Filed under: Displays, Media PCs

Klegg seems to be kicking it up a notch from the wee LCDs it’s accustomed to producing, as the 40-inch KLM-4010 is more suited for your living room than your front pocket. While it’s certainly not the first LCD TV to stuff MCE functionality into its confines, this brushed aluminum beast packs quite a laundry list of impressive specs. It boasts a 1000:1 contrast ratio, 500cd/m2 of brightness, 1,366 x 768 resolution, HDMI, a pair of DVI ports, component, S-Video, composite, digital audio output, and a built-in Hauppauage PVR-150 MCE tuner. Additionally, it rocks an Intel Pentium 4 3GHz 630 processor, 1GB of RAM, a 250GB hard drive, NVIDIA GeForce 6200 graphics card, dual-layer, slot-loading DVD burner, FireWire / USB 2.0 connectors, flash card reader, and dual seven-watt integrated speakers. This PC / TV hybrid touts the ability to download video directly from the internet and store it without the need for a separate HTPC, but unfortunately there’s no (presumably high) pricetag or release details to ponder over.

[Via CrunchGear]

 

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time

Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Filed under: Home Entertainment

If you’re a gadget freak on a budget, and/or someone who prefers to archive your recorded shows in DivX format so you can cram more of ‘em onto a single DVD, then Toshiba has the product for you. Their new ¥14,000 ($118) SD-580J DVD player will handle those DivX 3/4/5/6 files and serve ‘em all up via beautiful HDMI. Or if you’re too cheap for that, then you’ve your normal array of secondary options: optical sound, composite video, or S-Video. Additionally, if you’ve got a few VHS tapes kicking around in your closet and want some DivX capability, Toshiba also has its new SD-V700 player, a DVD / VHS hybrid — but even though this will set you back ¥20,000 ($170) — it appears you’ll have to suffer without HDMI for now.

[Via Engadget Japanese]

Read – SD-580J
Read – SD-V700

 

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SPONSORED BY: BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time.

Filed under: Laptops, Media PCs

Looks like the bevy of holiday updates are getting a bit of a headstart this year, as HP is already hoping its revamped Pavilion dv900t will be the prized jewel under a few lucky trees. Raising the already heightened bar, the flagship unit in the dv9000 series is receiving an oh-so-coveted HD DVD drive that doubles as a dual-layer DVD burner. It also packs a 17-inch 1,440 x 900 resolution LCD, 2.16GHz T7400 Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 2GB of RAM, dual 100GB SATA drives, nVidia GeForce Go 7600 graphics, 1.3 megapixel webcam, HDMI, 7.1 audio out, ExpressCard slot, twin headphone ports, the usual complement of connectivity options, and battery life stretching just over 2.5 hours. For those of you who rushed out to pick up last month’s flavor and just can’t get that craving for HD DVD to subside, HP’s also bringing the High Definition DVD-ROM drive (that’s an external HD DVD drive, folks) to the table. Both items should be hitting shelves (and shopping lists) soon, and while the dv9000t will set you back a respectable $2,395, pricing for the standalone HD DVD unit remains up in the air.

 

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SPONSORED BY: BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time.

Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment

As HDMI continues to make inroads into all things A/V, we find Atlona prepping to drop their first flat HDMI cables into the mix. Using a flat “twisted pair” construction with high-density triple shielding said to reduce crosstalk better than traditional round cables, these new Flat HDMI cables feature 24k gold plated connectors and your choice of 28/26/24 AWG High-Purity Oxygen Free Copper conductors for cable runs as long as 20-meters when choosing the latter. True, they bring down the thickness of the cable, however, unlike Atlona’s claim that these will be “barely visible” on the wall, the new ribbon appears to have spread about twice as wide as before which should make it even more visible for “on the wall” runs dontchathink? The Atlona Flat HDMI cable is UL/CL2 certified for in-wall installations but come now, we know you’re gonna just run ‘em under the carpet. At least until wireless HDMI hits these tough HD streets. Available in black or white and “available soon” at an “affordable price.” We’ll see.

 

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SPONSORED BY: BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time.

Filed under: Displays, HDTV, Home Entertainment

Caveat Emptor folks when checking these highly-touted “future-proof” sets from ViewSonic. Both the 37-inch N3751w ($999) and the 42-inch N4251w ($1499) LCDs feature rock-bottom pricing and integrated ATSC digital tuners, HDMI, S-video, Component, and VGA inputs, 8-millisecond response, 1000:1 contrast ratio, and SPDIF output for releasing audio to your external system. Thing is, if you want to view that full 1080p (1920×1080) resolution spinning outta your game console’s hi-def optical disc, well, tough luck Sony sonny, these sets aren’t gonna cut it with a panel resolution of only 1366 x 768. We guess the warranty on that supposed future-proofing only lasts ’till the end of year, eh? Oh, and that image above is their N3251 since the product images aren’t available with the press-release… is this really so hard ViewSonic?

 

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SPONSORED BY: BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time.

Filed under: Media PCs

Niveus has just announced its latest media centers, dubbed the Rainier and Denali Editions, the two products that comprise the 2007 Summit Series line at this year’s CEDIA, being held in Denver. The just-over 4-inch tall Rainier ($3,500), runs Windows Media Center 2005, and is loaded up with HDMI, WiFi, an SD/MMC reader, IEEE 1394, dual USB ports, VGA, composite and S-Video in, eight-channel analog audio out, S/PDIF, and of course, Ethernet. Further, it boasts up to three television tuners (two NTSC and one ATSC), 750GB of storage, 2GB of RAM, and an ATI X1600 Pro graphics card. If that wasn’t enough to whet your appetite, the 8-inch tall Denali ($7,000) is even more loaded, with an Intel Core 2 Duo (no word on what speed yet), four television tuners (a pair of NTSCs and ATSCs), NVIDIA’s GeForce Series 7 graphics card, a full terabyte of storage, a whopping 4GB of RAM, and even has, as we previously reported, built-in support for CableCARDs. Expect both editions to ship on September 30, but while you wait we’ve got more pics of the Rainier and the Denali Editions on the other side.

 

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SPONSORED BY: BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time.

Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment

If you’re still a fence sitter in the HD DVD / Blu-ray war, and you just can’t part with that sweet sounding 5.1 audio collection, home theater boutique Cary Audio Design has a new universal player that should fit the bill quite nicely while the high definition blows are being thrown. The DVD 8, debuting at CEDIA, plays nice with DVD, SACD, and DVD Audio, and sports the oh-so-touted 720p / 1080i upscaling thanks to its component / HDMI (with HDCP, no less) outputs. The device features an impressive 24-bit Cirrus Logic 4360 DAC, as well as digital and analog 5.1 outputs to meet multi-channel expectations, and apparently supports both NTSC and PAL playback. If you’re looking to consolidate that home theater setup while waiting for the ever elusive HD DVD / Blu-ray combo unit, the DVD 8 will begin shipping later this month for a currently undisclosed (but presumably costly) amount.

[Via Talk About: CEDIA]

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Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment, Wireless

Some buzzwords just sound good together. Like robots and flamethrowers — those two just hit it off right from the start. Now Tzero Technologies and Analog Devices are teaming up for a new standards-based wireless HDMI tech that marries UWB with everybody’s favorite home theater plug. Tzero is bringing the UWB to the table, while Analog Devices’ is sharing their JPEG2000 video codec. A UWB transmitter compresses all the HDMI data on the way out of a video device and a receiver converts it back to HDMI on the way back into your display. With a range of 30 meters, and no line of sight requirements, all sorts of diabolical home theater configurations become possible. For instance, we can envision a ceiling mounted projector without all the wiring, or a noisy HTPC hidden away without similar hassles. According to Tzero, the first adapters should be out in a couple of weeks, and the price should be “similar to other WiFi devices.” We’ll be sure to test out the performance before we jump in with two feet, but if the price is right we’re liking where this wireless HDMI thing is headed.

[Via Cnet]

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Filed under: Displays, HDTV, Home Entertainment

Sony schmony, Sharp’s here to remind us that they too, make some compelling gear by dropping 3 new LCD panels onto the stack of smaller sets rolled out earlier this month. Each of the 52, 46, and 42-inch LCDs bring that 1920×1080 Full HD (1080p) resolution you’ll want at these sizes, a 450cd/m2 brightness, a “world’s highest” 2000:1 contrast ratio, and “world’s fastest” full-motion video response rate of 4-milliseconds — just take those numbers with a grain of salt as methods of measurement vary, mkay? The three sets feature two Familink compatible HDMI inputs and remote control (which is presumably like Panny’s Viera Link HDMI control interface), a single DVI-I jack and dual digital/analog tuners. You can then configure each panel with either two side-mounted speakers or a single speaker under the panel which Sharp claims will produce clear, natural sound. Fine, but you’ll more than likely pitch ‘em in favor of your home audio system anyway. The 52 and 46-inch panels (LC-52GX1W / 2W, LC-46GX1W / 2W) should be available August 1st in Japan for ¥600,000 (about $5,125) and ¥500,000 (about $4,271) respectively, with the 42-incher (LC-42GX1W / 2W) coming a bit later in November for ¥450,000 or about $3,844 whenever these show-up Stateside.

[Via Impress]

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Filed under: Displays, HDTV, Home Entertainment

Runco, obviously, is already in the game. So are Sony, Sharp, Marantz, JVC, and even a little outfit called projectiondesign. But when it comes to 1,080p front projectors, we’ve been wanting to call up Mitsubishi on our Boost Mobile phone and ask them “Where you at?” Well the venerable rear-projection TV manufacturer has apparently been biding its time in order to release its first full HD unit, but the pricetag on this 3LCD model may convince you that it was worth the wait, as the LVP-HC5000 will cost “just” 450,000 yen (about $3,890) when it hits Japanese shores on October 12th. Even at this bargain basement price, you’re still getting a very respectable set of specs, most notably a dynamic contrast ratio of 10,000:1 (though static is a mere 2,000:1), 1,000 nits of blinding brightness, as well as a full complement of inputs including HDMI, DVI-I, component, composite, S-Video, and even D-sub. Yeah, this all sounds like a pretty good deal; now we’re just hoping that they’ll ship this puppy overseas and help us finally purge that embarrassing 27-inch CRT from our otherwise kick-ass home theater setup.

[Via HDBeat]

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Filed under: Misc. Gadgets, HDTV, Peripherals

In the grand scheme of things, having too many HDMI devices and not enough HDMI inputs is a problem most of us would love to have, but it’s still good to know that there’s companies like LINDY out there making dreams come true for the HD-obsessed. The company’s new descriptively-named HDMI Switch Remote will give you three extra ports to connect HDMI or DVI sources (with an adapter) to your HDTV or projector, and it’ll let you switch between them from the comfort of your couch with its handy remote control. Fully HDMI and HDCP-compliant, the unit should easily handle video up to 1080p and multi-channel audio, as well as resolutions up to 1600 x 1200 if you’re using it with a DVI source. You can get one now, in the U.K. at least, for £149 (about $280 US).

[Via Crowdedbrain]

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Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment

Prepare yourselves for a slew of new LCD sets from Syntax-Brillian that will be released in the coming months, as the newly-merged company has announced three new series of TVs under the Olevia brand that each consist of numerous different models. Out of the 3-series, 5-series, and 7-series lineups, the most is known about the fives, as these four units -- the 27-inch 527V, 32-inch 532H, 37-inch 537H, and 42-inch 542i -- are shipping immediately. Like the as-yet-unannounced members of the 3-series, these models all sport a 1,366 x 768 resolution, and also feature 8-millisecond response times, 1600:1 contrast ratios, built-in digital ATSC tuners, and HDMI, VGA, and HD component inputs. All that's known about the 7-series, on the other hand, is the fact that its constituent models will all offer full 1,080p resolution and RS232C control capability, along with what's being touted as "Hollywood Quality Video," which either means that picture quality is very good or stifled by DRM restrictions. No pricing or release details are available for any of the 3- or 7-series models -- they're scheduled "to be introduced to the market incrementally through September" is all we can say for sure -- and out of all the 5-series models that are supposedly shipping right now, we could only find a price for the 527V, which you can pick up for $800 or less.

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Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment, Wireless

Home theaters in a box are not for everyone -- most people we know prefer to assemble their entertainment systems piecemeal -- but if you're in the market for such a product, then Philips is offering a fairly stylish new HDMI-equipped system with convenient wireless rear speakers that may be right up your alley. The Cineos HTS9800W is a 6.1-channel package (three 125-watt fronts, three rears, and a 150-watt subwoofer) with a slimline, upscaling DVD player that supports DVD+/-R discs, DivX-encoded video, and MP3 CDs, along with all those Super Audio CDs that we're sure you've been collecting over the years. Not a bad setup, especially for your bedroom or guest house, and it's available now for around $650.

[Via Shiny Shiny]

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A Microsoft employee ponders on what Microsoft would do if they were actually to implement an HDMI port on the Xbox 360 (there isn’t one now). We talked about the possible leaked pic of a development board having HDMI a few days ago, and the employee thinks if this is true, Microsoft would offer an upgrade plan for current Xbox 360 owners.

He made a comparison between this and the Intel Pentium floating point bug in the mid-90s. Although this bug didn’t affect very many people, the fact that it was there unnerved customers enough that they kept complaining to Intel. Intel’s Andy Grove at first didn’t see the need for an upgrade or a recall, because few people actually did encounter the bug. But after enough cajoling, they eventually did offer a plan to issue fixed Pentiums to whoever complained.

The employee thinks Microsoft should take a similar route with the 360s. If someone wants an upgraded 360 with HDMI port, sure, here you go. But he thinks not enough people will want this to make a huge dent on Microsoft’s bottom line. The positive feelings from the community would offset the cost of replacing a few 360s. – Jason Chen

Rumor: HDMI port coming to 360? [via Xbox Scene]

Filed under: Displays, HDTV, Home Entertainment

If you like to watch high definition video-- and we mean really, really like to watch it-- then Pioneer has a new 50-inch plasma on the market that promises unrivaled picture quality and realism -- for a pretty steep price. We first heard of the Elite PureVision PRO-FHD1 back at CES in January, where we instantly knew from the specs that this was a pretty special model: it delivers full 1080p resolution using over two million pixels that are just .576 millimeters across, features a 3,000:1 contrast ratio and 1,000cd/m2 peak brightness, and sports two HDMI, one DVI, and one component input. What you're not getting here, though, are any built-in tuners; not only does this display lack a digital ATSC tuner, but it's also missing even a regular NTSC version -- which actually isn't that big of a deal for consumers with a set-top cable or satellite box. Apparently you can run right out and pick up your very own FHD1 as of today, but some of you may need to bring along several methods of payment, just in case you don't have any credit cards that are $10,000 under the limit.

[Via HDBeat]

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Filed under: HDTV

Panasonic just slipped a couple more LCD panels into their Viera line-up of televisions. Both the 32-inch TH-32LX65 and 26-inch TH-26LX65 feature a 1366×768 pixel resolution, 178-degree visibility, and a single HDMI-in on top of a slathering of Japanese D4, composite, S-Video, digital optical and Ethernet connections. And yeah, it integrates seamlessly with Panny’s Viera Link HDMI remote for universal control over your HDMI-equipped home entertainment center. Both the 32 and 26-inchers will begin shipping in Japan on September 1st for ¥250,000 (about $2,193) and ¥210,000 (about $1,843), respectively.

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Xbox-Scene got a tip about the new Xbox 360 board supporting HDMI. The parolees at Kotaku don’t believe it, citing Xbox-Scene forum posters and their “apeshit” denial over the eventual obscolescence of their first-run Xbox 360s.

We, on the other hand, aren’t so sure. If the 360 were to someday get an eventual HD DVD drive—we’re not saying anytime soon—then an internal HDMI port would definitely make sense. As HD DVD hardware prices fall over the years, wouldn’t it make sense not to ship two drives with one box? So if B follows A, and A is true, what do you have? That’s right, an HDMI port and a bunch of angry early adopters.

Of course, we’ll have to wait a few years to find out. – Jason Chen

New Xbox 360 Coming with HDMI port? [Xbox-Scene via Kotaku]

Filed under: Gaming, HDTV

We've been wondering when we'd see HDMI for the Xbox 360. Partly for the future HDCP needs of HD DVD (though for now we're safe on that front), and partly for the sheer convenience of it. Microsoft has stayed fairly silent on the subject, but this week's blurry image-based rumor points to its inclusion in a future version of the console. Tipped by an anonymous source, the image shows an HDMI port firmly ensconced on an Xbox 360 motherboard. If it's real, this probably rules out the possibility of an HDMI cable adapter providing this functionality, leaving current 360 owners SOL. But minus the fanboy outcry, it could be a nice little jab at Sony if Microsoft has an HDMI version of their console just in time to compete with the high-end HDMI PS3. Of course, there's no word if this will come as a third configuration, or if it'll just act as a spec bump to the current Premium package, but again, there's no word if this is real at all. We'll keep you posted.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

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Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment

Here ya go TeeVee fans, 5ish new models straight out of Japan. We know it hurts to see all this not-for-the-US tech coming through but just hang with us on these, ’cause from the looks of it, they’ll be available on these golden shores under the EyeFi branding soon enough. The five HDMI-equipped sets break down into 37, 32, and 27-inchers capable of 1920×1080, 1366×768, and 1280×720 pixels respectively. Each model features an ISDB-T Hi-Vision (high definition) digital tuner for Japan (with ATSC and DVB-T tuners on the way for the US and beyond). The big, bad, 37-inch LF-3701DFK (pictured) brings a 1,000:1 contrast ratio, 8-millisecond response, and 176-degree visibility along with the usual in and outs consisting of S-Video, 2 x composite, Japanese D4, and RGB. And fortunately, that speaker sprouting below the panel can be chucked for a cleaner look when attached to your home audio system. The two 32-inch models — LW-3202DFK and LW-3201DFK — are the same panels only with fixed speakers mounted either below, or along sides of the LCD. Same story on those 27-inchers — the LW-2702DFK and LW-2701DFK — with the former also offering that 1366×768 pixel resolution seen by the 32-inch models. Prices are set to range from ¥99,800 to ¥199,800 (or about $863 to $1,729) when these panels hit the streets of Japan starting today — righteous pricing by the time these panels hit the US.

[Via Impress]

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Filed under: Displays, HDTV, Home Entertainment

There's some new HD goodness from Acer in their new PH730, PD525PW and PD527D projectors. All three include HDMI, DVI, VGA, Component, Composite and S-Video inputs, and the PH730 (pictured) manages a 1280 x 768 resolution. The other two rock the XGA, but all three can work with 720p/1080i at a 16:9 aspect ratio. For contrast ratio, the PH730 does 2500:1, compared to the 2000:1 of the other two, but the PH730 only does 1,200 lumens while the PD525PW and PD527D go for 2,700 and 3,000 respectively. All three have a lamp life of 4000 hours, but we're not sure exactly when these will be for sale, or for how much.

[Via Crowdedbrain]

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Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment

There are plenty of HDMI switches out (or coming out) right now, but not so many we've seen with four port digital coax and Toslink switching thrown in for good measure. Quite the convenience, saving yourself the extra step of changing sources on that audio receiver, but convenience comes at a price: is $274 worth it to you not to have to toggle audio inputs to match your HDMI source? (We have a feeling for many the answer is yes.)

[Via HD Beat]

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Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment, Laptops, Media PCs

Along with the 15.4-inch 5670 and 20.1-inch 9800 notebooks that we'd already known about, Acer formally unveiled at Computex two other HD-DVD- and Centrino Duo-toting models from the Aspire line that we hadn't seen before: the 17-inch 9510 and 15.4-inch 9110 (pictured). All four models are being billed as all-in-one multimedia centers, and with all but the 5670 sporting 1,920 x 1,080 resolutions, S/PDIF and HDCP-capable HDMI outputs, optional analog and DVB-T tuners, and of course those high-def, backwards-compatible optical drives (still waiting on those Blu-ray models, though), it sure sounds like Acer knows what it's talking about. Both of the new-new notebooks also offer up to 4GB of DDR2 RAM and nVidia graphics cards, but the 9510 rocks the GeForce Go 7900 GS with 512MB of RAM and up to 240GB of hard drive space, while the 9110 has to settle for the GeForce Go 7600 with 256MB of RAM and a HDD that maxes out at 120GB. Unfortunately, Acer was so busy selling us on the benefits of all these new machines that they forgot a few important details, so both pricing and release dates for each and every one remain a big fat mystery for now.

[Via Notebook Review]

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Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment

ViewSonic, a name already well known on our computer desk, is now making a play for our living room with a set of LCD TVs that promise to delight us now, and keep us “future-proofed” into the, um, future. Both new models — the 32-inch N3251W (pictured) and 27-inch N2751W — feature 1,366 x 768 widescreen displays, 1000:1 contrast ratios, and zippy 8ms response times, along with HDCP-compatible HDMI inputs, S/PDIF digital audio outputs, and as a bonus, integrated digital ATSC tuners. Even better, the prices for these displays — available now, at your favorite ViewSonic distributor — aren’t stratospheric, with the 27-incher going for $800 and the 32-inch model setting you back a grand or less.

[Via HDBeat]

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Filed under: Media PCs, Peripherals, Wireless, Networking

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Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment, Peripherals, Networking

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