Microsoft's CES Press Releases
Microsoft
Integrates IPTV Software Platform With Xbox 360, Creating All-in-One Digital
Entertainment Device | At the 2007 International Consumer Electronics Show
(CES), Microsoft Corp. today announced a new solution that will bring together
two of its leading entertainment products, the Xbox 360 gaming console and the
Microsoft TV IPTV Edition software platform, to create a unique digital
entertainment offering. IPTV on Xbox 360™ is expected to be available to
consumers by holiday season 2007 and will be offered by providers that are
deploying TV services over broadband networks based on the IPTV Edition
software platform. The solution was unveiled during Microsoft Chairman Bill
Gates’ CES keynote address Jan. 7.
The integration of a video gaming console with Internet Protocol Television
(IPTV) services is intended to deliver a first-of-its-kind entertainment
experience. IPTV on Xbox 360 is expected to give consumers all the advantages
of an advanced TV service along with the benefits of next-generation gaming, as
well as unique new capabilities that the integrated solution brings. Xbox Live,
the largest online social network in the living room, will be seamlessly
integrated into the experience, providing consumers with a wide range of
community-based features, such as voice chat, sending and receiving text and
voice messages, and accessing Xbox Live Marketplace, all while watching TV. For
example, while a TV viewer is enjoying his favorite football game, he can
receive a message from a friend inviting him to a join voice chat while
watching the game, or to play a game of their own with EA SPORTS “Madden NFL
07” on Xbox Live.
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Microsoft
Hardware’s Innovative Industry Firsts Earn Top CES Honors | his week at the
2007 International CES in Las Vegas, Microsoft Corp. will showcase its
award-winning peripherals, the Wireless Entertainment Desktop 8000 and the
Wireless Notebook Presenter Mouse 8000, both named CES Innovations 2007 Design
and Engineering Awards Honorees on the basis of their innovative designs and
advancements in peripheral engineering, including industry firsts and
technologies that complement Microsoft’s new operating system, Windows Vista,
as well as the 2007 Microsoft Office system.
Microsoft is responding to the changing ways consumers are interacting with
their PC, and both the Wireless Notebook Presenter Mouse 8000 and the Wireless
Entertainment Desktop 8000 are being honored for incorporating innovative
technologies and stylish designs that allow users to be more productive and
move effortlessly from work to play. These devices, along with the full line of
Microsoft Hardware mice, keyboards and LifeCams, will be fully compatible with
Windows Vista once the operating system is available to retail customers.
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Microsoft
and Broadcom Deliver Combined Hardware and Software Platform for More
Cost-Efficient HD DVD Players | Today at the 2007 International Consumer
Electronics Show (CES), Microsoft Corp. and Broadcom Corp. announced a joint
effort to support a hardware and software reference design for more
cost-efficient HD DVD playback. The new platform uses Microsoft Windows CE 6.0
and Broadcom’s BCM7440 system-on-chip solution, allowing consumer electronics
manufacturers, original design manufacturers and systems integrators to more
easily and affordably deliver HD DVD playback. Several of the more innovative,
high volume electronics companies that plan to use this new hardware and
software platform to speed the production of HD DVD players include Lite-On IT
Corp. and Zhenjiang Jiangkui Group Co. Ltd./ED Digital.
In less than a year, HD DVD is already transforming the way people watch
movies. With several hundred thousand HD DVD players in homes and more than 240
movie titles to choose from, studios are taking full advantage of the pristine
video and audio quality and the ability to add interactive features to
blockbuster films. HD DVD movies have received reviewers’ top ratings among
high-definition media, and consistently outsell and outrank similar titles of
competing optical disc formats.* To keep up with demand, major
studios have announced more than 300 HD DVD movies for 2007.
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Microsoft
Technology Brings HD DVD to the Mainstream | Today at the 2007
International Consumer Electronics Show (CES), Microsoft Corp. showcased the
growing momentum behind HD DVD through its contribution of core technologies.
Microsoft helped deliver the highest-quality video with the VC-1 codec, advanced
interactivity with HDi™, and a streamlined and affordable platform for player
manufacturers through the use of Microsoft® Windows® CE
6.0.
More than 150 HD DVD titles were authored this year with the VC-1 encoding
tool, due to its outstanding picture quality. Titles such as “Batman Begins”
from Warner Home Video, “King Kong” from Universal Studios Home Entertainment
and “Mission: Impossible III” from Paramount Home Entertainment were all
recognized by the industry for their reference quality while still allowing
more room on the discs for advanced interactive features enabled by Microsoft’s
HDi technology. As an official SMPTE standard, VC-1 is already the codec of
choice for three major Hollywood studios, and
it is also being used for digital downloads by leading services including the
Xbox Live® Marketplace for high-definition videos.
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