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Pioneer Launches a Portable External BD/DVD/CD Burner with BDXL Capabilities[teaser]The company boasts that it's the most compact and lightest BDXL burner on the market today. [/teaser] Pioneer's new BDR-XD04 is, according to the company, the smallest and lightest BDXL burner on the market today. It's touted as a portable player that's equipped with a few nice features. First and foremost is the concern of write speeds. If you're burning to a dual-layer Blu-ray disc you're going to get 6x speeds while triple and quad layer discs will slow things down to 4x. You can also write to DVDs and CDs of course, but no information is given as to the speed there. The BDR-XD04 offers PowerRead and PureRead2+, both technologies designed to eliminate problems caused by fingerprints, dust and even minor scratches. The pair of features make discs more readable and help to eliminate popping sounds on discs. In addition to the disc reading features, you'll find Auto Quiet mode, which slows down the rotation speed while watching Blu-rays and DVDs to keep the drive nice and quiet. Source: eCousticsPosted Tue Jan 10, 2012 at 07:00 AM PST by: -
Panasonic Will be Streaming Directly From CES[teaser]You can tune in to their press conference as well as Q&As with experts and celebrities. [/teaser] The Consumer Electronics show will bring you some of the biggest announcements of the year in the home theater market, and while there will certainly be plenty of coverage and live blogging, the second-hand experience just doesn't compare to actually being there. Panasonic is giving you a chance to experience the event on their live stream, getting you up-to-date information and getting you up close to the action. They'll have experts on hand to answer your questions and celebrities like John Glen who directed five different Bond films and Michael Apted who helmed 'The World is Not Enough.' It all starts at 3:00pm PST on Monday, January 9th for a live stream of Panasonic's press conference. On the 10th and 11th you can watch eight hours of live CES coverage including a director's panel historically only open to the press. Source: PanasonicPosted Mon Jan 9, 2012 at 01:45 PM PST by: -
LG Announces the 9.1 Channel Cinema 3D Home Theater System[teaser]The new home theater in-a-box gives you 3D Sound Zooming and a nice wide sweet spot. [/teaser] We've got to give it to LG, their new home theater system seems like a slick setup. It sets itself apart from the rest by offering 9.1 channels of audio instead of the usual 5.1 or 7.1. Another significant difference between the BH9420PW and most HTiB solutions is that LG doesn't just give you small speakers - you'll get four floorstanding speakers in addition to the satellites. LG's BH9420PW home theater system offers a feature called 3D Sound Zooming that syncs sound output with whatever's happening in the 3D movie you're watching. LG specifies that this will work with LG Cinema 3D TVs, but it's unclear whether or not this feature is compatible with other sets. You'll be able to get your hands on the BH9420PW this March, but a price has not yet been announced. Source: eCousticsPosted Mon Jan 9, 2012 at 11:00 AM PST by: -
Sensics Will Launch 3D "SmartGoogles" for Movies and Games[teaser]The head tracking goggles work with game systems, phones, tablets, and PCs, and uses augmented reality that allows you to control the system by hand. [/teaser] 3D is still the big push from within the home theater industry, which means that the release of niche products and untested ideas is inevitable. The latest is something called Smart Goggles, created by Sensics. SmartGoggles is a 3D headset with a sort of 'Tron' aesthetic that promises a completely immersive 3D experience. Like other 3D personal media viewers, SmartGoggles allows the user to enjoy 3D wherever they please instead of having to sit in front of a TV. The thing that separates SmartGoggles from the rest of the pack is its ability to interact with your devices. If you hook it up to a game system, you can use the glasses for head tracking and look in 360 degrees just by moving your head. You can also use it for augmented reality applications - the same way SmartGoggles menus are controlled. There's been no information yet on what kind of screen resolution or audio quality we'll get out of SmartGoggles, nor any details on pricing. Source: SmartGogglesPosted Mon Jan 9, 2012 at 09:00 AM PST by: -
Pioneer Launches a Pair of Networked Audio Players[teaser]The N-30 and N-50 are compatible with lossless audio and offer plenty of streaming options. [/teaser] Streaming music to your system is all well and good but so many devices that have the ability aren't compatible with the best sounding audio formats. Thanks to DLNA 1.5, Pioneer's new N-30 and N-50 networked audio players handle FLAC, WAV and Apple Lossless audio. Of course, you'll still be able to stream the old favorites like MP3, WMA and AAC. Both players are capable of streaming music from internet radio and sources like Pandora and iHeartMusic and even feature AirPlay capability. You'll find a 2.5" LCD screen that displays the music currently playing and those that prefer can control the device through an iPhone, iPod touch, iPad or "certain Android devices". The N-50 separates itself from the N-30 by utilizing twin EL transformers, gold RCA plugs and what Pioneer refers to as an armored chassis. It uses AIR to kick up the audio quality on compressed files and packs a DAC only mode for those without solid DACs already in their home theater setup. The N-30 will run you $499 while the N-50 comes in at $699. As tends to be the case with Pioneer products, you'll have to shell out cash for separate Wi-Fi and Bluetooth adapters. Source: EngadgetPosted Mon Jan 9, 2012 at 07:00 AM PST by: -
Bonus View Digest - January 6, 2012This week's Bonus View Digest is being typed in a drug-induced haze. No, I wasn't up all night partying – not those kinds of drugs. Instead I, Aaron Peck, was up all night with my first cold of the New Year. Great way to start it off huh? Well, at least when I was up at 4:00 am in the morning I had nothing else to do but read all the great stuff that even I miss sometimes on our blog. [teaser]As I sniffed, coughed, and sneezed through the night – all the while cursing the cold drugs for not working like they promised they would – I was able to catch up on all of this week's great articles that were posted on the blog. Check out what you may have missed.[/teaser] Theatrical News E introduced us to a couple new trailers in this week's Trailer Park. 'A Thousand Words' appears to be Eddie Murphy's next cinematic disaster, while the rom-com 'What to Expect When You're Expecting' has E a bit apprehensive of what the final outcome will be. In the Weekend Movies section Luke dissects the films that are in theaters, but it being January there aren't a lot of great options out there. Posterizing got the year end treatment. Aaron revealed his top 15 favorite movie posters of 2011. Home Theater News E continues to update us on his home theater overhaul with Part 2 of his home theater PC build. In case you were wondering on what movies to catch on streaming services, check out our posts for the Netflix Stream and VUDU where you can find all the information you need about new shows and old ones that may be leaving soon. Blu-ray News This week, as a New Year's celebration we gave away a brand new copy of 'Kung Fu Panda 2.' Check out the results page to see who won, and continue to check the blog for contests. We're having them all the time. Josh unboxed his Japanese 'Aladdin' Laser Disc set. Check it out if you want to see the kinds of memorabilia that is included in these rare sets. Josh unboxes different releases from time to time so keep a look out for them. Special Features In a special post this week Luke revealed how film critic awards happen by using the Utah Film Critics Association as an example. The Mid-Week Poll discussed our favorite 2011 blockbusters. Finally, with the Weekend Roundtable we all made our own New Year's wishes. Thanks for making the first week of the New Year a great one. Be sure to stay tuned though, because on the 15th of January we're planning on doing a Live-Blog for the Golden Globes! You won't want to miss it.Posted Fri Jan 6, 2012 at 11:20 AM PST by: -
Netflix Streams 2 Billion Hours of Content in Fourth Quarter- Beats out FX, MTV, CNN and More in Viewing Hours[teaser]Analysts say Netflix viewing habits would make it the 15th largest TV network in the country. [/teaser] It's comparing apples to oranges of course, but analysts say that the viewing numbers that Netflix brings in are enough to make it the 15th largest TV network in the U.S. With 2 billion viewing hours, it surpasses popular cable channels like FX and MTV while more than doubling the numbers for CNN and The Discovery Channel. In homes equipped with Netflix, it's the second most watched source, right behind CBS. Perhaps even more interesting is the fact that Netflix subscribers spend a majority of their time watching TV content - around 60 percent. Analyst Richard Greenfield says that Netflix has been underestimated for quite some time. This 2 billion viewing hours is, as he puts it, "Pretty amazing, given that Netflix is only in 21 million homes (with its streaming service just four years old) compared to the near-complete distribution across multichannel homes of the top cable networks." Source: Home Media MagazinePosted Fri Jan 6, 2012 at 11:00 AM PST by: -
Samsung Announces its Free the TV Challenge Finalists[teaser]The second in the series of contests for app developers comes to a close at CES with three interesting applications competing for top honors. [/teaser] Samsung knows that it isn't the hardware or the operating system that determines the success of a platform - it's the software. To spur on developers for Samsung's smart TVs the company launched a contest that rewards $100,000 to the best app. They were pretty happy with how it turned out in 2010 and the 2011 crop looks even better. Three apps are competing for the top spot, the most practical of which is a music app called FRESHQ. Using a smartphone, tablet or the TV itself, you can stream music from your favorite artists and follow their various social media outlets at the same time. Let's Play Stop is a game that pits players against each other with a goal of coming up with unique word corresponding to a particular letter. There are five different categories to keep things varied. Party Shots is an interesting one that's definitely a niche app. Simply download Party Shots to your smartphone and take photos. Those pictures will then be put onto your TV as a part of a slide show. It may not be great for everyone's party but we could definitely see this one taking off in clubs and other commercial settings. Source: SamsungPosted Fri Jan 6, 2012 at 09:00 AM PST by: -
Google TV Switches from Intel to Marvell Processors[teaser]The new chip supports 3D video, 3D graphics, enhancement tools, and more. [/teaser] "Marvell and Google have teamed up to change home entertainment forever," says Marvell co-founder Weili Dai. ""I believe this is a major breakthrough movement and it's just the beginning of our bigger vision." At the very least, this is going to change the future of the Google TV platform, giving a much needed power boost to the hardware. The Marvell Armada 1500 HD chip offers quite a bit of capabilities, not the least of which is Marvell Qdeo video processing technology. The company boasts fasting processing and lower power consumption than Intel's chips. Mario Queiroz, product manager at Google TV, makes a point to mention that the newest Google TV products will be brought to market at "attractive prices." We'll have to wait to see what this all means, but it sounds like we'll be getting a much more capable Google TV in the near future. Source: MarvellPosted Fri Jan 6, 2012 at 07:15 AM PST by: -
Roku Packs it Streaming Player into an MHL Dongle[teaser]HDMI would be so much more convenient, but with more TVs packing MHL links in 2012, this is certainly a welcome addition to the lineup. [/teaser] The thing that really bothers some folks about streaming boxes like the Roku player is with the concept of adding yet another box to their home theater setup. There's only so much room and, let's face it, there's something to be said for a good looking living room. Roku's new streaming player does away with the box completely. The Roku Streaming Stick is a nice, tiny dongle that hooks right into an MHL port on your TV. Though it's much smaller it doesn't seem to lack for features. You'll still get built-in Wi-Fi and a processor capable of running the Roku user interface. Whether the interface or any other features had to be simplified for the Stick is an unknown at the moment. The folks at Roku aren't just selling the Streaming Stick as a standalone product - TV manufacturers are going to pack it in with their sets as a way for customers to enjoy Smart TV features on a TV that would normally lack them. The only brand doing so in the near future though is Insignia. We've already seen TVs and receivers announced with MHL support, so the Streaming Stick may find a happy home. Source: EngadgetPosted Fri Jan 6, 2012 at 07:00 AM PST by:
