High Definition

Michael Bennett-Levy's extraordinary collection of early technologies went under the hammer at Bonhams in London on Wednesday with 90% of the 758 lots on offer sold for a total of £683,384. A tidy sum no doubt, but having had the opportunity to examine the treasure trove closely, and the benefit of speaking at length to Bennett-Levy about the significance of key items, we can't help but conclude that many pieces were a steal for shrewd investors. The largest privately held collection of early televisions in the world - including 26 pre-war sets - made up a large slice of the auction and in the first of a series of interviews, Michael Bennett-Levy talks to Gizmag about outstanding items in his collection, starting with the much sought after Teleavia type P111, a rare 1958 console-stand television by Citroën DS designer Flaminio Bertroni that was not only a hallmark in style, but also one of the earliest examples of high-definition TV.  Read More

After receiving an email from a Japanese enthusiast, a group of amateur radio high altitude balloon buffs jumped at the chance to help record the first ever non-professional near space high definition video, and maybe set a new altitude record on the way. After squeezing the HD camcorder and tracking hardware into a styrofoam box, and a couple of false starts, the 1500g high altitude, hydrogen-filled balloon was away.  Read More

Forget high definition, AMD claims its ATI Eyefinity multi-screen technology has up to 12 times 1080p resolution, breaking into almost true eye-definition video quality. It's able to power up to six monitors from one card, is Windows 7 ready and positively champing at the bit to unleash the power of Direct X 11. Users can look forward to a much improved immersion gaming experience, or to taking advantage of one huge desktop workspace for better multi-task management, or to being able to keep an eye on breaking Internet news while also playing a game or watching a DVD.  Read More

How do you punch a hole into the already over-populated netbook market and get your product seen by the buying public? You could just offer something that competitors don't have. But maybe that isn't enough. Perhaps you need to create a brand new device category for your new product to help it stand out from the crowd. Enter the NetNote from Taiwan's VIA Technologies which offers all the affordability and portability of a netbook and the high definition video capabilities and functionality of a notebook.  Read More

Toshiba has chosen IFA 2009 to confirm that this month Europeans will be able to get their hands on two new full 1080p HD televisions in its Regza range, a 46in and a 55in. As well as being LED backlit for the first time, these new SV models also sport a sensor that monitors ambient light and constantly readjusts image settings so that the viewer automatically gets the best possible picture.  Read More

The Panasonic 2.35:1 PT-AE4000 is to projectors what the Philips Cinema 21:9 is to HDTVs. Aside from being something that most of us can only drool over and never hope to own, the PT-AE4000 is aimed at serious home theater enthusiasts and audio video professionals who are looking to eliminate the Cinemascope issue - a problem that sees the picture frame either shrunk down to ensure the entire width is visible, the edges cropped, or the image squished together making everyone on screen look thinner than Kate Moss.  Read More

When it comes to hardcore multimedia rendering and manipulation, Apple computers are traditionally considered among the best fit for the job. But the Cupertino giant could soon see its position menaced by Toshiba's latest Satellite P500, a flagship, high-performance laptop that puts multimedia enthusiasts at the core of its target.  Read More

Recent developments in the digital camera market have given amateur photographers that require a decent optical zoom some reasonably priced point-and-shoot alternatives. Following announcements earlier this year by Kodak and Olympus, Samsung has released its own model - the HZ25W, a 12.5MP, 24x optical zoom camera that sports the most powerful lens ever offered on a Samsung compact digital model.  Read More

Gamers with more than one high definition console should be able to take full advantage of the new Blaze 3-in-1 component cable, with three connectors that enable you to use a single, high quality cable for Xbox 360, PS3 and Nintendo Wii.  Read More