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Home Entertainment

01 November 2007

Over the last week or so, we've seen a number of retailers drop the price of Toshiba's second-gen HD DVD player below $200. As if that wasn't cheap enough, Walmart will be offering the Toshiba HD-A2 this Friday for a mere $98.87.


Take note that this is an in-store special so it is unlikely that you'll be able to order the HD-A2 through Walmart's website at this price. Also, this price is not valid in Wisconsin, Oklahoma or Utah as it is illegal to sell items for less than cost in these states. According to the manager at my local Walmart, those that live in these states will be able to pick the player up for about $198.

Needless to say, there will probably be a mob of people outside of your local Walmart tomorrow morning. Be prepared to get there early and wait in line.

Update - Best Buy has also lowered the price of the HD-A2 down to $99.99. There doesn't appear to be a limitation for those, like myself, that live in Wisconsin either. Add a comment

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Other

31 October 2007

3DConnexion SpaceNavigator @Metku.net
Altec Lansing PT8051 Wireless Theater System @I4U
Antec Veris Fusion Black HTPC Case @Tweaknews.net
Lian Li PC-B58 Mid-Tower Case @Benchmark Reviews
Rosewill RDF-670B Digital Picture Frame @Futurelooks
SoundGraph iMON Ultra Bay LCD Display @Virtual-Hideout
Thermaltake Bigwater 760i Water Cooling Kit @HardwareLogic
ZEROtherm BTF92 OC Edition CPU Cooler @ ThinkComputers.org

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Optical Storage

31 October 2007

ASUS has announced the release of their new HD DVD-ROM drive. The HR-0205T is capable of playing back both single and double HD DVD-ROM media at 2.4x and is backwards compable with most existing CD and DVD formats. With an operating noise of only 21.1 dB, ASUS also claims that the HR-0205T is the quietest optical drive on the market.

Catering to users who need an optical disc drive that is able to provide high definition movie playback, versatile multi-functionality and quiet operations, ASUS, leading producer of multimedia products, has today released the new ASUS HR-0205T Optical Disc Drive. This new generation HD DVD ROM drive supports reading data from DVD+R/RW/DVD-R/RW formats, and is the quietest ODD in the market, operating at a mere 21.1 dB - providing users with the best HD movie playback entertainment experience.

The HR-0205T is able to support 2.4X HD DVD ROM/2.4X HD DVD ROM(DL)/2.4X HD DVD-R Read, 5X DVD±R/ 5X DVD+RW/ 5X DVD-RW/ 5X DVD±R (DL), 15X CD-R/ 15X CD-RW; and 15X DVD-ROM/ 15X CD-ROM Read formats - giving the user maximum flexibility and support for any type of disc media.

No word yet on pricing or availability. As we find out more, we'll let you know. In the mean time, ASUS's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment

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Hard Disks

31 October 2007

At a recent press event, Toshiba launched its new digital video recorder (DVR), the HD DVD VARDIA RD-A301. Using its built in HD Transcoder, the RD-A301 can record 159 hours of high-def video to its built in hard drive or nearly 16 hours onto a 30GB HD DVD disc. The RD-A301 also supports Toshiba's new HD Rec feature which allows it to record up to two hours of high-def video onto a single layer DVD-R disc.

Toshiba Corporation today announced the launch of a new digital video recorder (DVR) with HD DVD drive that integrates key new features that bring greater freedom of recording to the HD DVD, including recording of HD video to standard DVD discs. The new DVR, HD DVD VARDIA RD-A301, integrates HD Transcoder, which achieves longer recording time for high-definition (HD) video, and also supports"HD Rec", which allows recording of HD video to standard DVD discs in HD quality. The RD-A301 will be available in the Japanese market in the middle of December, and advance orders will be accepted from November 1.

The RD-A301 integrates an HD Transcoder that converts MPEG2 video, the standard for digital HD broadcasts, to MPEG4 AVC, a high-efficiency video compression technology that supports longer recording times while maintaining picture quality. As a result, longer HD videos can be recorded to HD DVD-R discs. The DVR also supports "HD Rec", which facilitates recording of HD video on conventional DVD discs, such as DVD-R discs. "HD Rec" allows a single-layer 4.7GB DVD-R disc to store up to two hours of HD video, working in combination with HD Transcoder.

The HD DVD VARDIA RD-A301 will ship in mid-December and is expected to cost about 100,000 Yen ($868US). More information, including a full list of specs, can be found here. Add a comment

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Home Entertainment

31 October 2007

Panasonic has officially announced its latest Blu-ray Disc player, the DMP-BD30. This next-generation Blu-ray player will be the first to offer full support for the Final Standard Profile (BD Profile 1.1) which adds new functions such as Picture-in-Picture and Audio Mixing. The DMP-BD30 also includes features like 1080/24p output, support for HDMI 1.3B and an SD Card slot for playback of High Definition content recorded in the AVCHD format.

Panasonic, a leader inHigh Definition technology, announced today the introduction of theDMP-BD30, the next generation High Definition 1080p Blu-ray Disc player.The DMP-BD30 is the first Blu-ray player to be introduced with FinalStandard Profile, which adds a variety of new and enhanced features to theBlu-ray arena and one that separates the Panasonic Blu-ray player from therest of the field. Also unique to the DMP-BD30 is the inclusion of an SDMemory Card slot for playback of High Definition content recorded in theAVCHD format. The SD slot also allows for viewing of digital still imagesrecorded to an SD Memory Card.

Final Standard Profile is an advanced function added to the Blu-raystandard, which opens the door to new functions such as Picture-in-Picture(which displays a second image in a sub window) and Audio Mixing (allowsthe consumer to switch the sound between the main and sub windows).

The DMP-BD30 is expected to ship to retailers in mid-November and will retail for about $499. Full details can be found on Panasonic's website. Add a comment

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Other

30 October 2007

Biostar P35 T Series TP35D3-A2 Deluxe Motherboard @TweakTown
OCZ Technology 4GB PC2-5400 Vista Upgrade Edition DDR2 @Bigbruin.com
Thermaltake DuOrb VGA Cooler @NGOHQ.com
XFX Geforce 8800 GTS 320 Fatal1ty Video Card @Madshrimps
VIZIO 52" GV52L 1080p LCD TV @I4U
Zerotherm Nirvana NV120 Intel/AMD CPU Cooler @Tweaknews.net

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Hard Disks

30 October 2007

While not optical storage related, its worth mentioning that Toshiba has introduced a 250GB version of its USB 2.0 portable external hard drive. This pocket sized hard drive features a special shock mounting system and can be powered off a computer's USB bus.

Toshiba Storage Device Division (SDD), the industry pioneer in small form factor hard disk drives (HDDs), today added a 250GB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive - the highest capacity available in this form factor - to its lineup of personal storage devices and introduced a new line of internal notebook HDDs for mobile PCs to meet the growing demand for personal storage solutions.

Addressing the explosion in digital video, music, photos and information content, the new 250GB 2.5-inch portable external hard drive is capable of storing up to either 71,000 digital photos, 65,000 MP3 music files, 110 hours of DVD videos or 29 hours of high-definition videos. Toshiba's click-free, switch-free and button-free backup solution is bundled with the award-winning NTI Shadow software, enabling even digital novices to easily embrace data backup and enjoy peace-of-mind in knowing critical and cherished digital files are protected.

Toshiba's USB 2.0 portable external hard drives are available in capacities ranging from 120GB to 250GB and cost anywhere from $109.99 to $189.99. More information is available on Toshiba's website. Add a comment

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Home Entertainment

30 October 2007

Earlier this week, Blu-ray backers held an event in Hollywood to help promote the format. At the event Dan Silverberg, VP of high-definition media for Warner Home Video, stated that the company may be changing its strategy. Instead of releasing titles on both Blu-ray and HD DVD, Silverbreg hinted that they may support Blu-ray exclusively.

Also there was Dan Silverberg, VP of high-definition media for Warner Home Video, which since Paramount’s move to the HD DVD camp is the only studio to support both next-generation formats.

That may not be for long, Silverberg said. “One thing that may be changing is our strategy,” he said. “When both formats launched and hardware prices were high, we made a decision to support both formats and let the consumer decide. But now that hardware pricing is affordable for both Blu-ray and HD DVD, it appears consumers no longer want to decide — so the notion of staying in two formats for the duration is something we are re-evaluating now that we are in the fourth quarter.”

Silverberg noted that Warner has the top-selling Blu-ray title of all time with 300 and is consistently No. 1 or No. 2 in both Blu-ray sales market share and in number of Blu-ray titles in the market.

While Silverberg may just be saying what Blu-ray backers want to hear, it's possible that Warner is ready to choose a side in the battle between Blu-ray and HD DVD. Let's just hope they choose a side soon so it can come to an end. If you'd like to read more, the entire article can be found here. Add a comment

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29 October 2007

Athlon64 X2 5000+ Black Edition @InsideHW.com
ASUS GeForce 8600GT OC Gear 256MB @Phoronix
Biostar TP35D3-A7 Deluxe Motherboard @InsideHW.com
Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9650 @Hardware Zone,Tweaknews,HotHardware.com
Logitech G15 (Revision 2) Keyboard @Virtual-Hideout
NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT 512MB @Hardware Zone,HotHardware.com,ChileHardware
Razer Pro|Click Mobile Notebook Mouse @I4U
SOLIO Classic Universal Hybrid Solar Charger @Futurelooks
Tagan TG1300-U33 In The Zone Series 1300W Power Supply @Bigbruin.com
ZEROtherm Nirvana NV120 CPU Cooler @HardwareLogic,ThinkComputers.org

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