Tag: HDTV

MayaFit: A Personal Trainer for Everyone

Ready to get fit but need a little bit of coaching, yet don’t have the time to actually hit the gym. How about a digital fitness trainer? Respondesign, which introduced its Maya system in 2005, will now offer this digital trainer to individual’s TVs and PCs.

The company, which is the original developer of Yourself Fitness, My Fitness Coach and Your Shape, has announced the release of the consumer version of its MayaFit software. This is the first shipment to feature the PrimeSense Open Natural Interaction (OpenNI) solution. The software is designed for TV and PCs, and adds to the existing MayaFit Training Station deployments in U.S.-based gyms and fitness centers that have been in production since late 2010. MayaFit software leverages the OpenNI framework to support motion-based fitness training for individual and group workouts.

“OpenNI provides a structure for us to incorporate gesture recognition into our line of digital fitness products. Fitness is a natural category and PrimeSense is providing a great enabling technology that allows us to build next-generation fitness experiences for our broad range of consumer and corporate clients. Motion tracking provides our trainer intelligence with real-time user feedback and makes the interaction easier, more fun and more effective,” says Ted Spooner, CEO of Respondesign.

This fitness training with motion tracking can now be utilized via home TVs and PCs with in-living room equipment such as the WAVI from ASUS. Together with the MayaFIT training system, the ASUS WAVI Xtion solution combines full HD wireless media transmission with the world’s first PC motion-sensing interface to transform existing PC’s and televisions into in-home gesture-controlled entertainment areas.

So how are you going to respond?

Respondesign Official Website

CES 2011 to Focus on Lifestyle

As long time attendees of the Consumer Electronics Show we at KineticShift.com know there are plenty of “active” technology to see, but most of the show has been far more focused on passive entertainment. It is after all the show about HDTV, 3D, MP3, etc. But beginning with the CES 2011 the show organizers have realized that the “digital couch potato syndrome” is a growing concern.

Thus with next January’s event CES will include a Lifestyle Series that will include fitness tech to make workouts and outdoor activities safer, more fun and most importantly more effective. The trade show will include several programs including Kids@play, and Mommy Tech, as well as the Digital Health Summit, which will look at the convergence of technology and health care. We’ll be sure to report more as CES gets closer.

CES 2011 Official Website

College Football Kicks off in 3D on ESPN This Fall

Fall means football, and as the season kicks off this year will see a whole new dimension to the games. ESPN 3D has just announced that the first 3D college games will be broadcast on the new network, and this should certainly have fans getting into the school spirit like never before.

“The technology is now cleaner, crisper and more interactive than ever before,” says David Berman of Home Technology Specialists of America, adding, “it’s more affordable and there is strong demand for these products. Consumers are investing in a variety of options on the market right now that will create an exciting experience.”

Beyond the 3D experience, Berman notes that another way fans are enjoying the game is by watching them outdoors but closer to home; tailgating in their own back yards with new weather-proof outdoor TVs from makers such as Pantel and SunBrite. These sets are ruggedized and meant to stand up to extreme temperatures – from the record highs at the season openers to the more nasty November weather.

So while we still like to focus on technology that gets users moving, we have to admit that the large HDTV sets offer plenty of ways to enjoy the big games, whether it is outside in the elements, or in the full glory of HDTV in 3D. It’s time for some college football.

Home Theater Specialists of America

ESPN 3D

Panasonic Unveils FULL HD 3D Theatre for Olympics

If you’re lucky enough to be at the Olympic Games in Vancouver do you really want to check out TV? Actually, maybe you do, at least if its Panasonic’s Full HD 3D Theatre, which will show off the company’s new HDTVs. So if you’re in Vancouver, but can’t see the opening ceremonies or other events, head over to one of the two Panasonic theatres at David Lam Park, which will be showcasing the Opening Ceremony, as well as highlights of the 2010 Winter Games including the video of Sarah Brightman performing Panasonic’s song, “Shall be Done.”

The Panasonic sets will be released later this year, and available in 50-inch, 54-inch, 58-inch and a massive 65-inch screen sizes. These reproduced images alternately at 60 frames per second for each eye for a total of 120 frames per second. To experience this users do need the viewer to wear high-precision 3D eyewear with shutters driven in synchronization with the video, but viewers are treated to separate 1920×1080 full-HD images. So even if you can’t make it to Vancouver, you’ll be able to feel like you’re in London for the next Summer Olympics in 2012.