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HDTVorg: Designed to partner their Bravia range of LCD TV’s, the DAV-DZ range of Home Cinema systems from Sony adopts the same minimalist styling and features ‘Sync’ technology which allows you to control all of your Bravia separates through one remote control.

Introduced into the UK this March, the entry level DAV-DZ260 features a basic 5.1 surround arrangement and offers a number of enhancements to its predecessor the DZ230. There is now support for ‘Super Audio’ CD’s (SACDs) which have the same shape and dimensions as normal CDs while offering enhanced audio quality and storage capacity. The DZ260 now has a useful USB port.

The step up model DAV-DZ660 features Sony’s wireless S-AI speakers as optional extras and can be wall-mounted. The high end DAV-DZ860W comes with wireless speakers as standard and features 32-bit digital sound processing.

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HDTVorg: In what seems like a saga as long running as the blu-ray format war, Denon’s long awaited DVD-25000BD Blu-ray player will finally be with us this summer – hopefully.

With support for the latest 1.1 Blu-ray profile, v1.3a HDMI outputs along with Deep colour compatibility, the wait for Denon’s debut Blu-ray player in the UK should be well worth the wait.

Adding to an impressive list of features, the DVD-2500BD supports the latest High Definition audio standards, Dolby TruHD and DTS Master. Support for 24fps is also supported, and Denon’s blu-ray offering will also upscale normal DVD to 1080p.

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eCoustics: With a wider range of options ever-improving quality and more competitive prices Chinese-made car DVD’s are being used more and more by DIY fans, with sales overtaking major players like Sony and Pioneer.

Forget about Sony, Pioneer or any other car stereo maker that may have dominated the world of car audio in the past… little-known Chinese electronic makers of car audio and car DVD players are going to be the movers and shakers of the car audio world for 2008.

For many DIY car audio fans, who do car DVD installation themselves, there has always been a big trade off between how much they’re willing to spend and how good they want their stereos to be and what they want their systems to do.

However, instances where people looking to install a DVD player in their car have to sacrifice price for quality are getting fewer and fewer thanks to the advances of Chinese car DVD manufacturers.

“There is no comparison between the car DVD players of today and the automotive DVD players of five years ago… Chinese car DVD player models today are so functional they are almost vital for every day commuting,” said Rose Li.

The information on installing a car DVD player which came with Chinese DVD Players may have been confusing before, requiring car audio enthusiasts to rely on car DVD installation services or places that install DVD players in your car.

However this is no longer the case with many makers ensuring they included English language plans on how to install a mobile DVD player in a car. Some even offer a car audio installation DVD.

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Computeractive: People across the UK will get free access to high-definition (HD) television programmes but to view these they will have to replace their set-top boxes.

Currently only people who subscribe to Sky or Virgin can watch HD programmes but Ofcom has announced a planned upgrade of digital terrestrial television (DTT) technology.

This will provide extra capacity for four HD channels and other new services can be broadcast free to air. One will be reserved for the BBC.

Broadcasters ITV, Channel 4, Five and Welsh language broadcaster S4C will have to bid for the other three based on what they can offer viewers and how well they can manage the spectrum.

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Akihabaranews: Sony released no less than five new in ear headphones on Friday with prices ranging between 25 to 80€.

Not much to say here but they’ll be available in Japan starting April 21, as well as on GeekStuff4U.com.

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Electronista: Britain’s telecoms regulator Ofcom on Friday confirmed that it would hold a new auction for wireless space in the country. Partly echoing the just-completed FCC auction in the US, the UK agency will allow portions of spectrum in the 2GHz and 2.6GHz spaces to be used for different wireless services. This is likely to involve fourth-generation data services such as “evolutions of 3G technology” or WiMAX, Ofcom says.

Officials also note that any granted frequency will be “flexible” and that companies buying licenses will have the option of trading any spectrum to other firms as they migrate to different formats. No timetable has been given for when bidding will first take place.

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The Register: UK drivers are banned from talking into handheld mobiles for legitimate safety reasons, but are walking and talking pedestrians a serious public health hazard too? One US legislator thinks so, and he’s drawn up a bill banning people from doing just that.

Republican politician Kenneth Dunkin hopes his bizarre bill will make it illegal to use a mobile phone whilst crossing the street. If the bill makes it into Illinois state law then those caught dicing with death could be fined, in much the same way that jaywalking carries a legal penalty.

Jesse White, Illinois’ Secretary of State, backs Dunkin’s bill. But White told the Chicago Sun-Times that the law should only apply to people talking into mobile phones whilst simultaneously jaywalking.

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NaviGadget: Sony Ericsson P5 (aka Paris) is the latest smartphone that promises to have an integrated GPS receiver. This obviously is the leaked image and it hasn’t been made official yet but rumors around the internets suggests that it will be official in May and hit the market as soon as September.

P5 will run Symbian/UIQ 3.3, have a slider keyboard, and even a 5MP camera. For browsing you’ll have access to Opera Mobile 9 browser which should be a breeze operating with the available stylus on the touchscreen.

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iLounge: Griffin Technology has introduced its new ClearBoost case for iPhone, a unique polycarbonate case that aims to help boost the device’s antenna reception. The black and grey case features an internal booster antenna that runs along the inside of the case from the base of the iPhone (where its antennas are located) up and out the top, providing slightly improved signal reception.

Other features include open access to all ports and controls, a snap-together design, and an included screen protector.

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HiddenWires: Pioneer Corporation has announced that at a meeting of its Board of Directors held yesterday, the Company resolved to restructure its display business and implement measures to enhance corporate value, as follows:

Restructuring Plans for the Display Business:

Displays are positioned at the heart of Pioneer’s home audio/video product lineup and help to enhance the image of the Company’s brands in the Home Electronics business. Pioneer believes that displays are indispensable to its product lineup for these reasons and will therefore maintain its fundamental strategy for the display business – supply premium models with high picture and sound quality befitting the image of its brands at prices matching their added value, while optimizing the scale of its business.

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The Inquirer: OFCOM has published its plans to revamp the UK’s digital terrestrial television system to enable HDTV services on digital terrestrial system, Freeview.Operators will be required to adopt 64-QAM encoding, which enables more channels to be broadcast per multiplex.

Currently, only a couple of the six available multiplexes use this mode, with the other four multiplexes using the more robust but lower capacity 16-QAM encoding, introduced in the early days of DTT broadcasting when low power for digital was necessary to avoid co-channel interference with analogue transmissions.

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HiddenWires: InFocus Corporation, the industry pioneer in digital projection technology, introduces the InFocus IN83, a full HD 1080p projector featuring DLP DarkChip4 technology with BrilliantColor from Texas Instruments. The IN83 is the newest addition to our Play Big home theater projector line.

“We are excited to announce the IN83 as the next member of our award-winning family of home theater projectors,” said David Woolf, Senior Director of Product Management. “This stunning product highlights InFocus’s dedication to delivering an outstanding home theater experience to our customers.”

The IN83 combines state-of-the-art technology with a sleek, low profile design. Featuring the latest DLP(R) DarkChip4(TM) technology, the Play Big IN83 offers a native 5,000:1 contrast ratio (with a maximum contrast of 15,000:1) that ensures true-to-life color accuracy. With video-optimized brightness of 1,600 max ANSI lumens, the IN83 is vibrant enough to deliver film-standard, D65K color accuracy, even in ambient light during a daytime movie or sporting event.

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