Posts in Home AV
HD-DVD blowout sales
Philip Wong | Mar 26, 2008
Yo! How's US$9.99 for a Hollywood blockbuster mastered in crystal-clear HD visuals and high-resolution surround sound? If you are transiting Dublin, California, check out the local Best Buy stores and get to stock up on some dirt-cheap HD-DVDs. Though it seems outright insane to bet your chips on a defunct technology, this is an absolute no-brainer for existing HD-DVD player owners. It sucks that my fellow enthusiasts over in the US are cashing in on these fire sales, while the Blu supporters are hopelessly dreaming about the next US Amazon buy-one-get-one-free promotion. Reality check, dudes! These promotions are probably gone for good now that the (HD-DVD) competition has been axed. Time to pay good money for your Blu-ray fix!
However, if you're one of those HD-DVD advocates stuck in Asia, not all is lost. Some Singapore video libraries are clearing their supplies at no less than 50 percent discount. Grab them while stocks last, because that's the last you're going to see of those HD-DVD titles. The clock is ticking.
Via tgdaily | Photo credit: tgdaily
Wii will shred Rock Band, starting June 22
Caroline McCarthy | Mar 26, 2008
Rumors of a Wii edition of Rock Band first started to circulate early last month. The game was originally released in November amid the soaring popularity of Activision's Guitar Hero franchise, which had a Hollywood-worthy US$115 million opening weekend for its most recent game, Guitar Hero III. MTV's Rock Band puts a spin on the concept by letting participants play bass, drums, and vocals in addition to guitar.
Despite the inherent similarities to Guitar Hero, Rock Band has been a huge hit, too.
But, just like a rerun of Behind the Music, the guitar-playing video game craze has been ridden with drama. Harmonix developed the original Guitar Hero, but MTV Networks acquired it in 2006 to create rival Rock Band and distribute it through gaming mega-publisher Electronic Arts. Meanwhile, guitar manufacturer Gibson Guitar has filed a lawsuit against the manufacturers of both Guitar Hero and Rock Band as well as six major retailers--according to Gibson, it's held a patent on a guitar-playing video game since 1999.
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Future-proofed speaker system rack
Philip Wong | Mar 24, 2008
It seems like Panasonic has scored an almost perfect speaker system rack, judging from the SC-HRT110's official specs. What's unique here is a 7.1-channel linear PCM support implemented via HDMI. This would allow onboard playback of studio-grade surround sounds, found on most Blu-ray titles, including externally decoded Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD. There're also the optional SH-FX60-K wireless module and SB-HS500A-K surround speakers to upgrade the system to a 4.1 solution without the usual cable clutter, too.
Other notable bits range from dual optical audio inputs to 1080p-ready HDMI input/output and VieraLink one-remote consumer electronics control (HDMI-CEC). These are aside from the standard onboard Dolby Digital and DTS surround sound decoding and dual 130mm woofers to beef up bass reproduction. This is definitely one future-proofed product worth a closer look, but only if you are a resident in Japan. The SC-HTR110 is slated for launch in the land of the rising sun from April, but we seriously doubt it will be heading for the rest of Asia anytime soon.
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Via Audio Junkies | Photo credit: Panasonic
Pandigital debuts kitchen TV with extra perks
David Carnoy | Mar 21, 2008
Pandigital, which is making a name for itself in the digital photo frame market, is branching out into kitchen televisions. As part of the upcoming International Home and Housewares Show in Chicago, the company will be showing off a new 15-inch LCD HDTV that can display digital photos and act as a digital cookbook.
Here are the highlights and specs from the news release:
Pandigital's multifaceted kitchen TV is scheduled to be available in June in the US and costs US$399.99.
Via Crave US | Photo credit: Pandigital
Samsung LCD TVs go "rose black" in the UK
Ian Morris | Mar 21, 2008
In the late 1970s and early 1980s, TVs had faux wood all over them. They went all matte black in the late 1980s, then during the 1990s, a ghastly silver was all the rage. With the introduction of flat panels, matte black made a comeback for a while and later went glossy, known as piano black. So what's next in the goggle-box fashion lineup? If you listen to Samsung, "rose black" is the new must-have color and the Korean chaebol is slathering it all over its new range of high-end goggle boxes.
Happily, the full red effect really appears in all its glory only in a well-lit room. Samsung is certain we'll all be keen to light our TVs, specifically to bring out its exciting new color scheme. Of course we will. Indeed, Samsung believes in this color so much that it's also slapping the hue on its new DVD home cinema systems, such as the HT-X710 and even its high-end 800W, 5.1 HT-TX715. Prepare for an onslaught of slightly reddish TVs and home cinema equipment soon.
Now let's forget about the color for a moment--and let's wander around to the specs sheet. As this is Samsung's top-of-the-range LCD TV, it almost goes without saying that they're full-HD screens--with the exception of the 19- and 22-inch models. That does mean for the first time Samsung is producing a 1080p, 32-inch TV for the UK, joining other manufacturers in fulfilling demand for smaller "full-HD" screens.
The LE40A6 range uses Samsung's "ultra-clear panel" contrast-improving technology--"super clear panel" owners will be miffed. There's a stonking four HDMI sockets on the 32-inch and above models. If you buy a 37-inch or above, you'll also get Samsung's 100Hz technology, which aims to reduce motion blur and other movement artefacts.
The screens also feature the now ubiquitous game mode for console and PC gaming fans, and the contrast ratio of the larger sets is up to 15,000:1.
You should also be pleased to learn that Samsung is attempting to simplify the model numbers--we're genuinely ecstatic. While this screen is officially called the LE40A656A1FXXU, it can be referred to as the LE40A6, which is a substantial improvement. Hurrah! The A6 range will include 19-, 22-, 32-, 37-, 46-, and 52-inch screen sizes as well as the 40-incher we've introduced you to here.
Via Crave UK | Photo credit: Samsung
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