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‘Star Trek’ Remastered for HD DVD
Posted by K.C. Morgan Categories: Animation, Sci-Fi/Horror, DVD, HDTV, Video,
Highly original and ground-breaking in its day, Star Trek offered viewers a glimpse of the possible future. Now, it is the future…and Trek is offering viewers a glimpse of what the series might have been if it were made today.
In a new HD DVD set, season one of The Original Series is being released to the public with digitally enhanced footage. Here’s the problem: true Trekkies don’t want anything digitally remastered or updated. The perfection is in the purity. The exterior special effects features on TOS were updated and enhanced with CGI technology. In some scenes, entire ships were replaced by digital effects.
The new additions look great and may help re-introduce younger generations to this old favorite, but some die-hard Trekkies will no doubt be up in arms over any change, no matter how great-looking.
LA Times
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BeoSound 3 Plays Tunes with Class
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Music, Portable Audio / Video,
BeoSound 3 is the latest portable audio system from Bang & Olufsen. It combines both digital music and FM radio tunes with its full-range mono speaker. It features a SD card reader that will support up to 2GB, a clock/timer, and runs on a rechargeable battery for up to 10 hours of playback. At a size of 5.3 x 3.5 x 16.5-inches, it comes in an anodized aluminum cabinet with soft-touch operation a handle that can be wall-mounted. B&O is kindly offering their music maker at a $795.00 holiday price, down from its $875.00 previous cost.
Read More | Bang & Olufsen
Retailers to Feature ATCS Tuners
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: HDTV, Home Entertainment, Misc. Tech,
There are now only 433 days to go until analog TV is no more. Eight retailers will begin to sell ATCS tuners to convert analog TVs to digital beginning in February. You can find them at Circuit City, Target, Sears, Kmart, RadioShack, Best Buy, Wal-Mart, and Sam’s Club. To facilitate that purchase, don’t forget to contact our helpful FCC who will be issuing two coupons worth $40.00 apiece. We suggest you not procrastinate, for although the program will dispense with over 33 million coupons, we suspect there are still at least that many analog TVs kicking around by 2009 that dont have satellite or cable.You can apply for your coupon after January 1 by contacting the FCC’s official site or calling 1-888-DTV-2009.
Read More | Post-Bulletin
Q Watch for Mathematicians
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Wearables, Misc. Tech,
Our friends from Tokyo Flash have informed us that they have a new watch in town. Twelve 5-9’s Q comes in a gun metal or brushed silver finish with a stainless steel strap and 26 multi-colored LEDs. Push a button once for a random pattern, twice to skip that function. As with other watches from TF, it will take a bit of work to be able to tell time with its 12-5-9 method. The first two lines show the hours, the next line depicts increments of ten minutes, and the bottom two show single minutes. Available with both Japanese and English instructions, it comes with a year warranty with a price of ¥15,900 ($144.72.)
Read More | Tokyo Flash
Video Players are Credit Card Size
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Movies, Music, Portable Audio / Video, USB,
Looking for stocking stuffers? These digital Mini-Video Players are also good for audio recording and playing, and include FM tuners and integrated speakers. With up to 8 hours of battery life, they have high-res screens and come in Neon M3 with a 2.4-inch screen, which is heat sensitive and will glow by touch and the Ice, with a 2.8-inch screen and brushed aluminum finish. Each credit card-sized device has 2GB storage, is chargeable by USB, comes with headphones, and has a MSRP of $99.99.
Read More | ThinkGeek
What You See is Literally What You Get
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Cameras, Portable Audio / Video,
Last week we showed you a spycam in a pen, but if you are the type that tends to lose them, you can do your 007 thing with the Digital Glasses Camera and DVR with built-in color monitor. Record both color video and audio with 32 MB memory, or expand with a SD/MMC card (neither included.) You can also add time and date stamp and the cam is compatible with either NTSC or PAL.The glasses and recorder are available for £695 (~$1448.00.)
Read More | Spycatcher
Best Buy Removes Analog TV From Shelves
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Corporate News, Home Entertainment, Misc. Tech,
Just so they won’t get caught with useless stock in February, 2009, the wily Best Buy has announced that they will no longer sell analog TVs. They are also taking those existing sets off the shelf that are not digital. Senior VP of Electronics Mike Vitelli said, “We are committed to helping people understand the digital television transition, and exiting the analog video business is one way we can help avoid confusion.”
We were thinking that the company will undoubtedly be selling ATCS tuners for those who still have analog TV, so wouldn’t it have been a smarter move to sell the existing sets as a package deal and double the sales?
Read More | Real Tech News
Amazon launches DRM-free MP3 download service
The e-commerce giant Amazon.com has launched their own music service: AmazonMP3. AmazonMP3 now offers DRM-free tracks in the MP3 format from a variety of artists on their website. Amazon has chosen the widely supported MP3 file format which ensures comparability with iPods, Zunes, most modern cell phones, and virtually any computer or digital audio player users wish to use.
The MP3 files weigh in at 256kbit so they won’t sound quite as good as iTunes 256kbit AAC files, but certainly will sound good enough for anyone but the most golden-eared audiophile. The fact that the MP3 files are DRM-free ensures not only broad compatibility, but also that users won’t ever have to worry about authentication or license revocation. It is currently unknown if Amazon will be adding audio fingerprints or other watermarks to the music to tie an individual file to the downloader to help cut into piracy.
Click to continue reading Amazon launches DRM-free MP3 download service
Read More | AmazonMP3
Hitachi Releases 3-in-1 Recorders
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: HDTV, Home Entertainment, Movies,
At last someone has understood that we love our old VHS tapes and are reticent to give them up. Hitachi has three new 3-in-1 recorders that play both VHS tapes and HDD/DVDs. The DV-DH250VH has a digital and analog tuner, HDMI, and holds 250GB. There are also two models which hold 500GB, the DV-DH500VH and the DV-DH500H. Expect a late October or early November release. We think this is a fine idea if we can just figure out how to use the multi-button remotes.
Read More | Hitachi (translated) via Akihabara News
FCC Frets Over Analog Cable Dilemma
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Corporate News, Home Entertainment, Movies,
We have more news on the death of analog TV in 2009. As we mentioned previously, cable companies will either have to convert their digital signal for analog receiving customers or provide them with a “down converter.” The FCC has approved rules to ensure that everyone is taken care of after the transition. The National Cable and Telecommunications Association say that they can have already pledged to do so voluntarily. Spokesperson Brian Dietz claims they will do this without charging extra or forcing subscribers to up to a pricier digital service. We would just as soon stay out of the fracas as long as we can still get our MTV.
Read More | Post-Bulletin
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