CES rocks the house: Updates
The Consumer Electronics Show 2005 may be over but our coverage has not. Here's more of the latest in home entertainment products from Vegas.
Not dead yet: Transmeta's fanless Media Center plans
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Transmeta's Entertainment Center Initiative
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Acknowledging that the company can only lose money for so long, processor manufacturer Transmeta opened up about its current and new OEM partnerships and initiatives at CES 2005. While Transmeta's low-power CPUs have found their way into tablet PCs, laptops, and most recently, the OQO 01 palmtop PC, the company has always lagged behind Intel and AMD. However, Transmeta's cooler-operating Efficeon processors would be a perfect fit for Media Center PCs--something we saw a lot of at CES. Why? Because one of the biggest complaints about several of the Media Center computers we've seen has been their fan noise. The low-heat operation of the Efficeon processor allows PC makers to go fanless and use smaller form factors. Companies onboard with Transmeta's plans include ATI, Hauppauge Digital, InterVideo, Zedeon, and Zoran Corporation. We liked the prototypes it had on display, though it was hard to tell how silent they were with the din from the convention crowd.
Optoma adds a built-in DVD player to its new DLP projector
Optoma's latest DLP projector, the MovieTime DV10, is the company's first to include a built-in DVD player along with a pair of speakers. It joins similarly configured projectors from the likes of HP and Pixa. The HDTV-compatible unit can project a wide-screen image from a range of 4.9 to 32.8 feet. Other specs include:
- 854x480 (480p) native resolution
- 36- to 335-inch image size
- 4,000:1 contrast ratio
- Optical audio output
HD+TV+PC=HP's new z555 Digital Entertainment Center
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HP z555 Digital Entertainment Center
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Bringing a comprehensive collection of multimedia features under one black, brushed-aluminum roof, HP's new z555 Digital Entertainment Center gives you the power to watch and record an HDTV program, burn that program onto DVD, then use HP's new LightScribe technology to laser-burn a label onto the DVD. It's not exactly a bargain solution, but you'll add a handful of high-end, PC-linked components to your home-theater setup, including an HD TV tuner, a 250GB 7,200rpm Serial ATA hard drive, and an Nvidia GeForce 6600 PCI Express graphics card.
- Intel Pentium 4 530J with Hyper-Threading technology
- 512MB PC3200 DDR memory
- 16X DVD±R/RW double-layer DVD recorder
- Front-panel 9-in-1-memory-card reader
- Five video-out connectors, DVI-D, component video, VGA, S-Video, and composite-video output ports
- Dolby Digital 5.1 surround-sound support
- Progressive-scan DVD movie playback at 480p
- 802.11b/g integrated wireless receiver and 10/100/1000BaseT Gigabit Ethernet port
- FM tuner with pause and replay capabilities
- Wireless keyboard with integrated trackball mouse
Samsung's HDMI-switching A/V receiver
A/V receivers are the nerve center of any home-theater setup. But the category has lagged when it comes to interfacing with the latest digital video connections. Enter the Samsung AV-R3000, which boasts four digital video inputs--two DVI and two HDMI--feeding a single HDMI output. The seven-channel R3000 is no slouch when it comes to analog sources, either. It has 12 audio inputs and a whopping 17 video--three component, seven S-Video, and seven composite.
Toshiba triples up with DVD/VHS/HDTV
The perfect product for people who hate bothering with extra boxes, the 30-inch MW30G71 includes a DVD player and a VHS VCR inside its chassis. It's also among the first such combo units to use a wide-screen CRT tube that can handle high-definition resolutions. Toshiba adds a four-way memory-card slot for displaying digital photos. The set will be available in a 26-inch size, and a 30-inch model with TV Guide's electronic program guide will also hit the market.
- 30-inch wide-screen HDTV
- Built-in progressive-scan DVD player
- Built-in four-head VHS VCR
- HDMI input
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