InterActive Home: August 2005 Archives

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JVC’s next-generation AV receivers

JVC has announced two new AV receivers boasting HDMI connectivity and the ability to up-scale non-high definition images to HDMI. The snappily-named RX-D401S/D402B and RX-D702B are 7.1 surround receivers and handle the HDMI up-scaling with a Genesis de-interlacer that incorporates DCDi (Directional Correlational Deinterlacing) technology from Faroudja. They also boast a wireless USB connection for streaming music from PCs to your sound set-up. Jvc_rxd301s_av_receiverThe RX-D401S/402B is rated at 110 watts per channel with the RX-D702B boosting this to 150 watts per channel. Prices are US at the moment but they are certainly keen at around £300 and £450. Check details here.

Pioneer’s home cinema in a box

With people flocking to pick up all-in-one home cinema set-ups starting at £150, you can see why players like Pioneer are keen for a slice of the pie. That’s why it has launched not one, but five new all-in-one set ups, starting with the entry-level DCS-232 and DCS-240 sound systems, coming in at around £150 for the DCS-232. What you get is a DVD player/amplifier, five speakers and a sub-woofer. Next up are the DCS-333 and DCS 340 (pictured) boasting double the power and the handy set-up facility, Automatic Optimal Surround Set-up, using a supplied microphone. Pioneer_dcs340They also sport an unusually slim sub-woofer, which hopefully means that bass performance has not been sacrificed for style. The only difference between the four models mentioned is that two come with bookshelf speakers and two come with floor-standers. Finally there’s the DCS-535 which uses three front speakers and a digital, wireless rear speaker for creating surround effects. Prices start at around £290. More details here.

PSP hits UK tomorrow

Grab your sleeping bags, it’s time to camp out for what will surely be one of the biggest-selling portable media devices out there. The PlayStation Portable (PSP) from Sony finally arrives in the UK tomorrow and the company expects to shift about one million of the little fellas here by Christmas. The UK, as usual, has been last on the list for this launch since it’s been out for nine months in Japan and six months in the US. Over 5 million have been flogged worldwide so far making it somewhat of a phenomenon. Sony_psp_2Even the £179 price tag hasn’t put off drooling UK users with many stores selling out their stock in advance. At launch there will be 30 or so games and around 30 movies available on the controversial UMD disc format. Nintendo, current king of the portable gaming device market with GameBoy and DS, is not taking it lying down. A sleek Micro version of the GameBoy is due in November.

Robot child for sale

For those not turned off household robots by I, Robot you might want to check out the child-robot, Wakamaru. Developed by Mitsubishi, Wakamaru is a household living companion that can learn up to 10,000 words and recognise up to 10 faces. With 100 of them now up for sale, Wakamaru is leaving the lab and entering society. The robot is named after the nickname of a famous samurai warrior and the dot-looking eyebrows are supposed to be similar to those of his namesake. Wakamaru_2We think it looks like a Dyson with a head. The price tag of around £8,000 means they will not be making everyone happy/nervous, only those with more cash than sense. So what can it do? It can learn lots of words, say hello, talk back, guide you around your own home, surf the Net, take messages, act as an alarm clock, messaging service and home security bot. It can not hoover, wash, polish, cut the grass, set the DVD recorder, call work and make excuses, bake bread, get you a beer or make a bacon sandwich. As such, we think £8,000 is a lot for an answering machine that follows you around.

Hitachi unveils new 3LCD projector

DLP projectors may be taking the limelight away from LCD rivals in the mainstream but Hitachi is sticking to its LCD guns with the launch of the Cine Master PJ-TX200 3LCD projector. It follows on from the entry-level PJ-TX100 (pictured) and uses the same LCD technology being promoted by the 3LCD Group, comprising Sony, Panasonic, Epson, Fujitsu and others. It will also look pretty much like the existing model, except on the inside. The PJ-TX200 is high definition – HD-ready – boasts a 5000:1 contrast ratio and comes with Hitachi’s dual digital iris, a Super ED Lens and 10-bit digital image processing. Hitachi_pjtx1003LCD technology claims to result in true colour accuracy, no colour break up and perfect moving pictures. Of course, our motto is simple: don't believe the hype and try before you buy. The PJ-TX200 is out next month but there are no prices yet.

Star Trek holodeck for real

Gaming is about to take a quantum leap forward with the arrival of cinema-like gaming facilities and a gaming holodeck. US company, HoloDek - named after the the world's greatest fictional entertainment device from Star Trek - is in the process of building a gaming holodeck. It's a 20ft wide sphere that will give give gamers a 360 degree, wraparound environment to blast away in. The gamer sits inside on a robotic chair that rumbles, pitches and yaws like a real flight simulator. Enterprise_nx01The company has also developed what it calls the 'half-pipe', a gaming environment with a screen 20ft wide and 12ft high. The idea is the latest move from HoloDek to get gamers out of their bedrooms and into state-of-the art gaming facilities. Unlike Pac-Man in the dingy old video arcades, this is an attempt to take gaming up-market, by hosting LAN parties, corporate events and weekend competitions on top-end machines and high-definition screens. The company is hoping to roll out 160 facilities in the next five years and is in talks with cinemas to place holodecks inside. For a more far-reaching holodeck project, check this out.

PC games used to teach kids

School has certainly changed. There was a time when lessons were aided by a swift slap around the head but these days you are just as likely to see PC games used to teach the little ‘uns. Myst, the devilishly clever and ridiculously difficult, adventure PC game series is being used by one teacher at the Chew Magna Primary School in Bristol, UK. Before you start snorting in derision though, the teacher in question recently bagged the “Best use of Technology in the Classroom" award from Becta (British Educational Communications and Technology Agency). Myst3aHooking up the laptop to a projector and firing it onto a whiteboard, Myst is being used to teach creative skills, from problem solving to writing about the game and what it might mean. He’s been using the Myst series for six years and classes them as mind-enhancing games as opposed to mind-numbing. So, no chance of Doom 3: "Undead Stopping Power - Chainsaw versus Shotgun: Discuss." Didn't think so.

Rio bites the dust

Rio, one of the long-time players in the digital audio player (DAP) market, is no more. The company’s owners D&M Holdings, which also owns home cinema specialists Denon and Marantz, has decided things are too hot in the MP3 player arena and pulled the plug on the popular brand. After September 30, no more Rio products will be produced, including the Rio Carbon and Karma.Rio_pearl D&M said the 'mass-market' nature of the digital audio market did not fit with its company strategy. Everyone else put it down to an inability to compete effectively against iPod and other digital audio products. Rio was one of the key brands going head-to-head with the iPod and its demise only reinforces the dominance of the Apple product. Even Creative Labs has cited iPod’s massive marketshare and increased competition in the arena for its recent, dismal results. So, if a big brand like Rio can’t take the heat, which non-iPod player manufacturer will be next to fall? Take a look at what Rio was planning next.

Panasonic beefs up plasma line

We told you last week that Panasonic was planning to launch the world’s first 65-inch plasma, high-definition TV (HDTV) at roughly half-price, and now here are the details. The flagship in the new Viera line-up will arrive on November 1 and be called the TH-65PX500. It will support 1080p high definition images, have a contrast of 4000:1, four TV tuners (two digital and two analogue), a HDMI socket and the ability to record TV straight to SD Cards. Panasonic_th65px500_2And best of all, it will come in at around £5,000 – that’s £3,000 cheaper than the current 65-inch plasma, the TH-65PHWD7. The new model will be joined by three others, the 50-inch TH-50PX50, 42-inch TH-42PX50 and 37-inch TH-37PX50. More details here.

Square TVs are dead

That’s right people, if it ain’t wide, it’s on the slide. Mirroring the demise of square CRT TVs,  widescreen LCD TVs have outsold full-screen LCDs for the first time. The 16:9 widescreen format is now dominant over the traditional 4:3 panel for the first time, according to the latest global research from Quixel Research. Sales of 16:9 LCD TVs accounted for 57% of all panels sold in Q2 2005 and the trend is that 4:3 panels will continue to dwindle fast over the coming year. This is great news of course since most movies, and a growing number of TV programmes, are broadcast in widescreen. No more will your favourite movies have to be horribly squashed and trimmed to fit on a square TV.Philips_26pf5520d_lcd_tv_2 Of course, LCDs mania is taking off all over but they still have a way to go to unseat widescreen CRT TVs. So, beware of any sales rep flogging really big, 4:3 TV sets and LCD panels on the cheap because we've just warned you that square TVs have no future. Not RIP, just good riddance.

Podcasters save Sin City

The first DVD release of the brilliant Sin City may have no director’s commentary from Robert Rodriguez but thanks to some true fans and wily Podcasters, there is one you can download. The gang over at Spoilers Podcast were so incensed Sin_city_willisthat Dimension pulled that cheap, money-grabbing stunt of releasing a vanilla DVD (plain with no extras) - before launching a 2-disc special edition early next year - that they recorded their own two hour commentary. It’s been recorded to sync with everything that happens in the movie and from the text layout seen, it’s crammed with some excellent background, production and tidbit detail. See the pathetic Dimension DVD disc features here or, don’t bother and just hook your ‘i’-whatever up to the site and download.

KEF announces Instant Theatre KIT200

KEF created quite a stir when it launched its Instant Theatre KIT100 last year, which offered virtual 5.1 surround from two wacky-looking speakers. It even won a few awards. This October will see the arrival of KEF's second all-in-one offering, the Instant Theatre KIT200 which, unlike its little brother, is an actual 5.1 system sporting a DVD player with FM tuner, five speakers and a subwoofer. With its glossy black finish and mid-sized speakers, it also looks nothing like the funky KIT100. Kef200_3_bigStill, they do have one thing in common: heart-stopping prices. When the KIT100 arrived in 2004 – remember this is a two-speaker ‘virtual’ surround system – it cost a whopping £1,200. The big brother will be asking you for the best part of £1,600 but, you can console yourself that at least this time you get all five speakers. A few more details here.

Chinese gamers crippled again

If you think online gaming in the UK can be frustrating then you should spare a thought for your Chinese counterparts who, yet again, face more government bans. The government in Beijing has decided that people should play online games for no more than three hours in order to prevent addiction. Wow1Apparently 1.5 million gamers alone are hooked on World of Warcraft and Lineage II, with a total of 20 million playing online games in Internet cafes. Rather than clap you in irons though, the government has a far more terrifying and cruel punishment in store: play more than three hours and your character’s abilities will be reduced. Go mad and play more than five hours and your character’s abilities will be decimated. Just because one Chinese gamer went postal and killed another for stealing a virtual sword doesn't mean we are looking at Net café massacres. Right?

First DVD recorder with 1TB of storage

Hitachi has decided to throw down the gauntlet to its rivals by unveiling the world’s first hard disk drive (HDD) and DVD recorder with one terabyte (1TB) of storage. The new top of the line recorder will boast two 500GB hard disk drives and allow you to record up to 128 hours of high-definition TV (HDTV) content at full resolution. Hitachi claims the new player will also be the first to let you record two HDTV broadcasts simultaneously. Other models in the range will include a 160GB, 250GB and 500GB model. War_of_the_worlds2The company, which has been heavily linked with the War of the Worlds movie campaign, is desperate to build up its recorder marketshare which currently stands at just 3%. The new, as yet unnamed, machines will launch in Japan first but we may have to wait here since Hitachi maintains that we are not yet as “keen” on high-definition recorders. We are, we swear we are, really. OK, so we won’t actually have any HDTV broadcasts until next year, but we still want that monster recorder - NOW. Hand it over. More details here.

Apocalypse Now action figures

There are many ways to personalise your home cinema from posters on the wall to mood lighting and overpriced props from movie sets. For those unable to purchase a full-sized Huey chopper for the living room ceiling in order to boost the realism of watching Apocalypse Now, we bring you Colonel Kilgore, all 12 inches of him. Kilgore2The surf-crazed, air cavalry commander who put napalm on the breakfast menu, is back as an action figure. Some enterprising war movie junkies have taken it upon themselves to recreate leading war movie characters as action figures, (not the real Action Man though, which is here). There are plenty of companies, like Sota Toys and Sideshow Collectibles, churning out action figures but these show an unsettlingly level of realism. Just check out the Robert De Niro figure
from the Russian Roulette sequence in The Deer Hunter. There was talk of a Marlon Brando as Colonel Kurtz figure but they couldn’t find enough plastic.

BBC launches mobile phone TV

Episodes of the Doctor Who and Red Dwarf TV shows will be beaming into a mobile phone near you by next month, following a deal between the BBC and Rok Player. This will mark the Beeb’s first tentative step into mobile phone TV services, something everyone is over-hyping but few are offering. Here’s how it works: you buy a Digital Video Chip (DVC) for around £17 which slots into any phone with a multimedia-card reader. Tardis_640x480It looks as if Nokia has first dibs though as the chip will start selling first from Rok, Nokia stores and Choices Video. Doctor Who’s ‘The Five Doctors’ episode will be first up along with four episodes of Red Dwarf. More details here.

The world’s first waterproof DAB radio

Finally, a radio you can take into the shower without getting fried. PURE Digital is set to launch the world’s first rechargeable DAB radio that’s built for abuse. The aptly named Oasis is a small, solid- looking cube of cast aluminium that has been designed for use in foul weather conditions. Pure_digital_oasisThe company promises that it's 'weatherproof and splashproof' and, we hope, beer proof. Oasis promises over 15 hours of mains-free use from the built-in ChargePAK battery system. DAB radios may be have revolutionised radio quality and programme choice but you tend to have to pay for the privilege. Just as well then that the Oasis lets you hook up your iPod or any other digital audio player to it for those parties in the park, the shower, or backyard barbies. Due out next month it will cost around £120.

 

Nintendo Revolution prices leaked?

The successor to the GameCube, the Nintendo Revolution, will arrive in Europe on June 16, 2006 and will cost around £199. At least this is the news from the Amazon.com site in France which seems to know more than the rest of us. Whatever about the launch date (which we believe will be dragged forward by at least a few months) the price is steep since Nintendo has pretty much admitted that the Revolution will not be as powerful as either the Xbox 360 or the PS3. See official Xbox 360 prices here. However we really do like the monolith styling from 2001: A Space Odyssey. Nintendo_revolutionNintendo plays third fiddle in the worldwide console stakes and looks destined to stay there unless it launches early, pulls something special out of the bag and slashes that alleged price tag. The company has been quoted as saying that the Revolution will be a “small, quiet, affordable console”. Not at £200 it won’t. For a truckload of Revolution details go here

Panasonic to halve price of 65in plasma TV

The world’s leading supplier of plasma displays has announced that it will launch a 65-inch plasma TV at half the price of the current model by Christmas. Today, Panasonic’s TH65PHWD7 is the world’s biggest plasma TV and currently retails online for around £8,000 but the company is planning a new model for Christmas will come in at half that price. Panasonic_th65phwd7bxjlThe cut is being attributed to massive savings in production costs and low priced 30in and 40in plasma models are also expected. Even for the cut-throat LCD/plasma market, that’s a huge price cut. Even better, the company claims that the new model will be high-definition (HD)-ready with a screen resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels. Christmas can’t come fast enough.


Robot attacks Japanese Prime Minister

Japan’s first mall-patrolling security robot, the T63 Artemis, took an instant dislike to Japan’s Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi yesterday. A simple meet-and-greet experience was obviously too much for the batty bot, which launched a smokescreen on contact. T63_artemisThe robot has been patrolling the mall for a year now, disturbing the doughnut dunking of real rent-a-cops, with high-pitched alarms whenever it spots ‘suspicious behaviour’. So, either the strain of meeting a Japanese icon was too much or Koizumi was spotted with his hand in the Pick n’ Mix. Mammoth_project2Either way, it’s really just as well the PM didn’t meet the 30ft tall fire-breathing Tokyo destroyer (pictured) or the king of them all, Robosaurus.

Consumers lose war over DVD format

It has emerged from Japanese sources that the competing HD-DVD and Blu-Ray high-capacity DVD camps have killed off efforts to create a unified DVD format. Negotiations have broken down for good this time which means we are now guaranteed a re-run of that old VHS Vs. Betamax fiasco with two, incompatible next-generation DVD technologies vying for our cash at the same time. However, the real problem is that the big Hollywood movie studios are split over which technology to support. Universalsized_1For Joe Public, it means you will not be able watch fantastic, high-definition versions of at least half of your fave flicks unless you own two different players. There’s a lot of media speculation about which technology will win in the end but as far as we’re concerned, the battle is over and the consumer has lost. End of story.

 

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Iomega pushes portable movie machine

Portable media players (PMPs) are all the rage but is there a market for a big one without a screen? Iomega is optimisitc and is set to release the oddly-named, screen-free ‘ScreenPlay’ which it claims will let you carry around up to 60 movies on its 60Gb hard disk drive. Measuring roughly 27 x 20cm, it’s not exactly small and is portable in about the same way a video cassette is, just heavier. It hooks up to your TV or projector via Scart and transferring content from your PC is handled by USB 2.0. Iomega_screenplayCompression software is included while content can be accessed by a on-screen menu. There will also be a 250GB desktop version called the ScreenPlay Pro. With no in-built screen, the prices are suitably attractive with the Screenplay and the Pro version expected to retail for around £150 and £200 next month. Some more detail here.

Plasma killing off rear-projection TVs

The nails being hammered into the coffin of CRT rear-projection TVs (RPTVs) are coming faster than ever as sales of big-screen plasma displays overtook those of RPTVs for the first time. More importantly, this is not a blip but the beginning of the end for rear-projection TVs. According to market watcher, DisplaySearch, plasma TVs accounted for almost 3% of global TV sales in Q2, up from 2% in Q1. RPTV sales fell from 2.9% to 2.5% in the same period. Plasma’s rise has been put down to cut-throat price competition and a general move away from RPTVs. Could this be because they are big, heavy, space-gobbling monster TVs that weigh in at 100-150lbs and don’t so much sit in your living as take it over? Panasonic_th42pe50_plasmaIn defence of RPTVs though, they are not all fatties, with new skinny and lighter models arriving based on DLP and LCD technology. But can they stop the slide? Leading the plasma charge is Panasonic which saw its share rocket from 17% in Q1 to 27% in Q2. LG, Samsung and Philips galloped in for second, third and fourth.

PCs get DTS surround in-built

As sleek-looking Media PCs break into the living room, Creative Labs has decided that the platform needs a surround sound boost. And what better way than to ink a deal with surround sound leaders, DTS. Creative has announced that it will build DTS technology directly into its Sound Blaster Live 24-bit motherboard solution. Dts_logoIt will appear first in Gigabyte and Shuttle Computer motherboards and will boast the highest quality, in-built surround sound solution on the market. Expect a wide take-up though by other motherboard makers as the year progresses. DTS is often considered a better surround format than Dolby Digital due to the use of higher-bit rates and less compression of the original audio source. For us normal folk, it means the coming generation of PCs move one step closer to being a good, home cinema all-rounders at no extra cost.

JVC puts DVD recorders at heart of home cinema

It used to be that DVD players made up the heart of entry-level ‘all-in-one’ home cinema systems but JVC has decided to upgrade those DVD players to DVD recorders. The new TH-R1 and TH-R3 support 5:1 surround sound and consist of a multi-format DVD recorder, 5 speakers (bookshelf and skinny floor standers) and a powered subwoofer. Jvc_thr3The DVD recorder allows for recording and playback of DVD-RAM, DVD-RW and DVD-R discs, as well as playback of DVDs, MP3, and JPEG on blank CDs. Sound formats supported include Dolby Digital, DTS, DTS 96/24, and Dolby Pro Logic II. They even sport a novel set-up feature whereby hand-clapping is used to let speakers work out levels and delay times for optimised performance. Online prices for the TH-R1 and TH-R3 are a very competitive £280 and £370.

Streaming will take years to catch on

Despite the hype, the streaming of movies and music content around the home could take years to really take off with consumers. The latest figures from market-watcher In-Stat show that home-networking sales are set to rocket from $9bn last year to over $20bn in 2009. However, while it seems the world has gone streaming mad, In-Stat is quick to point out that the storage and streaming of music and video files between devices in the home is not actually a big driver. HellboyHang-on, but every streaming vendor is telling us that streaming (in our case) Hellboy from the PC to the streaming device hooked to the projector is what everyone is doing, right now, this second, as we type? Could someone be lying? Top of the list of things driving sales now are lower prices and a desire for higher speeds. Some of the key findings are that home networks have jumped from 24 million in 2003 to 37 million last year and poor old Ethernet has finally been toppled by WLAN as the home network of choice, with 802.11g devices being the products of choice. The moral of this story is that streaming technologies are being served up with a healthy dose of hype and that not having one makes you neither a luddite nor a technophobe.

Smart subwoofers from Velodyne

The subwoofer is often the most undervalued component of a home cinema set-up but in reality it’s one of the most important. Shoved in a corner, little attention is paid to the device that brings all those action sequences to life, providing that deep bass rumble that shakes the room. Velodyne Acoustics, which has built its business on making top subwoofers, has now added brains to the mix. The SPL-R (Small, Precise, Loud – Remote) Series of compact subwoofers comprises the SPL-800R, SPL-1000R and SPL-1200R and all sport a 6-band auto EQ feature and remote control. Velodyne_splr_sub_smallUnusually, they also come with a microphone and thankfully, not for karaoke. Like many better AV receivers, the subwoofer generates a test tone in your room, the sound is fed back to the microphone and the subwoofer configures itself correctly. According to Velodyne, this does away with the age-old dilemma of where’s the best spot to place a subwoofer. Even more helpful is the inclusion of one-button presets, so whether it’s Star Wars or Pride & Prejudice there’s a setting to cover it. All boast 1,000 Watts of RMS and 2,000 Watts of dynamic power and prices will range from £700 to £1,000. More details here.

Sony goes big with 60in Grand WEGA

If there’s one thing better than a Sony WEGA TV it’s a Grand WEGA TV. Sony feels that not all the money in the world will be spent on skinny LCDs and plasma displays for hanging on the wall. Just as well really since technically, flat-panel technology has some hurdles to clear and you certainly will not be hanging these fatties anywhere. Unless, of course it’s off chains bolted to a steel plate in the attic. The 60-inch KDS-R60XBR1 and 50-inch KDS-R50XBR1 are rear projection HDTVs with 1920 x 1080 resolution and ‘suggested’ price tags of around $5,000 and $4,000. Sony_50in_hdtv2In real money, and adding in the now traditional UK price hike on consumer electronics, those prices will be closer to £3,000 and £2,400. There are too many features to mention so read about them here. To give you a taste, here are some of the connectivity options: dual HDMI inputs, three i.LINK (IEEE 1394) FireWire inputs, a PC input, optical audio output, and a Memory Stick Flash media viewer.

High-def H79 projector hits UK

Optoma, the makers of the award-winning entry level ThemeScene H30 and H30A home cinema projectors, can't seem to put a foot wrong at the moment. It's now upping the ante in the midrange space with the UK launch of the ThemeScene H79 DLP projector. This is one of the first models to boast the new DarkChip 3 chip from Texas Instruments and a sub-£3,000 price tag. That’s cheap, trust us. The DarkChip 3 improves on the excellent DarkChip 2 by virtually eliminating all visible pixelation, which means you can sit closer to the screen without seeing the “chicken-wire effect”. Optoma_h79What you get for your money is a high-defintion-ready projector, with 4000:1 contrast, eight-segment colour wheel, 1,000 Lumens brightness and a very quiet fan running at 23 decibels. It also sports HDMI connectivity and a three-year hot-swap, on-site warranty. See a US review here.

Laser trip wires for the whole family

Apart from criminal acts, what do movies like Mission Impossible, Oceans 12 and Entrapment have in common? Infra-red security, that's what. Welcome to a hi-tech, low cost system for monitoring your precious home cinema kit, global collection of beer bottles and that last slice of pizza in the fridge. Entrapment1The Lazer Tripwire is a movie-inspired piece of “personal space” security involving infra-red beams. For under $30 you get three Lazer units. Just place them around what you want to protect and align the infra-red beams with the sensors on each unit. When aligned a voice will say “System Armed” and when the beams are broken a loud alarm blares. Lazer_trip_wireAnd, just in case, you’ve had one too many and forgotten where the hell you put them, you even get a Mist bottle for spraying as you creep. From party games to freaking out the family pet, the $30 Lazer Tripwire is top of our list of Christmas stocking fillers. Get it here.

MP3 docking madness from Logitech

MP3 docks for the iPod and general MP3 players make up the latest offerings from Logitech which has gone into product-launch frenzy over the past week. There have been Web cams, gaming mice and gaming keyboards. Now we have the mm50 portable speakers for iPod and mm28 portable speakers for generic MP3/CD players. Thankfully, there’s not a ‘i’ in sight in either product name.Logitech_mm50 Interestingly, the mm50 has an internal lithium-ion battery which allows for 10 hours of wireless use, while plugging the unit in will recharge the internal battery and your iPod. It comes with a remote control and will cost around £90-£100. The slim mm28 is for all other MP3 and CD players with a  3.5mm jack and boasts flat-speaker technology from NXT which which make the whole unit just 1.25ins thick. Logitech_mm28Four AA batteries will give you a claimed 45 hours of playing time. No remote on this one but then it will only cost around £50. Both will ship next month.

Xbox prices confirmed – UK stung

UK users will pay significantly more for the much anticipated Xbox than US users and marginally more than gamers in other European countries according to the official Xbox prices from Microsoft. The standard and premium versions will be priced at £210 and £280. Xbox_360_medium_2This compares to US prices of approximately £166 and £221 and European prices of £207 and £272. The standard version will come with a wired controller, AV cable and swappable faceplate. The premium version will boast a customisable faceplate, 20GB removable hard disk drive, headset, high-definition AV cable, Ethernet cable, wireless controller and a remote control - this last bit is limited so get your tent ready now. The price shouldn’t really come as a surprise since UK gamers have always had to stump up more for all previous consoles. The only real shock is that the Xbox is still on schedule for a pre-Christmas launch, well before Sony's PS3.

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Teac's sub-£200 universal DVD player

Universal DVD players are becoming more common but prices remain high, which is why the £199 DV-20D from sound specialist Teac, shows that you can have it all without the financial pain. This is the second big brand to dip under the £200 mark in recent months, albeit Pioneer’s £130 DV-585A, didn’t so much dip as burrowed an escape tunnel. Universal DVD players differ from regular DVD players by being able to playback DVD-Audio and SACD discs, the two competing formats in the high quality audio battle. Teac_dv20dBoth formats offer a massive leap in sound quality over today’s music CDs and the audio soundtracks on DVD movies. In addition to DVD Audio/SACD support, the DV-20D offers progressive scan, onboard DTS and Dolby Digital processing and will playback all rewriteable CD and DVD discs filled with JPEGs, CD and MP3 tracks. Did we mention the price?

‘Affordable’ £11,000 cinema projector

Sim2 doesn’t do entry level projectors which is why the high-end company is happy to announce it’s affordable C3X, which comes in at a measly £11,000. Still, it should be noted that the good-looking C3X is touted as the world’s first compact, 3-chip DLP projector designed to replace bigger, louder and more expensive rivals. It's also part of Sim2's top-end Grand Cinema range. Sim2_c3xTo understand the term 'compact' in the high-end projector arena, the C3X measures 17.1 x 7.5 x 16.9 inches and weighs in at 11Kg – that’s pretty light. It boasts not one, but three HD2+ DarkChip processors, Sim2’s DLP Light Engine technology for enhancing image quality, a very high 6500:1 contrast ratio, high-definition resolution, and a 250Watt lamp that beams out a claimed brightness of 2500 Lumens. It also comes with a boatload of customisable features, software and lenses. What you should be asking yourself right now is whether or not you really need that second family car?

Philips’ streaming flagship hits UK

The Philips Wireless Music Centre has finally sneaked into the UK and is set to cause a stir. Philips has already pinned its hopes on the whole streaming concept with its Streamium line and the new Wireless Music Center (WACS700) will certainly turn a few heads and, empty a few pockets. Sporting a 40GB hard disk drive, this is a digital music server that rips CDs into MP3s and let’s you stream up to five different (or the same) audio streams around the house to other Wi-Fi devices. Philips_was700You can also connect it to your PC for transferring files. It uses the fast 802.11g wireless networking standard for transport speeds of up to 54MBps. A ‘music broadcast’ feature lets you get into house party mode and stream the same song around the house in perfect synchronisation. It’s a beautifully designed piece of kit that uses Philips Super Sound Panel Speaker technology to produce decent sound without impacting its good looks. You can get it now at Dixons if you have a hefty £600 to spare. Does anyone else feel that for £600 we deserve a bigger hard disk drive?

BenQ scoops top projector gong

BenQ, which seems to gobbling up share in every IT and consumer electronics sector, has just won the European Home Theatre Projector of the Year award. The award from the prestigious EISA (European Imaging and Sound Association) went to BenQ’s midrange PE7700 DLP projector. Benq_pe7700Awards like this are good for business and a good sign to consumers that just because BenQ is new to the European projector scene, doesn't mean it’s winning business on price alone. EISA said that the PE7700 pipped the rest thanks to its great performance from high-definition sources and a feature list as long as your arm. Sony_qualia_004This included five sets of colour temperature settings, a six-segment colour wheel and a very quiet lamp fan. See a review here. Even so, the fact that it costs just £1,400 probably didn’t hurt either. In the high-end projector category, Sony's £14,000 Qualia 004 took top honours. 

Denon tweaks award-winning AV kit

Leading home cinema and sound house Denon, has taken the duster to its award-winning entry-level and midrange AV receivers and released new versions. The £329 AVR-1906 and £449 AVR-2106 will replace the AVR-1905 and AVR-2105 (pictured) and, if Denon has any sense, it will have changed very little of what helped them garner more leading AV awards than is really fair. Denon_avr2105_silverBoth have new digital sound/signal processors (DSPs), three HDTV inputs, two Coax digital inputs and the Audio Delay feature to improve lip-synching with progressive scan DVD players. They also a very useful automatic set-up feature, with bundled microphone, to ensure the system is perfectly calibrated for your room. More details here and check prices here.

VW record player in your pocket

Who says you have to pay through the nose for a decent turntable? The VW camper van (nothing to do with the official VW) is a toy and a record player in one. Vw_vansIt’s also one of the weirdest gadgets to grace this blog and we take no responsibility whatsoever if this thing scratches the hell out of your precious first print of Are you Experienced? Powered by a 9 Volt battery and housing an in-built speaker, the VW camper van plays your favourite vinyl by driving  around it. Apart from raising the bar for novelty gadgets to a new high, the makers insist that it's an invaluable testing tool when buying second hand records. Jimi_hendrix__are_you_experiencedWe think as silly party gadgets that don’t involve alcohol go, this one will be hard to beat. It may be no £2,000 Wilson Benesch Full Circle but at £69 this is one toy car you will want to keep out of little Timmy’s reach.

Two-speaker surround sound back again

Philips is joining the growing ranks of companies launching stereo home cinema kit that promises surround sound. The HTS8000S is a 2.1 (two speakers and subwoofer) system that promises 5.1 surround sound thanks to Philips SonoWave Speaker System. We have been here before with the KEF Kit 100 Instant Theatre and gone beyond it with the truly outstanding one-speaker surround sound beauty, the Yamaha YSP-1. Philips_hts8000sThe HTS8000S uses numerous drivers within each speaker, all firing in different directions to create a 'virtual' surround sound feel. For those in the know, virtual is another way of saying not real, substitute, fake and possibly, not as good as the real deal. It features an integrated DVD/SACD player, FM radio, and an amplifier to deliver a claimed total RMS of 550Watts. They say, give us a whopping great £400 for a stereo that offers somewhat-real surround sound. We say, why not pay around the same for the real thing with the award-winning Denon DHT-500SD.

Minimalist home cinema from LG

Home cinema sound is awash with big, small, fat and curvy speaker sets but you really don’t see too many like these. LG Electronics has announced that it’s taking up with the king of wafer-thin speaker technology NXT, to market some truly stunning looking 5.1 speakers with its contemporary-looking  Xcanvas digital entertainment system. Lg_xcanvasIt will use five of NXT’s Tallboy Type loudspeakers incorporating the trademark SurfaceSound technology. The rest of the XCanvas system comprises a subwoofer, 50in plasma screen, integrated master unit with DVD player, VCR, surround sound processor and amplifier. The super slim speakers can be used as floor standers but we think you’d be mad not to mount them flush on the wall next to the monster plasma screen. No UK date set yet but it's nice to know they're on the horizon.   

Frag-tastic goodies from Logitech

Peripherals giant Logitech has finally decided to jazz up its ‘one-size fits all’ offerings by zeroing in on the more exciting gaming segment. The company has just taken the warps off the suitably different looking G15 gamers keyboard and launched two high-performance gaming mice, the G5 and G7. Logitech_g15The G15 boasts a distinctive LCD display for showing handy in-game info or data from other applications (email alerts etc.) without interrupting intense, kill-or-be-killed fragging. There are 18-programmable keys and a software developers kit if you feel like writing your own LCD programs. Both the G5 and cordless G7 boast laser-based tracking systems with a 2,000dpi resolution. They are Logitech’s first mice to use full-speed USB delivering 500 reports per second for extra precision. Most vanilla mice deliver just 60-125 per second. And the cost of these gaming beauties? Due in September, the G15 keyboard will cost you £45, while the G5 and G7 will come in at £40 and £55. Head over here for more on the keyboard and mice.

Designer TVs bursting with features

Philips has finally launched the three feature-rich LCD TVs that it announced way back in March. The snappily-named 32PF9830, 37PF9830 and 42PF9830 come crammed with features including DVI-I and HDMI connectivity, in-built Wi-Fi, Memory Card readers and USB ports. Resolution is a high-definition (HD) 1366 x 768 and all models will include Philips excellent Pixel Plus 2 and AmbiLight 2 technologies.Philips_42pf9830 Pixel Plus 2 is a video processing technology that increases picture sharpness, detail levels and colours while AmbiLight 2 is a background lighting system that produces lighting to match the incoming signal for a more ‘immersive picture that doesn’t strain the eye’. How considerate. The pricing, however, is a little less so with 32PF9830, 37PF9830 and 42PF9830 costing £2,299, £2,799 and £3,799. Check some current prices here.

Hi-fi killer from Monitor Audio

These days you’re no one if you can’t dock your iPod with your existing home entertainment kit - at least that’s what company marketing hype would have you believe. UK sound specialist, Monitor Audio is the latest to step into the world of hi-fi killers with the unsurprisingly named, i-Deck. It looks good with those sloping speakers and unlike some tiny, weak sounding docking stations, this one packs a little more muscle. Monitor_audio_ideckIt's not the style statement that the iCarrier is but it will do for those looking for something less conspicuous. The speakers are 18W which won’t blow your socks off but won’t sound like The Borrowers either. It comes with a remote control and you can hook it up to a PC or Mac via USB or Firewire for transferring tracks. It’s compatible with 3G and 4G iPods and, like most iPod related products, reassuringly expensive at £249.

Exploding home cinema seats

The time has come to trade in that tatty, overstuffed armchair for some real home cinema seating -  with a difference. Dbox_quest_motion_simulation_seatHow about an armchair with in-built motion sensors that synchronise with the motion of the movie you are watching? This is what the Quest series of chairs from D-Box promise. Unlike separate butt rumblers that you can bolt to your existing chair/couch, this thing has been built from the ground up to interact with what you are watching – within limits. The chairs boast a pair of direct-drive actuators that lift and move the seat, doling out up to 2Gs of acceleration and 500lbs of lift. The seat is connected to your DVD player and D-Box software interprets the movie you are watching. It has to be a movie it’s been coded for though and the list, including action stalwarts The Animatrix and Die Hard - stands at around 200 with new movies added regularly. AnimatrixThese chairs have been around for little while in the US and Canada but now there’s a UK dealer. The Quest armchair is certainly different and you'll never actually be able to doze off during a movie again. But, it’s up to you whether or not you want to fork out around £2,700 to sit in something that will spill your drinks and curry all over you every time Bruce spots a bad guy? Read a review here.

Shoot movies with your phone

You may raise your eyebrows and guffaw, but making movies using camera phones is the latest craze. Shane Meadows, the maverick director of one of the truly great revenge flicks – Dead Man’s Shoes – has made a 15-second short called ‘The Stairwell’ using an Nokia N90. DeadmansshoesNokia is obviously chuffed with the concept and has been pushing the idea through its new competition for - you guessed it - 15-second films. This may be a fad but then pundits sniggered at the idea of digital cameras built into mobiles phones and now look where we are. If your inner Coppola/Tarantino/Farrelly Brothers is screaming for release then maybe you should think about using all that extra phone functionality you paid through the nose for last Christmas.

Tiny PMPs are getting ridiculous

We thought we had pegged one of the world’s smallest portable media players (PMP) this week with the arrival of Samsung’s YP-T8. We were wrong. MPIO is now laying claim to that title, although what good is a 1in screen unless you have binoculars strapped to your face? Mpio_tiniest_pmp2Whereas the YP-T8 is small and has a 1.8in screen, the MPIO One is tiny with a 1in screen and weighs in at a little over 1oz. It comes in 256MB, 512MB and 1GB varieties, looks very cool, supports MP3/WMA/WMA DRM files, plays video in MPEG-4 format and will be really easy to lose. MPIO wants you to believe that, with the 1in 65,000 OLED display, “you can enjoy movies, pictures, and games.” From where? We figure any further than about 7-8ins away and you'll need a visual aid. And finally, if you thought Apple was expensive (which it is), check out the heart-stopping price tags of £119 for the scrawny 256MB model and £179 for the 1GB version.

Superman Returns footage gets thumbs up

The first glimpse of footage from the eagerly awaited Superman Returns movie had a hard-core comic audience on its feet at the recent Comic Con event. And, despite the odds, they were clapping not throwing chairs. Superman_returnsHelmed by X-Men director Bryan Singer, Superman Returns has attracted a zealot-like level of scrutiny from millions of comic book fans and lovers of the Christopher Reeve originals. After all, the unveiling of the new costume a few months back sparked more Internet debate than the last general election. Admittedly, it was far more interesting. To find out what the clip entailed – albeit in words - go here, while you can sate your movie queries about the new movie with this Q&A with Singer. For everything else related to the Man of Steel, fly here.

Making fire out of water

It might look like some leftover Elven harp from Lord of the Rings but this is the world’s cleanest fire because it’s fuelled by water. What better accessory for all that brushed aluminium AV and streaming wizardry in your living room? The Aqueon from Heat & Glo uses tap water (although it prefers distilled), through which a 220Volt charge is passed. Aqueon_fire2This separates the hydrogen and oxygen molecules, the former which is then ignited by the Aqueon. The leftover O2 gives the flame its colour. The only emissions are water vapour. Being hydrogen, it pumps out fair bit of energy and needs four pints an hour which means you should have it hooked up to water barrel or the mains. It may sound fantastical but this actually exists. There is even a UK dealer here. But, since we can’t find a price it’s either due to launch soon or is really, really expensive. Be warned, people from Kent caught purchasing another water-guzzling device during the summer months will be deported.

Sony launches LCD TV assault

Not one, two, but three new ranges of LCD TVs are on the horizon from Sony. Due later this month, you can expect to see the S, V, and W series of high definition TVs (HDTVs) winking at you from shop windows all over the UK. All models will come with HDMI interfaces and some will sport integrated tuners for receiving free digital broadcasts like Freeview. Sony_klv_26hg2The S series is targeted at those making their first hop from CRT to LCD and will feature 19in, 23in, 26in and 32in models, with a 40in version due in October. Next up the monetary ladder is the style-conscious V series with models ranging from 26in-40in, with a 42in plasma variant thrown in. Finally, the W series is aimed at true movie buffs with no respect for money and comprises a 40in LCD and 50in plasma screen. There are no prices yet but it’s Sony so sell your kid's PlayStation 2 and start saving yesterday. More details here.

Cinema in your pocket

Just a few days ago we revealed that Archos was planning a mouth-watering 100GB version of its new 30GB AV500 portable media player. And, just like that, here it is in all of its glory. The Archos AV 700 boasts a massive 7in screen which is almost double that of most PMPs and can playback video in a solid 720 x 576 resolution at 25 frames per second. Archos_av_700That said, it's also bigger and weighs in at  about 20ozs. The 100GB drive is capable of storing up to 250, 90-minute MPEG-4 movies, 55,000 songs, 1 million JPEG photos and can record directly from the TV, VCR, PC or DVD player. Phew! DiVX is also supported. Many of the features are similar to its AV 500 sibling, just on a much grander scale. For those of you for whom the 3.7in screen and 30GB drive of the very attractive and newly launched Zen Vision are just not enough, then this could be the PMP for you. Amazon and others claim to have it now but you can expect the UK price to be around £420.

Killer mouse for gaming

The mouse and keyboard are the happily married couple for playing first-person shooter (FPS) games but a new device is making adultery very tempting. Part claw, part bear’s foot, the Mystify Claw from Terratec is the oddest gaming device we’ve come across in a long time, But, it's one which could make six straight hours of Half Life 2 a breeze. Terratec_mystify_clawToss aside the keyboard and dock your hand in the Claw. It has up to 100-programmable commands per button and is designed to let you support your mouse trigger finger with a more intuitive – and let’s face it – comfortable movement/action controller. There are four Shift buttons for accessing up to 30 commands and it even comes pre-configured for the most popular FPS games. At $40, this is worth checking out just to have a plaster cast of the Yeti’s foot on your desk. Read an in-depth review here.

Samsung's ultra-light portable media player

Mini portable media players (PMPs) are a half-way house in terms of functionality and performance but that’s not stopping Samsung. Most PMPs sport screens ranging from 2.5ins to 4ins, sport mini-hard disk drives of 20-40GB and weigh in at around 6-8 ounces. Samsung has just released its YP-T8 PMP, a tiny Flash-based device in 512MB, 1GB and 2GB flavours. Looking like a phone, it sports a tiny 1.8in screen with a 160 x 128 resolution, which means it’s not winning any video quality awards. The weedy resolution, teeny weeny screen and storage capacity of the drive make it unsuitable for watching movies but, isn’t that the whole point of PMPs? Obviously, we are wrong. Samsung_ypt8Samsung is hoping you will use it for viewing some favourite (yet small) home movie clips, Net downloads, music videos and JPEGs. The upside is that it looks cool, weighs a feather-like 2ozs, has 20 hours battery life (for audio), an FM tuner and recorder and it supports MP3, WMA, WMA-DRM and ASF tunes. Finally, a handy USB slot will let you transfer material directly onto it from another USB-based device without needing a PC. This is less a PMP and more an MP3 player with some basic video functionality and a 1.8in display that will be more than adequate for choosing your next song. The prices won't hurt either with the three models coming in at $199, $249 and $299.

Dixons targets digital home

Whenever a retail behemoth like Dixons sets it sights on a market it’s because it can smell a profit. This time it has teamed up with Hitachi to exclusively sell the AXM140 – a do-it-all home cinema and music server system. Unlike the more professional Cambridge Azur 640H music server, the AXM140 is a more general purpose music and DVD system but with enough snappy features to make it interesting  - if the price is right. DixonsIt comprises two bookshelf speakers and four separates. It has a 40GB hard disk drive, DVD drive, DAB radio, iPod hook-up and USB for hooking it up to MP3 players and your PC for transferring audio files. Tracks a can also be ripped directly from CDs and DVDs. It’s not out until next month so there are no prices yet but the entry level Hitachi AXM68D DAB hi-fi system, comprising two separates, is around £100. A guess of £150-£200 can’t be too far off the mark.

Panasonic breaks new HDD/DVD recorder ground

Panasonic is continuing to drive forward in the DVD recording market by launching the first combo DVD and hard disk drive recorder with an in-built digital TV tuner. Panasonic_dmr_eh60_hadd_and_pvr_recorder_1The DMR-EH60 boasts a massive 200GB hard disk drive, which translates into 44 hours of DVD-quality recordings or 355 hours (over 2 weeks) of VHS-quality recordings. The digital TV tuner will allow users to pick up the 30 Freeview channels. The DMR-EH60 also records to blank DVDs, plays DVDs back in progressive scan, supports DVD-Audio and MP3 playback. It may be more expensive than the Sky+ 160 but you are getting a progressive scan DVD player/recorder, an extra 40GB and extra connectivity options thrown in. It costs £480 here.

World’s biggest iPod accessory?

You really don’t expect iPod accessories to be three feet tall and weigh in at 20lbs but that’s because you haven’t yet met the iCarrier. Holding the crown as the biggest iPod add-on, this three-way speaker from Ignitek ups the sound stakes. Ignitek_icarrier_speaker_1The system is tall and thin and made up of an iPod dock on top, a pair of 20Watt speakers and a 25Watt subwoofer at the base. Aesthetically, this is a design classic but its $249 price tag might put off less fanatical iPod owners. Also, how much of market can there be for this when a growing number of truly great hi-fi systems are arriving with iPod and MP3 docks as standard? Still, it's very easy on the eye and if you want to see how it performs check out a good review here.

Sky’s HDTV box revealed

Here’s your first look at what will be sitting under, on or beside many of your TVs sometime next year. For anyone interested in broadcast high definition TV (HDTV), this is what Sky’s combined receiver and PVR (personal video recorder) will look like. Sky_hdtv_boxBuilt by Thomson, the sleek, curvy design and contemporary styling looks very good indeed, and is streets ahead of Sky’s existing boxes. All the main controls are unobtrusively placed on the front and there’s a dial-control on top of the unit. Details on what exactly will be under the hood are largely non-existent but it will boast a big hard disk drive (80GB-200GB) and a network connection to enable iPTV. Sky’s HD content will use the  MPEG-4 format and will broadcast in two resolutions: 720p/50 and 1080i/25. Functionality will be similar, Sky claims, to Sky+ which according to the latest financial report has racked up 888,000 subscribers – up from 397,000 a year ago. We’ll have the latest HDTV box details as soon as some disgruntled Thomson/Sky employee posts them on the Web, so keep checking back. Here's a Sky HDTV FAQ for those planning on signing up next year.

Cut-price music downloads from Panasonic

 

There’s a lot of justified grumbling about the cost of certain music download services which is why Panasonic thinks it can steal a share of this crowded space. It has just unveiled its Panasonic Music Stream service which, for the next few days, is offering tracks at 49p each – that’s around 30p cheaper than rivals iTunes Music Sharing and Napster. Panasonic_svmp110v_mp3_playerThat said, after August 7, the price snaps back up to the regular wallet-crushing 79p per track. The site has 750,000 songs on offer right now and Panasonic has launched some new MP3 players to coincide with the launch, including the SVMP120  and the SVMP110 (pictured). Next month, Virgin will re-launch itself in the download space with a new service and 1 million tracks. 

 

Gnomes invade UK digital homes

Not all gnomes are ugly and useless, apparently. Sky has just announced the Sky Gnome, a wireless device that connects to any Sky box and lets you stream TV and radio channels around the home. The Gnome has a range of 30 meters, boasts stereo sound and an LCD display that shows channel and programme information. Sky_gnomeParents might be happy (or concerned) to know that it can also be used to spy on your kids, by listening into whatever they might be watching on the TV from another room. There’s no subscription needed for this but, as of now, there’s no pricing details for the little fellow either. Still, it will be here in October. See some more info and pics here.

InFocus slashes projector prices

Leading projector manufacturer InFocus, has taken a knife to the prices of some of its leading home cinema projectors. The award-winning ScreenPlay 4805 entry level projector is now £50 cheaper at £849 while the midrange ScreenPlay 7205 – another award-winner – has had £500 lopped off, making it £2,999. Infocus_screenplay_777The 7210 is down £500 to £3,999. Even better news is the that the price of the flagship  ScreenPlay 777 (pictured), voted European High-End Projector of the Year 2004-2005, has plummeted £6,000 to £13,999. Do these cuts herald the arrival of new models? We hope so.

Zen Vision finally ships

Creative’s Zen Vision 30GB portable media player (PMP) which has been playing hide and seek for some months now has finally been launched in the US which means UK arrival is imminent. Measuring 4.6in x2.9in x 0.8 in, the Zen Vision (previously blogged here) weighs in at just over 8ozs which makes it quite portable indeed. Creative_zen_vision1_2It sports an impressive 3.7in SharpPix display with a 640x480 resolution capable of showing 262,144 colours for video and photo playback. With a price tag of $399.99 (£225) at the moment, it’s priced very favourably against the recently launched Archos AV500 which is also a 30GB device with a 4in screen but costs £350. Be warned though that good US prices do not always translate into good UK ones. Full Zen Vision details here.

Star Wars TV series on the way

Not one, but two, Star Wars TV spin-offs are on the way under the watchful eye of George Lucas: one animated and one live action. At the recent Siggraph event, Lucas confirmed that the current three-minute Clone Wars mini-series will be extended into a series of 30 minute adventures.Star_wars_clone_wars Details are quite sketchy on the live-action one though which will feature mainly new characters and some existing Stars Wars characters. Filming is due to start next year. One word of caution though, Lucas said it will be something like the Young Indiana Jones TV series which means you might not want to hold your breath after all.

Archos plans 100GB personal media player

Personal Media Players (PMPs) or Personal Video Players (PVPs) are finally coming on strong in the features department. We've just spotted the new Archos AV500 on the Argos Web site which is just as well since Archos have largely failed to announce its existence yet. Archos_av500With a £349 price tag, it’s more expensive than your average PMP device but then you are getting more bang for your buck. For starters, it comes with a 30GB hard disk drive and a 4in widescreen display - almost double that of most other devices. You can record video material directly to the device from your TV, VCR, PC or DVD player and there’s even a timer device for scheduling recording times. Even better, it will playback MPEG-4 content at 720 x 576 pixels at 25 frames-per-second. The removable Lithium-ion battery promises 5 hours of video playback and 15 hours of audio playback. If this device takes your fancy then you may want to hold out just a little longer as the grapevine is awash with tales that Archos will announce an 80GB-100GB version in the coming months.

DiVA hits home cinema high notes

UK sound specialist Arcam has spruced up its DiVA home cinema offerings with the introduction of the AVP700 pre-amplifier and AVP1000 power amplifier. The AVP700 uses Arcam’s high-end sound processor, the FMJ AV8, and offers features including video format up-conversion and HDMI digital video switching.Arcam_avp700_p1000small Like Arcam’s Solo range it also sports a front-panel jack for connecting MP3 players. The AVP1000 is a 7.1 power amp boasting 135Watts RMS per channel and has a lot to live up to thanks to its little brother, the AVR300, winning awards like ‘world’s best AV amp’. The AVP700 and AVP1000 cost around £1,200 and £1,300 respectively.

Zen Micro Photo sneaks into UK

The long-awaited Zen Micro Photo from Creative Labs has finally hit the UK, although you’d almost think that Creative didn’t want you to know. Creative_zenmicrophoto2There’s been no official announcement or Web-based material on any of its Web sites. Yet, Argos are flogging it for £220. Maybe Creative thinks a stealth approach to marketing and promotion is the way to defeat the new colour iPod. Previewed in January at the CES 2005 show, the Zen Micro Photo garnered much in the way of ‘oohs’ and ‘ahhs’, as well as an award. The 6GB device is essentially a Zen Micro with a 2.5in OLED display for viewing your snaps. Creative_zenmicrophoto3It can hold 3,000 MP3s or 7,500 JPEG files and comes with an in-built FM radio. See some specs information at a non-Creative site here.

Digital cinemas get one step closer

Hands up anyone who’s ever been to a movie where the image was out of focus, scratched or had lots of visible ‘pops’? That’s everyone then. The days of movies arriving on film reels and played on dodgy old projectors could be coming to an end in the coming years as Hollywood agrees to go digital. For the first time the major studios have agreed on something through the industry consortium, Digital Cinema Initiatives (DCI), and will start distributing movies digitally. Movies will be encrypted and sent via the Net to each cinema where it would be decrypted onsite. The reason for the shift is money, of course. Studios are hoping to save almost $1bn – the cost of sending out film reels across the world. After three years, version 1.0 of the requirements and specifications for digital cinema have arrived in a mammoth 176-page document. Battleangel_alita_1Directors including James Cameron, George Lucas and Robert Rodriguez are already jumping for joy at the news and singing the praises of digital movies. Cameron’s Battle Angel Alita (pictured) will be a live/CGI digital version of the popular Manga comic and anime series. We should be jumping for joy too since it means no more movies in ‘FuzzyVision’. However, cinemas will need to upgrade to servers and digital projectors which will cost from £30,000-£70,000 per screen. As you can imagine, neither the studios nor the cinema owners have agreed on who should foot the bill. Good articles in Wired and the LA Times about what it will all mean.
 

Monster 30GB camcorder from JVC

The biggest downfall of camcorders has always been the storage limitations of various types of tape, disc and removable media. JVC took the long overdue step of introducing camcorders with mini hard disk drives in 2004 and all we can ask is why hasn’t every manufacturer made such a consumer-friendly move? Jvc_everio_mg50dkglayopen_380From September, JVC will start rolling out the new compact (14oz) Everio range. The Everio GZ-MG20, GZ-MG30 and GZ-MG50 models will sport 20GB and 30GB hard disk drives. The top-end GZ-MG50 will let you record over 7 hours of video at the best resolution in MPEG-2 format. The USB 2.0 port means content can be transferred quickly to PC or external storage drive while all models will come with both Windows and Apple Mac software. The flagship GZ-MG50, due in October, will cost around £750. More details on the range here.

10,000 radio stations for £199

There are radios and then there are Wi-Fi Internet radios. Acoustic Energy (AE) is planning to introduce it’s AE Wi-Fi radio in time for Christmas and claims it can access more than 99 per cent of all Internet-based radio stations in the world. Acoustic_energy_wifi_radio2And, there are no subscription costs to pay. This is all down to a deal AE has inked with Internet radio gateway company, Reciva. The radio connects wirelessly to your broadband connection and the Reciva gateway downloads links to over 2,500 radio stations listed by country and music genre. Even better, the radio acts as media streaming device and will let you access your-PC-based Real Audio, MP3s and WMA files around the home via the in-built 802.11b wireless technology. For under £200, this could be a worthy stocking filler.

Fujitsu's heavyweight projector weighs in

After you’ve won the Lottery or flogged your car, you may be able to afford the new super high-resolution projector from Fujitsu. Stretching chequebooks to the extreme is the £17,000 LPF-D711 LCD projector. DLP projectors have just started to dominate LCD models in sales terms for the first time, but at the high end it’s all about performance and the pricey LPF-D711 is not exactly aimed at your average home cinema buff. Fujitsulpfd711It comes with three of Epson’s super high resolution and high contrast LCD panels - one each for red, green and blue. It has a stunning high-definition resolution of 1920 x 1080, a brightness of 1,200 Lumens and a quoted contrast of 3300:1 It also features a separate connector box that offers more connectivity options than you will ever need, including HDCP-compliant HDMI input, four component video, four S-video, five composite video, two RGB VGA and one DVI-D, as well as an RS-232 control port. To see how DLP and LCD projector technologies square up, cast your eyes over this excellent overview.

Big boom subs from Meridian

For that big movie rumble you need a decent subwoofer to make the most of low-frequency sounds. Just take a listen to the beach landing from Saving Private Ryan with, and without, Savingprivateryana subwoofer and you’ll know exactly what we mean. High-end audio specialist Meridian Audio has taken the wraps off two big additions to its range with the SW1600 and the SW5500 subwoofers, featuring single and dual 12in, long throw bass drivers, respectively. The new models will replace the existing D1500 and D2500. Meridiansw5500They come with separate digital and analogue inputs, which are powered separately to reduce distortion. Meridian claims that both models have been optimised to work just as well with music and movies. The SW1600 and the SW5500 are priced at £1,995 and £2,560.


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