Since the Zune HD’s 480 x 272 OLED display isn’t actually high-enough resolution to display the 720p video the PMP is capable of, we’ve been waiting to see how much Microsoft charge for their official Zune HD AV Dock. That accessory – and the rest of of the Zune HD peripheral range – have finally been added to the Microsoft Store for preorder along with the touchscreen PMP itself.
Atlona Technologies have unveiled their next high-end AV connectivity gadgets, and if you’ve ever lamented the limitations of lengthy HDMI cords then the AT-HDS100SR and AT-HDS250SR may appeal. Each can take an HDMI input, stereo audio and RS-232 control signal and shuttle it over ethernet cable for up to 825ft.
Microsoft have begun to push out the Xbox LIVE update for their Xbox 360 console, and along with the games on demand, new avatar customization and UI improvements comes confirmation that the company has signed an exclusive deal with Netflix for instant streaming to a console. The partnership means that the Xbox 360 will be the only console on which Netflix streaming is possible, effectively cutting the PlayStation 3 and Wii out of the loop.
Back before HDTVs, set-top boxes, consoles and Blu-ray players sprouted ethernet ports, the only people who needed a network hook-up near their AV kit were those with media streamers. Now one cable might not be enough, so Netgear have stepped into the fray with their XAVB1004 Home Theater Internet Connection kit. Consisting of a four-port ethernet switch with Powerline support, the kit funnels an internet connection across your mains wiring and shares it with multiple devices.
Roku have announced MLB.TV Premium streaming for their eponymous HDTV media player. The update – which will be pushed out to all Roku players automatically – allows MLB.TV subscribers to watch live, out-of-market baseball games in HD, together with offering on-demand access to the last week’s worth of games.
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.
Toshiba may have been late to the Blu-ray party, but that doesn’t mean they’re putting all of their eggs in one blue-lasered basket. According to Olivier Van Wynendaele, assistant general manager in marketing of Toshiba Europe’s consumer products division, the company is also working on an internet connected storage device that works with high-definition content.
Toshiba have gone public with their plans to develop Blu-ray devices, as they were tipped to be back in July. The company has applied for membership of the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA), the marketing and promotion organization behind the format, together with confirming that they intend to launch both standalone Blu-ray players and notebooks with integrated Blu-ray drives sometime during 2009.
Sharp Japan have unveiled their latest range of AQUOS HDTVs, each packing an integrated Blu-ray player. The DX2-series LCD displays range in size from 26-inches to 52-inches and have a slot-loading Blu-ray drive in their right-hand side; they also support BD-Live and IPTV via an ethernet connection.
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.
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