April 2007 Archives

Apr 30, 2007

HDTV Info - an HDTV Buyer’s Guide

Posted by Mike Evans in Articles, How To No comments

Before you even think of buying an HDTV, you need all the HDTV info you can get your hands on. From the different HDTV resolutions to the HDTV source you choose, from your DVD player even to the HDTV connections you choose, all can make a difference to the quality of the picture you see [...]




Apr 27, 2007

Sharp Aquos DV-ACV52 - a 21st Century Video Recorder

Posted by Mike Evans in Media Recorder, Sharp, Video and TV No comments

Sharp have announced the new Sharp Aquos DV-ACV52 media recorder, which offers not just a DVD player, not even a DVD player and 250GB HDD, but a DVD player, 250GB HDD and something called a VHS video recorder.
Apparently, VHS is an old analogue tape format for recording TV programmes in the days before digital, and [...]




Apr 26, 2007

JVC Sophisti Home Theater System review

Posted by Mike Evans in Home Cinema, Media Receiver No comments

The JVC Sophisti Home Theater System is a brand new network media player from JVC. Also known as the JVC DD-3, the Sophisti may sound like it’s a few characters short of a full word (presumably the brand designers had something against “cated”!), but don’t let that fool you - it’s a full-on media [...]




Apr 25, 2007

Samsung Cannes SPD-50P91FHD - world’s first Bluetooth HDTV

Posted by Mike Evans in Bluetooth, HDTV, Technology No comments

Samsung have launched what they claim is the world’s first Bluetooth HDTV. Samsung like claiming world’s first, and by bolting Bluetooth onto an HDTV, it’s a claim that they can make loud and clear, as it’s not an obvious addition to your usually wired TV.
Despite this, a Bluetooth HDTV is actually quite useful…
More details [...]




Apr 25, 2007

New Microsoft Windows Home Media Server already outdated

Posted by Mike Evans in Media Center No comments

Microsoft and HP have announce a new Windows Home Media Server that the two companies have been working on. Like similar devices already on sale, the Windows Home Server is designed to store and backup all of your media from several different PCs around the home, and distribute the content wherever it’s needed.
So far [...]




Apr 22, 2007

Yamada HTV-200XU crams home theatre into Boombox

Posted by Mike Evans in MP3 Players, Portable TV No comments

German Hi-Fi manufacturer Yamada (Yes, Yamada, not Yamaha) have released the Yamada HTV-200XU, a Hi-Fi boombox crammed with so many features, it’s more like a PC in Boombox clothing. As you can see, it’s got a 7 inch LCD screen, plus a DVD player capable of playing DivX, DVDs, MPEG 4 movie files, and [...]




Apr 20, 2007

Microsoft working on next-gen home entertainment system

Posted by Mike Evans in Coming Soon, Prototypes No comments

A new Microsoft patent reveals the company’s plans to quite literally take over every conceivable home entertainment device in your home, combining them all into one huge distributed home entertainment network. The patent shows a “console” (presumably an XBox 360 or a next-gen XBox) being the central hub of the network, communicating with dozens [...]




Apr 19, 2007

Pinnacle PCTV - a TV and PVR in a USB stick

Posted by Mike Evans in Portable TV, Video and TV No comments

Pinnacle have announced the Pinnacle PCTV, a TV tuner and PVR all magically crammed into a tiny USB stick. The PCTV plugs into your PC via a USB 2.0 port, letting you watch TV instantly without installing any software. With its built-in PVR functions and 1GB of on-board flash storage, you can record [...]




Apr 9, 2007

Panansonic D-Dock Bluetooth Hi-Fis

Posted by Mike Evans in Audio, Bluetooth, Video and TV No comments

Panasonic have announced the Panasonic D-Dock Hi-Fis, which integrate tightly with Panasonic’s D-Snap MP3 players, and which also have Bluetooth built-in, so you can stream your tunes through the Hi-Fis using a suitably-equipped MP3 player or mobile phone.
More details and pictures of the Panasonic D-Dock Bluetooth Hi-Fis after the jump.




Apr 9, 2007

Bluesens G40 PMP - with Wi-Fi, without DRM

Posted by Mike Evans in Audio, MP3 Players No comments

This is the Bluesens G40 PMP, what could possibly be the holy grail of Personal Media Player. Much of its features are common to most PMPs: 2.5″ screen, support for a wide variety of music and video formats, storage up to 4GB via SD/MMC cards.
What really differentiates the Bluesens G40, though, is [...]