Lots of big announcements that are ushering in the year of HD.  I would link but have to run to my flight.  A quick recap:

• CEA announces HDTV sales will beat analog TV sales in 06
• Windows Vista will have support for HDTV over digital cable, and DVR! I've tested it, it really works.  I can't wait.
• ATI announces HDTV Cablecard designs (note they aren't the first and only though ;)). 
• ViiV PCs from Intel will sport HDTV playback abilities.
• Buzz on the floor that retailers saw Xbox 360 as a key accelerant to HDTV purchases during the holiday season.
• Gates tipped us off that Xbox 360 will get an external HD-DVD drive :):):)
• HD-DVD and Blu-Ray were everywhere at CES, duking it out.  Blu-Ray demos focused on hardware demos, Microsoft on ability to copy HD-DVDs to your PC and really rich interactivity. It will be interesting to see how this goes.
• Oh, a consumer HD-DVD player will ship for $499 from Toshiba available this March! 
• TiVo announces their new Series 3 with HD over digital cable (OCUR/Cablecard) support and a SATA-based drive, sync to PMC, iPod, and PSP coming (does Portable Media Center (PMC) devices today.
• Tons of HDTV set announcements.  Excitement around 1080p - only place to get 1080p today is select WMV-HD discs, almost everything else is up-res'd 1080i but people like the buzz.

More to come...

Whew.  Crazed schedule at CES, I really haven't had time to post as I'd like.  The Windows Vista/MTV-Urge party last night was completely crazed.  I've literally never seen lines that long (about 200 feet) to get in, and when in, the floors were completely packed.  Microsoft parties have had great attendance before, but the buzz I kept hearing was about the Urge announcement (and the party). I get irritated with large crowds so I ended up hanging out in the "VIP area" most of the night trying to keep away from the crowds.

The keynote went well the day before- I had lunch with BillG's speechwriter the week before and made a few jokes about the importance having an electrical engineer monitoring the power after last year's power outage. It's good to be able to laugh about it now.  It's even better when the keynote went so well.  One thing that did bother me though- little applause, little laughter. This is a fundamental difference between MS and Apple - they surround themselves with their fans, throw a bash for them, and THAT is where they announce their products (like next week).  The buzz is infectious. Press and public alike get wrapped up.  I don't buy statements that CES or other shows are the equivalent of a "WinWorld".  The problem is too many audiences to make this work effectively.

One of the pieces that has me so excited this year is the new Windows Media Player 11.  This is part of the reason I re-joined the group.  Can you say performance?  I have over 10,000 tracks in my library.  I was so tired of UI freezes and slow searches that I started using Windows Desktop Search as my way of finding music. WMP11 takes a completely rethought and highly optimized database that is hands-down the fastest media player library I've ever seen- visually and logically. Album art is amazing. There are tons of perf improvements folks are just starting to see. I'm also hearing about additional perf optimizations in Vista's USB stack that will help as well. MCE users will benefit from all of this as well.  More on this over on the new Windows Vista site at : http://www.microsoft.com/windowsvista/community/mediaplayer.aspx

I've accepted recently that I'm now more a part of the VH1 demographic than MTV. At first I wasn't wild about Urge but then I realized that MTVN (Networks) recognizes this fact, and that's part of the reason they created the Urge brand.  I'll be able to tap into my favorite "classic rock" like Alice in Chains, Aerosmith, and  Now, I'm addicted. Urge integrates cleanly into the UI, I can download and sync a playlist in one step.  And my favorite is "Feeds"- these are truly smart playlists. This concept takes the best of smart playlists, smart sync, and concepts like RSS and mashes them together.  What you get is truly smart playlists that update (and sync) to your device automatically.  More on that later.

There's so much more to WMP11 and Vista which hasn't even been announced yet.  Stay tuned.

Some of you may have seen my earlier thoughts on the Sonos Digital Music Player system. Today, Sonos addresses two of my big complaints with their ZP80 unit - Price and Audio Connectors.

The ZP80 ditches the built-in amplifier, allowing you to easily connect the device to your existing amplifier, home theater or the like using a optical or coaxial SP/DIF connector.  The casing for the unit has also been updated.

Unfortunately still no support for Windows Media PlaysforSure Music Services or iTMS, but it will play non-DRMd WMA and a host of other formats.  Both are specifically called out as "not able to be supported". You can still connect an external source such as a PfS or iPod device and stream it around the house.

Still, this is a great step in the right direction of affordability and connectivity.  Availability is slated for this Spring.
(Courtesy iPodNN.com)

You have to hand it to Intel.  Their runaway success with the branding of their Centrino mobile technology platform (basically a reference design/chipset for WiFi/Network/Video/Sound/Processor) has given birth to the Intel Viiv brand (pronounced "VIIVe" like Vibe with a "v").  Viiv PCs will offer Windows XP Media Center and bring new technologies like Intel's Quick Resume technology, 7.1 surround sound and guaranteed HD video playback in a dual-core processor design that will offer a quieter solution than many on the market today. One of my favorite features is the ability to put the PC into a low-power state, where it appears to be off, but can continue to record TV, with Media Center at the helm.

Those in the know have discovered the coolest Media Center designs come from europe. Kapsel's just-annonced Viiv-based Media Center is one such PC.  I affectionately call it the "Mentos Media Center" because the design straight-on looks like the mint confection, chipped away to unveil a black licorice center.  You can also position it horizontally, vertically, or even mount on a wall.

The picture is a bit deceptive- visit Kapsel's site for a more front-on picture. It is a bit on the thick side but it has promise. I would like to see at least a small TFT display on the front or side, but it's not a deal-breaker.

The Kapsel is slated to go into production first quarter of 2006, price has not yet been disclosed.

According to last night's NYTimes/CNet report:

Starz Entertainment Group is introducing a $9.95-a-month subscription service [Vongo] that will allow people to download movies from the Internet and watch them on their computers, portable video players and television sets.

The article goes on to note:

Since 2004, Starz has offered a movie download subscription service, called Starz Ticket, using technology from RealNetworks. But the RealNetworks software does not allow movies to be downloaded to handheld devices. With Vongo, Starz will shift to technology from Microsoft that will allow movies to be downloaded and watched on portable video players using Microsoft's software.

Feedback has been mixed on Digg.com.  Personally, if I'm a paying subscriber to Starz on my TV, I think a $2.99-3.99/mo add-on price to view TV programs on my devices would be more appealing.  Then there's the offering of movies- everyone knows the premium channels each strike their own high $$ deals to secure premium content.

Personally, I think this is a big step in the right direction, but ultimately it's going to take an NCO (Comcast?) or similar to roll these up into an, "OnDemand 2 Go" subscription service to broaden appeal.

A friend of mine is a buyer for Drugstore.com. She found this fun little toy that's great in hot chocolate weather or around the campfire in Summer. She even got it on Leno, Conan, and  Letterman - the Marshmallow Shooter.

She brought a prototype to a neighborhood dinner a few months ago and it was crazed. The adults were having a little too much fun with it shooting about 30 feet across the house.

Sure, you could build one of these yourself, but I doubt you'd get the same quality. It shoots rapid-fire mini-marshmallows or foam pellets. At work people like to get fun and funny things to break the stress. The best part is getting to eat the ammunition when the fun is over. 

I have to get a few of these... too bad I forgot about it for Christmas- there's always next year though.

As reported by BetaNews, "For the second year, MSN Video will provide exclusive non-stop streaming coverage of the New Year's Eve festivities in New York City, Microsoft announced Thursday. The coverage will last for six hours, and include views of performances and celebrations around New York City [including Hard Rock Cafe's Underground Garage Live performances]."

I need to confirm, but I believe this will be available in MSN Today in Windows Media Center as well for you 10-footer's out there. :)

The coverage will begin at 7 p.m. Eastern time on December 31. Users can view the video, as well as highlights of last year's broadcast through New Year's Eve, on the event's Web site on MSN.

Back by popular demand, I've fixed the links for the Podcasting Auto Playlists for WMP download and updated the HowTo article slightly. I should also note that this solution also works great with Xbox 360 using the Windows Media Connect option for streaming playlists and music from any Windows XP PC ;). 

Link to How To: AutoSync Podcasts in WMP10
Download: MP10_Podcast_AutoPlaylists.zip (.97 KB)
Download: MP10_Podcast_AutoPlaylists.exe (30 KB)

Also of note is Doppler's new Beta 2 of DopplerMobile (pictured right) - a great podcasting and RSS feed client for Windows Mobile 5.0 devices.  It's a shame that it requires .Net Compact Framework which takes up 2MB on my phone, a key reason I'm not running it full-time yet until I figure out how to free up more space on my SP5m.

DopplerMobile runs on devices with Windows Mobile for Pocket PC 2003, and Windows Mobile 5.0 (both Pocket PCs and Smartphones). A nice touch is the ability to sync your feeds with your NewsGator Online account.  Learn more here.  More to come on this one I expect.  Enjoy.

Catching up on news after the holidays.  My friend Shawn Morrissey who is a Program Manager on the project, writes with a quick update on Windows Vista Sidebar, named by BetaNews as, "Vista's most prominent new feature".

Some of you have noticed my job has changed.  I love Windows Sidebar and believe strongly in the platform the team is delivering. However, recently I was made, "An offer too good to refuse" to join the staff of the VP of the Windows Digital Media Division at Microsoft.  While I cannot go into specifics of my job, my title is still Senior Program Manager, I'm still writing specs, and working on exciting things I cannot discuss right now. Departing the Sidebar team was very tough, but it does afford me the opportunity to return to my main passion- digital media and entertainment. 

I'll continue to write here about Windows Sidebar, Vista, and all things Digital Media.  Of course, the best place for details continues to be www.microsoftgadgets.com. But as I told a friend, I'm not going to rehash the same device reports you see elsewhere.  So... if there are specific topics you'd like to see me tackle, or questions you have, please let me know.

I'll be at CES (Consumer Electronics Show) in Las Vegas January 4th-7th.  I'll be doing my best to blog my perspective on the happenings around digital media and beyond.  I'll also be sure to snap some pictures with my Smartphone and my new holiday gift, the Canon PowerShot SD500.  Up from 3.2 Megapixels to 7.1 :)

I also was able to score an Xbox 360 using my technique reported earlier in a # of outlets including The Guardian. I've spent entirely too much time playing "King Kong".  Redundant in a few parts, by the time you play Kong, the graphics are truly inspired by Peter Jackson.  Finally, a movie game title that doesn't suck!

I also installed a SoundLinQ SLI by Vais Technology in my Toyota Prius.  Yes, the S2000 is gone, but with me is iPod bliss- sort of.  The SoundlinQ is a pricey system that allows you to control two sources- an iPod and another source via most Toyota/Lexus in-car stereo systems. The iPod shows up as a minidisc player, and all my playlists show up as discs.  I get basic information including track details displayed and can control the iPod via my steering wheel controls.  It's nice but as mentioned before- pricey.  At $299, thankfully I could do the install myself.

As for the other input, I went ahead and installed the Sirius S50.  An updated firmware installed two days ago has fixed a # of issues and adds the ability to schedule recordings on all channels, though limited to 2 hours.  Howard Stern fans will have to set up two recordings in 2hr chunks.

More details on CES to come...

Update: Welcome Digg.com and Kotaku readers. Updated below w/ tips on only getting notifications when new Xbox inventory is available. Congrats to the many that have read this and purchased your Xbox 360.  Thanks to Bensbargains.net for their Xbox tracker service and Sightmax.com for sponsoring hosting for this site.

Here's a fool-proof way to get notified when Xbox 360's are available for online ordering- no online auctions required.  I've tested it personally- and I should receive my premium system in time for Christmas.  There may be other tactics, but I hope it works for you. Happy Holidays!

Step One: Bookmark Bensbargains Xbox 360 Tracker
There are lots of sites that purport to track Xbox 360 shipments.  Bensbargains is the best IMO.  They're tracking all the major and a number of minor sites that are carrying the Xbox 360.  The site is legit and updated about every minute. Even better is their history list so you can see who got what in and map our trend patterns.

This is great if you want to check every minute.  They also have convenient RSS feeds, but again this requires you to sit there and wait for an update.  There's got to be a better way- something that notifies YOU when status changes?  That's covered in step two.

Step Two: Download URLy Warning from Download.com
Get notified instantly when a Web page changes, and see exactly what's changed. With URLy Warning, a pop-up window appears when a Web page you're watching changes, and you'll see a visual comparison of what's been added and deleted. The trial allows you to track one site in demo mode.

Once installed, you'll need to launch the app and proceed to step three.

Step Three: Configure URLy Warning
I've tried a number of tactics, but this one works best.  Click on options and set the URL to http://bensbargains.net/xbox360/xbox360.php 

Configure the rest of the settings you see below or read onfor customizations:

Setting to when at least 3 words are added or deleted will notify you when items go in or out of stock. This can result in a high count, but ensures you don't miss anything.  There are other strategies here such as setting When page contains the phrase "In Stock".

Updated Strategy: Search for changes in history only

Kevin writes, "I added a test range to only ping me on changes to the Tracker History by entering ‘History’ in the first text box and leaving the 2^nd text box blank.  This way, I only get notified when something is in stock and not when a timeout occurs."  Nice addition Kevin- thanks for the tip!  Screenie below.

You can set the app to give you a popup, a chime sound, or even send email to you or a paging device.  I used the popup and chime.  If you use the settings I did above, you'll see when words change.  If the number is in the hundreds, that means multiple deals are popping up or selling out since your last check.

Just hit reset between checks.  Plan on checking multiple times as some bundles are ridiculously priced- I played the waiting game and won.

Step Four: Get up early, check early and often
I've noticed a trend from the east coast- many stores first update their inventory between 5 and 8 am Central time.  I've seen and let go a number of high priced bundles, before getting a reasonable (MSRP) deal at Circuit City. 

Good luck and happy hunting!

First, please put your hands together for Windows XP Media Center Edition's Online Spotlight debut in Hong Kong. It's a great start for a potentially large market.

As planning enters it's fevered pace across many businesses for CES, we can't help but ask why the powers that be didn't move it to the pre-Thanksgiving spot previously occupied by Comdex.  Perhaps something about not wanting to kill holiday sales for "last years" goodies?  Oh well, the teams continue to toil.

But wait, there's more happening internationally, and it's not even CES-time yet!  The latest updates to Online Spotlight this week from around the world:

- mceWeather has been added to France and Switzerland.
- TV Norges and Scandinature have been added in Norway.
- TVOnTime has been added in Denmark
- New offer added for KMS (Sudoku) in all the locales.
- Movielink offers updated.

For those asking, yes I will be at CES, but not in the booth- mostly in partner meetings. More details and itinerary to come soon.  I hear an MCE enthusiast party is in the works - more details on that later.