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Home Entertainment
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
LG HD 3D monitor with twice the brightness of existing 3D LCD panels
By Mike Hanlon
00:20 May 27, 2009 PDT
LG Display today announced it has developed a full HD 23-inch 3D LCD panel with twice the brightness of conventional 3D LCD panels. 3D LCDs apply time-sequential technologies so that the right and left eyes see different images, tricking the brain into seeing them as three-dimensional. In conventional 3D LCDs, the technologies are installed outside the panel or into the viewing glasses. Though the detail of the technologies has not been revealed, LG is reporting that the new 3D LCD embeds most of the 3D technologies directly into the panel, enabling 3D viewing with low-priced polarized glasses rather than expensive special viewing glasses. Read More
KEF Concept Blade loudspeaker reveals its cutting edge
By Tim LeFevre
19:09 May 24, 2009 PDT
Three years of exhaustive research, testing and experimentation has resulted in the KEF Concept Blade loudspeaker. In particular, the loudspeaker showcases KEF’s cutting-edge capabilities and commitment to furthering innovative design. Read More
LG's Wi-Fi enabled BD390 Network Blu-ray Disc Player
By Darren Quick
23:36 May 21, 2009 PDT
At CES earlier this year LG signaled its intention to release stablemates for its first entry into the Blu-ray player market, the BD300. Having already delivered the BD370 earlier this year, LG continues to expand its Blu-ray offerings with the BD390 Network Blu-ray Disc Player. The new player includes all the bells and whistles of the BD370 and adds expanded online content, wireless connectivity and 1GB of built-in storage to the mix. Read More
Panasonic 2009 TV range wrap-up
By Darren Quick
00:40 May 7, 2009 PDT
Although LCD has been clearly outselling plasmas TVs in recent times, plasma still maintains a number of advantages over its rival format, most notably in contrast ratio. So while some manufacturers, such as Pioneer, have ceased making plasma panels, Panasonic is persisting, with plans to launch 11 new VIERA plasma models this year. Although the company understands the value of LCD, too, with nine LCD models included in the 2009 VIERA TV line-up. Read More
Emerald Physics CS3 Loudspeaker
By Tim LeFevre
23:37 May 6, 2009 PDT
Premiering recently at AKFest 2009, Emerald Physics CS3 loudspeaker joins the acclaimed CS1 and CS2.3 as part of the company's unconventional line-up. Similar in concept to Tannoy’s Prestige range of speakers, the CS3 employs a 12 inch point source driver with a compression tweeter mounted in the center of the driver. This coaxial design is also far more efficient than conventional driver arrangements, making better use of your available amplifier power. Read More
Panasonic shows slimline prototype plasmas
By Darren Quick
01:58 May 1, 2009 PDT
Panasonic is giving Australian consumers a glimpse of future plasma display technologies first showcased at CES 2009. The two 50-inch prototype plasma TVs demonstrate next generation improvements to materials and processes, cell design, and circuit and drive technology, resulting in less energy consumption and twice the luminous efficiency of earlier models, all in an ultra-thin 8.8mm thick package. Read More
Bang & Olufsen launches a whale of a TV for a whale of a time
By Paul Best
02:14 April 30, 2009 PDT
If Bang & Olufsen’s spanking new BeoVision 4 103-inch plasma TV were a mouth it would swallow you whole – and you wouldn’t even touch the sides going down. That’s how big it is – and one of the biggest going around – with a pretty big price to match. Read More
QPD Motorized Speakers help find the right angle
By Tim LeFevre
19:40 April 28, 2009 PDT
The majority of the “effects” you get from your surround speakers are quite directional, so ensuring that in-built speakers are pointing the right way is an important part of nailing your home theater set-up. Entering a relatively new area of the market is QPD Speakers with its range of motorized in-ceiling and in-wall speakers. These units use an adjustable design that caters for 25, 30, 35, 40 and 50 degree angles, allowing tweeters to fire directly towards the listening area rather than straight down or across. Read More
Improved technology and design in new Elios speaker line
By Darren Quick
01:12 April 27, 2009 PDT
As any home cinema buff will tell you, a good picture is only half of the equation when it comes to a truly superior home theater experience. The other half is of course good sound, an area that unfortunately often takes a back seat when it comes to setting up a first rate home cinema. The new Elios line of speakers from ELAN Home Systems boasts some new technology aimed at those who recognize the need for good sound reproduction as well as new designs that make the installation of the speakers into a wall or ceiling a much simpler task. Read More
iHome iH15: the chameleon of iPod docks
By David Greig
18:26 April 21, 2009 PDT
If you are looking for a design twist that will set-your iPod dock apart from the crowd and audio quality isn't your highest priority, the color changing iH15 Stereo System from iHome may be just the answer. Read More
Cisco Linksys Media Hub promises intelligent multimedia management
By Karen Sprey
17:25 April 20, 2009 PDT
‘Whatever you want – wherever and whenever you want it' is pretty much today’s philosophy, especially when it comes to music, movies and photos. We’re used to getting our content at the click of a mouse, button or scroll-wheel and it's this kind of flexibility and simplicity of access that Cisco's Linksys Media Hub aims to bring to personal media collections, delivering up to a terabyte of storage capacity backed by an intuitive interface and remote access functionality. Read More
Inflatable Movie Screens turn a backyard into a Home Theater
By Mike Hanlon
23:34 April 7, 2009 PDT
April 8, 2009 Open Air Cinema gets a regular write because its giant inflatable movie screens really do offer the ultimate backyard cinema experience at a ridiculously reasonable price. The lightweight Open Air Home Screens are now available up to 18 feet in size, with the biggest running to just US$1150 and weighing just 17 pounds - just the thing for keeping the troops busy while mom and pop are doing some home entertaining. Read More
Samsung trims the fat for LCD videowall TVs
By Darren Quick
20:59 April 5, 2009 PDT
While a thick bezel surrounding a TV screen is hardly a problem for home users it can quickly ruin the effect of a video wall made up of multiple screens. Samsung’s new 460UT, 460UTn and 460UTn-UD Series 46” LCD Professional Displays are designed specifically to minimize this problem with a super-narrow bezel measuring just 2.4mm (right and bottom) of the screen and 4.3mm (left and top) to deliver a total of 7.3mm bezel between live screen areas when tiling multiple units. Read More
LG's 2009 Audio/Visual range: connectivity, convergence and clean, clear interfaces
By Loz Blain
23:16 April 2, 2009 PDT
LG's latest Audio/Visual offerings are moving down the path of connectivity and convergence, and delivering some very nice user interfaces. LG's new "Technology Design Centre" made its debut at the Melbourne Formula One Grand Prix on the weekend where the Korean company introduced its PS80 big-screen plasma "Time Machine" TV, with built-in hard drive and digital video recording, its YouTube-capable super-fast BD370 Blu-ray player, its HB954WA 1000w home theatre 5.1 system, tuned by Mark Levinson and featuring wireless rear speakers, and the LH50, an ultra-quick 200hz LED-backlit LCD TV that intelligently adjusts picture controls according to the ambient light conditions in the room. Read More
Bang & Olufsen's BeoVision 4-103 plasma: 500 kilos, 103 inches, USD$123,000
By Mike Hanlon
01:12 March 20, 2009 PDT
March 20, 2009 Danish design company Bang & Olufsen has gone mega with its BeoVision 4 HDTV, formerly available in 50 and 65 inch versions, and announced the BeoVision 4-103 – a 103 inch plasma that weighs in at 500 kgs and will sell for GBP 85,000 (USD 123,000) when it hits showrooms in June. The screen is manufactured by Panasonic, but comes with a host of B&O picture improvement and home theatre technologies, the usual B&O knock-out styling and functionality, and a motorized stand that can be used to adjust the viewing angle and rotate the display, plus a motorized centre channel speaker which moves up and down so it can be concealed when not in use. Read More
Sleek sound: Cabasse Eole 2 speaker system
By Mick Webb
18:22 March 11, 2009 PDT
French speaker manufacturer Cabasse has unveiled the latest in their ever impressive family, the Eole 2 5.1 Speaker System. Taking its cue from the original Eole system, this second generation installment features five of the renowned spherical satellite speakers, as well as the compact Santorin subwoofer. Read More
Kogan announces Kevin37 HDTV to coincide with economic stimulus package
By Tim Hanlon
17:15 March 4, 2009 PST
Like many governments around the world, Australia's leaders are pouring taxpayer dollars into the economy via stimulus packages designed to counter the effects of the global economic downturn. In Australia, this translates to tax-free payments of AUD$900 destined for the bank accounts of those who earned under AUD$100,000 in the 07-08 financial year. The idea is for consumers to spend the money, and Kogan has cleverly capitalized on what's been dubbed the "flat-screen TV bonus" with the announcement of their "High Definition Stimulus" - a $900, 37-inch 720p HDTV called "Kevin37". Read More
Blu-ray licensing changes offer hope for cheaper players and discs
By Darren Quick
20:34 February 26, 2009 PST
Even though Blu-ray has claimed the honors in the format war with HD DVD, it has failed to set the world on fire in terms of widespread adoption. One of the major factors for this slow uptake can be attributed to the high prices of not only Blu-ray players and recorders, but also the discs themselves. But plans announced by Sony, Panasonic and Philips to create a simplified licensing process for Blu-ray discs could see this change. Read More
The Allio Lite TV/PC combo
By Tim LeFevre
18:15 February 22, 2009 PST
Silicon Mountain Holdings has announced the release of the Allio Lite, the latest offering from their range of popular Allio converged LCD HDTV/PC... and it's at a lower price point. The Allio Lite is available in a 42-inch 1080p model or a 32-inch 720p model, and features the same selection of inputs (2 x HDMI, 1 x s-video & audio, 1 x DVI, 2 x component, 6 USB, 1 x eSATA) and outputs (1 x HDMI, 1 x optical audio) as the original Allio models. Read More
Hybrid game/movie Blu-ray discs coming to the PS3 this year
By Tim Hanlon
19:01 February 12, 2009 PST
There's a lot of space on a 50GB Blu-ray disk. So much so that many PlayStation 3 developers are padding up to 50% of it with the data equivalent of whitespace, pushing content to the outside of the disc to decrease load times. Sony plans to change this with a hybrid movie/game disc, and expects at least two titles on shelves by the end of 2009. Read More
SIM2 Solar Series LCD HDTV provides 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio
By Darren Quick
21:23 February 5, 2009 PST
Like Samsung’s Series 9 and Toshiba’s flagship Regza SV670 Series, SIM2’s Solar Series of LCD HDTV’s feature LED backlighting that can be selectively turned off behind black areas in scenes to provide deeper blacks and overcome one of the weaknesses of LCD TV’s using the traditional CCFL (Cold Cathode Fluorescent Lamp) backlighting. Read More
Philips 56-inch LCD packs a 21:9 aspect ratio
By Darren Quick
02:18 February 2, 2009 PST
As all aspect ratio snobs know, the 21:9 cinema screen aspect ratio was developed to mimic our own peripheral vision and therefore provide a more immersive viewing experience. Recognizing this Philips has unveiled the world’s first cinema-proportioned LCD TV dubbed the Cinema 21:9, which features a 21:9 aspect ration 56-inch screen and Philips’ Ambilight technology to deliver what it says is the most completely immersive home viewing experience possible. Read More
windykites1
- November 24, 2009 @ 19:38 UTC
