Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment

We first stumbled upon a prototype of the DirecTV D-HR20P DVR at Electronic House Expo last year, but haven’t heard anything about it since then. Now with CEDIA coming up, a promo image of what could be the next evolution in this design has been leaked, the HR21 Pro. The DVR will reportedly handle 100 hours of high-def recording and output it at 1080p over optical HDMI, but lacks any over-the-air antenna inputs, probably due to DirecTV’s 100-channel rollout plan. We should see it in November, so clear out some rackmount space… you do have a rack to mount it in, right?

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

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Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment

It was only a matter of time until Blu-ray hit the home theater in a box systems. Sony is taking their HT-SF2000 HTIB, adding the BDP-S300, and throwing in the BD Spider-Man trilogy for kicks. The system is built for HDMI, as the receiver has three inputs and one out, so besides speaker wire, users aren’t going to have many cables to deal with. Plus, all that HDMI allows for auto-setup, in Sony’s parlance: Digital Cinema Auto Calibration. HTIB systems have never been known for their sound quality and something tells us this 1000W system is going to be exactly top-notch, but that said, if priced right, it could be a great option for some with limited budget and a need for Blu-ray. The HTP-BD2RSF is currently announce for the European market only at an unknown sum, but something tells us that Sony is going to drop sometime very similar at CEDIA next week.

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

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Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment

Not to be left out of this year’s HD device love-fest at IFA, German firm Loewe has a sexy yet silly named Blu-ray player surely only slightly more likely to gather respect than the American actor Rob of the same name. The BluTech Vision Blu-ray player features HDMI, 24p, TrueHD, DTS HD, 7.1 surround, although not much else is known — like where the hell you put the discs, or where the front display is. Guess Loewe’s home audience of Germany will find out when it’s released in October. One more shot after the break.

[Thanks, AG23]

Continue reading Loewe’s BluTech Vision Blu-ray player also lands

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

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Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment, Networking

First came the GejBox, then came Connected, and now the DSM-330 DivX Connected HD Media Player is checking in as the final version of DivX’s first foray into the hardware realm. Hooking up with D-Link, DivX has announced its first piece of kit designed to “enable the seamless streaming of media from digital devices directly to the television set.” Additionally, the DivX Connected platform — which includes built-in support for the Stage6 DivX video service — will indeed be open, thus allowing “consumers to access media content and services from the PC and internet through a range of consumer electronics devices.” Reportedly, the device is slated to hit the UK, France, and Germany in Q4 of this year, but details surrounding a pricetag and availability for the rest of us remain undisclosed.

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

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Like some sort of GPS-delivering Santa, Magellan has announced the upcoming release of seven new GPS units—all set to be available between September and October. In the 4200 series, the Maestro 4250—retailing for $500—offers integrated live traffic updates, a shiny, widescreen 4.3-inch display and Bluetooth capability, while the 4220 and 4200 models will cost slightly less but will lack features like the live traffic updates and voice control.

In the 3200 series, the Maestro 3250 is almost identical to the 4250, except it’s $100 cheaper and has a smaller, non-widescreen 3.5-inch display. The other models—the 3200, 3210 and 3220—are off-shoots of the 3250, with the same screen and less features, depending on price. The only real change with the newly-released GPS units, aside from some minor added features, is their size, which, dropping down to .7 inches in thickness, is a direct result of vomiting profusely after every left turn. [GPS Review]

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A shot of the new LG VX10000 was recently posted in the forums, revealing what could be the successor to Verizon’s enV branded phone. Other than a slightly sleeker design and what appears to be a larger screen, not much information is known. There is no word yet on pricing or availability.
[The Boy Genius Report via Howard Forums]

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Like some sort of GPS-delivering Santa, Magellan has announced the upcoming release of seven new GPS units—all set to be available between September and October. In the 4200 series, the Maestro 4250—retailing for $500—offers integrated live traffic updates, a shiny, widescreen 4.3-inch display and Bluetooth capability, while the 4220 and 4200 models will cost slightly less but will lack features like the live traffic updates and voice control.

In the 3200 series, the Maestro 3250 is almost identical to the 4250, except it’s $100 cheaper and has a smaller, non-widescreen 3.5-inch display. The other models—the 3200, 3210 and 3220—are off-shoots of the 3250, with the same screen and less features, depending on price. The only real change with the newly-released GPS units, aside from some minor added features, is their size, which, dropping down to .7 inches in thickness, is a direct result of vomiting profusely after every left turn. [GPS Review]

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These first shots of the Motorola Rokr E8 from zol.com.cn shows the unique keypad that Moto went with. Instead of regular keys, they’ve got little nubs that need to be back-illuminated. When you’re dialing, all the keys are lit; but when you’re playing music, the numbers are dimmed and only the music controls are bright. This could be even greater if the keys’ backlit images could change in the background, but it doesn’t seem like the E8 is advanced enough to do that. [Zol.com via IDNES via Phonearena]

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A shot of the new LG VX10000 was recently posted in the forums, revealing what could be the successor to Verizon’s enV branded phone. Other than a slightly sleeker design and what appears to be a larger screen, not much information is known. There is no word yet on pricing or availability.
[The Boy Genius Report via Howard Forums]

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The most startling thing about the new Bose SoundDock Portable is that it’s bigger than its forebear (though thankfully not heavier). The least startling thing about it is that it sounds better than the original.

If you look at the profile, especially, you can see that the SoundDock Portable stands about half an inch taller than the original. It has a slimmer look from the side, but there is a ridge down the back. I have to say, however much a lover or hater you are of Bose, the new machine is a vast improvement, even aside from portability:

• The old SoundDock hisses audibly when an iPod is docked, and gets louder when the volume is up. The new Portable has licked the problem almost completely. There’s a very faint hiss when you put your ear to it that won’t change regardless of the volume setting.

• The auxiliary input is key. For some apartment dwellers, this might be their whole sound system, and being able to plug in other stuff (satellite radio, CD/DVD player, etc.) really matters. I always assumed Bose avoided Aux In because it might mean lost sales opportunities. I suppose, now that the new SoundDock costs $100 more, Bose is willing to take that risk.

• The new remote is better built, with more substantial buttons, including two additional ones dedicated to skipping from one playlist to the next. As a playlist kind of guy, I like this.
• The sound comparison was the most telling. The previous SoundDock has notoriously suffered from a fairly weak stereo image, not enough midrange and a lack of sonic resolution. Bose has definitely read all of the commentary, because those are the three areas that have been improved. The bass levels are about the same, but at higher volumes you get a much richer sound with the Portable, a much more open stereo feel, and a sense of coherence and clarity that you just don’t get on the original. In fact, when I was doing side-by-side comparisons, it occasionally sounded like the original SoundDock was playing from the bottom of a well.

I will acknowledge here that I haven’t tested the SoundDock Portable against any docks from other makers, and it may be a while before Mark Wilson is up for another Sweet Sixteen. In the meantime, at the very least it’s good to know that the extra $100 isn’t just for the lithium-ion battery—which I probably wouldn’t make any use of—but for a much improved device overall. It really should be called, simply, SoundDock II. [Original Story]

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