Home Entertainment
Samsung unveils flagship Series 9 LED-backlit LCD HDTV
July 24, 2008 Samsung's new flagship Series 9 LCD is the second generation of HDTV to use their LED SmartLighting technology, achieving a 1,000,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio and "actual" black levels thanks to its ability to completely shut off the light source of each pixel. (read more...)
Open Air Cinema’s CineBox Backyard Home Theater Kit
July 22, 2008 Movie nights are always a great way to have a good time with family and friends and you could really "wow" them this summer by leading them through the house and outside to your personal open-air theater in the backyard. Open Air Cinema's CineBox backyard home theater package includes an inflatable movie screen, projector, powerful speakers and DVD player to make your movie night under the stars a real cinema experience. (read more...)
Sony’s HT-IS100 BRAVIA Theatre Micro System features golf ball size speakers
July 22, 2008 No, that’s not a giant strawberry in the accompanying picture – it’s a mini speaker. The Sony HT-IS100 BRAVIA Theatre Micro System is a 5.1 channel system delivering 450 watts (RMS) of power through a subwoofer with integrated 32-bit S-Master digital amplifier and five incredibly small speakers roughly the size of a golf ball. Designing the system at people who don’t want their home theater system to overpower their décor Sony says the “HT-IS100 packs all the power of a conventional home theater system in five discrete speakers that practically disappear in your living room.” (read more...)
ZN9 Dual Alarm Clock Radio
July 21, 2008 With all the third party devices released for the all conquering iPod it can be easy to forget that there are actually other digital media players on the market. Like Logitech’s iPod Pure-Fi Dream and Altec Lansing’s iM600, the new ZN9 Dual-Alarm Stereo Clock Radio from iHome turns a digital music player, this time Microsoft's Zune, into a clock radio so you can wake to the sounds of your music library. (read more...)
Kodak’s Theatre HD Player with gyroscopic remote
Kodak’s new Theatre HD Player is a Wi-Fi-enabled set top box that connects to your HDTV. Kodak describes the unit as, "An interactive device displaying personal content - pictures, video, podcasts, music - and Web-based content on a HDTV, while wirelessly connecting to a household's private Wi-Fi network.” The Wi-Fi connection allows the unit to connect to websites such as Kodak Gallery and Flickr for photos, YouTube for video content, and RadioTime for streaming audio. Jumping on the Wii bandwagon the Theatre HD Player also includes a gyroscopic remote, which allows users to navigate the on screen menus with a wave of the hand. (read more...)
Batman Begins now available on Blu-ray
Directed by Christopher Nolan (Memento) with Christian Bale as Batman, Batman Begins saw a much needed return to the darker feel of the comics and Tim Burton's 1989 film. This week sees the release of the film on Blu-ray, in standard and limited editions. (read more...)
The Godfather Collection gets release date for Blu-ray
The original Godfather film is widely regarded as one of the best films ever, with a #1 position on the top lists of both IMDB and Metacritic - and now it's coming to Blu-ray bundled with its two younger brothers. (read more...)
What's new in high-definition content? (July 1, 2008)
Hard up for high-definition content? July 1 sees the release of 10 movies (and a TV series) on Blu-ray, and those of you with HD DVD players could try this list of 20 HD DVDs available for under $12 each including Aeon Flux and Tomb Raider. (read more...)
What's new in high-definition content?
Hard up for high-definition content? Amazon has opened pre-orders for Transformers on Blu-ray, and knocked at least 30% off the price of the eight Blu-ray movies released this week - including Persepolis, The Spiderwick Chronicles and 10,000 B.C. (read more...)
The rise and rise of iTunes
June 22, 2008 The remarkable success of Apple’s iTunes® Store (www.itunes.com) continues to grow. This week Apple announced that five billion songs have now been downloaded, which means that in less than a year it has sold two billion tracks. The remarkable growth means that in the last year, Apple has moved past Amazon, Target, BestBuy and Wal-Mart, to become the largest music retailer in the US. It is now also the world’s most popular online movie store - not bad for a business that opened its doors in April 2003. (read more...)
JVC adds flip-down iPod dock to LCD range
The impact of MP3 and MP3 players on the way we consume music has been massive – more people now listen to music than ever before and there has been a fundamental mindset shift about the portability and accessibility of music. Video too seems destined for the same mindset shift and the latest pointer to this is that JVC’s latest LCD Tvs all feature JVC's new TeleDock®, a flip-down iPod dock at the base of the set, providing a direct connection for playback through the TV. (read more...)
Sony to release energy-saving 32-inch LCD
Massive screens are not the answer for everyone in the flat screen TV market and energy conscious consumers might be persuaded to think small with this new 32-inch addition to Sony's Bravia range which is set for release in Japan. (read more...)
Pre-order Iron Man on Blu-ray
It's one of the best super hero movies ever, even more so for gadget enthusiasts - meaning there's a boatload of early adopters out there who will be glad to add Iron Man to their Blu-ray collections once it hits shelves. Unfortunately there's no release date set, but Amazon is now taking pre-orders for the "Special Collector's Edition" Blu-ray release. (read more...)
What's new in high-definition content?
Hard up for high-definition content? HD Cheaply brings news of 10 HD DVDs available for under $10, the Blu-ray Starter Set and all three seasons of Weeds available on Blu-ray starting at $20. (read more...)
Panasonic launches new Blu-ray/DVD range
The DMR-BW500i can record up to 72 hours of Full High Definition 1080p recording onto the built in 500GB Hard Disk Drive (HDD) or 6 hours 40 min on a 50GB double layer Blu-ray Disc. In addition to video, it can record 5.1-channel Dolby Digital surround sound broadcasts and Blu-ray movies are played in studio-master quality at a frame rate of 24 frames per second. (read more...)
Bridge II iPod docking station
June 3, 2008 Harman Kardon has announced the successor to its Bridge docking station for iPod. The appropriately titled Bridge II retains the smooth curved line of the original Bridge docking station, connecting the iPod touch, nano and all Click Wheel models to a Harman Kardon Bridge-ready audio/video component and enables expanded capabilities such as audio/video playback from the iPod through a home entertainment system, on-screen menu display, remote control operation and charging. (read more...)
High-end retro lusso turntable
May 29, 2008 If you’re a die-hard vinyl fan you are going to love the lusso turntable on offer from German company, Montegiro. Its retro good looks might even tempt you to slip on some sixties gear and mix yourself a dry martini while you’re selecting an LP! (read more...)
Eos digital wireless iPod-based speaker system
May 29, 2008 The benefits of wireless speakers are clear - they do away with the pesky (and costly), need to rip up carpet or tear up walls to run cabling and provide a versatility that enables easy reconfiguration of the set-up whenever the need arises. The latest to cross our desk is the Eos system, which is compatible with any iPod with a docking connector, consists of up to 4 self-contained remote speaker/receivers and a base unit/transmitter and can broadcast over 150 feet, inside and out, upstairs, downstairs, through walls, doors, ceilings. (read more...)
82-inch, ultra-HD display heads Samsung's SID line-up
May 20, 2008 Samsung has showcased an ultra-high definition, (3,840 x 2,160 pixels), 82-inch LCD panel for 120Hz television sets at the Society for Information Display (SID) 2008 International Symposium, Seminar and Exhibition which is running from May 18 to 23 in Las Vegas. The world’s largest LCD panel supplier said the panel uses a red/green/blue LED backlight, which has been added to raise true color saturation to 150 percent, based on the NISC standard of 100 percent. It displays ultra-definition (UD) resolution at 120 frames per second, minimizing the blurring that is sometimes experienced at 60Hz. (read more...)
Pioneer’s 2008 KURO plasma displays
Pioneer's new 2008 line of KURO plasma displays feature black levels five times deeper than the previous award-winning KURO, plus SRS WOW HD technology incorporating SRS Definition and Optimum Mode, which adjusts the picture based on video and room light conditions. (read more...)
Camouflage speakers for the great outdoors
Hooking up an outdoor sound system for your backyard can be unsightly with big black speakers unable to blend in with the surrounds. This line of camouflaged outdoor speakers from Niles Audio Corporation is designed to address these issues and look like common backyard items. (read more...)
Pioneer releases BonusView Blu-Ray Disc Player and Elite A/V receiver
May 8, 2008 Pioneer has announced the Elite BDP-05FD and Pioneer BDP-51FD Blu-Ray Disc players and Elite SC-07, SC-05, VSX-03TXH and VSX-01TXH A/V receivers designed to give users that true theater experience in their own homes. The Elite BDP-05FD and Pioneer BDP-51FD BonusView Blu-ray Disc players support next generation high resolution audio and video formats, feature picture-in-picture interactivity and a redesigned platform. The new players work in tandem with Pioneer’s KURO displays and new Elite A/V receivers. (read more...)
A flatter flatscreen: LG's PG60 Plasma TV
May 6, 2008 Once an afterthought in terms of interior design, televisions have become an aesthetic centerpiece in many new homes and as a result, manufacturers are striving to complement the sleek, minimalist lines that distinguish modern architecture. LG's new Plasma offering - the PG60 - does just that by incorporating "single layered technology" which merges the screen and TV into one continuous unit, creating a seamless, bezel-less unit that looks like a single sheet of glass. (read more...)
Television 2.0 offering from Sezmi promises personalized, on-demand viewing
May 2, 2008 The way people watch, and indeed interact with their televisions is undergoing a fundamental shift - a shift from mass entertainment to a personalized, targeted, interactive entertainment (and advertising) platform. Sezmi Corporation (formerly known as Building B, Inc.) has seen the writing on the wall and is hoping to be a major player in what has been dubbed Television 2.0. The company has announced that it is commencing trials in pilot markets in preparation for commercial launch with broadband service providers and national retailers later this year. (read more...)
Orb Audio's handmade, modular speaker system
April 28, 2008 Orb Audio’s line of handmade compact speakers promise to deliver a sound usually reserved for much larger units by using state-of the-art components and high carbon steel housings in a modular and easily upgradeable package. (read more...)
