Hasta La Gadget!

We know you’ve got questions, and if you’re brave enough to ask the world for answers, then here’s the outlet to do so. This week’s Ask Engadget inquiry is from “Eager Gamer,” who has asked a question that’s appeared more than a few times in our inbox over the last month. If you’re looking to ask one of your own, drop us a line at ask [at] engadget [dawt] com.

“With next-gen consoles around the corner, could you please help me out with some of the best gaming projectors to choose from? I’m looking for something in the $2,000 – $2,500 in the price range. Thanks for any and all advice you can offer, as buying my first projector is much harder than I thought it’d be.”

Never fear Easy Gamer, as we’d rather you ask us than run the risk of buying a bad gadget. On the upside, both the Xbone and PS4 will support 4K video (the Xbone will also be able to run games in 4K where supported). On the downside, the cheapest 4K projector is more than ten times your top budget.

So instead, let’s look at a high quality projector that you can grab that is within budget. Sony’s VPLHW30ES, for instance, offers 3D projection, a 1,300 lumens bulb an HDMI-in for $2,500, while ViewSonic’s PRO9000 can be snapped up for $1,800. Still, those are just two options from us — we’re reasonably sure that the Engadget community can suggest something even more suited to your tastes.

Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD, Sony, Microsoft

Comments

If you’re still on the fence about choosing between a PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, Microsoft wants to help you make your decision. Redmond is taking its next-gen console on a multi-city international tour starting October 1st, putting the system’s launch titles in your hands and throwing parties replete with live music in select Canadian, European and US towns. These events are running right up until the system’s November 22nd launch, and full details — where to find the happenings and when — are but a click away.

Filed under: Gaming, HD, Microsoft

Comments

Source: Xbox Wire, Xbox

Wireless speakers still aren’t usually the first choice of those primarily concerned with sound quality, but high-end manufacturer Bang & Olufsen is setting out to change that perception with its latest offering. Announced at the CEDIA conference this week, the company’s new wireless speaker platform promises to deliver 24-bit, uncompressed audio to either a pair of speakers or a full 7.1 surround setup. To do that, the platform employs the WiSA open standard, which operates in the 5.2-5.8 GHz range, along with some more proprietary tech from B&O and Summit Semiconductor. The end result of that, the company says, is not only speakers that provide a “second-to-none multi-channel wireless experience,” but ones that are compatible with any WiSA-compliant device. The company isn’t quite ready to show off any new speakers based on the new platform just yet, though; it’s saving that announcement for late October, when a new set of “Immaculate Wireless Sound” speakers is set to debut.

Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD

Comments

Valve revealed Steam Controller today, a controller for its living room PC-based game console initiative. It’s the third announcement this week from Valve, following reveals of SteamOS and Steam Machines on Monday and Wednesday (respectively). The controller is shaped like a standard game console controller, but in place of thumbsticks there are two clickable trackpads. Valve’s saying that the dual trackpads provide resolution that “approaches that of a desktop mouse,” making previously PC-only games playable on a couch.

In the middle of the controller is a “high-resolution” touch screen (also clickable) that enables both control and navigation. “Players can swipe through pages of actions in games where that’s appropriate. When programmed by game developers using our API, the touch screen can work as a scrolling menu, a radial dial, provide secondary info like a map or use other custom input modes we haven’t thought of yet,” the controller’s announcement page says. There are also haptic sensors all over the controller, which offer “super-precise” haptic feedback to players — they’re in both trackpads on the front, as well as in the shoulder buttons and around the rear grips. Valve says that these sensors not only relay physical information to players, but also “play audio waveforms and function as speakers.”

Like any gamepad, the Steam Controller has a handful of buttons as well: 16 in total, according to Valve. Two are around back, while the majority are found out front — one sits in each corner of the middle touchscreen, and three sit below that screen. Game devs should have no issue getting their games working with the controller, according to Valve, as the API will become available for free for devs at the same time that the Steam Machines beta goes live “later this year.” Additionally, gamers interested in beta testing Valve’s controller can sign up the same way you signed up for the console beta: a quest is now available in your Steam account.%Gallery-slideshow99391%

Filed under: Gaming, Peripherals, HD

Comments

Source: Valve

Back in July Dish Network announced plans to open its Hopper DVR platform to mobile app developers, and today at CEDIA we saw the results of that initiative. Thanks to SDK access that can mirror the functionality of Dish’s own Explorer iPad app, home automation systems like Control4 can now directly access the DVRs. That means users with those systems (or others, we saw demos of integration with a few other systems although they haven’t been officially announced yet) can control their DVR with the same controls used to adjust their lighting, security and other services. So far, access is limited to simple remote control commands over IP while everything gets certified and secured, but eventually it will include full two-way communication, including guide data and more.

While that’s enough to make anyone who orders or builds custom systems drool, what could it mean for the rest of us? We’ll have to wait and see, but if Control4 can build in access, we can certainly imagine what the Xbox One, Google TV, Samsung’s Smart TV or any other rumored devices (*cough*) might be able to offer. We’ll probably have to wait until CES to hear more on that front, but we did get a quick preview of a feature in testing that’s coming to all Hopper DVRs: HDMI-CEC control. The ability to send and receive commands is something we’ve wanted on cable / satellite set-top boxes for some time, and Dish Network may well be the first to make it happen.

Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD

Comments