LG has unveiled one of the most interesting looking TVs I’ve seen a long time at IFA 2013. The TV is a 55-inch OLED set called the Gallery OLED TV 55EA8800. This TV certainly isn’t the first OLED set we’ve seen from LG, but it is the first to have the cool picture frame design. […]
It wasn’t so long ago that you need to spend some serious money to get a home theater projector that supports full HD resolution and the ability to view 3-D content. Epson has announced a new home theater projector called the PowerLite Home Cinema 2030 that supports full HD resolution and both 2-D and 3-D […]
Thanks to DVRs, you can watch your favorite TV shows anytime you want. TiVo’s new Roamio line of DVRs will let you watch anywhere you want as well. The Roamio DVRs let you record four to six shows at once. They also integrate with the TiVo app so you can browse shows and schedule recordings on an iOS or Android device. Best of all, you can stream or download media on an iOS device. But all of this wizardry comes at a price.
The first potential dealbreaker with Roamio is in figuring out which model to get, because the DVR has three models. There’s the Roamio, the Roamio Plus and the Roamio Pro. The Roamio can’t stream or upload media to mobile devices on its own. You’ll need to buy the TiVo Stream to get that feature. The Pro and the Plus on the other hand both have that streaming functionality built-in. But if you’re using an HD antenna, the Roamio is your only choice because the Plus and the Pro will only work with a Cablecard from your Cable TV provider.
If you’ve emerged from the jungle of jargon and you’re still interested in getting a Roamio, it’s time for the good parts. As I said, all three models work with the TiVo mobile app so you can browse shows and schedule recordings even if you’re not in front of your TV. The Roamio can record up to four shows at once, while the Plus and the Pro can both record up to six shows at once.
All three models also have Wi-Fi connectivity, although they still have Ethernet ports.
As I mentioned above, the Pro and the Plus will let you stream or download media to iOS devices. For now, this only works while you’re on your home network. But TiVo will soon add a software update that extends this feature to any Wi-Fi connection. Both the Pro and the Plus will also get an update that will allow you to watch live TV from an iOS device. In fact the only difference between the Plus and the Pro are their hard drives. The Pro has a 3TB drive while the Plus “only” has a 1TB drive, but since all three models have two USB ports, I’d say save your cash and get the Plus. You can connect additional storage as you need it.
You can order the Roamio, Roamio Plus and Roamio Pro from Amazon, Best Buy or directly from Tivo. The Roamio costs $200 (USD), the Roamio Plus costs $400 and the Roamio Pro costs $600. But you also have to sign up for TiVo’s service, which is another $15 a month. Whew. And that’s the TiVo Roamio line: confusing and a bit costly, but convenient. Now I know why people love Netflix so much.
[via TiVo]
Sound bars are a tough thing to buy these days, mostly because you have to find the right one with the best sound quality and the perfect size to fit your home theater setup. However, VIZIO thinks they can help. The company just outed three new sound bars that consist of different sizes and features […]
Vizio’s new system is inexpensive and efficient — it delivers the performance of a 5.1 system without a bunch of damn cords running everywhere.
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When someone mentions the name “Sceptre”, what comes into your mind? I am quite sure that many of us are well acquainted with Sceptre’s range of LED TVs that deliver plenty of bang for your hard earned buck, and this has somewhat raised the confidence of the general cost conscious populace in this relative newcomer to the home theater/audio visual arena. This time around, the folks over at Sceptre has something slightly different for us as your eyes would not be the ones entertained, but rather, your auditory canals, in the form of the Sceptre SB301524W Speaker Sound Bar 2.1.
The Sceptre SB301524W Speaker Sound Bar 2.1 will boast of a built-in subwoofer, in addition to being powered by Google’s Android operating system while sporting Wi-Fi connectivity so that your run-of-the-mill HDTV can be “transformed” into a smart TV of sorts, thanks to the wonders of plug and play technology. I suppose the total cost of ownership for a smart TV has now been lowered across the board with this Sceptre offering, although it should not come with a similar level of integrated performance as Samsung or LG’s own range of dedicated Smart TVs. Still, something is better than nothing, right?
With the inclusion of Android’s interactive media operating system, you should be able to take advantage of the perfect entertainment atmosphere, as you are now able to access the Google Play Store, where the doors have been opened for you to download thousands of songs, games, movies and apps to add to your TV viewing experience. Something tells me that Angry Birds are going to see a spike of downloads and installations in the days and weeks ahead, if the Sceptre SB301524W Speaker Sound Bar 2.1 sees a large number of sales.
Features of the $299.99 Sceptre SB301524W Sound Bar 2.include a 35W subwoofer with passive radiator, SRS WOW HD audio technology, dual front facing speakers, a trendy touch sensor control panel, and an optional smart remote control which is capable of offering a navigational experience which is on par with that of a traditional mouse and keyboard. Any one of our dear readers are interested in this bad boy?
Press Release
[ Sceptre SB301524W Speaker Sound Bar 2.1 copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]
Do you live in a bizarre, warped, Escher-style home that’s made installing a booming sound system next to impossible? The Anakonda KAN200 might look like a well shielded audio cable, but it’s actually a flexible speaker designed to squeeze into spots where traditional boxy speakers don’t fit, but still require jam pumping.
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The last time Pioneer introduced a speaker bar was 1998, but 15 years later the company’s giving it another go. The just-announced speaker bar system, the SP-SB23W, will retail for $399 this fall — reps said the device was designed to pump out high-quality audio without sacrificing a small, attractive design. It’s clearly not the most compact rig on the market, but it does offer decent output. It features six independently amplified speakers and an eight-channel active digital crossover network. There’s also a wireless subwoofer with a 6.5-inch driver and Dolby Digital decoding on board.
On the noisy show floor here at CE Week, it was a little difficult to judge sound quality definitively, but the dialogue recording we heard did sound extremely crisp. For those who already count a Pioneer speaker or two among their home theater setup, the speaker bar should fit in perfectly; it sports a wood — rather than plastic — construction, and the company says its cabinet enclosure offer better control of the speakers “because of its resistance to unwanted resonance.” Check out our hands-on photo gallery below, and head past the break for the full press info.
Zach Honig contributed to this report.
Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD
Boba Fett is one notorious bounty hunter in the world of Star Wars, and you could say that he has slain lesser Jedi in his time with his array of devices, pretty much in the same way that his “father” did. Well, having said that, some folks do root for the bad guy, and Boba Fett with his daddy issues and hatred for the Jedi seems to be the perfect poster boy for everything that could go wrong when growing up, does. If you are a huge fan of this bounty hunter, then the $13.99 LEGO Star Wars Boba Fett Keylight would make the perfect addition to your bedside table.
I am quite sure that bounty hunters would treat monsters under the bed as well as those hiding in the closet the same way that they would do to aliens from different star systems, since there isn’t much difference in terms of physical looks between one and the other, no? Not only that, Fett is always hungry to pull the trigger on his laser blaster, and in order to help him (and you) see the things that go bump in the night better, Fett’s feet will light up whenever you press his chest.
[ LEGO Star Wars Boba Fett Keylight copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]
While most of us have been pretty content with our 1080P HD displays, consumer electronics makers continue to up the ante, as they start to release their first production 4K resolution displays. One of the first to market with 4K displays is Sony, who recently released their first consumer 4K sets.
The Sony 4K Ultra HD TV series offers over eight million pixels on their 3840×2160 displays. This increased resolution makes for the sharpest picture you’ve ever seen on a television, putting your home theater at nearly the same resolution used in digital movie theaters.
Sony’s 4K TVs also tout a technology called TRILUMINOS which is designed to produce a wider color gamut, increasing the vibrance of colors – especially those occurring in nature and skin tones. Basically, this is a local-dimming backlighting technology which uses RGB LED colors instead of just white.
The displays also include a wide variety of applications for streaming content, including Netflix, HuluPlus, and YouTube, and have built-in Wi-Fi connectivity. Of course, all of these displays include 3D support, and also Sony’s unique SimulView tech, so PS3 players wearing 3D glasses can play against each other using the full screen at the same time. (No word of whether or not the PS4 will support this tech.)
Of course, the biggest challenge with 4K displays at this point is the lack of content available in the format. Thankfully these displays can upscale and enhance existing HD content, which does make images sharper and more vibrant than on 1080p displays, and lets you take full advantage of your current movie collection. You can also go for the optional Sony FMP-X1 4K media player if you want true 4K content. This player will sell for $700(USD) when it hits the market later this year, and includes 10 free movies. I wonder how good PS3 and Xbox 360 games look when upscaled on these displays. Of course when the next-gen consoles come out, they’re both going to offer 4K support, so that’s when gaming will really shine.
The XBR 4K Ultra HD series offers displays in 55″, 65″, and 84″ variants. While you can definitely see the difference in image quality on the smaller screens (I can’t believe I’m using the work “smaller” to describe a 55″ or 65″ display), the real benefit of 4K resolution starts to show on 70″ and larger displays – where pixel structure can be visible to the naked eye on today’s HD screens. So the real beaut of this collection is the 84″ model, the XBR-84X900, which sells for a whopping $25,000(USD). For early adopters without pockets quite that deep, there’s the 55″ XBR-55X900A and the 65″ XBR-65X900A, which sell for $5000 and $7000, respectively.
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