Samsung’s split personality patent conjures up a camera with detachable media player

Posted on 06/09/2012 by Zachary Lutz

Samsung recently added some serious smarts to its point-and-shoot lineup with the Galaxy Camera, which -- if you're so inclined -- can also double as a personal communicator and multimedia player. As we discovered during our hands-on with the device, however, its bulky size could deter many who might've hoped to carry it at all times. A patent just granted to Samsung might change all that, however, which describes a camera that also acts as a multimedia player, only with one curious difference: the PMP unit is detachable. Naturally, this component houses the display and its own separate storage, but also contains the multimedia module that's necessary for the camera to record movies. Samsung applied for this patent back in 2007, which suggests this particular setup may never see the light of day. Then again, if such a split personality camera ever appears, there's a good chance that it'll carry the Samsung name.

Filed under: Cameras, Portable Audio/Video

Samsung's split personality patent conjures up a camera with detachable media player originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 05 Sep 2012 21:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | source

USPTO | Email this | Comments

Dune HD Crams Full HD Media Player into a Compact Stick

Posted on 03/09/2012 by Technabob

Looking to add a media player to your HDTV but don’t want to buy another set-top box? Then check out the latest media players from Germany’s Dune HD, which offer full 1080p playback in a tiny package.

dune hd connect

The Dune HD Connect will plug into an empty HDMI port on your TV, adding a full HD media player, capable of streaming content in a wide variety of formats from your home network or over the Internet. While specific format support hasn’t been announced, you can get a sense of what it’s likely to handly from their current compact media players. The gadget also has a built-in microSD connector and a USB port for playback of local content as well. In addition to the base version, the Dune HD Connect 3D adds full 3D video support via the HDMI 1.4 spec, as well as MHL (Mobile High-Definition Link) output.

Dune hasn’t revealed a retail price yet for these compact media players, but expects to release them by the end of the year.

Samsung unveils Galaxy Player 5.8, pockets everywhere brace for impact

Posted on 27/08/2012 by Jon Fingas

We hope you wear baggy pants, because you're going to want big pockets to carry Samsung's giant new jukebox. The Galaxy Player 5.8 is dominated by its namesake 5.8-inch, 960 x 540 LCD -- a screen that makes the 4.8-inch AMOLED on the closely related Galaxy S III look downright modest by comparison. Android 4.0 and the latest generation of TouchWiz make their first appearances in a Samsung media player here, with the spin naturally on books and movies instead of the tasks you'd associate with a smartphone. You're otherwise looking at the kind of media player you'd expect in 2012: there's either 16GB or 32GB of built-in storage, a microSD slot, a front VGA camera for those face-to-face sessions and a huge 2,500mAh battery to compensate for the display. We're still waiting on a few details, such as the exact processor and the Galaxy Player 5.8's launch schedule, although the announcement's timing suggests we may get a peek at this behemoth when IFA 2012 kicks off later this week. In the meantime, we'd advise against buying a pair of skinny jeans.

Gallery: Samsung Galaxy Player 5.8

Filed under: Portable Audio/Video

Samsung unveils Galaxy Player 5.8, pockets everywhere brace for impact originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Aug 2012 00:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | source

Samsung Tomorrow (translated) | Email this | Comments

Cheap Media Player Sports Tiny Projector

Posted on 21/08/2012 by Technabob

There are tons of media players on the market, and a number of relatively inexpensive “pico-projectors” as well, but here’s a fun gadget that combines both into one cheap and compact little package that costs less than $100.

media player projector 1

The USB Music Projector has a deceiving name, as it doesn’t project music at all – it projects still images and video, of course. Measuring just 2.67″ x 2.44″ x 0.78″, and weighing just 84g, this portable media player is small enough to be carried in your pocket or worn around your neck, but has a tiny projector built into it that can be used for impromptu video playback.

media player projector 2

The gadget uses an LED light source rated for 20,000 hours of use, and can play video files in MP4 (H.264), MOV (H.264), AVI (H.264, MPEG 4, MJPEG). It’s also an audio player, with support for MP3, WMA and WAV files, and has a built-in speaker in addition to a headphone jack. It’s not clear how long you can run the projector on a single charge, but it does ship with an AC adapter for longer viewing sessions.

media player projector 3

Storage is provided using a microSD(HC) memory card, and you can also connect to a PC using a USB cable to “synchronize projection ” whatever that means. I’m assuming they’re talking about some sort of display mirroring, perhaps through DisplayLink – or possibly just a PC remote control app for use with still images on the projector.

Specs aren’t provided for the projector itself, but I’d guess the resolution and brightness aren’t anything special, and you most certainly will need a darkened room to watch video. That said, the USB Music Projector sells for just $99(USD), which seems like a bargain in my book. You can grab one over at Brando if you’d like to check it out.

Cowon X9 Media Player: Easily Upgradable PMP

Posted on 21/08/2012 by Range

I’ve actually stopped using my 160GB iPod Classic, ever since I got my iPhone 4S, but that doesn’t mean that there’s no room for dedicated music players – if done right. While a lot of people use their smartphones to play their favorite tunes, others still prefer standalone media players.

cowon pmp x9 media player music

Korea’s Cowon just released their X9 media player and it sports a large 4.3-inch touchscreen display. You can choose between 8 GB, 16 GB or 32 GB of internal memory, but you can augment this with a microSD card. The player includes a variety of sound processing modes including simulated 3D surround, virtual listening environments, and BBE enhancement among others.

cowon pmp x9 media player music hand

The X9 is supposed to be able to deliver 110 hours of audio playback, or 13 hours of video playback on a single charge, and it takes 4.5 hours to juice this thing up. The X9 starts at $229.99(USD) for the basic model and goes up for more storage.

cowon pmp x9 media player music book

[via Ubergizmo]

Diamond Multimedia outs AMP1000 Android set-top box: Gingerbread-based, 1080p, sells for $120 (update: ICS coming this week)

Posted on 21/08/2012 by Edgar Alvarez

Diamond Multimedia's more commonly known around the web for selling Mac and PC capture cards (among other things), but as of today, the company's officially entering the set-top box game with its AMP1000. The media player itself is running a not-so-new flavor of Android -- Gingerbread, to be exact -- which will be used to bring a slew of familiar entertainment tidbits to the bigger screen, such as a media player capable of 1080p playback, an evolved internet browser and an oversized photo viewer, as well as other content like games, ebooks and magazines -- all of which can be downloaded from Google's Play repertoire. Although Diamond Multimedia's formally pricing the AMP1000 at $120, there's a Facebook-only offer that knocks the price down to a mere $100. Now, will it be enough to compete with, say, Vizio's $99 Google TV box? We'll let you be the judge of that.

Update: Well, in case you weren't fond of the AMP1000's Gingerbread innards, Diamond Multimedia's got something in the works to solve that problem. A company rep has contacted us to let us know Ice Cream Sandwich will be coming to early adopters "later this week," as well as noting that all future units will come with the creamy OS already onboard.

Gallery: Diamond Multimedia AMP1000 Android media player press shots

Continue reading Diamond Multimedia outs AMP1000 Android set-top box: Gingerbread-based, 1080p, sells for $120 (update: ICS coming this week)

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets, Home Entertainment

Diamond Multimedia outs AMP1000 Android set-top box: Gingerbread-based, 1080p, sells for $120 (update: ICS coming this week) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 21 Aug 2012 09:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | source

Diamond Multimedia | Email this | Comments

RealPlayer leaves beta, becomes fully-fledged Android app

Posted on 14/08/2012 by Mat Smith

RealNetworks has decided to roll out that old internet chestnut, RealPlayer, to a fresh-faced generation of smartphones that are screaming out for one more media player. This one reckons it can handle your music, video and photo content al in the same blueish hue and while the player has a basic flavor out for free, there's a $5 app for those that like the finer things in life. Extra features in the paid-for version include a graphic equalizer with save function, Gracenote database compatibility and manual metadata editing for those with more esoteric music tastes. Naturally, advertising is nixed in this version too. Now out from beta testing, hit the source for the download.

Filed under: Cellphones, Tablet PCs, Software

RealPlayer leaves beta, becomes fully-fledged Android app originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 14 Aug 2012 13:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink

SlashGear | source

RealPlayer (Google Play) | Email this | Comments

VLC 2.02 adds Retina display support, ditches font cache interruptions

Posted on 02/07/2012 by Mat Smith

The latest version of everyone's favorite file-type-friendly media player has been updated on both Windows and OS X, although the Apple iteration gets the most major addition -- playback support on the new MacBook Pro's Retina display. Alongside sharper menus, VLC's latest update extends functionality to the video itself, maintaining crispness on smaller viewing windows and even fully-blow 4K video. Good news on all platforms though, as the developers have now nixed that grating "building font cache" pop-up window. Smaller changes include support for Growl and the return of the "keep aspect ratio" option. Hit up the changelog for a full run-down of the other changes.

VLC 2.02 adds Retina display support, ditches font cache interruptions originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 02 Jul 2012 06:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink

The Verge | source

VLC changelog | Email this | Comments

Google Nexus Q – The World’s First Social Streaming Media Player

Posted on 29/06/2012 by Johan

Google Nexus Q - The World's First Social Streaming Media Player

Google has unveiled the Nexus Q, which is claimed to be the world’s first streaming media player. Powered by the Google Android 4.0 operating system, the gadget comes jam packed with dual ARM Cortex-A9 processor, a 1GB of RAM, a 16GB of storage capacity and a 25W amplifier. This orb-shaped media player has 32 LEDs that light up according to the tones/frequency in music. Additional specs include Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, NFC, a micro HDMI, Ethernet and a micro USB port. The Google Nexus Q retails for $299. [Google]

Samsung Galaxy Player 4.2 review: Android media player that needs more of a voice

Posted on 20/06/2012 by James Trew

More Info

It wasn't all that long ago that one of the pinnacles of the gadget world was the PMP. How many gigs has yours got? Mine plays FLAC. Whoa, iPod video! These are sentences that are largely consigned to the digital mists of time. Now that your phone, watch and pretty much any other gadget can fill the shoes of the media player, its days among gadget nobility are numbered, and its rank slipping ever lower. There will always be a corner of the gadget realm for them but it's more of a country cottage, compared to the sprawling manor of yesteryear.

Why all the nostalgia? Samsung's Galaxy Player 4.2 is the latest descendent of the Android media player lineage, and the company's rightful heir to its PMP kingdom. As you can see, a full-fat media player in 2012 wears a very different uniform than its forefathers, and definitely fights a different battle. Can what is essentially a phone-without-a-phone, hold its territory and prevent the mobile bandits from scaling the walls? We spend some time with it in the trenches to find out.

Gallery: Samsung Galaxy Player 4.2 review