When the woofer is mightier than the pen

If you've ever wondered what a loudspeaker would look like if it were designed by a company that makes pens, look no further. And if you do happen to fall into this category of curiosity, you have way too much time on your hands.

That aside, the rather odd-looking object pictured here is the product of one Lominichay, better known for its fine writing instruments. Why it's decided to make speakers is anyone's guess, but the company appears to be applying the esoteric sensibilities of its pens to this new line of business.

The "Degas" model shown at right atop its cylindrical stand is one of three speakers named after master painters, made from heavily lacquered birchwood and "promises excellent bass down to 35Hz in moderate- to large-sized listening rooms of about 50 to 500 square feet," according to Luxist, with a "6.5-inch ceramic midrange driver and a sparkling 1-inch diamond tweeter."

All for a mere US$30,000, that is, or US$32,500 if you splurge for the piano lacquer version. But don't squawk--the Degas is the cheapest of Loiminchay Audio's three debut offerings, with the other two tagged at US$45,000 and US$75,000 a pair.

At first we were curious about the price of its pens, but now we're too scared to ask.

Via CNET Crave | Photo credit: Luxist

Paramount's wavering HD-DVD allegiance

Following the latest announcement on Warner Bros' new Blu-ray alliance, there are now fresh rumors on a similar Paramount coup in the pipeline. According to an online Financial Times article, Paramount may be exploiting a loophole in its contract with the Toshiba-lead consortium. Insiders have indicated a clause which allows the company to relinquish its HD-DVD allegiance in the event that Warner switches sides. As for the outcome, only time will tell. But even without Paramount's entry, the Blu-ray camp is poised to capture up to 70 percent of all Hollywood productions now with Warner onboard.

Our take? The cat and mouse game is far from over and with cash-rich Microsoft backing HD-DVD, you never know. As for the consumers, you can either sit out and enjoy the debacle or invest in one of the dual-format players from Samsung and LG.

New FireWire (i.Link) standard earns HD badge

There's another new data and A/V interface standard on the horizon and it promises a four-time speed boost over its predecessor. At 3.2Gbs, the FireWire S3200 specification is supposed to be fast enough to handle the rigors of HD, capable of recording high-resolution video in digital with added copy protection. It also carries sufficient electrical power to run hard disc drives and other portable storage. Though promising on paper, its application in home entertainment is still largely limited to DVRs, camcorders and a handful of high-end audio players. That said, Firewire is almost a given on computers and laptops.

As an added bonus, S3200-ready hardware is supposed to be backward compatible with the older FireWire formats. This specification is slated for ratification in January 2008 though no official dates have been set for actual product roll out at press time.

Via Cine Now | Photo credit: Monster Cable

Samsung's upcoming Duo HD player to feature HQV?

A Samsung representative at the CES booth revealed that the company is planning to introduce another Duo HD (Blu-ray and HD-DVD compatible) player some time next autumn/winter. It will be called the BD-UP6500, making it possibly the first Duo HD player under the 6000 series. The Duo HD models announced so far--BD-UP5000 and BD-UP5500--belong to the 5000 series.

One of the key feature enhancements that can be found on the 6000 series players, according to the Samsung rep, is the inclusion of the HQV processor. HQV or Hollywood Quality Video is a high-definition video processor developed by semiconductor firm Silicon Optix to help improve video playback quality on an HD display. The BD-UP5000 and recently announced BD-UP5500 do not come with an onboard HQV processor.

Note: The image shown is the Samsung BD-UP5500 Duo HD player.

Microvision Pico: Extreme-mobile projector?

We initially wanted to label these as ultra-mobile projectors, but at mere fraction of its regular counterparts, the Microvision Pico is more like an extreme miniature concoction quite unlike anything in the market. The color visual technology behind Pico can be applied either as an accessory projector (referred to as PicoP) or embedded directly into mobile devices. In addition, its low-power consumption allows power to be drawn directly off the video source such as a handheld or portable media player. This makes it a truly "any place, any time" micro beamer for the future. As to whether this projection concept is viable, only time will tell.

Click for larger images:



Via Engadget | Photo credit: Microvision

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