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Home Entertainment
litl webbook aims to be a big deal for the household
By Darren Quick
21:03 November 15, 2009 PST
The creators of the litl webbook have designed everything, including the hardware, software and operating system, to make it easy for users to blend “lean-forward” web-based content with “lean back” TV-like viewing of photos and other digital content. Aimed at every member of the family, the litl can be used as a regular laptop and the display also flips through 180 degrees into easel mode, which allows it to stand upright like a digital photo frame. Read More
The GlideTV Navigator is a mouse, keyboard and AV remote that fits in the palm of your hand
By Darren Quick
03:54 October 14, 2009 PDT
TVs are no longer dumb receivers sitting in the corner of the lounge, displaying whatever trash the networks have decided to cram down our throats. Nowadays, a TV is just as likely to be hooked up to a home theater PC (HTPC) for playing games, accessing media content stored on a hard disk, or surfing the Internet. For more complex tasks like that, the humble remote starts to look a little underdone. That's where remote controls on steroids, such as the GlideTV Navigator, come in. It combines the functionality of a keyboard, mouse and AV remote control in one distinctive-looking unit that fits in the palm of your hand. Read More
Ellion's LazBox-110 plays all the formats for under $100
By Tim Hanlon
04:57 September 10, 2009 PDT
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
TOOB dome screen delivers IMAX experience at home
By Jeff Salton
23:12 August 27, 2009 PDT
Alexander McDonnell, founder of TOOB (Think Out Of Box) confesses to a fascination with the Mugar Omni Theater in his hometown, Boston – so he decided to build a mini-version for himself. The result is much smaller plastic half-dome screen that’s big enough for a couple of people to sit in front of to watch a movie or enjoy a video game. Read More
To the Bat Cave ... for a unique home theater experience
By Jeff Salton
00:28 August 20, 2009 PDT
Ever wanted to say: “To the Bat Cave …” but felt a bit of joker uttering those words out loud? Well, riddle me this … how does a home entertainment enthusiast 'Down Under' in Melbourne, Australia, get away with saying it? Holy Bat Cave replica Batman, he built his own … sock, biff, pow! Read More
Avrak rotating easy-access AV racks
By Jeff Salton
07:05 July 30, 2009 PDT
If you’re tired of clumsily (and dangerously) reaching over and around the back of your component rack to reconfigure your AV stack or plug in that loose cable, Avrak has a range of racks that revolve 360° to easily expose the rear of the component stack, saving your back and removing the risk of cross-wiring expensive AV equipment. Read More
Maingear Axess-HD Gamer: Get your game on in the living room
By Darren Quick
21:34 June 21, 2009 PDT
Maingear has added some gaming grunt to its line of high end Home Theater PCs (HTPCs) in the form the Axess-HD Gamer. Just like its stable mates, the Axess-HD and HD PRO, the HD Gamer sports a low profile design with aluminum case and optional OLED Front Panel Display that is designed to blend in with other home theater components. However, behind that stylish exterior lies a system built for gaming, an intention made more obvious by the inclusion of the Phantom Lapboard as standard. Read More
Hillcrest motion sensing mouse keeps you in the Loop
By Jude Garvey
20:27 June 21, 2009 PDT
Almost three years after we first encountered the Loop pointer, Hillcrest Labs has announced that its uniquely designed motion sensing mouse is available direct to consumers. 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'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
Genius G-Shot HD520 easy on the pocket in more ways than one
By Darren Quick
20:59 May 3, 2009 PDT
If you’re in the market for a camcorder that isn’t too hard on the pocket when it comes to both size and cost, then the Genius G-Shot HD520 could be just the thing for you. Capable of capturing 11-megapixel still images or 5-megapixel video in MPEG-4/H.264 format, the camcorder has a pistol-grip form that is compact enough to slip into a pocket and carries a comfortable USD$149 price tag that is sure to appeal in these economically uncertain times. 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
New LG TVs first consumer electronics device to playback DivX Full HD video
By Paul Best
23:10 April 26, 2009 PDT
The DivX video codec – which uses MPEG-4 compression – has been a popular feature in an enormous range of electronic devices, especially digital televisions, because of its ability to balance high-quality video against a significantly reduced file size. Now, LG Electronics is planning to launch a new line of digital TVs that can play back full DivX HD 1080p videos – the first device series in the world to do so, according to digital media company DivX. Read More
The Top 50 Best Selling Home Theaters
By Tim Hanlon
23:47 December 19, 2008 PST
If you're still relying on the speakers built in to your HDTV, the home-theater-in-a-box (HTIB) is an inexpensive way to make your home theater experience a lot more authentic. Here's a list of the 50 best selling HTIBs on PriceGrabber, complete with the best prices available online. Read More
The Top 50 Best Selling Blu-ray Players
By Tim Hanlon
18:13 December 19, 2008 PST
If you're not too keen on the idea of using a games console as your Blu-ray player, we can help - even if your budget is less than US$180. Here's a list of the best selling Blu-ray players on PriceGrabber right now, with links to the places offering the best prices available on the net. Read More
Vision-X DYNA-CURVE home theater screen
By Darren Quick
21:01 December 10, 2008 PST
With big screen HDTV’s becoming the rule rather than the exception it can be a little hard staying one step ahead of the Joneses. Nowadays the only way to truly impress the neighbors in the home entertainment department is with a true home theater comprising a projector and screen. So for those looking to be the envy of the neighborhood Vutec has introduced a new generation of high-gain curved screens dubbed the Vision-X Dyna-Curve. The Dyna-Curve screens feature an advanced multi-aspect masking system for use with all widescreen 2.35:1 anamorphic lens projectors, masking to 16:9 and 4:3, while maintaining constant image height for movie, HDTV and Standard TV formats. Read More
New releases on Blu-ray: December 9, 2008
By Tim Hanlon
17:03 December 8, 2008 PST
This week brings a relatively huge number of new releases on Blu-ray, including the eagerly awaited Batman movie The Dark Knight, kid-friendly Horton Hears a Who! and cult comedy classic Super Troopers. Read More
Sony uses 19th century zoetrope technology to showcase BRAVIA TVs
By Darren Quick
03:44 December 8, 2008 PST
Sony has revitalized some fascinating old technology in order to spruik the cutting-edge Motionflow 200Hz capabilities of the new line of BRAVIA TVs. Measuring 10 meters in diameter and able to spin at speeds of over 50kph, the BRAVIA-drome is based on the zeotrope – a device invented in the 19th century to create short ‘films’ from a series of static images – which is seen as a perfect way to demonstrate just how Sony’s Motionflow 200Hz technology works to create smooth motion images. Read More
Denon Launches World's First Universal Blu-Ray Player
By Kate Seamer
22:12 December 7, 2008 PST
Denon are planing the release of their ground breaking universal Blu-ray player, the DVD-A1UD, across Europe in March 2009. The term 'universal' refers to the fact that the player is designed to play multiple formats (unfortunately this is not a reference to region-free playback). It joins the award-winning reference class AVP-A1HDA pre-amplifier and the POA-A1HD 10-channel power amplifier in the company’s flagship HD home entertainment system. Read More
Where's the "Who's that guy?" button?
By Tim Hanlon
17:20 December 4, 2008 PST
Now that our living rooms are equipped with massive flat screen TVs pushing 1080p resolution at a film-mimicking 24 frames per second, and 5.1 surround systems providing reference quality cinema sound (and all this source material coming off a single disc of 50GB capacity) I ask you this: When do we get a "Who's that guy?" button. Read More
New Toshiba projector tells you what to do
By Emily Clark
01:00 November 5, 2008 PST
Toshiba has launched a new lightweight wireless 3LCD projector, which is most notably the world’s first projector with voice guidance - a feature designed for non-technical users that talks you through operating instructions and provides system alerts. The network compatible TLP-X200U also incorporates closed captioning and a unique multiscreen function for large venue use. Read More
Mitsubishi's Laser TV now shipping in the US
17:31 October 29, 2008 PDT
October 30, 2008 Following its premiere as a totally new display category at the CES in January, a 65-inch version of Mitsubishi's LaserVue high-definition television has hit U.S. stores. The world's first laser-powered TV, which promises unparalleled performance including twice the color and significantly lower power consumption than both its LCD and Plasma cousins, is being sold for USD$6,999. At 10 inches, it might be slightly thicker than some of the flat-screen offerings we've seen in recent times, but the trade-off is a set that delivers 1080p definition at 120Hz and operating power of approximately 135W using laser beams to provide "an extensive range of rich, complex colors, along with truly distinct clarity and immersive depth of field" according to Mitsubishi. Read More
Sonance updates outdoor speaker line
By Emily Clark
18:47 October 7, 2008 PDT
Here's one for those looking to entertain outdoors without upsetting their back-yard's natural ambiance. Sonance is expanding its Landscape Series of outdoor audio speakers with the addition of three new models. The new products include two smaller rock-like speakers and a larger boulder-like enclosure to house Sonance’s Mariner outdoor speakers. Read More
Savant Systems' iPod media dock
By Kyle Sherer
18:31 September 24, 2008 PDT
Savant Systems’ ROSIE Media Dock connects compatible iPod and iPhone models with SAVANT multi-room AV systems allowing users to navigate their personal media players via a ROSIE user interface, which also displays artist, album and track information. Read More
Philips unveil CinemaOne home theater system
By Darren Quick
02:15 September 3, 2008 PDT
Philips' new all-in-one DVD Home Theater System packs a range of home entertainment features into a distinctive, compact design. The CinemaOne includes an integrated universal iPod dock, built-in subwoofer and DVD player with HDMI 1080p upscaling in a unit that resembles a compacted, upturned trash can – only a lot more stylish. Read More
bio-power jeff
- November 20, 2009 @ 08:47 UTC
