Seagate FreeAgent Theater arrives in Singapore

Storage maker Seagate, the latest manufacturer to jump on the media streaming bandwagon, is bringing its FreeAgent Theater HD media player to Asia, starting with Singapore. Like the Western Digital WD TV media player launched here in late 2008, the Seagate product offers easy playback of multimedia content off external storage devices onto your TV, sans a PC.

First showcased in January at the Las Vegas-based Consumer Electronics Show, the FreeAgent Theater HD media player targets users not familiar with technology. Using it requires only a simple hookup to the TV with the supplied cables, and then connecting a hard drive to the player. An onscreen interface and bundled remote control let you find the desired music, video or audio files to play.

So what's different about the Seagate offering from the WD TV?
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New "Joe Kane projector" coming soon

Last year, we awarded our Editors' Choice for front projectors to the Samsung SP-A800, saying the unit "outperforms every projector in its class hands-down." Its successor, the SP-A900, is coming soon, and we expect the new model to offer even better picture quality. For well-heeled home theater enthusiasts, the new SP-A900 will likely be the new Holy Grail of projection performance.
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Report: Panasonic, Sumitomo teaming on OLED TVs

Panasonic and Sumitomo Chemical are teaming up to develop TVs with OLED panels of 40 inches or larger by 2010, according to a report in the Nikkei Business Daily cited by Reuters. That would seem to indicate a more friendly embrace of OLED technology from Panasonic, which was touting a much more cautious approach to the burgeoning technology just a few months ago. (Sumitomo's been an OLED player since its 2007 acquisition of Cambridge Display Technology.)

OLED ("organic light-emitting diode") is a next-generation display technology that enables TVs with near-infinite contrast ratios and--because there's no backlight--screen thicknesses measured in millimeters. Currently, there's only one consumer model available--the Sony XEL-1. And that model's price tag--US$2,500 for a tiny 11-inch screen--indicates that the technology isn't really ready for primetime yet.
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"Catch up" on your TV programs with StarHub TV

Singapore cable TV operator StarHub is rolling out some free enhancements to improve its pay TV services. They include On Demand channels and a Start Over option for selected programs. Available now, the On Demand channels offer a repository of content up to seven days after their first telecast. On the other hand, Start Over allow viewers to restart a live program at any point in time and is slated for the second half of 2009.

However, these complimentary value-added services will be released only for its HubStation and HubStation HD DVR users. Refer to the chart below for channels with these options.

Channel	On Demand	Start Over
TVBJ	Yes	Yes
VV Drama	Yes	Yes
E City	Yes	Yes
BPL	Yes	N.A.
WWE Series	Yes	N.A.

In addition, all its subscribers will soon have access to an upgraded electronic program guide with a seven-day TV schedule. The required software update is fully automated and should be installed by the end of May. Click here for more information.

LG HDTV gets wireless technology

LG has yet again unveiled a new line of HDTVs following a series of recent announcements. This time, we have the LH80 which is the Korean company's first wireless LCD TV. This allows the main display to communicate to an external A/V media box without the usual cumbersome cords and cables. The latter is loaded with all the auxiliary electronics, including TV tuner, HDMI terminals and USB input for MP3/JPEG/DivX playback. A 55-inch model in this LH80 series is expected to cost around US$4,090 in Korea. There's no information on availability and pricing outside of Korea.

Via Akihabara News

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