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Acoustic Research Stealth Speakers
Posted by John Goulden Categories: Home Entertainment, Movies, Music,
Over the years, the trend for home audio speakers has been one of downsizing. Many a home theater enthusiast has foregone the lure of huge speakers that rattle their neighbor’s windows (three blocks away) to focus more on the SAF. The SAF (Spousal Approval Factor) is a major force when it comes time for speaker acquisitions, and typically the smaller, the better. Acoustic Research, an Audiovox company, has taken a slightly different approach than the norm to making speakers blend in with their surroundings. While their HD510 speaker system isn’t tremendously tiny (e.g., Bose Acoustimass), they’re still quite small, but that’s not their only claim to SAF fame. Acoustic Research has taken to hiding the speakers inside some fairly common looking objects to help disguise their presence.
Suddenly, subwoofers become steamer trunks, and satellite speakers become books, vases, and even wall sconces. With more than 20 different covers that are each sold separately, the options available are quite abundant. One thing though that should concern anyone interested in quality speakers, is the effect the covers have on the clarity and aspect of the sound. Unfortunately, besides mentioning that the covers allow “consumers to really express themselves without compromising speaker performance”, there are no hard numbers for a “before and after” scenario in regards to sound quality.
HD510 Features:
Satellites & Center Channel Speaker
Woofer : 3 1/2” Midrange (Magnetically Shielded)
Tweeter : 1” Teteron Tweeter
Freq. Resp. : 120Hz-25kHz +/- 3dB
Rec. Power : 25-150 Watts
Finish : Extruded Aluminum
Dims 6.15”(H) x 3.8”(W) x 4.0”(D)
Impedance : 8 ohms
Subwoofer
10” Poly-Coated Woofer
Freq. Resp. : 25Hz - 150Hz (variable)
175 Watt Class D Digital Amplifier
Finish : Pewter Lacquer
Dims : 13.5”(H) x 23.9”(W) x 12.5”(D)
The speaker system and covers will be available this summer for an undisclosed amount.
Read More 
| Audiovox via Gizmodo
Gallery: Acoustic Research Stealth Speakers
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YouTube has become an overnight Internet phenomenon, with a little help from SNL’s Lazy Sunday video, of course. Still, millions flock to YouTube to upload and view video clips, and are even offered code to allow them to embed said video into their own site. That’s cool and all, but some would much rather just download the content directly to their computer. Sites generally use a flash embed to make it a bit more difficult for users to download the file for their own use, but it is certainly doable with the right tools. Using the website KeepVid, you can tell it the URL of the YouTube video that you want to download, and it will give you specific instructions on how to accomplish that task. Here’s to more webcam girls filling hard drives across the land.
Read More 
| KeepVid via MediaBlab
Gallery: How To Download YouTube Videos
Bleeding Edge Byte 004: Superman Returns Preview (Xbox 360)
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Features, Movies, Video Games, Videocasts,
We caught up with EA while at E3 and got a preview of the upcoming adventure game, Superman Returns. We show you how Superman flies at 800 miles per hour through Metropolis, how open-ended the gameplay is, and the ingenious way that the game plays without ever allowing Superman to die.
Here’s how to get the show:
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IMPORTANT: We are surveying the viewers of our show to see what it is that people like, and more importantly, what they don’t like. It is anonymous, and just takes a couple of minutes. If you have the time, we would appreciate it! As always, feel free to let us know what you think in the comments.
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Gallery: Bleeding Edge Byte 004: Superman Returns Preview (Xbox 360)
Bleeding Edge Byte 003: E3 2006 Alienware Interview
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Features, Movies, PC / Laptop, Video Games, Videocasts,
In this episode we speak with Brian Dezayas of Alienware about their new portable SLI machines, the Dell aquisition, and the Limited Edition Superman notebook and desktop computers.
Here’s how to get the show:
Subscribe: iTunes iPod / H.264 | iTunes MPEG-4 | RSS iPod Feed | RSS MPEG-4 Feed
|Download| - iPod-formatted H.264 (Mirror)
|Download| - DivX (Mirror)
|Download| - MPEG-4 (Mirror)
|Download| - PSP (Mirror)
IMPORTANT: We are surveying the viewers of our show to see what it is that people like, and more importantly, what they don’t like. It is anonymous, and just takes a couple of minutes. If you have the time, we would appreciate it! As always, feel free to let us know what you think in the comments.
|Download| - iPod-formatted H.264
|Download| - MPEG-4
Gallery: Bleeding Edge Byte 003: E3 2006 Alienware Interview
The early lead that HD-DVD has over format competitor Blu-ray continues to widen as news was released that Blu-ray titles would be postponed another month. Benjamin Feingold, president of Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, had stated that they would be ready for titles to be released on Blu-ray by May 23, 2006. Instead, the new proposed date will be around June 20th, with Warner Home Video indicating that they will also release titles around the same time.
The reason for the delay? Simple - there’s no commercially available hardware to be found. Samsung, a major player in the Blu-ray arena, pushed back the release of their players until June 25th. By releasing the movies and hardware together, the Blu-ray camp will “. . . ensure a more coordinated launch.” Sounds like a no-brainer to us as movies are useless without something to play them on.
Read More | Yahoo!
Gallery: Blu-ray Movies Delayed
Easily one of the best plug-ins for Microsoft Media Center, My Movies 2 has been released from beta status and is readily available for download. In case you’re not familiar with the movie collection software, we’ll let Brian Binnerup, the author, give you the lowdown. “My Movies integrates with Microsoft’s Media Center Edition to let users easily index and access their entire movie collection in single or multi-room environments, regardless of where the movies are stored (remote or local hard drives, DVD changer or simply sitting on a shelf).”
New features in v2 include DVD changer control for the Sony DVP-CX777ES, increased flexibility for parental control restrictions, series/box set support, personal categories, and more. Available in multiple languages, My Movies is a must-have application for Media Center, and if you’re running MCE without it then run, don’t walk to the link listed below.
Read More | My Movies
Gallery: My Movies 2 Released
Warner Home Video Announces First Hybrid HD/DVD
Posted by John Goulden Categories: Corporate News, HDTV, Home Entertainment, Movies,
In what continues to be a one-sided battle, with HD-DVD having a minor lead as a result of being first to market, comes the first hybrid HD/DVD disc featuring the movie “Rumor Has It”. Available on May 9th, the disc features the widescreen DVD version on one side, with the HD-DVD version on the other.
Due to manufacturing differences, it’s easier and less expensive to create a hybrid HD/DVD disc than the equivalent BD/DVD version. Providing consumers with discs that offer an upgrade path for HD content, instead of a standard definition dead end, could be a major factor in the format war. Not everyone is willing to jump into the deep end of the early adopter pool, and many would rather wriggle their toes in the shallow end until a winner is “declared”. Hybrid discs will allow them to do just that, while also working as an obstacle to potential Blu-ray purchases. After all, if you already have movies on DVD that also include the High-Def version on the flip-side, why would you want to buy the movie again in Blu-ray format? With an MSRP of $39.99 USD, the hybrid HD/DVD version does carry a higher price than the standard DVD, but it does keep one’s options open without forcing an immediate hardware purchase.
Purely speculation on our part, but if the price of hybrid discs were lowered to be very close to their plain DVD cousins, the HD-DVD camp would “clean house” as there would be little impetus for consumers to buy just the DVD version. For the short term this might lower profits or possibly even incur a minor fiscal loss, but in the end isn’t it all about who wins the war?
Read More | Yahoo! News
Gallery: Warner Home Video Announces First Hybrid HD/DVD
Red One Camera - Now With Mysterium!
Posted by John Goulden Categories: Cameras, Corporate News, HDTV, Movies,
You have to admit, Mysterium sounds like a late-night infomercial product that comes with a free paring knife if you order right now. Not in this instance though as Mysterium is the oddly named 12-megapixel CMOS sensor used in the Red One video camera. With 11.4M usable pixels, the camera offers HD resolutions in the form of 720p and 1080i, and beyond conventional HD in 2K, 4K, and 2540p formats. Created to be future-proof, the camera is modular by design and “easily accepts upgrades in hardware, software, storage, handling and monitoring accessories.” The picture shown above includes the optional Red-Cage accessory that is primarily used for mounting accessories (and obliterating one’s toes if accidentally dropped). The Red One camera by itself weighs less the 7 pounds and is made from a lightweight magnesium alloy.
Currently under development, with no release date in sight, the Red One carries a tentative MSRP of $17,500 USD. Refundable reservations are currently being accepted for a mere $1,000 USD.
Read More | Red Digital Cinema via Fosfor Gadgets
Gallery: Red One Camera - Now With Mysterium!
Panasonic to Ship Blu-Ray Burner For PC
Posted by Jared Hislop Categories: Movies, PC / Laptop, Peripherals, Storage,
Panasonic has announced that they will ship an internal Blu-Ray disc writer in June. The new device will be able to read BD, DVD, and CD media, and will be capable of writing BD-R, BD-RE, DVD±R/RW (single and dual-layer), DVD-RAM and CD-R/RW discs. This drive will be able to handle 25GB and 50GB Blu-Ray media, and while it will playback DVDs, you will not be able to playback BD movies without special software. Panasonic is not bundling any software to playback BD movies, but said that they will bundle PowerDVD for DVD viewing. There will also be backup software that will enable users to write to BD-R/RE discs. No pricing is set for the LF-MB121JD, but rumors say that it will cost around $851.00.
Read More | Reg Hardware
Gallery: Panasonic to Ship Blu-Ray Burner For PC
Microsoft Downs Sony and Blu-Ray
Posted by Jared Hislop Categories: HDTV, Home Entertainment, Microsoft, Movies,
Chris Lewis, the regional vice president for Microsoft in Europe, the Middle East and Africa recently had some nasty comments on Sony’s new Blu-Ray DVD format.
“Blu-ray right now reminds us of another technology from Sony: Betamax. A bit like VHS—we think that HD DVD is the format that consumers, film studios and publishers will embrace. As you’re mentioning the cost of Blu-ray—we think it’s about giving consumers choice, we think it’s about not necessarily asking them to pay over the odds for a technology that, at the moment, is unproven.”
It should be interesting to see what rebukes towards Microsoft Sony can come up with. I mean its not hard to down anything Microsoft, but we are hoping Sony can come back with something interesting. Past that Betamax wasn’t that bad - it was overpriced; but who pays attention to price when you get an increase in quality?
Read More | Ars Technica
Gallery: Microsoft Downs Sony and Blu-Ray
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