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Kodak Zi6 HD Pocket Video Camera unboxing gallery
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Cameras, Features, Galleries, HDTV, Portable Video,
Continuing our look at pocket HD camcorders, we were able to get our hands on a new Kodak Zi6 Pocket Video Camera, which shoots in 720p high definition, at a full 60 frames per second. In case you were wondering, that’s unique for ultra-portable HD camcorders. There isn’t much storage space on-board, but that is rectified by the SD card slot, which supports up for a 32 GB SD card. The Kodak Zi6 also includes an SD AV cable, as well as an HD cable, allowing you to plug the camera directly into an HDTV to view the content on it. It takes two AA batteries, and they throw in two rechargeable AAs, as well a charger. We’ve taken a bunch of images of the device, which you can find in our Kodak Zi6 gallery. If you are interested in picking on up, here’s a Kodak Zi6 coupon link, where Kodak is offering $30 off. Not bad.
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| Kodak Zi6 gallery
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HTPC Building Series: The ATI TV Wonder 650
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Features, HDTV, Home Entertainment, Movies, PC / Laptop,
Check out our HTPC on a Budget series and join us in building a great HTPC for under $1,000.
We’re starting to wind down the layout of all the parts that are going into our Home Theater PC. First, let’s recap some of the main components that we’ve thrown into this project this far:
- The process of selecting the hardware for the HTPC
- A closer look at our chosen motherboard, the MSI MS-7411
- A look at how we will drive 7.1 sound from the HTPC
- The way that we will move content to the HTPC so it’s displayed on our television
We’ve come a long way to far. In this article, though, I wanted to talk about the TV card that we’ve chosen. Since we are doing this on a budget, we are hoping for a nice balance of good performance at an inexpensive price. This is why we’ve chosen the AMD TV Wonder 650. Amazon has it for 43% off of the retail price. This card supports both over the air HD broadcasts, as well as ClearQAM cable TV.
Click to continue reading HTPC Building Series: The ATI TV Wonder 650
Read More | Series: Building an HTPC on a Budget
House Votes Down Digital Delay Bill
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: HDTV, Home Entertainment,
The House today voted down the bill to switch the digital delay from Feb.17 to June 12 by its failure to get 2/3 of the vote. The bill, backed by President Obama, had already passed in the Senate. Many Republicans believe that passing the bill and boosting the coupon program would create more confusion. Nielsen reports that about 6.5 million households are still not ready for the changeover. Stay tuned to see either the bill gets reworked for another vote or if President Obama saves the day.
Read More | Reuters
HTPC Building Series: Driving multimedia content to the HTPC
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Features, HDTV, Home Entertainment, Movies, PC / Laptop,
Check out our HTPC on a Budget series and join us in building a great HTPC for under $1,000.
Continuing our quest to build the ultimate, while inexpensive, home theater PC, the one thing you need to consider when talking about media is how you are going to actually get the media to the computer. After covering the main mission, carefully going through our selection of hardware, giving you a first hand look at the MSI motherboard we chose (and explaining exactly why we chose that one,) and then bringing you up to speed on how we are going to drive 7.1 surround sound from this thing, you were probably thinking that the brunt of the thinking was done, right? Well, while that may be the case, there are still some important considerations that need to be taken into account.
Click to continue reading HTPC Building Series: Driving multimedia content to the HTPC
Read More | Series: Building an HTPC on a Budget
Panasonic VIERA CAST Adopts Amazon VOD
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: HDTV, Home Entertainment, Internet, Movies,
Watch out, Netflix, you have some competition. Panasonic has now announced that it is teaming with Amazon Video On Demand on their 2009 VIERA CAST enabled HDTVs and Blu-ray products. Grab yourself one and you will have access to over 40,000 titles. In addition, you can get YouTube, Picasa, Bloomberg News and weather. We have to admit we like VOD as they often have some freebies and that is a good thing. Look for the new VIERA CAST early this year.
Read More | Akihabara News
LG LH-85 Series Wireless HDTVs
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: CES, CES 2009, HDTV, Home Entertainment, Wireless / WiFi,
LG is displaying an LH-85 series of wireless LCD TVs at the CES 2009. The HDTVs include the 47-inch 47LH85 and the 55-inch 55LH85 with a 120Hz refresh rate, a 60gHz radio and multi-element antenna array. It also features its 10 point IRE system, color management, and a new picture wizard for calibrating the TVs. The new series should be available in May. Contact LG for more information and price range.
Read More | cnet
Netflix streaming hits VIZIO Connected HDTV [UPDATED]
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Broadband, CES, CES 2009, Corporate News, HDTV, Home Entertainment, Movies,
VIZIO is launching a new platform that they’re calling “Conneced HDTV,” and with it comes confirmation of the second Netflix direct-to-TV partnership. VIZIO’s Connected HDTV platform is designed to compliment traditional television viewing. You just connect the television to your home network, and if there’s nothing good on, you can go into Netflix, and I am sure there will be other services (YouTube? Hulu?) that you’ll be able to pull up as well. This is a trend we are definitely liking, let’s eliminate set-top boxes while providing more viewing options for the consumer.
EDIT: Okay, we just got more details on this. Aside from Netflix, the VIZIO Connected HDTV platform also brings Amazon Video on Demand, Pandora, Flickr, Blockbuster OnDemand, Rhapsody, Adobe Flash content, games from Accedo Broadband, and the Yahoo! widget engine. Very, very interesting!
Read More | MarketWatch
Sharp build Blu-ray players into BD-series Aquos LCD HDTV line
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: CES, CES 2009, HDTV, Home Entertainment,
Sharp is aiming to help eliminate at least one set-top box from your rack with their BD-series Aquos LCD HDTVs, which come with a Blu-ray player packed in to the television unit, announced today at CES 2009. If interested, you can pick one up later this month in 32-, 37-, or 42-inch flavors, or if you need something larger, next month the 46- and 52-inch models drop. These also bost the Superlucent ASV panel technology which means less glare in the end, and a brighter picture. It also does 24p through HDMI, in case you have an old HD DVD player you have lying around that you want to use (since the included Blu-ray technology doesn’t use up an HDMI port.) QAM and ATSC tuners along with RS-232C inputs round this one out. Full release after the break.
Click to continue reading Sharp build Blu-ray players into BD-series Aquos LCD HDTV line
VIZIO busts out $200 VBR100 Blu-ray player at CES 2009
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: CES, CES 2009, HDTV, Home Entertainment,
So, you know how VIZIO was working on switching from being a discount player to wanting to be seen more as a high end manufacturer? Well, looks like they are looking to merge those two together with their VBR100 Blu-ray deck, which they announced today at CES 2009. Here’s a look at the features of this 2-inch thick Blu-ray player:
- Video outputs: HDMI (1.3), component, and composite
- Audio outputs: 7.1 channel analog audio, coax and optical digital audio, and analog stereo (RCA)
- Dimensions: 17 X 11 X 2”
- Includes Remote Control (Oh rly??)
In addition, when watching a standard DVD, you can set the player to upconvert to 720p, 1080i, or 1080p, and it has on-board Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD MA decoders, and that can be output from the unit’s 7.1 analog outputs. You can pick this one up in April for $199.99.
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MSI Wind NetOn With Dual-Core Atom
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: CES, CES 2009, HDTV, PC / Laptop,
MSI is sharing its Wind NetOns at CES. It is available in a 19-inch model AE1901 that will run on an Atom Dual Core CPU with 720p video support. The earth-friendly device consumes only about 20% of average PCs. The AE2203 is powered by a Core 2 Duo CPU. With advanced entertainment and AV features, the higher end NetOn has full HD video. Two other models, the AP1900 and the AP1902, will also be shown. No price or date of release has been given.
Read More | Akihabara News
