HDMI

MSI has announced an interesting new entry in its X-Slim lineup with the X430, a lightweight, less-than-an-inch thick laptop that features a power-saving AMD dual core CPU and several layers of software technology to significantly improve battery life, without compromising in connectivity or video playback capabilities. Read More

Few would doubt that the ability to stream media wirelessly around the home will, in one form or another, be fundamental to the future of home entertainment. It would seem strange then, that a product apparently versatile enough to wirelessly send video and audio from a PC to an HDTV hasn’t received more support, and the new Atlona PC to Computer Monitor/HDTV Wireless adapter is one of few on the market designed for this purpose. Read More

LaCie has revamped its LaCinema Classic multimedia hard drive to be a media player with up 2TB internal storage, optional 802.11n Wi-Fi and a built-in DLNA server that lets users browse, play and share HD 1080p media collections from anywhere in the home, directly on an HDTV. Read More

With the development of the ZMS-08 system on a chip, ZiiLabs is aiming to bring high performance media processing to low power devices. As well as allowing full Blu-ray quality 1080p video playback, the chip supports simultaneous HD encode and decode, 3D and 2D image processing and advanced audio. Read More

Philips' Wireless HDTV Link (SWW1800/27) replaces the cables that connect the HD cable set-top box, HD satellite receiver, Blu-ray player or gaming console to a HDTV and delivers up to 1080p picture quality at a range of 75 feet. This solution should appeal to viewers who have suffered from a lack of flexibility with their set-ups because of unsightly or too short cables. Read More

With the release of its first pocket camcorder, the Picsio GC-FM1, JVC is no doubt hoping to chip away some of the success enjoyed by the Flip family. On paper JVC's effort appears to be a powerful little device - it produces full 1080p HD video, has 4x digital zoom and an 8Mp still camera. Read More

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

Full HD video conferencing has been available for some time - provided you can afford to spend over $20,000 on a product like Cisco's TelePresence 500. Until now that is. FaceVsion's FXexpress Pro is an ExpressCard-based hardware accelerator with an HDMI input, capable of encoding and decoding 1080p H.264 video at 30 frames per second in real-time for 1080p video conferencing - and it's available for under $200. Gizmag's Tim Hanlon talked to Facevsion at IFA 2009 - click through for the video. Read More

We've seen HD media players like the Western Digital WDTV and the Popcorn Hour A-110 before, but Ellion's LazBox 110 packs best-in-class functionality into a small form factor at a mass market price. Read More