Ricavision puts on Windows Sideshow

 

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Posted on 9 Jan 2008 at 02:09

Of all the features built into Windows Vista, Sideshow is one of the more immediately interesting. The ability for Windows to interact with a secondary screen set into picture frames, mobile phones, or laptop lids provoked considerable interest at CES2007. But the technology has been almost universally ignored since Vista's launch over a year ago.

One of its big champions last year was US-based company Ricavision, who proudly showed off prototypes of PC remote controls using Sideshow to interact with Windows Media Player and Windows Media Center. The promise was music, photos or TV schedules, easily accessed without needing a large screen on - or a keyboard or mouse - simplifying the consumer electronics aspect of the PC.

But despite the potential, and the company's optimism, production models simply failed to appear. Numerous launch dates were announced, and PC Pro was even told five months ago that samples were ready to ship. Sadly, requests for product samples amounted to nothing.

So it came as a surprise that Ricavision was back at CES this year, talking up Sideshow remotes once again and, if anything, being more optimistic. "Gadgets are going to be the next ringtones," we were assured by Shellyanne Rein at a meeting with the company. "It's a viable technology right now... it's not just a PC anymore".

Going universal

We also saw the new VAVE family of products, of which the VAVE 100 Sideshow remote control is just one element. The VAVE 100 has morphed into a universal remote control, able to interact over IR with any TV, amplifier or media device listed in the Universal Electronics Database - a change of design that Ricavision squarely blames for its delay in production. Describing the decision to add universal capability as "a huge curveball", the company has also refined the unit's industrial design, adding a more contemporary metal finish and silicon buttons.

But the 2.4in TFT screen is still there, interacting via Bluetooth with Sidebar Gadgets loaded onto a PC running Vista. While being assured that all Gadgets should function correctly on the handset, the disappointing news is that the Microsoft Media Center Gadget that provoked so much interest last year is notably missing. According to Ricavision, it's still "in development" at Redmond, although the company was unable to provide even a rough ETA.

There's still plenty to like though, with the other elements of VAVE system including a Bluetooth docking station for the remote, which will also act as a an audio receiver. Play music back on your PC (using the Windows Media Player Gadget), and you can direct the audio stream to either your PC's speakers or the dock itself. Slightly less compelling are the Bluetooth headphones that also interact with the dock, but it's still a comprehensive offering.

As for when the VAVE products will hit the shops in the UK, that depends, according to Rein, purely on FCC and CE certification, which it hopes to clear in time for the second quarter of this year. From what we've seen of the product, it certainly still has that same potential, but whether Ricavision's efforts are enough to resurrect a technology that many others - including Microsoft - appear to have forgotten is yet to be seen.

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Author: Ross Burridge in Las Vegas