Tag Archives: HomeEntertainment

Panasonic PT-AE8000U projector touts brighter, smoother 3D for king-of-the-hill home theaters

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Panasonic PTAE8000U projector touts brighter, smoother 3D for kingofthehill home theaters

Panasonic wasn't one of the quickest out of the gate with a 3D projector, having only unveiled the PT-AE7000 in the middle of last year, but it's making up for lost time with a follow-up. The PT-AE8000 puts most of the focus on that extra dimension through both a 20 percent brighter 3D picture and motion interpolation for the stereoscopic image. Fine-tuning is equally new through picture balance and monitor tools that help perfect the color and parallax effects before any 3D movie gets started. Traditionalists in love with 2D get their fill, too: a new 220W lamp produces deeper reds, a more visible 2,400 lumens of brightness and (with the help of plates and filters) an even higher 500,000:1 contrast ratio. We've confirmed with Panasonic that the AE8000U should cost the same $3,499 as the AE7000 when it reaches stores between late September and early October, which makes the new projector a tempting prospect if you've been holding off until now.

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Panasonic PT-AE8000U projector touts brighter, smoother 3D for king-of-the-hill home theaters originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 13 Sep 2012 05:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sharp further cuts bonuses and salaries to stay above water, save $180 million

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Sharp HQSharp is already in full-on belt-tightening mode, and it's not just cutting jobs to keep its staffing costs in line with shrinking finances. The sinking tech giant is doubling the size of executives' salary cuts to 10 percent for a year-long period, all the while slashing planned 2013 bonuses to half of what they were in June. Sadly, everyday workers will have to take some of the same medicine. They're facing similar bonus cuts and will have to take a 7 percent drop in salary for the same year. Between these steps and cuts to extras like travel allowances, Sharp hopes to save ¥14 billion in the current fiscal year, or about $180 million -- a small amount next to the $2 billion in credit the company just recently obtained, but also a sign of just how much penny-pinching is involved in keeping the corporate ship afloat. Let's hope the sacrifice pays off.

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Sharp further cuts bonuses and salaries to stay above water, save $180 million originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 12 Sep 2012 01:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceImpress AV Watch (translated)  | Email this | Comments

UltraViolet movie format to use Dolby Digital Plus encoding, keep sound thumping across platforms

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UltraViolet movie format to use Dolby Digital Plus encoding, keep sound thumping across platformsMovies encoded in UltraViolet's Common File Format represent just one of multiple takes on paid internet video -- what's to make them stand out? The answer might just be Dolby Digital Plus audio encoding, which should be a staple feature of CFF from now on. A newly ready development kit lets producers feed the multichannel sound to hardware and apps that can recognize it, including web-based avenues like Apple's HTTP Live Streaming, Microsoft's Smooth Streaming and MPEG's DASH. Just in case a few devices fall through the cracks, Dolby is talking directly with digital production firms like castLabs, Digital Rapids and Elemental Technologies to make sure the audio codec's implementation truly spans platforms. We don't know how soon movies will take advantage of the upgrade, but the Dolby addition lends weight to a fledgling format that might have as fierce a battle in home theaters as it does on PCs and tablets.

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UltraViolet movie format to use Dolby Digital Plus encoding, keep sound thumping across platforms originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 10 Sep 2012 11:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceSlashGear  | Email this | Comments

Sky+ update allows undeleting recorded shows, more on-demand and future Catch Up TV

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Sky update allows undeleting recorded shows, more ondemand and future Catch Up TV

Sky+ has been on a bit of a tear refreshing its set-top boxes, and it's not about to stop now. When ready, a new update for the satellite TV provider's devices will let you undelete recorded programs; deleted shows are now moved to a separate space and only removed permanently either through age or if you really, really don't want to watch. If you're more interested in watching content that's always available, both Anytime and Anytime+ will be rebranded as On Demand, while the Sky Guide is adding a dedicated store tab for movie rentals. Catch Up TV is also nearing with the update and should aggregate the last week's worth of shows from Sky in addition to BBC iPlayer, Demand 5 and ITV Player. The gotcha, as we know all too well from these kinds of firmware revisions, is the timing. You'll have to have either a Sky+ HD 1TB box or the Sky+ HD DRX890 to get the upgrade early on, and Sky is staggering its deployment in a move that could leave some subscribers twiddling their thumbs.

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Sky+ update allows undeleting recorded shows, more on-demand and future Catch Up TV originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 06 Sep 2012 21:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Pocket-lint  |  sourceSky  | Email this | Comments

Samsung asks for South Korean injunction against LG for allegedly stealing OLED tech

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Samsung 55-inch OLED TV at CES

LG and Samsung have had to live with each other as cornerstones of the South Korean economy, but that uncomfortable balance might just have been knocked off-kilter through an escalating legal battle. Samsung has filed for an injunction against LG for supposedly coercing 11 Samsung researchers (already indicted in July) into leaking the secrets behind its OLED screens, including 18 pieces of technology and 21 related documents. The accuser wants 1 billion won (about $879,771) in compensation for every piece of technology that might have slipped out. Suffice it to say that LG isn't happy with being labeled as a thief -- it notes that LG screens use white OLEDs instead of Samsung's RGB technique, reducing its incentive to swipe anything Samsung makes. LG even contends that Samsung is just trying to hide its embarrassment at losing OLED TV demo units that were headed to IFA 2012. Without a clear resolution in sight, there's every indication the legal dispute could become very ugly.

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Samsung asks for South Korean injunction against LG for allegedly stealing OLED tech originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 05 Sep 2012 13:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink The Next Web  |  sourceThe Korea Herald, Yonhap News Agency  | Email this | Comments

VidaBox unveils vPlayer and vStreamer Media Extenders with slicker looks, green credentials

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VidaBox unveils vPlayer and vStreamer Media Extenders with slicker looks, green credentials

Most VidaBox Media Extenders have borne a closer similarity to mini PCs than to the kind of equipment you'd stack on top of a home theater receiver. That's already been changing, but the company's new vPlayer and vStreamer are virtually invisible in the living room by comparison. Either has a newly streamlined, stackable design that feels entirely at home in the den and keeps the noisy buzzes and whines to a minimum through a new cooling system. Although VidaBox is wonderfully vague about specs -- both hubs tout a "dual core processor," for example -- its units have been modernized enough to use a thrifty 35W of typical power. The boxes lack dedicated media storage space and curiously have to be factory upgraded to get HDMI 1.4 instead of 1.3, but they'll output 7.1-channel audio and 1080p video while integrating with most common home automation systems over RS-232. We haven't been quoted prices to simplify any buying decisions; we expect the gap to be small between the two offerings, since the vPlayer and vStreamer are identical on the inside except for the vPlayer's Blu-ray drive. Dealers will have a better answer for you when VidaBox starts shipping the extender duo on September 4th.

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VidaBox unveils vPlayer and vStreamer Media Extenders with slicker looks, green credentials originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 02 Sep 2012 05:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Plex launches new Web Client and PlexPass subscription, updates Media Server

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Plex launches new Web Client and PlexPass subscription, updates Media Server

Plex fans among us just got treated to a smorgasbord -- albeit one that isn't completely free. The media front-end developer hopes to boost its bottom line through PlexPass, a subscription service that amounts to a paid beta program. Shell out $4 per month and you'll get early access to in-development features, including a slate of premium-only extras during their incubation phase. One of the more ordinary (if important) features is going live today: a revamped Web Client not only rivals the native OS X app for speed but offers full media playback on top of the usual queue management. Whether you subscribe or not, you'll want to get an updated Media Server app that supports both PlexPass and the new client along with improving the server's behavior in several areas, such as lowering its memory use and supporting RTMP transcoding. We hope Plex keeps enough components on the free side of the fence as time goes on. For now, at least, we'll see the paid model as a way for loyalists to reward a company that has been powering their home theater PCs for years.

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Plex launches new Web Client and PlexPass subscription, updates Media Server originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Aug 2012 22:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Netgear intros sharing-savvy N750 Premium Edition router, powerline and WiFi adapters for media fans

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Netgear intros sharingsavvy N750 Premium Edition router, powerline and WiFi adapters for media fans

Netgear is giving its home networking the same sort of tuneup going into the fall that you'd give your car -- not a complete overhaul, but enough to keep it running in top form. Headlining the pack, the N750 Premium Edition router you're looking at above upgrades the original N750 through a better ability to play with others: the dual-band WiFi hotspot's ReadyShare file access expands to the cloud, while its USB support now envelops Apple's AirPrint and Time Machine as well as TiVo Storage. Media sharing mavens also get their own, more specific add-ons. The Powerline Media Extender can pipe audio (and USB printing or storage) over a 200Mbps link, with a major emphasis on AirPlay streaming; the N900 4-port WiFi Adapter is a slightly less exotic, 450Mbps wireless-to-Ethernet bridge for multi-device home theaters. If Netgear's refresh is tempting enough to prompt a trade-up, you can snag the N750 Premium Edition immediately for $120 or wait until September and October for the respective launches of the N900 adapter for $80 and the Powerline Music Extender in its single pack ($99) or dual-device starter kit ($139) editions.

Continue reading Netgear intros sharing-savvy N750 Premium Edition router, powerline and WiFi adapters for media fans

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Netgear intros sharing-savvy N750 Premium Edition router, powerline and WiFi adapters for media fans originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 29 Aug 2012 14:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceNetgear (N750 Premium), (Powerline Music Extender), (N900 WiFi Adapter)  | Email this | Comments

ITU approves NHK’s Super Hi-Vision as 8K standard, sets the UHDTV ball rolling very slowly

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ITU approves NHK's Super HiVision as 8K standard, sets the UHDTV ball rolling very slowly

We'd heard that the International Telecommunication Union was close to approving Super Hi-Vision as an Ultra High Definition TV standard, and the UN agency hasn't waited long to confirm the rumors. The recommendation to use NHK's 7,680 x 4,320 format has gone unopposed and should define the parameters for incredibly detailed 8K video worldwide. This shouldn't lead anyone to return that 4K TV just yet -- once again, it's important to remember that NHK still won't start any kind of wider testing until 2020. That's also assuming that the first 8K sets are down to Earth instead of the incredibly expensive 145-inch variety.

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ITU approves NHK's Super Hi-Vision as 8K standard, sets the UHDTV ball rolling very slowly originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 25 Aug 2012 05:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nikkei: ITU near recommending NHK’s Super Hi-Vision as official TV standard

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NHK Super Hi-Vision at Olympics

We've seen NHK preparing its Super Hi-Vision 8K video since time immemorial. Wouldn't it be nice if the TV broadcast technology was more than just a perpetual research project? If sources for Japan's Nikkei aren't dreaming, the International Telecommunication Union is now "likely" to declare the format an official standard for broadcasters and TV makers. Should it go ahead, the UN telecom body would ask the world to rely on Super Hi-Vision as an eventual successor to HDTV and reduce the balkanization of TV standards that we've seen in the past. Neither the ITU nor NHK is known to have commented on the claim so far, but NHK isn't exactly in a rush to get a seal of approval from anyone -- widescale test broadcasts aren't coming until 2020, and production TVs themselves are only just entering a 4K universe.

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Nikkei: ITU near recommending NHK's Super Hi-Vision as official TV standard originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 22 Aug 2012 22:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceNikkei (subscription required)  | Email this | Comments