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Home Entertainment
82-inch, ultra-HD display heads Samsung's SID line-up
By Darren Quick
20:04 May 19, 2008 PDT
May 20, 2008 Samsung has showcased an ultra-high definition, (3,840 x 2,160 pixels), 82-inch LCD panel for 120Hz television sets at the Society for Information Display (SID) 2008 International Symposium, Seminar and Exhibition which is running from May 18 to 23 in Las Vegas. The world’s largest LCD panel supplier said the panel uses a red/green/blue LED backlight, which has been added to raise true color saturation to 150 percent, based on the NISC standard of 100 percent. It displays ultra-definition (UD) resolution at 120 frames per second, minimizing the blurring that is sometimes experienced at 60Hz. Read More
Camouflage speakers for the great outdoors
By Emily Clark
19:24 May 8, 2008 PDT
Hooking up an outdoor sound system for your backyard can be unsightly with big black speakers unable to blend in with the surrounds. This line of camouflaged outdoor speakers from Niles Audio Corporation is designed to address these issues and look like common backyard items. Read More
Pioneer releases BonusView Blu-Ray Disc Player and Elite A/V receiver
By Darren Quick
00:10 May 8, 2008 PDT
May 8, 2008 Pioneer has announced the Elite BDP-05FD and Pioneer BDP-51FD Blu-Ray Disc players and Elite SC-07, SC-05, VSX-03TXH and VSX-01TXH A/V receivers designed to give users that true theater experience in their own homes. The Elite BDP-05FD and Pioneer BDP-51FD BonusView Blu-ray Disc players support next generation high resolution audio and video formats, feature picture-in-picture interactivity and a redesigned platform. The new players work in tandem with Pioneer’s KURO displays and new Elite A/V receivers. Read More
Television 2.0 offering from Sezmi promises personalized, on-demand viewing
By Darren Quick
18:31 May 2, 2008 PDT
May 2, 2008 The way people watch, and indeed interact with their televisions is undergoing a fundamental shift - a shift from mass entertainment to a personalized, targeted, interactive entertainment (and advertising) platform. Sezmi Corporation (formerly known as Building B, Inc.) has seen the writing on the wall and is hoping to be a major player in what has been dubbed Television 2.0. The company has announced that it is commencing trials in pilot markets in preparation for commercial launch with broadband service providers and national retailers later this year. Read More
Orb Audio's handmade, modular speaker system
01:10 April 28, 2008 PDT
April 28, 2008 Orb Audio’s line of handmade compact speakers promise to deliver a sound usually reserved for much larger units by using state-of the-art components and high carbon steel housings in a modular and easily upgradeable package. Read More
The ultimate loungeroom golf simulator - now including online tournament play
By Loz Blain
22:37 March 16, 2008 PDT
March 17, 2008 High flying, deal-making business and the leisurely sport of golf have gone hand in hand for decades, the high-class country club being an exclusive refuge for the wealthy and powerful. With so much money behind it, golf is one of the few sports that can support blue-sky, no-expense-spared technology like the Full Swing Golf simulator. Built into a wall in your home, office or place of business, this immensely popular boys' toy allows you to play over 50 of the world's most famous courses, from the Old Course at St. Andrew's to Pebble Beach, using your own clubs and never losing a ball. A new online mode allows you to play over the Web against your buddies... Provided they have the US$50,000 to $80,000 you need to set yourself up with a system! Read More
Meridian releases MF10 High-Def Projector
By Darren Quick
17:34 March 16, 2008 PDT
March 17 , 2008 High-end projector specialists Meridian has released its latest high-definition video projector, the MF10, which offers extraordinary black reproduction capability, with 30,000:1 native contrast ratio achieved without the use of a dynamic iris, thus ensuring true black reproduction without loss of brightness. Read More
Sony’s TP2 - the living room PC
By Darren Quick
15:26 March 5, 2008 PST
March 6, 2008 The Sony VAIO is a fully functioning PC that integrates HDMI connectivity, a bundled HD TV tuner and Blu-ray playback capability to turn a HD TV into a high definition PC monitor and form the hub of digital entertainment in the home. Read More
Xyber Technologies' silent, fan-less PCs
By Kyle Sherer
16:42 February 27, 2008 PST
February 28, 2008 Consumers who use PCs for high-end gaming or media work can invest in a top-of-the-line computer and still be held hostage by a ticking time bomb cooling system. While fan-based systems are slowly corrupted by dust, and liquid cooling systems face the problems of evaporation and highly damaging seeping, Xyber Technologies offers an alternative that it claims is quieter, more efficient, and more stable. Read More
It's official: HD DVD is dead
By Tim Hanlon
02:47 February 19, 2008 PST
Toshiba has officially announced what was only a matter of time - the discontinuation of their HD DVD businesses. They have already begun reducing shipments of HD DVD players and recorders, and expect the phase out to be complete by March. Read More
HD DVD vs Blu-ray: The Endgame
By Tim Hanlon
22:25 February 11, 2008 PST
The last week has seen multiple nails added to the HD DVD coffin, with official price drops, extended Amazon clearance sales, and both Netflix and Best Buy announcing they have made the decision to back Blu-ray as the HD format of choice. Read on for a brief history of the HD format war, recent developments, our advice to consumers, and more bargains. Read More
HD DVD, Blu-ray bargains at Amazon
By Tim Hanlon
21:00 February 3, 2008 PST
Amazon has launched a massive HD DVD sale
Outlaw LCR loudspeaker optimized for vertical or horizontal placements
By Darren Quick
14:32 February 3, 2008 PST
February 3, 2008 Outlaw Audio has introduced the Outlaw LCR, a flexible home theater loudspeaker that is the first to include the company's exclusive Main/Center Optimization, (MCO), selectable crossover technology. This allows the speaker's acoustic radiation pattern to be optimized for use as either a left or right front speaker or as a horizontal center channel speaker simply by flipping the MCO switch. Designed and hand-built in the USA to audiophile-grade performance standards, the Outlaw LCR features two long-throw 5-1/4" SEAS woofers flanking a custom designed 1-inch ferrofluid-cooled soft-dome tweeter, giving it improved bass performance and enabling the flexible MCO crossover circuitry. It is this circuitry that enables users to select between two crossover configurations to optimize the speaker's output for either center channel (horizontal) or main channel (vertical) placement. Read More
JVC unveils new Everio hard disk camcorder line for 2008
By Darren Quick
17:53 January 20, 2008 PST
January 21, 2008 JVC’s new G series of Everio hard disk camcorders announced at CES 2008 offer new functions that make operation simpler and more intuitive and feature a new, super-slim design that’s some 20 percent smaller than last year’s entry-level model. The new, colorful five-model Everio G lineup for 2008 consists of four 680K-pixel models and one 7 Megapixel model. The four 680K-pixel camcorders include two 30GB models and two 60GB models, while the lone 7 Megapixel model comes with 30GB of recording space. All models feature a new Laser Touch Operation user interface – moving a finger up or down a touch-sensitive illuminated scroll bar just to the left of the LCD monitor screen allows users to browse through and select video clips to view or edit, and operate menus for camera set-up. The 2.7-inch widescreen LCD’s high-resolution GUI is linked to Laser Touch movements, but the feature eliminates the risk of smudging or damaging the screen that users face with a touch-screen interface. Read More
1TB LaCinema Premier Multimedia Hard Drive
18:17 January 15, 2008 PST
January 16, 2008 Lacie has announced a new multimedia hard drive with up to 1TB of storage capacity that plugs directly into a television for playback of a wide range of video, audio and photo formats. Read More
Logitech's Squeezebox Duet wireless home audio system
By Kyle Sherer
15:50 January 14, 2008 PST
January 15, 2008 Logitech’s Squeezebox Duet network music system integrates home audio by allowing users to access Internet radio, online subscription services and their personal music library, wirelessly, through any speaker system in their house without switching on a computer. Read More
Sony’s Vaio Home Theatre PC gets HD upgrade
By Emily Clark
15:28 January 9, 2008 PST
January 10, 2008 Sony’s VAIO Home Theatre PC has received a recent upgrade, creating a high definition version with added functionality. The unit's distinctive spherical chassis serves as an entire entertainment center so you can watch and record analog, digital and cable TV and access the Internet to play back online TV programming on a compatible big-screen television. Read More
Sony OLED XEL-1 television hits the U.S. market
00:22 January 8, 2008 PST
January 8, 2008 Following on from an appearance at CEATEC last year and a Japanese release in December, Sony has announced the availability of the industry’s first Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED) television in the United States. Read More
Sleep diagnostics meets serious entertainment: the Starry Night™ Technology Bed
22:40 January 7, 2008 PST
January 8, 2008 It's not the first thing that springs to mind when you think consumer electronics, but this high-tech bed from Leggett & Platt is nonetheless making its mark at the 2008 International CES. The Starry Night™ Sleep Technology Bed packs in a range of entertainment hardware to play with when you are not asleep including Internet connectivity, an iPod docking station, a 1080p projector and a surround sound system with four eight-inch subwoofers. And when you do drift off, there's plenty of technology left over to help you make the most out of your rest - dual programmable temperature control, a diagnostic system that monitors body movement and breathing pattern, plus anti-snore technology which detects vibration caused by snoring and tilts the bed to encourage you to stop. Read More
JVC's wood cone speakers
By Darren Quick
16:25 January 2, 2008 PST
January 3, 2008 Now available in a range of audio systems, JVC wood cone speakers deliver acoustic characteristics unavailable with other materials by utilizing the combination of high sound propagation speed and natural vibration attenuation (internal loss) that enable the speakers to naturally reproduce a wide frequency range. While conventional paper cones spread sound at the same speed in all directions, causing unnatural resonant points with limited frequency response, wood cones produce few resonant points because of the grain, so frequency response is improved and sound quality is enhanced. Read More
PS3 gets DivX/XviD playback - we put it to the test
By Tim Hanlon
17:29 December 19, 2007 PST
The PlayStation 3 firmware update 2.10 arrived yesterday, adding Blu-ray Disc Profile 1.1 support, and more importantly, XviD and DivX playback. We recently brought you the low down on XviD/DivX playback on the Xbox 360, and now we've spent another strenuous morning watching videos - here's our report on Sony's implementation. Read More
Waterfall Audio's striking glass loudspeakers
21:37 December 17, 2007 PST
December 18, 2007 Waterfall Audio has unveiled two examples of its stunning glass loudspeaker enclosures destined for the American market ahead of the debut of its unique line at the 2008 Consumer Electronics Show (CES). Named after two famous waterfalls in Africa and South America, the Victoria EVO and Iguasçu EVO models consist of slender, hand-crafted glass towers designed to convey the impression of floating speakers with internal “stretched” driver wiring utilized to keep heavy speaker-cabling at floor level and further enhance the clean, elegant impact of the showpiece enclosures. Read More
Meridian/Ferrari collaboration yields versatile, all-in-one home entertainment system
By Darren Quick
15:26 December 13, 2007 PST
December 14, 2007 Combining the acoustic and electrical engineering smarts of Meridian Audio with the materials and composites technology expertise of Ferrari, the Meridian F80 is an eye-catching, all-in-one portable home entertainment system that delivers high-end sound and exceptional versatility. Its sculptured, high-tech enclosure design with a deep gloss lacquered finish house an FM/AM and DAB radio, CD player, DVD player and 80 watt, 2.1 digital loudspeaker system and yes - it's available in Ferrari's signature red. Read More
Xbox 360 gets DivX/XviD playback, we put it to the test
By Tim Hanlon
17:08 December 4, 2007 PST
The Xbox 360 Fall Dashboard Update arrived overnight, and added a long list of new functionality - although the one thing most people are interested in is the relatively unexpected arrival of DivX/XviD playback. We've spent the morning messing about with it to bring you the lowdown... because we figured your boss wouldn't call watching videos "work." Read More
Acoustically transparent home cinema screens from SmX
By Darren Quick
16:27 December 2, 2007 PST
December 3, 2007 SmX Cinema Solutions has unveiled a range of innovations aimed at bringing the technology Hollywood uses to produce the movies into the living room. Foremost is a line of audio-transparent screens created with a proprietary, patent-pending material called CineWeave HD that keeps speakers hidden from view while retaining high projected image quality and allowing audio to pass through without distortion. Delivering 160° hotspot-free viewing angles and edge-to-edge image brighness regardless of seating position, CineWeave screens are available in sizes up to a whopping 270x112.5-inches. Read More
John M
- November 25, 2009 @ 17:19 UTC
