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1080p posts

ASUS O!Play AIR HDP-R3 arrives with WiFi and card reader

by Darren Murph posted Nov 6th 2009 at 10:06AM

We had a sneak peek at ASUS' BR-HD3 just a week few back, and rather than holding out on us any longer, it looks as if the company has come forward to make things official. The O!Play Air HDP-R3 isn't a tremendous update from the previous edition, though the addition of 802.11n WiFi and a multimedia card reader are certainly appreciated. Reportedly, the media player packs an HDMI 1.3 socket, support for just about every file format known to man and a respectable price tag of around €90 ($133). Too bad the Yanks in attendance are left in the lurch.

[Via Engadget Spanish]

ViewSonic's VMP70 media player does 1080p for less than a hundie

by Tim Stevens posted Nov 5th 2009 at 7:41AM

The WD TV is still more or less the king of the tiny media player boxes, but now Viewsonic is getting into the game at a lower price point -- and minus the whole network compatibility bit. The VMP70 is a "direct connect" media device, so it will play content from your choice of USB-compatible storage, pumping it at up to 1080p to your display over HDMI or component cables, also sporting composite for lower-def fare. It packs an S/PDIF port to get clean audio, and supports a slew of formats including the usual suspects (DivX,Xvid,H.264) along with some slightly less usual ones (RM/RMVB, DTS, OGG). It's all available for an MSRP of $129.99, but order now and you'll get special holiday pricing of $98.99. Operators are standing by... somewhere... probably.

Gallery: Viewsonic's VMP70 Media Player

HDI's laser-driven 3D HDTV hits production, should ship next year

by Darren Murph posted Oct 30th 2009 at 4:28PM

When we first caught wind of HDI's "world's first laser-based 3D HDTV," we were cautiously hopeful that it'd be ready to go (at least as a prototype) at CES 2010. Looks like we may actually get our wish, as the company has today announced that its magical set has reached the manufacturing stage. What's it all mean? It means that the set is being fast-tracked for release in 2010, meaning that you're just months away from having stereoscopic 1,920 x 1,080 content in your living room... provided there's actually any programming to view, that is. Of course, it'll handle the 2D stuff too, and the twin RGP LCoS micro-display imagers in there ought to provide plenty of crisp imagery regardless of the source. We're still not sure if the Woz-approved 100-inch version that's being shown to curious onlookers is the size that'll be pumped out to the mainstream, but we're hoping for at least a few smaller siblings for those of us with last names other than Kennedy, Gates, Buffet and Ellison.

Gallery: HDI's laser-driven 3D HDTV hits production, should ship next year

Continue reading HDI's laser-driven 3D HDTV hits production, should ship next year

ASUS working up BR-HD3 wireless HDMI streamer

by Darren Murph posted Oct 19th 2009 at 12:57PM

ASUS has been toying around with wireless transmissions to displays for a hot minute now, and it sure looks as if the outfit is fixing to pick up where the Belkin FlyWire left off by introducing the BR-HD3. Currently in testing, the wireless HDMI streamer is said to pass along 1080p content "with no lag," though there's currently no official range to speak of. The real kicker, however, is the price. The aforesaid FlyWire -- which worked amazingly in the trade show demos that we saw -- was priced at $1,499, which is obviously far too much for most consumers. This box? £399 ($654), and it could be out as early as next month. Unfortunately, the device only supports a single HDMI input (so you can forget about connecting your Blu-ray player and Xbox 360 at the same time), but ASUS is planning to introduce a three-port version in June 2010 as well as a niche spinoff in Q1 that'll wirelessly stream one source to three HDTVs.

[Thanks, Anonymous]

Patriot's $130 Box Office 1080p media player streams on the cheap

by Darren Murph posted Oct 18th 2009 at 7:02AM

Eying a Popcorn Hour device, are you? We know Patriot isn't exactly the first name you think of when pondering your next media streamer, but the $129.99 price tag affixed to the black box shown above definitely piqued our interest. Like most of its rivals, this one features a 2.5-inch HDD slot (though you'll need to bring your own drive, obviously), a trio of USB sockets, 10/100 Ethernet for content streaming, UPnP support, a rather decent file support list and a bundled remote. There's also an optional USB WiFi adapter for those not keen on running 80 feet of Ethernet cabling through their den, and while the GUI won't revolutionize your life, it certainly ain't bad given the low barrier to entry. Too bad it's still stuck in that painful-to-watch "pre-order" stage, huh?

[Via thegadgetsite]

Acer's Atom 330, Win7-packin' AspireRevo now shipping to America

by Darren Murph posted Oct 16th 2009 at 12:10PM

Acer's been on quite the rampage of late, pumping out more machines during this week before the Windows 7 launch than in the past few months combined. The latest rig to get the a-okay from the shipping department is the refreshed AspireRevo R3610-U9012, a machine which was originally outed back at IFA. This one ups the ante over the former with a 1.66GHz dual-core Atom 330 (as opposed to an Atom 230), Windows 7 Home Premium, NVIDIA Ion graphics, 2GB of DDR2 RAM, a 160GB hard drive, six USB 2.0 sockets, an HDMI port, eSATA connector, VGA, multicard reader and gigabit Ethernet. There's also WiFi, audio in / out and a bundled wireless keyboard and mouse, though all that oomph in such a small package will cost you $329.99 to bring home.

Samsung showing off 55 inches of 240Hz 3D LCD glory

by Vladislav Savov posted Oct 14th 2009 at 5:49AM

Look, we know this 3D thing is as likely to sink as it is to swim right now, but we have to hand it to Samsung -- it's pursuing the idea with some pretty hefty ambition. A 55-inch 1080p panel with a true 240Hz refresh rate is a decent base on which to build your paradigm-shifting new offering. Using a set of "shutter" glasses, which rapidly alternate between blocking out the left and right eye, the set is capable of delivering the full 240Hz quality, debatable as its benefits may be. Of course, the value or otherwise of a TV like this is going to be found only by experiencing its output in person, so if you're somewhere near Seoul this week, head on down to the IMID 2009 conference to get an eyeful of an early model.

Sanyo unleashes two iFrame compatible Dual HD camcorders

by Laura June posted Oct 14th 2009 at 12:48AM

Sanyo's just unleashed two new full HD camcorders -- the VPC-HD2000A and the VPC-FH1A. Both of these babies boast 1080p and 1080i recording at 60 fps, plus iFrame recording at a 960 x 540 resolution and 30 frames per second and 8 megapixel still shooting with 10x optical zoom. The cams are the first to offer iFrame compatibility, a 'next gen' format designed for easy importing, editing and sharing of video -- and hey, Apple just released an iMovie update adding iFrame compatibility, so the timing is spot-on for those of us aching to ditch the super-lameness of AVCHD. The VPC-FH1A has a 3-inch LCD and HDMI output, while the VPC-HD2000A has a 2.7-inch LCD. They're both available now, with the FH1A running $499.99 and the HD2000A $599.99. Full press release is after the break.

Continue reading Sanyo unleashes two iFrame compatible Dual HD camcorders

Panasonic's 1080p twin-lens P2 camcorder seen behind three-dee glass at CEATEC

by Darren Murph posted Oct 6th 2009 at 11:29PM

We can't say for certain how good it feels to hoist this big-faced behemoth onto one's shoulder, but it's the first time we've seen Panasonic's 1080p twin-lens P2 3D camcorder out and about since its fabled introduction at NAB earlier this year. Strategically placed beside a 3D Avatar trailer demo, the camcorder looked exactly like the press shot we saw of the prototype before, though there's still no formal word on when it'll be used to film your friend's Bar Mitzvah (or anything else half as cool). A boy can dream, yeah?

Gallery: Panasonic's 1080p twin-lens P2 camcorder seen behind three-dee glass at CEATEC

Panasonic's 50-inch 1080p 3D plasma spotted, watched at CEATEC

by Darren Murph posted Oct 6th 2009 at 10:26PM

At this point, Panasonic's 50-inch 3D plasma is just another one joining the fray, but considering how highly hyped the technology behind this was, we couldn't pass up an opportunity to throw our eyes on it for a bit at CEATEC. The 1080p panel was strikingly thin (or well mounted to give that impression), and the viewing angles were fantastic. The glasses that Panny provided, however, were relatively annoying (no surprise there). It should be noted that the actual spectacles sit pretty far off of your face, which simultaneously enables those with actual glasses to partake in the 3D experience while frustrating those without by giving them a cute blue rim that refuses to leave the periphery. As for image quality, the G-Force demo looked downright stunning, with depth being easily perceived and fast moving action whisking about seamlessly. Still, we're having a hard time believing a family of four would sit down and use these glasses for a two-hour presentation, but hey, we're not going to give up on the marketing squads just yet.

Gallery: Panasonic's 50-inch 1080p 3D plasma spotted, watched at CEATEC

Samsung's ION-enriched N510 reviewed approvingly, still needs price trim

by Vladislav Savov posted Sep 30th 2009 at 6:39PM

We dare say NVIDIA's ION platform hasn't been the quickest to go from announcement to market availability, but at long last we're seeing a number of pretty decent options cropping up. The Samsung N510 is a great test case for the prowess of the chipset, as it boasts the otherwise entirely unremarkable Atom N280, 1GB RAM and 160GB HDD spec, meaning that whatever performance gains it exhibits will be down to the ION infrastructure. Unsurprisingly, the 11.6-inch machine showed marked improvements over standard netbooks in the graphics department, with hardware-accelerated 1080p video decoding and mildly graphically-intensive games made possible. With six and a half hours of battery life and a matte 1366 x 768 screen, the N510 was well received by the PC Pro team, who could only bemoan the uncompetitive pricing of £382 (about $613). Hit the read link for their full impressions.

VholdR ContourHD1080p helmet cam announced, we go hands-on

by Tim Stevens posted Sep 29th 2009 at 12:00PM

If you live in the north you've probably noted a chill in the air. The leaves are turning, the days are shortening, and anybody with a pair of skiis or a snowboard in the closet is walking with a bit of a spring in their step. A whole new season of extreme powdery antics is just a few months away, and for those looking to capture those antics -- or those on the streets, up in the air, or anywhere else in between -- a rugged helmet camera is the way to go. Earlier this year we got a chance to run the 720p-recording ContourHD through a few helmeted trials, and now we've been given exclusive access to test the company's new version, the ContourHD1080p. The name tells you the biggest news here, full 1080p recording in a tiny package, but there's more to it than just pixels. Read on for the full details, and a video of a couple of dudes jumping off a cliff.

Gallery: VholdR's ContourHD1080p

Continue reading VholdR ContourHD1080p helmet cam announced, we go hands-on

GoPro releases first footage from 1080p HD Hero Wide helmet cam

by Tim Stevens posted Sep 29th 2009 at 8:03AM

GoPro announced its 1080p HD Hero Wide helmet cam earlier this year, back when people were jumping off of high things and speeding around other things whilst wearing helmets. Now the summer adventure season is drawing to a close, the winter one is starting to develop, and the company has released a series of high-def, high-adrenaline clips to show what that camera can do -- most filmed when the days were still long and the sun still high. Sadly the videos are not embeddable, but click on that read link for your morning dose of speed. The company has also released a good bit of information about the cam, that it's 30fps at the full 1080p or an optional 60fps mode at 720p. 720p footage is recorded at a particularly wide 170 degrees, while 1080p footage is slightly less wide (though still rather broad) 127. Also, the company promises that the microphone will actually be usable at speed, a rarity in this sort of device. It's all slated to ship this fall, and we look forward to putting one through its paces then.

Best Buy bringing value priced all-in-one 32-inch LCD & Blu-ray HDTV to stores "soon"

by Richard Lawler posted Sep 23rd 2009 at 6:09PM

It's not that surprising to learn Best Buy will be among those delivering a 1080p LCD with Blu-ray disc player packed in under its Insignia store brand, as we've been expecting rebadged units from overseas to hit the value market for some time. Marked "coming soon" at $599, it's easily a few hundred less than a comparable model from Sharp, but buyers will have to live without some of the newer line items like 120Hz motion processing and a contrast ratio higher than 20,000:1. Though we don't expect a lot in terms of load times, audio support or other features (no specs on the Blu-ray player noted) we're sure a bedroom or dorm room somewhere will find a spot for the NS-LBD32X. Your move, Wal-mart.

[Thanks, Zach]

Point Grey puts USB 3.0 into a webcam, along with other telltale signs of over engineering

by Paul Miller posted Sep 19th 2009 at 8:58PM

We kid, we kid. We're sure it was totally necessary to put SuperSpeed USB 3.0 into this new desktop video camera to push uncompressed 1080p, 60 fps video to a computer. According to Point Grey, that unbridled bandwidth allows the camera to offload compression duties to the computer and allows for spiffy applications like face recognition and a general level of uncompressedness. At the heart of this camera is a 3 megapixel Sony IMX036 CMOS sensor, but we'll have to wait until IDF next week to get the lowdown on the rest of this camera's crazy ways -- and sure-to-be-crazy price.

[Via TG Daily]