Subscribe to Gizmag's RSS feed
Follow Gizmag on Twitter
Home Entertainment
TOOB dome screen delivers IMAX experience at home
By Jeff Salton
23:12 August 27, 2009 PDT
Alexander McDonnell, founder of TOOB (Think Out Of Box) confesses to a fascination with the Mugar Omni Theater in his hometown, Boston – so he decided to build a mini-version for himself. The result is much smaller plastic half-dome screen that’s big enough for a couple of people to sit in front of to watch a movie or enjoy a video game. Read More
Sony delays larger screen OLED TVs?
By Darren Quick
19:49 August 23, 2009 PDT
Those of us eagerly awaiting the arrival of a successor to the Sony XEL-1 OLED TV may have to wait a little longer, with the Wall Street Journal reporting that Sony has delayed development of larger screen OLED TVs. Although Sony had attendees at CES 2009 salivating at prototype 21-inch and 27-inch OLED TVs, according to ‘sources close to the company’ the XEL-1, which was released in late 2007, apparently won’t be getting a bigger brother until 2010 at the earliest. Read More
To the Bat Cave ... for a unique home theater experience
By Jeff Salton
00:28 August 20, 2009 PDT
Ever wanted to say: “To the Bat Cave …” but felt a bit of joker uttering those words out loud? Well, riddle me this … how does a home entertainment enthusiast 'Down Under' in Melbourne, Australia, get away with saying it? Holy Bat Cave replica Batman, he built his own … sock, biff, pow! Read More
Cabasse La Sphere: US$176,000 speaker system is a giant feat of audio engineering
By Loz Blain
21:45 August 17, 2009 PDT
French company Cabasse has redefined the notion of high-end loudspeakers with the creation of a speaker system that costs almost as much as a base model 2009 Ferrari F430. But for your UK£108,000 (US$176,000), you're buying a monumental engineering achievement - the world's only four-way, point source speaker system (more about that after the jump). This audio perfectionist's dream required a spherical enclosure - which means you also have to accept the fact that two giant, ugly eyeballs on sticks will be watching you enjoy some of the best audio reproduction, sound staging and stereo imaging the world has ever experienced. Read More
PrimeSense paints future of home-tech interaction
By Paul Lester
19:21 August 17, 2009 PDT
Nintendo certainly created a stir when it introduced motion-sensing controls to the video game industry, but subsequent developments that are no more than a year or two from fruition are already threatening to confine this relatively new technology to the proverbial scrap-heap. The latest of these is PrimeSense, a 3D camera that allows devices like televisions to ‘see a view of the surrounding area’ by scanning a room to determine who is present through a combination of shape recognition and thermal imaging. Read More
Olive Opus No4: time to go digital
By Paul Ridden
20:01 August 9, 2009 PDT
There's no denying that digital music has revolutionized the way we buy and listen to our music. There is a cost to pay for such convenience though as the most widely available download formats suffer from loss of sound quality to varying degrees. This is where digital music players like the Olive Opus 4 come in, offering the superior sound quality of CD and the functionality of a digital music player in one unit. Enjoying lossless sound and practicality of use does seem to come hand in hand with a hefty financial outlay, so is it worth it? Read More
Studio FRST multiple aspect ratio TV concept
By Darren Quick
22:44 August 5, 2009 PDT
Whether you’re sticking it out with your trusty old 4:3 TV or shelling out for a shiny new 16:9 widescreen model, there’s no escaping the black cropping bars that come into play when viewing programs in the incorrect aspect ratio for your particular TV – I know most widescreen TVs have a zoom option to fill the screen of 4:3 content, but that runs the risk of cutting people’s head’s in half. Now a creative studio in France has come up with an interesting solution to the problem with a concept TV design that maximizes the viewable picture area and minimizes the black bars for both aspect ratios. Read More
Sky to launch 3D TV channel in UK next year
By Mick Webb
05:59 August 3, 2009 PDT
With 3D television becoming more than just an excuse to don the ubiquitous red and blue glasses, UK broadcaster Sky is hoping to broaden the appeal and get an early jump on the competition, by announcing plans to launch Europe’s first 3D TV channel. Requiring a "3D ready" television, the channel is due to be available next year as part of the BSkyB subscription service. Read More
LG unveils new slimline LCD and LED HDTVs
By Darren Quick
00:24 July 31, 2009 PDT
LG has unveiled its newest LCD and LED HDTVs at its annual Summer Line Show in New York. It sounds more like a fashion show than a platform for launching consumer electronics, but given that the new TVs’ main selling points are more in the looks rather than the specs department, perhaps it is. Both the SL80 (LCD) and SL90 (LED) series comprise FullHD 1080p resolution units featuring a single edge-to-edge panel of glass over a slim bezel, which incorporates an Invisible Speaker design to give the units a clean seamless look. Read More
Avrak rotating easy-access AV racks
By Jeff Salton
07:05 July 30, 2009 PDT
If you’re tired of clumsily (and dangerously) reaching over and around the back of your component rack to reconfigure your AV stack or plug in that loose cable, Avrak has a range of racks that revolve 360° to easily expose the rear of the component stack, saving your back and removing the risk of cross-wiring expensive AV equipment. Read More
Logitech unveils four new 360-Degree Sound multimedia speaker systems
By Darren Quick
01:34 July 16, 2009 PDT
Logitech has announced four new multimedia speaker systems featuring omnidirectional acoustics for a wider sound sweet spot. Unlike standard PC speakers that use forward-firing drivers, the four new Logitech multimedia speaker systems feature 360-Degree Sound courtesy of the forward and backwards facing drivers found in each satellite. Logitech claims this allows sound to be transmitted more consistently over a wider space to provide better sound when you drag yourself away from the desk. Read More
Uchiage Hanabi Fireworks Projector makes every day the 4th of July
By Darren Quick
21:01 July 8, 2009 PDT
I’m often told I’m lacking in the fireworks department in the bedroom so the Uchiage Hanabi could be just what I need. Produced by Sega Toys, the Uchiage Hanabi is a fireworks projector that lets users display a full fireworks show on their walls and ceilings, complete with realistic sound effects. Read More
Pioneer's new Elite AV receivers target high-end home theater
By Tim LeFevre
04:46 July 6, 2009 PDT
Pioneer Electronics US recently announced four new receivers to add to its Elite line-up, bringing greater clarity, detail and response to the high definition audio that Blu-Ray and HD DVD offer. The Elite SC-25 and SC-27 feature a Direct Energy HD Class-D amplifier, employing Pioneer’s ICEPower technology to ensure the levels of performance they expect from HD audio soundtracks. Read More
Belkin boosts HD streaming with Gigabit Powerline HD Starter Kit
By Paul Best
18:32 June 23, 2009 PDT
As web viewing figures begin to put on serious weight, so grow the demands on households’ internet connections. Recent stats show that more than four in five people are watching more internet video than a year ago and the number of videos being viewed has ballooned 10-fold in a couple of years. But speed and bandwidth, which are critical to quality video streaming, remain issues. Belkin’s new Gigabit Powerline HD Starter Kit adapter is helping the challenge of delivering mass entertainment over the internet, achieving 1000Mbps using the home’s existing powerline network. Read More
Hillcrest motion sensing mouse keeps you in the Loop
By Jude Garvey
20:27 June 21, 2009 PDT
Almost three years after we first encountered the Loop pointer, Hillcrest Labs has announced that its uniquely designed motion sensing mouse is available direct to consumers. Read More
Bigger night in with Sony movieIQ and cinechat
By Paul Best
20:26 June 21, 2009 PDT
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment hopes to give BD Live – the feature that puts Blu-ray Disc (BD) players in touch with a web-load of online extras – a shot in the arm with the launch of movieIQ and CineChat – and one to its bottomline, as the blue-laser video platform begins to gain some traction, with US hardware sales ballooning 400 percent in first-quarter results. Read More
Media streamers – the future of home entertainment
By Paul Lester
19:00 June 21, 2009 PDT
In the not too distant future, the most essential set-top box for the modern home will not be the Blu-ray player, freeview box or even a satellite or cable receiver, but the home media streamer. While still at a relatively early stage of development, a streamer offers a similar service to the humble MP3 player in its ability to support playback of digital media formats, most notably video. So what exactly do these devices do, why are they so special and what do you need to look for before making your purchase? Read More
LG entering OLED-TV market
By Darren Quick
02:19 June 19, 2009 PDT
The OLED TV market is ever so slowly heating up with the announcement from LG that it will launch a 15-inch OLED TV in the Korean market at the end of the year. LG first revealed a prototype 15-inch OLED TV at CES 2009 in January where it impressed with the incredible contrast and 0.8mm thin profile that OLED technology provides. Read More
No PC required: Brando SATA HDD adapter plays media straight out of the box
By Alan Brandon
18:29 June 17, 2009 PDT
If you like your gadgets to be functional but without all that fussy “styling” or aesthetic design, the Brando SATA HDD Multi-Media Player Adapter may be for you. This no-frills adapter is literally a black box device that lets you play media files from a SATA hard disk, SDHC card or USB storage device on your TV – without the need to use a computer. Read More
Toshiba introduces LED TV with local dimming and motion enhancement
By Darren Quick
00:34 June 15, 2009 PDT
Toshiba’s flagship REGZA SV670 series that first caught our eye at CES 2009 is set to hit stores alongside the REGZA XV648 and ZV650 series. The SV670 is Toshiba’s first-ever LED-backlit HDTV and incorporates the company's FocaLight Full Matrix LED with local dimming instead of the standard edge LED lighting used in many other LED TVs. This ability to turn off individual groups of LEDs where required allows the SV670 to achieve deep blacks without sacrificing peak brightness and according to Toshiba, delivers a dynamic contrast ration of 2,000,000:1. Read More
Movie studios look at the big picture (and small) with Epix service
By Paul Best
20:10 June 10, 2009 PDT
A triumvirate of major movie studios – Lionsgate, Paramount and MGM – is planning to launch a new TV service called Epix that will screen recent catalogue titles in HD. But what’s interesting is the group's move to bundle it with a Hulu-like on-demand, commercial-free service that streams the same films in 720p HD. Read More
Bang & Olufsen announces the BeoVision 7-40 with Blu-ray
By Mick Webb
18:43 June 6, 2009 PDT
Bang & Olufsen has announced the release of the BeoVision 7-40 flat-screen LCD TV, incorporating a Blu-ray player and double-frame-rate technology. Read More
Gesture controlled entertainment system lets the TV watch you
By Gizmag Team
01:52 June 4, 2009 PDT
In the past few years there has been an increasing effort toward creating 3D computer interfaces and televisions. Now, it’s the television’s turn to see us.....in 3D! Since its foundation in 1999, Canesta has been working on a family of low-cost, chip-based 3-D sensors that can be built into virtually anything – from TVs and PCs to cars and industrial equipment - and now the technology is filtering through to real-world applications like Kicker Studio's gesture control entertainment system. Dr. Peter Puya Abolfathi - Biomedical Engineer, co-inventor of the Rehabilitation Glove and now a member of the Gizmag Team - takes a closer look at how this technology works and what it's bringing to our living rooms. Read More
NAD Masters Series M2 Direct Digital Amplifier
By Tim LeFevre
21:34 June 2, 2009 PDT
We’ve been living in a digital age for a while now and many of us access all our music from digital formats like CD and MP3. But has anyone managed to perfect a purely digital amplifier? NAD believes it has with the Master Series M2 Direct Digital Amplifier. Read More
Hands-on: LG's BD370 Blu-ray player
By Loz Blain
01:12 May 27, 2009 PDT
LG clearly has a vision where home entertainment is going and it is pressing ahead into the connected TV world by making sure that even its affordable entry-level products are shipping with some very cool new features. We've just spent a week with the LG BD370 Blu-ray player, which features LAN and USB connectivity, YouTube video streaming, Netflix downloads and BD Live content downloads. It's a fair swag of add-ons for a simple Blu-ray player, but perhaps the BD370's greatest strength is how well it does the basics. Read More
Alexis Olson
- November 9, 2009 @ 21:08 UTC
