Posts in Home AV
New Sony LCD TV: thinner than ever
David Katzmaier | Sep 04, 2008
At CES last January we told you "thin is in" in reference to flat-panel HDTVs this year, and Sony, despite neglecting to announce its own thin LCD back then, is never one to be left behind an emerging trend. Now the company jumps on board with what appears to be the thinnest flat-panel display yet, excepting the company's own OLED-based XEL-1.
The newly-announced KDL-40ZX1M (price TBD, December) will boast a panel that measures just 9.9mm deep, which translates to about 0.39 inches in the good old U-S of A. There's no word on how deep the TV is with the base included.
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Xbox 360 to be lowest-priced next-gen video game console
Daniel Terdiman | Sep 04, 2008
One of the the biggest selling points of Nintendo's Wii video game console since its launch nearly two years ago has been that it was the lowest-priced of the trio of next-generation machines, which also includes Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3.
But Microsoft said Wednesday that it will drop the price of the Arcade on Friday to $199, breaking through what some have said is the all-important psychological price level of $200. At that price, industry observers say, the market opens up to mass levels of consumers.
Microsoft will also drop the price of its 60GB Xbox to US$299 and its "Xbox Elite", which has a 120GB hard drive, to US$399.
"The fact that the Xbox 360 is now cheaper than the Wii is definitely a big shift in the market," said Aaron Greenberg, director of product management for Xbox 360.
The news has been rumored for some time and was first reported as fact Wednesday by BusinessWeek.
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Sharp's new BD-HP21A Blu-ray player coming soon to Asia
Philip Wong | Sep 04, 2008
The successor for Sharp's pilot Blu-ray player, the BD-HP20A, is making its way to Asia soon. Following the Japanese electronics company's US announcement, we've received confirmation that the new entry-level BD-HP21A will be available in Singapore and Malaysia from October or early November. It is reportedly priced at US$350 in the US, though the Asia pricing and availability (other than Singapore and Malaysia) are not available at press time. According to Sharp, these details will be released closer to the actual product launch.
If the Asian model is a near clone of its American counterpart, the BD-HP21A should deliver the highly sought-after onboard DTS-HD Master Audio and Dolby TrueHD surround sound decoding. This feature is in addition to its predecessor's quick-start 10-second disc loading time and film-based 1080p24 playback. The BD-HP21A's only major handicap is its Blu-ray Profile 1.1 (Bonus View)-support which is not compatible with Profile 2.0 (BD-Live)'s in-movie advanced interactive features.
Via CNET Crave | Photo credit: Sharp
7 out of 10 people who own a DVR can't live without it
Philip Wong | Sep 03, 2008
Surprised? This is according to an August survey from NDS, which specializes in digital pay-TV solutions. Commissioned by the UK-based company and compiled from 1,000 DVR owners from the US, UK, Italy and Australia, the survey has uncovered some "interesting" findings. We can see eye-to-eye with the interviewees' sentiments on the DVRs' ease of use over the VCRs and numerous contributions in improving the overall TV viewing experiences. For example, an electronic program guide to facilitate program schedule browsing and recording.
However, we were kind of taken aback by the following observations:
Are they using their DVRs without a TV? Should a DVR be considered a household appliance in the first place? Never mind that, but the last straw is the happier home life bit. Geez, are these tell-tale signs of a DVR addict?
Via NDS | Photo credit: NDS
New HQV-powered Mitsubishi beamers
Philip Wong | Sep 02, 2008
Mitsubishi Electric has just unleashed three new full-HD home theater projectors in IFA, Berlin. The HC7000, HC6500 and HC5500 are all based on Epson's 3LCD engine and are equipped with a slew of advanced features. These include dual 1080p24-ready HDMI 1.3 inputs, a long 5,000-hour lamp life, a motorized lens shift/zoom/focus and an enthusiast-grade HQV Reon-VX video processor.
The differentiating factors, however, are mainly the beamers' dynamic contrast and optical zoom. Leading the pack is the HC7000 offering an ultra-high 70,000:1 rating, followed by the HC6500 and HC5500 with more down-to-earth 15,000:1 and 14,000:1 performances, respectively. Zoom-wise, the higher-end models have 1.6x telephoto lenses to project theatrical-sized 100-inch images from a 3.1m throw distance, while the HC5500 is fitted with a 1.2x equivalent.
We have not received any Asia pricing and availability from its distributors at press time.
Photo credit: Mitsubishi Electric
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