Top Stories
Time Warner broadband usage caps spreading, consumers revolt!
Insane 65,000-brick LEGO space shuttle may as well be the real thing
White House plans modified Washington Monument in 'carbon-free' National Mall
Sections
Archive
Home Entertainment
Pianos haven't changed much in the last century or two, and while we have seen a few wacky concepts, no piano has ever looked as speedy as the Schimmel Pegasus Guoqin. This German company did make a few of...
POSTED Sunday, April 5, 2009
Time Warner's broadband usage caps are coming soon to a city near you. Soon after the company decided to spread its limited 40GB-a-month (enough for two HD movies a week) service beyond its test market in Beaumont, Texas, angry customers...
POSTED Friday, April 3, 2009
DVICE writers take a closer look at the latest tech trends in our weekly column, Shift. Show of hands, please: how many of you have an Ethernet jack in your living room? Other than my own, I don't see many...
POSTED Thursday, April 2, 2009
Enlarge a bathtub so it's big enough for frolicking, put in some steps, and you have the KOS Faraway Pool, lit up with a glow that'll be the hit of your luxo-bedroom, bath, or beyond. The indoor pool's built into...
POSTED Thursday, April 2, 2009
If you're into high-end audio equipment, the chances are good that you're more than familiar with the name McIntosh. Known for years for producing super-high-end home entertainment equipment, it's been a top choice of the well heeled for decades. But...
POSTED Tuesday, March 31, 2009
We thought that Netflix $1/month extra fee to rent Blu-ray discs was too good to be true, and now we find out, yes, indeed it was. The company has doubled the monthly tariff tacked onto its membership fee for...
POSTED Monday, March 30, 2009
Moneual is joining the ranks of recession-defying companies by releasing what is perhaps the most expensive computer in Korea called the 701 Jewelry. Retailing at roughly $30,000, the device is covered in 3,554 Swarovski jewels, and housed in gold and...
POSTED Monday, March 30, 2009
Do you Hulu? Apparently, ABC and ESPN want to Hulu. According to inside sources, Disney is in serious negotiations with Hulu to carry ABC, and less likely, ESPN and some Disney Channel content. It should be noted that Hulu is...
POSTED Friday, March 27, 2009
I'm a little pissed at my TiVo right now. I just sat down to watch this week's Lost and it's nowhere to be found. A hex on you, my devious TiVo friend. But, truth be told, I love the little...
POSTED Friday, March 27, 2009
When DreamWorks Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg invited us to see the tech behind his studio's Monsters vs. Aliens debuting in theaters today, we didn't think we'd be impressed by the 3D movie. We've been highly skeptical of the 3D push...
POSTED Friday, March 27, 2009
Another day, another ridiculously-overpriced set of designer speakers aimed at monied audiophiles. But wait, this one has had its photo taken with some adorable kitty cats! Aww, how can I be skeptical of the performance of such an object when...
POSTED Thursday, March 26, 2009
First there was smell-o-vision. Now we have the Emo Jacket with feel-o-vision. The folks at Philips Electronics are bringing out a jacket that lets you really feel what's going on in a movie. Using similar coding technology to D-box Motion...
POSTED Thursday, March 26, 2009
Could this be the console killer that puts the Xbox 360, Playstation 3 and even the Nintendo Wii out to pasture? OnLive thinks so, taking care of all the heavy graphics rendering on its monster servers up in the cloud,...
POSTED Tuesday, March 24, 2009
If you're reading this site you're probably more likely than most to have a real security camera trained on your tech lair. But even the most authentic geeks sometimes fall upon financial hard times, in which case devices like the...
POSTED Monday, March 23, 2009
Okay all you Blu-ray holdouts — your excuses for not jumping into the crispiest, cleanest, best-sounding video format yet are wearing thin. Here's the cheapest Blu-ray player we've seen short of Black Friday insanity and refurbished models: the Curtis Mathes...
POSTED Friday, March 20, 2009
As LCD screens continue to slim down to near paper thinness, manufacturers are finding ever more interesting ways to integrate these magic windows into in our everyday lives. The latest innovation comes from Korea's Elivision who recently unveiled a door...
POSTED Friday, March 20, 2009
So what if Pioneer and Vizio are bailing out of the plasma biz forthwith? Now we have Bang & Olufsen, set to slam down this 103-inch behemoth this July, and it's so honkin' huge it weighs over a half a...
POSTED Thursday, March 19, 2009
Happy St. Patrick's Day — a holiday where it's often considered bad form if you don't get yourself falling-down drunk. Still, it can get monotonous to simply guzzle pint after pint of your favorite brew. Surely there's some way technology...
POSTED Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Most audiophile speakers tend to be rather cosmetically challenged, but here's one that looks decidedly more Donald Trump than audio nerd. The GA Star from England's Gold Acoustics has a horn loaded upward firing Lowther driver, along with a...
POSTED Saturday, March 14, 2009
If you've got a lot of gear plugged in at your entertainment center — your TV or Blu-ray player or game consoles — you know that you need a big power strip and a way to organize your cables. Designer...
POSTED Friday, March 13, 2009
Are you a YouTube addict? Do you waste hours upon hours watching user-generated content on the world's largest video website? Does normal TV just not have the same pizzazz without that little YouTube logo in the lower-right-hand corner? Well, these...
POSTED Wednesday, March 11, 2009
If Fred Flintstone had a really cool turntable, it was probably designed by Audiowood's Joel Scilley. This California woodworker creates custom unique turntables out of wood. He can also build new platforms for vintage turntables from burlwood and other types....
POSTED Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Media boxes that turn your home TV into a gateway to the Internet aren't exactly new, but Italian company TVBLOB reckons its new offering ushers in the next generation of Internet TV called TV 3.0. The Telsey BLOBbox connects to...
POSTED Friday, March 6, 2009
Who says plasma screens are dead? While Pioneer and Vizio are abandoning the format, Panasonic plans to offer this TC-P54Z1 plasma in June. With its wireless HDMI in 1080p, 1-inch thickness, THX certification, Internet connectivity, and 24Hz cinematic playback, it's...
POSTED Thursday, March 5, 2009
How would you like to dump your expensive cable TV service and get the same thing for free? That's the allure of ZillionTV, a new service that offers ad-supported HDTV shows as well as pay-video on demand, courtesy of the...
POSTED Wednesday, March 4, 2009
That little Roku/Netflix box just learned another neat trick: It can now snag 40,000 movies from Amazon's Video on Demand service. You can either buy movies for between $10 and $15, or rent them for between $1 and $4, and...
POSTED Tuesday, March 3, 2009
In light of recent economic news, I have some investment advice for you. Stay away from the stock market, because it's very volatile. Also, you should probably avoid real estate. But one area worth investing in is ridiculous speakers. Like...
POSTED Friday, February 27, 2009
The TV Remote Control with Speaker is another one of the completely odd, "why does this thing exist" kind gadgets that inspires thousands of geeks worldwide to trek to Japan's Akihabara every year. This tiny cube flips open to reveal...
POSTED Friday, February 27, 2009
Toshiba is working on an ultra-thin OLED (Organic Light-Emitting Diode) display that could be used to wallpaper your home, turning any wall into a huge TV. From Toshiba:"The wallpaper uses light that has been redirected by an ultra-fine grating that...
POSTED Wednesday, February 25, 2009
A quick look at the pic above shows you plain as day: there's a spy camera planted in that Magnavox DTV converter box. Ah, so this explains why the U.S. government was willing to spend $1.3 billion to subsidize the...
POSTED Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Well, this is awesome. This is a boom box that's been combined with a model of an AT-AT walker from Star Wars. Yep. Sure, it's a pretty old-looking boom box, and it only has a cassette player on board so...
POSTED Monday, February 23, 2009
With Netflix streaming showing up all over the place these days, it's no wonder that some customers are more interested in the streaming than in the traditional DVDs-by-mail service. And those people will be taken care of, starting next year....
POSTED Friday, February 20, 2009
We've seen JBL's monster Everest speaker before, and now the company is unleashing another mountainous speaker system: the Project K2 S9900. These monsters are 3-way floor-standing loudspeakers, housed in mahogany. They weigh a whopping 180 pounds apiece, and have a...
POSTED Friday, February 20, 2009
We've been sitting through demos of gargantuan 82-inch HDTVs for nearly a half a decade now, with few actually shipped to real customers. But look at third-rate Taiwanese TV cranker-outer Soyo, planning a Fall 2009 smackdown, and actually shipping this...
POSTED Thursday, February 19, 2009
We've been anticipating this day for years. February 17, 2009 was supposed to be the day when all analog TV broadcasting ceased, meaning anyone who gets TV over the air would need to have a digital tuner by now. Otherwise,...
POSTED Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Sometimes crazy gadgets and knick-knacks come from surprising places — take Michael Jackson's collection, for instance. He's auctioning off a bunch of movie props and expensive toys this April, including the robotic head, pictured above, that brought robo-Michael to life...
POSTED Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Basketball fans, online sports video just hit a new milestone: the NCAA's March Madness national championship college basketball tournament will be streaming in HD this year, and it's all free. If you have the bandwidth — you'll need to be...
POSTED Tuesday, February 17, 2009
When most people talk about bookshelf speakers, they're referring to speakers that fit on bookshelves. Polish designers Witek Stefaniak and Anielka Zdanowicz took it more literally. Their Soundshelf concept is speakers that can also be used to store books, CDs...
POSTED Monday, February 16, 2009
Nothing says "recession" like a couple of absolutely gigantic loudspeakers that cost as much as a luxury sedan. But I guess no matter how bad the economy gets, there will always be at least a few people out there with...
POSTED Monday, February 16, 2009
You know, the main reason I've never bought a super-expensive, elaborate driving simulator for my apartment is because they're all just so big. It has nothing to do with the price tag or practicality of such a purchase, no sir....
POSTED Friday, February 13, 2009
We used to joke about Smell-o-Vision, but now Portuguese designer Nuno Teixeira shows us how it might work in this design concept. His idea is called SMELLIT, and it brings contextual fragrances to viewers' noses via 118 aroma cartridges, each...
POSTED Thursday, February 12, 2009
Screen Excellence's new VistaCurve projection screen aims to bring the movie theater experience home a little bit more. This enormous screen, available in sizes up to 160-inches wide, is curved slightly, just like a movie theater screen. And on top...
POSTED Thursday, February 12, 2009
Remember all those ghosts you loved to hate in Pac-Man? Well, now you can immortalize that love forever with the Speakal iBoo iPod speaker dock — not officially licensed — out now for only $90. The iBoo comes in red,...
POSTED Wednesday, February 11, 2009
No, it isn't some XXL origami project — the Neo Gramaphone (sic) is a modern take on the classic phonograph. Discarding wood and brass for simple lines and "high-quality materials" (plastic, probably), the minimalist design looks more like a plant...
POSTED Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Look, these NBS speakers are interesting looking if not beautiful, I'll hand them that. And I'm sure they sound absolutely spectacular. But $200,000 for a set of speakers? You may have picked a bad time to come out with offensively-overpriced...
POSTED Tuesday, February 10, 2009
LaCie's been flaunting the appealing monolithic cubism of its hard drives lately, courtesy of chic designer Neil Poulton, and taking that a step further is Black Max, a home theater video streaming player and recorder with some teeth in it....
POSTED Tuesday, February 10, 2009
That cheap $99 Roku Netflix box that we love so much is about to get even more versatile. Still shining from a 720p HD upgrade six weeks ago, now the little-box-that-could is about to hook up users with downloads from...
POSTED Friday, February 6, 2009
Soundbars — those elongated speakers that mount underneath your TV — are the new black in home theater sound. But how ridiculous would it look to have a wimpy little soundbar cowering under your massive flat-panel set? Pretty bad, if...
POSTED Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Still have those 3D glasses handy from yesterday's super-lame 3D Super Bowl ads? Now you can put them on again, get right up next to the 3D hype and kiss it with your own mouth. Well, almost. It's cute, but...
POSTED Monday, February 2, 2009
While the 3D commercials were a drag, there were still quite a few spots during the Super Bowl that left us feeling all warm and tingly inside (the new Star Trek trailer and PepSuber come to mind). My favorite was...
POSTED Monday, February 2, 2009
We went to Target to get 3D glasses, for this? Just before halftime during yesterday's Super Bowl XLIII broadcast, we all donned our paper 3D glasses with great expectations as the Dreamworks Monsters vs. Aliens commercial started up, but...
POSTED Monday, February 2, 2009
Sure, the commercials during the Super Bowl are often more memorable than the game itself, but that sometimes doesn't mean much to the companies behind them. Tech companies, especially, are notorious for debuting popular ads during the Big Game only...
POSTED Friday, January 30, 2009
The non-stop bombardment of PSAs, TV news and newspaper stories, scrolling banners and YouTube videos hasn't been enough to get Americans off their collective asses and get prepared for the DTV transition that may or may not take place...
POSTED Thursday, January 29, 2009
With Super Bowl XLIII coming up, we're already thinking about what's in store for the next one, and the one after that. Besides replacing all the human players with robots, which might be the norm a quarter-century from now...
POSTED Thursday, January 29, 2009
Sure, you could install 11 speakers all around your living room pointed at your favorite chair for the ultimate audio experience. But if you're only worried about that one chair, why spread those speakers out? Just stick 'em in the...
POSTED Thursday, January 29, 2009
Just what we thought. Video streaming is taking over, as evidenced by Netflix CEO Reed Hastings noting the company's "Watch Instantly" service gaining ground on Netflix movies mailed in those telltale red envelopes. Hastings says Netflix subscribers who use...
POSTED Wednesday, January 28, 2009
As you gaze at this spy shot of the alleged Amazon Kindle 2 e-reader, read the tea leaves along with us: Amazon just announced a press conference at New York's Morgan Library & Museum, scheduled for Monday, February 9th....
POSTED Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Super Bowl 43 is coming up a week from Sunday (2/1/09), so it's about time to get your free 3D glasses so you can watch ... a couple of commercials? Whether you like 3D or not, Dreamworks is hyping...
POSTED Friday, January 23, 2009
3D HDTV is stupid and will never be commercially successful. I know that's the kind of statement that might come back to bite me in the ass in five years, but I have a lot of objections to the idea....
POSTED Thursday, January 22, 2009
Parrot founder and CEO Henri Seydoux joined forces with industrial designing heavyweight Philippe Starck, pictured above, to give birth to the "Zikmu" — which, surprising given its looks, the pair of French gentlemen consider a step forward for speaker functionality...
POSTED Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Wireless speakers are all the craze — who needs unsightly wires running to speakers throughout the home? While we're at it, who needs unsightly speakers at all? Here's a novel solution: Build speakers right into your light bulbs. That's exactly...
POSTED Tuesday, January 20, 2009
In light of global economic woes there's never been a better time to start saving your extra cash, so to facilitate your frugality Takara Tomy has introduced the Space Invaders bank. Fresh off celebrating the 30th anniversary of the old...
POSTED Monday, January 19, 2009
Plenty of digital pianos can deliver a sound that's amazingly close to the real thing, but ask any professional pianist, and they will tell you that the those ones and zeros skip a key part of the analog piano...
POSTED Sunday, January 18, 2009
One of those boring facts about speakers known only to audio wonks is that many, if not most, have enclosures made of medium-density fiberboard (MDF). The reasons are many: It's a rigid substance that doesn't warp, and it makes the...
POSTED Friday, January 16, 2009
YouTube is sick of being stuck on the computer. It wants an upgrade to your TV, and it knows the best way to get that is through video games. That's why YouTube is coming shortly to the Sony Playstation 3...
POSTED Thursday, January 15, 2009
The Legno Turntable, made of bamboo and steel, is one of the hottest record players we've ever seen. It had better be, since it costs $13,240. Made by German-based company Montegiro, the design isn't just elegant — the wood...
POSTED Monday, January 12, 2009
The NovelQuest Emperor made quite the splash a few months ago when a picture of it circulated 'round the net, and we're happy to report it holds up just as well in the flesh. Looking a lot like a prop...
POSTED Sunday, January 11, 2009
Samsung introduced a new product category with Luxia, their line of feature packed, technology rich, design heavy LCDs. The Luxia 8000 is their priciest and fanciest model, sporting a redesigned Touch of Color design with a chrome colored prismatic...
POSTED Sunday, January 11, 2009
Big fancy expensive audio cables are nothing new, but these power cords from Sine take things to a whole new level. The blue "budget" Coliseum II uses 99.9999 percent pure silver, and runs $2,900 for a 5 foot cord,...
POSTED Sunday, January 11, 2009
Sherwood made a small splash at the show with a few interesting debuts. For anyone who wants to enjoy movie soundtracks without blowing out the neighbors or even bugging the SO, the DHP-2003 headphones are your saving grace. They're wireless...
POSTED Sunday, January 11, 2009
D-Box Motion Code just got a contract with Mann's Chinese Theater in Hollywood, but better yet, they're showing off the new GPH-120 motion chair that you can take home for just $2,999. Almost a thousand movies titles are encoded for...
POSTED Sunday, January 11, 2009
Glass may not be the first material that pops into most speaker designer's heads, but Dutch manufacturer Crystal Cable (they make mostly cables), says that the thick glass panels of the Arabesque have ideal acoustic properties. The faceted shape...
POSTED Sunday, January 11, 2009
Like everyone else at CES, I could live without ever seeing an iPod dock ever again. They were everywhere. So, it says a lot that this new life from Edifier out of Canada got even a second glance. The docks...
POSTED Saturday, January 10, 2009
B&W is a name that conjures up images of beautifully-designed, high-end audio products. Their booth at CES just oozes quality. The new Panorama soundbar fits right in. The system uses more than just virtual surround processing - it also uses...
POSTED Saturday, January 10, 2009
Freeplay's latest radio offering packs clean power generation in a slick, older look. Ok, so the older appliance it riffs on may be a toaster, but it's still pretty cool. Freeplay — makers of slick hand-crank radios since 1996...
POSTED Saturday, January 10, 2009
Richard Vandersteen is normally a meat and potatoes kind of guy, who makes some of the best value speakers out there. But for the launch of his new flagship $45,000 Model Seven, he decided to pull out all the...
POSTED Saturday, January 10, 2009
Urban Tool already impressed us with their line of futuristic gadget holders. This time they've added a pair of Bluetooth speakers and music controls to a pillow. This strikes us as something that would sometimes be useful, especially for...
POSTED Saturday, January 10, 2009
"Greening" the company line is standard practice in the electronics industry, and we've been getting plenty of it here at CES 2009. After all, if washing machine A uses half as much energy as machine B, it must be...
POSTED Saturday, January 10, 2009
In a world of plastic, throwaway gear, Audio-Technica is bringing out headphones with a very distinctive difference. They use wooden housings, bringing a luxurious sense of quality that plastic just can't compete with. The ATH-EW9 are clip-on headphones with...
POSTED Saturday, January 10, 2009
One look at the Sonoro Elements W and you can tell it's a cool device. It just looks hot. The Elements W is a curvy, sleek box with an iPod dock extension, small enough for an office or nightstand....
POSTED Saturday, January 10, 2009
Sonoro Element Internet radios are all flash, and have external docks from which you can charge and play songs from your iPod. The player's packaged behind a spare OLED facade and features a navigation style that mimics Apple's iPod...
POSTED Friday, January 9, 2009
Hands up anyone who remembers the Ronco Record Vacuum. This '70s classic from the great Ron Popeil would use a battery powered vacuum to suck dust from the grooves of your precious vinyl. Only problem was it would frequently...
POSTED Friday, January 9, 2009
There's a place for crappy earbuds, but equally, there's most likely a place for truly high-end headphones. The Sennheiser HD 800 headphones stand out as a way to hear the details and nuances that are impossible to perceive on the...
POSTED Friday, January 9, 2009
XStreamHD is taking an interesting approach to getting into your home. Instead of coming in one piece of equipment at a time, XStreamHD is a total entertainment solution, starting from the satellite signal to the input to your TV. XStreamHD...
POSTED Friday, January 9, 2009
Satellite-TV provider Dish Network might be getting an inferiority complex about all those Web-connected TVs we're hearing about here at CES, so now it's teamed up with Sling Media to create a uber-DVR for satellite TV watching anywhere. This...
POSTED Thursday, January 8, 2009
Korean hardware manufacturer iriver stormed this year's CES with a slew of new products, but the standout among all their announcements was the WAVE-HOME device. This exquisitely designed work of art functions as an all-in-one multimedia device offering Internet...
POSTED Thursday, January 8, 2009
After the full day of press conferences preceding the opening of the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), there's one big trend that keeps coming up from every electronics company hawking their wares to the press corps. They all are cranking...
POSTED Thursday, January 8, 2009
Samsung's new BD-P4600 is 1.5" of stylish goodness. It's got Wi-Fi with Netflix and Pandora integration as well, making it an attractive box in terms of functions, too. In addition to sitting on a table, the device is designed...
POSTED Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Panasonic's DMP-B15 is slated to be the world's first portable Blu-ray player to hit the market when it comes out in May. It has an 8.9-inch screen and features the same integrated Internet and Viera Cast technology that allows...
POSTED Wednesday, January 7, 2009
For you plasma nuts out there, here's something to drool over. Panasonic teased the press today with a last-minute reveal of a plasma television that's only a third of an inch thick, and it uses 50% less energy than...
POSTED Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Getting HD video from your video sources to your TV can be problematic, and last fall we saw a bunch of wireless solutions. Now AR has introduced their HDP100 HD Powerlink system, which can transmit 1080p video over your...
POSTED Wednesday, January 7, 2009
We got a close-up look at the Netgear Digital Entertainer Elite EVA9150 we told you about early last month. Its appealing user interface is remarkably polished with its reflection-festooned TiVo-like navigational scheme. It plays back a slew of file...
POSTED Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Ever been channel surfing and thought, "I wonder what's on YouTube?" If you have, Netgear has just the product for you: The company's Internet TV Player is a paperback-size device that jacks into one of the HDMI ports on...
POSTED Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Today Linksys charges full speed ahead into the whole-house wireless media system category, debuting a boatload of equipment that promises to put together all your downloaded and streamed music. Whether it's on your iPod, your PC, the Internet, or...
POSTED Wednesday, January 7, 2009
The future of touch- and gesture-interface technology is moving forward rapidly, but there are still innovations happening in area of traditional hardware interface devices. Hitachi recently unveiled a new kind of television remote control specifically designed to benefit the...
POSTED Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Ceiling fans are without a doubt a great way to keep air flowing a room, but putting a wireless speaker in a ceiling fan is one great idea. Why? Because ceiling fans are usually in the center of the...
POSTED Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Soon, you'll be able to watch video from your home theater on an iPhone. SlingPlayer Mobile for iPhone made its debut at Macworld today, with its release on the iTunes app Store planned by the end of March. This...
POSTED Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Look out Apple, Dell, Sony, and Gateway — there's a newer, prettier all-in-one PC about to hit the streets. Laptop ace Lenovo's busting out its IdeaCentre A600 at CES 2009, crowing about how it's the thinnest all-in-one PC. Its...
POSTED Monday, January 5, 2009
We've seen some thin LCD HDTV prototypes, but this soon-to-ship LG LH9500 is getting ridiculous. Not only is the 55-inch LED-backlit beauty just 24.8mm thin — plug in a USB hard drive and it can play back pirate-fave DiVx...
POSTED Monday, January 5, 2009
The next big thing for TVs isn't size, it's depth. We can already get TVs at huge sizes, up to 150 inches for the truly rich and insane, but are they thin enough to hang on our wall and be...
POSTED Monday, January 5, 2009
Look at these itty bitty musical instruments on their tiny stage. SEGA's LiveDream Band Stage adds each instrument's sound as you place it on the minuscule stage, a musical equivalent to Matchbox cars. Choose a rock or jazz band,...
POSTED Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Watch out for electronics retailer Best Buy. The company is reportedly scamming customers, making them think they can purchase a magical $300 "calibration" that can make their HDTVs capable of displaying video with noticeably higher quality. The company is...
POSTED Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Maybe, if you're a little off, you want to have an Xbox 360 but would like your friends to think you own a Playstation 3. Why? That's a great question. But hey, I'm not one to judge. The PS360 is...
POSTED Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Nintendo is finally clamoring on board the video on demand bandwagon. With the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 already offering robust downloadable video services, it was only a matter of time before the Wii began offering videos as well. Nintendo...
POSTED Friday, December 26, 2008
Remember that Roku set-top box we told you about, the cheapest way to stream Netflix video? Now the $99 player has gone HD with its updated version 1.5 software and firmware, delivered online automatically in the past few days....
POSTED Tuesday, December 23, 2008
In light of recent economic woes not everyone has $300-$400 bucks to shell out for the latest gaming console, but that doesn't mean you catch shell out some pennies to hone your skills on your existing system. For those on...
POSTED Tuesday, December 23, 2008
When Philippe Starck designs anything — even a lowly iPod and iPhone dock — we take notice. Zikmu is another winner, a pair of wireless speakers the famed industrial designer created for Parrot. The 2.5-footers radiate sound from 360...
POSTED Thursday, December 18, 2008
This clock radio is just pretending to go retro, but that doesn't make us like it much less. Decked out in Spirit of St. Louis trim, it reminds us of the old 1920s trans-Atlantic airplane's cockpit, accompanied by its...
POSTED Thursday, December 18, 2008
Some people celebrate the holidays with quiet conversation, a bit of eggnog, a festive meal, an exchange of modest gifts, and maybe a song or two. Others, well, they go stark-raving mad. Crazy light shows, absurd ornamentation, juxtaposing objects...
POSTED Wednesday, December 17, 2008
We told you about video streaming set-top box Vudu's new update yesterday, adding 120 on-demand TV channels, photo sites Flickr and Picasa, YouTube, a few games, and the promise of more applications to be developed. We gave the new...
POSTED Wednesday, December 17, 2008
We may have just found the perfect replacement for that klunky Bluetooth keyboard we've been using in our home theater. Brando's outdone its tiny keyboard we touted a couple of months ago with this new backlit model, scarcely larger...
POSTED Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Techno-guitarmaker Ovation just came up with another great idea. This one's aptly named the Ovation iDea, the first guitar ever equipped with a built-in mp3 recorder, snagging your best ideas anytime. Besides recording your playing, it can play back...
POSTED Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Vudu's on a roll. After busting out its ultra-sharp Blu-ray-like HDx video downloads a few months ago, now it's opened up its internet-connected set-top box to the likes of YouTube, Flickr, and Picasa. Along for the ride is plenty...
POSTED Tuesday, December 16, 2008
The cuckoo clock design is one that we don't see implemented much these days. We're all digital, it seems, so something based on analog mechanics like a cuckoo clock just feels out of place. It's too bad, really. But luckily,...
POSTED Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Tivoli makes fine, great-sounding radios, encased in real wood and oozing with first-rate workmanship. Now the company is finally shipping its newest creation we told you about back in May, NetWorks, which can tune in thousands of internet radio...
POSTED Monday, December 8, 2008
While you might not want to whip out this Shots Gun Drink Dispenser at a rowdy nightclub among all those gun-totin' patrons, it might be the perfect addition to your home bar during the holidays. Never mind fancy inventions...
POSTED Monday, December 8, 2008
Movie rental monster Netflix continues its quest for world domination with today's release of Netflix on TiVo. Add this to the Netflix/Roku box, Netflix access on LG Blu-ray players, on the Xbox 360, and the ability to play Watch...
POSTED Monday, December 8, 2008
That experimental broadcast of an NFL football game in 3D we told you about last month took place last night in specially-equipped theaters in Los Angeles, Boston, and New York. After a couple of lost satellite feeds and some...
POSTED Friday, December 5, 2008
Times are tough. With financial resources dwindling by the minute, the movie-viewing public recoils in horror as Hollywood asks them to pay $39.99 for a film on Blu-ray disc. But there are ways to watch those flicks that are...
POSTED Thursday, December 4, 2008
SnorePro? Are there actually people who are professional snorers? If there are, this wrist-mounted snore detector-punisher is a must-have in the pro snoring toolkit. Not only does the SnorePro SP600 know when you're buzzing away — it sends a...
POSTED Wednesday, December 3, 2008
It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas over at New York City's Grand Central Terminal. Sharp helped deck the halls by sponsoring the Grand Central Terminal Kaleidoscope Light Show, which lit up the main concourse with a holiday-themed...
POSTED Monday, December 1, 2008
Could this be the home theater PC (HTPC) killer? Netgear just placed its upcoming Digital Entertainer Elite network media streamer up for FCC approval, and so far, it looks excellent. Not only can it play a long list of...
POSTED Monday, December 1, 2008
Not one to sit idly by while Netflix eats its lunch, Blockbuster entered the online movie rental hardware market today with OnDemand. Using a smart-looking 2Wire MediaPoint digital media player for its internet movie downloads, its entry price is...
POSTED Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Sega, ever committed to furthering the fine art of off-key karaoke performances, has unveiled the Hitokara Home Karaoke system in Japan. The device is deceptively cheesy in that it comes with a spinning disco mirror ball for the real hams...
POSTED Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Plug your iPod into this DLO HomeDock HD Pro, and it upscales your video to 720p/1080i quality. Notice the HDMI and optical digital audio ports on the back, giving you a digital connection between your music player and home...
POSTED Monday, November 24, 2008
An NFL football game, broadcast in 3D? Believe it. Sunday Thursday, December 4th, the game between the San Diego Chargers and the Oakland Raiders will be produced in 3D, and shown in three specially-equipped theaters in New York, Los...
POSTED Monday, November 24, 2008
Still on the fence about Blu-ray? The upcoming holiday season might be the perfect time to jump. Wal-Mart plans to offer a Magnavox NB500MG9 Blu-ray player for the rock-bottom price of $128, the cheapest we've seen yet. That's a...
POSTED Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Looks like Vudu might survive after all. The Internet streaming box that we've grown to love just got a big brother, the Vudu XL2. It's wide enough to mount on a professional rack, but its innards are similar to...
POSTED Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Heard of Bang and Olufsen? The company specializes in exquisite, expensive electronics design, and this BeoSound 5 is no exception. You're looking at the controller for the system, a 10.4-inch screen with an aluminum scroll wheel that commands a...
POSTED Thursday, November 13, 2008
What? You're still waking up to a buzzer? Plug your iPhone, or just about any iPod into this Cygnett GrooveNeo Alarm Clock Radio/Dock and wake up to the music of your choice. Sure, it's not the first iPod clock...
POSTED Monday, November 10, 2008
It looked like the streaming set-top box Vudu was struggling for a while there. But now the company has added scads of HD movies. Bragging that there are 1100 HD choices now available, the Vudu service is really starting...
POSTED Monday, November 10, 2008
Whale song and the odd noises other underwater creatures make are alluring and interesting, but how about a fish-controlled MP3 player? Submerged Songs is a sound installation by Vivian Caccuri, with the help of Alex Tyson and André Perrotta....
POSTED Thursday, November 6, 2008
I'm all for getting really into playing video games, but I'm not sure if I'd want to be put into a dark box with a TV and a video game system. I mean, sure, that's immersive, but perhaps it takes...
POSTED Thursday, November 6, 2008
While some cutting-edge fanatics are already waiting for the successor to Blu-ray technology, many old school gadget purists refuse to let go of the past. For that crowd of old schoolers Japan's Teac has released the LP-R500, a device that...
POSTED Thursday, November 6, 2008
Netflix has a dance card that's almost full. The day after we find out the video rental-by-mail company's Watch Instantly service will be showing up on the Xbox 360 in HD trim, we hear it's also going to make...
POSTED Thursday, October 30, 2008
Video rental-by-mail company Netflix decided to do the only thing needed to make its "watch instantly" service perfect: stream the video in HD. First up is the Xbox 360, where the Netflix HD streaming service will begin in three...
POSTED Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Curiously dubbed "YO," this attractive iPod and MP3 stereo speaker dock is a concept by American-born designer Victor Vetterlein. The speakers are detachable and wireless (as well as waterproof), and charge at the dock just like an MP3 player...
POSTED Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Adding to our dreams of having a home full of retro-sci-fi view screens, Sanyo has introduced a sleek new viewer called the ALBO. The 7-inch LCD frame is primarily designed to display photos, but it also boasts the ability to...
POSTED Tuesday, October 28, 2008
British Airways Executive Club members are now able to try their own hand at flying a plane on one of the air carrier's $14 million CAE 7000 Series full-flight simulators. It offers wannabe pilots a fleet of Boeing aircraft...
POSTED Monday, October 27, 2008
When video rental-by-mail mofo Netflix started streaming thousands of its videos online, there were hints of other hardware involvement beyond the dedicated box from Roku. LG was the next to jump in with its BD300 Netflix-streaming Blu-ray player, and...
POSTED Thursday, October 23, 2008
I love it when companies that cater to rich audiophiles make iPod-compatible devices. I mean, we're talking about customers willing to pay tens of thousands of dollars for speakers, and you're going to tell them the best way to...
POSTED Wednesday, October 22, 2008
If you yearn for the days before PlayStation and Xbox, when you had to haul you butt down to the local bar and slip in a couple of quarters to get your video game fix, then the Optime Strategies...
POSTED Sunday, October 19, 2008
If you look at the front of the Brionvega RR226, pictured above, you can make out what looks like a robotic face with the dials and displays and speaker layout. That's how both the RR226 and its '65 predecessor,...
POSTED Thursday, October 16, 2008
Despite the vote of no confidence displayed yesterday by Apple's new Blu-ray-less laptops, the format continues to gain steam. Sharp has just unveiled the AQUOS DX Series billed as the world's first LCD television with built-in Blu-ray disc recorders. The...
POSTED Thursday, October 16, 2008
Sure, you could hang your HDTV on your wall or use the stand that it came with to prop it up, but what fun is that? You're an artist. You may be an artist with a huge, kickass TV that...
POSTED Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Audiophiles will tell you that if a CD has even the slightest wobble as it spins in your player, it can introduce jitter in the digital stream that negatively affects the sound. In the exotic audio world, wherever there's...
POSTED Sunday, October 12, 2008
While it might look like some new model for advanced DJ scratching, this ultra high-end turntable rig is kind of like the vinyl equivalent of having a Lamborghini,a Ferrari,a Porsche, and a Hummer parked in your garage. Truth is,...
POSTED Sunday, October 12, 2008
We know that some audiophiles are willing to pay way too much for the AC cords that power up their gear, but all of that super pure power might go to waste if the final inch went through a...
POSTED Saturday, October 11, 2008
It's been a holy grail of display technology for a long time: true 3D holograms that you don't need special glasses to see. Think R2-D2's projection of Princess Leia in Star Wars, only not as fuzzy and in full...
POSTED Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Looking to turn your home into something that comes closer to resembling a bar? Well, after you get the bar and pool table installed, you'll need one of those permanent fixtures of every bar: a jukebox. But since this is...
POSTED Monday, October 6, 2008
Ask any obnoxious pool shark at your local watering hole, and they'll tell you that the game is all about angles. Run the ball onto one of the side cushions, and it will bounce off at the same angle....
POSTED Sunday, October 5, 2008
Someday soon, most of us will have computers in our home theaters, and we'll be needing a mini keyboard like this one from Brando. What's so great about it? Two letters: RF. Its radio frequency control works up to...
POSTED Friday, October 3, 2008
Sling Media just started shipping the Slingbox Pro-HD, and DVICE has its gadget-loving hands all over it. We've been fans of Slingboxes since the beginning, relishing their ability to stream home video sources like cable or satellite TV (even...
POSTED Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Wonder no more how to hook up your home theater, because Goofy is here to help. Disney dusts off the same animation technique it used to keep soldiers from getting V.D. in WWII, updating it perfectly for life in...
POSTED Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Two of our favorite things just got together: TiVo, and using a computer in our home theater. Nero, makers of DVD burning software, finally made good on its year-long promise and released a package of TiVo software you can...
POSTED Monday, September 29, 2008
Japan's desire to completely leapfrog over the need to use traditional PCs in the same manner as Americans got another boost recently with the launch of the au Box from KDDI. Utilizing the set-top box along with a cellular phone,...
POSTED Monday, September 29, 2008
If you think your HDTV's contrast ratio of 10,000:1 is impressive, you ain't seen nothing yet. The Carl Zeiss powerdomeVELVET Planetarium Projector has a whopping 2,500,000:1 contrast ratio. Yes, that's insanely high. Sure, it's a projector designed for planetariums, not...
POSTED Saturday, September 27, 2008
If your computer or laptop is the centerpiece of your media center then here's something to get excited about: The new Slingbox PRO-HD can send a 1080i HD signal to both. (Yeah, it's no 1080p — hopefully that comes...
POSTED Thursday, September 25, 2008
Well, if you've got any sense in your head whatsoever you don't need little old me to tell you that there's absolutely nothing that could make a simple power cord worth $1,800. But let's face it: the Furutech Powerflux power...
POSTED Thursday, September 25, 2008
It's that time again: yes, more ludicrous, overpriced speakers aimed at audiophiles with more money than they know what to do with. Today's ludicrously-named entrant is the Grande Utopia EM. What do you get for your $180,000? Well, you get...
POSTED Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Never mind that people all over the world have repeatedly shown that they don't want 3D-anything — filmmakers, HDTV set purveyors, and now camera manufacturers apparently have yet to hear the news. Fujifilm is the next techno-fashion victim, rolling...
POSTED Monday, September 22, 2008
Just because you're heading out into the wilderness, or to a party at the local teetotaller's house, doesn't mean you have to limit your adult beverage selection to sucking down a six-pack of Bud. The Evolution Mobile Bar looks...
POSTED Saturday, September 20, 2008
In the market for a new HDTV or Blu-ray player? You might want to wait a couple months, as all indications point towards huge drops in prices for the holiday season. Thanks to a combo of slowed consumer spending, the...
POSTED Friday, September 19, 2008
We've seen speakers built into furniture before, of course — even lamps — though we like the AmpLamp best. The table lamp design is practical and posh, letting you add sound to a room without detracting from the décor....
POSTED Friday, September 19, 2008
Watching HDTV on your computer isn't an easy thing to get setup, despite the obvious benefits as computer screens get larger and convergence becomes more of a reality. That might change, however, as soon as the DirecTV HDPC-20 hits store...
POSTED Wednesday, September 17, 2008
While you won't find any delicious beer in this Heineken mini keg, I don't think you'll be too disappointed when you look at it a bit closer. Yep, this is a 20-watt guitar amp, completely contained within a beer keg....
POSTED Wednesday, September 17, 2008
So, what's the next step in video games? Graphics are already pretty incredible, and it won't be too much longer before we hit a point after which graphics can't get much better. Then what? What will we advance? It will...
POSTED Tuesday, September 16, 2008
The original Lite-Brite, introduced way back in 1967, has been one-upped by a successor to the three-dimensional pixel image creation throne called Luminodot. What the Luminodot brings to the table is a denser 3500 light pixel grid for obsessive...
POSTED Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Folks, it's finally here. As the bad boys from Prison Break, the hotties of 90210, and all those ultra-violent cyborgs on Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles are testament to, the new TV season has begun. What better time to...
POSTED Monday, September 15, 2008
This tiny wireless helicopter is smart enough to avoid hitting the ceiling. While it's probably not as intelligent as a fruit fly, Taiyo has shoehorned a proximity sensor into it to keep it out of trouble. But look in...
POSTED Thursday, September 11, 2008
If you're a huge fan of retro video games, you probably have a collection of cartridges for various systems that you've spent a couple of decades building. The trouble with having all those cartridges, however, is that you need...
POSTED Thursday, September 11, 2008
If you're going to insist on keeping an ancient console like the original NES hooked up to your TV when there are plenty of other ways to play retro games, you might as well be creative about it. Sure, while...
POSTED Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Fancy music servers are great, but you still need to scroll through lists of files to find the music you want. Now, following in the path of Ford's SYNC voice command car system, a company called Avoca has introduced...
POSTED Sunday, September 7, 2008
Spotted at CEDIA this weekend were these new table radios from Tangent Audio of Denmark, which look suspiciously similar to the wares of Tivoli. First we have the Model Uno, a retro styled AM/FM model with analog tuning selling...
POSTED Sunday, September 7, 2008
While few audiophiles have even heard of Professional Home Cinema, this Huntington Beach, CA, company makes the kind of speakers you might find in Tom Cruise's home theater. Using the same type of horn technology you'll find in commercial...
POSTED Sunday, September 7, 2008
One of the most annoying things about installing a killer home theater or multi-room audio system, is snaking wires through the walls and ceilings to install the speakers where you want them. We've seen a few dedicated systems that...
POSTED Saturday, September 6, 2008
Monster Cable needs a new load of cash to put on more of its tradeshow parties featuring the likes of singer Mary J. Blige, so it's decided to gin up tiny containers of ScreenClean, five different $10 bottles of...
POSTED Friday, September 5, 2008
Krell has long been known in audiophile circles as making some of the most uncompromising electronics out there, but few are aware that they also make some of the gnarliest speakers. Shown here next to Krell co-founder Dan D'Agostino,...
POSTED Friday, September 5, 2008
NBC blasted out of the gate with the debut of its NFL Live webcast last night, offering multiple camera views and interactive features that gave viewers more options for football watching than ever. We tested the Adobe Flash-based interface...
POSTED Friday, September 5, 2008
Never mind renting a tent with faux Palladian-style arched windows for that chic outdoor soirée — make your guests think a UFO has landed in your yard with the solar-powered Art Rainbow. Providing shade and psychedelic colors akin to...
POSTED Thursday, September 4, 2008
Fire up your broadband-connected PCs tonight folks, because it's opening night for the NFL! (McCain who?) We hyped up NBC's web-based companion broadcasts a few weeks ago and now they're upon us, where we'll get multiple views of Sunday...
POSTED Thursday, September 4, 2008
Super-slim TVs are the new religion at Sony, at least if you go by a couple new models the company is showing at CEDIA. Following CES trade show back in January, we thought that OLED was going to be...
POSTED Thursday, September 4, 2008
While Panasonic's latest front projector has plenty of features to admire — full HD (1080p) resolution, easy display of extremely wide aspect ratios, and all the image processing you could want — I say it's most useful ability is...
POSTED Wednesday, September 3, 2008
This is not just any clock radio. This Etón P’9120 has that Porsche name on it, launching it into that brand and price stratosphere that makes you think you’re really getting something extraordinary. In this case, the storied trademark...
POSTED Wednesday, September 3, 2008
A recent survey by Parks Associates showed that two thirds of people use a computer as their primary home music system. That's pretty sad, especially when you consider how desperately crappy most computer speakers sound. Now Creative want's to...
POSTED Friday, August 29, 2008
When I was a kid, my Mother would warn me about the dangers of mixing electricity and water, so a bathtub where you lie in water while watching an LCD TV seems like something Mom would have a problem...
POSTED Friday, August 29, 2008
There’s a battle of TV thinness going on right now at the world’s largest consumer electronics show, across the pond at IFA in Berlin, where manufacturers continue the war started last January at CES. The idea is, these are...
POSTED Thursday, August 28, 2008
The reality of Blu-ray being the video medium of the future is starting to sink in now that the wave of fall product announcements is cresting. Samsung's latest player, the fifth-gen BD-P2500, is pretty much the company's most advanced...
POSTED Thursday, August 28, 2008
If you're reading this site, it's a good bet a big chunk of your music is on your PC. It doesn't have to stay there, though. Whether it's ripped tunes, downloads or streaming music, all that audio can go...
POSTED Thursday, August 28, 2008
On the left you've got the Room Tech Beingz Alarm Clock, and its buddy, Mood Lamp, to the right. After a short warning of its feet lighting up, the Alarm Clock will throw its mouth wide open and blare...
POSTED Wednesday, August 27, 2008
When you’re a pro audio editor, you want exceedingly accurate speakers that are good enough to be called “reference.” These M-Audio Studiophile DSM1 and DSM2 Reference Monitors fit the bill, each with two on-board amplifiers and a digital sound...
POSTED Monday, August 25, 2008
It may seem a bit odd to wrap something as 21st century as an iPod dock in a nostalgic 1940s style package, but we've seen plenty of retro style iPod tech before. The difference with the Xi Classic Jukebox...
POSTED Sunday, August 24, 2008
While most people believe that vacuum tubes went away decades ago along with propeller-driven airliners and rotary telephones, in truth hardcore music lovers (and guitar players) have long embraced tubes for their sonic properties. After the Cold War ended,...
POSTED Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Looking at the Sonance Kayak speaker, my first thought isn't "personal watercraft" but "museum pedestal from 2567." But that could be just me. Whatever you think the speaker looks like (the comment field awaits), here's what it does: stereo...
POSTED Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Feeling powerless? Escape to the captain’s chair from the Star Trek original series, and start barking out orders and making dramatic pronouncements as your family rolls their eyes. Just don’t let the missus see that credit card bill when...
POSTED Monday, August 18, 2008
Been watching the all-HD Olympics? You might be wondering how that magnificent shot is done where the camera follows the divers from atop the 10-meter diving platform all the way under the water. Well, we’re going to give up...
POSTED Thursday, August 14, 2008
Maybe I'm missing something here, but I don't really understand the appeal of this Freewheel speaker. Let me give you the details: it's gigantic, about the size of a Mazda Miata tire and about twice as thick. It works wirelessly...
POSTED Friday, August 8, 2008
Remote controls with dying batteries are so annoying. You never have batteries on hand when they die (what else uses AAA batteries these days?), so you end up walking up and changing the channel by hand until you face your...
POSTED Friday, August 8, 2008
Hey, let’s get a couple of violins and turn them into speakers! Looks like a clever Korean has already thought of that, and the result is the Sounger Vin 1/8 Violin Stereo Speaker System. While the system's $770 price...
POSTED Thursday, August 7, 2008
When the 2008 Summer Olympic Games officially begin on Friday, it won't just be a massive congregation of athletes — it'll mark the most ambitious undertaking in the history of broadcasting. Bolstered by the largest complement of high-tech video...
POSTED Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Everyone has an entertainment center that they stack their TV and home theatre components on, and they tend to get cluttered. Why not save some of that clutter by incorporating one of the bulkier components into the table itself? That's...
POSTED Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Need an excuse to replace your tool chest? Try Kobalt's on for size: It's almost four and a half feet tall, has LED lighting, a Pioneer sound system, a mini-fridge and a built-in, four-plug powerstrip. You won't ever have to...
POSTED Friday, August 1, 2008
Today's best high end home theater rigs can rival the movie theater experience, but who wants to fill up the living room with a jungle of speakers? Sure, there are plenty of other surround bar type speakers on the...
POSTED Friday, August 1, 2008
I'm not really sure if having a crazy shape helps a speaker sound better, but it sure helps speaker manufacturers charge more for them. The strangely-named "rithm" speakers prove that quite nicely. These unique-looking speakers have a parabolic shape, curving...
POSTED Friday, August 1, 2008
The LG BD300 brings a new twist to the Netflix subscription movie service’s streaming video idea: it's the first Blu-ray player that can go slumming, snagging all of those 12,000 oldy-moldy Netflix movies available for instant online viewing in...
POSTED Thursday, July 31, 2008
The NFL has given the cold shoulder to the Internet since Al Gore invented the series of tubes, but now that’s all changed. Starting September 4th, NBC and the NFL will begin ad-supported streaming webcasts with a Thursday night...
POSTED Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Dr. Dre isn't just a world-class hip hop artist and producer — he’s a perfectionist. That must be why these Dr. Dre Beats headphones took seven years for him and overpriced-cable maker Monster to design. These $349 cans were...
POSTED Friday, July 25, 2008
From the department of "you know this cool tech is going somewhere sleazy fast" comes the Cyber Figure Alice from Geisha Tokyo Entertainment. The kit, along with your own Windows XP PC and webcam, gives you the ability to manipulate...
POSTED Friday, July 25, 2008
Dearly beloved, we are gathered here to witness the beginning of the end of MP3 domination as we know it. Yes, it was surprising to me, too… at last count, I had 3,763 songs in the MP3 format across...
POSTED Thursday, July 24, 2008
Imagine watching any HD video wirelessly from any Blu-ray player, PC, TiVo, set-top box, video camera, Xbox — any video source, anywhere in your house, up to 100 feet away. Now add the ability to instantly control that video...
POSTED Wednesday, July 23, 2008
While yes, that basement subwoofer was pretty big, I guess, it was no Matterhorn. The Matterhorn is the most powerful subwoofer ever created. It was commissioned by the military for some reason (Friday movie nights at boot camp, perhaps?), and...
POSTED Friday, July 18, 2008
If the warm and fuzzy looks of the Chumby turned you off, there's now a more aesthetically sophisticated alternative multi-function device available called the Anobar. Developed by Anodos Inc. of Japan, the Anobar uses a Field Emission Display to show...
POSTED Friday, July 18, 2008
Video on demand is coming to Amazon, replacing the company’s Unbox service that’s been in place for the past two years. Amazon’s service will start out with 40,000 movies and TV shows that can be watched instantly, instead of...
POSTED Thursday, July 17, 2008
When audio designer Roberto Delle Curti wanted the world’s biggest, baddest subwoofer, he didn’t go prancing off to some snooty audio store. He got out a shovel. Underneath his world-class home theater lurks the Real Total Horn, consisting of...
POSTED Wednesday, July 16, 2008
My iTunes library is a mess. Half the album covers are missing and many of the tracks have cryptic names, making iTunes even worse than it already is. Here’s where TuneUp can help, seeking album cover art and music...
POSTED Tuesday, July 15, 2008
While the high price of gas means that many of us are staying closer to home this summer, that doesn't mean we can't still have some fun. The Cinebox system from Open Air Cinema lets you host a movie...
POSTED Saturday, July 12, 2008
Kodak must be eager to abandon its film roots. Now it’s announced an HDTV player that will bring video as well as music and photos from computers and the Internet into the living room. At first glance, it looks...
POSTED Friday, July 11, 2008
No one likes the cables and wires that result from A/V gear, but nowhere is it worse than on your TV. That flat panel was supposed to be sleek, elegant, a modern wonder — at least it was until...
POSTED Thursday, July 10, 2008
Here at Dvice we love people who are willing to push the envelope into the danger zone to perfect their creations. Plasma speakers that drive the surrounding air directly through the expansion and contraction of a plasma arc have...
POSTED Sunday, July 6, 2008
As if we didn’t already have enough acronyms and TV types to decipher, Sony now tells us to get ready for FED displays in 2009. Invented in the 70s, Sony and Motorola have stepped up research of Field Emission...
POSTED Thursday, July 3, 2008
It’s given me a great deal of pleasure to gleefully abandon my cable TV service, canning Time Warner for greener pastures such as crystal-clear broadcast HDTV, Apple TV, downloads and Vudu without suffering at all. The best news is,...
POSTED Friday, June 27, 2008
When Mitsubishi unveiled its snazzy laser rear-projection LaserVue HDTV in an elaborate and overwrought press event at CES back in January, to my eyes, its vivid colors and tack-sharpness were second to none. The big questions were when can...
POSTED Wednesday, June 25, 2008
JVC has his-and-hers iPod users in mind with this NX-PN7 Dual iPod Docking Station, accommodating two iPods or iPhones in this nice-looking 13-inch-wide dock. It also has features iPods leave out such as AM/FM radio and a remote control,...
POSTED Monday, June 23, 2008
JBL's Control Now speakers work great alone or in a group of up to four units. Each speaker is a $250, 90° wedge that is bought one at a time, and you can sit them on your desk, install...
POSTED Wednesday, June 18, 2008
OK, here's a piece of advice for you tech buyers out there next time you're at your friendly neighborhood Best Buy: don't, under any circumstances, spend $500 on a 1.5 meter Ethernet cable. Ever. Overpriced cables are nothing new, but...
POSTED Friday, June 13, 2008
Big media doesn’t want you to download their stuff. I should know, because for the past two months, I’ve abandoned DVD and Blu-ray discs, and tossed my cable box out the window. I was trying to see if big...
POSTED Thursday, June 12, 2008
Now here's an iPhone accessory that I could see becoming pretty popular when the new iPhone 3G hits the shelves next month: a portable projector dock. You pop your iPhone into it and it'll project whatever video you have loaded...
POSTED Wednesday, June 11, 2008
If you trip whenever you try to walk anywhere near your desk or entertainment center, then you've got a problem there my friend. Luckily, rehab is quick and easy in the form of the CableBox by BlueLounge. The CableBox...
POSTED Friday, June 6, 2008
At the same time Sony was showing off its big new LCD displays, it sneaked out these tiny speakers for its home theater lineup. It’s hard to believe, but the satellite speakers in this $700 5:1 HT-IS100 Bravia Theatre...
POSTED Friday, June 6, 2008
This strange-looking little contraption is a prototype television remote by Japan's SMK. What makes it unique? Well, how about the fact that it doesn't require batteries? Instead, it uses an electromagnetic coil inside to power itself forever and ever, never...
POSTED Thursday, June 5, 2008
Look out, everybody, because 3D TV is on its way whether you want it or not. Philips just announced a 52-inch 3D display showing “2D-plus-depth” pictures without requiring you to wear dizzying, headache-inducing glasses to get the full effect....
POSTED Thursday, June 5, 2008
An interesting thing is happening in music business. CD sales are down (40% since 2000, according to the RIAA), but sales of vinyl records (remember those?) are up big-time, especially in the high-end market. That might explain the Acutus...
POSTED Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Our interest was piqued last fall when we first saw the “world’s smallest” Klipsch Image X10 headphones at a trade show in Denver, but we were decidedly less enthusiastic when we saw their $350 price. Now Klipsch announces the...
POSTED Wednesday, June 4, 2008
A standout among Westinghouse's latest line of LCD TVs is this 1080p-resolution 40-incher, the VK-40F580D. Why? See that little slit under the screen? That's for DVDs — the TV has a slot-loading disc player right up front, something you...
POSTED Wednesday, June 4, 2008
As we wrap up our ongoing series, we take you to the depths of video rebellion: using the legally gray peer-to-peer application BitTorrent. I’ve shown you how to go the legit route, downloading free HD videos over the Web,...
POSTED Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Open up your palm. That’ll give you an idea of the minuscule size of this Honlai Technology MP100 mini LED projector. The company says this mighty mite can toss a 37-inch 640x480 image onto a nearby wall or screen,...
POSTED Tuesday, June 3, 2008
This Rotating Alarm Clock was designed specifically for the iPod Touch and iPhone, accommodating their ambidextrous screen orientation with a versatile clock on board. The iH41 charges up the player and booms out its audio just like all the...
POSTED Friday, May 30, 2008
Last week I explained how to turn a PC into a home theater monster. But who wants a PC in the living room? A better idea would be something smaller and simpler — a specialized machine whose only job...
POSTED Wednesday, May 28, 2008
More a statement of loneliness and misogyny than a real product, the “Perfect Woman” publicity stunt is in full swing, claiming a planned release of its first model on June 11. Said to be able to go shopping, clean...
POSTED Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Put on this outfit, and your whole body turns into a musical instrument. That’s the promise of the Pacer Suit, a design concept that measures electrical impulses of your muscles and turns them into music or sound effects. Akin...
POSTED Tuesday, May 27, 2008
We were thinking we might have shown you the fanciest Foosball table ever made until we saw the Teckell Collection 2008, exquisite creations made of sparkling crystal, and populated with shiny aluminum players. Take your pick of regulation sized...
POSTED Tuesday, May 27, 2008
What else can you do with a guitar and amplifier, besides playing "The Star Spangled Banner" in honor of Memorial Day? Hey, let’s make a PC out of that git-box, and flank it with a tiny replica of an...
POSTED Monday, May 26, 2008
Got a spare rec room you're not using? And over $250,000 to burn through? Awesome, maybe you could pay someone to set you up an entertainment center as nice as the LED Home Theater. In a stunning display of...
POSTED Friday, May 23, 2008
If only all home theater projectors were made this way! This SIM2 Grand Cinema HT3000 projector nails the 1080p with the best and brightest tech, and lets you hook up more sources than you can shake a stick at,...
POSTED Friday, May 23, 2008
Got a custom vinyl doll you love? Ed Lewis, also know as Fungus Amungus over at Instructables, certainly does. Here's where your love and his love are probably different: he melted its face off and put a speaker there....
POSTED Thursday, May 22, 2008
We all know the benefits to carrying around a boom box: blasting your music so all others must listen, intimidating others, being generally an obnoxious person. But what about the drawbacks? They include shoulder fatigue, arm fatigue, and being generally...
POSTED Thursday, May 22, 2008
ESPN is releasing a new remote control for sports-loving couch potatoes, and it's so confident about its creation that it's dubbed it the "Ultimate Remote" and has decided to charge a serious $300 for it. What makes a remote ultimate...
POSTED Wednesday, May 21, 2008
We’ve abandoned cable TV, dumped Netflix and its associated "discs," and turned to other sources for our entertainment. Now in our fourth episode of Video Rebel, I’ll show you the easiest way to enjoy a huge variety of video...
POSTED Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Touching your music sounds interesting, but sitting on it? That's the idea behind the Lodge Chair, a small, rather uncomfortable-looking chair with an iPod built in. Sounds like kind of an OK concept… until you realize the subwoofer and...
POSTED Tuesday, May 20, 2008
I'm not sure if having speakers be encased in lovely wooden balls helps their sound quality out at all, but that's probably not the point. These speakers, the Sound e-Motion M100-20 BFs, look downright awesome. And while yes, the shape...
POSTED Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Netflix has teamed up with hardware manufacturer Roku to create its first set-top box, a tiny device that gives you access to over 10,000 movies on your TV with no discs necessary. The little powerhouse will set you back a...
POSTED Tuesday, May 20, 2008
This minuscule hot-shot box from GSSI/Toptronics might make pulling in digital TV signals over the air even easier. The DA-001 is an indoor antenna whose makers say can receive those digital TV broadcasts from 50 miles away. Imagine what it...
POSTED Wednesday, May 14, 2008
How could I possibly abandon cable TV? Outside of satellite, isn’t that the only way to get clean HDTV signals into the home? Light bulb over the head! Why not get out an old antenna and see if our...
POSTED Tuesday, May 13, 2008
How do you get 5.1 PC sound into your home theater without breaking a sweat? Creative decided to make it easy, rolling out the Sound Blaster X-Fi Surround 5.1. The cheap $60 outboard unit plugs into a USB port...
POSTED Tuesday, May 13, 2008
This Multimedia Coffee Table reminds me of that spoof video mocking Microsoft Surface, the table-size PC you can now find at AT&T stores. In that vid, a narrator describes how amazing it would be to look at maps —...
POSTED Thursday, May 8, 2008
Looks like our parent company NBC has brushed aside iTunes for its online iPhone viewing, and gone directly to the people. If you navigate to NBC.com on your iPhone’s Safari browser, you can now watch full episodes of 30...
POSTED Thursday, May 8, 2008
Sony’s already into the digital picture frame biz, but now it busts out one that’s truly useful. The Canvas Online VGF-CP1 leaps into the next level with its Wi-Fi connectivity, opening up way-cool possibilities such as automagically showing your...
POSTED Wednesday, May 7, 2008
If your daughter has always wanted a horse of her very own to ride and take care of, but you're the type of OCD, animal-hating tyrant who couldn't stand to take care of an animal that defecates and needs constant...
POSTED Wednesday, May 7, 2008
When I decided to turn myself into the Video Rebel — eschewing all cable and satellite TV as well as Blu-ray discs and DVDs — the one thing I figured I’d miss the most in my cable-shunning, disc-free experiment...
POSTED Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Fast forward to the future: What will life be like without cable TV, Blu-ray discs and DVDs, or any other spinning, removable disc-style means of entertainment delivery? What if you downloaded all the titles you watched, and got everything...
POSTED Monday, May 5, 2008
The BBC commissioned this novel idea that combines social networking with a digital radio, and the result is Olinda. It’s a normal digital radio until you remove its translucent orange cap, exposing a plug-in interface. You can add modules...
POSTED Monday, May 5, 2008
Apple pulled the trigger on the DVD industry today, announcing that movies will now be available on its iTunes Store on the same day they’re offered on DVD. Lining up for the deal are majors such as 20th Century...
POSTED Thursday, May 1, 2008
Look, I can kind of understand how some audiophiles justify spending a lot of money on fancy audio equipment, but don't they realize that the CD is a dying format? I mean, I'm sure this ridiculous-looking $12,000 CD player is...
POSTED Thursday, May 1, 2008
Now here's an interesting combo of gadgets: a radio with a removable MP3 player built in. The player is designed to record from the radio so you can listen to it from wherever you are. It's an interesting device,...
POSTED Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Sharp announced a wireless option to its super-thin X-series LCD displays today. Sharp will incorporate Amimon WHDI (Wireless High Definition Interface) 1080p wireless tech into its thinnest flat panels, meaning you won't have to connect any cables to your...
POSTED Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Like it or not, LED color therapy is a thing. We've even been in a LED color therapy sauna (at InSpa World), though left unconvinced about the power of blue light vs. green light to make us "succeed" or...
POSTED Friday, April 25, 2008
When you think ring tones, you may not have a doorbell in mind, but why not? Now our quest to have Captain Picard’s doorbell sound in our very own abode has met with success, with a product that can...
POSTED Thursday, April 24, 2008
After a false start almost two years ago, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings is talking more about a set-top box in the company’s future. In addition to dropping the bomb that prices will go up for Blu-ray discs on the...
POSTED Tuesday, April 22, 2008
The Intempo Rebel is a new kind of FM radio. Available first in the UK, this nicely designed receiver records songs off the radio like a TiVo would, but it’s much smarter. Not only can it cut out the...
POSTED Monday, April 21, 2008
This has got to be a first. The Quadruple-Neck Guitar has now exploded on the scene, but the problem now is, who the heck will be able to do it justice? Contrary to the fake, musical-talent-free Guitar Hero paradigm,...
POSTED Friday, April 18, 2008
This unique sound bar is called The Hive, shaped as it is like a honeycomb cluster. Each segment of the speaker that you see is an individual unit that can be tilted and positioned independently, allowing you to set it...
POSTED Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Looking to keep your DVD collection hidden away from view yet still keep it accessible when you want to bust out that shameful copy of Tomcats that you own? Simple! Just turn a gigantic speaker into a makeshift shelving system....
POSTED Monday, April 14, 2008
This week the Hollywood Reporter reported that movie-rental chain Blockbuster is going to announce a set-top box for streaming movies sometime later this month. Its sourcing was anonymous, but PR for the company issued a coy non-denial, making it...
POSTED Sunday, April 13, 2008
On the one hand, this replica antique gas pump is pretty cool looking, and sticking an entertainment system inside is a unique proposition. On the other hand, the biggest TV it can hold is 13 inches, and it looks to...
POSTED Saturday, April 12, 2008
Some people want their gigantic TV to be the centerpiece of their living room, the object that immediately screams out for attention and says "look at me! I'm a gigantic TV!" Other people, however, just want their TV to blend...
POSTED Thursday, April 10, 2008
If you’ve ever had an aquarium in your bedroom, you know there must be some truth to the research that shows your blood pressure is lowered by the sight of fish swimming by. The $199 Sega Private Ocean Interactive...
POSTED Thursday, April 10, 2008
While some people insist on having their home theatre setup be the most conspicuous aspect of their living room, others would rather have it blend into the background, remaining invisible until it was needed. That's the idea behind the Zero...
POSTED Wednesday, April 9, 2008
With an African-American candidate looking like he may have a legitimate chance at making it into the White House, we recently decided it was time to review several seasons of the startlingly prescient TV show "24." After several weekends...
POSTED Wednesday, April 9, 2008
If you’re familiar with Singgih Kartino’s elegant wooden radios he’s designed for Areaware, you might like this newest iteration, the Magno Wooden Radio that’s much smaller than his original medium-sized creation. At $220 (available in July), it moves beyond a...
POSTED Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Pinnacle’s seen some success with its PCTV HD Sticks over the past year, letting you turn your PC into an HDTV and TiVo-like digital video recorder (DVR) for peanuts. But we weren’t really interested until now. The change? This...
POSTED Monday, April 7, 2008
Nowadays you can't walk around a busy area, college campus or get on a train or bus without seeing those familiar white earbuds. Yes, iPods are popular and we all know it, but when a company like Copulare decides...
POSTED Monday, April 7, 2008
Cue the parade, iHome has managed to do it again and innovate the iPod dock, kind of. The latest product from the iPod dock-maker is the iPod dock lamp. This is a nice addition because it helps eliminate desk...
POSTED Friday, April 4, 2008
Blu-ray officially won the format war against HD DVD more than six weeks ago. It's old news, but I'm still thinking about it. Ever since HD DVD died, commentators have been less than optimistic about Blu-ray's future. Just last...
POSTED Thursday, April 3, 2008
Thank goodness the lovely damsel — let’s call her Dawn — wrapped around this Pole Dancer Alarm Clock remains fully clothed, or else all your lady friends visiting your bedroom might think you’re a bit sleazy. Risking your stellar...
POSTED Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Since Blu-ray has won the high-def-disc format war, the HD DVD add-on that Microsoft released for the Xbox 360 has become completely obsolete. It only seems natural, therefore, for Microsoft to be working on a Blu-ray add-on for its console,...
POSTED Tuesday, April 1, 2008
No sooner had Comcast relented on its BitTorrent spoofing scandal than we see the cable company cutting corners elsewhere, now compressing HDTV shows so much that blocky noise is plainly visible on most of its HDTV channels. Trying to...
POSTED Monday, March 31, 2008
Look, I know that the future is coming, if it's not here already, and that's all very exciting. But come on. That doesn't mean it's time to start forcing it. Let it come naturally! Don't start designing things that look...
POSTED Saturday, March 29, 2008
When you’re not docking your iPhone or iPod into this iTam Tam, it looks like you can just dock your butt on it. But wait just a second. While it looks a bit like a stool, it’s not for...
POSTED Friday, March 28, 2008
The HDTV is usually the center of attention in a home theater, but a speaker set like Paul Scarfe's Aura could upstage it. Aura is cone speaker made with molded glass that produces exceptional sound. The glass is supposed...
POSTED Thursday, March 27, 2008
Maybe Blu-ray and HD DVD wasted too much time fighting it out for the consumer high-def disc market. “I think it’s too late for Blu-ray,” says Laurie Fincham, Chief Scientist at George Lucas’s THX, the standard bearer for only the...
POSTED Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Toshiba is working on a new universal remote that's a little different. It's a robot that'll learn how you interact with your house, rather than force you to program it. Let's say you picked up your remote to turn on...
POSTED Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Looking to record your favorite HD shows to a digital video recorder (HD DVR)? You’re not alone. As of December, 2007, 20% of U.S. households had a DVR, up from 12% at the beginning of the year. Your choices...
POSTED Wednesday, March 26, 2008
As a technology writer, I'm often asked what gear I've chosen to open my metaphorical wallet on. In many cases, though, my choices aren't necessarily the best in their class. For instance, I got cheap and bought a 50-inch...
POSTED Thursday, March 20, 2008
Bang and Olufsen make some pretty crazy remotes, but so far none of them creates the illusion of floating above the coffee table. And as far as we know, none controls the television without you having to touch it....
POSTED Wednesday, March 19, 2008
After reviewing several dozen iPod speaker systems over the last two years, I’ve discovered that, despite the incredible variety available, very few of them are worth your hard-earned cheese. Once in a long while, though, I hear a system...
POSTED Tuesday, March 18, 2008
There goes one more reason why dogs need masters. This tennis ball launcher will keep that mutt entertained for hours, with no effort required from you. Jerry the dachshund appears to be well-trained, not only to place the ball...
POSTED Monday, March 17, 2008
hulu, the NBC Universal and FOX-owned website that offers ad-supported movies and network TV shows, launched to the public this week. We should first note that NBC Universal also owns DVICE: in December we even gave out logins for...
POSTED Sunday, March 16, 2008
If you're under 25 you might find this tough to accept, but back in the '70s and '80s people used to actually pay good money to go sit in a tent, and watch a laser light show that was...
POSTED Friday, March 14, 2008
The best-selling disc players aren’t high-def models like Blu-ray machines — they're upconverting DVD players. Those are regular DVD players that sport an HDMI output for easy connection to an HDTV (HDMI carries both audio and video). Oppo has...
POSTED Friday, March 14, 2008
This could be taking a note from Guitar Hero, but this oversized five-note keyboard is trying to make being a musician pretty easy. This keyboard goes by the name "Big Daddy" and is the work of Michael Robson. It...
POSTED Thursday, March 13, 2008
So you have a fancy HDTV, killer speaker system and plenty of game consoles? Think your home-entertainment center is pretty top-notch? Well, then there's not much left to do but slap a big, beautiful frame around your gear to...
POSTED Wednesday, March 12, 2008
The age-old conundrum of deciding between something that's highly functional or highly stylish is back again, but this time it's in the speaker department. This is kind of like deciding between the classic supercar and something a little more...
POSTED Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Available in Japan since December, the Wii Fit is scheduled for a spring release Stateside. We couldn't wait that long. Determined to check out the Wii Fit early, we went to Chinatown in New York City to search for a Japanese version. Mission accomplished. But is it any good? Vanessa has the verdict.
POSTED Friday, March 7, 2008
Standing four feet tall, the Ferrari Art.Engine has something that real Ferraris have, besides a shiny red paint job: Power. It's equipped with its own amplifier, so you can just plug in your disc player, iPod or MP3 player,...
POSTED Wednesday, March 5, 2008
The VirtualGT personal racing simulator is an arcade-style machine that'll let you live out your dreams of professional racing right in the comfort of your own home. To spice the experience up and give it a bit of personalization, however,...
POSTED Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Making hi-fi speakers with drivers fashioned from woven hemp fibers might sound a bit like the plot for a long lost Cheech & Chong movie. The people behind Omega Speaker Systems however, will insist that the HempCone drivers they...
POSTED Monday, March 3, 2008
When Warner Bros. announced in early January that it was pulling the plug on the release of HD DVD discs and going solely with Blu-ray, everyone could read the writing on the wall without even squinting. Last week, speculation...
POSTED Thursday, February 28, 2008
Sony put on a big bash in Las Vegas this week, showing off its latest wares in its Annual Product Showcase, and we were there, snooping around just for you. The company was strutting around like a barnyard rooster,...
POSTED Thursday, February 28, 2008
Sony ships its MDR-NC500D headphones on March 21, touted as groundbreaking technology. The company sent us a pair just before we hopped on a plane to the annual Sony Open House in Las Vegas, inviting us to take a...
POSTED Wednesday, February 27, 2008
One wonders how many Eidos 20 BD Blu-ray DVD players Goldmund plans to sell. Granted the company lives in the high-end-equipment space, but seriously folks, what’s up with the price? Yes, this is a very posh Blu-ray player with...
POSTED Tuesday, February 26, 2008
This "Stringless Pleasure" stereo system is a combination of home theatre equipment and furniture, combining a high-end stereo setup with shelving for holding your CDs and things of that nature. Yes, this fancy offering was designed by the architect Chi-wing...
POSTED Tuesday, February 26, 2008
So HD DVD is officially dead, and we're more than a little pleased— as of a few months ago there was no end in sight for this tiresome format war. Last week teary commenters were bemoaning the death of...
POSTED Sunday, February 24, 2008
HD DVD is flopping about in the last of its death throes — player and disc prices are down across the board as anything HD DVD is headed for massive 30%-50% sales and bargain bins. For most consumers, however,...
POSTED Wednesday, February 20, 2008
So Blu-ray has won the format war, sending HD DVD into the grave, where it'll join other failed formats such as Betamax, MiniDisc, Laserdisc, and the UMD. So long, HD DVD. We barely knew you. We, the people who follow...
POSTED Wednesday, February 20, 2008
And so it ends — not with a whimper, but a bang. Well, an official announcement, anyway. Toshiba said today it would stop developing and building HD DVD equipment, killing the format and handing victory in the HD-disc format war...
POSTED Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Do you hear that sound? It's the fat lady, and she's singing for HD DVD. If you're one of the unfortunate people who gambled on an HD DVD player while the format war was still raging, I have bad news...
POSTED Saturday, February 16, 2008
As much as I try to prevent pink, plastic toys from entering our house, that damn tooth fairy has been a cash cow lately, and my daughter’s toy collection is reaching critical mass. Extreme situations call for extreme measures,...
POSTED Friday, February 15, 2008
Bang & Olufsen, a company known for charging insane amounts of money for gadgets and gear due to their sleek designs, is at it again. Its new BeoVision 8 is a 32-inch TV, and a nice one at that....
POSTED Friday, February 15, 2008
Here's a universal remote that can do it all. The Universal KP-900 Wireless Keypad resides on the wall for controlling your house's lighting, blinds, thermostat, and security systems, and then you can pick it off its wall bracket and take...
POSTED Thursday, February 14, 2008
Forget all those tacky TV stands you've seen at Best Buy. This simple and adjustable TV Easel by Swedish designer Axel Bjurström, on display at the Stockholm Furniture Fair last week, takes a familiar form and applies it to...
POSTED Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Yes, this concept CD player is really slick looking, what with its touchscreen interface and unique-wall mounted design. Yes, it would make your apartment or house look that much more futuristic. But did nobody send the designer the memo that...
POSTED Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Unlike the electric coconuts we have featured in the past, this coconut mod produces noise, rather than reporting it. It was found over at MAKE's Flickr pool uploaded by Steve Lodefink and not much other information is known. It...
POSTED Tuesday, February 12, 2008
We've seen plenty of cool steampunk style gadgets before, but never anything quite as ambitious as this. The Nautilus home theater was created to resemble the interior of the submarine of the same name from Jules Verne's classic novel...
POSTED Sunday, February 10, 2008
How much would you be willing to spend on a home theatre? $1,000? $5,000? Maybe you're loaded and don't mind dropping upwards of $50,000? Hey, good for you. Guess what? No matter what your answer, your setup really sucks compared...
POSTED Saturday, February 9, 2008
Settle back in the AquaFit 19DT for a relaxing soak in its hot tub, or mosey on over to its other side for a vigorous aquatic workout. It 's so versatile, you can either outfit it with the exercise...
POSTED Friday, February 8, 2008
Who needs to fly an actual personal helicopter with all that danger when you can vicariously fly a Silverlit Picoo Z that's about the size of a deck of cards? They've been improved, flying forward now instead of just...
POSTED Friday, February 8, 2008
Last year when Steve Jobs announced Apple TV at Macworld 2007, I wasn't impressed. I expressed my displeasure at the fact that the media was basically giving a free pass to a product that I predicted would be an...
POSTED Thursday, February 7, 2008
Faux wood grain will be no more if MAGNO has anything to say about it. MAGNO wants to eliminate the fake look of wooden gadgets in favor of real wooden gadgets. The MAGNO Wooden Radio is essentially that, a...
POSTED Thursday, February 7, 2008
At this point, having a 60-inch TV won't win you any neighborhood mid-life-crisis contests, as everybody is getting giant TVs these days. Now, you need to take it to the next level if you really want to prove to everyone...
POSTED Thursday, February 7, 2008
Let's say you're ready to chuck your DVD player and make the jump to renting digital content from a box near your television. Congratulations! You've discovered Pay Per View. But PPV has few choices and even less flexibility: What...
POSTED Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Make fun of that friend of yours who got busted last weekend by giving him this Police Alarm Clock, scaring him out of bed with siren noises, that familiar flashing blue light, and a realistic-sounding threat from the cops....
POSTED Wednesday, February 6, 2008
The Aura Note might not be the flashiest piece of stereo equipment around, but hey, it's what's inside that really counts, right? The retro-looking all-in-one bundles a CD player, tuner, and power amp all into one unit. The components are...
POSTED Wednesday, February 6, 2008
CNN's been trailing Fox News in ratings for years now— how can it gain viewers on an important day like Super Tuesday? By imitating Minority Report, of course. Recently the cable news network introduced what it calls the Magic...
POSTED Tuesday, February 5, 2008
The Super Bowl, that pageant of 63 advertisements with a football game hidden somewhere within, has become an incubator of commercial creativity. Many of the most popular spots have something to do with animals, but we're more interested in...
POSTED Monday, February 4, 2008
It's been a long time since flying was anything but a chore, but now you can recreate at least part of the experience at home anytime you want. The First Class seats from MotoArt, are genuine aircraft seats pulled...
POSTED Sunday, February 3, 2008
When Super Bowl XLII game hits the eyeballs of 158 million Americans this Sunday, its television images will have winded their way through enough high-tech gee-gaws to launch a squadron of space shuttles. The super broadcast racks up some...
POSTED Friday, February 1, 2008
Time Warner just launched a test of its new HBO on Broadband service, only available so far to residents of Wisconsin who are subscribers of Time Warner Cable, HBO and Road Runner broadband. It so happens that some of...
POSTED Thursday, January 31, 2008
Just when we thought we couldn't stand to look at another iPod dock, here comes the Moderna from Phiaton. We have to admit the design is pretty cool on this one, with nice sleek lines and those tubes on...
POSTED Thursday, January 31, 2008
There's a national holiday coming up this Sunday, the day where over 100 million people in America worship football by watching Super Bowl XLII. You might be among the 2.4 million people (according to the Consumer Electronics Association) who...
POSTED Wednesday, January 30, 2008
The Bamboo Speaker is a slick little concept design that uses bamboo as an inspiration for its shape. The unique design apparently uses the "natural acoustics of cylindrical objects" to enhance the sound, which may or may not actually do...
POSTED Wednesday, January 30, 2008
If there's anything people have been clamoring for, it's a more complicated remote control. I mean, sure, you might have a bunch of remotes that all run different things and all with tons and tons of buttons, but you need...
POSTED Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Sorry, let me pick my jaw up off the table. It's not often that a simple consumer electronics doodad is as beautiful and magnificent as the Alfie Audio iPod System. I'll start with the downsides: This is a pretty...
POSTED Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Adding to the ever-expanding multitude of USB-powered thingamajigs is this Smartech USB Aroma Radio + Speaker. It lights up your abode with seven soothing colors while playing music from its internal AM-FM radio, or lets you plug in your...
POSTED Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Aquavision already impressed us with its combination LCD TV and heated towel rack, but now the company goes a step further, creating the world's largest waterproof TV for your bathroom. Measuring a generous 57 inches diagonally, it doubles as...
POSTED Monday, January 28, 2008
Sony teamed up with the Nichia Corportation, a Japanese manufacturer and supplier, and the happy result is a smaller Blu-Ray laser. Measuring in at 3 millimeters, the new laser is cheaper for Sony to manufacture, and anything from laptops using...
POSTED Monday, January 28, 2008
If the Australian Tourist Board wants to dispel the Crocodile Dundee bigger is better, Texas with a funny accent image many of us have of their country, they'd better slap an export ban on Lenard Audio speakers pronto. I...
POSTED Saturday, January 26, 2008
I have, on two occasions in the past, gone to Staples or the nearest local pharmacy to purchase a $10 replacement "universal" remote control. These remotes aren't pretty. They take a bit of finagling to set up. But they...
POSTED Friday, January 25, 2008
You, faithful DVICE reader, have nothing to fear from the digital TV transition, when the FCC is due to officially "switch off" the analog-TV spectrum next February. I’m sure if you don't already have an HDTV, it's high up...
POSTED Thursday, January 24, 2008
I hate to break it to you early adopters who gambled on HD DVD as your choice in the HD disc format war, but it looks like Blu-ray won. After Warner Bros announced that it was going exclusively with Blu-ray,...
POSTED Wednesday, January 23, 2008
While I'm of the mindset that traditional remote controls don't need too many updates, what with them being loaded up with buttons that all do specific tasks, not everyone agrees. Specifically, designers love reimagining remote controls as overly-simple things that...
POSTED Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Now that our favorite television shows are on a writers-strike hiatus, that TiVo Series 3 you spent your hard-earned money on is sitting there begging to be used. While your To-Do list may be bare, fear not as there...
POSTED Tuesday, January 22, 2008
HBO is testing a new Broadband On Demand service on Time Warner Cable in Wisconsin right now, allowing current HBO subscribers to download any of its movies or shows whenever they want. It includes pretty slick features like season passes...
POSTED Monday, January 21, 2008
While some people want to make their technology as big and as noticeable as possible, people without complexes that demand that they get validation every five minutes would rather make their personal technology more subtle. That's why strange devices such...
POSTED Thursday, January 17, 2008
As expected, Apple announced it would offer movies for rental through its iTunes (they really need to think about renaming that) store, starting today. Steve Jobs said in his keynote that Apple has deals with all the major studios...
POSTED Tuesday, January 15, 2008
The Monos modular wall unit by MisuraEmme pretty much gives you space to do anything: it's an entertainment center, a bookshelf (or a space to shelve anything really), and provides plenty of slick lighting for even classier setups like...
POSTED Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Ceramic is a great material for sound amplification. Does it follow that if you wrap your earbuds in ceramic that you'll have instant loudspeakers? Maybe. The "loudspeakers" pictured here were made from clay and discarded musical scores by designer...
POSTED Monday, January 14, 2008
I doubt you're going to save the environment by buying SWEDX's LCD TV that's "embedded in natural wood," but damn it sure looks nice, doesn't it? And that's all that really matters. The TV's themselves have 1920x1080 resolution, come...
POSTED Saturday, January 12, 2008
And the remote responds with an enthusiastic yes! The Harmony One is Logitech's latest addition to its line of exceptional consumer-focused universal remote controls. The One seems to be a happy middle-man between Logitech's high-end Harmony 1000 and some...
POSTED Saturday, January 12, 2008
Perhaps it has something to do with Vegas' surreal take on life, but every year we see more and more wild and crazy loudspeaker designs in the high performance audio exhibits. If you're one of those people who think...
POSTED Friday, January 11, 2008
I’m not sure if I should question how they do it or why they do it, but they did it. HiVi created the Swans 2.3A, a home theater system powered speakers that takes up a lot of space and...
POSTED Wednesday, January 9, 2008
The WAVEscape gives Vanessa a hands on experience against virtual pandas.
POSTED Wednesday, January 9, 2008
TV in a mirror. Hmm̷ I like that. A cool application would be to have a 20-inch LCD screen in the bathroom mirror — I for one would take more baths if there were a TV in the bathroom. M-Touch...
POSTED Tuesday, January 8, 2008
The Liberty home theater system by B&W is a beautiful thing. It's 5.1-channel surround system that you can expand to 7.1 channels with an extra zone. But the best aspect of this gorgeous system is that it's wireless, sending...
POSTED Tuesday, January 8, 2008
Don't look down — that's the idea of the Wavit remote control. With a twist of the wrist, you can control volume, fast forward and how quickly you're fast forwarding without looking down at the remote. When you need...
POSTED Tuesday, January 8, 2008
After Michael Douglas kicked off the XStreamHD press conference, company reps gave us the 411 on what the hell it is. First, yes, it is yet another way to get HD movies into your home, though they won't exactly...
POSTED Tuesday, January 8, 2008
Heard of XStreamHD? OK then, how about Michael Douglas? Yeah, that's exactly what they want you to think — the Oscar-winning actor lent his star power to the nascent company, which has plans in '08 to sell a new...
POSTED Tuesday, January 8, 2008
You might not be up for singing in the rain, but if you want to hear music when there's a chance your speakers will get wet you'll certainly want all-weather speakers. While touring the Hilton Pavilion, home of numerous...
POSTED Tuesday, January 8, 2008
If JVC has its way, you'll be able to permanently lose your TV remote control and just use hand gestures to change channels, adjust volume, drill through menus and turn it off. The company demonstrated a Snap & Gesture...
POSTED Monday, January 7, 2008
While everyone at CES is showing off their biggest screens, Sony may very well be debuting their best. The XEL-1 ($2,500) is a new OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) television, with a screen that is absolutely amazing. The technology...
POSTED Monday, January 7, 2008
German company Sonoro will introduce its Cubo radio in the United States this year, hoping to grab a piece of the market for Bose-style simple looking, high quality audio in a small box. The radio includes an alarm clock...
POSTED Saturday, January 5, 2008
CES is barely underway, but I can already determine one of the biggest trends of the show, and even the upcoming year, and that is media steaming set-top boxes. SanDisk bestowed the TakeTV a couple months ago and now...
POSTED Saturday, January 5, 2008
Could the HD disc format war be coming to a close? It looks like a nail might have been put in HD DVD's coffin today, as Warner Brothers has completely dropped it in favor of competitor Blu-ray. That leaves only...
POSTED Friday, January 4, 2008
Netflix has been providing streaming movies to its customers for a while now, but it's all been trapped on that most unappealing of watching devices, the computer. I mean, who wouldn't rather just watch said streaming movies on their TV,...
POSTED Thursday, January 3, 2008
Green activists and fans of The Flintstones should enjoy the latest offering from AssistOn called the Magno Wooden Radio. Four single cell batteries power this AM/FM portable radio that also tunes into certain television audio frequencies. Resistant to decay...
POSTED Wednesday, January 2, 2008
The Rubik's Cube may be a staple of any cubicle or time capsule, but in this new generation it's all about making this simple puzzle device bigger and better. This homemade Rubik's Cube subwoofer is probably as big as...
POSTED Wednesday, January 2, 2008
Sure, you could set your fancy HDTV up on a plain old table, but doesn't that seem like a waste of space? I mean, you've got all sorts of bulky equipment, and you're going to take up space with a...
POSTED Wednesday, January 2, 2008
LG Philips has plans to unleash a couple of monster multi-touch displays at CES next week. The 52-inch and humungous 82-inch displays will be able to be manipulated in similar fashion to the iPhone's screen, just on a much, much...
POSTED Monday, December 31, 2007
If you're not looking to burn upwards of $380,000 on high-end and designer speakers, but still want something that looks nice, take a gander at the NACsound Sonance speakers. These speakers don't look anything like speakers at all, resembling...
POSTED Saturday, December 29, 2007
Host Vanessa Rae takes Suki, her dog, and Pleo, a robotic dinosaur-like companion, out for a whirlwind tour of Manhattan.
POSTED Thursday, December 27, 2007
Having all of your CDs out on a bunch of shelves may look impressive, but it can be a pain if you don't have them organized in any way. The CD Carousel Plus holds 150 CDs at once, has...
POSTED Thursday, December 27, 2007
The way things are going, before too long we'll all be trying to find our invisible gadgets. From tiny cellphones to thin TVs, everybody wants smaller and thinner gadgets. And Japan is here to deliver what people want. Just take...
POSTED Thursday, December 27, 2007
Although this Netgear ReadyNAS hard disk enclosure looks almost exactly like a dehumidifier that's buzzing away in our basement right now, it's a whole lot more useful. That's because it's a well-known fact that you can't be too rich, too...
POSTED Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Tired of tripping over an unsightly bulge every time you walk to your couch because you ran your surround-speaker wires under the living room carpet? Or worse, because you're like us and just left the wires sitting on top...
POSTED Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Apparently, in the world of high-end home theater speakers, bigger is better. If that's the case, then these Nucleus Reference 5LS Loudspeakers have got to be some of the best-sounding speakers around, as they stand at a whopping 6-feet...
POSTED Tuesday, December 18, 2007
We can't imagine that a folding cardboard boombox will get terrific sound out of your iPod, even with working speakers. (Having to clarify that the iPod speakers you're selling actually work is kind of a warning sign right there.)...
POSTED Tuesday, December 18, 2007
If you want to have a slick little speaker for your iPod and torture a fish at the same time, the iPond was designed with you in mind. While it's certainly a unique little product and is pretty cool...
POSTED Monday, December 17, 2007
Nothing says "I'm not good in social situations" like building a gigantic, elaborate home theater setup dedicated to an old sci-fi movie. And that's just what superfan Darren Mortenson did, creating a totally epic setup dedicated to Terminator. Featuring...
POSTED Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Bathrooms are generally pretty tech-free places. Sure, maybe you have a shower radio in there so you can listen to NPR in the mornings while you bathe, but otherwise, it's a pretty low-tech affair. Well, that doesn't mean it has...
POSTED Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Must to the dismay of parents of college kids everywhere, a company has come out with a gadget capable of helping students binge drink. The Shot Caller is essentially a timer designed for the Power Hour drinking activity. For...
POSTED Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Nothing says luxury like gold and glass. Or, rather, nothing makes something look luxurious like a healthy sampling of those two materials. I assume that's where Perfect8 gets off charging $40,000 for a single center-channel speaker made of mostly...
POSTED Monday, December 10, 2007
Are you a lazy parent who wants to protect your kids from the horrors of movies made for adults but are too lazy to pay attention to what they watch? Well, good news! For you, I mean, not your...
POSTED Monday, December 10, 2007
Look like something you see in one of those "homes of the future"? It should, this ridiculously designed thing is a tabletop radio by LG. The guts inside the PC12 radio aren't too shabby with an HD radio tuner,...
POSTED Saturday, December 8, 2007
If you're like me, you care a lot more about your HDTV handling games well than you do it handling movies or TV shows. Personally, I use HD for gaming at least twice as much as I do for...
POSTED Thursday, December 6, 2007
I love concept designs that clearly have horrible functionality in order to maintain some unique design or concept. I mean, I guess love isn't the right word. Because they will never, ever get made, so perhaps I just feel...
POSTED Thursday, December 6, 2007
Plasma TVs used to cost a fortune. Then, after a while, only the big ones cost a fortune. And now we've finally reached the point where only the crazy-big ones cost a fortune — even reasonably big ones like...
POSTED Wednesday, December 5, 2007
Some people want their home theater components to look classy and uniform, looking like the fashionable pieces of technology that they are without standing out and drawing too much attention to themselves. That's why almost every component out there comes...
POSTED Wednesday, December 5, 2007
Nothing says annoying like setting up a speaker system. Running and cutting wires and placing speakers is pretty much the opposite of fun, but a trial that you have to go through to get a decent setup. Or at least...
POSTED Monday, December 3, 2007
Got $11,000 and an obsession with jazz musicians? Sweet, you are a the perfect demographic that Terresonic is looking for with its limited edition Jazz Legends speaker line. There are only ten pairs of speakers available for purchase, but...
POSTED Friday, November 30, 2007
If you're looking to intimidate the crap out of anyone who comes into your house while also being able to listen to music and movies at ear-shattering volumes, nothing does the trick like a set of humungous, ridiculous speakers. Speakers...
POSTED Friday, November 30, 2007
Yesterday TiVo announced that a software company called Nero will create a platform to "bring TiVo features to the personal computer." TiVo realizes that a lot of people out there have tuners for their computers. and is hoping to...
POSTED Thursday, November 29, 2007
So you say you want to keep your environmentally green cred, but can't dispense with your budding DJ career? Have we got a set-up for you... Designed by the good people at Samurai Studios and Taguchi, the Organic Speaker...
POSTED Thursday, November 29, 2007
I've never really understood the appeal of buying some huge, fancy item to plug your iPod into. I mean, the iPod is a nice, simple device on its own, it really doesn't need some hulking piece of overpriced technology...
POSTED Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Japanese audio hardware company Taguchi recently teamed up with designer Jin Kuramoto to unveil the understated yet powerful Supper audio system. Designed to appear as a wine bottle, two glasses and a food basket, the Supper audio system's clean...
POSTED Wednesday, November 28, 2007
As a sure sign we are getting lazier by the minute, One For All has introduced an uber-remote that can control any device in the entertainment center. TV, DVD player, amplifier? No problem, this remote can even be programmed...
POSTED Monday, November 26, 2007
Apparently, there's no limit to how much high-end speaker manufacturers are willing to charge the super-rich for ludicrous speakers. I mean, how good can speakers possibly sound? Good enough to justify a $180,000 price tag? I doubt it. But...
POSTED Monday, November 26, 2007
Most projectors are pretty bulky affairs, designed to take up a shelf facing a wall and never move. But what if you want to bring your projector with you, setting it up wherever you want and turning any surface...
POSTED Tuesday, November 20, 2007
You know this big ol' format war between HD DVD and Blu-ray? Well, I hope you haven't spent too much money choosing sides. That's because sooner rather than later we're not going to be all that interested in either...
POSTED Tuesday, November 20, 2007
The Lars & Ivan motto, posted on its website, is "less is more." One look at the PA-40Ti Hybrid iPod Dock makes it clear that the company's serious — notice the lack of speakers? You won't hear anything when...
POSTED Friday, November 16, 2007
Clearly inspired by the minimalist future visions of Stanley Kubrick, Zumreed has released the uber-stylish Rain Drop Speaker for the iPod. Shaped exactly like a raindrop, the waterproof speaker conceals your iPod within it's circular interior allowing you to...
POSTED Friday, November 16, 2007
If you're the type of person who gets a lot of satisfaction from building something with your own two hands, you probably don't get a lot of pleasure out of your home theatre setup. After all, it's pretty tough...
POSTED Thursday, November 15, 2007
Slingbox, the company that makes everybody's favorite TV to computer accessory, announced a product that it calls SlingCatcher earlier this year. The company was showing one off last night at a CES press event, which is a pretty good...
POSTED Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Some people treat their TV remote like it's the most precious thing they own, but if you had one of these solid gold remote controls by Lantic Systems, it really would be. The Gold RC1 will control more than...
POSTED Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Wouldn't it be great to wheel the home entertainment system into your bathroom while you soak in the spa? Unfortunately water and electricity don't mix well, and getting fried in your tub while watching Grey's Anatomy would make for...
POSTED Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Here's the weirdest drinking set we've seen yet, and it will probably seem even stranger the tipsier you get. This Roly Poly Shot Glasses Cordial Set aims to please, with a raised area on the bottom of the decanter...
POSTED Tuesday, November 13, 2007
The ASUS Internet Radio (also known as AIR) was more or less just a whisper until now, but tonight we saw it in all of its retro-styled glory. The features listed on the box promised to fulfill some of...
POSTED Monday, November 12, 2007
Let's be honest here: looks are pretty much just as important as how well a gadget works in many instances. As long as a product isn't complete crap in the functionality department, having a really slick casing on it...
POSTED Thursday, November 8, 2007
You say you like your sound to be heavy? Well, I hope you meant that literally. That's because I have here for you a set of concrete speakers guaranteed to ding and scratch the hell out of your entertainment...
POSTED Tuesday, November 6, 2007
If our favorable impression of Razer products such as the Pro|Type keyboard and Mantis gaming mouse pad is any indication, these Razer Mako speakers might be worth the wait for their December ship date. This THX-certified 2.1 speaker system...
POSTED Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Are you stuck in a suburb and bored out of your wits at 3am? Soon, you may be able to mix things up by heading to the nearest 24-hour Walgreens for a pint of ice cream and a store-burned...
POSTED Tuesday, October 30, 2007
You might think that your home theater setup is impressive, what with all the time, effort, and money you put in to getting it perfect. The big-screen HDTV, the surround sound, and the layout were all chosen so meticulously....
POSTED Tuesday, October 30, 2007
These here are some fancy, expensive speakers. The Pantheon Loudspeakers from Siltech stand an imposing 63-inches tall and weigh a hefty 310 pounds, but it's more than their size that makes them stand out. No, what makes them unique...
POSTED Monday, October 29, 2007
Though it looks like some kind of stubby, cone-nosed alien with one eye, the Mobius MKII stands over three feet tall and the omni-directional, eight-inch speaker array provides 360 degrees of sound. The array is made from two midbass...
POSTED Monday, October 29, 2007
Having trouble finding room for all those unwieldy AC adapters that seem to proliferate like amorous bunnies? While you might like the excellent Power Squid ($11.95), a more-conventional yet precise approach is this Tributaries T10 Power Strip. It aims...
POSTED Friday, October 26, 2007
I don't really use CDs unless I'm ripping them, but this Marantz CD player looks good enough to make me wish I did. The Marantz CR201 Personal CD System takes a vertical approach to the whole affair, featuring a...
POSTED Friday, October 26, 2007
You may have seen a mirror like this before, with points of light that seem to lead off into infinity and beyond. Well, maybe not infinity, but it seems like it's at least 5 feet deep. This 60"x36" Infinity...
POSTED Thursday, October 25, 2007
TiVo HD and Series 3 owners, listen up — your TiVo experience just got a heck of a lot better thanks to a few much needed upgrades. Firstly, no more dirty hacks are required to boost the capacity of...
POSTED Tuesday, October 23, 2007
We were surprised at Hitachi's 32-inch HDTV whose thickness was just 0.74 inches. Now it looks like Samsung has topped that, creating a flat-panel HDTV that's half that thick. Imagine a TV that's just 10mm thin — just over...
POSTED Monday, October 22, 2007
The world of consumer electronics, especially home theater, is an interesting one. Manufacturers are generally looking to one up each other with bigger and better goods. LG has thrown these rules outside of the window by busting onto the...
POSTED Monday, October 22, 2007
The HD DVD and Blu-ray format war has been going on for an exhaustingly long time. We've been hoping for a definitive resolution (go Blu-ray!) since both formats debuted more than a year ago. There have been several developments...
POSTED Sunday, October 21, 2007
We've seen media centers of all shapes, sizes and types around these parts, but they all share one similar flaw — too big and too complicated. Most people already have at least one PC in their home, so there...
POSTED Saturday, October 20, 2007
Boy, the timing is quite peculiar, but a mere day after Sony announced a cheaper PlayStation 3 to combat the Xbox 360 and its cheaper price tag, a "senior Toshiba executive in Singapore" has come out of the woodworks saying...
POSTED Friday, October 19, 2007
Love planes? So do we, but it's probably a safe bet that John Davis loves them more. Rather than go for a bedroom built into a plane, he turned his own into a fully functional, professional-grade simulator. Now 47...
POSTED Friday, October 19, 2007
Sony just rolled out the HDMS-S1D Digital Photo Album, aimed at photographers who would like to fill it up with their digital photos. Hook it up to your network via Ethernet, and send your photos to it over your...
POSTED Thursday, October 18, 2007
That lap of luxury in which you immerse yourself with a nice long Jacuzzi soak now finds itself in the iPod era with the J400 series of Jacuzzi hot tubs, giving you an iPod docking station where you can...
POSTED Wednesday, October 17, 2007
It is pretty dang surprising that this technology trend is so slow to take off. With displays so small they can be rolled up, everyone and their hamster owning an iPod and wireless everything existing; it was only inevitable...
POSTED Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Some aficionados trick out their media rooms with specialized themes, while others prefer to go old school. Regardless of which way you swing, it's all for nothing if you don't have an awesome sound system. Swiss manufacturer Goldmund has...
POSTED Friday, October 12, 2007
Okay, so maybe the Planet speakers by Urban Fidelity won't be heard by the whole world, but they are designed to bring 360-degrees of sound to your home theater. The idea is simple; the speakers fire up at the...
POSTED Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Good news for the two or three of you out there who still care about SACD, the dead format of audio CDs with super-high fidelity and surround sound capabilities: Pioneer has got your back. Its new PD-D9 SACD player...
POSTED Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Short-throw projectors are great for smaller spaces. Rather than having to be set back 10 or 20 feet from the wall that they project against, they aim their image upwards, allowing you to set it up close to the...
POSTED Tuesday, October 9, 2007
The Art Lebedev design crew is at it again, this time designing a remote control that has 100 buttons — each designating a specific channel. There are directional keys as well as buttons to select channels in either the...
POSTED Saturday, October 6, 2007
Do you really, really like your LG Chocolate phone? Do you wish more of your personal electronics looked and behaved like it? Well, that's bananas, but it's your prerogative, I suppose. And you must not be the only one...
POSTED Friday, October 5, 2007
This year's Createc Japan conference is chock full of electronic goodies, but nothing seemed to capture the attention of conference-goers more than the Hosiden prototype Polyhedron Speaker system. Looking like a mix between Darth Vader's Death Star and a...
POSTED Friday, October 5, 2007
German zeppelins killed hundreds of English in World War I bombing raids, so it's rather sporting of Bowers & Wilkins to model an iPod dock after the infamous flying object. B&W, of course, is best known for its world-beating...
POSTED Wednesday, October 3, 2007
Any self-respecting movie fan has to have a sound system with a subwoofer (Bose's latest toy notwithstanding). Whether you have stereo or surround sound, the only way to get those thumping deep-bass frequencies without cluttering your house with truly...
POSTED Tuesday, October 2, 2007
How thin is too thin? No such thing if you're Sony, who just announced a TV that's a mere 3 millimeters — or just 0.12 inches — thick. The secret to the XEL-1's trim figure is the quickly spreading...
POSTED Monday, October 1, 2007
Another day, another gigantic pair of overpriced speakers. Today's contestants are the Penaudio Chronos speakers. They're pretty nice looking towers, cased in wood of various colors (your choice!) and standing tall enough to let people know that you're really...
POSTED Monday, October 1, 2007
Polk Audio's I-Sonic 2 entertainment system isn't an upgrade from the first I-Sonic — it's almost a completely different table radio. First, it uses the latest HD Radio tuner available, which should theoretically make the I-Sonic 2 a better-performing...
POSTED Thursday, September 27, 2007
Sling Media, makers of the Slingbox line of place-shifting devices and recent acquirement of EchoStar, have just announced their new SOLO model of Slingbox. Between the AV unit and the Pro unit on the price/feature scale, it's aimed at...
POSTED Thursday, September 27, 2007
There's no room for my subwoofer along the wall where my TV is. And since I need to put it in a corner to get the best bass, there's no escape from stringing a long cable from the front...
POSTED Monday, September 24, 2007
Put your cell phone to work when you get home by parking it in this iHome iHC5S clock-radio speaker system, and it will communicate with this four-speaker mother ship via Bluetooth. Then you can access all the music on...
POSTED Monday, September 24, 2007
Personal-viewing eyewear — wraparound sunglass-type video-projection goggles that create the illusion of watching a movie on a big screen floating before your eyes — has been around for years. None model has taken off because the resolution is too...
POSTED Saturday, September 22, 2007
How big a Star Wars nerd are you? Even if you wear a Stormtrooper costume to conventions and sleep in Han Solo bedsheets, you're probably still nowhere near as nutty as Vic Wertz and Lisa Stevens. They wanted a...
POSTED Thursday, September 20, 2007
In today's installment of "idiotic and expensive things for very rich people to waste many thousands of dollars on," we have a hot tub with a built-in 61-inch flat-panel TV. Sure, having a giant TV combined with a hot...
POSTED Wednesday, September 19, 2007
As we mentioned earlier today, Bose has just announced a new PC-speaker system, and the company staged a huge press event to roll out these tiny, aluminum-encased speakers (whereas last week, it just sent out a press release for...
POSTED Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Bose made a "major announcement" today, so we're here at the company's headquarters in Framingham, Massachusetts, where we listened to a lecture by Dr. Bose himself. Yes, there is a Dr. Bose — in fact, he's a MIT professor....
POSTED Tuesday, September 18, 2007
When you're trying to get away with charging an exorbitant amount of money for a piece of antiquated technology like a turntable, you've got to make it look unique. That's probably the most important thing you can do to...
POSTED Thursday, September 13, 2007
Despite both HD-disc formats stalling out with mediocre sales due to a justifiably confused consumer base, Sony has gone ahead and announced not one, not two, not three, but four Blu-ray recorders. Keep chasing that shooting star, Sony. The...
POSTED Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Need a home theater system to pump out the tunes from your $150,000 turntable? Look no further — SE2 Labs has the perfect $20,000 system for you. The ITC One is a behemoth of system: almost 2 feet tall...
POSTED Wednesday, September 12, 2007
This might be the ultimate addition to any serious nerd's home theater setup. Not only is it a ridiculous subwoofer, with ten speakers angled in different directions, but it's shaped like a 12-sided die. Yes, it's the dorkiest shape...
POSTED Friday, September 7, 2007
Bang & Olufsen, makers of overpriced and strangely designed home theatre equipment and gadgets, are at it again. This wacky little doodad is their new Beo 5 remote control. It doesn't look like the most ergonomic remote ever, but...
POSTED Friday, September 7, 2007
An easy way to cut down on the amount of space taken up by a comprehensive movie, music and disc library is to buy a storage tower to put all the discs in. While a simple wooden shelf would...
POSTED Friday, September 7, 2007
Remotes that can find your house keys, wallet and purse have been around for a while now. But if you're someone who is prone to misplacing things, then that remote will probably go missing before you can say, "Hey,...
POSTED Thursday, September 6, 2007
No, this isn't a reject from this summer's Transformers movie; it's a turntable. And not just any turntable, either: an idiotically expensive turntable aimed at lobotomized, overmonied audiophiles. Yes, it's the "Work of Art" (yes, that's the product name)...
POSTED Thursday, September 6, 2007
Despite reports of its… wounding, Blu-ray is alive and well — at least in the product lines of three major manufacturers. Pioneer, Sharp and Sony all announced new players this week. Although the new machines all boast similar specs...
POSTED Thursday, September 6, 2007
The most memorable thing my father's ever said to me came up when I was a kid and we were wandering the aisles of a toy store together. I think we passed by some robot figurines that could blow...
POSTED Wednesday, September 5, 2007
Maybe you've moved into a new place or you're just the kind of person who never seems to find anything to put on those barren white walls of yours. A solid coat of actual color, floral wallpaper, and a...
POSTED Tuesday, September 4, 2007
Philips is showing a remarkable display array at the IFA consumer electronics show in Berlin this weekend, a screen that not only diagonally measures 132 inches, but can show 3-D pictures without making you wear those annoying glasses. No,...
POSTED Saturday, September 1, 2007
Do you have $15,000 kicking around that you aren't planning on using as a down payment on a home or for your kid's college education? Great! Klipsch wants that cash. In return, they'll give you a pair of Palladium Floorstander...
POSTED Friday, August 31, 2007
A moment of silence, please, in mourning for cathode-ray tube televisions. Certainly, LCDs and plasmas have many marked advantages over the elderly CRT. But those old screens are still better than flat panels in several ways, and they still...
POSTED Thursday, August 30, 2007
Klipsch just rolled out its IMAGE earphones, calling them the smallest and lightest in-ear earphones in the world. They are so tiny you can slip them in your ears and they disappear, with only two thin black wires showing....
POSTED Thursday, August 30, 2007
So even though you've got the pool table right where you want it, a fountain dispenser for all of those soda floats and your iPod full of tunes from the '40s, one thing keeps throwing your parlor off —...
POSTED Thursday, August 30, 2007
Sony unveiled a whole slew of new Bravia HDTVs today, including a monster 70-inch flagship that'll cost you nearly $35,000. For that money, you get RGB LED backlighting for the deepest blacks possible and 120-Hz motionflow for crisp action...
POSTED Wednesday, August 29, 2007
from Monster Cable's website Today Monster Cable announced the world's only speed-rated HDMI cables. They come in five flavors, ranging from Standard to Ultimate. The Standard cables are rated to handle today's HD signals while the high-end Ultimate cables (M1000...
POSTED Tuesday, August 28, 2007
High-definition video is already pretty damned realistic, but Mitsubishi is looking to make it even more realistic. How, you ask? By making it 3D, of course. And we aren't talking holograms or anything here, unfortunately. No, it's actually looking...
POSTED Thursday, August 23, 2007
The PlayStation 3 just got a lot more attractive — at least it did if you live in Europe. Sony Europe just unveiled the PlayTV, a TV tuner for the PS3 that turns your gaming console into a full-fledged...
POSTED Thursday, August 23, 2007
Playing a CD is usually a pretty standard affair. Pop open a lid, place the CD on its tray, and go sit down to enjoy your music. Japanese design group Hers Design evidently didn't think it should be that simple....
POSTED Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Mergers of technology and furniture are often ill-conceived, but installing a subwoofer in a chair can be a great idea if it's done right. Bass frequencies below 20 Hz can only be felt, not heard, and you need a...
POSTED Monday, August 20, 2007
If you've got a pile of remotes sitting on your coffee table, you could get a universal remote and control everything with one device. But that's expensive, and then you'd have to program it, which takes time and effort....
POSTED Friday, August 17, 2007
Logitech has just announced a really slick-looking iPod "speaker system," otherwise known as a fancy iPod dock. It's called the Pure-Fi Dream Bedroom Music System for iPod, and it has sweet new motion-sensing technology inside, bringing it to a...
POSTED Thursday, August 16, 2007
Does anyone buy receivers anymore? More to the point, does anyone buy $1,000+ receivers anymore? Onkyo sure thinks to, now selling a whole mess o' high-end A/V command centers, ranging in price from $900 to $2,100. And what does...
POSTED Thursday, August 16, 2007
For those of you out there who like to be distracted from television by your television, Philips is here for you. The company is upgrading its Ambilight line of TVs, which "enhance" your viewing experience by throwing light around...
POSTED Thursday, August 16, 2007
From the Unique Speakers department come these Audiorama speakers from Grundig. Basically, the speakers are big orbs that come in either black or white and can be either suspended from the ceiling or supported on poles. Due to their...
POSTED Monday, August 13, 2007
If you enjoy reading but find the task of holding a book up so you can look at it to be just too much work, there's finally a solution for you. Yes, the Levo Book Holder is designed just...
POSTED Saturday, August 11, 2007
The Sonance Architectural Series Speakers strike a perfect balance between speakers that are designed to be invisible and speakers that are designed to be a centerpiece in your living room. If you want people to know you have speakers but...
POSTED Thursday, August 9, 2007
The first thing you notice about Toshiba's third generation of HD DVD players is how thin they are. At just 2.4 inches tall, they're about half of what the first-gen players were 15 months ago, a welcome change for...
POSTED Thursday, August 9, 2007
Here's an oversized audio frequency spectrum analyzer that you hang on your wall. "On," called an "electronic dynamic luminescence sculpture-picture" by its creator Jean Octoban, has a built-in microphone that listens to the sounds of its surroundings, and depicts...
POSTED Thursday, August 2, 2007
We try not to shower you with every iPod accessory that blinks into existence, but when one of the most respected speaker manufacturers in the world steps up with an iPod dock, we take notice. Today, B&W Loudspeakers unveiled...
POSTED Wednesday, August 1, 2007
A new Series 3 HD TiVo went on sale this week — it's a pared down version of the first HD DVR that TiVo started selling last year, and sells for $300 instead of $800. The critics are convinced;...
POSTED Sunday, July 29, 2007
If you're still looking to get on board with HD DVD despite the fact that it's the popular bet to be the loser of the high-def format war, good news! Microsoft has gone ahead and dropped the price of...
POSTED Thursday, July 26, 2007
Been waiting on the sidelines of the HD-disc war between Blu-ray and HD DVD? If so, you may have been noticing that your regular DVDs don't look so good compared to HD broadcasts on that new HDTV of yours....
POSTED Wednesday, July 25, 2007
After much ballyhoo, the public got what it wanted: A cheaper, but still pretty damned nice, version of an electronic product it covets. No, we're not talking about a pared-down iPhone that doesn't require a second mortgage, but rather...
POSTED Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Losing the remote control is a lot harder if it's strapped to your wrist. That's the idea behind the "Touch Screen TV/DVD Remote Controller Wristwatch," which is, as you might imagine, a watch that can control your TV and...
POSTED Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Who says you need a bunch of speakers for a surround sound system to function? Sure, logic tells us that in order for you to be surrounded by sound you also need to be surrounded by speakers, but Sony...
POSTED Saturday, July 21, 2007
The TiVo Series 3 is a pretty hot piece of equipment, probably the finest DVR out there and one that any HDTV-owning TV lover would appreciate. The problem? It's really freaking expensive. That's why the rumors of a cheaper...
POSTED Thursday, July 19, 2007
It seems that Sony has completely given up on trying to compete with the iPod with its Walkman or any other portable music player. How else can you explain the company selling iPod docks? If you can't beat them,...
POSTED Wednesday, July 18, 2007
There's too much waste in electronics packaging. TVs, for example, come packed with so much Styrofoam that you could kill off an entire endangered species with each purchase. Why throw all that material away? You might as well use...
POSTED Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Big talkers are going to think this GE Flip Universal Remote is a cellphone, but science fiction fans will think it vaguely resembles a Star Trek prop, a cross between a Type 1 phaser weapon and a communicator. While you...
POSTED Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Why settle for a boring old plasma screen TV when you can go super high-tech and get a TV that's transparent when you turn it off? That's what the new transparent rear-projection screen is, and it works by having...
POSTED Monday, July 16, 2007
There's lots to like about the Gyration Ultra R4000 remote control. First and foremost, there's the sweet gesture-sensing technology that the company's known for, letting you wave the remote like a wand to control your gear. While that may not...
POSTED Monday, July 16, 2007
There's a whole lot more programming coming to satellite-TV customers this fall from both DirecTV and the Dish Network, including a whole slew of new HD content. First, Dish is adding eight HD sports channels and seven national HD channels...
POSTED Friday, July 13, 2007
Been longing for Bose's oh-so-comfy QuietComfort 3 headphones but can't quite justify spending more on your headphones than you did on your iPod? JVC just announced its own pair of noise-canceling phones that cost a good chunk less. The electronics...
POSTED Friday, July 13, 2007
Behold the Logitech MX Air Mouse, a $149 rechargeable cordless pointing device with a gyroscope inside, letting you operate it either on a flat surface or in 3D space. If you want to use it on a desktop like...
POSTED Thursday, July 12, 2007
This flat-panel speaker bar doesn't serve any drinks, but it does deliver room-filling sound from your iPod. The iLive speaker bar (a.k.a. iHT3817DT) will also recharge your iPod as it plays. The actual connector for your iPod is on...
POSTED Thursday, July 12, 2007
Some people need their speakers to be gigantic, room-filling monsters to let everyone know just how into music and home theatre they are. Other, more reasonable people, want their speakers to be diminutive yet powerful, hiding themselves while packing...
POSTED Thursday, July 12, 2007
As iPod docks go, Samsung's MM-X5 has a few things going for it. Not only is it pretty hot looking, it actually takes care of something that's always nagged me about most iPod speakers — they add yet another...
POSTED Thursday, July 12, 2007
With Logitech's Harmony line attracting most of the universal-remote-control buzz these days, it's easy to forget there are still a few other players out there. One of them, the straightforwardly named Universal Remote Control, is injecting a little style...
POSTED Tuesday, July 10, 2007
You've got to love classy combos of the antiquated and the cutting edge. That's just what this Phonophone is: an iPod dock in the form of an old gramophone. What makes it even more unique is that it requires...
POSTED Tuesday, July 10, 2007
The Movie Cowboy networked media server/player can play back so many different kinds of media files, it seems like it may not even be legal. Maybe that's why it's not available in the U.S., at least not yet. Unlike...
POSTED Friday, July 6, 2007
The HD DVD camp just announced an upgrade to their players that will allow for them to access the web and download exclusive content. HD DVD discs will be able to access the web to grab and stream content...
POSTED Monday, July 2, 2007
The Standby Energy Saving Kit is very simple is its concept and execution: Plug these modules into a regular outlet, plug your gear into the modules, and control all your equipment's power consumption via remote control. Now you can shut...
POSTED Monday, July 2, 2007
Do you like very nice speakers? Do you have $100,000 lying around? Are you a famous person in the entertainment industry? Great! You'll be happy to know that there are some new speakers made with you in mind. Yes,...
POSTED Thursday, June 28, 2007
Even today, there are millions of people who own and listen to records (you know, LPs? Vinyl?). Did you know that there's music on Ls that was never released on CD? Enter the ELP Declicker, whose sole purpose in...
POSTED Sunday, June 24, 2007
You could get speakers that are shaped like traditional speakers. You know, rectangular, perhaps with a wood or black finish. Kind of boring, but they'll go with your furniture. Or, if you want to buck trends and make waves,...
POSTED Friday, June 22, 2007
Sometimes you've just got to give props to a product that's designed beautifully. Look at this Plug & Play wireless speaker system, designed by Per Brickstad. In a world where there's every wacky speaker design under the sun out...
POSTED Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Apple TV, while not exactly a runaway hit, is still probably the first truly mainstream media receiver — a component that lets you access all your PC music, photos and video on your home theater equipment. With more people...
POSTED Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Image by Matt Krueger Blockbuster just finished a test of both Blu-ray and HD DVD discs in their stores, trying to decide on which format to choose in the asinine horserace that is the current high-def format war. They put...
POSTED Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Speaker manufacturers love to put their products in wacky cases to differentiate themselves in a crowded marketplace. Sometimes that can result in cool design, but most of the time it results in speakers that are neat to look at...
POSTED Monday, June 18, 2007
Sure, you've seen home theaters in boxes before. They're the cheaper, lower-quality solutions for people who just want everything together in one place so they don't need to put much effort into getting their home theater setups together. You,...
POSTED Thursday, June 14, 2007
Norwegian projector manufacturers Projection Design have just unveiled what they claim is the world's smallest full-HD projector, the Action m25. Measuring a mere 3.7" (h) x 9.2" (d) x 10.8" (w), it's seriously tiny, yet it still manages to...
POSTED Wednesday, June 13, 2007
The Transporter from Logitech is an elegant digital audio streamer. This contraption does and will stream butt-kicking music throughout your house. There's no hard drive on board, instead receiving music streams via W-Fi from your PC, some other device,...
POSTED Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Bluetooth, best know for draining your cell phone's battery when paired with a wireless earpiece, is slowly getting built into more and more audio gear. Although Bluetooth headphones may still need some work, the wireless tech may do better...
POSTED Wednesday, June 13, 2007
This Boynq Blox desktop computer speaker array's unusual design is as functional as it is eye-catching. The two cubes, trimmed in Colorado Red, are cantilevered on their inverted T-shaped stand as if they were some architectural marvel designed by...
POSTED Tuesday, June 12, 2007
A few of the heavyweight electronics manufacturers flirted with wireless speaker systems a while back — most notably Panasonic, Sony and Samsung. A few have even stayed in the game, though the systems didn't generate much enthusiasm from the...
POSTED Monday, June 11, 2007
Who says speakers have to be boring? Make them float, make them look like something from outer space, or you could stick them in the belly of a Tiki god. Designer Marka27 is finally releasing his mini gods line...
POSTED Monday, June 11, 2007
Red states and blue states. With the presidential primary season in full pander mode, red states and blue states are currently a big political story. But in the world of technology, red states and blue states refer to the...
POSTED Thursday, June 7, 2007
Remind yourself of those lost couple of days you spent aboard an alien spacecraft with this Alien Abduction Lamp, a design concept by Lasse Klein. If it's ever actually brought to market, it'll be made of metal and glass,...
POSTED Wednesday, June 6, 2007
I don't get audiophiles. I mean, how empty does your life have to be for you to become obsessed with the tiniest differences in sound quality, to the point where you're willing to spend your kid's college fund on...
POSTED Thursday, May 31, 2007
Do you enjoy television? Do you enjoy drinking? Do you decorate your apartment like a model home of the future from the 1960s? If you answered yes to all of those questions, then do I have a product for...
POSTED Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Sure, remotes like the Logitech Harmony 1000 are extremely useful, but how fun are they? Yeah, not much. To fulfill that channel-surfing mirth you may want to give this Sharp Shootin' remote a try. It has one button that...
POSTED Friday, May 25, 2007
Ever since the discovery of dinosaur bones, humans have had one simple desire: to watch dinosaur recreations in 3-D. It seems like such a basic request, but over time, the task has proved to be complex and frustrating. After...
POSTED Friday, May 25, 2007
Last night Sony showed off its DAV-IS 10 system. This 5.1-channel home theater in a box has five tiny speakers, each the size of a golf ball. The 50-watt speakers (each) and the normal-size subwoofer (200 watts) put out...
POSTED Thursday, May 24, 2007
The Philips AJ300D is a compact iPod dock and alarm clock that packs quite a bit of punch for being such a small, compact device. It comes in a bit more traditional package, unlike some of the docks recently...
POSTED Thursday, May 17, 2007
The TrekStor MovieStation is a 500-GB hard disk that can play back movies right into your television set without even using a computer. As much as we love home theater PCs, sometimes all we need is a hard drive....
POSTED Thursday, May 17, 2007
Why buy speakers that look conventional and will fit in nicely with your décor when you can buy some insane, over-stylized speakers that'll stick out like a sore thumb? That's what Sony's asking with their crazy Rin speakers. The...
POSTED Wednesday, May 16, 2007
And here we are again, browsing the Home Entertainment Show in New York City for more wild-looking — and wildlly expensive — A/V gear. We weren't disappointed, and after the link you'll find a nice batch of component-riffic eye...
POSTED Saturday, May 12, 2007
Is this an alien monster from outer space or just a bunch of round speakers? At $26,000, they're not cheap, but then space travel has always been costly. These speakers, named DMT-100, balance on a stand that incorporates a...
POSTED Saturday, May 12, 2007
Primedia's 2007 Home Entertainment Show kicked off today, and there was high-end home theater equipment aplenty to check out. Which we did, digital cameras at the ready. Enjoy the sexy phots, marvel at the electronic opulence, and be grateful...
POSTED Friday, May 11, 2007
You've upgraded to a kick-ass flat-panel HDTV and even gotten it up on the wall — well done. Now you want good sound, but the last thing you want to do is clutter up your room with bulky speakers...
POSTED Friday, May 11, 2007
How much did you spend on your last pair of speakers? $500, maybe? $5,000 if you're really serious about home theater, I suppose. And hey, don't crazy audiophiles spend tens of thousands of dollars on speakers? That's just nuts....
POSTED Thursday, May 10, 2007
There are those who like to jump up out of bed as soon as the alarm goes off, doing push-ups, grabbing their coffee and never getting back under the covers until it's time to turn in that night. And...
POSTED Thursday, May 10, 2007
If you want to listen to music in the shower on something a little more powerful than that $9.99 AM/FM shower radio you picked up in the checkout aisle of Bed, Bath and Beyond, you'll need to get a but...
POSTED Wednesday, May 9, 2007
The most annoying part of setting up a home theatre is, well, setting it up. Plugging components together, getting them to play nicely, and all that jazz is just a big roadblock between you and the vegetative state you...
POSTED Monday, May 7, 2007
If you've caught the digital downloading fever and can't get enough of the TV shows and movies offered through iTunes, you'll want to get the most of your purchases. After all, the iPod itself isn't the best way to...
POSTED Wednesday, May 2, 2007
What do you call a digital picture frame that plays video? Some might call it a small television, but Aluratek prefers the term "digital lifestyle device" to describe its new 10.5-inch high-res digital photo frame. In addition to holding...
POSTED Tuesday, May 1, 2007
If it wasn't so lame, I'd be tempted to call 2007 the year of VOD. That's because video-on-demand is really coming into its own, what with Amazon Unbox being on TiVo, the Xbox Live marketplace getting HD content, and...
POSTED Tuesday, May 1, 2007
Summer's getting ready to pounce, kids, and you'd best be prepared. Simply having a barbecue isn't enough these days — if you want your yard to be party central, you need to add a little entertainment. Fortunately for you,...
POSTED Monday, April 30, 2007
Bang & Olufsen is known for creating pricey home electronics that sound as great as they look. It comes as no shock to us, then, that the company's BeoLab 9 speakers command a price of $9,000 a pair. Still,...
POSTED Thursday, April 26, 2007
What kid hasn't dreamed of having a huge arcade-game cabinet all to himself? Of course, when you finally have the means to actually live the dream, the prospect of a huge stand-up console in your apartment probably doesn't look...
POSTED Thursday, April 26, 2007
Looking to build a home theater that'll rival going to the actual movies? Why not get the same projector fancy theaters install? Sure, it'll cost you, but won't it be worth it? The Sony CineAlta 4K SRX-R220 is a...
POSTED Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Headphones that simulate 5.1-channel sound have been around for a while, but I haven't seen too many that are said to render 7.1-channel sound, but that's just what Tritton's AXPC cans claim to do. It appears to have the...
POSTED Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Generally speaking, most people try their hardest to forget completely about any karaoke experiences that they might have had, and it's usually not that tough as not many people step up to the karaoke mic without a whole lot of...
POSTED Monday, April 23, 2007
While being a hip DJ might get you cred with your peers, your parents are still under the impression that you're just playing other people's music, which isn't a real talent, and you should go out and get a...
POSTED Monday, April 23, 2007
Pillow fights and who controls the television remote have a meeting of the minds in these concept Cushion Control pillows from designers Didier Hilhorst and Nicholas Zambetti. Three cushions make up the set, which could be considered the ultimate...
POSTED Sunday, April 22, 2007
Big news in the asinine HD format war: Wal-Mart has stepped in and ordered 2 million HD DVD players from China, and they're planning to sell them for $300 a pop next year. That's far cheaper than the lowest-priced...
POSTED Friday, April 20, 2007
Having covered TV stands that double as home-entertainment speakers before, we're no strangers to setups like the AL-837 from Tank Audio. How is it things like this system always debut overseas and never here in the United States? The...
POSTED Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Well, here we are folks: at the beginning of the end of the DVD era. Yep, sorry — I know it seems like yesterday that you just replaced your VHS copy of the Star Wars trilogy with the DVD...
POSTED Friday, April 13, 2007
Samsung is joining LG on the high road above the HD format war, choosing to stop taking sides and releasing a player that can handle both Blu-ray and HD DVD. Samsung's Duo HD player (BD-UP5000) will be able to fully...
POSTED Friday, April 13, 2007
I am not a thief. I've never shoplifted. I once took a candy bar from my sister, but felt so guilty that I confessed and paid her back — three times. I feel bad taking more than one sample...
POSTED Thursday, April 12, 2007
Nothing wakes you up in the morning better than listening to some tunes in the shower. Unfortunately, the most common way of doing that is via a shower radio, and with the current state of FM radio many of us...
POSTED Thursday, April 12, 2007
Let's not deceive ourselves. Apple TV isn't the first device to do what Apple TV does, not by a long shot. It suffers many shortcomings. But for reasons that become self-evident the moment the familiar Apple logo appears on...
POSTED Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Have you ever had nearly $25,000 just lying around? While you could certainly buy iPods for almost everyone you know, what about if you threw your dollars at a snazzy speaker? That's right, just one speaker. Not a set, but...
POSTED Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Too cheap to foot the bill for a trip to Alaska to witness the majesty of the Northern Lights? That's cool. You're just missing out on one of this planet's most amazing natural phenomena. No problem. You can always...
POSTED Friday, April 6, 2007
Load all your digital music onto the 1.5-TB hard drive of moodSeer's moodCenter main unit (pictured above left), and it automatically categorizes each tune by mood. Similar to the KlipschCasting system we recently introduced to you, it connects via...
POSTED Thursday, April 5, 2007
You can tell a lot about a person from their iPod dock. Circular and symmetrical: you like to be in control. Stone camouflage exterior: you're in touch with nature. And if you had the Dragon I, it might be...
POSTED Wednesday, April 4, 2007
Your jaw might drop when you first glance at this electromagnetic photo frame, that is, until you spend a couple of seconds figuring out how it works. Working in the same way as the floating clock we showed you...
POSTED Monday, April 2, 2007
These sexy Muon speakers were designed by Ross Lovecrove for speaker manufacturer KEF, and they're due to be released in Milan (oh la la) next month. Standing an imposing six and a half feet tall, they're pretty much guaranteed...
POSTED Saturday, March 31, 2007
Brazilian designer Roberta Ramme has gone all out designing a hip piece of furniture that wants to be appealing to teenagers (and perhaps young-at-heart adults). Her Wave Chaise, though only a design concept at the moment, could perhaps someday...
POSTED Tuesday, March 20, 2007
As any movie fan knows, many so-called "epic" films these days are shot with an extreme aspect ratio. Superman Returns, for example, was shot in a 2.40:1 ratio as opposed to 1.78:1, the ratio of almost all HDTVs, including...
POSTED Monday, March 19, 2007
"Convergence products" like media receivers typically make a lot of promises about magically relaying all your PC's content over to your TV, but they're often complicated to set up and not quite as useful as you'd hoped. Then you...
POSTED Monday, March 19, 2007
In case you were confused by Polk Audio's dabbling in smaller electronics, like table radios and iPod docks, the traditionally speaker-centric company is spinning off a new brand for that kind of stuff, creatively called Polk Audio Designs. Now...
POSTED Thursday, March 15, 2007
Wow, look at these speakers! They're totally floating in mid-air! How do they do that? Oh, I see, there's a string holding them up. If you're looking at them from any angle other than straight on and level, that's...
POSTED Wednesday, March 14, 2007
The iTower Omega is one part speaker, one part shrine to your iPod. Standing 4 feet high, it's an imposing design that's sure to draw attention wherever it's placed. Then, of course, there's an iPod dock right on the top...
POSTED Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Boxy speakers are so 1995. You need a pair of speakers that say, "Hey, I'm a hip young consumer of the naught-sevens!" Okay, so maybe you shouldn't say "naught" for fear of sounding too much like Secret Agent Jethro...
POSTED Tuesday, March 13, 2007
I don't know if anyone actually asked for a product like this, but Samsung went ahead and made it anyways. It's their HD Photo Box, and it's basically a hard drive that connects to your TV for the express...
POSTED Tuesday, March 13, 2007
I've got this iPod dock at home for hooking up my iPod to a TV, and probably the biggest hassle is finding a convenient place to put it. That issue would be nixed if the dock and the TV...
POSTED Monday, March 12, 2007
If you've got a bunch of old VHS or old camcorder tapes sitting around, chances are they don't get much use. What with DVD having kicked older formats butts soundly to the curb a few years ago, who wants...
POSTED Saturday, March 10, 2007
Before 1950, vacuum tubes added warmth and created rich tones for music lovers listening to the radio. Today, in a world of transistors and compressed file formats, returning to that golden age of yesteryear seems nigh impossible. Roth Audio...
POSTED Tuesday, March 6, 2007
Ferrari lends its name to lots of hot stuff, such as laptops and, uh, cars, and now it extends that brand into home audio with its Meridian F80 Home Entertainment System. The Italian carmaker teams up with high-end audiophile brand...
POSTED Friday, March 2, 2007
A TV with no screen? Sounds crazy, but Chad Dyner at MIT's MediaLab thought of it and created the Heliodisplay a couple of years back. Made by IO2 Technology, the Heliodisplay actually forms floating 2D images in midair from regular...
POSTED Friday, March 2, 2007
Always misplacing the remote control? Well, this is a solution, albeit one that creates a whole slew of problems of its own. The Multimedia Remote Control Wrangler is a headband and chin strap covered in Velcro, allowing you to...
POSTED Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Wouldn't you love to be able to walk into your living room and wirelessly transfer photos from your cell phone or digital camera right to your TV? If certain people (Dad!) are impatient about showing off those family vacation photos...
POSTED Tuesday, February 27, 2007
This Olympus VJ-10 is the spiritual successor to taping songs off the radio, one of those rites of passage that no longer exist now that, well, no one really listens to the radio anymore. But never mind that! This...
POSTED Tuesday, February 27, 2007
These crazy-looking speakers have a crazy name to go along with them: O'hEocha Audiophile Speakers. Created by former BMW designer Aonghus O'hEocha (now that's a name), these bad boys are lovingly hand crafted. Featuring 200-watt isobaric speakers, they provide...
POSTED Tuesday, February 20, 2007
This terrible cold weather makes me long for the summer days that are warm enough for me to hang out outside all day long. When those months finally hit, you're gonna want something to keep you occupied in the...
POSTED Monday, February 19, 2007
It's the best technology of the 1970s married to the best technology of the early 1990s: the lava lamp speakers. They're technically called the I-Light speakers, because everyone knows that when you stick that vowel in front of a...
POSTED Friday, February 16, 2007
Image by Matt Krueger At a time where a story announcing that the iTunes store might carry Beatles music warrants coverage in The New York Times and new iPod shuffle colors creates a flurry of fuss across the blogosphere, the...
POSTED Thursday, February 15, 2007
Turtle Beach marketeers are aiming these Ear Force W3 wireless headphones at Nintendo Wii users, but we can spot a PR pitch when we see it. Truth is, this is one futuristic-looking headset, and its behind-the-head design is made for...
POSTED Tuesday, February 13, 2007
If you need something to place your TV on other than the wall, you might as well make your new piece of furniture functional in addition to being aesthetically pleasing. That's just what Evesham is trying to convince you to...
POSTED Tuesday, February 13, 2007
I can never tell if speakers with a really crazy design will actually sound good or are just designed to be eye-catching. I mean, they're always super-expensive, and they're speakers, so one has to assume that the design will...
POSTED Monday, February 12, 2007
Let me know if this reminds you of another gadget: this remote control has a 2.2-inch LCD screen with an icon menu and a pair of buttons right below that change function depending on what exactly what you're doing. Yep,...
POSTED Friday, February 9, 2007
They're not coming to the States anytime soon, but some new toys out of Japan from Ratoc are a meaningful step forward in wireless audio streaming. Slated for release this March are the REX-Link2 receiver (with USB transmitter) and...
POSTED Thursday, February 8, 2007
I've been begging for a decent set-top content downloading service to bring internet video downloads to the TV for some time now, assuming that Netflix would be the one to get the job done. It looks like our friends...
POSTED Wednesday, February 7, 2007
Sony's been trying to kill off the iPod for years, but now it's almost admitting defeat by releasing this CPF-IP001 iPod audio docking station. Except for a low-profile release of an iPod adapter for car radios a year ago,...
POSTED Friday, February 2, 2007
When you want the biggest screen possible, you soon realize that a front projector with a separate screen is the way to go. Problem: you've got to make some compromises, one of them being resigning yourself to watching with...
POSTED Friday, February 2, 2007
What do you do when you have more than one video playback machine, say, a Blu-ray and HD DVD player, and only one HDMI input on your HDTV? Or what if you want to run two players through a...
POSTED Friday, January 26, 2007
If you've been holding off on getting an all-in-one media center until a gigantic, all-encompassing model hit the market, it may be time to bust out those credit cards. This new behemoth from VidaBox has a Blu-ray drive, an...
POSTED Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Getting TV shows onto your iPod just got a whole lot easier. What, it's already easy if you download them from iTunes? Well, then I meant that getting TV shows onto your iPod just got a whole lot freer. Better?...
POSTED Wednesday, January 17, 2007
It's not quite a set-top box, but it's certainly a step in the right direction. Netflix is starting a movie streaming service this year, rolling it out to customers over the next six months. Initially only 1,000 movies and...
POSTED Tuesday, January 16, 2007
If there's a normal, unpretentious home theater projector out there in the universe, this is the projector it's farthest from. Star Wars fans will be knocking each other over to get to Nikko's R2-D2 home theater projector, which shoots...
POSTED Friday, January 12, 2007
As we've just seen, wireless speakers are getting more popular, since they let you do away with stringing cables across your room, but how about that other big complaint from decorators: the speakers themselves? A company called Soundolier (think...
POSTED Friday, January 12, 2007
The Oyster Wi-Fi speaker system from Avega Systems can accept wireless music streams from your PC or media server, game consoles, or anything equipped with Wi-Fi, really. Now when you want to play PC music over your stereo or...
POSTED Friday, January 12, 2007
What good is a hard-drive based system if it limits you to just one room? Panasonic just unveiled a very cool all-in-one system that combines a whopping 80-GB HDD with music server capabilities, so you can listen to that...
POSTED Thursday, January 11, 2007
Picture by Peter Suciu Just look at this Kenwood guy keeping a straight face while trying to convince a captive audience that the company's new entertainment is "seamless" with a diagram that's anything but. Kenwood, can you hear yourself?...
POSTED Wednesday, January 10, 2007
HD Radio is a great way to upgrade your car's radio, since you get better-quality FM broadcasts and your favorite AM talk show sounds likes it's on the FM band. The only catch is that you need a head...
POSTED Wednesday, January 10, 2007
Steve Jobs didn't announce a new version of OS X during his keynote. He didn't really talk about iLife, or new computers, or upgraded iPods. But he did introduce the iTV, or rather, Apple TV, as it's called now....
POSTED Wednesday, January 10, 2007
How many times has this happened to you? You're in the west wing of your mansion, and your DVD system is way back in the east wing — over a quarter mile away. Klipsch to the rescue with "KlipschCasting."...
POSTED Tuesday, January 9, 2007
In the old days, radios were big pieces of furniture, with the family gathering around to have a listen. That was when milk was delivered directly to your door, but in this new millennium there's no reason to be...
POSTED Sunday, January 7, 2007
There have been plenty of options out there for people who want surround sound but not surround speakers, but we have to admit that Philips's SoundBar HTS8100 looks like a pretty slick new entry to the category. Using proprietary...
POSTED Sunday, January 7, 2007
Thus far, neither Blu-ray nor HD DVD has made much of an impression on the buying public. That's because old-fashioned DVD is pretty damn good, and because whenever there's a format war, consumers duck and cover, until one side...
POSTED Sunday, January 7, 2007
It's kinda hard to get excited about HD DVD now that LG's gone and announced a player that can do both HD DVD and Blu-ray (more details on that in a bit), but Toshiba gave it the old college...
POSTED Sunday, January 7, 2007
Highlight of the new products Netgear touted this morning was the Digital Entertainer HD (Model EVA8000), a media receiver that promises to give you "any content, anywhere, anytime." So what does that really mean? Essentially it's media receiver —...
POSTED Sunday, January 7, 2007
We've seem some feeble attempts at iPod karaoke before, but we're willing to give this new one, from venerable brand Emerson, a fair shot. The gist is you get a microphone that connects via cables to both your iPod...
POSTED Saturday, January 6, 2007
You could plug your raging speakers into your tinny laptop, but that would involve either a really long cord or keeping your computer in the living room. Siren has attempted to solve this problem with its Screamer, a device...
POSTED Thursday, January 4, 2007
What's better than a flat-panel television? A flat-panel television with a screen on both sides, that's what. Right? I mean, sure, most people have one side up against the wall all the time, but just the idea of being...
POSTED Thursday, January 4, 2007
It's rare that great leaps are made in the field of shower radios, one of the most low-tech gadgets out there. But hey, if it plays audio there's gonna be an iPod-friendly model released eventually… let's call it Jobs' Law....
POSTED Wednesday, January 3, 2007
We all thought CDs were a lost form of music, but the on-wall Square CD player begs to differ, turning your discs into visual and audible art. Designed by Matteo Bertanelli, Michele di Monte, Chiara Cremona, and Andrea Biraghi...
POSTED Friday, December 29, 2006
If you want to spread your music around the house without some expensive speaker setup, this "Plug + Enjoy" concept by designer Jinseup Ted Shin aims to solve your problems. Wee little speakers that sit on outlets, they include...
POSTED Wednesday, December 27, 2006
Home integration, the idea that hooking everything in your house up together so it can be controlled from a central location, is gonna be big in 2007. Best Buy, never a store to shy away from sticking their sharp...
POSTED Tuesday, December 26, 2006
Much like the TuneView, the Popalive remote control from Alive Style can control your iPod from afar while bringing its playlists, menus, and whatnot straight to your hand via two-way RF technology. It's even more fun doing it through...
POSTED Friday, December 22, 2006
For those of you who dare to doubt the power of the One Ring… er, HDTV, check out this blogger's in-depth comparison of DVD (top) and HD (bottom) picture quality. Putting specific frames side by side, he showed that...
POSTED Monday, December 18, 2006
If you want to hook a media center PC up in your living room and you don't want to mess around, might I recommend the Hannibal Deuce +. A beefy computer loaded up with geek-friendly Ubuntu Linux, it's an...
POSTED Friday, December 15, 2006
Each week Adam Frucci takes a closer look at the latest gadget buzz in his column, Shift. Image by Matt Krueger Not much has changed in the structure of major media in the past few decades. It's a pretty standard...
POSTED Thursday, December 14, 2006
Replacing an entire DVD collection with Blu-ray Discs or HD DVDs is a daunting and expensive task (not that you could with the limited titles available), especially for those of us who've spent our unborn children's college tuition feeding...
POSTED Thursday, December 14, 2006
People love sticking their iPods into objects that iPods haven't been stuck in before. After all, an alarm clock with an iPod dock is nothing new, but a projector? Yeah, that's a new one. It's actually kind of a cool...
POSTED Wednesday, December 13, 2006
The small field of high-end table radios has an impressive new entry: Polk Audio's I-Sonic. It's the company's first offering into the category, and Polk has upped the ante, offering more features out of the box than most, if...
POSTED Tuesday, December 12, 2006
Now that you've discovered the joy of downloading videos to your iPod, your old speaker dock may lack something that you covet: a video output for watching those digital vids on a TV. For you serial downloaders of 24...
POSTED Tuesday, December 12, 2006
Are you really, really into watching TV in bed? So much so that a regular bed facing a TV just won't cut it anymore? That's kind of sad. Well, far be it from me to judge you so harshly...
POSTED Tuesday, December 12, 2006
In theory, having your music play throughout your entire house would be a great thing to be able to do. It's convenient, right? But honestly, how often are you wandering throughout your house for long enough that you need...
POSTED Monday, December 11, 2006
We knew this was coming, but the company leading the charge of Blu-ray in the high-definition disc war no one cares about has finally come out with its own player. Sony, that renowned screwer-upper of formats, just started shipping...
POSTED Monday, December 4, 2006
Although there's certainly no shortage of iPod docks for connecting to your TV or stereo, Keyspan's TuneView jumps to the front of the line by including a handy LCD screen right on the remote control. Announced last winter and...
POSTED Monday, December 4, 2006
Installing speakers into your floor or ceiling is a great way to hide unsightly electronics from your discerning guests, but it makes pointing them at your "sweet spot" a bit of a challenge. Unless you build your walls and ceiling...
POSTED Monday, December 4, 2006
With so many iPod docks out there, manufacturers need to go to greater lengths these days to make their products stand out and get your attention. Philips has decided to go the abnormal size route with their latest offering,...
POSTED Friday, December 1, 2006
Projectors are a great way to have the biggest screen possible, which is perfect for those rich dudes who want to impress their friends by having a mini movie theater in their homes. But what about people who want...
POSTED Thursday, November 30, 2006
It seems to me that technology falls into two distinct categories: first, there's technology that improves your life by making tasks easier. Second, there's technology that does stuff just because it's possible. Falling distinctly into the latter category are...
POSTED Monday, November 27, 2006
One of the most innovative products to come out this year is the Slingbox, a little box that goes on top of your cable box and broadcasts your TV to the internet. It's garnered tons of buzz by doing...
POSTED Wednesday, November 22, 2006
There are two types of gadget geeks in this world: those that like their technology to be out in the open for everyone to see, and those that like their technology to be invisible. For the latter camp, there's...
POSTED Tuesday, November 21, 2006
We're certainly not the first to note that the CES innovation awards don't always count for much, but at the show's preview we were struck by one particularly ugly "innovation:" Mitek Mobile's Soundolier DUO. It's a "wireless speaker lamp,"...
POSTED Friday, November 17, 2006
The Slingbox is one of those gadgets that you never knew existed, but once you learn about you've just gotta get. A "place-shifting" device, the diminutive box simply hooks up to your TV and lets you watch it from...
POSTED Friday, November 17, 2006
This thing might look like the illegitimate lovechild of a computer mouse and a bracelet, but it's actually a remote control. Not just any remote control, either — a motion-sensing remote control. Yep, you can now change the channel by...
POSTED Thursday, November 9, 2006
Could HD-movie downloading become all the rage on, of all things, the Xbox 360? Microsoft sure hopes so. It's rumored that the boys from Redmond have an ace up their sleeve, and it's on-demand HD movie downloading. According to a...
POSTED Friday, November 3, 2006
After announcing Mac support in January of this year, and then consistently missing just about every deadline since "Q2 '06" was announced (and pulling a major no-no by including Mac OS and Universal Binary logos on the new models'...
POSTED Tuesday, October 31, 2006
Music Studio's Stripy Speakers certainly meet the basic requirement of being a gadget in 2006: looking modern and stylish. No matter what their sound quality is (and if the site hawking them is to be believed, the 9 watts...
POSTED Tuesday, October 31, 2006
When listening to your iPod at home, do you find its sleek modern lines interfere with your earthy décor? These stony iPod docks might be a little more to your liking. Adding that Japanese-garden element that so many other...
POSTED Thursday, October 26, 2006
If you've got problems keeping track of where the remote control is and hate having to actually get up off the couch to turn the TV on, perhaps you should get a remote that's a bit harder to misplace. I'm...
POSTED Thursday, October 26, 2006
If you're a self-hating geek ashamed of your technology fetish, this Cuboglass is the perfect way for you to have your cake and eat it too. It looks like a fancy microwave or perhaps a piece of modern art:...
POSTED Thursday, October 26, 2006
Baseball is pretty much the most boring sport ever. Come on, face it. There's just so much waiting and so little action, it's just impossible for me to get engaged in it. Perhaps if there was a way to...
POSTED Thursday, October 26, 2006
Known for its killer gaming PCs, Alienware is taking its line of Media Center machines to the next level. As is the norm with Media Center PCs, the DHS A Series model is made to look just like a...
POSTED Wednesday, October 25, 2006
Despite anecdotal evidence of its crappiness, LG's Chocolate phone is, by all reports, a smashing success thanks to its slick design — another fine example of style trumping substance. So you can't really blame LG for spreading the Chocolate's...
POSTED Tuesday, October 24, 2006
No, they won't dock your iPod. And the company that sells them knows their sound quality probably can't compete with that of "high end" speakers like these. But really, who could resist spending $1,295 (including shipping!) for a speaker...
POSTED Tuesday, October 24, 2006
Time Warner Cable is rolling out a new feature to its customers called "Start Over" that will let viewers start a program from the beginning when they flip to it halfway through. While DVR units allow people to rewind shows...
POSTED Tuesday, October 24, 2006
The Upravlator, shown here with an optional stand, is a neat-o (if somewhat over-the-top) "keyboard" for graphic designers, video producers, photo editors, and the like. The 10.8-inch, 800 x 600-pixel LCD screen, is divided evenly into 12 clear buttons....
POSTED Monday, October 23, 2006
It's never too early to get your new infant interested in shiny gadgets and Metallica, and this predictably-named iCrib is just the thing to do both. Hooking onto the edge of Junior's crib, the iCrib will brainwash your newborn...
POSTED Friday, October 20, 2006
Full HD, the supposed best-of-the-best of video quality, has a paltry 1,920 x 1,080-pixel resolution. Pah! I spit on your pathetic resolution, full HD! I want resolution so high you could see the feathery moustache wisps of a nerd...
POSTED Thursday, October 19, 2006
And so it begins. Well, not really begins — Monster is hardly the first manufacturer to announce it'll be making accessories for Micorsoft's Zune player. But Monster's official announcement today of its half-dozen or so Zune add-ons sure makes...
POSTED Wednesday, October 18, 2006
I have seen the future, and it is lame. Just take a look at this video helmet created by Toshiba. Do you really think people are gonna be wearing things like that in the name of entertainment anytime in...
POSTED Tuesday, October 17, 2006
If you needed any more proof that electronics are getting smaller and smaller, Toshiba's just provided Exhibit A: a front projector so tiny, it fits in the palm of a gorilla's hand (well, a human's, too, but isn't it...
POSTED Monday, October 16, 2006
The Rubik's Cube is a kitschy 80's throwback and sometime-inspiration to strange gadgets, but does it deserve to be a centerpiece of your interior design? Apparently some people think so, as in Japan they're releasing this monstrosity upon the...
POSTED Wednesday, October 11, 2006
If you want amazing sounding speakers, you don't need a setup the size of a compact car to get your music sounding great. Onkyo's D-TK10 speakers are small enough to fit on your shelf but use a unique method...
POSTED Monday, October 9, 2006
Hard disc based music storage and distribution systems have been around for a few years now, but few seem to offer a solution quite as sleek and integrated as the Sooloos. Rather than just providing an empty box that...
POSTED Friday, October 6, 2006
Each week Adam Frucci takes a closer look at the latest gadget buzz in his column, Shift. Image by Matt Krueger With DVRs popping up in more living rooms every day, the advertising industry is scrambling to figure out how...
POSTED Thursday, October 5, 2006
Slingbox is a much-loved time shifting device for your TV. It allows you to watch your TV from anywhere that has an Internet connection, including portable devices such as the Motorola Q, at 640 x 480, the same resolution...
POSTED Wednesday, September 27, 2006
With the recent influx of solar powered goods, it seems like electronics companies might know something we don't about an upcoming lack of traditional power sources. Uh, guys? Anything you feel like sharing with the rest of us? In any...
POSTED Wednesday, September 27, 2006
Streaming your multi-room audio through the power lines is something we've seen before, but that one was a gasp-worthy $1,300. This Pioneer MT-01 Power Line Sound System doesn't have a price available yet, but one has gotta assume that...
POSTED Tuesday, September 26, 2006
JVC has announced a new speaker designed to allow you to watch TV without disturbing everyone around you. Called the 1BOX, it cancels out "undesired signals," giving you a 56% reduction of leaked sound. That means you can enjoy...
POSTED Thursday, September 21, 2006
It seems unlikely that anyone who's invested in a nice big HDTV is hanging on to their old VHS collection, but for the one or two out there that refuses to toss their taped-off-HBO copy of Back to the...
POSTED Thursday, September 21, 2006
Everybody loves big flat TVs, but many give a thumbs-down to big speaker systems. Which isn't to say those folks don't want good sound — they just want it to be simple and look unassuming. Yamaha thinks it's cracked...
POSTED Wednesday, September 20, 2006
I don't know how many times I've been sitting around my apartment with my friends, and someone says, "Hey, I've got a hankerin' for some karaoke." Well, actually, that happened only one time, and we ended up wandering around...
POSTED Tuesday, September 19, 2006
It's like they always say: nothing goes together quite like marine life and projection TVs. Well, someone must have said that in Australia at some point, because I can't think of any other inspiration for this projection TV shaped...
POSTED Friday, September 15, 2006
Completing the trifecta of Apple news today is the company's upcoming "iTV" unit, a bridge for connecting a computer to a TV for video streaming. Hooking up to your fancy HDTV via HDMI or to your older model with...
POSTED Tuesday, September 12, 2006
With the iPod becoming the main music storage device for many people, there's a big desire to hook the little player up to a bigger stereo system. What's the point of keeping stacks of CDs around when you have...
POSTED Tuesday, September 12, 2006
Oh. My. Here it is, folks — Logitech's latest in the company's line of Harmony remotes, and it's a doozy. The Harmony 1000 is a handheld touchscreen controller, seemingly modeled after ultra-high-end remotes from the likes of Crestron and...
POSTED Tuesday, September 12, 2006
Now these are some speakers. JBL's new Mt. Everest speaker system lives up to its name, weighing in at a solid 313 pounds. Yes, at 8 x 18.5 x 44 inches, it's a monster, and you'll need a pretty...
POSTED Friday, September 8, 2006
While turntables are a decidedly analog, low-tech way to listen to music, that doesn't mean enjoying your warm-sounding vinyl needs to be completely separated from your digital habits. This USB turntable can plug into your stereo for standard record...
POSTED Thursday, September 7, 2006
Ostentatious displays of wealth are nothing new, and while the old money crowd tends to stick with the traditional baubles and jewel encrusted cell phones, the high buck hip-hop bling community has moved on to diamond studded gold "grills"...
POSTED Wednesday, September 6, 2006
For over 100 years, tinkerers have been working on better ways to add a sense of depth to both still and moving images, but almost every scheme tried so far has required the viewer to don some dorky type...
POSTED Tuesday, September 5, 2006
Oppo Digital's new LT-2007 is a LCD TV with a built-in DVD player that looks a lot like an iMac, without all those pesky computer features sitting there taking up space. The 20-inch screen is nice and compact, with the...
POSTED Friday, September 1, 2006
If you like your remote controls gigantic and shiny, this Philips TSU 9600 Pronto should be just the coffee-table filler you're looking for. Featuring a big ol' 3.7-inch touchscreen, the Pronto is designed to control pretty much everything. It...
POSTED Tuesday, August 29, 2006
As long as you don't mind wearing a fairly bulky digital wristwatch, you'll never lose your TV remote control again when you've got the Brando Workshop TV001 Touch Screen TV Remote Watch. In addition to doing all the normal...
POSTED Sunday, August 27, 2006
Something a lot of speaker manufacturers will complain about these days is that even though folks will lay down a couple of Gs for a sleek flat-panel TV, they'll spend only a tenth of that on speakers to go...
POSTED Friday, August 25, 2006
Bose announced an upgrade to their Acoustic Wave music system yesterday, the brilliantly named Acoustic Wave music system II. A compact and simple setup that plays CDs and AM/FM radio, the Acoustic Wave sounds flat-out great. It really fills...
POSTED Thursday, August 24, 2006
Most satellite radio tuners come with remote controls, but the Sirius Conductor, hitting stores this November, would be better described as a remote command center. It wisely shares the same operational philosophy as the Sonos and Logitech wireless music...
POSTED Tuesday, August 22, 2006
We've already seen a toilet-paper dispenser that doubles as an iPod speaker dock, but that's not even close to being integrated enough for a Japanese bathroom experience. Here's how they do it across the Pacific: a toilet that doubles...
POSTED Monday, August 21, 2006
It doesn't have a screen, so this new portable from Onyko isn't quite a portable media player as we know it; it would probably be more accurate to call it a transportable media player. Since there's no display, you...
POSTED Monday, August 21, 2006
Straight from Cain Laboratories in Japan comes the Cain i2, another iPod lookalike mini stereo system that joins the iBlueTube in its love of vacuum tubes. Even though you can use it with any MP3 player, the white plastic...
POSTED Thursday, August 17, 2006
Those Gloria Estefan and the Miami Sound Machine cassettes you've got sitting around aren't getting any younger. And that box of old classic rock vinyl that you rescued from your dad's basement, those are just going to sound worse...
POSTED Thursday, August 17, 2006
Much like the Okoro Media Center, the Navio 902T2 is a PC meant for the living room with a screen built right into the front. In this case it's a big old seven incher, with plenty of room for...
POSTED Tuesday, August 15, 2006
If you're looking for a little music device that does everything, while looking like a beer barrel to boot, here you go. The strangely named Naf Naf Hyp MP3 radio can play your music in any number of ways....
POSTED Friday, August 11, 2006
The flip phone is a design we're all used to at this point, as it's used in a pretty big portion of cell phones currently on the market. We haven't really seen the design used in other types of...
POSTED Friday, August 11, 2006
One of the problems with having a slim flat-panel TV on your wall is that you still have to put that DVD player somewhere. That typically means having some kind of shelf or equipment rack sitting out in the...
POSTED Thursday, August 10, 2006
One of the downsides of a digital music library is that you typically have to fire up your PC to manage your playlists or access your music, which is a total drag if you want to listen to your...
POSTED Tuesday, August 8, 2006
If you want to impress pretty much everybody at your next sales meeting, this transparent projector screen with a built-in speaker is sure to wow everyone. First of all, it's transparent, which is pretty cool. You could conceivably hang...
POSTED Monday, August 7, 2006
If you're the type of person who buys only natural hemp clothing that's been colored with vegetable dyes, then chances are you don't want to listen to your Tibetan chant CDs over a pair of plastic speakers that popped...
POSTED Friday, August 4, 2006
Apparently Circuit City never got the memo that it's illegal to copy DVDs and break their encryption, as the company now offers a service to do just that and transfer the film to your iPod for a mere $10 a...
POSTED Friday, August 4, 2006
There are tons of somewhat ugly iPod speaker docks out there claiming to have cutting edge designs, but there are few that actually achieve the look of sophisticated design that this Kata Mali 01 Aluminum speaker does. And it's...
POSTED Thursday, August 3, 2006
Yes, we're with you: we're getting pretty tired of the legions of iPod speaker docks, so we promise not to waste your time with any of them unless they a) have a sassy name, or b) look really, really...
POSTED Tuesday, August 1, 2006
Archos, the company that's become synonymous with portable video in possibly a few parts of Europe, is at it again. The Archos 604 and 404 portable media players are scheduled to come out in August, and a few leaked...
POSTED Monday, July 31, 2006
Each week Adam Frucci takes a closer look at the latest gadget buzz in his column, Shift. If I had my druthers, I would be able to watch any show, at any time. Add to that any movie. Yeah, I'd...
POSTED Thursday, July 27, 2006
The smug sense of satisfaction that comes from using a TiVo and knowing how much your commercial skipping infuriates network execs might be a little ill-founded, according to a New York Times report. Apparently, TiVo has been compiling detailed reports...
POSTED Wednesday, July 26, 2006
Giving the iBar a run for its money as today's most bizarre drink-related gadget is this set of "sangria" speakers, created by indie winemaker Carlo Rossi. All his wines are bottled in glass jugs, and we guess one day...
POSTED Tuesday, July 25, 2006
In a big kick in the pants for early adopters, it's been discovered that the first and only Blu-ray player on the market, the Samsung BD-P1000, has a defective noise reduction chip which lowers the HD quality discs down...
POSTED Friday, July 21, 2006
Is there really any such thing as "too big" when it comes to a television? Panasonic obviously knows that most guys don't think so. The company just unveiled a new 103-inch high-definition plasma TV that'll arrive under the Christmas...
POSTED Wednesday, July 19, 2006
Trying to one-up movie downloading service Vongo, rival CinemaNow has just given customers the ability to burn downloaded movies to DVD. Offering over 100 films for your burning pleasure, each download will give users all the menus and features...
POSTED Wednesday, July 19, 2006
We just reported on Ricoh's new optical device to make dual-format players an easier undertaking, and nary three days later the same company has announced its plans to build one. Unfortunately, the player won't be available this holiday season, instead...
POSTED Wednesday, July 12, 2006
Finally, good news for consumers in the asinine format war currently raging everywhere but in peoples living rooms: Ricoh has announced an optical device that will make it much easier for manufacturers to create players that can play both high-definition...
POSTED Monday, July 10, 2006
ABC, apparently sick of losing precious ad revenue due to people skipping commercials on their digital video recorders, is trying to convince DVR manufacturers to make fast-forwarding through ads impossible. ABC's president of advertising sales, Mike Shaw, apparently thinks...
POSTED Friday, July 7, 2006
Having a fancy video iPod isn't all that special unless you actually, you know, watch videos on it. However, converting video to play nice with your iPod is a pain, usually forcing you to stick to the overpriced iTunes...
POSTED Wednesday, July 5, 2006
If you're in the market for an HDTV, you've probably heard the term "1080p" once or twice. The cryptic number refers to the highest of high-definition formats, rarely sighted in the wild (Samsung's just-released Blu-ray Disc player is one...
POSTED Wednesday, July 5, 2006
In the same way Voice Over IP phone services such as Skype have turned the telephone industry upside-down, this Matrixstream MX1020HD receiver could do the same for the cable and satellite industries. Currently in the testing phase, the set...
POSTED Friday, June 30, 2006
The problem with most iPod docks that hook up to your home stereo is that it's a huge pain to control it from afar. Even when it comes with a remote, the remote is generally clunky and it's tough...
POSTED Thursday, June 29, 2006
Image by Matt Krueger On Sunday, the war between the new high-definition-disc formats officially began. Sure, HD DVD has been available since May, but as of June 25th, Samsung's BD-P1000 Blu-ray player is now available in stores for anyone who...
POSTED Tuesday, June 27, 2006
We find it a little ironic that Skullcandy would name a pair of headphones with gold-colored earcups the "Proletariat," but with those cool little skulls on the frame, we're guessing not too many bourgeois stuck-ups would wear them anyway....
POSTED Tuesday, June 27, 2006
It seems like only yesterday home theater aficionados were marveling if a receiver could power more than five speakers at once, and now even the cheapest rig in JVC's new line can pump out 110 watts to seven channels...
POSTED Friday, June 23, 2006
Buying an HD DVD player is all well and good, but you can't help getting the feeling something bigger and way better is just around the corner when you plunk your five hundy down for one of the new...
POSTED Thursday, June 22, 2006
With the first Blu-ray player set to be released on Sunday, Sony has made available some select cinema classics for early adopters itching to check out the capabilities their new high-definition disc player. The Fifth Element, House of Flying Daggers,...
POSTED Wednesday, June 21, 2006
Scuttlebutt around the Internet has it that Microsoft has plans to lob $100 off the price of the Xbox 360 by the holiday season, putting the popular game console at about $300, or half of the cost of the PlayStation...
POSTED Wednesday, June 21, 2006
Tivoli Audio, designer of specialty radios, has thrown its hat into the crowded ring of makers of iPod speaker docks with the sassily named iYiYi. Poking fun at the plethora of products out there that tack a lowercase "i"...
POSTED Wednesday, June 21, 2006
Ready to impress your guests? Show them your new CL Sound Machine: a record player, iPod dock, CD player, and wine rack (yes, wine rack) all in one beautiful machine. Striking in its white or black finish and featuring...
POSTED Tuesday, June 20, 2006
In what will probably be really bad news for companies such as Blockbuster and Vongo but great news for the rest of us, Netflix is reportedly hard at work on a set-top box for movie downloads deep in the company's...
POSTED Tuesday, June 20, 2006
If you love TV, and I mean really love TV, then the DirecTV Titanium package was created with you in mind. It hooks you up with absolutely everything you could possibly get from DirecTV: every channel, every pay-per-view movie (adult...
POSTED Monday, June 19, 2006
Mark your calendars, Blu-ray fans: June 25th is the day Samsung will release the first Blu-ray player into the wild, and there are reports that a few are even on store shelves now. Blu-ray, of course, is one of...
POSTED Friday, June 16, 2006
Speaker junkies like showing off their high-end loudspeakers as much as listening to them, and chic design with form over function is certainly a factor in why Bose sells so well. But plenty of folks would rather hide their bookshelf...
POSTED Thursday, June 15, 2006
While everybody loves the space-saving designs of slim LCD screens, videophiles have always known LCD image quality just doesn't stand up to the pictures on traditional TVs based on cathode-ray tubes (CRTs). Featuring faster refresh rates and deeper blacks,...
POSTED Thursday, June 15, 2006
Rear-projection TVs are still around, even if all the HDTV news lately has been about plasma. They don't get much love because of all the room they take up, but their picture quality is still great, and the cost...
POSTED Wednesday, June 14, 2006
Simulating surround sound from a pair of front speakers — or even a single speaker — is nothing new, but the just-released Sharp SD-SP10 system ($350) uses Dolby's latest audio technology to get as close as possible to the...
POSTED Tuesday, June 13, 2006
So you've invested a few hundred bucks in an HD DVD player, plunked down another $30 for Rumor Has It in high-def, and got some overpriced Monster Cable HDMI cables to hook it up to your $10,000 1080p TV. Well...
POSTED Tuesday, June 13, 2006
Media Center PCs are all well and good for acting like a beefed-up TiVo, but as a gaming rig they're generally underpowered. They're built to sit under your cable box and store videos, maybe go online, and not much else....
POSTED Friday, June 9, 2006
CBS has become the last of the major networks to offer its prime-time programming for download from the iTunes Music Store, joining the other three major networks as well as a number of cable channels (including SCI FI). So far...
POSTED Friday, June 9, 2006
Coming your way from Pioneer: a new line of high-end receivers that can do some sweet tricks with high-definition video and your iPod's music library. The flagship model, the Pioneer Elite VSX-84TXVi, is a 980-watt beast that features four...
POSTED Thursday, June 8, 2006
Getting all of those (legally downloaded) movies, shows, and albums from your PC to the home-entertainment system in your living room can be a pain, especially if your computer sits far away enough from your TV to make wiring...
POSTED Thursday, June 8, 2006
Noise-canceling headphones are a must for anyone who travels on airplanes frequently, as engine noise can force you to turn up normal headphones to dangerous levels. The problem with most models is that they tend to be bulky or...
POSTED Wednesday, June 7, 2006
Playing racing games is made exponentially better by sitting and using a steering wheel, which is why any arcade racing game worth mentioning comes packaged in a cockpit-like setup. At home, using a standard console controller just won't cut...
POSTED Wednesday, June 7, 2006
Do you ever get so embarrassed that you just want to crawl into a dark hole somewhere and hide from the world? Do you also have $45,000 lying around? Then put down that shovel, nerdlinger, and check out The...
POSTED Tuesday, June 6, 2006
The argument that vinyl records sound better than CDs is made by a lot of audiophiles, and really there's no harm in keeping your records around and leaving that turntable plugged in to get that warm, analog sound now...
POSTED Tuesday, June 6, 2006
We've already got TV via broadcast, cable, and satellite, but now the phone companies are elbowing their way into the mix as well. AT&T is planning to expand its Internet Protocol Television, or IPTV, network, which delivers TV signals via...
POSTED Monday, June 5, 2006
If you have a modern home theater with a silver TV, flat speakers, and a glass component rack, that wooden CD rack you got at Tower Records is going to stick out like a sore thumb. To better help...
POSTED Monday, June 5, 2006
Any true home theater needs a surround sound system with multiple speakers. But does that mean the flat-panel LCD set you just picked up for your bedroom has to settle for tinny sound from its built-in speakers? "Hell, no!"...
POSTED Friday, June 2, 2006
We remain skeptical whether Media Center PCs can ever really become mainstream products, but if they do, we expect they'll look a lot like Acer's Aspire iDea (oh, dear Lord…) 500. Resembling a sleek home theater component — with...
POSTED Friday, June 2, 2006
It's now officially summer, so it's time to get ready to sit outside and relax in this beautiful warm weather. Of course, just because it's nice out doesn't mean you should be deprived of the biggest and most ostentatious...
POSTED Tuesday, May 30, 2006
Your classy apartment needs a little spicing up. That sunglasses-wearing sunflower that moves to music needs a dance partner. And that sassy Budweiser can wearing a Santa hat? He hasn't wobbled back and forth in ages. How's about adding this...
POSTED Friday, May 26, 2006
TV networks are fighting tooth and nail against innovations that continue to pummel their tried-and-true advertisement-based business model, most recently filing suit against Cablevision for its "network DVR" service. The service involves Cablevision remotely recording all of the big networks'...
POSTED Thursday, May 25, 2006
There's been a lot of hullabaloo on the Web concerning the overheating Xbox 360. While Microsoft has half-acknowledged the problem by announcing newer, cooler chipsets that will come in all units starting next year, what are current Xbox 360...
POSTED Tuesday, May 23, 2006
If you've got $30,000 burning a hole in your pocket and are looking for a new entertainment system, the Vivadi Saturn HD50 should be right up your alley. A 50-inch HD plasma TV comes loaded with a juiced-up Media...
POSTED Monday, May 22, 2006
Love the sound of your old vinyl records, but long for the convenience of a CD? You might just be in luck. ELP Corporation is finally introducing its Laser Turntable to the U.S.A. and Canada this summer. Working like...
POSTED Friday, May 19, 2006
It's the main thing on your mind when you walk into an electronics store: Don't get ripped off. Whether you're shopping for a digital camera, computer, or HDTV, you want to know what's a fair price, and what's a...
POSTED Thursday, May 18, 2006
Here's a gadget with a simple function, but it could be politically complicated: the remote-control jammer. Anyone who's ever lived in a house with more than one person but just one TV will appreciate its ability to block infrared signals,...
POSTED Tuesday, May 16, 2006
AMEX has announced the first Media Center PC with a built-in Blu-ray recorder, the MPC-505BD. Equipped with a gargantuan 1 TB of hard disk space (that's a terabyte, or 1,000 gigabytes, to the uninitiated), it can record 120 hours...
POSTED Monday, May 15, 2006
Speaking at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), Microsoft chairman and chief software architect Bill Gates stressed that the future of gaming is in the software, with "games that can be played on any of the devices you'll have." That...
POSTED Wednesday, May 10, 2006
Typical to the company's cryptic nature, Nintendo said yesterday at this week's Electronic Entertainment Expo only that its upcoming, strangely named Wii video game console will arrive in the fourth quarter. The price and exact date when gamers can...
POSTED Wednesday, May 10, 2006
There are plenty of iPod speaker systems out there vying for a sizable chunk of your money, so manufacturers are resorting to more eye-grabbing designs to stand out. Take the new JBL Radial: Holding your iPod in the middle...
POSTED Tuesday, May 9, 2006
The video game wars are heating up as Sony unveiled on Monday details about its upcoming PlayStation 3 console. The PS3 will play Blu-ray discs, displaying both movies and games in the ultra high-definition 1080p format. The console will...
POSTED Tuesday, May 9, 2006
I imagine being given a lie-detector test is stressful business, but this product takes it to a whole new level. The Shocking Lie Detector straps your hand down and makes sure you're being forthright — or else you get...
POSTED Monday, May 8, 2006
Now available for pre-order: Samsung's new 56-inch HL-S5679W DLP TV, the first rear-projection HDTV featuring an LED backlight instead of a regular lamp. The LED is said to last an estimated 20,000 hours — four times as long as...
POSTED Friday, May 5, 2006
With television arguably acting as our national religion, the remote control should really look the part of a religious object. That might have been what Russian designer Dima Komissarov had in mind when he designed the Remobeads, a string...
POSTED Thursday, May 4, 2006
Spending many thousands of dollars on a TV and home-entertainment setup is great, but unless you have a huge picture window in your living room it's generally hard to rub your ostentatious purchase into your neighbors faces. Without everyone...
POSTED Wednesday, May 3, 2006
Damn, I can't believe I wasted my speaker-as-tripod-from-War-of-the-Worlds joke on those round speakers from Anthony Gallo Acoustics, because this jellyfish speaker from designer Kota Nezu is dying for a reference. About the size of a small stool (and he's...
POSTED Tuesday, May 2, 2006
Because plugging your TV into your TiVo is such a hassle, LG just announced a new series of HDTVs with built-in 250-GB hard drives to hold your recorded programming. The hard drive is big enough to hold about 30...
POSTED Monday, May 1, 2006
There's not much about the foot wide, 8-pound Xbox 360 that lends itself to portability, but that didn't stop Korean company Joytech from making this LCD screen for it. This handy 9.2-inch high-def portable monitor for the Xbox 360...
POSTED Monday, May 1, 2006
Microsoft has patented technology to allow instant messaging on televisions during regular viewing. Splitting the screen up into multiple frames, it would allow you to watch My Super Sweet 16 while simultaneously chatting with a friend about, say, the...
POSTED Friday, April 28, 2006
Yesterday TiVo announced the launch of the Series2 DT DVR, TiVo's first standalone dual-tuner (that's what the "DT" stands for!) digital video recorder. Being able to record two channels at once is a nice convenience, especially for anyone living...
POSTED Wednesday, April 26, 2006
Remember HANNspree, the company with the dorky name that makes small LCD TVs with themed frames, so your TV set can resemble things like a soccer ball, wood paneling, or Batman? Well, it's for real, and now it's going...
POSTED Tuesday, April 25, 2006
Philips envisions the future of your home theater to be simple. No ten-piece speaker system, no stack of components, no jumble of wires, no pile of 100-button remote controls… just the company's Illusion system: a flat-panel television, a wall-mounted...
POSTED Monday, April 24, 2006
Chances are you've never heard of Sonic Wire Sculpting, but we're sure that once you try it, you won't be able to get enough. Created by artist-programmer Amit Pitaru, the Sonic Wire Sculptor involves drawing 3-D shapes on a...
POSTED Friday, April 21, 2006
Lately, Logitech's Harmony line has become a power player in the remote-control arena, thanks to the sleek design and ease of use of the company's universal remotes. Now Thomson's getting into the game through its Acoustic Research accessories brand...
POSTED Wednesday, April 19, 2006
Old-school box speakers can sound great, but the design? Bo-ring. Anthony Gallo takes the edge off traditional speaker cabinets with designs look more like bowling balls than speakers. Setting up a your listening room with Gallo's sound spheres is...
POSTED Friday, April 14, 2006
Note to designers: people love things that have curves. Take the Hipper 100, for example. It's an "MP3 mood creator," an egg-shaped device that flashes 10 different colors based on the melody of the music you run through it. Reading...
POSTED Friday, April 14, 2006
A Media Center PC, when placed in your living room, can become the center of your home theater. Acting as a DVD player, digital video recorder (DVR), digital jukebox, and photo album, it can take on the tasks of...
POSTED Friday, April 14, 2006
For folks who use their iPod as a digital jukebox in the living room as well as on the go, the new HomeDock Deluxe from DLO might come in handy. Once your iPod is in the HomeDock, you can...
POSTED Thursday, April 13, 2006
Streaming audio to multiple rooms: sounds like a daunting task any way you slice it. Wireless systems can take away a lot of the hassle, but they usually have their own complexity issues (servers and clients, anyone?). Marantz's DAvED...
POSTED Wednesday, April 12, 2006
In the ancient homes of the 20th Century, streaming audio to multiple rooms meant punching holes in walls, stringing furlongs of cable, and putting together complicated custom audio rigs. Today, thanks to technologies like Wi-Fi, all you need is...
POSTED Monday, April 10, 2006
Setting up a wireless network to share your music around the house tends to be a hassle. Buying a wireless hub, deciphering the various protocols, getting network cards, setting up encryption to make sure no one is mooching your signal...
POSTED Monday, April 10, 2006
Furthering the cause of mobiles as anything but phones you actually speak into, Motorola yesterday demonstrated technology capable of moving recorded TV shows from the company's set-top DVRs to their phones, most notably its next-gen RAZR V3x (which isn't...
POSTED Thursday, April 6, 2006
I must say, 2006 is really starting to feel like the year of HD DVD and Blu-ray — those two shiny new technologies that promise to bring us high-definition movies on disc — with a cascade of news coming...
POSTED Wednesday, March 29, 2006
Pictures of a new Pioneer surround sound speaker system have us thinking that a deluge of Xbox 360 accessories might be on the way. The HTP-XGS1 is a 600-watt 5.1-channel system that automatically calibrates its sound to match room...
POSTED Thursday, March 23, 2006
With millions rediscovering portable music thanks to the iPod, those same millions are discovering something else: the earbuds that come with their players suck. MP3-player earbuds are typically fragile with weak, tinny sound — overpowered by even light background...
POSTED Thursday, March 16, 2006
A month ago, it looked like if you were one of the first people to buy an HDTV, you were out of luck with the new high-definition disc formats, HD DVD and Blu-ray. Thanks to an "image constraint" flag on...
POSTED Tuesday, March 14, 2006
TiVo, maker of the eponymous digital video recoder, will start giving away DVRs next week. But there's a catch: you'll have to commit to a one-, two-, or three-year payment plan that includes the subscriber service (with the program...
POSTED Thursday, March 9, 2006
There are plenty of docks out there for jacking your iPod into a home stereo, but their remote controls are pretty simple — capable only of adjusting volume and skipping from one track to the next. If you want to...
POSTED Tuesday, March 7, 2006
Past burgeoning astronauts spent hours assembling ceiling constellations out of glow stars, but kids today can just plug in Segatoys' HomeStar ($239) projector. With a built-in high-brightness white LED, it turns a bedroom into a planetarium, illuminating starry views on...
POSTED Monday, March 6, 2006
Watch your back, Blockbuster — there's another rental service in town. MovieBeam, out of trials and into the mainstream, launched its movie-download service in 29 major markets around the country. To start "beaming," customers first have to buy a...
POSTED Friday, March 3, 2006
This June, TiVo owners will discover a new feature one morning when they turn on their recorders. Right at the bottom of the main menu will be KidZone, the company's bid to make their trademark boxes more family-friendly. TiVo...
POSTED Thursday, March 2, 2006
It's baa-ack. Remember convergence? The idea that the PC and the TV would coexist peacefully in the family room and other "living" rooms in the house? So far it hasn't happened, with pioneer technologies like Microsoft's WebTV and Thomson's Network...
POSTED Thursday, March 2, 2006
TiVo CEO Tom Rogers yesterday mentioned the company is considering "prospects of zero upfront," meaning TiVo might start giving away its trademark video recorders. Presumably, TiVo buyers would be entitled to a rebate that would refund all their cash, instead...
POSTED Tuesday, February 28, 2006
Just a week after Toshiba announced when it would start selling its HD DVD players (March 26th, in case you forgot), the Blu-ray camp has stepped up to the plate with an official date for that format's big splash:...
POSTED Tuesday, February 28, 2006
Yes, it's a fully-functional universal remote, compatible with everything from Sony and Panasonic to RCA and Zenith, but for anyone willing to dump $20 on the ABC Monday Night Football Remote, it's all about hearing "Are you ready for some...
POSTED Tuesday, February 28, 2006
Just as the company is taking a beating for its digital rights management issues, its obstinacy with regards to the Blu-ray format, and the delay of its much-anticipated PlayStation 3 console, Sony recalls a time when it ruled the living...
POSTED Monday, February 27, 2006
Toshiba kicked off its HD DVD tour yesterday, and this afternoon the company paid a visit to P.C. Richard's store on Manhattan's Upper West Side to dazzle press and public with the format's high-definition video quality. On a split...
POSTED Wednesday, February 22, 2006
If you're one of the first adopters who mortgaged the house to buy the earliest HDTV displays, don't expect to get full HD resolution when you take out a second mortgage for a high-def disc player when they come out...
POSTED Tuesday, February 21, 2006
As part of the marketing campaign for the upcoming PlayStation 3 game console, Sony surveyed some PlayStation users for their thoughts on the what they might like to see in the new machine, Kotaku reports. In the survey, one...
POSTED Thursday, February 16, 2006
Today Sony revealed how much their upcoming Blu-ray Discs would cost, becoming the first major studio to weigh in on the price issue (not too surprising, considering the company helped develop the technology). Blu-ray, of course, is...
POSTED Wednesday, February 8, 2006
Ashamedly, I watch American Idol. Not always, but often enough, and one thing I've learned, I can judge sound. Simon lambastes a dreamy-eyed singer and I hear the Brit's pain. Randy says, "Dude, you can really blow." I heard them...
POSTED Tuesday, February 7, 2006
You know, I wouldn't be able to resist giving anyone who had a Darth Vader popcorn machine a thumbs-up. Not only does such dedicated fandom warrant respect, but to go for a real, movie-theater popcorn stand — with a six-ounce...
POSTED Thursday, February 2, 2006
Kicked off by CES, the New Year always brings with it mucho promises from electronics manufacturers of soon-to-come breakthrough gadgets. Too often, however, cool products get heralded with gala coming-out parties only to be never heard from again. 2006...
POSTED Wednesday, January 25, 2006
The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) may be a rapidly receding memory, but it usually pays to go back and take a second look after all the dust clears. After all, given the sheer enormity of the show, there's no...
POSTED Wednesday, January 25, 2006
What is Dvice?
Editor: Peter Pachal
editor@dvice.com
editor@dvice.com
Newsletter
Get the top stories from DVICE every week!
