Toys & Gadgets

Okay, so Denon wares aren’t exactly “cheap,” but you can’t knock it for trying to innovate. Despite that fact that about eight people on this Earth still care about their beloved SACD / DVD-Audio collections, Denon has developed a Blu-ray player specifically for them. The DVD-A1UD is hailed as the world’s first universal BD deck, and it features a black (shown after the break) or silver motif, SD / SDHC card slot, DivX support, HDMI 1.3, 1080p60 / 1080p24 output, internal decoding of DTS-HD Master Audio / Dolby TrueHD, 7.1-channel analog outputs, Denon LINK and all sorts of sophisticated pixel / audio restoration technologies. Better still, users who buy in can look forward to a Profile 2.0 update in the near future. Not surprisingly, the decked-out player will ship in Japan next month for a patently astounding ¥546,000 ($5,860), so you’ll probably be stuck dreaming about it unless your ship rolls in.

[Via Impress]

Continue reading Denon’s DVD-A1UD: world’s first universal (SACD / DVD-A) Blu-ray player

Filed under: Home Entertainment

Denon’s DVD-A1UD: world’s first universal (SACD / DVD-A) Blu-ray player originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 03 Dec 2008 14:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Enter our MP3 Insider contest to win a new 120GB Zune (Gears of War 2 Edition), courtesy of Microsoft.

(Credit: Donald Bell/CNET Networks)

Donald and Jasmine discuss Zune price drops and a Zune Pass deal that may put some pressure on other subscription services.

Also on the agenda is the latest iPod Touch firmware, some products that failed to impress, iTunes alternatives, and a reader question about stripping audio from DVDs.

Plus, we’re giving away a 120GB Zune MP3 player from Microsoft (see contest details below). Not just any Zune, in fact, but the thoroughly badass Gears of War 2 Edition, which features an etched logo and comes loaded with Gears of War videos, photos and music.

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Originally posted at MP3 Insider

Meet Fathom F212, a more affordable version of $12,000 Githom G213 with newest design and heart-stopping bass. The new F212 packs dual massive 12-inch drivers – a newer generation 12W7 subwoofer with more powerful and refined moto systems said to deliver performance better than a pair of JL Audio F112.

The active subwoofer has an immense integrated amplifier of 3000 watts and includes the ARO (Automatic Room Optimization) system found others JL Audio home subwoofers. Unit comes with laboratory-grade calibration microphone with both balanced and unbalanced inputs provided. The F212 measures 32×15×20-inches , weights in a massive 220lb. JL Audio will ship the Fathom f212 subwoofer in next month for $6000 in satin black and $6,100 for high gloss black finishes.

Frequency Response (anechoic):
20 - 97 Hz (+/- 1.5 dB)
-3 dB at 19 / 110 Hz
-10 dB at 15 / 157 Hz

Low Pass Filter Mode:
Off , 12 dB per octave or 24 dB per octave

Low Pass Filter Crossover Frequency:
Variable from 30 Hz – 130 Hz

Polarity:
0 or 180 degrees

Phase:
Variable from 0 – 280 degrees

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Best Buy Mobile and Verizon Wireless Stores Are First to Carry New 16GB CapacityMilpitas, Calif. September 29, 2008 – SanDisk Corporation (NASDAQ: SNDK), a global leader in flash memory products, today announced it is bringing to market its 16GB* mic…

Robust interactivity and powerful multimedia processing System-On-Chip will soon feature on next generation IPTV set-top boxes, IP cable set-top boxes, and Blu-ray players thanks to the availability of Sigma Design’s SMP8644. The company has announced its highest performance SOC yet promised to deliver feature-rich SOC at CEATEC show this week. Tru2Way, BR Profile 2.0, Dual SATA-2, USB, Ethernet controller, NAND and NOR flash module controllers are among many features integrated in SMP8644 SOC.

The image processor aims not only to please notices but video enthusiasts as well. The SMP8644 is capable of decoding advanced video codecs including H.264 MPEG-4 AVC, WMV9 VC1, AVS and HD audio codec to DTS-MA in full 7.1 Channels. A direct interface with additional studio quality image processor such as Sigma Design’s dual channel solution with 12 bits image processing VXP9452 is also supported.

The multi-core media processor also boosts significant increases in CPU speed, memory bandwidth, and architectural efficiencies with a dual 32-bit DDR-2 memory controller capable of 667 Mbps double data rates. Let’s see. Tru2way, high CPU processing speed, stellar image processor and audio decoder with a wealth of IO interface and networked streaming capability; SMP8644 sounds like a great candidate for Tivo Series 4! If they take this puppy into consideration, I may be the first to stand in line for Series 4.

[via news]

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• Tivo team up with Photobucket and Picasa for online photo sharing
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A little pricey, but I really like Bandai’s Luminodot Lite-Brite HD board. It’s available at Audiocubes if you’re not planning on visiting Japan soon…

Bandai’s Luminodot is the Lite-Brite we always knew we wanted. This 70 by 50 pixelated board is supported by a bright LED backlight. With 1600 bulbs in 12 different colors, each dot is important to finish the master piece. Any type of images can be projected onto the Luminodot, from a simple 2D picture to perspective art works. Featuring a private software that helps the user to create and preview the image. Luminodot is designed with a removable front panel, which allows the user to place the printed image underneath. A one-of-a-kind interior decoration. Available only from Japan (More & videos).

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Digg this!

The HP HDX18 offers a 18-inch display, which shows content with a resolution of 1.920 x 1.080 pixels. Furthermore, a BluRay ROM is included too. The mass storage device consists of two hard drives with 250 GB each and therefore it provides an overall capacity of 500 GB. The rest of the [...]

Section: Audio, Web, Web 2.0, Websites, Online Music/Video

Today, MySpace unveils the all-new MySpace Music alongside new BFFs: EMI Music, SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT, Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group, and Sony ATV/ Music Publishing.  The new site features:

* The new MyMusic personal music management toolset

* Free and unlimited ad-supported, full-length audio streaming

* Free and unlimited playlist functionality

* Free discography and content catalogues for SONY BMG, UMG and WMG artists

* DRM-free MP3 music e-commerce downloads powered by Amazon MP3

* Ringtone e-commerce powered by Jamster

Users can do all the playlist making, swapping, downloading, streaming, etc. to their hearts’ desires.  Expect to be enticed by MySpace Music partners McDonald’s, Sony Pictures, State Farm, and Toyota.  We can expect free downloads from Mickey D’s, State Farm playlists and Toyota Tuesdays where anything can happen.

And if you think MySpace hasn’t completely sold out:

“MySpace Music aims to empower major, independent, and unsigned artists to monetize their content through multiple revenue streams”

To be fair, the site looks good, is quite functional and I dig the logo.  Check it out for yourself.

Site [MySpace Music]

Full Story » | Written by JG Mason for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »

Section: Audio, Portable Audio, Video, Portable Video, Computers, Mobile Computers, Wireless, Gadgets / Other, GPS/Navigation, Web

Clarion recently came out with a product that combines everyone’s on-the-go, PMP, GPS, and Internet, needs into one device.  Here comes the Clarion MiND (Mobile Internet Navigation Device).  Although it doesn’t come with cell phone support, so maybe not all your on-the-go-needs, but 3 out of the 4 isn’t bad.

When thinking of devices that incorporate all these essential features, only a few devices come to mind, such as the iPhone, UMPCs, and maybe NetBooks. However, each of those devices lack some features that the Clarion MiND has, except for iPhone which can make calls.

To begin with, the MiND comes with a 4.8 inch WVGA LCD GPS-esque touch screen, with 800×480 resolution. With a screen like this, it makes viewing maps, videos, and the Internet a whole lot better. In addition, one of the main and standout features is the processor it uses, the Intel Atom processor. With a processor such as this one, it becomes a lot like a PC and loads everything very fast. It connects to the Internet using Wi-Fi and unfortunately, there is no 3G connectivity.

Another cool feature about the MiND is the car connectivity it comes with. For example, if you purchase the vehicle docking system, you can connect the device to play audio using the speakers, and have the car speakers read out the GPS directions. It also comes with something called “Human Mobile Music Media Interface”, or H.M.I, which is an interface guide that can lock certain features when the car is in motion. This technology will probably prove to be very helpful as it can stop people from using the Internet when driving and other possibly dangerous features.

Tatsuhiko Izumi, president of Clarion, had this to say about their latest device -

“ClarionMiND represents the perfect balance between leading-edge hardware technology and next-generation software solutions. Delivering an Intel Atom-powered full Internet experience that integrates the latest advances in navigation capability with multifaceted entertainment functions, the innovative ClarionMiND demonstrates our commitment to finding new ways to connect people with their music and information in a mobile environment.”

The Clarion MiND is set to be available in early November in both Canada and the U.S. In January 2009, Clarion plans to release it in Europe selling for either $649.99 or 649.99 Euros. Lastly, a Premium model featuring 3G connectivity is set to be available next Spring. I’ve seen many high-end GPSs sell for similar prices, but this definitely looks to be better than those as it comes with other key features such as Internet. It’ll be interesting to see how it sells as compared to other similar devices.

Read [Clarion Press Release]

Full Story » | Written by Natesh Sood for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »

Filed under: Portable Audio

Well it took three years, but Rockbox 3.0 has finally made it on the scene, with a major overhaul in the sound decoding department and support for several new players. This open source firmware replacement is chock full of tasty new features, including codec support for over 15 formats like FLAC and Ogg, 5-band parametric EQ, MPEG video, multilingual interface, Doom and a pile of other games, not to mention freedom from iTunes. Oh yeah, and it can talk to you via a spoken interface — which comes in handy for not driving off bridges and what not. iPod, iriver, Sansa, iAudio, Gigabeat and Archos models are all supported, though Archos didn’t get many of the major 3.0 improvements like expanded codecs.

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