Networked Digital Photo Album

 Gizmodo: Sony Introduces HDMS-S1D, an 80GB Networked Digital Photo Album

Sony appears to be making a consumer-server play, introducing the $400 80GB HDMS-S1D "photo album" for the high-def enjoyment of up to 50,000 still images. You can import photos via Memory Stick slot—but also SD, CF and xD! (Way to go, Sony!) You can connect the HDMS-S1D to your TV via HDMI, and navigate slideshows using its remote control. It has a CD/DVD burner for getting and saving shots. We also see an Ethernet port, so we're going to assume there's at least some way to push photos to it from your PC (or Mac?) In addition to letting you edit, rotate, delete and group photos on screen, there are also some unique automated features:

• x-Pict Story HD automatically builds "professional quality" slideshows
• Face detection technology locates faces and frames slideshow transitions around faces
• x-ScrapBook sets photos in templates, using face detection and event-clustering for sharp layouts

Here's what the back of the sucker looks like:

Press release:

SONY'S NEW DIGITAL PHOTO ALBUM TURNS PHOTO COLLECTIONS INTO HIGH-DEFINITION ENTERTAINMENT

Store, Organize and Share Photos with Slideshow and Scrapbook-style displays

NEW YORK, Oct. 17, 2007 -Sony today announced the HDMS-S1D Digital Photo Album for shutterbugs who want to archive, organize and enjoy slideshows of their digital photos. This compact device features an 80GB hard drive, connects to a high definition television via HDMI and showcases up to 50,000 high resolution photos.

The new digital photo album offers several methods for importing photos, including multiple flash memory card formats, CD, DVD, USB or Ethernet. Once imported, photo collections can be managed with the supplied remote control and the device's intuitive interface.

Photos can be organized by date, special occasions such as birthdays and travel (using pre-selected icons), or into as many as 3,000 different photo albums- enough for every major family milestone. The digital photo album also provides the ability to review, edit, rotate, delete and arrange photos for a slideshow or digital scrapbooking with Sony's x-Application® features.

The photo managing x-Pict Story HD™ software creates professional quality slideshows, eliminating the need for PC-based photo editing. Slideshows can be created by selecting from 30 pre-loaded music tracks and transition styles. For personalization, you can add up to five songs from your own CDs. The software also allows for connection to a compatible printer for making prints of your photos or scrapbook pages directly from the device.

The HDMS-S1D Digital Photo Album uses Sony's face detection technology to locate faces in photographs and adjusts the slideshow transitions around the location of faces.

When creating digital scrapbooks, the x-ScrapBook™ application sets photos within scrapbook templates, and uses face detection and event-clustering technology to make scrapbook-style layouts of photos with a common trait like photos of children, or pictures grouped by events such as a party or vacation.

When family or friends request copies of the photos they've seen on your HDTV, you can select and save those photos to CD, DVD, or flash memory card.

The HDMS-S1D Digital Photo Album will be available in October for about $400 online at sonystyle.com, across the country at Sony Style® retail stores (www.sonystyle.com/retail) and at authorized dealers nationwide.

Sony: Sony Introduces HDMS-S1D, an 80GB Networked Digital Photo Album