Theatre Times

Yesterday a new company, ZillionTV, announced a service and set-top box that uses the same powerful pointer technology as the Theatre Player. A commentary from the New York Times made the connection, writing:

Hillcrest has licensed its technology to a handful of companies, includingKodak, whose Kodak Theatre HD Player, a $300 set-top box, allows users to get access to photographs and videos, and send pictures to others.

It is worth noting that several articles were especially impressed with the pointing remote and ease of navigating thousands of movies and shows. The LA Times explained:

I watched a bit of ZillionTV in Berman’s office in Santa Monica, and the images were quite impressive… Just as impressive was the motion-sensitive remote control, which enabled Berman to select items simply by pointing at the right spot on the screen and clicking. Taking advantage of the remote’s capabilities, the service’s menus displayed programs as images (picture a tableau of DVD covers) spread across the length of the TV, rather than using the customary TV grid or PC-style folders. 

Likewise another NY Times writer loved the user interface and pointer remote, writing:

Wave the remote in the air and a pointer moves around the screen, much like a mouse pointer. This uses technology from Hillcrest Labs. It’s the nicest interface on a set-top box I’ve seen yet… I love the pointer remote. I wish every television and TV gizmo would use this technology instead of the annoying arrow buttons.” 

Krunker.com added:

Perhaps the most interesting feature of the service/set-top box is actually the Wii-like motion-sensing remote control. Users can wave the remote to navigate the user interface thanks to motion-sensing technology from Hillcrest Labs.

Of course they could be doing something like this today with their Theatre remote. Given that ZillionTV is not expected to be available until late 2009 and then only through selected ISPs, perhaps now is the time.

In one of the more detailed articles about the Theatre player, Wired magazine used, reviewed and definitely enjoyed the little box connected to their big screen TV. 

Color us pleasantly surprised then by Kodak’s new Theatre HD player. Within minutes of hooking up this unassuming little black box to our TV, our skepticism vanished faster than Arctic Sea Ice.

They were particularly impressed by the overall ease and simplicity from handling everyday tasks to setup and the joy of pointing with the unique remote — although they weren’t entirely sure about the shape.

As icing on the content-serving cake, Kodak even includes a clever gyroscopic remote. Yes, it resembles a rotten miniature banana. But when it comes to setting up accounts or simply scrolling through hundreds of photos, it makes every other controller look like antiquated junk. Best of all, it’s RF wireless, so there’s no need to worry about line-of-sight or syncing issues.

On the downside they would like to see more Internet content and Mac compatibility. Hard to argue with either. They also would like to see it cost less than $300, but given that it is widely available for less, that is improving today.

The article reinforces a core truth about the Theatre player, if people spend a little time with it, they really like it. Read the entire review here.

Kodak Theatre HD Player with Pointing Remote