So you've got a rad high-def set with 1080p resolution and HDCP-compliant HDMI inputs. But we're betting what you don't have is a wireless HDMI chipset from Radiospire to help you send uncompressed 720p or 1080i programming at up to 3 Gbps. Radiospire created the chipset for OEMs so we're waiting to see who will be the first to pick it up, but the technology wisely uses the 3.1 to 4.8 GHz bands so the signal doesn't get crossed with those anemic 802.11a, b, and g transmissions. We'll be watching for a 1080p flavor in the second half of the year, and hope they up the output range beyond the current 15 feet.

[Via HDBeat]

In our "it's about time" category, the Blu-Ray Disc Association finally completed the the Blu-Ray spec. The press release wasn't all that informative on the spec, so we're awaiting further deets on any last minute changes. Both the 25 and 50GB discs specs were approved which is kind of bummer for the quad-layer (100GB) Blu-Ray TDK discs we caught a glimpse of at Digital Experience. The good news is that with HD-DVD out of the gate within the next month or two, Blu-Ray can start catching up; the BDA expects Blu-Ray discs in our hot little hands in the next few months.

Filled with anticipation, we waited in line with the entire Las Vegas population to see Toshiba's SED display technology in action. Props to Engadget reader, Maurice from Beantown, for helping sneak us in a little quicker. That solved one prob, but the "no photo" rule became a bigger one. Undaunted, we quickly hit up the Canon booth since they co-developed SED displays with Tosh. The Tosh presentation was longer, but Canon let us take a snap in the dark. What's up with the scan line? We kinda figured that with a gazillion little electron emitters we wouldn't see any more of those, but hey, live and learn, right? No more pics but we have high-def emotions that SED elicited galore.

We got some hands-on time with Thompson's GYROTRANSPORT air-mouse presenter here at the RCA booth. It's not like we give that many boardroom presentations mind you, but with a few tweaks, we're thinking we might get this work with a Xbox 360. Hey, it could happen since the li'l GYROTRANSPORT communicates with a PC via the 2.4GHz frequency to a USB receiver. That's where Thompson got jiggy with it because the USB receiver doubles as a 1GB jump drive and holds the software that provides up to 80 funktions for the $199 GYROTRANSPORT.

Clear Channel must have decided that iTunes has infringed enough on the radio industry, so on Tuesday, they're testing free music video downloads. If the service goes live, the plan is for ad-supported VOD through various radio websites and would complement a strategy to offer podcasts. Clear Channel owns about 1,200 radio stations across the country and is looking to expand presence on the web through video and podcast offerings. Clearly,that sounds like a good idea, since we haven't listened to the radio all that much lately.

The Cowon iAudio6 is so small, we almost overlooked it as we walked around the Cowon booth. We've seen plenty of small portables, but the 1.3-inch OLED screen coupled with the 4GB hard drive really packs a punch. Not that we did a hands on for 20 hours, but according to Cowon, we could have because that's how long the batts will last. It's clear that the iAudio6 won't feel as thin in the pocket as an iPod nano, but we actually liked the thicker feel to the unit. What can we say: we like a little meat on our MP3 players? We wouldn't watch videos on the pretty screen for any length of time, but for the few minutes that we did, the OLED really shined while the audio rocked the house.

Seems like the HD-DVD focus is on the bigger names, but we got a gander at RCA's HD-DVD player here at CES. It's only natural that RCA rides the high-def DVD train since they have HDTV sets like the Scenium line. Watch for the HDV-5000 in April for around $500, which is quite a few pesos less than the Blu-Ray players we've seen. Will price be a major factor in this format war or have the final shots already been fired?

We'd be seriously concerned if the new Creative web cam was called "Almost Live! Wireless", so they props on the name. The Live! Wireless cam has the same real-time 640 x 480 resolution as most of the 'cams out there (like the Creative Live! Motion pictured), but includes built-in 802.11g so you can cut the cord with the included wireless server. The $199 package makes for an inexpensive security cam; why not get a bunch of 'em and monitor your precious gadget horde? Maybe we can enlist the  Hack-A-Day posse to put R2-D2 or a Scooba on the operating table so we can mobilize the Live! Wireless for total home security.

[via Pocket-lint]

These won't come cheap, but Samsung announced that their new SP-H710AE and SP-H800BE DLP projectors can reproduce black levels comparable to CRTs. When we realized these were 1280 x 720 res, we had to wonder about the $4,000 and $12,000 price tags so dug a bit. Turns out that the lower priced H710 uses TI's HD2 DMD chip, while the five-figured H800 nabbed the newest HD2 Dark Chip 3 DMD panel. Factor in a 250 watt bulb, an 8-segment color wheel (6-segs on the H710), a fan running at a 28 db noise level, DVI-D with HDCP, two component jacks, S-Vid, VGA and composite in, and it gets you closer to a high price tag. The real kicker is the user-selectable broadcast color formatting for SMPTE-C, HDTV, and EBU. We're not sure that completely justifies going in hock for these, but it makes the big bill a little easier to swallow.

[via HD Beat]

We caught news of this VoIP phone back in November via our friendly FCC, but we actually cornered the Linksys WIP330 today. The WIP330 is still listed as coming soon and the Linksys reps repeated that phrase before we even finished the availability question. The FCC filing indicated an 802.11b/g radio, but we eye-spied the "Wireless-G IP Phone" tag next to the Linksys logo; probably just semantics since this should definitely work with slower 802.11b routers. Now that we've seen the quality of the color screen, we're wondering why Linksys didn't pop in small camera; this might have worked well for video-chatting too.

We'd be happy for more 2D high-def, but 3D is on the radar for Philips according to top brass, Rudy Provoost. While Philips overhauls their product line they've decided to give the whole 3D thing a try. We can't fault 'em for that, since it's been tried before, right? No need for the content to be in 3D from Hollywood since Provoost is thinking a 2D high-def disc might be upconverted. Uh, Rudy, we're not even through the current high-def DVD format war, so let's not make things worse with upconversion, 'k? Philips is geekin' out the 3D in their labs, so there's nothing to see here just yet, but you have to wonder if they'll push for some silly 3D spec in the Blu-Ray format they back. Where's the sense and simplicity in that?

We'd put this in the "yet another Skype-certified" category except the Jawbone PC Edition is the only one that adjusts the sound quality 868 times per second. We caught up with Aliph, the company that makes this yapper, over at Showstoppers here in Vegas. The award-winning design was updated since we last saw it as evidenced by our pic above of the Jawbone on one of the Aliph peeps. We got a chance to give it a listen as well and the clarity was indescribable. $80 later this month gets you the Jawbone PC Edition with USB 1.1 and 2.0 support.

Samsung must realize those DLP bulbs don't last long enough and cost too much because the new 56-inch HL-S5679W DLP set uses LED lighting. Hey, Samsung, while you're under the hood, why not kill that color wheel too? Oh wait, they did that too with red, green and blue LEDs, which is killer because there's no gold at the end of that rainbow effect. The new tweaks give the HL-S5679W a sweet seven-second startup time and 20,000 hours of little lamp lives. There's no wobulation in this 1080p set, it's full 1920 x 1080 in a progressive format with dual 1080p inputs. Samsung states these will handle 1080p signals, so if it's the real deal, these should be paired up PlayStation 3's, no? Watch for it in April around $4,200.

Let's drop in on the HANNSpree team for their press-only event, shall we? Even though HANNSpree is a young company, you know 'em; they're the folks that make those LCDs that focus mainly on design. Let's see what the up and up is with HANNSpree.

4:20 p.m.: We get in a little early, not even realizing there would be some scrumptious food. Looks to be about 50 seats in the booth.

4:28 p.m.: We're still waiting and even though we just snacked, we're getting hungry again. It must be the wall of televisions shaped like apples. By the way, we just had to touch the leaves on one and it was very leaf-like. Clever.

LG's booth grabbed immediate attention with their 71-inch 1080p plasma. One noticable aspect of just about every product was a very clean and refined look. We weren't thrilled that LG-folks kept shutting us down from taking pics, especially in the smaller devices and cellphones, but most of those devices were either already available or minor upgrades to current products. There was a large focus on large HDTVs and home theater in general, so come join us for a virtual tour.