TOKYO -- Japan's Takara has developed a low-cost unit that's intended to bring your music to life on a television screen in a similar way to the visualizers built into some music playback software applications.
Big-Screen Tunes
The Music Player Television (MPTV) device connects to the headphone socket on any music player and to a TV through standard yellow, red, and white RCA jacks. It will produce visualizations based on the track playing and also pass through the audio for playback through the TV speakers, said Mutsuki Kubota, a representative for the company, at the World PC Expo show here where it was being demonstrated.
The first version of the MPTV is due on the Japanese market in January or February 2006 and will be priced at about$34, said Kubota.
While a launch date hasn't been decided, the company is already making plans to launch the MPTV in the U.S., said Youichiro Ogawa of Takara's strategic business division. It will likely be priced at a similar price to the Japanese market.
Enticing Apple
The first version marketed will come with five basic visualization themes which can be switched through a button on the front of the small, square-shaped device. Takara is keen to see the number of themes expand.
A second version of the MPTV player is already in development and will allow users to change themes with ones downloaded via the Internet. Takara plans to open up the theme format and hopes that users will create their own, and that possibly music bands will offer themes to fans.
Takara has been in talks with Apple Japan and will likely put the MPTV on sale first in Apple's retail outlets in Japan.
Microsoft has introduced a similar add-on for its Xbox, that produces music visualizations on a screen as well as providing a player and music file-management tools for the game console.
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