Video


Posted by flung in Media Players and Netflix and Online Video and Video02 Jul 2008 11:03 pm

roku netflix player It looks like there might be more to the Roku Netflix Player than just Netflix content. According to Roku’s Vice President of Consumer Products, Tim Twerdahl, additional content partners will be coming to Netflix Player which makes the $99 price even more attractive than ever before. Of course Mr. Twerdahl didn’t elaborate on who these providers might be but one could imagine YouTube videos coming to the player as well as other free services out there. Of course, it’s not far fetched to imagine additional paid services coming to the player so who knows? But.. the truth is, I’d be perfectly happy if Netflix were to offer streaming HD content with the player.

Finally, don’t forget about the rumors that Netflix might be coming to either the Xbox 360 console or the Sony PlayStation 3.

[Check it out]

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Posted by flung in Computer Systems and Computers and LCD displays02 Jul 2008 03:08 pm

eMachines rolled out several new products today for the back-to-school season including three new value-oriented desktop PCs and two new widescreen LCD displays.

The new systems are the eMachines T3656, T5274, and W3653. All three machines have:

  • SuperMulti DVD drive
  • 15 in 1 digital media card reader
  • Six USB ports
  • 6 channel HD audio and amplified stereo speakers
  • Preloaded with Microsoft Works 9.0
  • Windows Vista with Service Pack 1

The T3656 features:

t3656

  • Intel Celeron processor
  • 1GB RAM
  • 160GB HDD
  • MSRP of $299.99

The T5274 features:

t5274

  • Intel Pentium Dual-Core processor
  • 2GB RAM
  • 320GB SATA II HDD
  • MSRP of $399.99

The W3653 features:

w3653

  • Intel Celeron Dual Core processor
  • 1GB RAM
  • 320GB SATA II HDD
  • 17 inch widescreen LCD display
  • MSRP of $498

On the display front, there are two new eMachines widescreen LCD displays - a 17 inch widescreen LCD and a 19 inch widescreen LCD.

The 17 inch model E17T6W features:

e17t6w

  • 1440 x 900 resolution
  • 600:1 contrast ratio
  • 8ms response time
  • MSRP of $189.99

The 19 inch model E19T6W features:

e19t6w

  • 1440 x 900 resolution
  • 800:1 contrast ratio
  • 5ms response time
  • DVI with HDCP
  • MSRP of $209.99

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Posted by flung in HDTV and LCD Televisions and Panasonic and Plasma Televisions01 Jul 2008 11:58 pm

panasonic concierge Are you a Panasonic LCD HDTV owner who’s a bit jealous of fellow Panasonic HD plasma owners who have the Plasma Concierge free customer support program? Well there’s no longer a need to be jealous! Panasonic has announced that they’ve extended the free Concierge program to both Panasonic Plasma and LCD HDTV owners and have as such renamed the program the Panasonic VIERA Concierge program.

The VIERA program includes a toll-free customer support line, provides Panasonic HDTV owners with quick access to technical support via the web, phone, or in-home service as well as access to Panasonic’s HDTV loaner program. The HDTV loaner program provides HDTV loaners at no charge to customers who have their plasma or LCD in for repair (a bit like car loaners)

Once you become part of the VIERA Concierge program, you’ll receive a Concierge Benefits Card which provides a customer ID and a dedicated toll-free telephone number.

This move makes complete sense in the big picture as more and more Panasonic customers opt for LCD HDTV sets and not Plasma based sets.

[Check it out]

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Posted by flung in Blu-ray and CD/DVD Burners01 Jul 2008 10:50 pm

blu-ray for mac Are you looking to add a Blu-ray drive to your Mac system? Check out MCE Technologies new 6X Blu-ray Internal Recordable Drive for the Apple Mac Pro and Power Mac systems. This drive supports both 25GB single layer and 50GB dual layer Blu-ray discs - achieving 6X writing speeds for 25GB discs and 4X writing speeds for 50GB discs. Other features of this drive include:

  • Support for all other DVD and CD recordable media formats
  • Supports LightScribe technology
  • 4MB buffer
  • Built-in underrun protection

Now for a bit of irony. While the drive is completely compatible with OS X, you won’t be able to watch any Blu-ray movies because OS X has no built-in support for Blu-ray movie playback as of yet. Thus - you’ll have to boot into Windows to watch Blu-ray movies. If you want to burn data though, you’ll have no problems within OS X.

The MCE Technogies 6X Blu-ray drive goes for $499 and comes with a 25GB Blu-ray BD-RE rewritable disc. For $599, you’ll get the drive along with Toast 9 Titanium + Toast BD/HD plug-in software. Finally, for $1295.00, you’ll get the drive and Adobe Premiere Pro CS3.

[Check it out via  TUAW]

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Posted by flung in HDTV and LCD Televisions and Western Digital30 Jun 2008 08:34 pm

Got some Westinghouse Digital PR materials today via e-mail and I thought I’d pass it along to all of you. The company has two LCD based HDTV sets that might interest someone looking for a new display at home. One is a full HD 42 inch LCD panel while the other is a much smaller 16 inch flip-style LCD display perfect for environments like the kitchen.

First up - there’s the Westinghouse TX-42F430S:

WDE_TX-42F430S_lifestyle

  • 1080p resolution (1920×1080)
  • Built-in ATSC/NTSC/ClearQAM tuner
  • All inputs support 1080p including component
  • 5000:1 contrast ratio
  • Four HDMI inputs
  • Automatic source detection and switching
  • Built-in 5 band equalizer
  • Energy Saving Mode
  • Advanced Video Adjustments
  • Measures 42.2 x 29 x 10.5 inches and weighs 68.1 lbs

Now if you’re looking to hang up a display in the kitchen, then you should check out the Westinghouse PT-16H610S display. Features include:

WDE_PT-16H610S_lifestyle

  • Dual-hinged flip-style design
  • Can sit on counter-top, be mounted on a wall, or on the bottom of a cabinet
  • Full 180 degree rotation of the front bezel
  • 1080p HDMI input support
  • 1366 x 768 resolution with 16.7 million color support
  • 500:1 contrast ratio
  • 90 degree horizontal viewing angle and 65 degree vertical viewing angle
  • Measures 15 x 11.3 x 7 inches and weighs 7.7 lbs

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Posted by flung in HDMI and Receivers and Sony28 Jun 2008 03:37 pm

Sony has three new receiver models for their ES (Elevated Series) lineup of A/V receivers which are typically targeted for high end home theater environments. The new models are the STR-DA4400ES, STR-DA3400ES, and STR-DA2400ES. These new receivers feature 1080/24p support, support for the latest audio codecs, and Faroudja DCDi Cinema technology for video upscaling up to 1080p when connected via HDMI. Other features include the xross media bar inspired user interface, Sony’s Digital Cinema Auto Calibration system for easy surround sound setup, Sony’s DIGITAL MEDIA PORT, and BRAVIA Sync support.

The STR-DA4400ES features the following:

STR-DA4400ES_lg

STR-DA4400ES_Back_med

  • 7.1 channel receiver
  • 120 watt amp (8 ohms, 20 Hz - 20 kHz, 0.09 percent THD)
  • Six HDMI inputs (gotta love that!)
  • DSD decoding through HDMI
  • HD video distribution to a second zone
  • Audio distribution to three zones
  • Picture-in-picture for monitoring of multi-zone output or an external video source
  • Available in August for $1500

The STR-DA3400ES features the following:

STR-DA3400ES_lg

STR-DA3400ES_Back_lg

  • 7.1 channel receiver
  • 100 watt power amp (8 ohms, 20 Hz - 20 kHz, 0.09 percent THD)
  • Four HDMI inputs (not too bad)
  • 12 volt trigger
  • IR repeater
  • HD video distribution to a second zone (composite)
  • Available in August for $1000

The STR-DA2400ES features the following:

STR-DA2400ES_lg

STR-DA2400ES_Back_lg

  • 7.1 channel receiver
  • 100 watt power amp (8 ohms, 20 Hz – 20 kHz, 0.09 percent THD)
  • Basic icon-driven GUI
  • Four HDMI inputs
  • Available in July for $800

[Check it out]

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Posted by flung in HDTV and Plasma Televisions and Vizio26 Jun 2008 10:50 am

VIZIO_VP322

VIZIO_VP422

VIZIO also announced two new plasma display at incredible prices - the 32 inch model VP322 for $599 and the 42 inch model VP422 for a mere $799. Both models offer 720p resolutions, 30,000:1 contrast ratio, multiple color temperature settings, independent red/green/blue adjustments, component input, PC input, and three HDMI inputs. To top things off, both models also come with a built-in ATSC/QAM/NTSC tuner for over-the-air reception. The new models are available now in Wal-Mart locations nationwide.

[Check it out]

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Posted by flung in HDTV and LCD Televisions and Plasma Televisions and Vizio26 Jun 2008 10:00 am

VIZIO updated their flat panel lineup yesterday with the introduction of a new product line called the XVT Series. Three new HDTV sets were introduced as part of this new series - two new LCD panels and one new Plasma panel.  On the LCD front, there’s the new SV420XVT and the SV47XVT, both of which feature a new black/grey lava look as well as 120Hz processing. On the plasma front, there’s the new VP505XVT which comes with 1080p resolutions and HQV processing. Let’s get into some of the details.

VIZIO_SV420XVT

VIZIO_SV470XVT

For the VIZIO SV470XVT and SV420XVT LCDs:

  • VIZIO Smooth Motion technology (120Hz rates)
  • 1080p resolution
  • 6500:1 contrast ratio
  • SRS Labs TruSurround XT audio processing
  • Compatible with VIZIO SV5.1 Upgrade Kit
  • Brushed aluminum trimmed VUR8 Universal Learning Remote with PIP keys
  • Four HDMI inputs (2 on side and 2 in rear)
  • The SV420XVT has an MSRP of $1499.99 while the SV470XVT has an MSRP of $1899.99
  • Available in July

VIZIO_VP505XVT

For the VIZIO VP505XVT:

  • Silicon Optix REON HQV
  • 1080p support
  • Integrated HD/QAM tuner
  • 30,000:1 contrast ratio
  • 60,000 to 100,000 hours to half original brightness
  • SRS Labs TruSurround XT
  • Compatible with VIZIO SV5.1 Upgrade Kit
  • New Brandy Wine colored speaker grill
  • Four HDMI inputs (2 side and 2 rear)
  • Includes 6 foot HDMI cable
  • Available in July for $1699.99

[Check it out]

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Posted by flung in Apple iPod and HDTV and JVC and LCD Televisions25 Jun 2008 12:41 am

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So let’s see - we’ve got iPod docks all over the place these days. We have standalone iPod docks, we have iPod docks as part of speaker systems, we have iPod docks as part of portable speaker systems or even boom boxes. Yes.. we have iPod docks integrated into LCD displays also and yes.. we have iPod dock stands for standalone A/V receivers. THUS, it would only make sense for someone to come out with an LCD HDTV that comes with an integrated iPod dock. That’s exactly what JVC did last week with the introduction of four new HDTV sets - three of which offer full HD resolutions. The new iPod dock is called the TeleDock and it’s a flip-down iPod dock located at the base of the TV set providing a direct connection for playback on the TV set.

The four new models are the 32-inch LT-32P679, 42-inch LT-42P789, 47-inch LT-47P789 and the 52-inch LT-52P789. The LT-32P679 is only model NOT a 1080p model (offering what JVC calls 768 p resolution).

Once you dock an iPod to the JVC HDTV set, a menu will appear on the television screen allowing you to control playback on the iPod. The iPod can also be controlled by the TV’s remote control which includes a circular keypad that has a control scheme similar to the iPod’s control wheel.

Other features on the new sets include:

  • Displays song title and artist name during music playback
  • During video playback, low resolution files can be displayed in a small screen mode. Higher resolution video files can be shown in nine aspect modes
  • You can also play music during television programming
  • Universal remote control
  • New on-screen menu system
  • Side-mounted USB photo viewer
  • ATSC/QAM tuner
  • Three HDMI inputs, two component inputs, one S-video input, SPDIF input and analog audio output
  • 10 watts per channel speaker system

Prices are as follows: LT-32P679 has an MSRP of $999.99; the LT-42P789 has an MSRP of $1599.99; the LT-47P789 has an MSRP of $2199.99; the LT-52P789 has an MSRP of $3199.99. All but the LT-52P789 are available now. The LT-52P789 will be coming out in August.

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[Check it out]

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Posted by flung in HDTV and JVC and LCD Televisions25 Jun 2008 12:09 am

JVC LT_42SL89_1

Ah the race for the world’s thinnest display - does it really matter if your display is 50 mm or say.. 70mm thick? I suppose for bragging rights it does to some companies. In any event, JVC plans on introducing the world’s thinnest LCDs with built-in tuners in July as part of their Procision series of HDTV sets. The new slim sets measure 1.5 inches or 39 mm deep and have a maximum depth of 2.9 inches or 74 mm. There will be two screen sizes available - the 42 inch LT-42SL89 and the 46 inch LT-46SL89 - with both offering full HD resolutions at 1920 x 1080.

According to JVC, the new thin bezel was made possible thanks to a new JVC developed slim panel backJVC, LT-42SLlight unit and power supply substrate or chassis. The new backlight unit is 40 percent smaller in depth and bezel width compared to conventional LCD backlight units.

Now reducing the depth of the backlight means CCFL light sources are closer to the panel than ever before which can result in uneven hot spots appearing on the display. To overcome this problem, JVC has optimized the light diffusing plates and light reflection sheets and improved the overall composition resulting in a more uniform light-diffusion at all corners and edges without the need for more CCFL tubes.

Other features include:

  • Three HDMI inputs
  • Two component inputs
  • One S-Video input
  • PC input
  • Front touch-sensor controls
  • Headphone jack
  • USB picture viewer
  • Illuminated universal remote control

The LT-42SL89 will be available in July for $1899.99. The LT-46SL89 will also be available in July for $2399.99

[Check it out via Akihabara News]

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