Home Entertainment

Releasing scents during the projection of a film reportedly predates the introduction of sound. One early attempt at "Smell-O-Vision" involved a wad of cotton soaked in rose oil being placed in front of an electric fan during a newsreel in 1906, but despite such experiments, this is one technology that just hasn't taken off ... although the quest to add an extra olfactory experience to movies and, more recently, video games continues. This latest effort comes from French company Olf-Action which has created SMELLIT - a device designed to bring an aromatic dimension to your video game and movie experiences. Read More

The tiny Redbox kiosks are sprouting up everywhere, but is the company planning on firing its next shot at Netflix? Its first shot was directly responsible for crippling Blockbuster. Now, it's offering unlimited movie streaming for less than four dollars a month. Read More

While you might be tempted to think the Wall of Sound is one of the biggest music player docks you've ever seen, it doesn't quite live up to the huge proportional potential of the iTree iPhone and iPod docking station from Austrian design house KMKG STUDIO. The dock is carved from a simple tree trunk, its rear-mounted speakers are pointed towards a wall to reflect the audio and the wood serves to resonate the sound in a similar fashion to a piano or violin. Read More

Logitech has revealed the Harmony Link, its latest addition to the Harmony line of accessories, which until now mostly included universal remote controls. Featuring a hockey puck-like design, the Harmony Link requires a home WiFi network and the free Logitech Harmony Link App. When installed on an iPad, iPhone, iPod touch or an Android-based device, it enables IR-based remote operation of up to eight home-entertainment devices. Read More

Philips has been teasing us with the promise of the 58-inch 3D capable Platinum Series Cinema 21:9 TV since IFA 2010, but the company finally looks set to deliver. Showing off the new set at IFA 2011, Philips revealed plans to launch the cinema-proportioned TV in September. The Platinum series boasts an ultra-wide 21:9 (2.39:1) aspect ratio and 2,560 x 1080p pixel resolution panel. Read More

New models of televisions are certainly plentiful at IFA 2011, but one of the stand-outs so far has been the German-made Metz Primus 55 3D Media twin R ... evidently, they couldn't just call it something like the Trinitron. The long-named TV is able not only to show 3D content, but can also convert 2D content into 3D. Additionally, it has a built-in digital recorder, it can record to USB drives, and it can display film, photo and music files from an unlimited number of other digital devices in its users' home. Read More

Toshiba has taken the wraps off a 55-inch, 16:9 ratio LED backlit TV with glasses free 3D capability and Quad Full HD resolution. That's a massive 3,840 x 2,160 pixels, or in other words, four times as many pixels as a 1920 x 1080p TV. We've just checked out the Toshiba 55ZL2 on the floor at IFA and the consensus is that it looks great. Read More

Augmented reality (AR) seems to be touching almost every part of our lives at the moment. It's bringing arcade games to life, keeping back seat kids entertained during long journeys, offering on-the-spot translations and helping us to see the world in a different light. Now, Sony UK has developed an online tool that uses AR to help users visualize a new big screen TV in their home without needing to resort to a tape measure, or just leaving it to guess work and hoping for the best. Read More

Pioneer has announced two new members of its Elite Series of AV receivers, which are said to be the most powerful home theater amplifiers the company has ever produced. The similar-looking SC-55 and SC-77 9.1 channel receivers both feature a new Class D digital amplifier, capable of delivering huge audio output while drawing much less power than traditional models. They also benefit from Marvell Qdeo video processors, and technology that automatically tweaks the output depending on which display is chosen. Read More