Medion have unveiled a new all-in-one PC, the oddly named Akoya “The Touch” X9613. Based around a 24-inch multitouch-capable touchscreen, rather than stuff the X9613 full of nettop components Medion have taken the far more sensible route and used Intel’s 2.0GHz Core 2 Quad Q9000 CPU with 4GB of RAM, NVIDIA’s GeForce GT 240M graphics card and a Blu-ray drive. Newgadgets were on hand to grab a live demo video, which you can see after the cut.
Video demo after the cut
It might not mean much to the Android smartphone lurking in your pocket (or that you’d like to have there), but MIPS and Sigma Designs have been demonstrating an Android-based set-top box capable of 1080p high-definition video. The STB prototype is being positioned as “a major milestone toward the creation of a reference platform” for Android-powered home entertainment devices, with the two companies adding support for Sigma’s hardware graphics acceleration and decoding.
If you’ve been waiting for more detail on PopcornHour’s incoming C-200 “Networked Media Tank” then prepare to set aside an afternoon; the company has released masses of video and full specifications for the Blu ray ready, UPnP set-top box, and they’re now taking preorders for the first shipment.
Video demos after the cut
Sony Japan have unveiled their latest range of Blu-ray recorders, and since there’s no such thing as too much storage they’ve also thrown hard-drives inside the five new models too. Capacity of the BDZ-series ranges from 320GB all the way up to a whopping 2TB in the flagship BDZ-EX200, which is apparently good for up to 253 hours of high-definition TV.
Today marks the day that OmniVision announced a sensor that could potentially make 1080p video capture a very real possibility in mobile devices. And not in ten years. The sensor is called the OV2710, and it can record the HD resolution at 30 frames per second, and it utilizes a 2-megapixel camera that matches the format. Keeping the megapixels low adds quite a few benefits, like lower expenses and getting better image quality in low lighting situations.
Hitachi have unveiled five new HDTVs, each of which includes a 500GB hard-drive for local storage of recorded programming or downloaded content. The sets – three plasmas, ranging from 42- to 50-inches, and two LCDs, at 37- and 42-inches – slot into the company’s endearingly-titled Wooo TV range, and all support Full HD 1080p.
Onkyo have dropped a new home AV receiver, the company’s first such home theater product to include Pandora, Rhapsody, and Sirius streaming internet radio support. The Onyko TX-NR807 supports DLNA 1.5 media streaming, for playback of media stored on networked computers and drives, together with offering six HDMI ports, Faroudja DCDi Cinema 1080p upscaling and both Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio.
Hannspree have announced a new range of 1080p-capable displays, the ST-series, offering entry-level sizing with budget price tags. The ST251 and ST281 are 25-inch and 28-inch HDTVs respectively, with 10,000:1 dynamic contrast and two HDMI ports apiece.
Apple are planning to add Blu-ray support in iTunes 9, the next major upgrade to the company’s media software, according to the latest tipsters. The update is expected to coincide with Apple adding Blu-ray drives to its desktop iMac range, a move which has again been highlighted by Apple Insider.
Atlona have unveiled their latest A/V convertor, this time intended to take high-definition video sources and convert them into a format suitable for standard displays. The Atlona AT-HD530 includes HDMI and DVI inputs and can down-convert to analog S-Video or composite video with audio.
SlashGear Japan
