Home Entertainment
If an amphitheater provides a robust sound for audiences, then it would seem to follow that an audio dock with a similar half-circle shape should also provide a nice sound. Pure's 20-watt Contour 100i audio dock for iPhone, iPad and iPod is such a device. It consists of a set of 3-inch speakers, and a revolving cradle that recedes flush with the speakers when not in use. An auxiliary input allows for connection to an MP3 player or other audio device. Read More
With Sony's NSZ-GS7 Internet Player and Vizio's Co-Star, this week has been a big one for Android-based media streamers. Not to be outdone, Google has announced its Nexus Q media-streaming device at its I/O conference. The device, which is powered by an OMAP4460 processor, is something Google hopes will change the way people share their entertainment in the home. Nexus Q will stream HD movies, YouTube clips, music and Google TV content from the cloud. Read More
Hot on the heels of the announcement of Sony’s NSZ-GS7 set-top box, Vizio has unveiled its own Google TV-based device that merges live TV with streaming entertainment in the form of the Vizio Co-Star Stream Player. Connecting the device to a HDTV will turn it into a smart TV capable of surfing the Web full screen using Google Chrome with support for HTML 5 and Flash content, accessing Google Play apps, streaming online video content, and – in a media streamer first – playing games via the OnLive cloud gaming platform. Read More
Smart TV manufacturers are making a smart move. Instead of offering competing technologies for connected TVs, they're looking to partner and form a universal platform. While manufacturers are currently pushing Smart TV technology as a way to sell more sets, the disparate platforms being developed by individual manufacturers leads to consumer confusion and requires developers to customize their apps for different platforms. In order to develop a standard that can create a thriving ecosystem for developers, a number of TV manufacturers have established the SMART TV Alliance and are looking to bring competitors into the fold. Read More
It might not be as big as the 152-inch plasma TV Panasonic has been parading around, but Sharp is claiming the title of the world’s biggest LED TV with the launch of the 90-inch AQUOS LC-90LE745U. Measuring nearly four feet (1.2 m) tall and six feet (1.8 m) across, you’ll need a fair chunk of free space to place this monster. Unfortunately, with a retail price of US$10,999.99, you’ll also need some pretty deep pockets. Read More
We’ve seen iPod and iPhone docks in all shapes and sizes, most of which are built around the iDevices’ audio capabilities. This offering - the Aire iPlay (e2343Fi) monitor from AOC - sees the focus shift to the video playback capabilities of Apple’s devices. The 23-inch Full HD monitor is the first to feature a 30-pin dock in the base for seamless playback of audio, video and photo content stored on an iPod or iPhone. Read More
While 1080p has barely had time to establish itself as the standard for high definition video in the home, its replacement is already making its presence felt. Panasonic provided a glimpse of our ultra high resolution future with its 152-inch 4K resolution plasma TV at CES in 2010, but now Sony has become the first company to release a 4K home cinema projector that offers four times the resolution of existing 1080p displays. Read More
There's little doubt that since being founded in 2002, Sonos has consistently delivered quality wireless Hi-Fi systems. After writing about the Zoneplayer S5 (now known as the PLAY:5) in 2009 I managed to grab a little one-on-one time with the all-in-one music streamer in the sound room of my local Hi-Fi specialist and walked away suitably impressed. While this model has its own subwoofer driver, the smaller PLAY:3 does not and those who love their bottom end to shake the room may be left a little wanting. The latest addition to the range, the SUB, promises to more than fill any bass booming void in an existing Sonos setup. Read More
LG unveiled the world's largest and slimmest 55-inch OLED (organic light-emitting diode) TV at the Salle des Etoiles in Monaco earlier this week. First given a U.S. showing at CES 2012, the OLED TV's four-color pixel technology and Color Refiner work together to offer vibrant, natural and comfortable Full 1080p HD viewing in both 2D and 3D. Cutting edge technology doesn't come cheap though, so be prepared to gasp as the price is revealed after the jump. Read More
Japan's national public broadcaster NHK has revealed that it successfully broadcast a compressed Super Hi-Vision (SHV) signal carrying video at a resolution of 7680 x 4320, 16 times the resolution of regular HD. This is the first time that SHV has been transmitted over the air. Read More
