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Denon Intros a New 3D HTiB[teaser]The 5.1 channel DHT-1311XP is hitting the UK this September. [/teaser] Denon's new home theater system, known as the DHT-1311XP, is built with 3D in mind. It sports four HDMI 1.4 inputs with full support for 3D pass-through tech, Deep Color and x.v.Color. The receiver at the heart of the system – the AVR-1311 – powers five channels with 110 watts to each. It supports the latest in HD audio formats, but handles lower bitrate MP3s too. It's even got a built in Compressed Audio Restorer that works to make those MP3s sound as good as possible. The package also comes with a pair of SC-F391 front speakers which sport a pair of three inch mid drivers, an SC-C391 center channel and a pair of SC-R391 surrounds. Denon also includes a 100 watt sub to kick out the bass. Neither a US release date or pricing have been announced as of yet, but it's coming to the UK in September at around $700. Source: eCousticsPosted Wed Aug 4, 2010 at 11:00 AM PDT by: -
Portable Blu-ray Gets Affordable With RCA[teaser]RCA's new portable Blu-ray player is currently selling at just $299. [/teaser] If you want to take your Blu-rays on the road, you don't have a lot of options. You can pick up a laptop with a Blu-ray drive in it, or you can pick up one of the few models of portable Blu-ray players. The latest from RCA is also the cheapest portable Blu-ray player around. The BRC3109 appears to be a Target exclusive at the moment, and currently sells for just $299 – that's cheap as far as portable players are concerned. It's got a 16:9 aspect ratio and an impressive 10 inch screen, though there aren't any details on the actual output resolution of the player. The BRC3109 has a four hour battery life and of course includes anti-skip circuitry. The BRC3109 also sports an HDMI output and remote control, so you can hook it up to a TV when not using it as a portable player. Pretty convenient as far as these things go. You'll find a similar item – the RCA BRC3108 – on Amazon for a pre-order price of $349, though there's no apparent difference between the two. Source: TargetPosted Wed Aug 4, 2010 at 09:00 AM PDT by: -
CBS Could Be Coming to Hulu[teaser]The final piece of the broadcast puzzle may be hitting Hulu soon. [/teaser] The thing that's important to remember about Hulu is that it's not owned by a single company. It's got a few parent companies on top of it including NBC, ABC and Fox. As you can imagine, the final major broadcasting network, CBS, has been less than excited to go the Hulu route. The Hulu Plus service is getting CBS execs interested though. There's something about a subscription that makes the whole idea more appetizing. CBS CEO Les Moonves puts it this way - "Are we having discussions with the Hulu subscription service? Yes we are." There's a lot still to talk about, and CBS isn't interested in going Hulu exclusive any time soon. "Our goal is to get paid for our content in as many different ways as we can without hurting the mother ship," says Moonves. "The key here is flexibility." Source: ReutersPosted Wed Aug 4, 2010 at 07:00 AM PDT by: -
Kaleidescape's 300-Disc Vault Gets Around the DRM Issue - Sort Of[teaser]The addition of two disc vaults means you can finally stream Blu-rays in your house. And it only costs a couple grand! [/teaser] Just imagine it. You're upstairs in your room and you want to watch a Blu-ray, but it's all the way downstairs. To add to the problem, you don't have a Blu-ray player in your room. If you've got an extra couple thousand dollars on hand, Kaleidescape can solve that for you. Up until recently, their in-home streaming service was horribly inconvenient. Any time you wanted to watch a different disc, you had to go to the main player and switch the disc. It's a DRM thing – you can't play the video if the disc isn't there. Thanks to their new Disc Vaults, you can pop your collection into the carousel and stream anywhere in the house. Assuming you have Kaleidescape players on each of those televisions. Two different solutions will be released. The first is the Modular Disc Vault, which needs to be attached to a M300 player by a USB cable. You'll be shelling out around $1,500 for that. The Integrated Disk Vault simply requires a connection to your home network and will sell for "no more than $6,000." Source: CE ProPosted Tue Aug 3, 2010 at 09:00 AM PDT by: -
Ladies and Gentlemen – It's Shark Week[teaser]Discovery Channel's yearly celebration of all things shark is on now. [/teaser] If you only turn to the Discovery Channel one time this year, make sure this is the time. You'll get the chance to see some of the greatest shark footage ever captured, including six brand new programs. Shark Week has been running since 1987 and it's only been getting better. This year is no exception. The show 'Shark Bites: Adventures in Shark Week' puts Shark Week and Late, Late Show host Craig Ferguson face to face with sharks while showing some of the series' best clips. 'Shark Attack Survival Guide' is, what else, a guide to surviving shark attacks. 'Into the Shark Bite' is something totally new, and potentially very cool. You'll get to see video of sharks eating and attacking – par for the course for Shark Week. What's different is that you'll be seeing all of this from inside the shark's mouth. Seriously. Finally, Shark Week would be incomplete without an installment of the 'Air Jaws' series – a show that reveals the incredible behavior of everyone's favorite shark. If you haven't seen it, it can be explained simply. It's a show about great white sharks jumping into the air in super slow motion. It's a sight to behold. Source: Discovery ChannelPosted Tue Aug 3, 2010 at 08:00 AM PDT by: -
Nvidia is Bringing 3D to Professional Environments[teaser]Sure you've seen an ultrasound, but have you seen an ultrasound in 3D? [/teaser] Alright, fine. The cool new technology that we use for entertainment has practical purposes too. There's more to 3D than just watching blue aliens boogie down with Canis lupus. It can be used in the automotive, education, and even medical industries. Nvidia's latest 3D glasses are designed just for those purposes, but they're pretty cool as far as consumer viewing is concerned too. For starters, they don't use IR for communication, but RF, which means you can look away without losing synchronization. Among the uses Nvidia lists for the new tech is the viewing of 3D ultrasounds, which is a little unsettling to look at. Even creepier is the application of 3D to fetal face imagery. (Hit the link below for the video) It's definitely not as sleek and sexy as 3D gaming and movies. Nvidia's 3D Visio Pro solutions are hitting this October and are priced in the professional range. You can pick up the transmitter for $399, while each pair of glasses runs $349. Source: eCousticsPosted Mon Aug 2, 2010 at 11:00 AM PDT by: -
Warner Teams with LG and Sony for Pack-In 3D Blu-rays[teaser]Mail in coupons for 3D IMAX films will come packed in with Sony and LG 3D products. [/teaser] By the time this whole 3D thing is up and running, you're going to have more free Blu-rays than you'll know what to do with. The agreement between Warner Home Video, LG, and Sony means you'll be getting Blu-rays with every piece of gear you pick up. The LG deal makes sense for consumers. Buy a BX580 or BX585 3D Blu-ray player before December 31st and get a mail-in coupon for a free copy of IMAX Under the Sea 3D . The 2D version was pretty slick, so bumping it up to 3D should be interesting. When it comes to Sony though, you'll be getting a coupon for IMAX Deep Sea 3D with the purchase of any 3D Blu-ray player, 3D TV, and set of 3D glasses. If you buy a full Sony package, you could end up with four or five coupons for the same movie. The reason for the choice of movies should be obvious, but as WB's Dorinda Marticorena puts it, "IMAX is simply the best in 3D and these visually stunning titles are perfect for consumers who want to take full advantage of and show off their new Blu-ray 3D home theater systems." Source: WarnerPosted Mon Aug 2, 2010 at 09:00 AM PDT by: -
Sezmi is Expanding its Markets – It's Available in 15 New Cities[teaser]This television company is taking a different approach, which just might work out nicely for some folks in Detroit, Portland, Orlando and Seattle among other cities. [/teaser] Sezmi is a pretty strange service as far as these things go. It's not exactly cable, but it's not quite OTA. It's got a little bit of video streaming mixed in for good measure, and it's dirt cheap. For $200 up front and $4.99 a month, with no contract required, you can get yourself a Sezmi unit with an incredibly capable DVR that can record up to 1,400 hours of programming. The channel selection is admittedly limited, consisting of the same locals that you could get over-the-air. If you kick that subscription fee up to $19.99 a month, you'll get access to a pretty strong lineup of cable channels. It's not going to compare to what you get from a cable or satellite company, but it's also a lot cheaper. The device also comes packed with access to web content like YouTube, and both free and paid On Demand programming. Source: SezmiPosted Mon Aug 2, 2010 at 07:00 AM PDT by: -
The HD Advisor Gives ThanksEditor's Note: Although our HD Advisor will be breaking from the normal format this week, he will return with more Questions & Answers soon. If you have home theater questions you need answered, send an email to [email protected]. If you've already sent a question and don't see it answered yet, please be patient as we work our way through them. To browse through previously answered questions, visit the main HD Advisor page. By Joshua Zyber As most of our regular readers know by now, I'm an advocate of 2.35:1 Constant Image Height Projection. A 2.35:1 projection screen eliminates (or nearly eliminates) the need for letterbox bars during movie playback, and restores the original intended theatrical experience in which "scope" movies are displayed larger and wider than movies of narrower aspect ratios. I use a CIH screen in my own home theater and will never go back. There's something really thrilling about watching a 2.35:1 movie on a 2.35:1 screen in the home that just can't be beat. See my earlier tutorial on this subject for more details. In practical terms, Constant Image Height projection poses its share of challenges and logistical inconveniences. I can't pretend that it's appropriate for every home theater. CIH users are, admittedly, a niche within the home theater hobby. Not that there should be anything wrong with that. Everyone I know who's made the commitment to Constant Image Height viewing has found that the advantages far outweigh the hassles of getting there. Unfortunately, since we are such a niche, the home video studios releasing their movies on Blu-ray rarely give any thought to the needs of CIH viewers. At times, this leads to immense frustration. One of the biggest obstacles in this regard involves the placement of subtitles on movies with foreign-language dialogue. When you go to a movie theater to see a foreign-language film, the subtitles are of course always projected right there on screen as part of the movie. That only makes logical sense. And yet, when it comes time to bring the same movie to home video, some studios choose to move those subtitles down into the letterbox bar on 2.35:1 pictures. While that's not a big deal when watching on a typical 16:9 HDTV screen, this poses a huge problem for CIH viewers who zoom the movie to fill a 2.35:1 screen, thus cutting off the letterbox bars. Now at least half (and sometimes all) of the subtitles are missing, which makes that movie unwatchable on the screen. Some studios – such as Universal, Paramount, Disney, and Criterion – are usually good enough to author their discs with all subtitles inside the movie image, so that they can be read on any home theater screen. Sadly, other studios routinely place subtitles in the letterbox bars. The biggest offenders in this regard have been Sony and Warner Bros., while 20th Century Fox is inconsistent. (Some Fox discs are CIH safe while others are not, with little rhyme or reason.) Just over a year ago, a representative for Sony Pictures agreed to take the issue under consideration. He hosted a poll on the subject which asked respondents to vote whether subtitle position should remain in the letterbox bar or be moved up into the active movie image. CIH viewers were very pleased and relieved when the results of that poll showed an overwhelming preference to have subtitles moved up into the movie image. The Sony representative assured us that this information would be passed up the chain, and that action would be taken. And then nothing happened. For months. And months. And months. The Sony representative claimed that discs already in the production pipeline prior to the poll couldn't be altered, but that a rolling production change would correct the issue on subsequent titles in the near future. That certainly sounded plausible and reasonable enough. And still nothing happened. For months. And months. And months. Keep in mind that this change we requested would cost the studio absolutely nothing to implement, and is literally as simple as pressing a few buttons on the console during disc authoring. Nonetheless, Sony continued to issue Blu-ray discs with subtitles in the letterbox bar all along – even for movies that hadn't even been released to theaters at the time of the poll (and thus couldn't have been in the production pipeline). Eventually, I gave up hope that anything meaningful would result from this poll, and resigned myself that the bureaucracy of major corporations suffered from too much inertia and too much resistance to change. But then, I made a very surprising discovery when reviewing the Sony Pictures title 'A Single Man' recently. This is a movie with a 2.35:1 aspect ratio, and has one scene with Spanish dialogue that automatically triggers English subtitles. And those subtitles are inside the movie picture! One solid year later, the studio has finally taken the action it promised. At least, that's the case for this disc. I can only hope that this signals a true policy change for the studio and will affect all new titles going forward. Is 'A Single Man' truly the first Sony Blu-ray to make this change? I'm not certain. Perhaps there were earlier discs, but this is the first that I've personally come across. In any event, I say this not to chastise the studio for taking so long. (Although, I'll be honest, I've been pretty annoyed with the delays.) Instead, I'm posting this article to say a hearty THANK YOU, SONY PICTURES HOME ENTERTAINMENT! Thank you for listening to the needs of your consumer base, no matter how small a niche. And thank you for finally taking action. This may seem like a trivial matter to some, but this problem has been a huge burden for many home theater viewers. Please continue to author your subsequent Blu-ray discs in this fashion. Your attention to this matter is greatly appreciated. Now, who can tell me how to get the attention of someone at Warner Bros.? That studio needs a good talking to. Homework Assignment: You Be the Advisor The HD Advisor may not be answering any questions this week, but our readers still need help. If you can help to answer the following question, please post your response in our forum thread linked at the end of this article. Your advice and opinions matter too! Inexpensive Audio Solutions Q: So I just splurged and bought myself a PS3. The Blu-ray looks gorgeous but I have a less than ideal audio setup. Namely, I have it hooked up to stereo computer speakers. I am certainly aware of what a receiver does, but I'm not a rich person and I've already spent too much money. So I'm wondering if there is a more inexpensive solution to good quality audio than a full blown receiver? My ideal device would be something as simple as an HDMI switcher but that also has a 5.1 output that I could get a cheap home-theater-in-a-box to go along with. Does any such device exist or do any other inexpensive solutions? JZ: My inclination here is to suggest that you should probably go with a soundbar. Most of these are relatively simple all-in-one devices. You'll plug in an audio cable from the Blu-ray player, and it will do all decoding and amplification without a separate A/V receiver. You probably won't be able to attach surround speakers. However, many soundbars offer simulated surround modes, where they throw the audio in such a way that it sounds like it's coming from the back of the room. I have not used one myself, though. So I can't make any specific recommendations. I'll leave it to our readers to discuss that, or to offer alternate suggestions. Check back soon for another round of answers. Keep those questions coming. Joshua Zyber's opinions are his own and do not necessarily reflect those of this site, its owners or employees.Posted Fri Jul 30, 2010 at 12:10 PM PDT by: -
Toshiba Intros the Cell and Cell Slim in Japan[teaser]Three terabytes of hard drive space, 2D to 3D conversion, and built-in web browsing are just some of the features of the Cell TV. [/teaser] Toshiba's Cell TVs are the stuff of dreams. They've got just about everything you could want in a TV. The cost reflects that, of course, but that doesn't stop these sets from being downright impressive. If you're a fan of 3D, for instance, the Cell's got the hookup. Toshiba says that the 3D Super Resolution tech that's built into each set makes 3D images clearer than ever. Even better, your TV can convert traditional 2D movies and television into 3D. Color, contrast, and brightness will all change to accommodate for the dark glasses. Not a 3D fan? Do you like DVRs? If so, you'll be happy to know that the Cell is capable of recording up to eight channels at once onto its massive three terabyte hard drive. That's about as good as it gets. There's plenty more to the sets, like web browsing, streaming video and audio, improved speakers and even support for up to eight USB devices at once. They're hitting Japan first at a price of $6,800 for the Cell Regza Slim 46XE2 – the cheapest of the bunch. At the top is the Cell Regza 55X2, which costs upwards of ten thousand dollars. Source: ToshibaPosted Fri Jul 30, 2010 at 10:30 AM PDT by:
