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Asus Jumps into the HD-DVD Laptop Market
Posted by Brian Viele Categories: HDTV, Home Entertainment, PC / Laptop, Portable Audio / Video,
Recently, Asus has been pushing very hard in the mobile computing market. Earlier this year they released a new Lamborghini line of laptops and now Asus has decided to jump on the HD-DVD bandwagon with its new W2P laptop. The 7.25lb monster sports a new Mobility Radeon X1700 with 256MB of dedicated GDDR3, an ever so important HD-DVD drive and and HDMI port for simple connection to your HDTV. To complete the multi-media package, the unit also comes with an analog (NTSC) and digital (ATSC) tuner built in along with a Dolby certified sound system. The system also comes with the normal bells and whistles of todays high end laptops including Bluetooth 2.0, 802.11 a/b/g Wi-Fi, Ethernet and a Modem. The system will likely come with Windows XP Media Center Edition standard, but with its specs, and new Radeon chip, this system would make for a great HD gaming system, and would be very well suited for XP Home or Professional. Pricing and availability have yet to be announced.
Read More 
| RegHardware
Gallery: Asus Jumps into the HD-DVD Laptop Market
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XBOX 360 to Support 1080p
Posted by Brian Viele Categories: HDTV, Home Entertainment, Microsoft, Movies, Video Games,
Some info from the Tokyo Game Show 2006 has stated that the XBOX 360 will receive 1080p support (1920x1080) through a dashboard update coming this year. Current games and even DVD’s will be up-converted to this extended resolution, but no native 1080p content has been announced yet. I would imagine that the update is namely due to the upcoming release of the HD-DVD add-on which supports 1080p media. It is also a good tactic to take away some of the hype from the PS3 being released in November, which will support 1080p. Now if they would only add an HDMI port to the thing, it’d be a true HD machine!
Read More | Playfeed
Gallery: XBOX 360 to Support 1080p
RFID Tagged Disks May Put a Halt to Piracy
Posted by Brian Viele Categories: HDTV, Home Entertainment, Movies, Rumors,
Movie makers are planning to begin to use RFID tags embedded within media to prevent playing of pirated disks. The technology will be applicable to DVD’s, HD-DVD’s and Blu-Ray disks. Essentially, the system will read the ID tag to ensure the disk is authentic, which will require the unit 1) To be able to read RFID tags and 2) To be able to connect to some database to retrieve valid ID tags. All of this is going to be, of course, at the consumer’s expense.
I have a few issues with this upcoming system. First of all, there will undoubtedly be ways to rip and re-burn the video into some generic form that will not require the player to scan the RFID. Otherwise, it will make recording home movies and such impossible, so it doesn’t totally rid the potential of pirated media. Additionally, when these new security measures come into affect, people with older systems that do not have the RFID capability will be forced to upgrade in order to view the new releases. At $500 a pop for the low-end Blu-Ray and HD-DVD players today, I find it obscene to expect consumers to purchase a new device to incorporate new anti-piracy technology that likely will not be totally effective. Unless U-Tech, IPICO or the movie makers decide to upgrade consumers current equipment for free, I don’t think many people will find this a great idea.
Read More | VNUNet
Gallery: RFID Tagged Disks May Put a Halt to Piracy
TiVo Lying To VIP Customers About Series3 Orders
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Corporate News, HDTV, Home Entertainment,
You know how TiVo released the new Series3 DMR on it’s site a few days ago, apparently allowing people to get their hands on one earlier than they would be able to get one at retail? Oh, and the whole “if you buy direct from TiVo, then you can transfer an older lifetime subscription for $199”? It turns out TiVo has seemingly duped us all on both fronts and more.
So-called TiVo “VIPs” placed their orders for their Series3 units with the knowledge that they would be getting the units earlier, and that it was the only way to transfer a lifetime subscription. Nice service to offer to your most loyal of customers. However, the fiasco that followed has nothing nice about it. Get the full scoop after the jump.
Click to continue reading TiVo Lying To VIP Customers About Series3 Orders
Gallery: TiVo Lying To VIP Customers About Series3 Orders
Toshiba Reveals HD-A2 and HD-XA2 HD DVD Players
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: HDTV, Home Entertainment, Movies,
Toshiba has announced the release of their HD-A2 and HD-XA2 HD DVD players. Both output HD DVD content through the HDMI interface in 720p or 1080i. The HD-A2 incorporates a 297MHz / 12 bit Video DAC with high-quality, 4x oversampling, while the HD-XA2 also features 1.3. HDMI for 36-bit (RGB or YCbCr) color depth.
Both models come with picture setting functions that allow you to optimize picture quality with settings for color, contrast, brightness, edge enhancement, and noise blocker. Set to be released in October, the HD-A2 carries a MSRP of $499.99. For last minute Santas, the release of the high end HD-XA2 will follow in December at a MSRP of $999.99.
Read More | Toshiba News Release
Gallery: Toshiba Reveals HD-A2 and HD-XA2 HD DVD Players
Philips Releases New Ambilight HDTV Models
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Design, HDTV, Home Entertainment, Smart Home,
After its recent debut at the IFA, Philips has released its Ambilight TV with models 32PF9731D and 42PF9731D, featuring 1366 x 768 resolution panels, and its 37PF9731D with a 1920 x 1080 1080p set. All three feature Philips’ Pixel Plus technology integrated with digital tuners and boast 2x HDMI ports along with two RGB scart sockets, component video input, S/PDIF in/out and an Ethernet port on the rear. Philips also utilizes Dolby Digital for full surround sound, and a USB connector for easy play.
Philips claims that Ambilight “makes an impressive contribution to the overall viewing experience with ambient light to complement the colours and light intensity of the image on screen. It creates ambiance, stimulates more relaxed viewing and improves perceived picture detail, contrast and colour.”
To experience Ambilight for yourself visit Philips. At price points of £1,799 (~$3396), £2,499 (~$4717) and £3,000 (~$5663), we may have to wait to catch Ambilight at the neighbors’ next Superbowl party.
Read More | Trusted Reviews
Gallery: Philips Releases New Ambilight HDTV Models
Apple iTV High Definition Set-Top Box Coming in ‘07
Posted by Brian Viele Categories: Apple, HDTV, Home Entertainment, Movies, Music,
Apple has revealed that it is working on a new set-top box codenamed iTV. At half the size of a Mac Mini, it will look minuscule next to your other HD devices, especially if you opt for a PS3. The iTV will be able to stream HD audio and video from your iPod or PC with connectivity through USB 2.0 and both wired and wireless ethernet.
The iTV is packed with all the expected HD interfaces including HDMI, component RCA video and optical digital audio outputs. Additionally, the iTV is rumored to include the capability to function as a cable box and there is also talk of the possibility of HDTV downloads to the device. Details of these capabilities have not yet been released, but expect to hear more soon since the device is planned to be released in about six months.
Read More | Daily Tech
Gallery: Apple iTV High Definition Set-Top Box Coming in ‘07
TiVo Series 3 HD Digital Media Recorder Released
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Corporate News, HDTV, Home Entertainment, Software,
Tivo Inc. has announced the release of its TiVo Series 3 Digital Media Recorder. The new Tivo is HD compatible and multiple tuners enable the recording of two different shows simultaneously. Its built-in Ethernet jack and USB ports provide advanced connectivity and easy networking, giving it a simpler accessibility. The TiVo Series 3 is also a THX-certified device. “As more and more digital video recorders get connected to HDTVs, the demand for higher playback quality rises,” said Michael Rudd, chief of AV architecture at THX Ltd. “With THX certification, the integrity of HD content won’t be compromised.”
Other Product Features:
- Schedule from your workplace, on the road, or anywhere else you can access the Internet.
- WishList finds programs by actor, director, keyword or topic.
- Automatically record every episode, even if the network schedule changes.
- Season Pass Recording allows you to skip repeat episodes.
Later this year, TiVo will allow parents to create a pre-approved customized area with KidZone. Future software releases will enable advanced MPEG-4 based download features. The Series 3 will be available at retail stores within the next 60 days, and is already available online.
The bad part? Everyone wants to TiVo, but at an MSRP of $799.99 we’ll keep our old TiVos and VCRs around for another year. Especially when you consider that standard TiVo features like TiVoToGo and Multi-Room Viewing isn’t even available on the new Series 3 just yet. Still, we are sure that won’t stop the early-adopters out there.
Read More | TiVo Series 3 Product Page via engadget
Gallery: TiVo Series 3 HD Digital Media Recorder Released
JVC Everio Line Goes High Definition
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Cameras, Handhelds, HDTV, Portable Audio / Video,
Here at Gear Live, we are totally into JVC’s Everio camcorder line of handhelds. At a recent press event at IFA in Berlin, they provided a sneak peek into the future, showing off a consumer model Everio that records in “Full HD” at 1920x1080 resolution. The camera will record to an internal hard drive like other Everio cameras, and will sport a 3-CCD chip along with the option to record at 50 or 60 Hz for worldwide HD video compatibility. The camera is still unnamed for now, and pricing details have yet to be announced. Expect to see this one drop in Spring 2007.
Gallery: JVC Everio Line Goes High Definition
The argument for the past few years regarding the performance of plasma displays versus LCD panels has always come down to the contrast ratio. LCD’s are physically lighter, can produce the same resolution and don’t have the “leaking” issues associated with plasmas but just haven’t ever been able to hit the brightness levels of plasma displays which have contrast ratios of up to 10,000:1. Some of Samsung’s displays released within the past year have pushed closer, hitting the mark of 4,000:1, and some of the newest Full HD displays being released will touch higher reaching 6,000:1, but that still only hits 60% of plasma. Well, that’s all about to change.
Samsung has released its first LCD screen using LED backlighting. The LE40M91 uses LED light sources instead of CCFL panels allowing this LCD panel to produce a dynamic contrast ratio of a plasma best 10,000:1. This means richer colors, darker blacks and even brighter whites. As an added bonus, the LED sources double the life of the CCFL panels with an average life span of about 30,000hrs. That’s almost 3.5yrs of constant viewing. This first display is only capable of producing images in 1080i, but it is a great first article to show the potential of LED backlit LCD panels.
Gallery: Samsung Releases LED Backlit LCD Displays
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