Panasonic has always been at the cutting edge of Blu-ray technology, but its latest range of players looks to push the boundaries even further. The DMP-BD60 is the entry-level player in the company’s latest three-strong line-up - which also includes the step-up DMP-BD80 and the DMP-BD70V Blu-ray/VHS combi (no, really) - and the big breakthrough on these models is the inclusion of Viera Cast functionality, also found on the company’s Z1, V10 and G15 NeoPDP TVs.
Viera Cast allows you to access the Internet via the deck’s Ethernet connection and browse targeted sites like YouTube, much like the LG BD370 which we reviewed recently. The DMP-BD60 goes a step further by providing access to Google’s Picasa web album but sadly not Amazon VOD or Bloomberg as found on the American version.
Panasonic DMP-BD60 Blu-Ray Player Review
Via Unveils Media Processor For Netbooks And Notebooks
Ask a few people what they think about netbooks and you will get varied answers like “netbooks are great,” to “the screen is too small,” and “they can’t process HD video.” Intel tried to address that last complaint with its new Atom N280 processor that with its chipset can decode 720p video. Still, some users want the full 1080p monty and VIA has announced a new media processor that can deliver.
VIA has unveiled its new VX855 Media System Processor and calls it a highly integrated all-in-one chipset addressing key areas for SFF and mobile PC systems. The key areas the new MSP addresses are small size and the ability to hardware decode full 1080p resolution video.
Click Here To Read The Full Article @ Slippery Brick
LG 50PS8000 50In Plasma TV Review
One of the hottest topics of conversation in the AV world these days is the prospect of rising prices brought about by the plummeting value of the pound. Apparently, though, nobody has thought to tell LG about this situation. For hot on the heels of its decently affordable 42LF7700 Freesat TV last week, the Korean brand has raised our eyebrows even higher with the 50PS8000: a 50in plasma TV going for just £1,200.
What’s more, this is no stripped down, basics-only model. For starters, it actually steals a march over upcoming Panasonic TVs by being the first TV to claim 600Hz processing. Given that Sony has only recently delivered 200Hz processing to the accompaniment of much fanfare, getting 600Hz on the 50PS8000 seems like a pretty remarkable feat. So how’s it done?
Keeping things as simple as possible, the 600Hz figure is arrived at by introducing to the frame-counting ‘equation’ plasma’s Sub-field driving specification. In other words, for every second of footage the 50PS8000 delivers the 50fps demanded by the PAL video standard multiplied by 12 extra sub-fields/frames added by the TV’s processors. Fifty x 12 being, of course, 600Hz.
Two Quad-Core CPUs Vs. Two Fast Nvidia Graphics Cards Review
It is a widespread opinion among PC enthusiasts and devoted gamers that a graphics card upgrade must be accompanied with an upgrade of the whole platform in order to provide enough CPU power to the graphics subsystem so that the latter didn’t stay idle. As a matter of fact, this opinion is oftener proved to be wrong in practice than confirmed by tests. And I am going to check this out again in today’s review because I’ve got two new graphics cards from XFX, the fastest single-processor GeForce GTX 285 and the fastest dual-processor GeForce GTX 295, and two platforms with quad-core CPUs.
So, I will try to find out how important a fast CPU and system memory are for these cards and will also compare them between each other. A 6-pin power connector is now installed instead of an 8-pin one because the GeForce GTX 285 has lower power requirements due to the thinner GPU tech process. According to the specs, the reference GeForce GTX 285 has a peak power consumption of 183W (53W lower than that of the GeForce GTX 280). A 550W or higher power supply is recommended for a computer with this graphics card. The card’s PCB differs greatly from the GeForce GTX 280.
HIS - Radeon HD4870 IceQ 4+ Turbo Review
The Radeon HD4870 IceQ 4+ Turbo is the fastest single-core card HIS has produced to date, taking AMD/ATI’s Radeon HD 4870 GPU, adding a custom cooling solution and overclocking both the core and memory clock speeds, with twice the standard memory to boot.
Just in case you have forgotten, here’s a quick recap on the HD4870. The HD4870 (RV770) core is built on a 55nm process with the die measuring 260mm², but still somehow AMD managed to pack it with 956 million transistors, thanks mostly to the 800 stream processors that handle the vertex, pixel and geometry shader data and the 40 texture units. Needless to say it supports both DirectX 10.1 and multi-card CrossfireX set-ups.
Click Here To Read The Full Article @ ITReviews
iRiver Dicple D31 eDic Announced
The PMP-e-Dctionary models from iRiver makes us very curious. We don’t know how successful the iRiver Dicple is in Korea and Japan, where it’s available, but the couple or so Dicple eDictionaries I’ve seen owned by Korean friends have mildly impressed me. I’m sure I’d rather go for UMID’s M1 mBook, which seems to have a better price point anyway, but the newest Dicple, the D31 got me thinking: this Dicple has a really good build, very solid, and should be worth every Korean won you spend on it. I mean, the D31 screen folds out way, way back. t’s a bigger screen, too, at 4.3 inches, compared to the 3-inch Dicple 5.
The Dicple D31, as mentioned above, has a 4.3-inch WQVGA touchscreen and plays 5 hours of video. There are two versions, the Edu version with 8GB of memory and a DMB version with 8GB. Has ID3 tagging, SRS WOW, DOC and PDF support.
Click Here To Read The Full Article @ PmpToday
Asus Eee Top ET2203 And ET2003 All-in-One PCs
Asus presents at the Cebit 2009 its two new Eee Top all-in-one PCs, the 22-inch Eee Top ET2203 and 20-inch Eee Top ET2003. Both PCs are based on Intel’s Atom processor and comes with a dedicated graphic card. You can expect an HDMI connector and optional TV tuner, Blu-ray drive.
Click Here To Read The Full Article @ ItechNews
Panasonic Ces 2009 Blu-Ray Htib Lineup Eyes-On
We were able to spot a few of Panasonic’s latest innovations in the home theater space back at CES 2009, but we got a much more intimate look at things during a recent New York showcase. The new Blu-ray decks look nice, if not a touch plain. Not that everyone wants an Alienware-esque BD deck or anything, but we digress. The Blu-ray HTIB systems were particularly of interest, as these things are perfect for sneaking BD into homes that are currently DVD-only, and while we longed for more information on the portable DMP-B15, the on-hand reps didn’t seem too anxious to gush over technical specifications with us. Their loss, totally.
Source : Engadget
Sony Ericsson Brings XPERIA X1 To South Korea
The South Korean market is a tough wireless-nut to crack. With market leaders like Samsung and LG laying claim to most of the wireless market on the Asian peninsula, outsider mobile phone manufacturers have found that penetrating the South Korean mobile market isn’t easy. But, that hasn’t discouraged Sony Ericsson (NYSE: SNE) from pursuing this elusive market.
Sony Ericsson has announced that it will enter the South Korean mobile market with highly acclaimed Sony Ericsson XPERIA X1 leading the charge. While Sony Ericsson’s Korean marketing head Han Younhee admits that the current “economic climate isn’t favorable” for exploring new markets, Sony Ericsson is eying the expanding South Korean smartphone market as a longer-term investment. SK Telecom (NYSE: SKM) has been tapped as the Japanese-Swedish phone maker’s partner carrier, and will offer the Sony Ericsson XPERIA X1 on the SK Telecom network.
Click Here To Read The Full Article @ IntoMobile
Nokia 8800 Carbon Arte Review
Nokia has got some front. The 8800 Carbon Arte is an S40-toting handset retailing at over a grand. Who, especially in these cash-strapped days, is going to spend more than a thousand quid on a SIM-free mobile phone?
A year ago I drew a sharp intake of breath at the £600 SIM-free 8800 Arte. There has also been a version of the phone with a belly-button sapphire (OK, the gemstone is actually located in the centre of the D-pad), and that, the 8800 Sapphire Arte, is currently listed by Nokia as costing £979 inc VAT SIM-free. However, several factors combine to help justify the 8800 Carbon Arte’s four-figure price.
CyberPower Gamer Ultra Perseus PC Review
In these times of economic difficulty, getting good value for money is more important than ever. The one entertainment sector that is still seeing substantial growth is gaming, so we figured you might want to join us as we take a look at a water-cooled PC on which to play all those games. In particular, we have the CyberPower Gamer Ultra Perseus, available for a pound shy of £1200.
One of the things that is most noteworthy about this PC is that it is the first we’ve had through the TR offices using one of the brand new AMD Phenom II processors, specifically the multiplier-unlocked Black Edition X3 720, which nabbed itself one of our coveted Recommended awards.
Inkel WideTouch W700 - DMB TV, GPS, PMP
Korean company Inkel introduces the new W700 multimedia device that comes with DMV TV tuner, GPS receiver and PMP functions. Inkel W700 features a 7-inch 800×480 LCD touchscreen display. Powered by a 360MHz and a 300Mhz processors, the W700 has integrated DMB digital TV tuner and GPS receiver. Inkel W700 supports most media formats, including XviD, DivX, MPEG-4, WMV7/8/9, MP3, WMA and common image files. It offers 3D mapping, Picture in Pircture as well as Navigation in Picture function. It supports also the TPEG standard. This WideTouch has a remote control.
Click Here To Read The Full Article @ ItechNews
