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Trusted Reviews: Over the past couple of years, Toshiba’s LCD TVs have come on in leaps and bounds. There was a time when the likes of Panasonic and Sony were the first names in consumers’ heads when it came to TVs, but these days you’d be a fool not to have Toshiba on your short list. This year though, Toshiba really pulled the stops out, with 1080p and HDMI 1.3 support on all but its entry level sets.
The earlier reviewed Toshiba Regza 42X3030D, which proved to be a superb performer, packed with features for an unbelievably low price. In fact, at first glance it seemed like Toshiba would have a tough time trying to sell its flagship model later in the year – the Z series. But Toshiba was smart enough to leave 100Hz processing off the X series feature list, so that the Z series would have a clear differentiator.

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TechDigest: A big beige box and overheating monitor might suit that spare room you call your home office, but when it comes to taking the PC into the living room, it’s got to be something a little more stylish.

With that in mind, Sharp has updated its AQUOS internet TV range to include some pretty stylish TV/computer/keyboard combos – all matching and available on a choice of colour. There’s also a choice of 2 different models with the PC-AX30V and PC-AX80V both offering 1GB of RAM, a DVD multi-drive, HDMI, DVI-I, S/PDIF and a TV Tuner to record video and TV.

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Absolute Gadget: Korean electronics outfit LG has launched a new hi-def telly that wouldn’t look out of place in the bedroom.

While the name of the TV (M228WD) is cumbersome, the look of it is anything but with a sleek 22″ widescreen and a gloss black frame.  Not only that, it also boasts  in-built digital tuner and Digital Fine Contrast ratio (DFC) of 3000:1.

It also comes equipped with the essential connection requirements for any complete entertainment set-up. This includes HDMI for high definition next generation content, such as HD DVD or Blu-ray.

Key specifications of the M228WD monitor:

•   Digital fine contrast ratio: 3000:1
•   Tuner input: DVB-T and PAL/SECAM
•   5m/s response time
•   High resolution: 1680 x 1050
•   Brightness: 300 nits
•   170 degree viewing angle and 16.7cd/m

 The M228WD monitor is available for purchase in the UK from late November.

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CNet: In the last several years, the display known for excellent picture quality has given ground to the exploding popularity of LCD (liquid crystal display) in the high-definition TV market. Though plasma TVs were first to reach consumers a decade ago, LCD TV manufacturers were able to bring the costs below their plasma counterparts with an efficient panel manufacturing process.

Now researchers are looking at ways to improve plasma’s brightness levels, power consumption and cost, and developers hope that will help plasma regain some of the ground it’s lost. Of course, LCD technology will also improve, but the closer pricing appears between the two, the more viable an alternative plasma becomes.

“Performance will be going up in both (plasma and LCD), but costs will be coming down faster in plasma,” according to Ross Young, president of market research firm DisplaySearch.

That’s good news for consumers. One of the biggest challenges in getting people to switch to high-definition TVs is the price.

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Electronista: Sony yesterday introduced a third model in its video-capable Walkman line. The A910 series is one of the few media players anywhere that can not only receive TV but play it as well: courtesy of a built-in 1Seg tuner and an electronic programming guide, the A910 can play digital over-the-air broadcasts on its 2.4-inch LCD and encode the shows on the fly as permanent copies. Up to 100 hours of footage can be saved on a 16GB player, Sony says. Direct line-in automatically creates individual audio tracks from a CD player or a similar device. Playback is also special in the A910, Sony adds. For the first time, noise canceling is built into the player itself and will eliminate most background sounds whether watching TV or listening to music.

The new premium Walkman is capable of playing all the pre-recorded formats of Sony’s latest players, including H.264 and MPEG-4 video as well as AAC, MP3, and WMA music. The device also handles the outgoing ATRAC music format and even plays ATRAC Lossless files, according to the company. Battery life is said to be the strongest of any video Walkman with up to 10 hours of offline video, 8.5 hours of video recording with the display turned off, and 6 hours of active TV viewing. Music lasts for a continuous 36 hours and is supported by an FM radio when the user’s own collection is not enough.

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Mobile Magazine: In many ways, the Ninja Remote is just a glorified universal remote, but what makes it cool is that you don’t need to do any programming ahead of time and what’s more, it’s small enough that you can easily avoid detection.

The tiny device simply needs to be pointed at your intended target (a television). Hold the mute button for a few seconds until the sound shuts off on the TV and you’re all synched up.

From here, you have basic control over changing the channels and adjusting the volume.

The developers of the Ninja Remote claim that it will be able to invade and conquer a wide range of TV sets, including those made by Sony, Panasonic, Samsung, Toshiba, Sanyo, Aiwa, Mitsubishi, Philips, JVC, Sharp, and more.

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MacWorld UK: The long-awaited update for the Apple TV arrived yesterday, providing Apple’s television box with YouTube functionality built in.

Installing YouTube on the Apple TV couldn’t be easier. Simply click on the ‘Update’ option and wait for the download. It took roughly five minutes to download the update, and another couple of minutes for the Apple TV to restart.

Do this and you’ll find a new option marked ‘YouTube’ on the Apple TV menu. Click on it and you’ll be gazing over the following options: ‘Featured’, ‘Most Viewed’, ‘Most Recent’, ‘Top Rated’, ‘History’, ‘Search’ and ‘Log In’.

YouTube is an amazing addition to the Apple TV, one that changes the nature of the device completely. You certainly can’t complain about a lack of content for the device now – and it’s ability to sync up to your online account brings the community element of YouTube and all its video where it belongs, in your living room. We expect to update our review and rating of the Apple TV after we have had a more thorough test of the device.

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Techlogg.com: Matsushita Electric, better known by its Panasonic brand, and Hitachi announced an agreement to supply each other with plasma TV panels in a move designed to reduce costs and improve efficiency.

According to the new agreement, Panasonic will begin supplying Hitachi with its new size-leading 103-inch plasma panels starting in the current fiscal year. In return, Hitachi will feed Panasonic with 85-inch plasma panels during the 2008 financial year.

By concentrating on specific models, both Panasonic and Hitachi hope to benefit from the growth in big screen televisions while at the same time, maintaining costs and improving their efficiency.

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DisplaySearch: US-based market research firm DisplaySearch released an overview of the TV shipments and revenues in the first quarter of this year. The report shows that global TV unit shipments rose 4%, compared to the same quarter last year.

LCD and plasma TV prices continued to experience rapid price erosion, falling 22% and 33% respectively, as compared to the first quarter of 2006.

Europe rebounded after two successive quarters of year-over-year declines, rising 7% on strong flat panel growth. Western Europe had the second largest average TV size at over 76 centimetre.

By brand, Samsung was number one on a unit basis for the third consecutive quarter with a 12% share on 37% year-over-year growth. Samsung was number one in Eastern and Western Europe and in North America in both units and revenues.

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Although stakes where high, flat-panel tv’s did not boost sales during the 2006 FIFA World Cup in the U.S. This despite earlier predictions. All sales was below expectation of many suppliers.

Due to this there is a positive note for cunsumers planning to buy a device. The lower sales led to increase inventory and stronger price reduction especially for smaller size LCD TV panels.

In short can be said that Americans are not into soccer or futbol.

(source: news.com)

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Bose comes up with a new version of their QuietComfort headset. They come in two different sets, the on-ear and around-ear version with the same quality and features as the previous QC2 headset:

• exclusive noise reduction technology
• full-detailed audio performance
• comfortable leightweight fit

They are for sale for about $350 in the Bose Online Shop.

(source: Bose Newsletter)

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