Friday, May 06, 2005
BenQ’s FP72V 17-inch monitor >
We got to take a gander at BenQ’s FP72V monitor at
CES, but it looks like the display is only now making it
out to market—lucky us! A quick refresher: it’s the one with Senseye, that ambient-light sensing auto-contrast /
brightness control system; it’s also got a 1000:1 contrast ratio, integrated USB 2.0 hub, and attachable speakers and
webcam. We might like if they’d take it upon themselves to break out a 17-inch screen that’s not merely SXGA (1280 x
1024) but we’ll find a way to go on living. We always do.
[Via BIOS]
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Thursday, May 05, 2005
The Clicker: Single Frequency Networks and OTA HDTV >
Every Thursday Stephen Speicher contributes
The Clicker, a weekly column on
television and technology:
One look at the eye-popping picture and you were hooked. The window-like effect dazzled you. You all but drooled
over the rock-solid picture. There’s no snow. There’s no ghosting. The resolution is to die for. You saw the light and
its name was High-Definition. There’s only one problem: you can’t seem to pull in a reliable OTA (over-the-air)
signal.
Oh sure, cable is an alternative for many. However, over the years, you’ve been spoiled; you’re hooked on your PVR.
And, as a connoisseur of PVRs, you understand that the cable companies offer anemic light-weight versions. You demand
more. You’re not happy unless you’ve got your TiVo or your MCE (Microsoft Media Center Edition). You’ve even been known
to utter the phrase, “They’ll have to rip my TiVo out of my cold dead hands.” Worse yet, you meant it – LITERALLY.
Continue reading “The Clicker: Single Frequency Networks and OTA HDTV”
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Wednesday, May 04, 2005
Gamer’s verdict on the new iMac G5: better. >
Gaming on the Mac is admittedly a niche market. Still, plenty of Mac-heads are eager to get their game on, and Macworld’s take on the new iMac G5 update is that this is the best iMac for gaming seen yet. The biggest arbiter in the decision is the switch from the nVidia GeForce FX 5200 graphics subsystem to the ATI Radeon 9600, along with the video RAM doubling to 128MB. The increased gaming performance is a bit of a side effect of catering to Tiger’s new Core Image technology, designed for the demands of video and image processing. Still, regardless of reason, the improvements to the graphics subsystem on the iMac seem to be appealing to Mac game developers, which means better Mac games might not be too far behind.
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Tuesday, May 03, 2005
LG’s new 50PY2DR and 60PY2DR plasma TVs with built-in DVR >
LG’s new line of plasma TVs with built-in digital video recorders hits stores today. The new PY2DR series comes in 50-inch and 60-inch versions, both of which sport integrated 160GB hard drives capable of recording up to 13 hours of HDTV and 63 hours of standard-definition programming. Each display comes with a built-in ATSC tuner for recording over-the-air HDTV and a flash memory card reader for looking at digital photos or listening to MP3s on your giant TV, but what’s really promising is that these new displays are also compatible with CableCARD, which means you should be able to directly record digital cable TV without having to deal with an external set-top box (something we’re dying to be able to do with our TiVo and our Media Center PC). All that integrated goodness will cost ya—the 50PY2DR and the 60PY2DR will set you back $7,999 and $14,999, respectively.
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The Hilton Technology Room >
No, for once we’re not talking about our favorite gadget goddess — we’re talking Hilton as in hotel. It may be no Abu Dhabi, but the Hilton thinks it’s got a pretty sweet suite in its Technology Room, outfitted with some of the latest and greatest in emergent tech. They’re calling it their “laboratory” for gathering customer feedback on cutting edge technology. We’re not exactly sure who would complain about being set up with any of the toys stashed away in there, including a 70-inch projection screen with Bose home theater 5-channel surround sound, sonically matched cube speaker arrays, satellite and high def programming, and a couple of wireless touchscreen remotes to control the whole works (including the LCD flat-panel above the hot tub, of course). If only they’d invite us (as it is by invitation only, at this point), we would be happy to provide some constructive feedback. From the hot tub.
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Friday, April 29, 2005
The Pavilion MD6580n, HP’s 65-inch DLP TV >
We logged a few hours at the Home Entertainment Show yesterday afternoon, not a ton of major stuff (some big players like Sony decided to skip out this year) but we did get a chance to get up close and personal with the Pavilion MD6580n, HP’s new 65-inch microdisplay DLP TV. Not sure who’s actually building these for HP, but the MD6580n specs out quite nicely: 1080p, 8500:1 contrast ratio, HDMI, and support for CableCARD. Should be out sometime in July or August.
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The HL-R6768W, Samsung’s 67-inch DLP TV >
Samsung announced something like twenty new TVs yesterday, including six new LCDs, but the real biggie (both literally and figuratively) is the HL-R678W, a new 67-incher which supposedly ranks as the world’s largest DLP TV (and we’re inclined to believe them). Better still, the HL-R6768W rocks the 1080p, which is more or less the holy grail for HDTVs (at least when it comes to resolution), built-in NTSC and ATSC tuners, dual HDMI inputs, and support for CableCARD. Should hit stores in June with an MSRP of $6,199.
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Thursday, April 28, 2005
The Clicker: From analog to digital >
Every Thursday Stephen Speicher contributes
The Clicker, a weekly column on
television and technology:
Whether we’re talking about OpenCable, the Broadcast Flag, or a myriad of other FCC-related topics, we’re really
only talking about one thing: MONEY. Specifically, we’re talking about the billions of dollars that are the center-flag
in the big tug-of-war game that is the “analog” spectrum.
Quite simply – the government wants the analog spectrum back and broadcasters aren’t in any rush to relinquish it.
Throw in a big helping of politicians being, well, politicians and we’ve got ourselves one heck of a picnic.
But let’s back up for a moment and lay some groundwork.
Continue reading “The Clicker: From analog to digital”
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Gateway’s new FPD1560, FPD1760, and FPD1960 LCD monitors >
Looks like Gateway’s got three new budget 4:3 aspect ratio (sigh) LCDs out today: their 15-inch FPD1560 sports a
SXGA resolution (not bad for a 15-incher!) for $209 MSRP; their 17-inch FTD1760 also sports a 1280 x 1024 res, but a
$299 pricetag; finally, their 19-inch FPD1950, yet another SXGA display, only this time for $399. Sure, they could be
doing better here, but once the sales and rebates get underway you can get these things are going to be for serious on
the cheap.
[Via Cnet]
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HP’s Visual Fidelity home entertainment swarm >
We’re likely to see a whole mess of home entertainment related gear the next couple days, and HP’s kicking us off with a whole slew of gear. They’ve got a new line of microdisplay rear-projection Pavilion TVs due late this summer in 58 and 65-inch 1080p, as well as 50 and 58-inch 720p resolutions (both progressive formats? Nice!); 42 and 50-inch Pavilion plasma EDTVs; 26, 32, and 37-inch Pavilion LCD TVs—and apparently all their new digital TVs will roll with CableCARD, too. The bigger news, however, is that their z555 and z557 high-def Digital Entertainment Center PCs are finally coming out (we saw the z555 at CES); we can expect a full complement of three tuners (one ATSC, two NTSC), a 250GB and two 300GB drives, respectively, for some serious Windows Media Center 2005 goodness.
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Tritton SEE2 USB 2.0 adapter converts USB to SVGA >
Want to add a second display to that Windows PC without having to install another graphics card? The Tritton SEE2
USB 2.0 SVGA Adapter will let you connect a monitor to your PC’s USB port, doubling your display space. The $99 unit
does have some limitations, though. USB 2.0 isn’t fast enough to drive graphics-intensive games or DirectX, and if you
want 32-bit color, you’re limited to 800x600 (and forget about DVI, though you can run analog LCDs). Yes, we know
installing a second graphics card can be cheaper and more versatile, but for ease of setup — or for laptop users who
want to connect two external displays, this doesn’t seem like a bad way to go.
[Thanks, Nick]
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Wednesday, April 27, 2005
AnandTech: Dell 2005fpw vs. Apple Cinema Display 20-inch >
By now it’s no secret that Dell’s 2005fpw and
Apple’s 20-inch Cinema Display use the
exact same LG.Philips LCD (literally, it’s part# LM201W01). Of course, that 100%+ price differential can be a bit hard
to swallow with the Dell going for as little as $350 on sale, and the Apple only today cutting their prices on the
screen to $800, so AnandTech asked (and answered) whether Apple’s is actually any better than Dell’s. The conclusion?
We won’t keep you in suspense—they scored near identically in all verticals, but the Dell edged out on its price,
which is more than marginal difference.
[Thanks, Tomur]
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Sharp introduces three new AQUOS LCD TVs >
Sharp introduced a couple of new AQUOS LCD TVs today, available (as you’ve probably guessed by
now) in 22, 26, and 45-inch varieties. Detailed specs are a bit hard to come by but it looks like the 26 and
45-inch models are both HDMI compatible and have a resolution for 1920x1080. Akihabara News also says the the top
end model will cost 4700 EUR, or just over $6,000.
[Via Akihabara News]
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Apple cuts Cinema Display prices >
Not sure it’s quite enough to sway us from Dell’s coupon-ridden dirt-cheap 20-inch 2005fpw and 24-inch 2405fpw counterparts, but to go along with those fresh spec updates on their Power Mac G5s today, Apple’s also slashed prices on their 20 and 23-inch Cinema Displays to $800 and $1,500, respectively. Can’t hurt!
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Tuesday, April 26, 2005
Fujitsu’s going perpendicular >
First Hitachi, then Seagate and Toshiba, now it looks like Fujitsu’s hopped on the
perpendicular drive recording bandwagon (dude, that
flash movie is obviously having a seriously profound
effect on the tech industry), announcing plans for a 200GB 2.5-inch drive by early 2007. Funny, we assumed we’d be
seeing 200GB 2.5-inch drives any day now anyhow, can’t you at least try and totally blow us away with some
vaporware hyperbole, guys?
[Via The Inq]
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