Category: Home cinema
Allio's 42" Blu-ray-playing all-in-one media HDTV with BONUS PC in the case
Ladies and gentlemen! Roll up! Roll up! The gadget freak show is in town! Here, behind a wall of steel for your safely, is the Silicon Mountain Allio – a 32″ or 42″ HDTV that also squeezes a Core 2 Duo PC and Blu-ray player into its case.
It even manages PVR-like recording features thanks to its PC bit’s hard drive. Plus you can split the screen if your brain’s capable of multitasking and you want to watch TV, browse the internet and play video games simultaneously because you’re THAT CONNECTED. Here’s a look at the beast…
Careful, she’s hungry! The 42″ model does the full 1080p spec, with the…
Toshiba launches REGZA ZV Series upscaling TV
Despite the fact that most people have HDTVs, very few actually view HD content on them, with 99% of TV programs still broadcast in standard definition. What’s the solution? Well, according to Toshiba, it’s “buy another TV!”. Buy the ZV, to be precise. It’s an upscaling television.
It uses a “powerful cell processor algorithm” to turn standard definition TV into something a little closer to full HD, mainly by finding edges and sharpening them. It also tries to improve depth and texture, and even though the result won’t be as good as full-HD signal, it’s better than nothing.
Pioneer launches its 400W LX01BD integrated Blu-ray Home Cinema System
Pioneer’s all-in-one Blu-ray and surround sound option for the common man has launched in Europe, with shoppers able to experience its “3D” sound charms from today. Here’s what all the bits look like when photographed under laboratory conditions and without any messy cables in shot.
As well as a Profile 1.1 Blu-ray player, the LX01BD comes with “compact dodecahedron technology derived satellite speakers that generate sound fields in all directions,” with that sound being sprayed around by an integrated 5.1 channel amplifier capable of managing both DTS-HD and Dolby TrueHD soundtracks…
The BBC's TV detector vans are simply a form of psychological warfare
The UK’s Information Commissioner, who’s been a very busy man/department recently, declined a freedom of information request to reveal how many TV license detector vans the BBC operates – because it might stop people believing they exist.
The shadowy fleet of TV-detecting vans is supposed to be able to pick up tell-tale signs that a TV’s being used inside a house, but the ICO ruled that revealing how many vans the BBC actually operates – and the technology they use – might undermine the level of threat they pose. And lead to us not bothering to pay our licence fees any more…
Samsung stretches out its OLED display technology to a whole 40 inches
The OLED tech war is raging in the laboratories of companies across the planet right now, and here’s what Samsung’s boffins have managed to come up with – a 40″ OLED TV.
Massively superior to its past OLED test developments, this latest model features a stunning contrast ratio of 1,000,000:1 – and manages to pull off the full HD spec 1920×1080 resolution, or 1080p to give it its common name. It’s pretty much a finished OLED telly, although Samsung has not revealed any launch date plans…
Pioneer's two limited edition 50" KURO plasmas – yours in "Pure White" and "Beige Grisé"
Pure White and Beige Grise are the exciting names of two new colours Pioneer has invented to jazz up its KURO range of HD Ready plasmas a little. Pioneer’s home business product manager Jim Catcheside offered us the following explanation about why white and beige TVs are best…
“With these Limited Edition KURO TVs we want to offer our customers the opportunity to customise their viewing environment even further by harmonising their TV with their interior design. The minimalist White and luxurious Beige Grisé KUROs are an excellent means to express one’s individual taste and style.”
The KRP-500AW and KRP-500ABG both use Pioneer’s media receiver technology…
Harman Kardon brings DMC 1000 media centre to the UK
Harman Kardon has announced that its DMC 1000 media centre is now available in the UK.
The DMC 1000 incorporates a 250GB hard drive and will happily consume all your CDs to create a digital jukebox, as well as featuring a DVD player and optional iPod connection…
Denon shows off super-high-end DVD-3800BD Blu-ray player with "wonder" DVD upscaling
If you thought standard Blu-ray players were still a bit pricey, wait ’til you see Denon’s DVD-3800BD, which comes in at a cool £1,600.
For that, you do get some superior technology, including reference-standard Blu-ray disc playback offering Denon’s best pictures to date, with fantastic audio reproduction to match.
Denon is the first manufacturer to use the 10-bit Silicon Optix Realta chipset, as well as HQV video processing, digital noise reduction, and 12-bit/297MHz video DAC…
Freesat announces new "plus" service coming mid-November; Humax offers first HD DVR
Freesat, keen to join the likes of Freeview+ and Sky+ in offering DVR capability on its platform, has announced that Freesat+ will be available from mid-November.
When a suitably-equipped digibox is connected to the satellite feed, full DVR functionality is offered, including pausing and recording live TV, detailed channel guides, series recording, and so on…
Shiny Preview – the 115g Optoma Pico Projector
Well you heard about it earlier on today, now experience it with the added dimension of time as we take a videographic look at the Optoma Pico Projector.
