Archive for March, 2006
Those volume-hating surrender monkeys in France may have realised it a long time ago, but now the rest of the world is waking up to the fact that the 104 decibel iPod might just be too loud. Amid reports of recent studies showing that excessive use of a personal music player such as the iPod at high volumes can damage hearing, Apple has decided to limit the volume on the standard iPod and the iPod nano.
Although Apple didn’t make a direct link with yesterday’s announcement it is likely to be related to a January 31 lawsuit filed against Apple in US federal court which alleged iPods are defective and don’t come with sufficient hearing loss warnings.
A software update will allow a preferred maximum volume to be set so that parents can ensure their children aren’t damaging their ears.
“With the increased attention in this area, we want to offer customers an easy to use option to set their own personal volume limit,” said Greg Joswiak, vice president of worldwide iPod product marketing.
This is not the first time that Apple has bowed to pressure on the volume issue. In 2002 it started selling models in France limited to 100 decibels to comply with local regulations. In the USA the iPod manual itself states that the iPod can reach 104 decibels. This is a volume level that is likely to cause hearing damage after only six minutes.
The new software update 1.1.1 is available immediately as a free download for the iPod nano and the fifth generation iPod from www.apple.com/ipod/download. The new Volume Limit feature works with any headphone or accessory plugged into the iPod headphone jack as well as the iPod Radio Remote. For further information on safe listening with iPod, visit www.apple.com/sound.
March 30th, 2006
Thomson today announced retail availability of the LYRA X3000 by RCA, a pocket-sized Personal Multimedia Recorder that easily enables direct recording of audio and video content from multiple sources without using a computer.
Content-hungry consumers can use the LYRA X3000 for watching favorite TV programs on the device, moving favorite shows to a different display as a mobile source of entertainment, and for storing and enjoying an enormous volume of music and photo files. The X3000 is now on sale with a suggested retail price of $399.
The compact LYRA X3000 enables consumers to watch up to 80 hours of video, listen to some 300 hours of mp3 music, or store up to 10,000 JPEG images.
The X3000 allows consumers an array of recording options. Using an included home theater docking base, consumers can easily record audio/video directly from an external source, such as analog TV, DVD player, CD player or camcorder. Video and audio recording can even be time shifted when using the docking base in conjunction with the included IR Blaster. When transferring video, the included DivX transcoder software enables conversion of video files to DivX format for playback of any video. Using a removable lithium ion battery, the X3000 provides up to four hours of constant video playback, enabling consumers to watch multiple movies on a single charge.
Compatible with both pay-per-song and subscription services, the LYRA X3000 can store hours of mp3 music, Windows Media Audio music, and Audible audio book files on its 20GB hard drive. Ready to entertain right out of the box, the X3000 comes pre-loaded with two country music videos from the American Music Channel, a free 7-day trial to Yahoo! Music Unlimited, and 100 free music downloads from emusic.com. ID3 tag song data with artist, album, song title and genre is displayed on the viewing screen. Music buffs can listen to their collection of mp3 files using one of nine playback modes, including normal play, shuffle and repeat. The included free Yahoo! Music Engine enables creation of playlists and facilitates management of personal digital music catalogs.
“If content is king, then LYRA X3000 is well worthy of the crown,” said Thomson’s Dan Collishaw, Chief Operating Officer of Thomson’s Americas Audio/Video and Accessory businesses. “The X3000 adds great value to the burgeoning portable video player market through its ability to record directly from external sources and compatibility with a wide range of audio download services” Collishaw added.
Additionally, this versatile jukebox offers the capability to create slide shows with zoom and photo rotation, as well as music accompaniment. Digital photos are easily transferred from an SD memory card or compatible camera without a computer, or audio, video, and photos can be moved from a PC to the device using the high speed USB connection. Further, a built-in microphone located on the top of the unit lets consumers record voice notes describing individual photo slides, and also lets the X3000 function as a voice recorder.
Although compact in size, the LYRA X3000 by RCA boasts a 3.6-inch TFT ultra-bright color LCD screen with 320 x 240 resolution for brilliant color reproduction. The lightweight portable entertainment device weighs under eight ounces and is only 3/4 of an inch thick.
Providing versatility and flexibility, the X3000 is packaged with a full accessory kit, including:
* Thick plastic cover case to protect X3000�s display from scratching and denting
*Two RCA input/output cables for recording in near DVD quality and playing back video with 480 lines of resolution.
* Car DC adapter for charging X3000 in the car
* Earbud style headphones
* 3- Device Universal Remote Control for recording from or playing content on the TV set
March 30th, 2006
Microsoft has deemed the recently exploited ‘createTextRange’ flaw in Internet Explorer as critical, but calls use of flaw ‘limited’. As a result the company has announced that they won’t be releasing a patch until the scheduled April 11 day for Windows updates.
The company who discovered the exploit, eEye Digital Security, thinks that the flaw is too important to be allowed to be left unpatched for two weeks, so they’ve taken matters into their own hands and released a fix. eEye’s patch, which is available free of charge, will automatically remove itself when Microsoft’s official patch is delivered. “That’s a long time to leave several million Windows users without any sort of protection,” said Marc Maiffret, eEye’s chief hacking officer (sounds like a joke job title, but we kid you not!).
The exploit is used by hackers who trick users into visiting websites containing malicious code. Microsoft said that the exploit is disabled by turning off Active Scripting.
March 28th, 2006
Media Systems announces today the first product from the new iSetBox product family - the iSetBox-Home multimedia communication centre.
It lets users watch digital TV and DVD movies, listen to radio and recorded music, write data to CD/DVD media, browse the internet and use e-mail, transfer files from/to multimedia devices or view digital photo albums. The compact form factor and aesthetic look of the iSetBox-Home perfectly add it to the home interior, saving precious space. The device is easily operated through an universal remote control unit. The iSetBox is an extremely reliable and flexible device, utilizing a Pixelworks CPU running the Linux operating system.
The iSetBox-Home allows receiving different kinds of analog television (PAL and NTSC), digital television (DVB-C, DVB-S, DVB-T), IP television, including encoded TV programs, and so enables watching of digital television on a standard TV set. It is possible to configure the device with any combination of two tuners of the DVB-C, DVB-S, DVB-T or analog types, which allows while watching one TV program to record another on the built-in CD/DVD or optional HD drive. Depending upon the integrated tuners, you can listen either to FM or to digital radio stations. The iSetBox-Home allows watching of two TV programs simultaneously through the picture-in-picture function, with various overlay/tile options. A pause function for television broadcasting (Timeshifting) is also supported. The integrated software decoder allows teletext reception. Parental control is implemented through restrictions based on channel or time.
Through the integrated DVD slot-loading drive you can either watch your favorite movies, or listen to your favorite music (audio or MP3). The device supports most of the basic high-speed standards used for reading and writing on CD/DVD/HDD. Programming and editing of specific recordings is also possible.
At your disposal are an internet browser and e-mail client, which allow you to immerse yourself into the vast internet space and download your favorite movies and music. You can also program and remotely control the iSetBox-Home when it is connected to the internet from your notebook, mobile phone or PDA.
The iSetBox-Home allows you to simultaneously preview your digital photo albums using the integrated Slideshow function, and listen to music. Through the integrated 6-in-1 card reader you can easily download and record your favorite pictures, shot with your digital camera. iSetBox-Home supports the most popular video and audio formats and, having a variety of inputs and outputs, gives you rich communication possibilities. This allows transfer of files from/to other multimedia devices. Using the Ethernet interface, you can archive digital video and audio on your PC.
The iSetBox-Home is based on the Linux operating system and allows easy upgrade of the embedded software. Additional hardware extension modules can be added through a PCI slot.
The unique design of the iSetBox-Home enables natural convection cooling without a fan and as a result – extremely quiet work. The device is easy to disassemble and its modular design simplifies component replacement. The hardware configuration can easily be modified or upgraded by system integrators or service providers according to the clients needs. Optionally, a hard disk drive can be integrated into the iSetBox-Home, which will provide much space for storing of movies, music, photos and all other kind of information.
The iSetBox-Home is operated by one universal remote control unit through a very easy user-friendly interface, or through the integrated touch-sensitive buttons along the front panel LCD. Using the remote control or the front panel buttons, you can create and edit play lists.
All you need is to connect the iSetBox-Home to your TV set and have fun.
MAIN SPECIFICATIONS
Digital TV: DVB-T, DVB-S, DVB-C
Analog TV: PAL, NTSC
IP TV
Teletext
Radio tuner: analog or digital – according to integrated TV tuners
PVR (CD, DVD, HDD optional)
Timeshift function
HTML browser, e-mail client
Communications: Ethernet, USB 2.0 (Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, ADSL or V90 Modem device – optional, through add-on PCI card)
6-in-1 Card reader: SD, MMC, XD, Memory Stick/Memory Stick Pro, Compact Flash
Universal remote control
Graphical LCD display
Touch Sensitive Buttons
Playback : DVD, VCD, Audio CD, MP3, AC-3, JPEG, H.263, H.264, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, RealVideo 8/9/10, On2 VP6, DivX, PSI, RealAudio 8, Windows Media® Audio
Inputs/Outputs: 2 x Stereo Headphone Outputs 3.5 mm; RCA Stereo Audio Output; SCART Output (RGB/Composite/Audio); SCART Input (Audio and Composite only); Digital Optical SPDIF Output; RCA YUV Component Output; 10/100 Mbit Ethernet port; 2 x USB 2.0; Internal PCI 2.0 slot
iSetBox-Home will be delivered to system integrators and service providers companies. End users can not purchase it directly from us. The device will be configured according to the project needs of the specific service provider.
iSetBox-Home is expected to appear on the market during the fourth quarter of 2006.
March 24th, 2006
If you think that your memories are safe forever, think again! Depending on how and where tapes are stored, the number of times they’re viewed and the quality of the tape itself, permanent noticeable deterioration of video tape can begin to set in within 5 years – even if the tape isn’t used much. Loss of colour, static sound or complete tape degradation and failure can occur leaving no reminder of those precious moments; a wedding, birthday or other momentous milestone.
The DVD EZ Maker USB Plus is a complete device that easily turns those magical moments caught in analogue format into digital and preserves them forever by burning to DVD or VCD. The DVD EZ Maker USB Plus is very easy to use, via a plug and play USB interface and one step installation, the capture card connects to any notebook or desktop PC as well as home video devices such as DV, V8, VHS, DVD or VCD players and transforms analogue recordings into digital and then records them onto a hard disk drive (16 x burning speed). Users can even edit and restore worn and degraded analogue videos to their former glory.
The capture card also provides a ‘direct to disk’ function that allows users to record directly from a DV camcorder to DVD without writing to a HDD first and an Auto Calculate feature ensures the highest possible production quality for the available disk space. With just one click of a button users can simultaneously capture and record analogue video to VCD, SVCD or DVD, the bundled software even supports DVD VR formats so that users can re-edit previously recorded video and re-record onto the same DVD.
As well as transforming old analogue video into digital, the easy to use interface included with the AVerMedia DVD EZ Maker USB Plus enables users to become budding film makers and create their own personal movies. Arrange, sequence and add/delete video clips on a storyboard, use a wide selection of editing features to deliver top-quality scene transitions, adjust brightness and colour, create chapters, as well as add text effects with a text overlay feature. Users can even insert audio overlay (MP3/WAV) and edit further with a noise reduction feature. In addition, those still using analogue video cameras will reap all the benefits of editing in digital without a costly upgrade.
The AVerMedia DVD EZ Maker USB Plus is the perfect video companion. Take control of all your home movies and even create your own. Available now from www.mediaatlantic.com/avermedia RRP: £49.99 Inc. VAT
March 20th, 2006
The consumer electronics world has woken up to the fact that a head to head between competing next generation optical formats will only harm the market and is shifting towards supporting both standards rather than chosing one over the other.
With HD-DVD only days away from coming to market - the Toshiba HD-DVD players HD-XA1 and HD-A1 will begin shipping to retailers imminently - it seemed that the phoney war of words was over and that the commercial fight would start. However, earlier this week Sony announced the delay of the Playstation3, a bedrock of their plans to get the Blu-Ray drive into millions of homes within a year. The console won’t arrive until November, giving HD-DVD a major head start.
While Sony and Toshiba slug it out and attempt to protect the massive research investment that they have put into their respective products, other manufacturers have been taking a more pragmatic view.
LG yesterday confirmed that it had sent a memo to North American retailers announcing plans for an ‘Ultra-Multi’ player that supports both formats. It is likely that LG will be the first of many. Chipset manufacturers have already revealed the development of multi-compatible components and many manufacturers who had previously come down in favour of one format or the other have recently been backtracking slightly from this position. The new consensus is that the extra cost of making a player ‘Ultra-Multi’ is so small as to make supporting just one format pointless. If ‘Ultra-Multi’ players such as the LG are priced competitively then single format machines, as launched by Toshiba and expected from Sony, will seem overpriced. It’s a connundrum for the two electronics giants and Toshiba, rushing to market as DVD Recorder World writes, will be the first to face the problem.
Source: DVD Recorder World
March 17th, 2006
Sony today unveiled a series of DVD recorders to help simplify the recording of televisions shows, along with one-touch transfer between VHS and DVD.
The series includes the RDR-VX530 DVD recorder/VCR combo, RDR-GX330 DVD recorder and SLV-D570H DVD player/VCR combo.
“From the discerning videophile to the parent looking to transfer home movies and personal memories from multiple types of media, we have products that meet every need,” said Philip Abram, vice president of marketing for Sony Electronics’ Home Products Division.
DVD recording and dubbing has been simplified in Sony’s new RDR-VX530 DVDR/VCR combination unit. The device offers 2-way One Touch Dubbing between DVD and VCR. It also includes i.LINK (IEEE 1394) One Touch Dubbing for easy transfer of DV and Digital8 content from camcorders.
The RDR-VX530 model also features progressive scan output, component output for both DVD and VCR, and an IR blaster that enables the RDR-VX530 to change the channel on most cable boxes and satellite receivers to allow for easy timer programming. Also included is Flash Rewind, which allows for rewinding a T-120 tape in about 60 seconds.
The unit supports recording and playback of DVD+/-R / +/-RW /+R double layer discs and it can playback DVD, DVD-RAM, CD, along with JPEG and MP3 files stored on CD or DVDs.
The RDR-VX530 recorder will be available in May for about $350.
The new RDR-GX330 unit packs multi-DVD format recording, Precision Cinema Progressive(TM) technology, and a 12bit/108MHz video DAC (digital to analog converter) into a two-inch tall device. It also features i.LINK One Touch Dubbing and chasing playback, which allows for simultaneous recording and playback on DVD-RW discs.
It will be available in April for about $230
The new SLV-D570H DVD player/VCR combo features 720p/1080i DVD upscaling through an integrated HDMI connection, 19-micron head for improved VCR recording and Flash Rewind, which makes possible rewinding a T-120 VHS cassette in around 60 seconds. The device also features VCR Plus+, which simplifies setting the VCR to record television programming.
The SLV-D570H combo can playback DVD+/-R/RW and DVD+R double layer discs. It can also playback MP3 digital audio files stored on CDs, DVDs, as well as view JPEG images stored on CDs, DVDs or Kodak(TM) photo discs.
The SLV-D570H will be available in July for about $170.
Source: DVD Recorder World
March 17th, 2006
If it was April 1 we would be consigning this story to the “round up of wind ups”. Rockstar Games, famous for producing the controversial Grand Theft Auto series are to move onto a more gentle pursuit for their next title - Table Tennis.
Table Tennis is expected to ship to North American retailers on May 22nd, 2006 for a MSRP of $39.99 and will hit European retail shelves on May 26th, 2006 for a price of EUR 39.99 and GBP 29.99 in the UK.
“Our goal was to create a game that is perfectly addictive in its focused simplicity, a game that showcases the true possibilities of a next gen experience, not just in looks but in feel and pace,” stated Sam Houser, Founder and Executive Producer of Rockstar Games. “We wanted to use the power of the new hardware and the resolution of new televisions to give the game an immediacy, an intensity and a sense of physicality and reality, resulting in a purer, more visceral experience that simply was not possible previously.”
Houser continued, “It is a distillation of game design philosophy, focusing on removing the traditional areas of compromise inherent in managing size and scope and concentrating the hardware’s entire power on one activity, with the aim of doing that better than it’s ever been done before.”
TechSmec.com remembers teenage games of Ping Ping being pretty violent affairs so maybe there will be a twist in the tale. However, it’s hard to see how even Rockstar can shake up the table tennis world, so a pure sim is probably on the cards.
March 6th, 2006
Alcatel today announced that it has successfully completed contract negotiations with BT, confirming Alcatel’s participation as one of the preferred suppliers to the operator’s next-generation network transformation program - the 21st Century Network (21 CN).
Alcatel will provide its 7750 Service Router and 5620 Service Aware Manager for 21CN’s Metro node. The Metro node is a critical part of BT’s 21CN and is the point at which traffic is intelligently managed, directed and delivered over the MPLS core. “Service and subscriber aware” switching is provided by these Alcatel solutions whereby traffic is assigned Quality of Service priorities based on the service to which it relates.
The Alcatel 7510 Media Gateway and the 1300 Convergent Network Management Centre are also included in today’s announcement. This will be critical for BT in providing the essential connectivity needed as traffic is migrated from the PSTN to the new IP network.
BT Wholesale chief executive Paul Reynolds said: “With 21CN, BT and our suppliers are leading the world in next generation networks. Where we go with 21CN, others will follow, and the experience gained and expertise developed in this transformation of BT’s network will set the standard for other NGN deployments. We’re moving forward strongly with world class suppliers, and the first customers in the UK will start enjoying services over 21CN within 12 months.”
Jacques Dunogué, Alcatel Executive Vice-President Europe & South said: “By choosing Alcatel to provide them with part of their enabling telecoms infrastructure, BT is taking our long-standing relationship to new levels. Combined with our rapid rise to the number two position in the IP edge aggregation market, Alcatel starts 2006 with a strong market momentum in the IP network transformation arena.”
Alcatel’s sales and support operations based in Newport and Maidenhead in the UK will work with BT and the other selected vendors to deliver 21CN.
March 6th, 2006
Media Made Easy, a manufacturer of digital entertainment systems for the consumer, today announced their next generation media center offering, the Media Made Easy HDTV Server.
Featuring an ultra-quiet fan system in a slim tower design, the Media Made Easy HDTV Server is designed to drive the living room entertainment center. The system comes complete with Media Made Easy’s value-added applications for recording audio sources (including music, FM radio and Internet radio) and for converting proprietary media center recorded TV files into standard video formats with the commercials removed.
“Our customers were asking for a high-end, multi-tuner entertainment server,” said Ronald Schwab, CEO of Media Made Easy. “They wanted to see movies, recorded television and music delivered using the latest video and audio technology available.” He added, “We’ve engineered the server using Intel’s most powerful media motherboard and the latest technology from nVidia to power high-definition video for today’s HD displays and surround sound systems.”
Featuring one and a half Terabytes disc space, Intel’s Pentium D hyper-threaded processor, two high definition tuners, two standard definition tuners, Asus’ GeForce 7800 GTX video, 8 channel 7.1 surround sound and cordless operation by finger-mouse, keyboard and remote control, the Media Made Easy Media HDTV Server offers powerful performance at an affordable price. Powered by Microsoft’s Windows XP Media Center Edition software the enhanced features include HDTV quality recorded television, DVD playback, online movie rental, faster music encoding, rich digital photograph slideshows and Internet radio.
The Media Made Easy HDTV Server is now available via the company’s website. For further details, please contact Media Made Easy directly or visit the company website at: www.mediamadeeasy.net.
March 6th, 2006
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