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Definitive Releases New Bookshelf Speakers and Subs[teaser]The company's new subs are designed for areas where space is a primary concern. [/teaser] Definitive Technology has had a few new releases today including the SC4000 and SC6000 subwoofers. Both are wireless, just over a cubic foot in size and designed for rooms that lack the space for a bigger sub. Both SuperCube subs are wireless and offer a slick digital display hidden under the grille so you only have to see it when you're making adjustments. The SC4000 runs $799 and the SC6000 comes in at $999. You'll need a $149 wireless kit if you want to ditch the cords. Both subs will be available in September. Definitive's new bookshelf speakers are the first from the company in almost a decade. They boast Balanced Double Surround System mids and the company's Pure Aluminum tweeters for improved accuracy. The new speakers will ship in September at prices starting at $399 for a pair. Source: eCousticsPosted Mon Aug 15, 2011 at 07:00 AM PDT by: -
Bonus View Digest - August 11, 2011[teaser]As always, we're charging ahead over at The Bonus View. In case you missed a few of the posts this past week, we're here to catch you up. We had a great variety of recaps, news posts, and editorials. Whatever you want to read about when it comes to high definition entertainment, The Bonus View is the place to be.[/teaser] Entertainment News Josh Zyber put together a couple "WTF" news posts that had us all wondering what was going on in the world of Hollywood. First Steven Soderbergh, a well respected director takes a job as a Second Unit Director on the set of 'The Hunger Games' and then it's announced that slightly less respected director Brett Ratner will be producing the Oscars. If Ratner has his way we're sure that Chris Tucker will finally be getting that coveted lifetime achievement award that we all know he deserves. Theatrical News Well, the 'Apes' are number one at the box office, but that was pretty easy to see coming. E covers the world of trailers with this week's Trailer Park. We get trailers for 'A Good Old Fashioned Orgy,' 'Knights of Badassdom,' 'Tucker and Dale vs. Evil,' and 'Jack and Jill'. Luke also took us on a journey through the world of superhero costumes in the movies and how they've progressed over the years. Home Theater News E purchased a brand new 3D Blu-ray player and lets us all know how it's going with the new addition to his home theater. Video Game News While Dick Ward covered this week's video game releases, Wayne Rowe talked about Ridley Scott's involvement in the 'Call of Duty' video game franchise. TV Recaps This week we have recaps for 'Haven', 'Project Runway', 'True Blood', 'Burn Notice', 'Wilfred', and 'Suits'. Special Features Finally, while we had our usual Mid-Week Poll (Where Do You Rent Movies?) and Weekend Roundtable (Favorite Movie Dialogue) Aaron wrote up a telling piece about the 25th anniversary of the ever-classic 'Stand By Me', which turned 25 this week. Wayne Rowe took us on another trip into the vault with a look at 'Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead'. That's all for this week, but stay tuned. We're always thinking of new and innovative ways to showcase the world of HD. So, come join in on the discussions about your favorite games, movies, or TV shows. Share your insights and knowledge with like-minded HD-philes. We're all friends here. So join us. Can't wait to see you there!Posted Fri Aug 12, 2011 at 10:50 AM PDT by: -
Hulu is Headed to Japan[teaser]Hulu is finally going international, starting with a launch in Japan later this year. [/teaser] Netflix is slowly expanding around the globe, Spotify made it to America and now Hulu is looking to go international. They're heading all the way across the Pacific to Japan, where they're expecting a warm reception. According to Hulu's blog, this will be the first service that allows Japan's citizens to enjoy subscription based delivery of films and TV shows on their PCs, TVs, mobile phones and tablets. They're not getting too far into the specifics, but they'll detail it all when they launch. "Japanese audiences are passionate about premium video content, and the country is a major producer of world-class TV and feature films," writes Hulu's senior VP Johannes Larcher. "We have been able to use what we have learned from Hulu and Hulu Plus, in addition to the insights gleaned from our market research, to design a high value product specifically tailored for Japanese customers." Source: Hulu BlogPosted Fri Aug 12, 2011 at 10:30 AM PDT by: -
Yamaha's Top of the Line RX-V Receiver is Shipping Now[teaser]The final piece of the RX-V puzzle is in place with the $899 RX-V871[/teaser] Yamaha's RX-V receiver line shipped in May, save the top of the line RX-V871 which is finally available now. The RX-V871 does the things that the lower end receivers do - as you might expect. It handles DLNA streaming as well as streaming music from services like Pandora, Rhapsody and Napster. It also offers a front USB port for iPod and iPhone playback. Both devices can be controlled by the receivers remote and on screen guide. Yamaha's RX-V871 separates itself from the rest of the line by offering up a second subwoofer output which brings it to 7.2 channels. It also kicks up the output from 90 watts per channel to 100 watts per channel. It also boasts a total of 8 HDMI inputs and a pair of outputs with audio return channels. You can pick up the RX-V871 now at a price of $899. Source: TWICEPosted Fri Aug 12, 2011 at 09:00 AM PDT by: -
Harman Reorganizes to Two New Divisions - Lifestyle and Infotainment[teaser]This new organization method is a step in a new direction for Harman. [/teaser] The folks at Harman have reorganized their structure to better reflect the needs of the people who are buying their products. Rather than separate things out into categories like Consumer Electronics and Car Electronics, the company has created two much more vague categories - Lifestyle and Infotainment. "There is a clear convergence happening among consumer devices in the home, office, car and everywhere in between," says CEO Dinesh Paliwal. "Consumers no longer view these locations and personal mobile devices as separate domains, but as one, continuous ecosystem." Paliwal says that over the last few years the company has eliminated over $400 million in costs and set up the business for growth. "It is now time to align our company to best address a future that will be driven by advanced technologies in content creation, aggregation, distribution, and seamless delivery and connectivity among multiple devices," he adds. The Lifestyle division will be handling most of the fun stuff - home theater included. Harman's Infotainment division will handle navigation, hands-free telephone, and other things that are important but just not that fun. Source: TWICEPosted Fri Aug 12, 2011 at 07:00 AM PDT by: -
Runco Launches the Affordable LS-1 Projector[teaser]At $3,995 the LS-1 brings Runco into a brand new price bracket. [/teaser] Those familiar with Runco know them as a company that makes incredibly high-end projectors. They tend to sell for tens of thousands of dollars - much more than most folks would ever dream about spending on a projector. The LS-1 is different though. It runs just $3,995 which makes it the cheapest offering from Runco yet. It's an interesting direction for Runco, who is trying to reach out to folks that never had the scratch to pick up a Runco projector in the past. Runco's LS-1 offers a 10,000:1 contrast ratio and deep black levels thanks to technologies like SuperOnyx, ConstantContrast and ViVix. It also gives you the ability to pop an anamorphic lens in place with the touch of a button. Source: eCousticsPosted Thu Aug 11, 2011 at 11:00 AM PDT by: -
Toshiba Announces a Glasses-Free 3D Laptop[teaser]And it's not ridiculously expensive either - just $1,700. [/teaser] There's an expectation that whenever a new technology hits the market, the price of that tech is going to be ridiculously high. It happened with HD TVs, Blu-ray players, and pretty much everything else that's come to the home theater market. Glasses-free 3D seems to be a bit different - at least when it comes to smaller displays. The 3DS runs just $170 at this point and Toshiba's new laptop is similarly inexpensive. The new Qosimo F755 comes in at just $1,699 - that's $200 cheaper than their current 3D Qosimo laptop. The new laptop offers you the ability to view both 2D and 3D content on the same screen - we're a little confused about what that means too - and can convert 2D content to 3D. It sports a Blu-ray player, a Core i7 processor, GeForce 540M graphics and a 750GB hard drive. The F755 will be available in mid-August. Source: ToshibaPosted Thu Aug 11, 2011 at 09:00 AM PDT by: -
The Vudu Movie Rental Service Comes to the iPad[teaser]Unlike many other services, Vudu hasn't launched an app, but simply made their site iPad friendly. [/teaser] We're sold on the awesomeness of Vudu. You get streaming HD videos with excellent quality - the closest thing to Blu-ray out there - and the price isn't too bad all things considered. We're also sold on watching movies and TV shows on portable devices like the iPad. Clearly some movies are better suited for the home theater, but it's nice to have some entertainment with you. Vudu on the iPad is a bit less exciting. The primary advantage of Vudu over other services is the ability to watch those gorgeous HD movies, but the iPad version is like the PC version - it only streams in SD. Of course, the iPad isn't an HD device to begin with. Still, if you've rented a movie at home and you want to watch it on the iPad, you can do it. It works the other way around too - you can rent a movie on your iPad and then watch it on the big screen. At the very least, it's an easier way to navigate than your TV remote. Source: WalmartPosted Thu Aug 11, 2011 at 07:00 AM PDT by: -
Boxee Launches iPad App, Updates Boxee Box, and Adds AirPlay[teaser]They've also announced a new feature that will allow you to bookmark media for future viewing. [/teaser] Now this is what we like to see in an update. Not only has Boxee launched an iPad app, but they've added experimental AirPlay support, updated the Boxee Box and more. That's pretty impressive for one day's worth of announcements. Boxee for iPad works pretty much like Boxee for other devices. You can watch videos, save online videos for later viewing on Boxee, automatically adds videos that your friends link on Twitter or Facebook - assuming that's something you want - and send video to your TV via the Boxee Box. Not too shabby for a free app. The update to the Boxee Box brings it to firmware 1.2 and adds a "Featured Apps" section, the ability to filter premium sources, better support for different video files and the ability to receive beta versions of the firmware in the future. It also adds AirPlay, though the implementation is still in the experimental stage. There are a few more new announcements from Boxee and plenty more details, so check out the Boxee Blog for more. Source: BoxeePosted Wed Aug 10, 2011 at 11:00 AM PDT by: -
Onkyo Adds and Expands Online Music Support for 2011 Receivers[teaser]You'll find a service called AUPEO!, Spotify, and expanded support for Last.fm. [/teaser] It's easy to think of your home theater as something that's used for watching movies and not much else, but depending on your setup it can be an impressive music player too. The folks over at Onkyo have added quite a bit of new functionality to their 2011 receiver lineup that makes it even easier to enjoy the music you love and find more artists to enjoy. AUPEO! is a new addition to all 2011 receivers. It may not be as familiar a name as Last.fm and Spotify, but the service offers 120 specialized music channels, custom made channels, artist specific channels and a Mood Selector that matches music to suit your mood. Spotify is new to the lineup as well, debuting on Onkyo receivers just as the service came online for US residents. The service can be used on a free or subscription basis, with different tiers depending on what you want from Spotify. Finally, Onkyo has expanded Last.fm support to all of its 2011 receivers - it was previously only available on certain models. Source: OnkyoPosted Wed Aug 10, 2011 at 09:00 AM PDT by:
