Archive for July 9th, 2009

LaCie – HD movies on the go

Jul 9

Posted by andrew in News | No Comments

LaCieRuggedhd

LaCie has strengthened its portable hard-drive line-up with a device that’s more rugged than Clint Eastwood with a hangover.

The brilliantly titled LaCinema Rugged HD is a hard drive that packs in 500GB of storage and is compatible with any HDMI-supported TV.

Scratch-resistant

The LaCinema Rugged HD is also compatible with both Mac and PCs, and supports most codecs – including H.264, MKV, WMV9, MPEG-4.

To make the hard-drive as rugged as possible, LaCie has added a scratch-resistant aluminium shell, internal anti-shock absorbers, and a shock-resistant rubber bumper which is said to protect media files against everyday blunders.

We think it looks like it can stand a nuclear holocaust, but for some reason that’s omitted from the press release.

For all the number crunchers out there, you’ll be glad to read that the hard-drive can hold up to 700 movies, 165,000 songs or 165,000 photos. And if you want one, expect to pay around the £260 mark.

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Plasma or LCD? Which to choose?

Jul 9

Posted by michael in News | No Comments

Panasonic believes there is a definitive answer, releasing its latest TVs.

In TV technology, Panasonic is still heavily marketing both Plasma and LCD sets, but now says both technologies are suitable in the right circumstance.

All Panasonic TVs smaller than 40″ are LCD – designed for environments with lots of backlight, where the extra brightness of the LCD panels makes viewing easier.

But in the living room, mounted on the wall, Panasonic recommends you hang one of their Viera Plasma units, providing more lifelike colour, richer blacks and lower screen lag for sport and fast action. The new range of Panasonic plasmas now comes in 40″, 50″, 65″ and a brand new ‘in-between’ 46″ size.

Of the fourteen new models Panasonic has just introduced, nine are full 1080P HD (1920×1080, with progressive screen refresh rather than interlaced).

According to Paul Reid, Director of Panasonic’s Consumer Electronics Group, consumers are still confused by the difference between Plasma and LCD technology. To combat this, Panasonic has launched a new website called whychooseplasma.com.au to help make the decision easier.

Panasonic also previewed the future of PDP (Plasma Display Panel) technology with two interesting demonstrations. The first, a super-thin 50″ plasma measuring 24.7mm (less than one inch) thick and weighs 22kg – around half the weight and a quarter as thick as current model plasma units. The second demonstration unit was a new 42″ plasma panel which provides the same brightness as current displays but consumes only half as much power. With the same power consumption as current units this new plasma can produce twice the brightness. Panasonic reps said this technology should be available in the next couple of years.

Panasonic also unveiled Australia’s first Blu-Ray recorder, with a 500GB hard drive and the ability to record seven hours of full HD video onto a BluRay disc.

At over $2000 the BluRay recorder certainly isn’t for everyone, but Panasonic also previewed a range of more affordable DVD-recorders with built-in hard disk and twin-HD tuner.

The new model, the DMR-XW300 comes with a 250GB hard drive and can record up to 441 hours of video in EP (extended play) mode. Cheaper models with standard definition tuners are also available.

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Panasonic and Comcast to Collaborate on Bringing HDMI-CEC to Set-Top Boxes

Jul 9

Posted by natasha in News | No Comments

On the heels of the successful retail launch of the first tru2wayTM -ready VIERA(R) HDTV, Panasonic, the market and technology leader in HDTV, and Comcast Corporation (Nasdaq: CMCSA; CMCSK), the nation’s leading provider of entertainment, information and communications, today announced that they are collaborating to bring HDMI-CEC technology to the latest generation of digital cable set-top boxes.

HDMI-CEC is the technology underlying Panasonic’s VIERA LinkTM technology, which enables single remote operation of Panasonic VIERA HDTVs and connected home entertainment components, such as Blu-ray Disc Players and Home Theater Systems. Panasonic and Comcast are working to integrate HDMI-CEC technology with tru2way enabled set-top boxes that will enable non-tru2way HDTVs and other consumer electronics devices to interact with the set-top boxes via the use of a single TV remote control and a single user interface. Integrating the HDMI-CEC protocol with Comcast’s on-screen program guide will allow set-top boxes to automatically configure connected home theater devices for optimal viewing and audio experiences and will enable intelligent interactive features, including auto input select and auto power on/off of all components. HDMI-CEC is already standard in all 2009 Panasonic VIERA HDTVs and select Comcast set-top boxes. The companies are currently working with CableLabs(R) on the standardization to adopt HDMI-CEC for next generation digital set-top boxes.

“Panasonic and Comcast are both committed to enhancing the user experience by enabling consumers to control all of the functions of their home entertainment systems with a single remote and user interface,” said Dr. Paul Liao, Chief Technology Officer, Panasonic Corporation of North America. “This collaboration also highlights Panasonic’s strong focus on delivering consumer-friendly solutions and the value that our VIERA Link technology brings to the consumer electronics industry.”

Mark Hess, Senior Vice President of Video Product Development, Comcast Cable said, “When the consumer electronics and cable industry work together, the consumer is the real winner. We’re pleased to continue our collaborative work with Panasonic to develop products that will seamlessly connect consumers’ home entertainment experiences with all of the features and services they want and expect from cable.”

Panasonic and Comcast have led the development of tru2way technology and related products, which are based upon specifications developed by CableLabs(R). Making good on a promise made at CES 2008, Panasonic and Comcast announced the arrival at retail of the first-ever tru2way HDTV — the Panasonic VIERA TH-42PZ80Q and TH-50PZ80Q 1080p Plasma HDTVs — and the activation of tru2way head ends in Chicago and Denver in October 2008. Additional cities are expected to go live in the coming months.

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