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Wharfedale Hi-Fi with hard disk drive
The convergence between traditional technology and consumer electronics
shows no sign of slowing down and the new Wharfedale Micro System is a perfect
example.
This mini hi-fi boasts a 40GB hard disk drive which can store up to
8,000 
songs and can also rip and convert your favourite CDs into MP3s as you
play them. You can also load more tracks or transfer them off the system using the
USB input.
You can create playlists, while a CD database of 1.9 million
album listings will try to ensure that the MP3s playing are correctly listed on
the LCD screen. The system also boasts a FM radio with 20 presets and a CD/CD-RW
player. The speakers are rated at 30W and it costs £200 from Argos.
music hi-fi audio MP3 home technology
Blu-Ray lags six-months behind HD DVD
Sony has said that it’s first Blu-ray recorder/player for
high-definition (HD) movies will not launch until October in Japan, giving the
rival HD DVD camp a six month head-start.
The comments came from Kiyoshi Nishitani, who is in charge Sony's
Blu-ray business, in an interview. This means that Sony will be relying heavily
on PS3 sales from November to make Blu-ray the dominant player.
About 75 Blu-ray movies 
including Swordfish, Full Metal Jacket and Pirates of The Caribbean will start
shipping this ‘autumn’, he added. Toshiba is hoping to have between 100-150 HD
DVD titles out in Europe by December.
Unlike Japan, the US will get a player-only version of the Blu-ray
machine in October but there’s no decision yet on which version will be coming
to the UK. Until there’s a better selection of HDTV and movies though, there
seems little point in being in any rush for either format.
With prices expected to be in the £500+ range, there’s no need to consider a HD machine until at least this time next year – maybe even 2008's New Year sales. Then, the prices will have fallen, there’ll be lots of content and the technology will have advanced to improved second and third -generation models.
movies technology home HDTV blu-ray hd dvd
KEF’s pricey KHT5005.2 home cinema system
Frankly, that’s a lot to pay for a home cinema rig targeted at the
growing flat-screen TV market. Right now, less than half that price will get
you an excellent and discreet home cinema system from respected brands like
Mordaunt-Short or Mission, to name a few.
KEF says the new satellites
feature the latest generation of Uni-Q
drivers originally developed for the more expensive KHT 6000 ACE Home Theatre
Speaker System. Uni-Q is designed to produce a broader sound field from each
speaker for a more encompassing sound. The subwoofer pumps out a massive
250-watts and, usefully, can be mounted either vertically or horizontally.
Visually, the KHT5005.2 system is a design winner, with slim speakers encased in high-gloss black lacquer. But, that price tag is going to restrict its appeal to budding home cinema enthusiasts.
movies film music home cinema technology geek
vMagi X1 Video Glasses
What you get is a pair of glasses that you hook 
up to your video source
– portable DVD, laptop, iPod Video – and you get to watch it on a floating
screen which is the equivalent of watching a 35in screen from 6.5ft. Inside are
two TFT displays, while sound comes through the in-built stereo headphones.
Sadly though, the resolution is low at just 320x240 pixels, which will not
make your DVDs look very good. However, if it’s a way of keeping the nippers in
the back of the car quiet on those long summer drives, that might not matter
all that much. The USB-rechargeable battery will last for up to 5 hours.
Shipping in October.
movies film gadgets ipod technology
Humax launches HDTV with in-built PVR
Humax is planning to launch its latest innovative living room accessory in the shape of a 32in high definition TV (HDTV) with in-built personal video recorder (PVR).
At 160GB, the internal PVR will not only 
help reduce the number of boxes you need around the TV but let you record a few hundred hours of TV, without a single video tape in sight. It also boasts many of the handy PVR functions like pausing and rewinding live TV. The new LP32-TDR1 is a big step up from its predecessor which came with much smaller 40GB PVR.
It comes with a CI connector for upgrading to Pay TV services and HDMI inputs for receiving high-def TV channels and hooking up to a high-def HD DVD or Blu-Ray player – whenever they become available, that is. No prices on the TV yet. More here.
tv HDTV entertainment PVR technology
European online music sales rocketing
The online music market in Europe is rocketing and despite music piracy, will be worth more than £740m by 2010.
Revenues are already set to double 
for 2006 to £189m versus 2005, making this year the year that online music really took off.
"Online music has been booming," commented Dan Cryan, Screen Digest analyst and author of the report. "However, online sales alone are not going to be enough to halt the decline in music sales. The music industry needs to make the most of new delivery platforms. We believe with the right strategy - including mobile and online – that the worst might be over by 2010. The industry must adopt a broader approach to selling music, looking beyond the traditional single and album."
The report also looks at the causes of declining revenues for the music industry, claiming that pointing the finger at piracy is too narrow. Others factors like the gradual erosion of music-dedicated shelf space in big retailers like HMV and Virgin, thanks to the rise of DVDs, books and games, have also taken their toll.
The detailed report will also over a variety of related topics, from total online music spending by country 2003 to 2010 to a comparison of consumer spending on music and video 2000 to 2006. More here
music online internet audio entertainment
The GigaView low-cost media player
How do you fancy a media player for less than £40? Then meet the
GigaView HDD AV Media Enclosure, designed to house a spare hard disk drive
containing your favourite videos and digital photo for playback on a TV. This
is a novel 
approach to getting content from the PC to the TV without the hassle
of cables, wireless set-up or removable media. It’s also a lot cheaper than
spending £500 on a Media Center PC.
Once inside, you just hook it up to your TV and using the remote control
you can browse through digital photos, tunes and videos. Even better, if you
don’t have a spare hard disk drive you can use the memory card slots on the
front to load content for viewing on the box. Here’s some of the key features:
Navigate using the included remote control or front panel push buttons
Built in front mount card reader for media play back
Media leads included
Can be used as a standard external hard drive enclosure
Video media formats, VCD, (VOB)DVD, MPEG1/2/4, DIVX3.X, DIVX4.X, DIVX5.X
Audio media formats, MP3
Image media formats, JPEG
Media outputs AV / VGA / S-video / optical
Video output NTSC / PAL
Supports 3.5 IDE hard drives up to 400GB
USB connection for loading data on to the drive
The GigaView HDD AV Media Enclosure is available now through Maplin for £39.99.
technology tech TV gadgets home
Brain Training Scoops Games Award
After much deliberation from the judges,
Brain Training scooped the EIEF Edge Award, ahead of rivals Dragon Quest VIII
and Guitar Hero. 
Brain Training, for the Nintendo DS console, throws up a wide array of simple maths
problems, puzzles, drawing and other exercises to stimulate brain activity. It
is going down a storm worldwide with people of all ages.
Margaret Robertson, editor of EDGE, said:
“The Edge Award shortlist is always an eclectic mix, but this year's was
particularly wide-ranging. We're delighted that Brain Training won - it's a
great ambassador for gaming and proves that the instincts for making rewarding
and entertaining software that Nintendo has honed for decades can be applied in
entirely unexpected ways.”
David Yarnton, managing director of Nintendo UK added:
“Its wide appeal to both young and old, gamers and non-gamers alike
demonstrates our success in moving the boundaries of traditional gaming.”
Whatever about awards, Brain Training is still selling by the bucket-load,
with sales having just passed the 4-million mark.
games gaming news consoles software nintendo
TVs to get full colour
Scientists have developed a new technology that will allow TVs to
reproduce a full range of lifelike colours in the future.
You might think the colours you see on your TV are great but they are
limited by the three basic light-emitting elements – red, green and blue.
Colours outside of these three are usually created by mixing different amounts
of these primary colours within the pixels. Realistic blue skies and seas have
always posed a problem, for instance.
However, scientists at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in
Zurich think an optical trick called diffraction can pull it off. In a research
paper the scientists have created a diffraction grating, which is a 1mm-wide
membrane - or artificial muscle - that contracts when voltage is applied. The
grating resembles window blinds and when white light – which is made up the
full spectrum of colours – hits it, it breaks into a rainbow. Different
voltages would control the different colours produced and result in TVs delivering images that are incredibly
true to life.
Just don’t expect this anytime soon. The researchers claim that with the
right investment, we could see this technology employed in “less than 8 years”.
Posted in Optics Letters, you can read the full report here.
television TV technology tech science geek
Zune to come with pre-loaded videos
Now that the Zune’s video capabilities have been confirmed, 
the deal
with EMI might prove attractive to some buyers. According to reports, initial
content will include music videos from UK band Hot Chip and 30 Seconds to Mars,
fronted by actor Jared Leto. However, the quality of content will have to
improve if Microsoft is hoping to attract consumers in numbers.
Microsoft is also in talks with Universal Music and there’s talk that
content might also be forthcoming from Warner Music and Sony BMG.
The iPod still rules the roost though according to market researcher,
NPD Group. The iPod accounted for 76.6
per cent of portable music players shipped between January and June. Apple has
controlled around three-quarters of the market for the past two years.
The Zune is expected to launch in time for the silly season.
gadgets technology zune tech music
Toshiba’s High-Def Trio
This is a big 
step since most high-def tellies at the moment sport one
or two HDMI slots at the most. Three slots will allow people to hook-up three
high-definition sources (Sky HD, PS3, and HD DVD player) without the usual
messing at the back of the TV, swapping cables around. It also throws down the
gauntlet to other TV makers and paves the way for most TVs to have at least two
HDMI connections by the end of the year, as standard.
The WLT68 range joins the Regza range which sports two HDMI inputs as
standard. There is a 32in, 37in and a 42in model on offer. All comes with
Freeview tuners and boast Toshiba’s Active Vision M100 LCD technology which doubles
the picture scanning rate to 100Hz for smoother and sharper images.
No prices yet but they are due out in mid-September.
HDTV TV television consumer shopping
Microsoft releases Xbox 360 stats
As the impending launch of the PS3 looms over the console industry like
the mothership over the White House in Independence Day, Microsoft has released
more stats on the success of its Xbox 360 platform at the Gamefest conference in Seattle. The company reiterated that
it is on target to sell 10 million consoles by the end of the year, rising to
between 13-15 million by the end of its fiscal year next June. It refused,
however, to say how many have shipped right now.
Microsoft said that at 2.9 units per 
console, the Xbox 360 has the
highest accessory attachment rate among consumers. It revealed that more than
80 per cent of its Live online users have downloaded content from Xbox Live
Marketplace, bringing the download total to over 46 million. Almost 70 per cent
of Live users have downloaded pop videos, movie and game trailers, and 65 per
cent have downloaded at least one game from Xbox Live Arcade.
Of the downloaded items, game demos have been the most popular. On
average, a demo will see an average of 250,000 downloads.
games gaming xbox console technology microsoft
BT fleshes out BT Vision
BT’s TV-via-Broadband service, BT Vision, is hoping Basil Brush and
Postman Pat are going to help kick start its first real steps into TV Land in
the coming month.
The company has just inked deals with four independent producers and
distributors to pad out its initial, slim offerings. The deals are with
children’s and family programming outfit, Entertainment Rights; NBD Television,
which produces and distributes drama,
children’s 
TV, music, entertainment, and documentary programming; Wall to Wall
Television for factual and drama programming and Portman Film and Television,
the independent film and TV distribution company.
So what does all that mean? Shows you can expect to see come your way
will include around 60 hours of concerts, from Oasis to Duran Duran, the dismal
Martin Clunes’ vehicle Doc Martin, and Rosemary: Queen of the Kitchen, among
others.
Wow, and they’re the highlights. Makes you want to just rush out and
sign up this second. Doesn’t it?
TV BT online broadband internet movies home entertainment
Onkyo Tweaks Hi-Fi for UK Ears
The new CR-505DAB micro hi-fi is crammed with features, and comes with
or without matching speakers, which is handy if you already have a
good pair of
speakers. With the speakers it will cost £300 and without, £230.
“Our engineers spent many months researching UK sonic preferences and
analysing the CDs available in the UK,” explained Kengo Iwasaki, Onkyo UK's
general manager for component systems. “To everybody’s surprise we discovered
that Japanese CDs sound great on Japanese equipment but awful on UK equipment
while UK-sourced CDs excelled when heard on UK components but sounded dead and
inert when played Japanese equipment.”
The compact unit houses a CD player and DAB/FM radio. The player can spin regular CDs, but also blank CDs with MP3 tracks while the DAB radio is based on a stronger receiver and allows for 59 presets. On the connectivity front, the CR-505DAB is no Scrooge. It has four additional audio inputs for hooking up MP3 players, a subwoofer output, two analogue audio outputs, a digital optical audio input on the rear panel for playing back digital audio from newer laptops and PCs and a slot of wireless USB adaptor for streaming. More.
audio music hifi home MP3 entertainment
Kids tuning out TV
Young people are turning away from the TV as a key source of
entertainment according to the latest Ofcom annual report, Communications
Market Report for 2005.
Ofcom said that ‘striking new evidence’ showed that young people aged 16-24 are swapping TV, radio and newspapers for Internet services, including
downloading content for iPods and phones and participation in online
communities.
The ‘networked generation’ watch one hour less 
TV that the average
person and of the TV they do watch, an even smaller proportion of their time is
spent viewing public service broadcasting channels – like the BBC. The
percentage is down to 58% today versus 74% in 2001.
The Internet now plays a central role in daily life, Ofcom noted, with
more than 70% of 16-24-year olds using social networking websites, compared to
41% of all UK internet users. In addition, 37% of 18-24 year olds have
contributed to a blog or website message board, compared to 14% of all UK
internet users. The same group also use mobiles phones more, making seven more
calls and sending 42 more texts each week.
Ofcom Chief Operating Officer Ed Richards said:
“Our research reveals
dramatic and accelerating changes across all communications industries. The sector is being transformed by greater competition, falling prices
and the erosion of traditional revenues and audiences. A new generation of
consumers is emerging for whom online is the lead medium and convergence is
instinctive.”
Read the report highlights here.
news television TV internet online
Sony’s second ‘cheapish’ SXRD projector
The ‘Pearl’ – or VPL-VW50 – follows on from the very well received
Sony VPL-VW100 launched at the end of 2005 and covered by us here. That one arrived with a price tag
of around £7,000 (now under £6,000) which, compared to other ultra-high end
SXRD products, made it the first to become affordable to a more mainstream home
cinema buyer – albeit those with deep pockets.
Although DLP and LCD are the dominant projector technologies there is
still some room for newer technologies in the high-end space. Reviews for the
VPW-100 were generally very good – read one here – and many claimed the technology
offered the kind of performance of much more expensive models.
The new Pearl model will have a lot to live up to. It’s a 1080p
projector with full 1092 x 1080 resolution, a contrast ratio of 5000:1, 200Watt
lamp with a 900 Lumens brightness rating, low 22 decibel operation and two HDMI
inputs (and presumably component too).
It also comes with manual and vertical lens shift which makes placing it in a room so much easier. It’s expected to have a £6,000 price tag when it arrives in the coming months. More.
news movies film projector home cinema
Logitech's Wireless DJ Music System
Logitech has launched its stylish Wireless DJ Music System for the home
market which includes a wireless set-up.
Unlike certain other wireless music systems, you don’t have to have a
wireless network in place. The Wireless DJ comes with a transmitter that plugs
into a spare USB slot on the PC and music is then transmitted to the system’s
receiver/dock, which is connected to your stereo, or other player.
The design is very clever and contemporary with a super-slim remote
control that sports an LCD that you can use view the audio files on your PC. In
addition, you can also use the remote to create playlists on the fly. The
system has a range of around 50 metres but like other, more expensive systems,
you can purchase additional receivers to cover more rooms.
It comes with the Logitech StreamPoint software, that will let you
create a unified music library from iTunes, Windows Media Player and MusicMatch
Jukebox files. It will ship at the end of next month for roughly £180. More.
music home technology wireless wifi
Xbox 360 gets surround sound
With most games now boasting cracking surround sound it's high time manufacturers started homing in on the lucrative console surround market.
Pioneer is claiming to be the first with the launch of the HTP-GS1 for the Xbox
360. So what do you get? As you can see, it’s a well-designed piece of kit 
and
has some impressive specs. There’s an integrated 5.1-channel receiver subwoofer,
which Pioneer claims delivers 600 Watts of total system power, but those
figures can never be relied on. That said, with 100W speakers, it will rock
most rooms.
The receiver has five-speaker connections, 3 digital inputs (1 coaxial,
2 optical), an analog input, tuner and control ports. Pioneer has also integrated
its proprietary Multi-Channel Acoustic Calibration System (MCACC), usually
found on higher-end AV kit. Using the calibration microphone included, the
system sets itself up.
It supports DTS and Dolby Digital Surround, as well as Dolby Pro Logic II for analog or 2 channel digital sources. Launching this month it will cost around £250.
games gaming audio consoles xbox
The First Flying Car Readies for Take-Off
The
Transition from Terrafugi, described as a Personal Air Vehicle, 
can drive along
quite comfortably at motorway speeds but it’s as you see that M1 jam appearing
on the horizon that this thing comes into its own. Hit the button and watch the
8-metre wings unfurl from under the chassis and with a take-off distance of
just quarter of a mile, you’ll be airborne and cruising at 130mph in no time.
It has a range of 500 miles and can carry over 400lbs.
The £80,000
price tag might seem prohibitive but can you find us a cheaper Ferrari that can
fly? You will need a pilots licence that will set you back another £10,000 but
even £90,000 is cheap for something that puts you in control of both road and
air travel. Due out in the US first in 2009. That gives you a three year window
to fill that piggy bank. Watch an animated landing here.
news car travel technology travel plane
Apple signs up more car makers for iPod
Getting your iPod working in a car has never been all that
straightforward but thanks to some new deals, Apple is hoping to corner the
‘auotPod’ market in style.
The company has just announced deals with Ford, Mazda and General
Motors, which will add in-built iPod integration with new models. 
This is great
news for consumers but a real blow to all those iPod peripherals companies selling
car-workarounds, from cassette adaptors to the controversial iTrip. Although
the new deal seems a little US-biased, BMW, Mercedes and Mini are already
offering glove-box solutions that let you manage your iPod via the radio or
steering-wheel buttons. Now all you need is the large wad of cash needed for any of them.
Some of the cars from the new three will make their way over
here and no doubt, within a year, most car makers will offer iPod support as
standard. Yes, but how many will offer it for free versus an expensive ‘option’? More
news technology music cars apple ipod
Mobile TV not taking off
Despite the
hype, having TV on the go is not yet a killer application as the infrastructure
is still not in place to support a widespread rollout. IDC said that 
3G is
limited in terms of capacity and that there is a greater need for multicast
technologies. In the UK, the telecoms watchdog Ofcom recently announced a study
to measure 3G rollout from the leading telecoms providers and said sanctions
will be imposed for those failing to hit their agreed quotas.
IDC said
that the current market consists of streaming TV-like services over 3G, but the
European market is still quite fragmented given issues surrounding spectrum
availability as well as how many licenses will be awarded (which will be very
few) and who will be successful.
“Current and future mobile services
will not be a replacement for existing TV services," said Paolo Pescatore,
research manager, Consumer European Wireless and Mobile Communications at IDC.
"Strategies are such that mobile TV services will be complementary, thus
offering an additional means for users to watch their chosen programming or
content.”
LG spruces up HDTVs
LG is determined to
cash in on the style market with the introduction of a new 32in HDTV, clad in
black with silver trim 
and an industrial-looking metal block as a stand. The LG 32LB1D
has a native resolution of 1366x768 pixels, two HDMI inputs for connecting to a
HDTV set-top box and a DVD player, for instance, and a component video input. The pretty LED light will even let you know what souirce is on: DVD, HDTV etc.
The TV uses LG’s XD Engine picture processing technology which also promises to
take your DVD-quality discs and analog TV signals and upscale them to ‘near-HDTV’
levels. This usually equates to better than it was but not near HDTV-quality –
after all, there’s only so much you can do with a lower resolution image.
This
is a good looking TV with its PC-like, contemporary display stand and knowing LG, it’s going
to come competitively priced. At the moment though there’s no price but expect
it to land in September.
TV HDTV technology movies home entertainment LG
EMI inks download deal with Mashboxx
EMI artists include Kate Bush, Gorillaz, Robbie Williams, Coldplay and
Radiohead, among others. Mashboxx has already signed a deal with Sony BMG.
David Munns, 
chairman and CEO of EMI Music North America, said: “When it
rolls out, Mashboxx will be a no-obligation way for fans to really immerse
themselves in discovering music, turning their friends on to what they like and
getting excited about artists and music they've not yet heard. It has the
potential to be a very good revenue stream for those who make their living from
creating and investing in music.”
EMI’s tracks will be ‘fingerprinted’ by technology developed by Snocap,
ironically a company set-up Shawn Fanning, the founder of former 'illegal' download service, Napster.
Consumers will be able to
listen to full previews of tracks up to five times before purchase. After five times, the preview window is reduced
to 30 seconds. Once purchased, tracks can be burned to CD seven times, played across
five different PCs and transferred to Windows Media portable players as often
as you like.
The Mashboxx service is due to go into beta testing soon but no official launch date has been announced.
music audio internet download tunes
