Archive for May, 2006
Digitimes is reporting that Pioneer has revised its 2006 DVD recorder shipment goal downwards.
The new target is almost 10% lower than actual sales for 2005.
This is causing concern for budget recorder manufacturers, fearing the premature demise of the DVD recorder in the face of the Blu-Ray and HD-DVD launches.
What this fear doesn’t consider is that so far only players are available in the new formats and DVD will continue to be the pre-eminent recording medium for some time to come.
Source: DVD Recorder World
May 5th, 2006
Makayama Interactive has introduced Digital Camera Media Studio 1.0. With this innovative software, consumers can turn their Sony Cybershot or Casio Exilim digital photo camera into a media and movie playback device.
DVDs, recorded TV-series or any other video can be put on the camera using only three clicks, and can be watched on the LCD screen, or on a connected TV-set. It supports 120 Sony and Casio models.
The software runs on a Windows computer, users pick any video file from their harddrive, CD or DVD and the Digital Camera Media Studio turns it into a compressed movie, which can be played on-the-go from the memorycard. Using a tv-out cable the content can be watched on any TV-set.
Digital Camera Media Studio is the only software on the market worldwide that can encode the Sony MpegMovieVX format. It provides direct DVD-to-Camera transfers and also the speediest. In less than 45 minutes, a movie can be transferred from DVD to digital camera. Digital Camera Media Studio is targeted at DVD and photography enthusiasts, frequent travellers and parents who would like to keep the kids happy in the back of the car. It can be used for video presentations, to watch tv-series on the go, or to take a favourite movie on a holiday or business trip.
The software captures media content from any drive and encodes it to Mpeg HQX/VX (Sony) or Motion-JPEG (Casio). The converted content can be sent to the camera via the cradle or to a memorycard reader. A 512 Mb memorycard is recommended. The online download price is USD 32.95 (EUR 29.95).
May 5th, 2006
Hantarex has laucnhed what they claim is the first television with an interactive integrated Digital Terrestrial DVT_B - MHP decoder.
The product, a 32” LCD TFT with an integrated DVT_B - MHP decoder, was presented at SAT-Expò in November and is finally being mass produced.
At the advent of digital terrestrial television, each TV viewer had to purchase an external decoder like those used for a satellite system to receive it. Hantarex has integrated a decoder within a splendid 32” LCD TFT television that belongs to the S-G-Stripes collection.
There are many advantages. First of all, there is no external peripheral, and then there is the lower cost not to mention the usual innovative technology that makes Hantarex products the products that never get old.
The product has already received certification from DTT, Mediaset, La 7 and Rai.
* DVB-T Digital Tuner
* MPEG-2 MP@ML video
* MPEG-1 audio layer I&II, AC-3 through SPDIF
* DVB MHP1.0
* OTA Loader for software upgrades
* Channel Banner, Parental Control, EPG, etc.
* v.92 Modem Support for Major CAS
* Fully compliant to D-Book specifications for IDTV
* Smart Card/Conditional Access slot
* Common interface slot
* RJ-11 modem jack
Technical specifications:
* Contrast Ratio: 1.000:1
* Brightness: 500 cd/mq
* Resolution: 1366 x 768
* Other Connections:
* Video [CVBS]
* S-Video [Y/C]
* SCART1 [CVBS, RGB]
* SCART2 [CVBS]
* Component [Y,Pb,Pr]
* Analog RGB [PC]
* Digital RGB [DVI-D]
* Antenna [75 Ohm - VHF/UHF]
* Video/S-Video/Component stereo input,
* PC / DVI stereo input, Line stereo output
* Optical audio output (SPDIF),
* Smart Card/Conditional Access slot,
* Common Interface slot
* Modem RJ-11 jack
Source: Future Digs
May 5th, 2006
Sony has finally launched its LocationFree product in Europe. Instead of going to the television set, the TV comes to you by redirecting your local TV shows to wherever even if you don’t have a TV with you.
Even when you’re not at home, LocationFree makes sure what used to be called ‘home’ entertainment stays with you. This revolutionary Sony innovation is the first of its kind to become available in the UK and Europe. With LocationFree, you can watch live TV, play back recorded programmes and even set up future recordings, all from a PC, laptop or PSP. Built-in wireless technology gives you the freedom of your own home (and garden), and the Internet does the rest.
“The great thing about LocationFree is that it does two things at once,” says Hiro Shinohara, Director, Home Video Group, Sony Europe. “It kicks open the door of the TV room and lets people out, but at the same time it can bring that sense of familiarity and comfort to anyone who is away on the road. Essentially it breaks down boundaries, as all good communications technologies should. Boundaries are for cricket pitches.”
The heart of the system is the LocationFree Base Station. This compact unit has two connections for AV equipment such as a DVD/HDD recorder. The Base Station can be plugged directly into an existing home network or it can establish a wireless link to a PSP™ system (software version 2.70)*, notebook or desktop PC, typically over a 100-foot range. The initial Base Station setup is extremely straightforward and requires minimal intervention. Then, once the LocationFree Player software is installed on the target PC or notebook, users can be free from the constraints of a lifetime within minutes. Releasing TV from the living room is only the start. With LocationFree and a broadband internet connection, it’s a simple matter to watch TV and control a STB or HDD recorder from anywhere on earth with network or wireless access. The process of using the Base Station over the Internet – termed NetAV – is as simple as connecting up within the house. Whether holidaymaker, business traveller or ex-pat, LocationFree with NetAV provides a direct connection to home. And with the World Cup only months away, there’s potentially more at stake than missing an episode of a favourite soap.
Not that there’s any need to miss anything with LocationFree. At home, you can indulge in late-night viewing on a PSP™ system* from the comfort of your bed. It’s almost as easy to access the Base Station from a hotel while abroad, pick a channel, and watch some live TV. When you know you’ll be busy, you can switch from the STB input to the DVD/HDD recorder and program it to record anything you don’t want to miss. Next time you visit the Base Station, the recorded content will be waiting for you. If a DVD player is connected, so long as the right disc is in the drive, you can even watch your own movie rather than live or recorded TV. In fact watching the big match on a notebook from the wireless hotspot in an airport departure lounge is only the start of it. In the home, the Base Station uses proprietary Sony technology including an optimised antenna and custom software to ensure the best possible wireless performance. Moreover, you can also hook your home video camera up to the Base Station for a great way to see friends and relatives abroad or even to monitor home security while you’re away.
When the Base Station is accessed remotely over the Internet, further key technologies come into play. First, a free Dynamic DNS (Domain Name Server) service ensures that periodic changes to a user’s global IP never prevent connection to the Base Station. This facility is effectively invisible to the user, but plays an important behind-the-scenes role in the overall ease of setup of NetAV. Once the connection is established, user privacy is ensured by a combination of security measures. Industry-standard Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) encryption is bolstered by WiFi Protected Access (WPA), which improves on the authentication and encryption offered by WEP. One of the revolutionary technologies of the Base Station is the Dynamic VBR technology. The Base Station monitors the band width of the broad u band connection and automatically optimises the Bitrate of the AV stream. LocationFree will be available in UK, France, Germany, Belgium and Netherlands from May 2006.
May 5th, 2006
Game: From Russia With Love
Platform: PSP
Publisher: EA
Price: £29.99 (Amazon.co.uk)
Reviewer: Jay Neill (TechSmec.com staff)
Bond is back – way back in the case of the latest offering in the Bond game franchise and the first to hit the PSP. From Russia With Love takes you back to the days of classic Bond, when Connery was at the helm, the gadgets had lots of flashing lights and M was definitely not a woman.
The game is a close port over from the PS2 version that came out just before Christmas and it matches its grown up cousin closely in terms of graphics and sound. However, in terms of gameplay it’s not quite there, but then, the PS2 version was never any great shakes in the first place.
Like all the Bond games before it FRWL is a fairly linear third person adventure. 007 moves from one crisis to the next with terrible inevitability. The only respite comes in the form of the nicely animated cut scenes that bridge the gaps between game sections. The plot is based around that of the film, the second in the series which introduced much of what has now become Bond mythology – Q for instance. 007 is sent to Turkey to liaise with an attractive Russian defector who plans to give the UK a secret Soviet decoder machine. Mixed in with this are some shadowy agents from the super-criminal underworld who have another agenda altogether. If you’ve seen the film you’ll know what I mean.
This game pretends to be more than a simple third person shooter – there’s an opening sequence that sees you flying a jetpack and several sections where you have to pilot the remote-controlled Q-copter, but 95% of gameplay is spent running down corridors shooting Soviet soldiers with a variety of weapons. The Bond of the films spends a lot of time sneaking around before knocking off the bad guys with his bare hands – here Bond is reduced to a sub-par Duke Nukem and it doesn’t work. In fact we seem to remember the PS2 version included a ’stealth’ mode and the ability to quietly throttle a victim. That’s missing from the PSP version, presumably for control reasons.
That’s not the only aspect of the PS2 game that has been dropped on its way to the portable. One of more fun parts of the original game was a manic driving section around the streets of Turkey in Bond’s Aston Martin. I was eagerly waiting for this on the PSP, but when Bond lands in Istanbul he is whisked straight off to an underground lair with only the briefest hint that his car comes under attack. The cut scene even makes reference to this which makes it all the more unsatisfying.
There are two main quality factors that let FRWL down.
1) Controls. The PSP always suffers from only having one analogue stick, and this is really exposed on console ports. Bond is virtually impossible to steer and thank heavens for the auto-targetting of weapons or he would have next to no chance of ever hitting anything.
2) Opponent and other character AI is laughable. Bad guys are foxed by you moving out of their line of sight, even during a pitched battle. Characters remain static as you walk up to them, have a conversation and walk away – even their lips don’t move. Half Life managed to make this kind of thing believable nearly a decade ago – FRWL can’t manage it in 2006
So what is good in this game? The graphics are pretty good for the PSP, although the pre-rendered cut scenes flatter to deceive. Bond’s animation is fluid, even when the poor controls have you spinning around in a circle. The sound more than does the job, but it doesn’t stand out.
All in all, it’s a clumsy port of what was a poor game in the first place. From Russia With Love had a lot going for it – great source matter, the first Bond game on the PSP – but in the end it’s a let down and we don’t recommend you add it to your collection unless you’re a Bond nut.
Graphics
Bond is well animated and cut scenes are stylish, but it doesn’t pull out of the PSP’s stops - 7/10
Sound
Does exactly what it says on the tin. Musical score is good enough to make this a decent mark - 7/10
Gameplay
Linear to the point of being boring. There are better third prson shooters out there, there are better flying games out there. This is a hard to control mish-mash. - 5/10
Verdict
From Russia With Love is not the Bond game we were waiting for. The unexciting PS2 version should have tipped us off, but even by those standards, this game is poor - 6/10
May 4th, 2006
Game: From Russia With Love
Platform: PSP
Publisher: EA
Price: £29.99 (Amazon.co.uk)
Reviewer: Jay Neill (TechSmec.com staff)
Bond is back – way back in the case of the latest offering in the Bond game franchise and the first to hit the PSP. From Russia With Love takes you back to the days of classic Bond, when Connery was at the helm, the gadgets had lots of flashing lights and M was definitely not a woman.
The game is a close port over from the PS2 version that came out just before Christmas and it matches its grown up cousin closely in terms of graphics and sound. However, in terms of gameplay it’s not quite there, but then, the PS2 version was never any great shakes in the first place.
Like all the Bond games before it FRWL is a fairly linear third person adventure. 007 moves from one crisis to the next with terrible inevitability. The only respite comes in the form of the nicely animated cut scenes that bridge the gaps between game sections. The plot is based around that of the film, the second in the series which introduced much of what has now become Bond mythology – Q for instance. 007 is sent to Turkey to liaise with an attractive Russian defector who plans to give the UK a secret Soviet decoder machine. Mixed in with this are some shadowy agents from the super-criminal underworld who have another agenda altogether. If you’ve seen the film you’ll know what I mean.
This game pretends to be more than a simple third person shooter – there’s an opening sequence that sees you flying a jetpack and several sections where you have to pilot the remote-controlled Q-copter, but 95% of gameplay is spent running down corridors shooting Soviet soldiers with a variety of weapons. The Bond of the films spends a lot of time sneaking around before knocking off the bad guys with his bare hands – here Bond is reduced to a sub-par Duke Nukem and it doesn’t work. In fact we seem to remember the PS2 version included a ’stealth’ mode and the ability to quietly throttle a victim. That’s missing from the PSP version, presumably for control reasons.
That’s not the only aspect of the PS2 game that has been dropped on its way to the portable. One of more fun parts of the original game was a manic driving section around the streets of Turkey in Bond’s Aston Martin. I was eagerly waiting for this on the PSP, but when Bond lands in Istanbul he is whisked straight off to an underground lair with only the briefest hint that his car comes under attack. The cut scene even makes reference to this which makes it all the more unsatisfying.
There are two main quality factors that let FRWL down.
1)Controls. The PSP always suffers from only having one analogue stick, and this is really exposed on console ports. Bond is virtually impossible to steer and thank heavens for the auto-targetting of weapons or he would have next to no chance of ever hitting anything.
2)Opponent and other character AI is laughable. Bad guys are foxed by you moving out of their line of sight, even during a pitched battle. Characters remain static as you walk up to them, have a conversation and walk away – even their lips don’t move. Half Life managed to make this kind of thing believable nearly a decade ago – FRWL can’t manage it in 2006
So what is good in this game? The graphics are pretty good for the PSP, although the pre-rendered cut scenes flatter to deceive. Bond’s animation is fluid, even when the poor controls have you spinning around in a circle. The sound more than does the job, but it doesn’t stand out.
All in all, it’s a clumsy port of what was a poor game in the first place. From Russia With Love had a lot going for it – great source matter, the first Bond game on the PSP – but in the end it’s a let down and we don’t recommend you add it to your collection unless you’re a Bond nut.
Graphics
Bond is well animated and cut scenes are stylish, but it doesn’t pull out of the PSP’s stops - 7/10
Sound
Does exactly what it says on the tin. Musical score is good enough to make this a decent mark - 7/10
Gameplay
Linear to the point of being boring. There are better third prson shooters out there, there are better flying games out there. This is a hard to control mish-mash. - 5/10
Verdict
From Russia With Love is not the Bond game we were waiting for. The unexciting PS2 version should have tipped us off, but even by those standards, this game is poor - 6/10
May 4th, 2006
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