InterActive Home: June 2005 Archives

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Style for audiophiles: KEF’s KHT 6000 ACE speakers

Speaker specialist KEF has announced a high-end audiophile speaker set that puts the emphasis on style. Kht6000_roomThe KHT 6000 ACE speakers are designed to fit right in with your skinny plasma or LCD and work as well on the wall, as on the ground. These ultra-slim speakers use KEF’s ACE technology to allow them to generate the kind of bass associated with much bigger speakers. Kht6000_groupThe Uni-Q driver technology employed in the centre speaker and satellites is designed to give a wider dispersion of sound beyond the 'sweet spot' and produce crisper dialogue. They look good and come with price to match. A set of five will set you back around £1,400-£1,500. See here for full details. 

2-inch projector from Sony

Projectors are destined to get smaller and lighter as Sony seems keen to point out with the new VPL-CX20 LCD projector. Sony_vplcx20_2in_projectorAimed at the home and mobile presentation market it will sport a £1,000 price tag. It measures an anorexic 2ins high and weighs in at 1.9Kg. It has a brightness of 2000 Lumens which is more than enough for home cinema use and a good XGA resolution of 1024x768, making it capable of throwing up high-definition (HD) video images without any scaling. Full specs here.


Samsung's IT-friendly home cinema kit

Samsung is claiming a world’s first with the launch of two all-in-one home cinema systems that will allow you to play DVDs, MPEG and DivX video, digital music and photo files directly from portable hard drives. Samsung_htup30A very handy feature indeed considering the wide range of storage devices in use by people today. Just hook up your device to the USB 2.0 port and off you go. It also saves you the cost and clutter of investing in really long cables to connect your TV to your PC. Samsung_http33The HT-UP30 boasts a progressive scan DVD player, four 75W satellite speakers, an 80W centre speaker and 120W subwoofer. The HT-TP33 is essentially the same but with floor-standing speakers. The HT-UP30 costs £158 here while the HT-TP33 costs £215 here.


3-D movies back from the dead

3-D glasses and movies are largely rubbish. They always were and mostly, still are – last year’s Spy Kids 3-D anyone? However, Disney and Dolby think there’s life in the dead horse yet. Chickenlittle03Chicken Little will be the first movie from Disney to boast it’s new computer-generated technology and in order to make sure the movie (and the technology) doesn’t bomb, it has teamed up with Dolby and Industrial Light & Magic (ILM). Disney will put Dolby’s Digital Cinema sound system in 100 cinemas and ILM will render the movie in 3D so it can be played on the Dolby servers. As expected, everyone is very excited about the this new, generation of 3-D movie experience. Polarised_3d_glasses_with_armsApparently, the glasses will be more comfortable than the bits of cardboard with plastic film we have come to love so well over the years. Great, but it would be nice if they actually worked.


Record 24hrs of TV on a single disc

Throw away those video tapes. Pioneer has launched three new hard disk drive DVD recorders, claiming they are the first to let you record up to 24hrs of TV on a Dual Layer (DL) DVD-R disc. Pioneer_dh433_dvd_hdd_recorderBlank DL DVD-R discs can hold up to 8.5Gb of content, compared to the more common, single-sided 4.7Gb DVD-R discs. Pioneer’s own MPEG encoder technology promises 3hrs 30mins of full resolution video on single-sided DVD-R and 6hrs on a dual-layer disc. The three slimline DVD recorders are the DVR-433H, DVR-530H and DVR-630H with 80Gb, 160Gb, and 250Gb hard drives, respectively. In real terms, that’s up to 227, 445 and 711hrs of video recording – at the lowest resolution though. Prices not yet out but expect them to range from £350 to £600.

Sagem's 56in DLP TV stunner

Sagem has taken the wraps off it’s biggest DLP TV yet. The 56in Axium HD-D56B uses DLP technology – more common in projectors – to display images on the screen. DLP TVs are like lightweight (c. 45kgs) and slimmed down (16ins deep) versions of older rear-projection TVs but with much better quality.Sagem_dlp_tv They also tend to be significantly cheaper than plasma and LCDs. From a technical standpoint the advantages over plasma and LCD TVs include almost no blurring of moving images, no screen burn from channel logos or gaming, or loss of brightness. It also boasts a lamp lifetime of 100,000 hours – significantly more than plasma and LCD. Even then, you can replace the lamp, just like in projectors. Contrast levels are 3000:1, it has a DVI connection and a resolution of 1280x720, which makes it capable of reproducing high-definition DVD or TV signals. Available now it costs £2,650 (without stand) here.

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Logitech offers wireless music freedom

PC peripheral specialist Logitech is targeting the lifestyle set with its Wireless Headphones for iPod. Just plug the wireless adapter into your iPod and the headphones promise you a range of around 10 metres. Logitech_wireless_ipod_headphones_1At 3.5oz they are reasonably lightweight and sport integrated iPod controls on the side for volume, play/pause and track jumping. The headphones use Bluetooth 1.2 technology and Logitech claims its adaptive frequency hopping helps eliminate radio interference. Wireless headsets are not known for their supreme audio reproduction, though. Keep a lookout for first reviews or test them for quality – if possible – before handing over a somewhat steep £80-£90. Full details here and they are due in the UK next month.

Sneak peek at Denon's latest AV kit

There’s only one thing more desirable than home entertainment technology just launched and that’s stuff just around the corner. Audio-separates specialist Denon, is flashing previews of its next foray into the AV market on its website. These follow on from the successful and highly rated DHT-M330DV entry-level all-in-one home cinema offering (pictured).Denon_dhtm330dv_silver The S-101 is also an all-in-one home cinema offering and from what we can see it looks very sleek indeed. As well as the new-look slim speakers, the S-101 is a departure from the typical boxy/straight line approach. As usual with Denon though the look is clean and clinical. It's also surprisingly uncluttered. Due this summer there are no prices or actual availability dates but when we know, so will you. 

Midget MP3 players target iPod Shuffle

How small does an Mp3 player need to be? Very, if you are NHJ with it’s colourful v@mp c@ndi series. Candi_1_1They measure in at a minuscule 4.2 x 2.7 x 1.5cm and weigh 17g. That makes them smaller and lighter than the iPod Shuffle. Without a screen they also work in the same way, where you choose the playback track order when downloading your songs or let it do it for you. This rainbow selection of Flash-basedIpod_shuffle_gum_pic MP3 players, which unfortunately look like Bic lighters, come in 128Mb, 256Mb, 512Mb and 1Gb sizes. The iPod Shuffle has a claimed battery life of 12 hours. So, if the v@mp c@ndis have no screens and are lighter and smaller than the iPod Shuffle, why is the battery life a miserable 5 hours? Prices from £30.


Radical TVs from Hannspree

When it comes to novelty TVs, few make them as odd as Hannspree. Hannspree_sheepThe company that brought us the sheep TV and the baseball TV is now set to release it’s ‘Lifestyle’ range. Echoing interior design and contemporary styling the company promises TVs with personality. Hannspree_lifestyle_tvThere are three ranges entitled Style, Fantasy and Sports. This covers TVs built around everything from cellos, teddy bears and Cinderella to the curved shape of sailing masts, footballs and racing cars. Whether you find it quirky, or the TV-equivalent of personalised number plates, tune in here for more details. Available online from October with prices ranging from $499 to $1,399. See just how odd your TV can be. 


Bruce Lee in your living room

Ever fancied combining your inner Shaolin monk with your love for the latest in digital lifestyle technology? If so, then the aptly-named Kickass Kung Fu is for you. BruceleeThink of those electronic dance pads your kids hop around on to music and then multiply that a thousand-fold. Using a 5-metre padded base, cameras and electronics  your moves are translated to the character on screen and exaggerated to the point of Matrix-like proportions. Flykick1Little hops become gravity-defying leaps and even your amateur chop-socky can demolish your digital foe in devastating style. For anyone that has ever pulled Bruce Lee poses in front of a mirror and squealed like a mewling cat, your time has come.

Pioneer’s bargain universal DVD player

We just got finished covering the launch of the world’s most expensive universal DVD player from Teac and now we have one of the most affordable.Pioneer_2850_dvd The DV-585A sits at the top of a trio of new slim DVD players from Pioneer. It’s a progressive scan DVD player that also supports DivX, and DVD Audio and SACD playback for just £130. That’s a great price for a big brand and a great way to check out what these new high-definition audio formats can bring to your home entertainment paradise. The DVD-585A is also joined by the DV-2850 and DV-380 progressive scan DVD players, coming in at around £80.

Power up the Active Home

Although wireless connectivity may be very liberating, allowing the user to surf the web on the sofa, in bed or in the garden it does zap the power of your laptop.

Very soon that exhilarating feeling of having broadband next to the barbie is lost as you either have to: a) plug in your laptop or b) wear a bandoleer of spare batteries and look like a poor imitation of Vin Diesel.

Well help is at hand in the form of the Universal Notebook Battery launched today in the UK by vendor APC.Universalnotebookbattery

Weighing a paltry 2lb, the battery is ideal for travellers as it will last eight hours and allow you to comfortably watch your favourite DVDs on the plane. Similarly it will allow you to catch the rays as you catch up on your emails in the garden.

"Your laptop sees the battery as mains power," according to APC's director of consumer business Paul Tyrer. " As we see more and more technology in the home, we will increasingly need more and more mobility products to support the digital lifestyle," Tyrer added.

For early adopters, the price could be a bit steep for some at an estimated price of £200 notes but it will pay for itself every time you end up in economy on the plane and the only film on offer is The Pacifier with, you guessed it: Vin Diesel.

APC has also launched today a new line of surge protection for the home to protect your precious plasmas and PS2s from power surges, spikes and lightening.

Surge_2Ranging from £8 to £30 notes its one of those purchases that reminds us of insurance. Don't buy one and you could be hurting later.

 

Teac’s £10,000 DVD player

We can safely say that the UX-1 universal DVD player from AV specialist Teac sits at the luxury end of the home entertainment spectrum. Teac_ux1This pricey addition to the Esoteric series is capable of playing back DVD Video, DVD Audio and SACD, and a lot more besides. As well as supporting all of the major sound formats, it boasts a lip-syncing feature to correct dodgy audio transfers on DVD movies and a speaker configuration tool that computes and adjusts your surround sound set-up. There’s a lot more on offer, and for £10,000, you’d hope so. More technical details here. Available in the UK from Symmetry Systems.

 

iRiver’s tiny U10 video player

iRiver has made a name for itself in the MP3 arena and with the launch of the tiny, U10 it’s hoping to take a slice of the Flash-based video market. U10aIn terms of design, the U10 is faultless, with the cradle designed to hold it looking like a mini-TV. It sports a 2.2in screen and comes in 512Mb and 1GB versions.  The drawback with Flash though is that it will limit the amount of video you can watch. U10It can deal with MPEG 4 and Macromedia Flash format video, photos, text, mini-Flash games, MP3s and WMA files among others. It has a voice recorder and FM tuner and comes with a slinky little white remote that more than dips its hat towards Apple. No prices or UK availability yet but watch this space. More details and pics here

Sky to offer movie downloads

Sky is feeling the pressure from its cable rivals by announcing that it will soon let customers download movies directly to their PCs, for replay on their TVs or displays. Batman_posterThis is the first Sky service that will not use it’s satellite service because big fat movies need big fat broadband connections to receive them. You will need your own broadband and PC to download them. Customers that have Sky’s Premier package will get it for free. A Sports version is also planned offering highlights, interviews, archive and news footage. However, with just 200 movies on offer, made up of new and ‘classic’ (aka 'old') movies, Sky is hardly diving into the video-on-demand sector. Rival HomeChoice already offers 1,000. More detail here.

The world’s coolest speakers?

Speakers come in many shapes in sizes but these ones are quite special. Uvola_4_colorsApart from their  egg-shape the U-Speakers from Italian vendor U-Vola, are designed to be suspended from special stands or from your ceiling using steel wire. They literally float in your living room like some leftover pods from a Diarmuid Gavin garden. Uvolaartedition_1U-Vola claims that the rigid material used in the construction of the speakers, coupled with the curved design, minimises problems common to many box-shaped speakers, such as internal resonance, vibrations and wall-to-speaker interference. Suspending them from wires also cancels out any contact vibration. They come in many colours and now there is even an Art Edition series. They cost around £2,500 a pair – and that’s just for the plain ones. Find a UK dealer here.

AverMedia tunes into digital set-top box market

AverMedia is pushing into the digital set-top box arena with its DVB-T STB7 product. It follows hot on the heels of it’s launch of the world’s first hybrid analogue/digital TV tuner for PCs. Avermedia_stb7The snappily-named DVB-T STB7 hooks up to your TV or LCD display and lets you receive free-to-air terrestrial TV channels and radio signals, via a UHF aerial. There is high resolution support of 1280 x 1024 and it boasts a picture-in-picture mode for when you need to work, but not miss the cricket. It features a seven-day programme guide and a nine-channel preview function. Additional kit includes audio and VGA cables and a remote control. It costs £100.   

Philips' stylish GoGear MP3 player

Philips is targeting the designer end of the Flash-based MP3 market with the GoGear SA178. Philips_gogear_1It’s small and good looking, thanks to a very sleek mirrored surface and two-colour OLED screen. The battery life is claimed to be 12 hours for playback of MP3 and WMA files. It also comes with an FM tuner and voice recorder. Download songs via USB 2.0. It’s expected to come in at around £70, which is a little expensive for a 512Mb player, but it does look significantly better than some of the no-name brands knocking about.

Revolver aims for AV market

UK speaker manufacturer Revolver Audio continues to expand into home entertainment with the release of a new range of speakers and a 300 Watt subwoofer. Revolver_avfThe AudioVue range is made up of the AVS subwoofer, AVC centre speaker, AVR bookshelf and AVF floor-stander. All speakers are fully shielded and feature 26mm metal dome tweeters and twin 75mm midrange drive units. The cost, per pair, is: AVF £999 and AVR £499. The AVC centre speaker comes in at £249 while the 300W subwoofer is £499. There is also a home cinema package comprising two AVFs, two AVRs and one AVC for £1,600 – a saving of £250. 

Futuristic headset with extreme close-up

How would you like to be just 1in from a 30in LCD TV? It doesn’t sound like the best viewing position but then again we are talking about the CNGTek MPEC portable video player with video headset.Cngtek_glasses The player can hook up to your laptop, console or DVD player as well as access MP3s, video, or photos stored on SD Cards. Cnktek_mpecThe player can record voice and 30 minutes of high quality video. The image, when the MPEC Glasses are on, is allegedly the equivalent of viewing a 30in TV from 6ft away. The headset also comes with virtual surround sound support. Video headsets have a chequered past in terms of performance so the smart shopper would find one to test before spending $650.

KEF gets clever with iQ speakers

KEF is set to overhaul its midrange speaker offerings with the launch of the iQ series. Kef_referenceThere are eight new models that will replace the audio specialist’s Q series, ranging from the entry-level iQ1 bookshelf speaker to the iQ9 floor-stander. Prices will start at £229 and run to £799. All models will feature the latest upgrades to KEF’s Uni-Q driver technology. The result is a Uni-Q driver array that KEF claims gives the speakers better bass response, sweeter top-end sound and lower distortion. The speakers will be decked out in black ash, dark apple, maple, silver and walnut finishes. In the design department, expect them to look a little like the high-end, KEF Reference series. Read the full release here.


Mustek PL510: DVDs on the move

Portable DVD players are growing in popularity and quality. Early products offered poor battery life and small screens with dodgy image quality. Things have moved on somewhat in the past six months.Mustek_pl510_portable_dvd Mustek’s PL510 comes in at the larger-end of this market with a 10in widescreen TFT screen, progressive scan output and Dolby Digital 5.1 sound for hooking up to a surround speaker set-up. It supports DVD, DVD+R, DVD-R, DVD+RW, DVD-RW, CD, CD-R, CD-RW and can display JPEG photos. There are two headphone jacks and a rechargeable battery – although with a somewhat disappointing two and a half hours worth of juice. Just as well it comes with a car adapter. It has an official price tag of £280 but you can find it cheaper here. There is also a PL510T version with integrated TV tuner.

JVC promises Hollywood at home

The latest offering from JVC in the home cinema stakes is it’s £5,500 DLA-HX2E projector, aimed squarely at the high-end of the market. Most projectors today are based on either LCD or the increasingly popular DLP technology. Jvc_hx_series2The DLA-HX2E is based on JVC’s own Direct Drive Image Light Amplifier technology (D-ILA) which, like DLP, uses reflection. Unlike DLP technology, JVC is the only one using it. That generally makes it more expensive than rival offerings. The DLA-HX2E is a three–chip widescreen projector – one for each primary colour – and offers an image resolution of 1400x788 pixels. It has a contrast of 1500:1, brightness of 500 lumens and a decent selection of connectivity options. It also boasts an in-built HDCP decoder for displaying high definition content in the form of digital broadcasts and high definition DVDs.

ntl expands On Demand TV rollout

If you like being in control of your TV viewing then take it one step further and choose exactly what you want and when. TV and video on demand is big in the US but is just starting to take off in the UK. Cable operator ntl, has just rolled out its On Demand service to Nottingham and Belfast.Ntl_2 Other areas covered include Glasgow, Mansfield, Newark, Melton, Chesterfield and Lincoln. It’s now available to 250,000 ntl users, which ntl claims makes it the biggest service outside the US. Obviously, it costs to view each programme so telly addicts beware. Advertising-free kids programmes cost 20-50p, movies range from 50p ‘classics’ to £2 for recent releases, and music videos start at 30p. Telewest is set to launch a rival offering soon and HomeChoice is already up and running.

Xbox 360 sales to top 10 million units in first year

Console madness is almost upon us again and Microsoft is talking up a storm at the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA) summit in London today. Microsoft, which is desperate to close the gap with Sony’s PlayStation, is bragging that it will ship roughly 10 million of its upcoming Xbox 360 consoles in just 12-16 months.Xbox_360_big Despite taking over three and a half years to shift around 20 million Xbox consoles, Microsoft is very bullish - or desperate – to use it’s six-month lead over the arrival of the Sony PlayStation 3 to claw back some ground. Shipments of the PS2 recently topped 90 million. The Xbox 360 is due before Christmas and will cost between £180-£200. For the best Xbox 360 gallery go here while those confused about which console will win what and when, can see what the experts think

HP's iPaq phone due on July 1

Handheld devices might be old hat but handheld/phones - or smartphones - are very desirable for organising your digital lifestyle. You can have handhelds with phone functionality or phones with handheld functionality. Ipaq_6500They come in all shapes and sizes, prices and levels of functionality. HP’s iPaq 6515 Mobile Messenger is the latest high-end challenger and will launch officially on July 1. The device, which looks uncannily like its rivalTreo_650_1 the Treo 650 from palmOne and the Blackberry 7100v, offers GSM/GPRS/EDGE technologies, built-in camera, keyboard and GPS. It runs Microsoft Windows Mobile 2003 software and has pocket editions of Word, Excel, Outlook and Internet Explorer. It will weigh in at 160g and, like it’s Treo rival, is expected to cost around £400-£450. Click to see Dave's first impressions.

Turn your table into a speaker

How would you like to be able to transform any flat surface into a speaker? The latest offering in this sector is called the Freedom Speaker and is designed to project a virtual surround across any flat surface, like your table. Freedom_driverThis small USB device hooks up to a laptop and when placed in the centre of the table it’s meant to emit a clear sound to all listeners. At the recent Computex 2005 Show, Sinbon Electronics showed off a similar product called the Qvoix speaker system for playing phone-based MP3s.Qvoix What’s more, this one comes with an in-built microphone. This lets you hook up to your mobile phone and turn any call into a hands-free conference call. See a quick preview here.


Optoma’s budget DLP projector keeps you healthy

Getting the big picture at home need not break the bank. Optoma, makers of the highly-acclaimed entry-level Themescene H30A DLP projector, are coming on strong again with the H27. H27_projectorAt around £700, if you hunt around on the Web, this budget projector offers a lot for your money. It uses the DarkChip2 DLP technology from Texas Instruments and has a brightness of 850 Lumens – which is fine as long as you can control the ambient light in the room. It has a six-segment colour wheel, 2,500:1 contrast ratio and a native 16:9 widescreen image with a resolution of 854 x 480. While the resolution is not as high as you would need for straight playback of high definition DVDs or broadcasts, it is more than enough for reproducing DVD quality. Most unusually, it features an air purifier that reduces “odours, bacteria and harmful hydrocarbon compounds in the air”. A projector that makes sitting down healthier? Sign us up.

Turn off the world with ER-6i earphones

If external noise really disrupts your listening pleasure, then you might want to take a look at the ER-6i earphones from Etymotic Research. Et6iThey will set you back around £100 but these odd, in-ear earphones have been designed with a flanged, foam head that creates a soundproof seal once inserted. With external sounds eliminated, you won’t have to compete with the engines of the Boeing 747 on your next trip abroad. Sound quality, by most accounts, is very good but you better be sure you insert them properly. Here is a guide on how to do it correctly. Innovative listening technology or world’s most expensive Q-Tip? For a user’s review go here

Cinemateq readies 50in plasma

Cinemateq, better known for its video-scaling products, is set to launch a high-end 50in plasma screen which is high definition TV (HDTV) ready. Cinemateq_50inThe HDTV market is the next big thing so every manufacturer is pushing HDTV-ready products. The CT-50 HD though is paired with the company’s Picture Optimizer Plus II SDI video scaler to boost images received from video and DVD sources. This means that you connect all your video sources to the scaler, not the plasma, so that whatever image is transferred to the screen is tweaked to improve what you actually see. Read more about scaling here. It is shipping now but there are no prices yet – it will not be cheap though as the scaler alone costs around £900.

Control your digital home from abroad

Just as the plane leaves the ground for your hols in Barbados, you remember that you’ve forgotten to turn off the heat and the lights. Isn’t it always the way? Remote_life_controllerWhat you need is a little black box called the Remote Life Home Controller. This hooks up to your lighting, security cameras, heating and electrical appliances, allowing you to control them from an Internet-enabled mobile phone, PDA or PC. In fact, you can actually dial-up your security cameras from the sun-lounger and have a look to see if your digital home is still safe and sound. That said, it costs around £900 so only the truly absent-minded, or paranoid, need apply. For other home automation goodies, go here.

Hauppauge joins 'hybrid' TV card race

Just like buses: nothing for an eternity and then suddenly there’s a convoy. Just days after AverMedia launched it’s ‘hybrid’ AverTV Hybrid+FM PCI card (scroll down) comes the WinTV HVR-1100 ‘hybrid’ from rival Hauppauge. Wintvhvr1100It supports Microsoft’s Windows Media Centre Edition (MCE) 2005 operating system, and allows PCs to receive both analogue and digital TV broadcasts. This area of the market is set to grow rapidly as the availability of digital broadcasts like Freeview, becomes more widespread in the UK. Even if digital broadcasts are not yet available in your area, the card will still receive regular analogue TV and is ready for digital when it appears. Due in mid-July, it will cost £79.99. 

 

JVC's matchbox MP3 players

JVC is going the cute route when it comes to its latest MP3 players. These matchbox-shaped players measure 2in square and weigh just 1.5oz. Jvc_xamp101Capable of playing both MP3 and WMA files, the JVC XA-MP101 (1GB) and XA-MP51 (512MB) models connect directly – thankfully - to the USB port on your laptop or PC without the need for any annoying software. There is a nice-sized LCD for navigation as well as a handy FM tuner and voice recorder. Colours will be limited to black, white and blue but as you can see from the photo, those lucky Japanese are getting the whole rainbow. Shipping next month, prices are expected to be around £80 and £110.

B&O wants your kitchens too

Bang & Olufsen (B&O), the high-end home entertainment company with breathtaking products and prices to match, is now out to control your kitchen too. BeovisionIt has teamed up with leading, contemporary kitchen designers Bulthaup to create a series of cutting edge multi-room environments complete with audio and video.Bulthaup We are a long way from B&Q here. It will not come cheap as Bulthaup kitchens can set you back a cool £35,000. And that’s before you add pricey B&O kit. Still, what’s £50,000 for the ability not to miss a single shot of the Open while you make a cuppa?

Digital TV and radio on the cheap

Not everyone needs, wants, is allowed or can afford a Media Center PC. If you already have a PC and want to receive and record regular analogue TV you just get a TV card. But what about digital TV signals? AverMedia thinks it has the answer with the AverTV Hybrid+FM PCI card. Hybridfm_pcia16aThis is one of the first cards out to offer support for analogue TV, digital terrestrial TV, FM radio and digital Radio. You can capture and record what you watch in MPEG1, 2 and 4 formats on your hard disk and then burn them to DVD. It also boasts a ‘Silent Record’ mode which AverMedia cheekily promotes as a way of recording TV at work without the boss finding out. Not something we would ever recommend, obviously. It costs £75.

Marantz pushes virtual surround envelope

Home audio specialist, Marantz, is in cahoots with some boffins at the Institute of Sound Vibration Research, University of Southampton, to create surround sound from just front speakers. The idea of virtual surround from front speakers, or even a single speaker, is not new but it is seen as a growing market opportunity. YamahaCurrent examples include KEF’s Instant Theatre – see review  - and the ground-breaking Yamaha YSP1 single speaker system. Kef_kit100_instant_theatre_3Whereas some virtual surround systems bounce the sound off walls or use filtering, Optimal Source Distribution Technology, or OPSODIS, is promising true 3D sound with no bouncing or filtering - and therefore no degradation of the original source material. Hard to believe but Marantz optimistically claims the breakthrough will rival the switch from mono to stereo sound. Early preview reports are less grand. Speakers boasting the new technology could be out within six months.

Invisible sound for audiophiles

When small, unobtrusive speakers are still ruining the look of your home, it’s time to go invisible. In-wall speakers are becoming increasingly popular with those that want their audio and home cinema without the clutter. Psb_cw800eAt the top end of the in-wall crowd is Canadian speaker specialist, PSB Speakers. The company has just launched it’s CW800E which weigh in at £1,850 a pair. Fully enclosed in a highly-braced wooden enclosure for easy installation, they are just 4in deep but promise the same performance as the company’s top-of-the-line Platinum floorstanding speakers, reviewed here. However, if you would like an in-wall set-up, but don’t plan on remortgaging your house to get it, check out some other options and prices here.

Big screen TVs drink like a fish

Has your electricity bill suddenly and inexplicably shot up? Bought a very big TV lately? US research is claiming that big TVs Plasma_screenare gulping up to 50 per cent more electricity than good old CRT TVs. The Natural Resources Defense Council across the pondShrek found that even similar-sized TVs could consume ‘drastically different amounts of power’. Using a two-minute clip of everyone’s friendly ogre, Shrek, the results were startling. One 50in plasma was estimated to use 679 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity per year. This compares with 387kWh per year for a 32in LCD with HDTV and 209kWh for a 34in analogue TV. So, once you’ve forked out £3,000 be prepared for your skinny TV to guzzle juice like a Bentley for the next five years.

Creative's wireless headphones offer comfort at a cost

If you have no ability to stream music from your MP3 player to your hi-fi, then what you need at home is a decent, comfortable pair of headphones.Creative_bluetooth_headset_1 If they are wireless, even better. Creative thinks its CB2530 Digital Wireless Headphones, using Bluetooth technology, will do the job. At over £100 though, giving your ears a rest from the hard plastic earplugs that accompany most MP3 players doesn’t come cheap. As long as your player has a 3.5mm headphone jack you can use them and two AAA batteries will give you 8-hours streaming. The set includes a Bluetooth audio transmitter and can be used up to 8.5 metres away from the source. Are they worth £105? Check one of the first reviews here.

LCDs for PCs and TV

LCDs that bridge the PC and TV markets with any success are rare. Planar Systems is hoping to do just that with its latest, high-end PX Line of LCD displays. Five new models have just been announced, ranging in size from from 17in to 23in. Planar_px212mbkAll models have fast response times of 8-10 milliseconds They also feature Planar’s RapidVideo accelerator to further reduce image lag or blurring when watching full-motion video - a problem common with certain LCD displays. The widescreen 23in model is well set-up for both PC and AV use, sporting digital video (DVI), s-video and composite video inputs alongside two USB sockets. Shipping from July prices will range from roughly £220 to £880.


'Free' portable DVD players from Hitachi

Hitachi is hoping to invade your living rooms this summer by offering a 'free' portable DVD player.Hitachi_pdv302 Obviously, you'll have to buy something first. As part of its global promotional tie-up with Steven Spielberg’s alien invasion blockbuster, War of the Worlds, Hitachi is giving away its PDV302  portable DVD player if you buy certain products. Waroftheworldsposter3_1Those include certain models of LCD/plasma TVs, projectors, camcorders and DVD recorders. The PDV302 has an in-built 7in LCD screen and stereo speakers and is worth around £180. There’s no detail yet on Hitachi’s various Web sites but the offer, like the Martians, does exist. You can find out what you need to do here.

 

DLP projectors get BrilliantColor

Texas Instruments, the creator of DLP projector technology, is set to dramatically increase the colour performance of future home projectors. Right now, most DLP projectors provide 3-colour processing – red, green and blue. Even on certain entry-level models in the £900-£1,000 range, colour reproduction can be excellent. Dlp_chipBut now Texas has announced BrilliantColor, a 6-colour processing technology that will add yellow, magenta and cyan to the mix, allowing for much brighter mid-level colour reproduction. The result will be even more realistic and vibrant colours. Expect to see most DLP projector brands announce models supporting BrilliantColor in the coming months. Mitsubishi has been the first to announce models but the shipping date is a disappointing six months out. The race is on and hopefully others will be faster to market.   

Wall-mounted projectors on the way

LG looks set to take projector technology for the home in a whole new direction. Most projectors sit on a coffee table or get bolted into the ceiling. The company’s proposed AN110 will offer the novel, third option of hanging it on your wall. This anorexic, shiny rectangle looks more like an LCD panel but is actually an innovative new projector and it got it’s first preview at big US AV event, Infocomm 2005.B_wallmountlg_1 It’s a 16:9 widescreen DLP projector, has a brightness of 1,100 lumens, a high contrast ratio of 3000:1 and numerous interconnect options including HDMI. It’s estimated lamp life of 4000-6000 is also good. LG expects to start production of this in September with a very competitive price tag of $2,000. We might see some here for Christmas. That said, having to wall-mount a projector will limit its appeal as many rooms will not be suitable. It’s also hard to say how it will actually perform technically since there is no detail yet on potential throw distances, projection angle, image size or zoom controls. Some more detail here.

Marantz kicks-off summer AV blitz

Home entertainment specialist Marantz, has just unveiled it’s new summer line-up, promising something for everyone’s budget. It consists of new AV receivers, DVD players, tuner, SACD player and integrated amplifiers and should hit the stores in the coming month. Marantz_sr9600_1Top of the heap is the SR9600 THX Ultra2 AV receiver, with a claimed 140 Watts into 7 channels and support for all of the latest DTS and Dolby sound formats. It’s shipping now, apparently, but all we can find is a US price of $4,199. Expect to pay roughly £2,000 here. Two entry level models – the 80 Watt SR4600 and the 90 Watt SR5600 – will land for around £350 and £450. Full details of what’s on the way can be had by clicking here.

Bad robot! Bad, bad, bad robot

Waldo, the pill-dispensing robot from the UCSF Medical Center in San Francisco, became pill-popping Waldo the Beserker yesterday. Waldo_robotNo one knows whether mild-mannered Waldo over-juiced on a nearby socket but when he shot past his stop at the pharmacy and into a nearby examination room, people started running.Hal9000 A startled doctor, with patient, asked Waldo to leave but got the silent HAL 9000 treatment. Rather than wait to be rammed through a window, they legged it. Waldo is now being examined. This is why robots in the digital home is such a good idea. Here for more.


Latest LG gadget sucks. No, really

Your digital paradise getting a little dusty? LG, makers of the Internet fridge, have now come up with the latest in digital home gimmickry: the talking vacuum. Puh-leese.Lg_cyking_4_red Looking like a cross between hand luggage, the front of my washing machine and a motorcycle’s petrol tank, it has adjustable power levels and tells you when it’s full. Wow, and all for just £200. Mine cost a third of that and I know it’s full when it stops sucking. So, if you’re a sucker looking for a designer sucker, you’ll have to contain your excitement until July. Full details here.

Shocking! Stream music via the plug socket

It’s a plug. But not as we know it. Welcome to the wacky world of Homeplug, a global alliance of major brands devoted to making plugs smart and using the electrical wiring in your home as a network. Devolo has been making a name for itself in the UK since last year with its popular MicroLink dLAN Ethernet Kit, reviewed here, which helps take the pain out of home networking. Data transport is not as fast as a regular Ethernet or wireless network but, allegedly, speed is not important to some people. Devolo_microlink1Devolo is now hoping to pull of the same trick with your music. The MicroLink dLAN Audio adapter – see an illustration of it working here – will let you stream audio around the home in the same way. It promises CD-quality sound and you will need two of them, or a dLAN Ethernet adapter connected to your PC, to make it all work. Anything that makes home networking/streaming easy is good in my book.


Sharp’s DVD wall hanger

I’ve lived in bedsits and whatever about swinging a cat in there, any kind of AV system was definitely out. Being broke helped too. So for those in a tight space, or those that don’t like stacks of home entertainment appliances under, over or around the TV, Sharp wants you to hang it on the wall. Sharp_sdhx600Stylishly, of course. The new SD-HX500 and SD-HX600 are being hailed as the ‘world’s first vertical 1-Bit audio home theatre systems’. The now ubiquitous brushed silver chassis hides the DVD/CD/SACD/DVD Audio player while the separate wall-hanging amp promises 100W per channel. From that anorexic little amp? Methinks casting around for some reviews here and here might be in order, especially since they will set you back around $850 and $1,100, respectively.   


The PocketProjector: teeny weeny marvel

I’ve seen portable projectors and even ultra-portable projectors but this is getting ridiculous. Mitsubishi has taken the wraps of what is being touted as 'possibly' the world’s smallest projector.Pocketprojector2 The  PocketProjector weighs in at a featherweight 14oz, has a resolution of 800X600 and can create an image of 20in from 1ft foot away and 40in from 3ft. Pocketprojector1Even better, you can run it off an optional battery for up to 2.5 hours - no Lord of the Rings then. It has an RRP of $799 and for $899 you can get one with an in-built SD Card reader for showing off your holiday snaps. This should fit nicely in my smelly Christmas sock, literally.

Trendy Sonos comes to Europe: Digital tunes around the house

Sonos is generally seen as the Aston Martin/caviar/crown jewels of digital music streaming. That’s expensive, to you and me. Sonos_bundle_lrgBut it does look very good and it’s a snap to set-up. Recently US-only, now Sonos is here – well, the Netherlands – but that’s close enough to buy its very well-received Digital Music System. It’s introductory bundle, at £899, comprises two ZonePlayers and a wireless, full-colour LCD remote. Sonos_controllerThe ZonePlayers are essentially networked (and wireless) amplifiers that you connect a couple of speakers to in each room you want sound in. Boot the PC, load the CD, pick the music folders you want the hub to access and that's it. The rest is done via the wireless remote. I like it. I'd like it even more though if it was a few hundred quid - maybe £400 - cheaper. Or free.

7.1 sound for less pounds

Surround sound is starting to come in more flavours than Ben & Jerry’s. Still, support for the latest and greatest surround sound modes doesn’t have to cost the earth. Well-known home audio specialist Onkyo, has just unveiled its TX-SR503E AV receiver for £249.95.Onkyo_av_receiver AV receivers are now the workhorse of many home cinema setups and it's good to see quality manufacturers catering for the mass market. Supporting 7.1 surround and host of DTS and Dolby surround modes, it also supports high definition audio like DVD-Audio and SACD, even if their futures seem somewhat uncertain.   

Get smarter: use iPod for reading

I tend to read fat books - not high-brow - just fat. And heavy. When I travel they tend to take up the space and weight allowance I need for all the cheap DVDs I want to bring home. But, it seems you can use the iPod to burst your eardrums and expand your mind at the same time. A little-used iPod facility called 'Notes' will allow you to read ebooks on those journeys where 5,000 songs is just not enough. ebooks have so far failed to capture the public's imagination or cash but although it’s a very small market, it is growing. No surprise either that paid-for ebooks is also ruled by Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code.Davinci_code To find out how to get ebooks on your iPod, just follow this step-by-step guide at Make:Blog. For a decent selection of free ebooks, head to Project Gutenberg.

 


Kenwood to enter 20GB MP3 arena

The whole “Wow, store 5,000 songs” argument for flogging MP3 players is getting a bit stale. So what if your MP3 player has a mini-20/30/40GB hard disk drive. Does it do anything different to the others out there? If not, then all it can compete on is price and looks. The first 20GB effort from Kenwood (not the toasters) - of car and home audio fame - certainly looks the job. It also boasts the highest resolution display of any such device – even higher than the iPod Photo.Kenwood_20gb_player Excellent, something to view my photos or videos on then? Ah, no. In fact, it seems the highest resolution screen in the MP3 world has no other function than to display track listings. Beautifully, apparently. No FM tuner either. Does anyone actually talk to the public anymore and gauge what features might actually be desirable and useful? Because I’m guessing that a battery-hogging, high-res screen that only displays text is not one of them. More details here

War of the Worlds goes surround

I admit it. I loved Jeff Wayne’s musical version of the H.G Wells classic, War of the Worlds, when I was younger. One of those ‘owned-by-a cousin’ albums that I played to death and could quote and air guitar along to. The artwork was top notch and no more so than in this painting.Wotworlds_ship_2 And the one with the hungry birds at the end but that’s a bit bloody. So, with Tom Cruise about to don his shoe lifts again for this summer’s blockbuster remake of the War of the Worlds movie, I’m glad to say that Wayne’s version has just been re-released by Sony BMG in 5:1 surround sound. It’s coming on 7 discs, including a ‘Making of’ DVD and sneak peek of the upcoming animated version due in 2008. To see what it 'may' finally look like, point your Martian death ray here.  Remember, a radio broadcast of War of the Worlds in 1938 America had people arming themselves and running for the hills. Just think what the surround sound version can do for your neighbour's pets?

Separated at birth: Philips Shoqbox and Trust SP-2900p

If imitation is the greatest form of flattery then Trust must be lying prostrate before Philips. In the white corner we have the recently launched Philips Shoqbox,Phipips_shoqbox a wee (6in long) portable 256Mb MP3/FM radio player with in-built speakers. Trust_portable_mp3_boxYou can hook up your MP3 player to it, or just transfer your songs via USB. In the um, er, other white corner we have the Portable Speaker Set SP-2900p from Trust, which has no radio or the ability to hold MP3s but you can connect it to your MP3 player. Right now, some designer at Philips is chuffed that his creation has spawned a clone. Either that or he's reaching for the phone and calling legal. The biggest difference though is that one costs £100 and the other £20. I’ll let you figure out which. 

Human-looking kung fu robots. Great, just great.

What’s the deal with lifelike robots? If I ever have a robot in my digital home, then I want one that looks like, well, a robot. I want it to look like the huge amount of money it will cost - all chrome and shiny and marvellous and able to transform itself from a butler/bodyguard into a 70in LCD screen. So far, human-looking bots are few and most of the ones I’ve seen looked like they had plastic surgery performed by a drunk, chisel-wielding chimp. Not anymore.Real_robot Check this out – which one is the robot? Way too lifelike. Apparently, the Repliee Q1 can block a slap. Great, an android that knows Kung Fu. Me and author Philip K. Dick (Blade Runner, Imposter, etc.) are one on the issue of human-looking androids and my digital home is going to remain populated with immobile hardware that can’t kick back. Break down  - yes - flying-spinning back kick - no.

Burning Vinyl: The Couch Potato Way

Saving your vinyl collection to CD (must finally get around to that) usually requires hooking up your rusty old turntable to the PC’s soundcard, loading up some audio conversion software and generally fiddling around. Those that want to fiddle, follow this simple guide. The upside is that it’s cheap. And cheaper than forking out twice for the CDs of your fave albums, which is what some morons actually do. Ahem. Phono_cd_burner_1Still, if it all seems too complex and you have $499 burning a hole in your pocket, I recommend the couch-potato approach to burning your albums. It’s not winning any points on the style front but it wins hands-down on simplicity. Full specs here.

The big LCD TV for less

LCD TVs aren't cheap yet but, like LCD displays for the desktop, they are getting there. It's all a matter of volume and that volume is growing fast. According to market watcher Meko, the LCD TV sector in Europe is set for rapid growth this year. Viewsonic, unlike many of the big TV brands, is coming at the LCD TV arena from the desktop side of the fence. What it lacks in technological TV finesse, it makes up for with keen pricing. Its latest offering, just out in the US, is the N3250w.Viewsonic_n3250w_1 It’s a 32in widescreen TV that is high-definition TV (HDTV) ready, has a resolution of 1366 x 768 and a good – if not great – response time of 12 milliseconds. However, the $1,299 (£716) price tag is the real winning feature. That said, the US market for LCD TVs is more mature and competitive than ours. If we manage to get it for around £900, it could still be one of the best deals around.  Full details here.


Protect your iPod!!

It can take days and weeks to get your music collection transferred onto an iPod.Ipod For many it’s the hub of their digital life at home and on the move. And then it’s gone – nicked, swiped, lifted, spirited away - leaving a trail of distraught and traumatised iPod junkies without a fix. Not a pretty sight. iPod theft has now reached epidemic proportions, not just in the US, but here in the UK. So much so that the NYPD has issued a brochure to help reduce the crime wave. To get some tips on how not to be a smug iPod owner in public, go see what it says here. Still, Apple must hurt most of all since the Lex Luthor of iPod thieves managed to walk into a freight forwarding depot in Los Angeles last week and drive off with 12,000 iPods valued at $2.6 million. Where's Superman when you need him?

We're a long way from VHS

If you thought that 160GB hard disk drive recorders for telly taping were top of the line, then think again. Seagate has announced its new DB35 Series of hard disk drives for the consumer recorder market topping out at 500GB.Seagate_db35_1 That’s 500 hours of standard TV recording. Let’s see, the average UK viewer watches 3-4 hours of TV each day – a scary one day a week in front of the tube. In theory, you could tape all your fave programmes, everyday, for 20 weeks without having to delete anything. Do you really need a 500GB recorder? Probably not but then, when did need have anything to do with desire? Seagate introduced the DB35 series in a product blitz this week just two days after - and this must hurt - rival Maxtor announced its own 500GB monster

Oh dear. Blu-Ray/HD-DVD gulf widens

Just one day after Toshiba took a stab at the Blu-Ray camp, a senior Sony figure has claimed there’s very little chance of making a single standard for the next generation of recordable DVDs. Yesterday, Toshiba claimed it could make 15GB HD-DVDs cheaply using the production lines that already make blank DVD-R discs. Today, Sony’s Ken Kutaragi, father of the PlayStation and head of Sony Computer Entertainment, said that overcoming the technical hurdles would be 'unlikely'. Sounds to me like there's too much testosterone in this spat. Movies may well decide which format wins out and many - like me - feel that Hollyweird should step up to the plate and demand a standard format. This could be a job for Arnie and Bruce. Arnold_schwarzenegger_the_terminator_001Gather up some CEOs, strap them to some chairs in a darkened room and let our two Hollywood hard men sing show tunes until they crack. Five minutes tops. See the full story here.

Sony shuffles out iPod rival

When you want to beat a market leader your offering has to be either cheaper or better. Neither Sony or Apple are known for their good deals so let’s see. At first glance, Sony’s rival to Apple’s iPod Shuffle is certainly not cheaper. In fact, at around £150 the NW-E507 MP3 player is over £50 more expensive. That’s a lot for a 1GB USB Flash drive player. It’s a little smaller than the already tiny Shuffle but has a bigger screen. Both look cute but nothing worth that extra £50 so far. Ipod_shuffle_1

Sony_network_mp3_player_2OK, how about a battery life of 50 hours? Even allowing for marketing hype that leaves you with 40 hours, which is both astounding and almost three and half times longer than the iPod Shuffle’s 12 hours. Also, a quick three-minute recharge will give you enough juice for three hours. And, it also comes with an integrated FM radio tuner. That extra £50 is looking less like a problem every passing second.


TiVo goes handheld

Now this is handy. TiVo, Tivo_logo_2which revolutionised ‘taping TV’ and helped kick-start the personal video recorder (PVR) market, has taken things to the next level. The TiVoToGo service, which already lets you transfer video to your PC/laptop will now let you transfer that content to your Windows Mobile handhelds and Smartphones. At least in the US - for now. You can use the TivoToGo for PC/laptop transfer in the UK as long as you have a TiVo Series 2 device and use the TiVo service. Those subscribing to TiVo but using non-TiVo recorders will have to wait until the end of the year for both the PC/laptop and portable handheld functionality. Now there’s a surprise. Still, if TiVo are planning handheld access/transfers so are the others. For an excellent guide to all things TiVo, clickety-click here.


Next-gen DVD war heats up

If anyone else is falling asleep with boredom about the war over which high-capacity DVD recording format will win – HD-DVD or Blu-Ray - put your hand up now. Or leave a comment at the bottom. In recent weeks there were rumours that the Toshiba-led HD-DVD camp and Sony’s Blu-Ray gang were close to kissing and making up. Bluray_dvd_recorderOr, at least, figuring out a way for their technologies to be compatible. Not so. Toshiba’s gang has just announced that it has discovered how to mass produce recordable 15GB HD-DVD disks on the cheap via existing DVD-R production lines. OK, so it’s not going to decide which camp will win the war but it just puts another obstacle in the way of a truce. If they don’t grow-up and sort this out it’s me and you, the saps on the street, that will lose out. We’ve been here before. Anyone remember VHS vs. Betamax? It was a consumer disaster then and will be again. Like the optimistic cynic that I am though, I’m hoping/praying/sacrificing small animals that common sense outweighs greed on this one.

Sony PSP gives new life to bad movies

The impending launch of Sony Playstation Portable, or PSP, on September 1st, is expected to add a few more million gadgets to UK homes.Sony_psp Those supporting its ability to play DVD movies – albeit in the controversial Universal Media Disk (UMD) format – include most of the big movie studios. So you’d assume they’d be rolling out their best stuff, right, to generate sales for themselves and Sony? So what the hell is 20th Century Fox doing by announcing that it’s UMD movie disk line-up will include – wait for it – Super Troopers and National Lampoon’s Van Wilder. These things stank on the big screen and failed to levitate off the shelves when put on DVD. On the ever-fresh movie review site, RottenTomatoes, they managed 17% and 35% out of 100% after reviews from the leading US print and Web sites were collated. So why would anyone want to pay for these duds as a UMD disk – which will only play in a PSP, by the way? Oh look, they’re also releasing The Punisher (28%). Better start saving now…

LG marries plasma with recording

LG Electronics is the latest supplier to jump on the HDTV (High Definition TV) bandwagon but it’s doing it with a little twist. The company has taken the wraps off two new plasma whoppers, the PY2DR 50in and 60in models with integrated 160GB hard disk drive recorders.Lg460 That’s the good news. The bad news is that they have just arrived in the US and will not hit here until the end of the year. Prices across the pond are $7,999 (50in) and $14,999 (60in). Ouch. Yes, your eyes are not deceiving you. That’s an extra $700 per inch. 


Portable DAB Radio gets cheaper-ish

It’s about time that portable Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB) radios got cheaper. Essentially DAB radios offer you a massive choice of stations, no interference and high quality digital sound. I know some DAB companies think that because you can actually lift their handbag-sized models off the ground qualifies them as portable, but not me. I’m talking little, dinky MP3-sized devices that don't put your back out. Up until recently you were looking at well over £100 for one.Nevada_nd01 Now, the ND-01 from Nevada has popped up on the radar for £79.95. This makes it £10 cheaper than the popular Ministry of Sound DR011.
OK, hardly cheap, but getting there. All we need now is cheap DAB portables with MP3. Anyone?

Own your own Tardis

I like a bit of solitude, just like the rest of us. Now Yamaha has taken the concept and transformed it into a box.Yamaha_booth_1 This cross between a confessional and the Tardis would not look out of place in your local church but Yamaha thinks it could work in your home. It’s a soundproof booth that takes up 2.5sq metres of floor space, can be rigged with surround sound, TV and a  PC. Most importantly it has a lock. The idea is that if you need some ‘space’ from the kids, just hop in your Tardis of calm. Personally, I’d put the lock on the outside and throw the kids inside. That way I get silence throughout the whole house. For other uses go here

Acer targets digital home

Acer, the company which has stormed it’s way up the notebook and LCD charts in the blink of an eye, has set its sights on the digital home. The company has announced its first Media PC – the Aspire L200. Acer_l200Looking like a DVD player, it’s powered by an AMD Athlon 64 3200+ processor and runs the usual Windows Media Center 2005 operating system. It also sports a 160GB hard disk drive and 512Mb of memory. Even better is the aggressive £800 price tag which is really going to spark a summer price war in this sector - all good for you and me. Watch this space over the coming weeks as Acer is planning to reveal details of a digital media server for streaming music and video around the home.   

Sky Digital gets charitable

Just because you’ve now got a squillion digital TV channels doesn’t mean you can sit around all day watching them. The Community Channel on Sky Digital has launched an interactive service that will list charities and groups in your local area that need volunteers.Volunteer_1 It is Year of the Volunteer after all. Just hit the infamous red button and the database from do-it.org.uk will do the rest.

JVC trots out skinny TVs for summer

It’s nearly summer and LCD TV and plasma displays are in bloom. JVC’s latest line-up boasts six models – five LCDs and one plasma. They range in size from the dinky 15in, LT-15B60, which looks oddly like an upturned handbagJvc_lt15b60, to the 42in PD-42DX6 plasma idTV (love the stand).Jvc_pd42dx6 You can expect a lot of the big players to be launching new ranges now, in preparation for the sporting summer. Apparently the more sport on TV the more men want a big, flat panel display. Go figure. Me, I’ve always wanted a big flat panel display. Do you hear me JVC, Samsung, Sharp, Philips, Hitachi  - anyone??? And I’ll watch anything you like on it. Even your adverts. More juicy JVC details can be found here.

Samsung readies Wi-Fi MP3 player

With Samsung’s Yepp) range of MP3 players barely out of the stalls,Samsung_yepp_mp3_player_2 news is circulating that the company is planning an MP3 player with in-built Wi-Fi for later this year. Does anyone else feel that one day soon - and I’m begging here - there will be a device that will just do it all and do it well? I’m an optimist, I know. Anyway, Wi-Fi in an MP3 player? Sounds good to me. However, it remains to be seen how it will work? Will it be used mainly with a music download service, will you be able to wirelessly swap songs with your mates? I smell copyright Hell in the wind. Or, like Wi-Fi enabled notebooks, will you be able to scan and find other Wi-Fi–enabled devices and just steal whatever they have? Could be dodgy but that’s enough questions for now. More details here

 

My LCD is sooo much bigger than yours

At least it would be if I got hold the new 65in LCD from Sharp. Sharp_aquos_1_65inchThe world’s largest LCD is expected to launch in Japan (typical) in August and we won’t get a chance to waste our money until the end of the year, at the earliest. With a resolution of 1920 x 1080 it is ready for high definition TV (HDTV) broadcasts and playback of the next generation of high definition DVDs. It will cost 1.68 million Yen (£8,600)  - about a million more than my best budget. You can also expect it to cost more by the time it has been lugged over here. What it might do though, if we are lucky, is start a price war in the plasma camp and in the 45in LCD arena. Fight, fight, fight...

Lord of the Ring-a-ding-ding

We’re not in the Shire anymore, Frodo. Pete Jackson, director of the Lord of the Rings trilogy and Bad Taste, was this week spotted putting his own taste on display. For the paltry sum of almost $100,000 he splashed out on a robot band for his wife at Christmas. Beats an iron I suppose, but not by much. Peterjackson
The system from Ragtime Automated Music is a MIDI-controlled 47-instrument band featuring guitars, flute pipes, accordion, bells and banjo to name but a few. Not your average digital home fare, to be sure. To see a movie of Pete giving his very strange band a whirl go here but you have been warned. Because he made Lord of the Rings I’ll let him off…but only by a single, elven hair.

PCs get all posh

PCs and notebooks, unlike personalised licence plates (I LVU TRC), can be done with style. And few PC builders are doing it with more style than SavRow. This well-named bunch have elevated the PC from the bedsit to the stately home, where leather trim and chrome house the latest in PC technology and there are over 30 paints, and combinations, to choose from. Savrow_diamondSavrow_notebookWho else is going to hand-wax each notebook and create a personal Web page for you so that you can track it’s progress? There are others that offer designer PCs such as Alienware and Voodoo PC, but nothing with the same 'upper class' twist. However, you will pay for the pleasure of joining the Polo set. The prices are usually a couple of hundred quid more than bigger brands and extensive customisation will stretch your wallet. Still, this is style we're talking about. 

 

Eradicate smelly friends

Here’s the scenario: you’ve just spent a lot of money on your new digital home, complete with sexy Media PC this, and AV that, and now it’s time to show it off to your mates. The only problem is that they are a smelly and scruffy bunch of buggers at the best of times. Throw in liberal amounts of alcohol, sour cream Pringles and a Chile con Carne from Hell and things could get ugly. Solution: The Sanitary Chair from Welldesign. Sanitary_chair
Basic in design, this wooden chair covered with soft absorbent crepe paper has been designed to ensure that any errant friend smells and unexpected seepages can be quickly taken care off. So, once you have dragged your comatose friends outside to your happy, London cabbie you can erase all evidence of their visit with a quick rip. A quick roll and you’re ready for the weekend invasion of the Incontinent Relatives. Protect your digital paradise!

Now I’ve heard it all

AOpen was showing off the world’s first negative ion mouse at last week's Computex. Healing_hands_ion_mouse
Since I had no idea what the hell negative ions were outside of Star Trek, I just had to read on. The short version is that the more negative ions there are in the air the better for you. The medical world is divided into those that believe ‘ionizer’ devices are miraculous and those that feel it’s all a load of crap. AOpen is obviously in the miracle camp. The mouse  - announced back in March - will generate 400,000 to 500,000 negative ions per cubic centimeter in 30 seconds – which is apparently good. AOpen evangeliser Tony Yang is so sure that - short of actual resurrection after death - he says: “It will repress the growth of germs, viruses; clean up the blood of human beings; revitalise the mouse user’s body cells; strengthen human body’s immune system; reduce disorders of human body’s respiratory system; ease anxiety and stress; and improve productivity.” Hallelujah brother. So, does that mean that that 7 straight hours of Doom 3 could finally be good for me? Doom3_screen
Sign me up. Who says games are bad for you?
No availability or price yet.



Tosh tempts with big and cheap HDD recorder

Now that the VCR is dead and all but consigned to the technology rubbish heap, it’s time for a new generation recorder. I’m not a fan of DVD-only recorders, all that swapping discs, checking capacity, labelling and re-editing sounds like too much hard work. DVD-recorders with internal hard disc drives, now that’s a different story. The only snag has been that the drives were measly 40-80GBs, the prices were too high or, a combination of both. The latest offering from Toshiba may just be enough to appease the skinflint within. The RD-XS34 is a 160GB model and the big brother of the RD-XS32, reviewed in the first issue of Active Home magazine. Tos_rdxs34_1
For normal folk, that 160GB translates into 206hrs of recording. It’s a progressive scan DVD player and supports DVD-R, DVD-RW and DVD-RAM blank discs and boasts ‘time-slip’, letting you pause live TV while recording and start watching a programme that is still recording from the start. And, the 'Instant Skip' let's you avoid all ads - priceless. At around £265 it’s a steal. RIP VCR.

One-speaker surround sound? Yeah right

I've heard it all before. 'True surround sound from two speakers'. Invariably, you get a wider soundfield with less definition, especially in the dialogue stakes. Newer offerings are doing a better job though. Just take a look at the Kef Kit100 Instant Theatre. Kef_kit100_instant_theatre_1

For a review, see Active Home's one here. Having recently spent the best part of a day crawling around my office floor on hands and knees, rewiring it to become a home cinema, I'm just so chirpy to hear that Yamaha can now do it with one speaker. That's right, apparently 5.1 sound into one does fit. Now they tell me. The Yamaha digital sound Projector (YSP-1) is not your average speaker though. Yamaha_ysp1

It's sleek, designer shell houses 42 amps powering 40 speakers - all firing sound in multiple directions to create a 5.1 surround soundfield. It's already racking up the AV awards but if  you want the world's most mind-bogglingly detailed review then pop over to those barking boffins at Audioholics. The MRSP is a lofty £1,200 but I've seen it online for under £800, inc. delivery.

Denon's latest AV monster: drool

My old AV amplifier’s looking very tired these days, especially when compared to the likes of the new Denon monster, the snappily named AVC-A11XV. It's the baby brother of the AVC-A1XV, which among many other things, weighs in at a back-breaking 44KG. Don't bother trying to find it on the Denon web site - they're a little slow on the online front. Thankfully the boys and girls at etailer, AV Land, are not. This is the kind of high-end amp that comes with a feature list that takes longer to read than a Pizza Hut menu but is twice as mouth-watering – at least to an unreconstructed geek like me. At around £2,500 it’s also one hell of a mouthful. Then again we are looking at a lot of features and grunt under the hood. A full 140Watts x 7 channels will ensure your neighbours love while the HDMI interface guarantees the best digital picture when connected to your slinky LCD, plasma screen, projector, etc. The full specs are too long to re-type and too depressing to re-read. It’s due out in a couple of weeks so start saving, or stealing, now. “Honey, where’s my balaclava?”

Denon_avca11xvDenon_avca11xv_front

Mini PC - Mac clone or Mac clone?

In a move that should have stunned absolutely no one, another Apple innovation - the Mac Mini - has been nicked and cloned. Some say that imitation is the highest form of praise while I tend to think it's theft and will fast-track you to court and copyright Hell. Then again, if the resulting clone is cheaper than the Apple original, I'll have one, please.

AOpen's Mini PC on show at Computex 2005 in Taiwan  clearly looks nothing like the Mac Mini. Just look at the pics below - see. Apart from the name, size, shape, front-loading DVD drive and connections on the back, they're nothing alike.

Mini_pc_1Macmini_steel

Official specs put it at 15X15X5cm - making it the smallest Intel PC. Nothing says it will make it into final production but the odds are that a few of these babies will be on sale over here by the end of the summer. Expect a price tag of around £400, but this is a guess. Worth it? You tell me.

Forget flat, round is the future

Taking goldfish bowls to a whole new level we have Perspecta from Actuality Systems. Just when the whole world has gone flat-screen barmy, this bunch want you to think round in the living room. Essentially a circular white polymer screen almost 1ft wide, it sits on top of a black box like some mystic's crystal ball. Just hook up your PC or notebook and it's party trick is displaying 3D content, floating in the middle and visible from all angles.

Apparently it's good for projecting hearts and sugar molecules. For happy slackers like me though it can render Cheesy Poofs in all their 3D glory too. It might sit well in your living room, but at $40,000 it might not sit well with your missus. I think I'll stick to my £30 lava lamp and maybe walk around it a couple of times.


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