Premium audio kit manufacturer Paradigm have obviously had enough of subwoofers being the breezeblock-shaped lump unloved in the corner, and have whipped out their SUB 1 and SUB 2 models. Each high-end hexagon slots neatly into the company’s Reference Signature line, and pack six high-excursion drivers – 8-inch in the SUB 1, 10-inch in the SUB 2 – together with more amplification than most people could realistically need.
Networked media players are, if not quite ten-a-penny, then at least increasingly common these days, so it takes more than an ethernet port and an HDMI output to impress us. QNAP are hoping their NMP-1000 will do just that, however, thanks to its onboard 3.5-inch hard-drive (up to 2TB), Full HD 1080p output, YouTube and Flickr support, automatic NAS backup functionality and UPnP streaming.
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Remotely controlling your TiVo from a BlackBerry has been possible for a while now - thanks to the mobile web interface - but now there's a specific app that aims to make it even easier. TiVo for BlackBerry Smartphones is available free from the App World, and has browse, search and scheduling functionality, together with "Daily Picks" and "Most Popular" categories.
Salt at the ready – and you’ll need a pretty big handful this time around – because according to the Boy Genius Reports’ tipster you’re looking at a “product mockup that may coincide with the launch of a revised Apple TV“. If you reckon it looks like a touchscreen remote control then you’re not alone.
The device – about which little is known – does show a Safari option, which has led to suggestions that it could be a WiFi tablet in its own right. Alternatively, if it really is a true companion device to the refreshed Apple TV, it could be a trigger to loading Safari on the mediaplayer, with the remote then working as a touchscreen keyboard and mouse pad to control browsing on your HDTV.
Sharp Japan have outed four new LX-series HDTVs, each boasting massive 2,000,000:1 contrast ratios. The range starts from the 40-inch LC-40LX1 and tops out at the 60-inch LC-60LX1, with 46- and 52-inch models in-between; each offers Full HD 1920p resolution, “industry’s lowest” power consumption, and a six-speaker integrated sound system with dual sub-woofers on all but the smallest.
Seagate have announced their latest media player, the 1080p-capable FreeAgent Theater+, and if you’ve already bought into – or are willing to adopt – the company’s FreeAgent Go USB hard-drives then it might be a straightforward way to get digital content on your HDTV. The FreeAgent Theater+ adds HDMI, ethernet and both Dolby Digital and DTS 2.0 audio to the original Theater, as well as a whole flood of supported codecs.
Only the other day we were wondering whether Apple would be doing anything interesting with their Apple TV DVR and mediaplayer what with iTunes 9’s nifty Home Sharing functionality. Today, while there’s no new software announcement to be had, the Cupertino company have axed the entry-level 40GB Apple TV and given its 160GB big-brother a $100 price cut.
Sharp have thrown a new model into their soundbar range, this time promising 3.1-channel sound versus the more typical 2.1-channel. The Sharp HT-SB500 squeezes 32W into its slender under-screen form, and uses Dolby Virtual Speaker technology to emulate a 5.1-channel surround-sound system.
Sharp have outed their latest Blu-ray player, the BD-HP52U AQUOS, which supports BD Live content, HDMI 1.3 connectivity and streaming media. The BD-HP52U has x.v. color and supports 1080p 24 playback, as well as Deep Color, Dolby TrueHD and DTS HD Master Audio, and a quick-start mode that promises to have you watching films faster than on rival decks.
JVC have outed their latest range of D-ILA home theater projectors, with a full six models on offer spanning prices from $5,000 to $10,000. Three – the DLA-RS35, DLA-RS25 and DLA-RS15 – will be pushed via JVC’s professional products arm, while the remainder – the DLA-HD990, DLA-HD950 and DLA-HD550 – will go on sale via the consumer group. Most impressive about all the models, though, are their contrast ratios: even the entry HD550 manages 30,000:1, while the top-spec RS35 and HD990 manage 70,000:1.
SlashGear Japan
