Filed under: Displays, HDTV, Home Entertainment

Thin is in at IFA 2008, and Sharp’s LCD lineup leads off with the super-skinny XS1 Aquos series LCD. A 23mm thick 1080p 52- or 65-inch panel packing 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio, 100Hz motion processing and detachable speaker system, halves it’s previous 5cm ideal from Might of this year. Old school fat LCD fans can look forward to the D65E line, pulling 20,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio and claiming an “environmentally conscious design” for Sharp’s premium range, in sizes from 32- to 52-inch models, with prices to match from €899 to €2299. Of course, none of this would be right without a matching Blu-ray player, and Sharp has announced the BD-HP21H, a Bonus View Profile 1.1 model with a quick-start mode, but like the XS1 lacks pricing info that would make it so much juicier. All are due in the UK in October, we should hope for more details before then.

UPDATE: Add a few more zeros onto that contrast ratio — 1,000,000:1 — Thanks, celle!

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Filed under: Displays, HDTV

IFA’s apparently given Toshiba just the opportunity necessary to refresh its line of Regza LCDs, for those without the Resolution+ itch with a few new sizes and features. The existing entry-level XV line of 1080p LCDs gets 46- and 52-inch models, plus a gloss black design that helps it fit in at the Regza family reunion. The brand new RV line of 1080p LCDs bring similar features to the ZF Series, sans Resolution+ technology and one HDMI port, but with Active Vision M100 HD 100/120Hz 5:5 pulldown image processing intact. 37-, 42- and 46-inch sizes are confirmed for the October Euro launch, prices and U.S. availability for both TBD.

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Filed under: Displays, HDTV, Home Entertainment

As expected, Toshiba is offering a new (supposed) world’s first here at IFA: a true upscaling Television, finally getting rid of the middle man for upconverting those SD sources. The new ZF Series LCDs include Cell processors and Toshiba’s home grown Resolution+ technology, which does similar edge and detail enhancement to Toshiba’s XDE upscaler — sharpening detail, smoothing edges, and leaving the rest of the image alone — but with the added fun of Cell power in the mix. As for the actual displays, Toshiba will be shipping the 40ZF575D (40-inch) and the 46ZF575D (46-inch), both offering 1080p, 30,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio, 6ms response times and Active Vision M100 HD 100Hz 5:5 pulldown processing, along with four HDMI plugs, component video, RGB and Computer input. Right now this is just a Europe launch, and we don’t have exact ship dates or pricing, but hopefully Toshiba will soon rectify that.

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By Luke Anderson

We’ve seen a lot of crazy alarm clocks that have creative ways to wake you up from your slumber, however, I think this is one of the first I’ve seen that actually interacts with other appliances in your room. This duo of devices works with one another to not only create an audible wakeup call, but a visual one as well.

The Room Tech Beingz Alarm Clock (seen on the left) will light up its feet in warning before opening its jaw and blaring out noises that should surely wake you up in addition to beating its arms on your nightstand. What really makes this clock interesting is that it will actually signal its partner the Mood Lamp (on the right) to turn on to its full brightness if they’re within 15 feet of each other. If that doesn’t wake you up, I don’t know what will. Each device will set you back $40, making the whole package an $80 investment.

[ Hasbro Toy Shop ] VIA [ Dvice ]

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By Andrew Liszewski

Most teens can’t wait for the day when they’re old enough to drive. I was just the opposite. In fact, it was my parents who eventually forced me to go to driver’s ed, which turned out to be a really crappy way to spend a Summer. I’m pretty sure they just wanted another driver in the home, but not having to drop me off or pick me up all the time was also a massive incentive. So if you’re in a similar situation, and are getting exhausted of serving as your kid’s personal taxi driver, installing this novelty taxi meter in your vehicle will probably encourage them to reconsider taking public transit.

It attaches to your dashboard via a set of adhesive strips, and while the meter does keep a running total while you drive, instead of requiring a cash payment when you drop your children off, it comes with a set of ‘forfeit cards’ which feature very special payments like “tidy your room” or “make father a cup of tea.” I think the embarrassment factor of just having this installed on your dashboard is enough to discourage your kids from harassing you for a ride, and getting them to help out around the home is just an added bonus. You can pick one up from Gizoo for about $18.

[ Dad’s Cab ] VIA [ Coolest Gadgets ]

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Filed under: Displays, HDTV

Panasonic’s welcoming you to the future of plasma HDTV, starting along with the stunning 150-inch 4K plasma, that is, surprisingly enough more massive than its old 103-inch model (shocking, we know) leading to the debut of three “super thin” plasma prototypes measuring 24.7mm deep in 50-inch and, for what it claims is the first time, 58- and 65-inch sizes that also include Wireless HD. One-fourth the thickness of current Panasonic models and one-half the weight combined with no wires leads Panasonic to believe we’ll be able to reorganize the living room shortly, without silly mounting issues and need to run cables. If that fails to inspire, how about a 42-inch prototype that claims twice the luminance efficiency and the same brightness as its current 42-inch 1080p model while only sipping half the power — if that’s a concern. Check out more pics after the break.

Continue reading Panasonic IFA 2008 plasma prototypes: super thin, super green, super big

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Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment

Say hello to the successors of the short-lived Panasonic DMP-BD50, the new DMP-BD35 (above) and DMP-BD55 (after the break) check off every feature we can think of for a new Blu-ray player, complete with a slim profile (49mm high on the BD35) and hopefully low, low price thanks to a 45nm 3rd-generation UniPhier processor. Dolby TrueHD, Dolby Digital Plus and DTS-HD MA audio support, with internal decoding or bitstreamed output in full 7.1 (plus 7.1 analog audio outs on the DMP-BD55) on top of fully BD-Live / Profile 2.0 compatible hardware finally promise no-compromise hardware for Blu-ray buyers. Release dates and pricing information? Your guess is as good as ours, for now.

Continue reading Panasonic DMP-BD35 & DMP-BD55 Blu-ray players officially official, still unpriced

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By Jonathan Kimak

So Medis has been promising a portable fuel cell charger for years. Now it’s finally available on the internet and will soon be seen in stores like Best Purchase.

The Power Pack is a fuel cell that can be used to charge your electronics anywhere and at anytime. The Starter pack comes with a fuel cell and all the adapters required to charge the batteries for laptops, cell phones and mp3 players. The fuel cell is good for 30 hours of speaking or 60-80 hours of mp3 player use.

The cells are disposable(or recyclable if you like) and you can buy replacement packs that contain just the fuel cell.

$29.99 for the Starter kit and $19.99 for the replacement packs.

[ Medis Power Pack ] VIA [ Engadget ]

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Filed under: Displays, HDTV

Sony’s XBR6 / XBR7 / XBR8 models are still waiting in the wings for their U.S. debut, but along with HDTVs that push the extremes in thin and fast, the company announced these more conventional models it’s deemed “the highest quality BRAVIA HDTVs in history.” The XR1 (read: XBR8) series will feature a 1,000,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio (3,000:1 static) courtesy of those new TRILUMINOS three-color LEDs, 10-bit BRAVIA Engine 2 processing and Motionflow 120Hz technology. If you can live without 240Hz or WHDI, the 1080p 55-inch edition runs

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By Jonathan Kimak

There are probably more iPod docks in the world than there are iPods. So the fact that there is another dock on the market isn’t surprising. Yet this one looks rather nice. The Xi jukebox was created specifically for housing the iPod in a full scale 1950’s inspired jukebox.

The jukebox contains the traditional numbered buttons, some nice speakers(Mk7 Twin channel amplifier, 150w per channel, 2 x tweeter 2 x mid range and 1 x 12 twin cone bass speaker), an LCD display screen for viewing the videos on your iPod and a remote control.

Each jukebox is hand built to order and also features LED lights throughout that can be changed depending on your preferences.

The price? Close to $11,000.

[ Xi Jukebox ] VIA [ Born Rich ]

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