Digital Media

Despite being relatively late to bat in the media streamer/jukebox market, Western Digital came up with a gem of a product last year with the WD TV, which featured in our recent take on Media Streamers. This slimline, stylish device was designed to attach to a TV and play back music, photo and video files from connected storage, but lacked the streaming capabilities and HD support of more versatile (and expensive) rivals. Buoyed by the success of the WD TV, Western Digital is back with the WD TV Live, which addresses the above issues by offering full-HD, 1080p playback via an HDMI 1.3 port, and the ability to stream files across a wired or wireless network.  Read More

Media streaming is a technology threatening to break into the mainstream in a big way over the next few years. One company who certainly hopes it does is Looqs, a new entity that was showcasing its media streaming wares at IFA 2009. Its MeeSeries Media Streaming system lets users stream multimedia throughout their house - nothing too exciting about that I hear you say. But what sets the Looqs products apart is its ability to stream not only video content to a TV, but also photos and online content to multiple digital photo frames.  Read More

Those looking for a way to get movies and other digital media stored on a PC from the study onto the TV in the lounge have a few choices open to them. These include burning the content to CD or DVD, sending the content wirelessly to a media streamer or transporting the content on a USB drive. Those looking at the latter option have a new drive from LG to consider in the form of the XF1, which sports HDMI and composite outputs for direct connection to a TV.  Read More

Philips has launched a portable media player (PMP) that glows while your songs are playing. Powered by Philips' patented FullSound technology, the GoGear Spark also features voice recording and PC download capability via USB 2.0.  Read More

Memory specialist Super Talent has announced a limited edition 18-carat gold version of its diminutive Pico-C Drive. The swank 8GB USB device features 200X (30MB/sec) data transfer speeds, is water resistant and comes with a matching gold keychain and black velvet jewelry box.  Read More

Gateway’s new MC-Series notebook line signals its multimedia intentions known with a 16-inch edge-to-edge glass 1366x768 resolution widescreen display and illuminated multimedia touch controls. The new notebook line features an ambient light sensor which adjusts screen brightness according to the external light, while the LED illuminated keyboard is backlit for users burning the midnight oil.  Read More

Thankfully the days of the big, beige box seem to be well and truly behind us. Now PCs are available in all shapes and sizes with eMachines EL1200 Desktop series opting for the popular smaller end of the spectrum and at a budget price. With PCs making their way out of the study in recent years the compact eMachines EL1200 Desktop Series PCs are designed to fit neatly into main living areas such as kitchens, family rooms, family den, studio apartments, dorm rooms, smaller bedrooms and home offices.  Read More

Iomega is looking to provide a partner in style for the MacBook Air with its latest portable hard drive release. The 320GB eGo Helium is a 0.63 inch (16 mm) thin, 7 ounce (200 gram) unit wrapped - naturally - in an anodized aluminum shell that includes drop protection for mishaps up to a height of 51 inches (1.3 meters) on to industrial carpeting.  Read More

The latest high-end tech offering from Gresso is a cleverly designed USB Flash drive pendant that incorporates three separate 64 Gb memory sticks into a single unit made from 200-year-old African Blackwood with diamond and gold trimmings. A limited run of 99 pieces has been announced for the ENIGMA collection, but prospective buyers will have to dig deep.  Read More