Home Entertainment

While it's true that we've seen some gorgeous examples of modern amplification at Gizmag over the years, there's still something very pleasing to the eye about those that proudly display their tube circuit credentials, like the JoyVirtue TM-6 Tube-Amp AV Center. It's not just about looks, though. In spite of many, many advances in audio reproduction technology, enthusiasts still demand the warmth that vacuum tubes seem to give to an audio signal. One of the first tube amps I ever heard was an MC275 from McIntosh Laboratory way back in the mists of a misspent youth. The company is now celebrating the Golden Anniversary of its iconic amp with a very limited edition release. Read More

One of the nice things about having a WiFi network in your home is the fact that you can enjoy online music anywhere in the house ... through a computer or mobile device. Now, however, you have the choice of instead placing Altec Lansing’s new LIVE 5000 Wi-Fi speaker wherever you wish, and listening to that same music through it. You can also wirelessly link together a string of the speakers in different rooms, and use them to either distribute the same music throughout the house, or play different music in different rooms. Read More

The creators of the original TOOB (Think Out Of Box) have spent the last two years researching and developing what they call the “world's first affordable dome screen.” Dubbed "TOOB Earth," the 4 foot diameter mini-IMAX screen is big enough for two people to sit in front of and, while it will obviously grab the attention of gamers and film-fanatics, its makers also see applications for the screen in simulation, medicine and education. Read More

Thanks to their simplicity, the home theater in a box (HTIB) has become a popular addition to the TV cabinet in many households. Looking to simplify things even further, California-based company in2technologies has unveiled its aptly named Unity Home Theater System at CES 2012 that unifies a HTIB with a TV stand. So instead of a tangle of cables snaking their way from the back of a TV stand to the TV, the Unity cleans things up with a single HDMI 1.4a cable. Read More

Larger screen OLED TVs have had us salivating at various electronics trade shows over the last couple of years and CES 2012 doesn't look like being any different. LG already announced it's intention to show a 55-inch OLED display in the lead up to the world's biggest consumer electronics show and now rival Samsung has unveiled its offering that has set our salivary glands into overdrive. Featuring the same 55-inch screen size as LG's unit, Samsung's Super OLED TV boasts the same eye-popping picture quality, super fast response times and ultra-thin form factor that is the hallmark of OLED technology. Read More

Griffin Technology has given visitors to CES 2012 a quick preview of a new audio amplifier that uses Apple's Airport Express to offer untethered digital playback from iTunes through existing non-powered speakers. The low profile amp captures streaming audio from any AirPlay-enabled source, decodes it and then sends the lossless, amplified sound through the speakers. Read More

Now you don't necessarily need to own a “Smart TV” in order to get Android apps on your television. Always Innovating will be showing off its HDMI dongle at CES this week, a compact device that can turn any HDTV into a Smart TV. Essentially Always Innovating's HDMI Dongle is a portable version of a set-top box. The device is based on the Texas Instruments Cortex-A9 OMAP 4 ,which can run from 1GHz to 1.8GHz depending of the configuration, and offers 1GB of RAM as well as a micro SD card for local storage. Read More

Each January the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is the venue for consumer electronics companies to unveil their upcoming goods as well as some milestone products. This year LG Electronics plans to show the world's largest OLED TV - a 55-inch display that's just 4 mm thin and weighs a mere 7.5 kg. Read More

When Sony wanted to highlight the immersiveness of movies available on the Playstation Store, they turned to UK-based agencies Studio Output and Marshmallow Laser Feast to create a series of shorts around the theme "great films fill rooms." Using the Playstation Move, the production team shot a handful of scenes depicting an ordinary man going from his couch to flying above skyscrapers as a robot and fighting sea monsters. The best part: not a single aspect of these videos was added in the editing room. Read More