Archive for October, 2006
Pinnacle Systems has announced three new solutions to provide consumers with a better TV-viewing experience. These new Pinnacle PCTV products – Pinnacle PCTV DVB-T PCI, PCTV Hybrid Pro Stick and PCTV Dual Hybrid Pro PCIe – are designed for users who enjoy TV on-the-go, those who want to watch two channels at the same time, or those who enjoy both Analogue and Digital Terrestrial TV (DVB-T) on a PC.
“Think of it as no more fights to have control over the TV and bringing back the peace at home; think of it as the easy and affordable way of recording two TV or radio programmes simultaneously; think of it as the better way of enjoying your favourite TV series anywhere with a portable device, or as having two additional TVs at home for the price of a single TV tuner,” explained David Barnby, vice president sales and marketing for EMEA “These new Pinnacle PCTV products not only address these needs, but also offer even more features than users could probably think of.”
Pinnacle PCTV DVB-T PCI - Consumers can enjoy digital terrestrial TV and radio on a desktop PC, sit back and with the remote control watch shows in full-screen mode or watch TV in a moveable, resizable window while using other applications. The included Pinnacle TVCenter software offers powerful PVR features such as TimeShifting, MPEG-1/2 and DivX recording, EPG (free trial), and FM and Internet radio.
With the “AutoPowerON/OFF” function, PCTV DVB-T PCI automatically switches on your PC for the next scheduled recording and shuts it down when the recording has finished. The product can be used with Microsoft® Windows Media Center Edition (MCE).
Pinnacle PCTV Hybrid Pro Stick - Ultra-compact USB 2.0 Tuner perfect to watch and TimeShift DVB-T and Analogue TV. This solution comes with a mini remote control and rod antenna, and includes a new Analogue A/V input that allows capturing from camcorders, VCRs, and Set top boxes.
Pinnacle PCTV Dual Hybrid Pro PCIe - Dual-tuner PCI Express card for Digital (DVB-T) and Analogue TV (antenna and cable). It comes with new ASD (Automatic Signal Detection) technology, which makes the setup extremely easy. All available cable and terrestrial TV and radio signals will be detected and all channels are scanned automatically, this ensures that consumers can watch, TimeShift and record all programmes via the Dual Tuners. Up to two antennas (or cables) can be connected.
Both Pinnacle PCTV Hybrid Pro Stick and PCTV Dual Hybrid Pro PCIe include Pinnacle MediaCenter software, which turns the computer into a multimedia jukebox with personal video recorder capabilities, to record directly in MPEG-2 and DivX formats, or record video files compatible with Sony PSP and Apple iPod (MPEG-4). MediaCenter also has the new AutoPower OFF feature for shutting down the PC after scheduled recordings. Pinnacle Systems’ entry level version of its home video editing solution, Pinnacle Studio Quickstart, is also included.
Pricing and Availability
The Pinnacle PCTV products will be available through the Pinnacle Systems website (http://www.pinnaclesys.com), and at major retailers such as PC World and e-tailers such as Amazon.co.uk.
Pinnacle PCTV DVB-T PCI will ship Mid October and carries a SRP of £29.99
Pinnacle PCTV Hybrid Pro Stick will ship Mid October with a SRP of £69.99
Pinnacle PCTV Dual Hybrid Pro PCIe is available in stores with a SRP of £89.99
October 25th, 2006
Five years ago, on October 23, 2001, Apple released the iPod and the world of portable music was never the same again.
Actually, for those of us who can think back as far as 2001, the world of portable music didn’t exactly undergo a seismic shift on that day. In fact, even working in the tech industry at the time, I was not particularly interested in what a failing PC manufacturer was doing.
It’s easy to forget how low Apple’s stock has sunk (metaphorically) in 2001. The Mac was the butt of jokes, a niche computer for the publishing and graphic design industry, as well as those who had fallen for it’s ‘easy to use’ marketing.
As a result, the launch of the iPod arrived largely under the radar.
Things changed with the launch of the iTunes website two years later and sales started to skyrocket as the brand crossed over from the IT world, to that of high fashion.
60 million iPods have been sold and of those, 40 million were sold in the last year. Competitors such as Creative and Samsung are just clinging onto ths shirt tails of Apple and their sales don’t even make a small dent in Apple’s profit.
But is the bubble going to burst? Just like mobile phones before them, there must be a sales ceiling. At some point everyone who wants an mp3 player will own an mp3 player and then sales will drop off. Apple will have a strategy up their sleeve to cope with this. The much vaunted iPod phone may be one option.
And what of the iPod brand name? It is almost, but not quite, in the league of Hoover and Portakabin as a brand name which is used more than the generic term. However, unless it makes that leap, there will come a point at which the iPod brand will start to seem boring. The public are always after new ideas, not old ones repackaged.
Happy birthday iPod! There may not be a similar article written on your tenth birthday, so make the most of it.
October 22nd, 2006
Streaming Networks today announced the availability of its new iRecord Personal Media Recorder. iRecord allows users to record video and audio directly onto Apple iPod, Sony PSP or any other USB storage devices with the touch of a button.”Until iRecord there was no simple and easy way for portable media player owners to put their personal video and audio contents onto their players. Now, in one touch, consumers can move their favorite movies, TV shows, home videos and audio tracks to their iPod or PSP portable players using iRecord . It’s just that simple!” said Ayub Khan, CEO and President of Streaming Networks.
Prior to iRecord, consumers would have to go through several tedious steps in order to transfer their favorite movie or TV show to their iPod, including determining which video format to use, hooking up computer equipment to their home entertainment system, and waiting as content was slowly moved. iRecord eliminates this multi-step process and makes recording as simple as pushing a button. A consumer simply plugs the iRecord into his TV or DVD player and hits iRecord’s record button. The iRecord then records what is being played on the TV directly onto the iPod in real-time. After the program is over, simply unplug your iPod and the movie or TV show can immediately be enjoyed on your portable device. Consumers use the same process to record movies or TV shows to Sony PSP player Memory Stick, or any other USB storage device such as Flash Drives or Hard Drives.
iRecord records analog video and audio from any source with S-video or RCA video and audio outputs, including DVD player, TV, TiVo, VCR or any cable/satellite set-top box.
iRecord encodes hi-quality H.264 video in real-time at the standard iPod and PSP resolution of 320×240. iRecord’s additional features include the ability to record MP3 audio directly to most models of iPod. iRecord supports both Windows and Macintosh iPods. In addition, iRecord offers a USB port so that it can be easily updated when new product features are made available. iRecord ships with a power adapter, audio/video cables and user manual for price of US $199.99 and is currently available for purchase at www.irecord.com.
October 21st, 2006
The SoundWorks Radio CD from Creative brought to you by Evesham, is a hi-fi breakthrough in tabletop audio for the home. Built with the expertise of the designers at Cambridge SoundWorks, the specialist audio division of Creative Labs, this innovative system delivers sound that fills a room so effectively that listeners often look around for separate external speakers!
But to say that the SoundWorks Radio CD is just a table radio doesn’t do it justice; it’s much more. Think of it as a home stereo wrapped inside a little box. It can play 10 hours of music on a single MP3-encoded CD-ROM, features a superb AM/FM radio with a total of 24 presets, has two alarms and, most importantly, offers great sound.
One of the keys to great sound is getting the bass right. This is where Creative SoundWorks’ engineers earned their musical chops, because they invented a way to fit a powered subwoofer with its own vented enclosure into this very small, compact package. A powered subwoofer provides the deep bass foundation upon which true full-range sound is built. The result is a unique music system that delivers room-filling sound of a quality that will exceed your expectations, but not your budget.
October 19th, 2006
If you needed a sign that the Nintendo Wii is going to belie its ridiculed name and challenge both the PS3 and the Xbox 360, then take a look at the news from the States where games retailer Gamestop has already sold out its preallocated supply. It did so on the very first day that preordering opened.
Preorders for the PS3 are still open, several days after they commenced.
So, at a glance the news looks extremely good for Wii. Anecdotal reports from across the pond suggest queues for Wii were longer than for the PS3 and more diverse as well. However, the headline stat does not provide the complete picture. Because of production delays with the PS3, Sony has reduced the number of PS3s available for preorder by a fourth. Each Gamestop store may only be getting a number of units in the low teens. At least Sony is being open about the figures.
Wii is suffering no reported production problems, but even so, Nintendo has not yet confirmed store by store availability. So each Gamestop manager has to guess, and with the prospect of sobbing children and angry parents on their threshold if they get it wrong, most will be guessing on the conservative side.
So Wii’s selling out its preorder allocation is not too surprising, as no one is entirely sure what that allocation is.
Most analysts expect Wii to be a plucky loser to the PS3 and today’s news only goes a little way to challenging that expectation.
October 17th, 2006
NETGEAR today announced that Maximum PC magazine has awarded its “Kick Ass Product” designation to the NETGEAR Powerline HD Ethernet Adapters (HDXB101). Published in the October issue, the HDXB101 received Maximum PC’s highest honor which, according to the publication, “is bestowed only upon products worthy of the editors’ personal recommendations.”“The bottom line is that the HDXB101 is fast enough to stream video – even high-definition video – from your media server to your living room,” stated Will Smith, editor-in-chief of Maximum PC, in the product review. “We successfully streamed video content – including 1080i WMV movies – across the powerline network. UPNP packets even cross the powerline segment flawlessly – our UPNP-dependent streaming boxes worked without a hitch. Even the bandwidth hungry Media Center Extender and Xbox 360 worked with nary a hiccup or dropped frame.”
In another review published by PC Magazine, Technical Analyst Oliver Kaven stated that the NETGEAR Powerline HD Ethernet Adapter (HDX101) proved impressive in his tests. “It’s the first power-line product I’ve reviewed with the ease and speed to be worthwhile,” wrote Kaven. He stated that the HDX101 delivered throughput speeds that, on average, were comparable with what the faster wireless technologies delivered at distances of around 20 feet and was faster than wireless when distances exceeded 60 feet. “Overall, I was impressed by the Netgear HDX101 Powerline HD Ethernet Adapter,” he concluded.
“The receipt of these strong editorial reviews of our Powerline HD Ethernet adapters is further validation of NETGEAR’s strategy to design and deliver innovations that enable the adoption of cutting-edge networked products and technologies in homes and businesses,” stated Kartik Gada, NETGEAR Product Line Manager. “Powerline HD is the ideal solution for providing high-speed network connectivity in locations such as home entertainment centers and family rooms where wired connectivity is desirable, but where Ethernet cabling is unavailable. This will become an increasingly attractive solution with the emergence of streaming media devices, such as NETGEAR’s Digital Entertainer (EVA700), that deliver digital content to home entertainment systems.” NETGEAR’s Powerline HD Ethernet Adapter Kit (HDXB101) is comprised of two Powerline HD Ethernet Adapters (HDX101), an Ethernet cable and set-up CD. By simply plugging one of the elegant white Powerline HD Ethernet Adapters to a router and the other to any Ethernet-ready device — such as a PC, game console, print server, digital video recorder, or the NETGEAR Digital Entertainer (EVA700) — consumers can enjoy data speeds up to 200 Mbps speeds without interruption or complicated set-up. The NETGEAR Powerline HD Ethernet Adapter can also make large file transfers to networked storage devices like the NETGEAR Storage Central (SC101) up to 12 times faster than previous Powerline networking products. Its smart design also aptly blends into any home decor with ease, and does not take up any floor or desk space. Furthermore, the Powerline HD Ethernet Adapter easily co-exists with NETGEAR’s other Powerline technologies, so that consumers can use their existing powerline devices for basic applications, and Powerline HD as an exclusive network loop for high-definition video and gaming. NETGEAR’s Powerline HD Ethernet Adapter is available now through leading retailers, e-commerce sites and value-added resellers. It’s backed by a one-year warranty and 24/7 technical support. The Powerline HD Ethernet Adapter Kit (HDXB101) containing two devices has an MSRP of $199.99. For consumers needing to connect additional devices to the network, a single adapter (HDX101) is sold separately at an MSRP of $99.99.
October 17th, 2006
A Florida judge has struck a blow against the needless censorship of games, by throwing out a complaint against Rockstar’s, soon to be released, Bully.
Attorney Jack Thompson has demanded a ban on the sale of Bully in Florida, claiming that it breaches a nuisance law that prohibits activities that can injure the health of the community (yes, even if you argue successfully that Bully is a disturbing premise for a piece of entertainment, it’s hardly a nuisnace to the community).
Thompson referred to Bully as a “Columbine simulator” which doesn’t stand up to any scrutiny. For a start, Bully doesn’t involve firearms. The most dangerous weapon that the protaganist has access to is a baseball bat. Columbine involved a group of reclusive youths from a firearms obsessed society living out a violent fantasy. Bully is about a downtroden pupil at a private school using his fists to firstly defend himself, then to rise through the ‘ranks’ until he’s the biggest bully in the school. And a bully is all he remains, not a murderer.
Judge Friedman said that, although Bully contains violence, the video game exposes players to less violence than they would encounter watching television. He spent an hour and a half watching a Rockstar employee playing the game before coming to a decision.
October 17th, 2006
Samsung reached another milestone in camera phones by launching 10 megapixel camera phone, which was unveiled at CeBIT in March this year. Samsung has been the first to introduce mobile phone with embedded camera in 2000. Samsung has also launched the world’s first 5 megapixel camera phone in October 2004 ; the world’s first 7 megapixel camera phone in July 2005.
Samsung’s 10 megapixel camera phone (SCH-B600) is 6mm thinner and 10g lighter than the 7 megapixel camera phone (SCH-V770) and sets itself apart from its previous megapixel camera phones by combining mobile TV capability in Satellite standard.
The B600 offers the same level of picture-taking sophistication that a 10 megapixel digital camera offers. The camera function includes 3x optical zoom and 5x digital zoom. It also has auto focus and a flash unit that performs optimally for 10 megapixel photographs.
Also, the B600 comes fitted with a LED autofocus feature which assists users to capture clear, crisp photos even in dark settings. Located next to the lens, the LED autofocus automatically determines the distance and utilizes the appropriate focus setting for optimal photo shooting.
The B600 also supports white balance, manual focus, continuous picture-taking, and interval picture-taking functions.
It also supports Bluetooth which enables users to send pictures wirelessly to other mobile phones, printers or to Bluetooth headsets.
The high color Reproduction TFT-LCD produces the highest possible display for its size. The photo-fine chromic LCD can reproduce 16 million colors, virtually any color found in nature, earning it the “True Color” appellation. Moving pictures can be recorded in QVGA resolution at 15-30 frames per second. Users can watch live TV in crisp picture through Satellite DMB function.
It also supports external memory (MMCmicro) in addition to its internal memory. The mobile phone supports a TV-out function where users can connect their phones to view still or motion pictures.
The B600 comes with a design reminiscent of a real digital camera. The front is designed as a bar-type mobile phone, while the back side is used as the digital camera.
Other advanced functions in the B600 include an MP3 player, business card reader, and 128 polyphonic sounds.
The price of B600 is around 900,000 won (about $ 900) in Korea.
October 11th, 2006
Thomson has announced retail availability in the U.S. of the LYRA X3030 by RCA, a pocket-sized 30GB Personal Multimedia Recorder that enables direct recording of audio and video content from multiple sources and is capable of storing dozens of movies, hundreds of hours of music and thousands of photos, all in the palm of your hand.Because the new LYRA unit utilizes secure Windows Media (WM10), video-hungry consumers can easily access purchased content from ZVUE.com, the video download store from HandHeld Entertainment, to download more than 120 hours of DVD-quality music videos, TV shows and movies onto the LYRA X3030. The unit also works with other Microsoft PlaysForSure subscription and download stores such as Amazon’s newly launched Unbox service.
ZVUE.com offers more than 3,000 digital music videos, cartoons, independent films, documentaries, news, entertainment, and sports programs for download and HandHeld Entertainment has more than 10,000 video selections under contract. To assist LYRA X3030 owners in starting their download library, three free downloads are available at www.zvue.com/lyra. Amazon offers video content from more than 30 Hollywood studios and network partners.
Perfect for watching TV shows and movies right in the palm of your hand, the LYRA X3030 has a vibrant 3.6-inch color LCD screen with 320 x 240 resolution for brilliant color reproduction. Consumers will enjoy versatility and flexibility with the 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, CD player, or camcorder. Video and audio recording can even be time shifted when using the docking base in conjunction with the included infrared 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 LYRA X3030 provides up to four hours of constant video playback, enabling consumers to watch multiple video files on a single charge.
“This player brings together numerous popular entertainment products into one portable, high quality device,” said Dan Collishaw, chief operating officer of Thomson’s Americas Audio/Video and Accessory business. “The LYRA X3030 also adds great value to the booming portable video player market through its ability to record directly from any video source and its compatibility with a wide range of audio and video download services, including Amazon Unbox and ZVUE.com.”
“We have taken a completely open approach with the ZVUE.com video download store so that all video content is compatible with any Windows Media Video portable video player on the market, including the RCA LYRA X3030 from Thomson,” said Jeff Oscodar, chief executive office and president of HandHeld Entertainment. “That is why we are happy to have Thomson join us as the first company for delivering great video content to LYRA users throughout the country.”
Not Just Video
The LYRA X3030, suggested retail price $399, is compatible with both pay-per-song and subscription music services, as well as audio book files from Audible.com. Ready to entertain right out of the box, the LYRA X3030 comes with 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.
In addition to its video and audio capabilities, this versatile jukebox also offers the ability to create image slide shows with zoom and photo rotation, as well as music accompaniment. Up to 15,000 JPEG photos are easily transferred from an SD memory card or compatible camera without a computer. Image files, along with audio and video files, can also 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 LYRA X3030 function as a voice recorder.
The LYRA X3030 is packaged with a full accessory kit, including:
- Sliding cover case to protect the X3030’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.
- Home theater docking station for easy re-charging and transfer of content from a video source
- AC adapter and DC adapter for charging in the car
- Earbud style headphones
- 3- Device Universal Remote Control for recording from or playing content on the TV set
This lightweight portable entertainment device weighs less than eight ounces and is only 3/4 of an inch thick.
October 11th, 2006
Logitech today announced the Logitech X-540 speaker system, an affordable surround-sound system designed for gamers, which solves two distinct problems: The X-540 system enables people to enjoy the experience of
surround sound even with two-channel audio sources, by including matrix surround-sound technology. And for those playing games using a flat-panel display with no convenient place to set a center-channel speaker, Logitech’s patent-pending integrated center-channel clip gracefully and securely attaches the speaker atop the monitor, saving desk space.
With a dedicated center channel and acoustically matched front and rear satellites, the Logitech X-540 system produces balanced surround sound. The X-540 speakers use Logitech’s Frequency Directed Dual Driver technology.
This technology helps the speaker system produce richer sounds by having two drivers in each satellite speaker. It also overcomes high-frequency overlap that leads to uneven sound.
Pricing and Availability
The Logitech X-540 speaker system is expected to be available in the U.S. and Europe beginning in November. Its suggested retail price in the U.S. is $99.99.
October 11th, 2006
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