Hasta La Gadget!

Looks like Sharp’s keeping its word — next month, the fourth-largest LCD TV maker will launch a slate of new 3D TVs in Japan, just as planned. Based on the same Sharp Quattron quad-pixel technology that made George Takei’s jaw drop, the new LV-series of AQUOS panels will come in 40-, 46-, 52- and 60-inch sizes when they debut July 30th, and feature 1080p resolution, UV²A panels and a high-speed signaling technology named FRED that Sharp says increases brightness and reduces crosstalk. More interesting are the AN-3DG10 glasses that come with them, which reportedly allow each individual viewer decide whether to view content in 2D or 3D — we’re guessing by tweaking the glasses to show either the left or right image to both eyes simultaneously, instead of flipping back and forth. Of course, you’ll also need something to watch, and thus Sharp will also release a pair of Blu-ray DVR units, the BD-HDW700 and BD-HDW70, which record two simultaneous Japanese television programs onto terabyte-sized hard drives when they’re not sending Blu-ray 3D content to the aforementioned displays.

While mum’s the word on pricing, Impress Watch believes the TVs will start around ¥280,000 (around $3,067) and top out at a cool ¥600,000 ($6,581) for that 60-incher, and says that US and European variants are expected later this year. While you wait, why not take a deep dive into the details — you’ll find an entire brochure’s worth at our source links.

Sharp plunges headfirst into 3D market with LV-series Quattron TVs, Blu-ray DVRs originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 02 Jun 2010 01:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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How’s that Apple tattoo treating you? Good, good. Well, Elgato has something for the faithful: the new EyeTV HD. The device grabs a 1080i signal over component from your DVR or cable box or Blu-ray player, and records that video to your Mac using Elgato’s own desktop DVR software. The shows can then be auto-transcoded to iPhone or iPad-friendliness, providing you a bit of much needed Animal Planet during your commute the next day. That’s all well and good, but the real kicker is the live streaming the device can push to your iPad or iPhone, using an IR blaster to change the channel on your cable box. It’s all rosy except for the fact that you’ll need to plug this directly into your Mac and your cable box, meaning that they’ll have to be in fairly close proximity (there’s a six foot USB cable included). The unit retails for $200 and is available now directly from Elgato or Apple stores. PR is after the break.

We haven’t plugged in the box yet, but we played around with Elgato’s setup using an iPad 3G and found it pretty impressive. The streaming quality isn’t really at, say, a Netflix level (it’s more suited to a phone screen), but it’s certainly passable, and the interface for browsing your own channels and recordings is very pleasant. We also loved the inclusion of meta data and chapters in the recorded shows and movies that had been loaded onto the device (you can check that out in the gallery below). Elgato might’ve just released the most elegant “analog hole” yet.

Continue reading Elgato’s EyeTV HD records shows to your Mac, slings live to your iPad

Elgato’s EyeTV HD records shows to your Mac, slings live to your iPad originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 24 May 2010 11:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Comcast CEO Brian Roberts just hit the stage at The Cable Show and displayed the company’s prototype iPad app, the Xfinity Remote. At least so far it doesn’t appear to let you stream television programs directly to Apple’s media consumption device, but it does let you turn it into a TV guide browser and remote for your set-top box that outpaces even its already released iPhone prog. They pulled in G4’s Kevin Pereira for the quick video demo (embedded after the break) highlighting not only the remote DVR scheduling but also a social feature that lets you invite friends to watch live TV with you — as long as they have Comcast, and the app, and an iPad. Of course, the innovation we’d like to see is a new UI for our cable boxes like the one shown on the iPad… or the one we saw a few years ago. So far the reaction to Facebook and Twitter chat on the screen via widgets has been mild at best, but social tie-ins to another screen could be just what our Real Housewives of New York viewing parties need.

Continue reading Comcast Xfinity iPad remote app changes channels and invites friends to watch RHONY

Comcast Xfinity iPad remote app changes channels and invites friends to watch RHONY originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 12 May 2010 15:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Two years back, consumer research told us the vast majority of DVR users skipped commercials; now, statisticians at Duke University say that’s not the case. More importantly, even those who do hit that oh-so-tempting skip button aren’t necessarily spending less on advertised products as a result. Pulling data from over 1,200 TiVo boxes over the course of three years, Professor Carl Mela and colleagues found that a staggering 95 percent of television was watched live instead of recorded, giving viewers no opportunity to skip, and even when there was an opportunity, users took it only 6.5 percent of the time.

Moreover, every attempt the researchers made to find a “TiVo effect” failed — comparing those who had DVRs with those who didn’t, they found no significant difference in the amount TV watchers spent on nine different goods (including cleaning and grooming products) advertised. This could be for a variety of reasons — perhaps advertising doesn’t work, period, or perhaps those without DVRs “skipped” commercials simply by walking out of the room — but no matter the reason, it seems these days television advertisers don’t have quite so much to fear.

Continue reading Study finds commercial-skipping DVRs don’t affect purchases, ‘TiVo effect’ may not exist

Study finds commercial-skipping DVRs don’t affect purchases, ‘TiVo effect’ may not exist originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 06 May 2010 21:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Now this is more like it. Instead of chewing on another underwhelming 3D display, the Tech Radar crew have pulled in one of Sharp’s hot new Quattron sets — distinguishable, if you look really really closely, by the addition of yellow to the standard RGB colors in each pixel — and their experience has certainly been something to write about. Describing the LE821E’s color response as “utterly spectacular,” they go on to praise the LCD’s improved brightness thanks to the yellow sub-pixel’s higher transparency, confident upscaling of standard def pictures to Full HD resolution, and “inspired onscreen menus.” Counteracting the good stuff were mildly disappointing black levels and a £2,000 ($3,053) price for the 46-inch model. Sure it’s steep, but with Freeview HD and an 8GB HDD built into the box, we can think of a few ways to justify the expense. As ever, the source link will give you the unabridged verdict, so read on.

[Thanks, David]

Sharp’s 46-inch Quattron LE821E HDTV and its integrated Freeview HD DVR make reviewers gush originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 20 Apr 2010 05:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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