

Philips Lighting is launching a network-enabled lighting-control system available only through Apple stores.

The system, called hue, is positioned as the world’s first Web-enabled LED home lighting system sold direct to consumers. It lets users control LED light bulbs from iOS and Android apps on smartphones and tablets when inside the home or from afar.

Offered exclusively through Apple stores beginning Oct. 30, the $199 hue starter kit includes three LED bulbs, which fit into any standard light fixture, and a ZigBee-based wireless bridge that connects to a home’s existing wireless router. From the app, consumers can remotely control home lighting, personalize their lighting experience with custom settings, and program timers.

Additional bulbs cost $59.

Hue controls up to 50 LED light bulbs via the open ZigBee LightLink wireless standard, with individual control over each bulb. Users can save personal light settings and recall them from a smart device. Hue also includes four pre-programmed light settings that adjust bulbs to an optimum shade and brightness of white light for such scenarios as relaxing, reading or boosting mood and energy, the company said.

Users can also set each bulb to emit a different color from among more than 16 million colors.

Using the ZigBee LightLink standard, hue bulbs create a mesh network so that the bulbs can get a ZigBee command even if far from the home’s ZigBee bridge. The standard lets the system use significantly less stand-by power than Wi-Fi, Philips added.

Hue can be integrated with other ZigBee-based systems such as motion sensors and home thermostats for additional home automation, Philips noted. Software updates for the bulbs are done automatically via the bridge and the bulbs themselves for future-proofing.

In the future, Philips plans to integrate hue with sound and video systems and develop geo-location services, which enable hue to turn on or off home lights when a user gets close to home or leaves.

Philips is also researching the addition of “ reverse indicators,” enabling hue to issue alerts that lighting has not been turned on during a specific time period. The feature would be useful in elder-care situations, the company said.

Philips will make a hue interface and software development kit (SDK) available to anyone who wants to create additional functionality or applications that interact with the system. The applications will be tested by the Philips “to ensure they are viable,” the company said.

With LED lights, Philips said, LED semiconductors can be easily integrated into electronic circuitry to deliver new lighting options at the command of an electrical signal. These smart bulbs have a unique web address.

New Products, Stewart

Stewart Debuts Rear Projection Screen That Adheres to Glass

Dubbed Mystik!, Stewart’s latest screen material is actually a self-adhesive projection material designed for use in digital signage applications. Mystik! is ideal as a storefront application, as well as for other retail and public venues when a two-piece projection solution is desired. It can also be applied to any window or glass door to transform the surface into an opaque projection screen, enabling privacy while also creating a fun home entertainment space.