« December 2005 | Main | February 2006 »
High-def DVD player from Marantz
Marantz has taken
the wraps off two new slimline DVD players, including a high definition (HD)
model for under £350. The HD DV6600 comes with Faroudja DCDi processing and the
ability to output both 720p and 1080i video signals in PAL or NTSC Progressive Scan.
The HDMI connection delivers full-bandwidth, uncompressed digital video and
audio to any HD-ready TV or projector. Sound plays an important part of this
machine’s arsenal with a ADV7322 216MHz/11-bit DAC (Digital Audio Converter)
from Analog Devices and 24-bit/192kHz, Delta-Sigma, Digital-to-Analogue
converters from Texas Instruments (TI) across all six channels of sound.
According to Marantz, the converters use TI’s enhanced multilevel delta-sigma
architecture to boost dynamic performance and improved tolerance to clock
jitter. More importantly for music lovers, the Audio Exclusive feature mode
bypasses the video circuits for audiophile sound quality without EMI
interference, and gold-plated line outputs. 
The DV660 also plays both DVD-Audio
and Super Audio CD multi-channel music discs, in addition to DVD-R/RW, DivX,
MP3, WMA and JPEG. At the entry-level, Marantz has launched the £100 DV4360
progressive scan DVD player, with 54MHz/10-bit video DAC and on-board Dolby
Digital decoder.
DVD Movies home entertainment marantz
NEC plasmas target living room
NEC, which is strong in the commercial
flat-screen market, has kicked off its campaign to win the harts of consumers. It has
launched six new HD-Ready plasma TVs, including three for the home market; the
42in R4, 50in R5 and 61in R4. All three are 16:9 widescreen models with a high
4000:1 contrast ratio. They sport dual HDMI interfaces, which is handy, since
many new high definition panels are still only arriving with one. HDMI connections
mean the TV can be connected to high-definition DVD players and HD set-top boxes,
allowing the digital signal to be transferred to the screen without any conversion.
Component video, S-video and Scart connections are also supported. Other
features of the new models include split-screen and picture-in-picture options.
Rear-projection TVs go high-def
With the new 720p and 1080p DLP chipsets, expect to see a
slew of HD rear-projection models on the way. The two processors are the 45in
720p and the 65in 1080p DLP chips. Both chipsets feature BrilliantColor
technology which extends DLP colour processing from three to six colours and
boosts screen brightness by up to 50%. Samsung will be the first to use the new
chips in rear-projection TVs in the coming months.
TV DLP texas instruments home entertainment
Sonos extends wireless music family
The latest addition to its family of wireless,
multi-room systems is the ZonePlayer ZP80, which allows you to hook up digital
music players and existing analog stereos, radios or home cinemas set-ups to
allow that sound to be wirelessly streamed to different rooms. This solution
will appeal to people that have excellent turntables or CD players already and
want to ensure that they can extend those systems digitally around the home. It comes with a
full colour remote control that lets you control what you hear wherever you
are. It will ship this spring and set you back around £270.
audio wireless sonos home entertainment
Samsung’s little movie marvel
The unit boasts a Carl Zeiss lens and 2.5 hours
life on its internal battery. Resolution is 800 x 600 which is good enough for
DVDs but not high-definition (HD) – although expecting high-def from a unit this
small is asking a it much. It uses a DLP chip but the lamp fires out just 25
ANSI Lumens so you better make sure you are up close and personal and sitting
in a dark room. Still, gamers should get a real kick out of this little marvel.
Due in March, it will cost roughly £450. More.
projector DLP Samsung home cinema
Onkyo's smart mini Hi-Fi
Intelligent hi-fi is a growing
trend, with sound systems now pre-programmed to make them easier to set-up for
the novice user. Audiophiles are used to spending lots of time and money
creating the current environment in which to place their expensive sound
systems but most of us don’t have the time or skills to make those changes. Onkyo is hoping that’s it’s reasonably priced
X-T1 audio system will bring something new, and helpful, to the market with the
inclusion of a new technology called "aero acoustic drive". This
feature is designed to cancel out echo in any room it is placed in. The
technology automatically calculates the room’s surroundings and adjusts the
sound for the best performance. The striking design with the very large central
dial is a nice touch and the unit also boasts an AM/FM tuner, CD/MD player,
subwoofer and amplifier built-in. 
Like
most audio systems now, it also comes with iPod
support. This mini system launches in Japan first next month for around £220,
but hopes are high that it will make its appearance over here soon after that.
Luxury Media Center PC
Media Center PCs are
becoming more popular and just like consumer electronics, there are some elite
systems hitting the streets. Check out the Fidelity Media PC from UK
manufacturer, Entertainment PC (EPC) which boasts 1080p high-definition (HD)
output and a staggering set of specifications which includes hard drives
ranging in size from 300GB to 2 Terabytes (TBs), which is whopping 2000GB. To
give you an idea of how much storage that is, the entry-level 300GB will handle up to 140 hours
of TV recordings, 40 DVDs or 4,000 CDs. The dual-layer DVD rewriter and extreme
hard disk storage means you can copy much of your DVD collection onto the PC in
order to do away with the tedious task of swapping discs. The system is powered
by an Intel Pentium 4 3GHz, runs the Windows Media PC operating system and
comes with an nVidia GeForce 6600 graphics processor. 
In high-def terms, the
card supports all of the HD formats (720p,
1080i and 1080p HD formats) and will also upscale DVD and Freeview TV video to
higher resolutions. The systems will be on sale from Sevenoaks Sound and Vision
home entertainment stores. As you can imagine, this luxury Media PC will cost
you a pretty penny. Here are sample prices:
EPC Fidelity-t or
Fidelity-s with 300GB hard drive: £3,000
With 600GB Hard
Drive option £3,200
With 1 Terabyte
Hard Drive option: £3,600
With 2 Terabyte
Hard Drive option: £4,200
PC home entertainment media center
Bang & Olufsen's BeoVision 7-40
Style gurus, Bang
& Olufsen, continue to push the design envelope with its latest TV. The
BeoVision 7-40 is a 40in LCD TV with in-built DVD and digital surround sound
module. The TV boasts the company’s VisionClear technology that adds some nice
features not seen on other TVs. Most notable is the TVs ability to
automatically adjust picture quality to match lighting conditions while the
anti-reflection coating makes it possible to view the screen clearly in strong
daylight. The BeoLab 7-4 centre loudspeaker can be mounted on the TV. Powered
by two 250W digital amplifiers, it has been fine-tuned to boost the delivery of
speech and has a 180 degree listening range. 
The DVD loader swings out silently
from the TV’s chassis and the TV can be tilted and turned using the Beo4 remote
control. The TV can even be programmed to turn and tilt towards your favourite
viewing position when switched on, returning to a neutral position when you
turn it off. Now all you need is about £8,000.
tv home entertainment bang & olufsen
Sim2 goes high-def
Sim2, the high-end
projector company with cracking products and frightening prices, has said it
will launch it’s first 1080p high-definition projector in April. The Grand Cinema
HT3000 1080p DLP projector will boast a native resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels
(1080p), which is as high as high-def gets. The company days the new model will
be ideally suited to the first raft of high-definition DVDs from the HD-DVD and
Blu-Ray camps due in Q2 as well as Sky’s HD broadcasts which start in June. The
projector uses the new 0,95” 1080p single DMD chip from Texas Instruments and
combines it with Sim2’s owns Alpha Path light engine. 
There are no details yet
on its contrast levels but it does sport two HDMI inputs for transferring
digital material, without compression, from HDMI-equipped DVD players and TVs.
Expect to pay a shade under £9,000.
Sexy PMP from Aigo
Portable media
players (PMPs) are going to be big in 2006. Thanks to the arrival of the iPod
Video, the whole market for these little portable cinemas can expect a big lift
throughout the year. Chinese player Aigo has announced the cute, yet
unimaginatively named, E858. Square and small, the device measures just 66 x 66
x 19mm and weighs in at a micro 85g. It features a 2in screen and supports MP3, WMA, MPEG 4, OGG formats and ID3 lyrics display. There’s a USB 2.0
port for transferring material from a PC and TV Out connection to hook it up
for watching your stored movies on the big screen. 
The company claims 4 hours
battery life for video – which is good – and five hours for music playback –
which is not good. It comes in 512Mb, 1GB, and 2GB versions. Aigo already sell
a full range of MP3 players in the UK and this should arrive soon. That said,
you can find a 1GB one online for about £135. Via Gizmodo.
Hi-tech massage chair for the digital home
Not even furniture
is safe from the convergence juggernaut. We've all see the recliners and even
the rumble-chair that shakes along with movie explosions, but now it's time to
meet the iJoy ZipConnect Massage Chair. What better (or worse) addition to your
digital home? The ZipConnect module will hook up to any iPod, MP3, portable CD
or satellite radio via a headphone jack and replay the sound through the
chair’s built-in stereo speakers in the headrest and subwoofer in the base. As
for the massage, well, here’s what the makers claim:
“Incredibly
realistic Human Touch Technology Robotic Massage feels amazingly like the hands
of a skilled — and tireless — masseuse. Replicates the actual back-massage
techniques used by massage therapists and chiropractic professionals - smooth
rolling, deep kneading, tapping percussion and therapeutic compression.”
If the idea of
being rolled around the chair and tapped constantly throughout your movie
excites you then this is the back-rubbing, singing recliner you’ve always
dreamed of. Just write a cheque for about £375.
technology geek furniture ipod
Pioneer unveils Blu-Ray player
This year will be the year of high-definition TV and high-capacity DVDs.
HD DVD players and content is due to ship in Q2 with Blu-Ray launching a few
months later. Pioneer will be among the first to launch a Blu-Ray machine as
early as May (in the US). The BDP-HD1 - which looks a bit like a first generation VCR - will deliver 1920 x 1080p image quality, the highest
of the three high definition signals, and also sports IP network capabilities
that allows it to receive high-def content and music from the
Internet via broadband. It has a HDMI input and supports new high-resolution
audio formats including DTS-HD and Dolby Digital. The player is also compatible
with regular DVDs, DVD-R, DVD-RW, +R, +RW discs and WMV files. 
Due in the UK in early summer it will cost a pricey £950 but if you can control
your gadget urges and wait until Christmas, you can pick up new generation HD DVD and
Blu-Ray players for less than half that.
Kef updates best-selling sound series
Kef has started
the New Year with its first new home cinema offering, the KHT3005 5.1 speaker
package. Sporting a new ‘egg’ look, Kef is boasting better performance over its
best-selling predecessor, the KHT2005.2, and the ability to blow similar rival
offerings out of the water. This is obviously so new though that the company doesn't have a good photo of the kit yet so you will have to make-do with this average show shot. The series features a new version of Kef's Uni-Q
driver, which sees the tweeter mounted in the centre of the bass/midrange cone,
to create a single point source of sound. The satellite speakers and centre
speaker also introduce something called Sealed Suspension Technology (SST), to create a much
more powerful and clean sound – according to Kef. 
The subwoofer sports a 250W
amplifier to power the main 10in driver, while the SmartBass 'connect and go'
facility is designed to simplify set-up. It’s also useful that the woofer can
be placed upright or horizontally to fit whatever space you are working with.
Shipping in March, it comes in high-gloss black or silver and will cost £1,000.
JBL On Time iPod dock
And now for something completely different. There are
iPod docks and then there’s the JBL On Time from Harman Multimedia. This
innovative looking speaker station and alarm certainly looks the part, with a
unique speaker design. It boasts a clock, radio and dual-alarm, universal iPod
cradle and backlit LCD screen with automatic dimming. The speaker system
features upward firing tweeters to produce a 360 degree sound field. Harman
claims that the system is has been designed to provide a beefy sound with strong
bass and clear treble. 
For those that like their neon touches, the unit
features a blue dome light and the company expects this model to appeal to
those like design and would prefer to be dragged from their sleep by the tunes
on their iPods than by the local radio station. Unsurprisingly, is that the JBL
On Time will come in black and white. No price yet.
The Do-It–All Player: Kiss DP-600
If you are used to consumer electronics
devices just doing a couple of things then you better get ready to be bombarded
with a slew of player/media Do-It-All gadgets that do everything but baby-sit
the kids. Meet the Kiss DP-600 by Linksys, a high-definition DVD player on top but, underneath, a whole lot more.
It has a built-in wireless LAN connection (802.11g) for streaming content between devices or
for wireless connection to a vast array of Net-based, IPTV channels. You’ll also be
happy to hear that it can play just about any movie or music format you can
throw at it. 
These include, DVDs, CDs, Windows Media 9, Nero Digital, DivX High
Definition, MPEG-1,2,4, XviD, MP3, Ogg Vorbis, Jpeg and PNG Picture files. By
using the Kiss PC-link software, you can stream content directly from your PC
to the player. Not bad for £242.
dvd gadgets technology home entertainment
Slingbox coming to the UK
The company has now confirmed that it is working
on a PAL version and expects to launch a UK model, compatible with Sky, in the
first half of 2006.
Play Big with InFocus
The IN74 is a widescreen projector with DVD, 576p
resolution and a price tag of around £850. Finally, comes the high-definition
IN76, with 720p resolution at £1,250 - which is not that bad for a big brand,
high-def capable projector. No detail yet on contrast or brightness levels but all models will ship in Q1 2006.
movies home entertainment projector infocus DLP
High definition movies announced
The first generation of high-definition (HD) movies have been announced by the rival HD DVD and Blu-Ray consortiums at the CES 2006 show in Las Vegas. While many people might be confused over which technology to invest in, the movies on offer will play an important roll in where a large number of casual consumers will spend their cash. The Toshiba-led HD DVD camp announced that there will be almost 50 HD DVD titles on offer when the first players hit the shelves in March. They will include Aeon Flux, Batman Begins, The Bourne Supremacy, Jarhead, The Matrix and U2: Rattle & Hum. Those studios supporting Sony’s Blu-Ray technology, which will arrive this summer, 
have announced their own first batch of movies, including The Fifth Element, Bram Stoker's Dracula, Desperado, For a Few Dollars More, The Guns of Navarone, Hitch, House of Flying Daggers, A Knight's Tale, Kung Fu Hustle, The Last Waltz, Sense and Sensibility, Black Hawk Down and The Bridge on the River Kwai, among others. Read the full line-ups for HD DVD movies and Blu-Ray movies.
B&O goes small with BeoLab 4
Small is in these days and designer consumer electronics manufacturer Bang &
Olufsen (B&O) is not missing a trick with the launch of a new, compact
speaker. The innovative pyramidal BeoLab 4 has been designed for use with
hi-fis, as rear-speakers in home cinema set-ups and with PCs. With a wide range
of placement accessories, B&O claim the speakers are equally comfortable on
the wall, table, floor or even hanging from the ceiling. 
The speakers, which
weigh a reassuring 1.7kg, have amps built-in to reduce distortion and boost
sound output. There also sport three bass level settings depending on where you
want to use them. They might be small but they are still B&O so expect to
shell out a pretty penny for both the design and the sound quality when they ship this
quarter.
audio home entertainment speakers
Big sound for small rooms
The 6020A incorporates a 4in bass driver
along with a 3/4in tweeter and uses Genelec’s Directivity Control Waveguide
(DCW) technology for an open and distortion-free sound. Maximum output is a powerful
105db at one metre. The 5050A subwoofer boasts an integrated 70Watt amp and has
an frequency response from 25Hz -120Hz. Due this quarter but no prices yet.
