Hasta La Gadget!

While we love the transmission capabilities of HDMI, we loath the fact that the HDMI standard doesn’t specify a locking mechanism. If you’ve ever wall mounted a flat screen TV or tried to stuff your receiver into too tight a rack then you’re probably familiar with HDMI’s weak-azz connector. Now we have what appears to be a first of its kind, magnetic HDMI connector from Torrent, Inc. — at least its the first to pass ATC compliance testing. Called MagLoc, the magnetic connector with sliding sleeve for optimal fit is said to be 5x stronger than your typical HDMI cable connector. Of course, anyone who’s familiar with the magnetic “locks” on some laptop power cords can assure you that the technology is nowhere near as strong as mechanical fasteners. Still, it’s a start.

Torrent’s higher spec’d SureConnect Advanced and Elite cables also feature the totally over-the-top “VeriFYI” (ugh) indicator lights to confirm the end-to-end connection. VeriFYI blinks to confirm the HDMI cable you just inserted is in fact inserted — something you should be able to confirm with the same pair of eyes looking at the jack. Insert the other side of the cable and VeriFYI will glow steady for one minute after testing the end-to-end connection. It then repeats this semi-useful (assuming your cables are easily visible) test each time you power up your system. While MagLoc sounds promising, it appears that the cables have yet to reach retail channels. We’ll let you know as soon as that changes.

[Via The Inquirer and HDMI.org]

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

Torrent’s SureConnect HDMI cables stay put with magnets, blink with madness originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 15 Apr 2009 04:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Got a Mini DisplayPort equipped laptop or video card and need to connect it to something… um, not Mini DisplayPort? If you’ve got a crisp Andrew Jackson, then Monoprice has an adapter for you with HDMI, DVI and VGA outs, all of which are now shipping for $14.25 and up. Unless you don’t like saving money, nor enjoy your peripherals actually working with your new machine, it’ll be hard to find a problem with this.

[Thanks, Phil]

Filed under: Displays, Home Entertainment, Peripherals

Mini DisplayPort to HDMI adapters now available for under $20 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Mar 2009 21:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A number of you bemoaned the fact that MSI’s WindBOX lacked an oh-so-necessary HDMI port, so maybe the better option for you is an LCD mounted Eee Box 206. Yep, the HD-minded mini PC was set up here in Hannover, with one of the units hosted up nicely on the rear of a flat-panel monitor. The fit was flush and the connections were easily accessible, so those looking for a nice, if not underpowered media center should definitely give this one a glance. Speaking of glances, you do cast some right now in the gallery below.

Filed under: Desktops

HDMI-equipped ASUS Eee Box 206 eyes-on originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 05 Mar 2009 17:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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While the future seems bright for DisplayPort, it’s still tough to find a GPU out there with a DisplayPort socket — and the search becomes increasingly difficult when hunting one down that’s affordable. Enter S3, who is expanding its Chrome 500 series with the Chrome 540 GTX. Hailed as the “world’s most connected high-def card,” this PCI Express card boasts 256MB of GDDR3 memory, compatibility with DirectX 10.1 and OpenGL 3.0, support for Blu-ray playback and a trifecta of interfaces: DVI, HDMI and DisplayPort. The best part? It comes bundled with WinDVD 8 for BD playback and can be procured today for the low, low price of $69.95.

Filed under: Desktops, Laptops

S3 crams DisplayPort, HDMI and DVI onto $70 Chrome 540 GTX originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 16 Feb 2009 03:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The it’s mind-blowingly useful HDMI Consumer Electronic Control (aka HDMI-CEC) technology basically turns your HDTV’s remote control into a universal remote control, minus the headache of programming the universal remote control. If the HDMI port on your HDTV and the device plugged into it both support Consumer Electronic Control, the two devices can communicate and control each other, even if the products are two different brands.

This week in PCMag Labs, we just happen to have two such devices. Check out the video demonstration to see what happens once they are connected with an HDMI cable:

• I turn on the Sony SR-11 High-Definition camcorder.
• Automatically the Samsung HDTV turns on.
• Automatically the Samsung HDTV selects the input the Sony camcorder is connected to.
• Automatically the Samsung’s remote control navigates the Sony camcorder’s menu.
• Automatically, turning off the Samsung HDTV turns off the Sony camcorder.

Look for HDMI-CEC in future devices. (If you want to see the video in HD, click here.)

Post by PJ Jacobowitz