Live at the Sony press preview

Sony has gathered us here today to regale the press with the latest and greatest of what's on deck for the consumer electronics giant. Stay tuned for the liveblog coverage.

5:05 pm PST We've just waited in line for 20 minutes to get special press wristbands because our badges weren't enough to establish our VIP status. Only, they ended up herding us into the press area before we ever got the bands.

5:11 We're starting off with a... comedian. No one's laughing. "Should we drop the jokes and move on?" Eight ball points to yes.

5:13 Sony is a "total entertainment company."

5:14 Randy Waynick is introducing the concept of HighER definition.

5:17 Going over the concept of "highER definition" from production to playback. They'll be introducing an 55-inch SXRD display at 1920 x 1080 resolution -- the "holy grail" of high definition.

5:18 Bravia brand is the top-selling flat-panel LCD TV in US. They'll soon be introducing a new 46-inch model at 1080p and 3 new S-series models with integrated ATSC tuners. The world premier of an 82-inch Bravia prototype with wide-color gamma technology is set to deliver more realism via the full range of color.

5:23 John Scarcella talking about the concept of Digital Cinema. Sony is the leading company of products making HD content. 24p production continues to develop momentum. "HD from lens to the living room."

5:27 SXRD 4K projector provides 4 times the resolution of what most home HD viewers are seeing. Theaters are putting these in to draw the home user back to the movies. Sony expects the market to substantially adopt 4K technology... but those inclined to be cynical might call them biased on that.

5:30 John Koller talking about Sony's position in the gaming industry. They expect another 5 years with the PS2 on top of anticipating the PS3 launch and celebrating early success with the PSP. They've sold more than 4 million PSP units in the US, with 70 titles and 250 movies now out. PSP development hasn't stopped -- PSP Connect to launch in March for users to download full-length movies and new titles.

5:35 Rob Bartels is demonstrating LocationFree TV playback on the PSP. On the road you can use any WiFi connection to control your TV at home and view content you have stored there.

5:37 Moving on to mobile entertainment: "Entertainment is personal entertainment." Talking about the new 9 ounce Sony Reader we caught a glimpse of earlier, an e-paper reader on which you can select from 10,000 books via their download service. Next: showing off the Xplod car audio unit. We've seen it before -- it's basically a car stereo faceplate that sports 1GB internal memory and connects with your PC to transfer music.

5:41 Frances Richford of Sony Ericsson is talking about the W810 Walkman phone we saw earlier today. Most advanced Walkman phone yet -- works globally as a mobile phone and media player. Sony is synonymous with "music on the move."

5:43 Introducing the DVD505 Handycam and the SR100 hard drive camcorder -- the latter is Sony's first hard drive-based DV cam. 5.1 Dolby sound is built in to both, with a Bluetooth microphone providing the center channel.

5:44 Trotting out the Cybershot DSC-M2 digicam with built-in Steady Shot which lets you enjoy lots of caffeine while taking your shots -- great for the stimulant-addicted among us.

5:45 Sony Connect features new exclusive content daily. Emphasis is on connectivity, creativity, and content. "These are not just gadgets -- these are personal entertainment at its best." Yes folks -- it's awful thick in here.

5:47 Mike Fasulo is showing the Nav-U NV-U70 GPS system with a 3.5-inch TFT display. Picks up a satellite signal within seconds of power up and comes pre-loaded with maps of the continental US, Hawaii, Alaska and Puerto Rico. Next up: the Vaio XL1 digital living system integrates computing with traditional home entertainment. Store and manage all of your entertainment content whether created, downloaded or purchased on disk. The XL2 version is an update to the XL1 that will be shown later on the floor -- it's the big sister to the XL1 media center system with a built-in HD tuner.

5:51 Final thought: Sony is where products, technology and content form a "brilliant constellation." All are designed with the consumer in mind. "No company does it quite like Sony. We are like no other." Indeed.