Home Entertainment
Wireless digital music centre goes HiFi
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July 29, 2005 It often takes a while for a new concept to be fully embraced by the establishment – historically, this has not been a strategically good move. So we kinda like the take the “Symphony” in that it’s a wireless digital HiFi component based on the popular idea of a central device that stores, manages and wirelessly distributes digital music throughout the home, but goes a new way with regard to its hardware and user interface concept. Engineered as a true HiFi component, the Symphony features the proprietary Digital Pure Audio (DPA) technology that delivers the high fidelity sound an audiophile calls for. Although the Symphony is filled with innovative convergence technology, its intuitive navigation requires no prior user knowledge of such. Read More
New projection screen turns day into night
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A new front projection screen that allows users to see clearly in high-brightness environments could significantly increase the market for front projection systems if the manufacturers claims are verified when it is shown for the first time at the Custom Electronic Design & Installation Association EXPO (CEDIA) to be held this year in Indianapolis in September. The Screen Innovations Mirage Screen features a patented high-contrast filter that covers 60% of the screen surface. This filter allows the projected image to be reflected by the screen and effectively absorbs incidental light from other angles from such sources as windows and room lighting. As a result, the screen is virtually unaffected by ambient light.
Motorised In-Ceiling Loudspeakers offer decorative subtlety
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July 1, 2005 – Some interesting new speakers from KEF seem to offer an ideal solution for someone who wants their audio system to stand out through its sound rather than its looks. For a home theatre to transform movies into an immersive viewer experience, all of its highly variable elements must converge to seamlessly engage the senses. In-ceiling speaks are less visually intrusive, but as most of them point straight down, they are challenged at delivering sound directly at the audience. KEF’s new Ci 3-80QT motorized loudspeaker overcomes this by tilting the entire driver array down from the ceiling and toward seats, and it does this automatically when the system is activated. Accordingly, the speakers envelope the audience with realistic movie sound while the design maintains the utmost decorative subtlety. Read More
Samsung develops World's largest (82-inch) TFT-LCD screen
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March 11, 2005 Samsung has again inched ahead in the “mine’s-bigger-than-yours” contest it is playing with LG over the world’s largest LCD screen. This time it has announced an 82-inch TFT-LCD. In an illustration of just how far and how fast the game has progressed, Samsung developed the first 40-inch model in August 2001, the first 46-inch panel in October 2002, the first 57-inch model in December 2003 and now the first 82-inch panel. The screen uses12.44 million thin-film transistors to achieve an image quality of 6.22 million pixels. Read More
Bose SoundDock turns iPod into a digital music system
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November 12, 2004 Bose has introduced the SoundDock digital music system, designed to deliver a new standard of audio performance for the Apple iPod and the iPod mini. The new speaker system lets iPod owners access, control and listen to their stored music with the ease of dock and play - no headphones, cables or adaptors required. Read More
Microsoft Unveils Windows XP Media Center
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October 29, 2004 The inevitable PC invasion of the lounge room began in earnest when the world's largest software manufacturer (Microsoft) began rolling out its updated multimedia-oriented operating system (OS), Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 in ealy October. Most significantly, the new system supports multiple TV tuners, (so you can watch one channel and record another), and the facility to schedule TV recording via the Internet. Read More
1 terabyte storage from Sony home server TV/PC
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The Vaio Type X home server debuted recently at the CEATEC 2004 convention in Japan. For around US $5000 it offers an entire rolling digital media library at your fingertips. Equipped with the 1-terabyte hard disk, the Sony VAIO Type X performs as an "audiovisual recording server." A terabyte, in case you don't know, is 2^40 = 1,099,511,627,776 bytes or 1024 gigabytes, so memory isn't an issue. And with the liberation of space comes a change in the viewing and usage patterns of Vaio customers that will transform the way they interact with their media and the medium itself. The device can record six channels of terrestrial analog broadcasts simultaneously, and the dedicated recording disk has enough space for one week of viewing pleasure. It also has a "television time machine" viewing function, allowing users to watch programs that have been recorded. They can also use the remote control to go back in time and arrange programs by genre, as well as enter key words to find their desired shows. Read More
New Bose system stores preferences, selects music
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With the digitisation of the world's entertainment content underway at warp speed, it seems logical that high-end audio system manufacturers should add new functionality to differentiate their wares from the MP3 jukebox functionality now becoming ubiquitous. On cue, Bose has released two new Lifestyle home entertainment systems that store, organise and select music, taking into account the preferences of up to nine household members, with the ability to expand the system to up to fourteen zones throughout the home. Interestingly, Bose has chosen to improve the convenience and usability of the system, not the quality of the sound - Bose's usual hallmark. It's an important breakthrough that "removes the barriers between the listening and the equipment." Read More
Sony Previews 2005 Grand Vega
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Sony's VEGA range has always been characterised by sleek design and advanced visual and audio technology. Early next year Sony will add to the stylish series with the release of the new KF range of LCD screens ranging from 42" to 60". Combining a Sony LCD Optical Engine with Sony's VEGA Engine, the new KF-Series produce a crisp, brilliant image quality that set these televisions apart from others on the market. Created for consumers seeking to maximise their home theatre viewing experience, the Grand VEGA television takes Sony's popular VEGA televisions to the next level with their stunning design and striking picture performance. Read More
Claro Holographic TV
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The CLARO represents the latest innovation in TV and display technology combined with a visual design aesthetic to introduce the TV system of the future - a transparent glass TV and media system utilising holographic technology.
The Holoscreen is a revolutionary holographic film which displays any image fed through a projector at a specific angle on to a transparent display. All other light is ignored. The result is a remarkably bright and sharp image quality - even in brightly lit environments. The screen is a 1.5m x 1.0m rectangle of 10mm glass with a 610mm x 814mm sheet of translucent attached to it. Any type of projector can be used to cast the image. To complete the futuristic setup, a pair of optional Ferguson Hill FH001 speakers can be positioned either side of the screen. Read More
Philips' New Line Of Flat Plasma And LCD TVs.
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Philips Australia has announced the availability of the two largest Philips plasma televisions to date, the 50PF9966 and 42PF9966. At the same time, they've released eleven new look flat television solutions for every room in the home, with sizes that extend to 50 inches in Plasma and 42 inches in LCD TV.
Highlighting key innovations in the new FlatTV range for 2004, these models feature Philips' own Ambilight and Pixel Plus 2 visual enhancing technologies. Philips is significantly extending its FlatTV range to match consumers' growing demand for flat, slim and widescreen televisions, modern design and advanced picture quality. Read More
KiRo- The autonomous table soccer player.
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Meet KiRo- the completely autonomous table soccer playing robot that rivals all but the most nimble foosball freaks.
KiRo was developed at the institute for computer science at the University of Freiburg in Germany and was conceived for the purposes of research into the foundations of robotics and artificial intelligence (nice excuse guys). KiRo is capable of playing table soccer on a competitive level through a combination of various technologies built around a commercially available table soccer table.
It consists of four individually mountable custom made control units, a safety light grid, a camera overlooking the table and a standard personal computer. Using the camera it perceives the playing field and depending upon the current game situation, it decides how the rods under its control should be moved. Read More
Gamepod chair offers "reality experiences"
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The quest for reality experiences from our digital entertainment devices seems to be a reliable trend, and heaven knows where we'll be with this quest a decade from now. Gizmo recently reported on the D-Box ''motion simulator'' for home theatres which synchronises the movement of the viewer's seat to the action on screen. Now there's a similar much cheaper (thoiugh less functional) device being incorporated a plush lounge chair known as the Gamepod that heightens the sensual experience of video games through high quality speakers and tactile sound technology embedded in the chair. Read More
The Digital Video Recorder a threat to television advertising
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The era of the digital video recorder is looming large as new research studies emerging from the US indicate that 15% of all Internet households have connected their computers to a TV or stereo, that DVR users spend 60% of their TV time watching recorded programs and that when watching recorded programs, they skip 92% of commercials. Further, 75% of households with these PC/CE connections play music on their PC through a stereo and over 40% have viewed digital photos on their TV. "Music and imaging applications are much more important than video to these consumers," said John Barrett, director of research for Parks Associates. "People don't need a computer to watch video on their TV. However, they do need a computer if they want to view digital photos on their TV." Read More
A new lease of life for the colour TV?
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An Israeli company specialising in visual technology is looking to redefine the quality of colour TV screens, monitors and display units, a move that is bound to work harmoniously with the rising standards in digital TV and other digital media. While the move from black and white to colour TV sets seemed an obvious one fifty years ago, developers at Genoa have taken the existing five decade-long standard of RGB colour (red, green and blue) and replaced it with, well, more colour. Six colours! Read More
Set Top Box technology offers advert screenings for television
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Peter Vogel, the man who invented the world famous Fairlight Music Synthesiser has developed a new set-top box technology which addresses two of the most persistent and widespread consumer demands regarding TV - the managing (indeed, complete elimination if required) of commercials, and the organisation of recording TV shows. Read More
Colour TV's 50th Birthday
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It was 50 years ago this month that the first colour television set was manufactured by RCA and the invention began its march to ubiquity in many countries. Read More
Apple iPOD mini announced
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Apple has finally announced the iPOD mini, after months of strong rumours suggesting the highly successful iPOD range was to be extended downwards. Simultaneously, the iPod range has been extended upwards - we are currently awaiting pricing details for the iPod range. Read More
Stylish New LCD TV Turns Heads
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One of the stars of the 2002 RACV Home Show was the Sharp AQUOS LCD flat-screen television. Gizmo watched as the AQUOS, which lacks photogenic pizzaz but has real visual presence... Read More
B&O's Glimpse of the Future
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The 1966 sci-fi film Fahrenheit 451 was the first to feature a futuristic, flat, widescreen TV hanging on the wall. Science fiction has now become reality with the release of the Bang & Olufsen BeoVision 5, the first plazma TV to hit the market complete with integrated tuner and speakers. Read More
SlimAudio MP3 Player
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At roughly the size of a credit card, the SlimAudio MP3 player is the smallest available at just 61mm x 91mm x 5mm and it weighs just six grams. It won a 2002 CES innovation award due to its size & compression algorithm which trebles equivalent storage capacity. See www.lucktechnology.co.kr. Read More
Bang & Olufsen BeoSound 2 MP3 System
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Combining advanced technological function with exquisite form is this new MP3 system from Bang & Olufsen - the BeoSound 2. Not much larger than a piece of jewellery and equally as beautiful, the Beosound2's tiny screenless stainless steel case fits in the palm of a hand, and the functions behind the control buttons were immediately evident. Apart from an exquisite tactile quality, it has the best set of three-way adjustable earpod headphones we've ever seen. Read More
