Posts in Home AV
Warner Bros. tests emerging tech in new facility
Greg Sandoval | Feb 25, 2008
Warner Bros. Entertainment Group is tired of guessing about how the studio's content will appear on the Web or handheld devices.
That's why the company has built a new media center designed to test how consumers respond to Web sites, consumer electronics, and video-on-demand services that feature the studio's movies and TV shows.
The company behind such films and TV shows as I am Legend, Michael Clayton, and ER, has outfitted the media center with Xboxes, PSPs, iPods, Macbooks, varying brands of PCs, DirectTV, and a plethora of cable subscription services.
The company will bring in everyday consumers and watch how they interact with Web sites, gadgets, or video-on-demand services that feature Warner content. With the help of eight pan-zoom cameras built into the ceiling, researchers will monitor the respondents, according to Bruce K. Rosenblum, the executive vice president in charge of the media center.
"We're not operating in a vacuum anymore because of this center," Rosenblum told CNET News.com on Thursday. "We want to get smarter and understand these technologies a bit better. Warner Bros can just assume about the deals we do. I think it's important that Warner knows the experience."
The studios know that they can't rely solely on the TV set or VHS recorder anymore. Fans are consuming films and shows on video-game consoles, music players like the iPod, and mobile phones. Rosenblum said Warner Bros. modeled its media center after one built in Las Vegas by CBS.
The differences between the two facilities are that Warner was designed specifically to test emerging technologies and is on-site.
Rosenblum decline to discuss costs of building the center. He did say that companies owned by Time Warner, the studio's parent company, are welcome to use the facility.
Via Crave CNET
Pioneer outsources its plasma production
Philip Wong | Feb 25, 2008
Seems like Pioneer's tie-up with LCD rival Sharp is not the last controversial news from the staunch plasma advocate. In a recent report from Japanese newspaper Asahi, the company said it plans to shut down its Kagoshima plant and focus on manufacturing 50-inch and larger plasma panels. After the planned March 2009 closure, supplies for its 42-inch and smaller panels will instead come from competitors Matsushita Electric (read: Panasonic) and Hitachi.
We're still awaiting official word from its local Asia office on the implications which include directions for its plasma TVs, as well as competitiveness and performance issues for these premium panels. Stay tuned.
Via News.com | Photo credit: Pioneer
An arcade machine of a different scale
Philip Wong | Feb 25, 2008
Hailed as the pinnacle of 1980s arcade gaming, e-retailer Hammacher Schlemmer's 150 Classic Game Tabletop Arcade is a must-have for arcade junkies and the closest you can get away without carting home the real McCoy. Like its genuine counterparts, the authentic-looking console has an eight-way joystick and oversized button controls to recreate that nostalgic play and feel.
Best of all, it offers 150 vintage games, including PacMan, out-of-the-box, rendered on a 19-inch LCD encased in a space-saving chassis. Audio fidelity-wise, the US$2,496 system is loaded with 2.1 speakers complete with dedicated subwoofer. Powered by a streamlined HP computer, it will also readily support PC-based games and playback music via a preloaded Jukebox software.
International shipping is available. However, this is estimated at close to US$400 each unit. Ouch!
Via Bornrich.org | Photo credit: Hammacher Schlemmer
Swap your HD-DVD deck for a Blu-ray
Reuben Lee | Feb 25, 2008
According to the report on DigitalWorldTokyo, electronics retailer Edion is offering its customers a chance to return their Toshiba HD-DVD players in exchange for new Blu-ray decks from Sony, Panasonic or Sharp. Understandably, the customer is required to pay the difference if the Blu-ray player is more expensive, though what's surprising is that the retailer has also promised to refund the difference if the Blu-ray player costs less.
Talk about customer satisfaction. Now if only other electronics stores would follow Edion's lead and offer similar exchange programs, HD-DVD owners will finally have something to cheer about. But this being the real world, that's seriously unlikely to happen.
Via DigitalWorldTokyo
Blu-ray is the new unified HD standard for Hollywood
Philip Wong | Feb 21, 2008
The sweeping unification is fast and furious. Merely a day after the ill-fated HD-DVD press conference, Paramount and Universal Studios have separately signaled their new Blu-ray alliance. While the latter has been flamboyant with its new partnership, announced hours after Toshiba's own, Paramount has been definitely more subtle in contrast. This was formalized by an exclusive statement to Website The Hollywood Reporter.
With the above-mentioned heavyweights onboard, Blu-ray has now becomes the de facto platform for HD movie distribution, backed by all six major Hollywood studios. The remaining four which have already signed up are Sony Pictures, 20th Century Fox, Walt Disney Studios and Warner Bros. The latest development is a closure of a confusing format war and a new chapter in consumer home entertainment.
That said, the HD crusade is far from over. The studios and hardware vendors will still have to get their act right to promote mass adaptation. It's high time the Blu-ray format settles down with a finalized standard, while its relevant software goes large and affordable worldwide. What're the key considerations to get you onboard? Contribute your opinions via our Talkback function below.
Via Hollywood reporter
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