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Samsung reveals HW-F750, world’s first vacuum tube soundbar, at CES

Samsung HW-F750 soundbar

Samsung's latest audio line, revealed at CES, comes with a bold claim: it's are the first in the world to use a soundbar with a built-in vacuum tube amplifier, and Bluetooth to connect to your TV, ditching the wires if you use it alongside a 2013 Samsung television (or other Bluetooth-enabled TV, we'd imagine.) As you can see, it also has a subwoofer, making it a 2.1 solution.

This feat is apparently achieved by a wireless Bluetooth speaker (DA-F60) using the apt-X audio codec and NFC to connect to devices such as your TV. Furthermore, its 7.1 channel surround sound system should also please the home theater crowd, which will work with Samsung's 2013 television line-up. The system also uses a Gallium Nitride amplifier to enhance the sound quality.

Samsung also revealed a "premium" Blu-ray player capable of upscaling DVD content to 4K.

Read More | Samsung

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Turtle Beach Ear Force PX5 review

Turtle Beach ear Force PX5 review

Stereo headsets have been a part of computer gaming and theater experiences for years but they’ve recently started making the cross into the living room with gaming consoles. Turtle Beach has been a leader in the gaming headsets and have released a number of headsets that work with the Xbox 360 or the Playstation 3. The EAR FORCE PX5 is a wireless Dolby 7.1 Surround Sound headset that works with both.

Upon opening the PX5, I was surprised to see they had included not only the receiver, wireless surround sound headset, and detachable microphone, but also an optical cable and and others to get going. The included optical cable is very thin and feels a bit on the cheap side but the quality of sound it provides in my case was the same as a more expensive cable, but I do fear that moving it around too much may break the cable. The receiver includes an optical in and out port, standard red/white RCA jacks, a port for a wired headset in case you are playing with a friend and finally the DC power port.

Click to continue reading Turtle Beach Ear Force PX5 review


Unboxing Live 088: Plantronics GameCom 780

We show you the Plantronics Gamecom 780 7.1 surround sound PC gaming headphones in this episode! Powered by Dolby technology, the Gamecom 780 delivers 7.1 surround sound with Dolby Headphone and Dolby Pro Logic IIx. The speakers in the earcups are 40-millimeter and provide thumping bass and immersive stereo sound. For chat and in-game communication, there's a built-in noise-canceling microphone that eliminates background noise so that the people you're playing with can hear you clearly, and for those times when you want silence (or when you want to remain stealthy,) there are volume controls and a microphone mute switch right on the earcups. One other nice touch is the swiveling earcup joints that make for easy storage. You can pick up the Plantronics GameCom 780 on Amazon for $79.

Big thank you to GoToMeeting and JackThreads for sponsoring the show - be sure to check them out! GoToMeeting with HDFaces provides rich, super-simple collaborative virtual meetings. As for JackThreads, we've got exclusive invite codes that give you $5 to use towards anything you'd like on the site.


Bleeding Edge TV 421: Xzibit on Monster Game T1 headphones

We chat with hip-hop superstar Xzibit about Monster's upcoming line of gaming headphones. The Monster Gaming T1 headphones feature 7.1 virtual surround sound, 40mm drivers, Monster's most advanced noise isolation earcups, an LED Light Drive System, and even a built-in ControlTalk for use with the iPhone and other smartphones so you can take phone calls. The T1 gaming headphones will be available in February 2012. This was recorded at CES 2012.

Big thank you to MozyPro and JackThreads for sponsoring the show - be sure to check them out! MozyPro provides simple, automatic, and secure data backup. As for JackThreads, we've got exclusive invite codes that give you $5 to use towards anything you'd like on the site.


90 Blu-ray movies with 7.1 surround sound

Blu-ray 7.1 surround For you extreme audiophile fans out there, we just came across a great list of movies that include a 7.1 surround sound audio track. If you’ve got a 7.1 speaker setup, you’ll likely find this list to be worth checking out. There are some gems on here (3:10 To Yuma, Pan’s Labyrinth, Weeds,) as well as a few horrible movies (Disaster Movie, Hannah Montana, Witless Protection,) but the common thread here is that all o the currently listed 90 movies hit you with a lossless 7.1 audio track.

[Thanks, Tyler]

Read More | Blu-ray Stats

HTPC Building Series: Laying out all the components

Check out our HTPC on a Budget series and join us in building a great HTPC for under $1,000.

In our quest to build the ultimate inexpensive hoome theater computer, we’ve walked you through selecting all the major components that will power our labor of love PC. I’m talking about things like why we picked our chosen motherboard, the MSI MS-7411, a look at how we will drive 7.1 sound from the HTPC to our receiver, and the smart way that we will move content to the HTPC so it’s displayed on our television.

But what about the rest? The pieces that, although not major, are still required to have a - you know - functioning HTPC? Well, that’s where this article comes in. We are going to be giving you a quick rundown of the smaller components that you will need in order to get this thing built, before we do our wrap-up in our next article.

Click to continue reading HTPC Building Series: Laying out all the components

Read More | Series: Building an HTPC on a Budget

HTPC Building Series: The ATI TV Wonder 650

Check out our HTPC on a Budget series and join us in building a great HTPC for under $1,000.

We’re starting to wind down the layout of all the parts that are going into our Home Theater PC. First, let’s recap some of the main components that we’ve thrown into this project this far:

We’ve come a long way to far. In this article, though, I wanted to talk about the TV card that we’ve chosen. Since we are doing this on a budget, we are hoping for a nice balance of good performance at an inexpensive price. This is why we’ve chosen the TV Wonder 650. Amazon has it for 43% off of the retail price. This card supports both over the air HD broadcasts, as well as ClearQAM cable TV.

Click to continue reading HTPC Building Series: The ATI TV Wonder 650

Read More | Series: Building an HTPC on a Budget

HTPC Building Series: Driving multimedia content to the HTPC

Check out our HTPC on a Budget series and join us in building a great HTPC for under $1,000.

Continuing our quest to build the ultimate, while inexpensive, home theater PC, the one thing you need to consider when talking about media is how you are going to actually get the media to the computer. After covering the main mission, carefully going through our selection of hardware, giving you a first hand look at the MSI motherboard we chose (and explaining exactly why we chose that one,) and then bringing you up to speed on how we are going to drive 7.1 surround sound from this thing, you were probably thinking that the brunt of the thinking was done, right? Well, while that may be the case, there are still some important considerations that need to be taken into account.

Click to continue reading HTPC Building Series: Driving multimedia content to the HTPC

Read More | Series: Building an HTPC on a Budget

HTPC Building Series: Achieving great 5.1 or 7.1 surround sound

Check out our HTPC on a Budget series and join us in building a great HTPC for under $1,000.

In previous posts, while talking about building up our Home Theater PC, from the ground up, and on a budget, we’ve focused on a few goals. Things like what we want to see the system, as a whole, do for our home entertainment experience. We’ve talked, in general, about some of the hardware we plan on ordering to put into this bad boy. We’ve even gone into detail on the one essential piece that is going to drive everything - that being the motherboard. Today we want to focus on how we are going to get amazing sound out of this system.

Click to continue reading HTPC Building Series: Achieving great 5.1 or 7.1 surround sound

Read More | Series: Building an HTPC on a Budget

OPPO DV-983H Upconverting DVD Player

OPPO dv-983h

Just in time for Father’s Day, has released another upconverting DVD player. The DV-983H produces even better details, color, and a picture closer to HD. Hook it up to your HDTV and turn standard DVDs into high-def 1080p. The player can also convert PAL to NTSC and is multi-level zoom capable. And for those music videos, the DV offers 7.1 channel audio with Dolby Digital Surround EX. Your dad will probably hand you the keys to his vacation home if you present him with this as a gift at a price of $399.99, which can be purchased online at the OPPO store.

By the way, we got a look at the OPPO 980H PL unit and were incredibly impressed with it and all its features. However, if you do not have an it will not upconvert your standard DVDs.

(Thanks, Noe)

Read More | OPPO DV-983H Product Page

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