Latest Gear Live Videos
FilmCrunch 001: Little Miss Sunshine, United 93 Reviews
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Fox Searchlight, Universal, Drama, Independent, Comedy, DVD Reviews, Full Episodes, Theatrical Reviews, Videocasts,
Alright peeps - time to kick off this thing we call FilmCrunch. In our very first episode, we check out Little Miss Sunshine, and review the DVD release of United 93. We also talk about a couple of movies we are looking forward to seeing in the very near future - The Last Kiss and The Science of Sleep.
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XBOX 360 to Support 1080p
Posted by Brian Viele Categories: HDTV, Home Entertainment, Microsoft, Movies, Video Games,
Some info from the Tokyo Game Show 2006 has stated that the XBOX 360 will receive 1080p support (1920x1080) through a dashboard update coming this year. Current games and even DVD’s will be up-converted to this extended resolution, but no native 1080p content has been announced yet. I would imagine that the update is namely due to the upcoming release of the HD-DVD add-on which supports 1080p media. It is also a good tactic to take away some of the hype from the PS3 being released in November, which will support 1080p. Now if they would only add an HDMI port to the thing, it’d be a true HD machine!
Read More 
| Playfeed
RFID Tagged Disks May Put a Halt to Piracy
Posted by Brian Viele Categories: HDTV, Home Entertainment, Movies, Rumors,
Movie makers are planning to begin to use RFID tags embedded within media to prevent playing of pirated disks. The technology will be applicable to DVD’s, HD-DVD’s and Blu-Ray disks. Essentially, the system will read the ID tag to ensure the disk is authentic, which will require the unit 1) To be able to read RFID tags and 2) To be able to connect to some database to retrieve valid ID tags. All of this is going to be, of course, at the consumer’s expense.
I have a few issues with this upcoming system. First of all, there will undoubtedly be ways to rip and re-burn the video into some generic form that will not require the player to scan the RFID. Otherwise, it will make recording home movies and such impossible, so it doesn’t totally rid the potential of pirated media. Additionally, when these new security measures come into affect, people with older systems that do not have the RFID capability will be forced to upgrade in order to view the new releases. At $500 a pop for the low-end Blu-Ray and HD-DVD players today, I find it obscene to expect consumers to purchase a new device to incorporate new anti-piracy technology that likely will not be totally effective. Unless U-Tech, IPICO or the movie makers decide to upgrade consumers current equipment for free, I don’t think many people will find this a great idea.
Read More | VNUNet
iLoads Transfer Audio and Video Without Computer
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Accessories, Movies, Music, Portable Audio / Video,
Wingspan’s iLoad has a very simple mission. Connect your iPod to any media source, such as cable TV, satellite box, cell network, or CD player. iLoad will transfer musical content, as well as data, directly to your iPod at high speed without the use of a PC or the Internet.
Wait, there’s more. Here comes the iLoad+, an add-on that will download audio and video to your iPod, USB storage device, or flash disc. Pre-order at the iLoad site and you will receive free priority shipping (a $20.00 savings) and a free 3-year extended warranty (a $29.95 value.) iLoad is priced at $249, while the iLoad+ will set you back an additional $100. Shipping begins in early November.
Read More | Wingspan iLoad Press Release
Toshiba Reveals HD-A2 and HD-XA2 HD DVD Players
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: HDTV, Home Entertainment, Movies,
Toshiba has announced the release of their HD-A2 and HD-XA2 HD DVD players. Both output HD DVD content through the HDMI interface in 720p or 1080i. The HD-A2 incorporates a 297MHz / 12 bit Video DAC with high-quality, 4x oversampling, while the HD-XA2 also features 1.3. HDMI for 36-bit (RGB or YCbCr) color depth.
Both models come with picture setting functions that allow you to optimize picture quality with settings for color, contrast, brightness, edge enhancement, and noise blocker. Set to be released in October, the HD-A2 carries a MSRP of $499.99. For last minute Santas, the release of the high end HD-XA2 will follow in December at a MSRP of $999.99.
Read More | Toshiba News Release
Changhong Panda TV/DVD Combo
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Home Entertainment, Movies, Music, Toys,
This little guy was just too cute to pass up. The Changhong Panda TV/DVD/CD combo was unveiled at Berlin’s IFA. The electric company’s CH1320DV pet has control buttons in its paws and its nose is the power button.
Other specifications and features:
- Screen Type:Round
- TV System: NTSC-M
- Loading Capacity:620 Units (40HQ)
- Power Supply: 120V AC, 60HZ
- Aspect ratio: 4:3
- Picture Modes Selection: (normal, movie, sports, ser)
- Compatible with DVD/MP3/Picture CD/CD-R/CD-RW/DVD-R/DVD-RW
- Multiple Angles
- Parental Lock
- Digital Audio Output
- Screen Saver
- OSD: Trilingual (English/French/Spanish)
- Full Function Remote Control
- On/Off Timer
- Channel Scan
If this isn’t lovable enough for you, they also have a Penguin (CH1321DV) combo. You can tell us that you are getting this for your kids for Christmas, but we know better. Check with Changhong for price and availability.
Read More | Panda TV/DVD Player Product Page
Nakamichi Unveils IN-DV7
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: HDTV, Movies, Music, Portable Audio / Video, Transportation,
We have more news from Berlin’s IFA. Nakamichi introduces the IN-DV7, a DVD/TV/Tuner that they claim will “revolutionize your in-car entertainment experience”. The IN-DV7 has a 7”, 16:9 Wide-screen as well as a built in 4-channel MOSFET amp.
Other features include:
- Active Matrix LCD Panel
- Full Automatic Motorized TFT LCD Flip-out/up
- Touch Screen Control
- DVD-R/RW, CD-R/RW compatible
- VCD, SVCD, DVD media Formats
- MP3 Direct track Access
- 60 Sec ESP
At an MSRP of $1699, the IN-DV7 could be the perfect solution to those long LA freeway commutes, but couldn’t they just have named it Fred?
I’m Swooning Over Mr. Darcy
Posted by Monica Edwards Categories: Movies, Personal,
How many women out there have seen Pride and Prejudice? I finally watched it alone after receiving it in the mail via Blockbuster. It had been sitting on top of our DVD Player waiting for that rare moment in time that Andru and I could catch a movie together.
It, being a romantic drama, sat there longer than most movies until I decided that I wanted to see it so why wait for my husband who didn't really want to? Sure he would have sat through it but would he get out of it as much as I would? Nah.
Why you ask? Because the whole movie is so magically romantic, beautifully shot, wonderfully acted, and the best part? Mr. Darcy!! I swoon over him. Women don't swoon anymore. But I did.
If you want to know what that feels like, watch for yourselves.
Yes, I am an independent, strong woman but not so much that I cannot admit that I love the formalities of the 18th Century. An era when men picked up your dropped handkerchief, jumped on a horse and rode off into the night to save your family's reputation from sure ruin, waltzed with you, and confessed their dying devotion to you in such poetic ways. Men were gallant, polite, and spoke oh, so elegantly. I am not saying that these men don't exist now, I'm sure they do. Just none like Mr. Darcy.
My husband is probably more of a romantic than I, and he has been known to pamper me. "I love you babe" :) But in a world of computers, cell phones, Xbox, Nintendo, and so many things that have to get done, a girl likes to dream, if only for 130 minutes of her day.
And Mr. Darcy? If I were not married, and he existed? Andru would have some competition. I recommend, for the woman who is in the mood for a little romance and your sweetie is knee deep in emails, curl up on the couch with some hot chai and a soft blankie and dream a little with the dashing Mr. Darcy.
World’s Thinnest DVD Discs
Posted by John Goulden Categories: Corporate News, Storage,
Using an innovative nanoimprint technology, Hitachi Maxell, LTD have succeeded in creating the world’s thinnest DVD media at 0.092mm thick. This makes the new disc approximately 1/13th the thickness of existing DVD media, yet allows it to retain the full 4.7GB capacity. Obviously a single disc isn’t going to gain you any benefits simply by being thinner, but if you were to take a stack of say 100-discs, make them double-sided (9.4GB), stuff them into a cartridge 2.5-inches thick, and slap a fancy acronym like SVOD on it, you’d have a digital library cartidge with almost 1TB of capacity (940
GB). SVOD, which stands for Stacked Volumetric Optical Disc, really starts to shine when coupled with the next generation of blue laser technology, as a stack of 50GB discs could increase storage capacity to 5TB.
When released the discs will be priced at under $325 for a 100-disc cartridge.
Read More 
| Maxell (jp) via Pink Tentacle
Unpacking WrestleMania: The Complete Anthology
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Sports, DVD, Features,
Our friends over at World Wrestling Entertainment just sent us the new WrestleMania: The Complete Anthology box set, which will be on store shelves tomorrow. Before hitting you with a full review, we figured we would drop a bunch of images on you so that you can get a look at the work put in to the presentation of the set. For a wrestling fan, it’s easy to see that the WWE chose the artwork carefully. One bummer is that all discs are dual-sided - this means no art on any of the discs themselves. Luckily, the WWE more than made up for that with the inserts and graphical interpretations of some of the more memorable WrestleMania moments from the past 21 years. Check out a host of images after the jump.
Click to continue reading Unpacking WrestleMania: The Complete Anthology
