Sony Enters the Portable Video Player War with the NW-A800

Posted by Lolita Beckwith Categories: Handhelds, Music, Portable Audio / Video

We get a little teary-eyed when we reminisce to “back in the day”—when it was all about the Sony Walkman (and those orange earpuffs!) for portable music listening. Apparently Sony is also tired of its old-school status, as it has just introduced the NW-A800, it’s new MP3/video Walkman. The slim device sports a 2” color screen, and supports MPEG-4 video files. You can easily download video to the NW-A800, using it’s drag ‘n’ drop feature. And one of the player’s best features is its battery life: up to 30 hours for music and 8 hours for video…take that, iPod! Plus, if your own video and music collection isn’t enough, visit the Sony Connect download site to buy some more. The NW-A800 will be available in Europe in April, in sizes ranging from 2GB to 8GB, which frankly, we think is a little small. The price for the 8GB will be £199, approximately $400 USD. Hopefully the prices will be less when the NW-A800 arrives in the US.

Read More | Sony

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TiVo Series 3 HD Digital Media Recorder Released

Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Corporate News, HDTV, Home Entertainment, Software

Tivo Inc. has announced the release of its TiVo Series 3 Digital Media Recorder. The new Tivo is HD compatible and multiple tuners enable the recording of two different shows simultaneously. Its built-in Ethernet jack and USB ports provide advanced connectivity and easy networking, giving it a simpler accessibility. The TiVo Series 3 is also a THX-certified device. “As more and more digital video recorders get connected to HDTVs, the demand for higher playback quality rises,” said Michael Rudd, chief of AV architecture at THX Ltd. “With THX certification, the integrity of HD content won’t be compromised.”

Other Product Features:

• Schedule from your workplace, on the road, or anywhere else you can access the Internet.
• WishList finds programs by actor, director, keyword or topic.
• Automatically record every episode, even if the network schedule changes.
• Season Pass Recording allows you to skip repeat episodes.

Later this year, TiVo will allow parents to create a pre-approved customized area with KidZone. Future software releases will enable advanced MPEG-4 based download features. The Series 3 will be available at retail stores within the next 60 days, and is already available online.

The bad part? Everyone wants to TiVo, but at an MSRP of $799.99 we’ll keep our old TiVos and VCRs around for another year. Especially when you consider that standard TiVo features like TiVoToGo and Multi-Room Viewing isn’t even available on the new Series 3 just yet. Still, we are sure that won’t stop the early-adopters out there.

Read More | TiVo Series 3 Product Page via engadget

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ATI Radeon Xpress 1250 for Intel Mobile Processors

Posted by Brian Viele Categories: PC / Laptop

ATI announced today that they are delivering a new chipset including a technologically unmatched integrated graphics processor for Intel mobile processors including the Core Duo. The new Radeon Xpress 1250 is the first Intel chipset utilizing ATI’s revolutionary AVIVO graphics architecture allowing for vibrant images and smooth video playback, for all types of multimedia, including high-definition content. This AVIVO engine includes hardware acceleration for MPEG-2, MPEG-4, H.264 and WMV9. The IGP also includes an integrated TV encoder providing advanced TV-out capabilities. The internal TV encoder is based on ATI’s Xilleon set top box solution and delivers Macrovision 7.1 copy protection with YPbPr component video output. Resolutions of 480i, 480p, 576i, 576p, 720p and 1080i are supported via component outputs. DVI and HDMI are also supported with an external TMDS transmitter.

But let’s not forget that this isn’t just a mobile video chip, this is a north bridge solution for Intel’s newest processors. The memory controller allows up to 16GB of 400MHz-800MHz DDR2 memory, 512MB of which can be dedicated to the IGP video buffer. And if the IGP doesn’t have quite enough punch for you, one PCI Express x16 slot is available for an external video adapter. The Radeon Xpress 1250 will likely be paired with the SB600 south bridge for 10 USB 2.0, four SATA II, one ATA133 ports, high definition audio and PCI.

NEC will be the first to use the Radeon Xpress 1250 in its notebooks, but expect others to follow closely behind. Also, expect to see desktop variants of this product for both AMD and Intel desktops in the not too distant future.

Read More | ATI

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