Thomson will soon release a television set-top receiver that can send high-definition video images from a PC for display on a HDTV, it announced Wednesday at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

Using built-in wireless or Ethernet capabilities, Thomson's Acoustic Research Digital MediaBridge receiver can also collect other digital content from a PC, including audio, video and picture files, and distribute it to home entertainment devices that support Universal Plug and Play (UPnP), according to the company. UPnP uses Web protocols to let devices such as PCs and appliances automatically recognize each other on a network.

The receiver will support playback of content from CinemaNow, an Internet-based movie service that carries close to 5,000 high-definition films, concerts and programs. Users will be able to download the high-definition films to a PC and broadcast them to an HDTV over wired Ethernet, according to the company. HD video can't be transferred through the bundled 802.11b or 802.11g wireless network connections as the bandwidth required is too high, a company spokesman said.

Users will be able to send content from as many as three PCs running Implicit Networks' inServer to an HDTV or a home entertainment system, the company said. Implicit's inPlayer software uses inServer to distribute high-definition images from a PC to an HDTV, the company said.

The receiver works with PCs running Windows XP and Windows 2000 and can transmit content in the MP3, WMA (Windows Media Audio) and WAV music formats and MPEG 2, MPEG 4, XviD and WMV9 (Windows Media Video 9) video formats. Support for Mac OS X will come in the second quarter of 2005, according to the company.

The receiver has high-definition component video, Digital Video Interface (DVI) and S-Video outputs to connect to TVs or other audio or video devices. It will come with a universal remote control to operate the receiver and other home entertainment devices, with capabilities to organize photos and search for music and films based on keywords.

It is due to be released in early 2005 priced at $299, the company said.

Thomson also announced new portable audio and video products. The RCA Lyra portable multimedia players support the content protection system in Microsoft Corp.'s Windows Media Player 10. Music download services from Napster LLC, Microsoft's MSN Music, MusicMatch Inc., MusicNow LLC and Wal-Mart Stores Inc., among others, use the Windows Media Player 10 format to distribute media files with digital rights management.

The IDG News Service is a Network World affiliate.