Jun 14
At E3 today in LA Microsoft announced a new slimmer version of the XBOX 360. While many will drool at the sleek black design and other new(ish) features including build-in Wi-Fi (about time) and larger 250GB hard disk I can’t held but think that they missed a trick by not including at least one model with Blu-ray. Many PS3 machines are used for HD movie playback and the fact that the new XBOX is much quieter (long over due, my own original 360 sounds like a 747 after being on a few minutes) could have helped. Perhaps it’s due to the fact that Microsoft wants you to download it’s much lower quality (than Blu-Ray) movies from the online store and that they do not have a vested interest or directly make money in the same way as Sony who own their own movie studio from movie sales. It could also be the ‘not invented here’ syndrome or that they don’t want to be seen endorsing a Sony technology. What ever the reason it looks like an opportunity may have been missed for Microsoft to get embedded in your AV stack, at least you can copy lots of games from that old DVD technology to the bigger hard disk
Jun 12
Are we seeing 3D technology launching before its ready and causing its own demise before it gets off the ground. With no single company or association coordinating standards we are seeing manufacturers rush out 3D technology with no content and incompatibility. The other worrying aspect is that movie studios are happy to sign exclusive deals with hardware manufacturers for then to bundle their movies. While this may give the studios initial guaranteed sales it limits the library of titles visible to the public. We need to maximise the number if titles open to all, not buy a 3D TV from manufacturer A and get a specific movie or buy a different manufacturers TV and get movie B and have no access to movie A. If there is one thing that the industry should have learnt over the years its that software sells hardware. The recent victory of Blu-ray over HD DVD may have been influenced by the PlayStation 3 but this seems to have gone to the hardware manufacturers heads and they have forgotten that if we buy a 3D TV we want to watch 3D. Quite honestly if you purchase a 3D TV now your only asking for trouble when the content does become available. This Christmas don’t expect friends and family to be able to bring their own glasses with them when they visit, chances are that their glasses will not work with your TV and I for one will not be purchasing a new 3D TV and six pairs or glasses at over £100 each for the family and more pairs for grandparents, i would be looking at around £1,000 for the family to sit down to a 3D movie.
We have perhaps the biggest chance for the 3D industry to get behind an event right now in the football (soccer) world cup. We have Sony running 3D TV adds during the games and on the hoardings but there is no way of watching these games in 3D. In the UK ITV and BBC have the broadcast rights for the tournament but only Sky are currently broadcasting 3D but they don’t have rights for the world cup so they can’t broadcast the games that apparently Sony are recording in glorious 3D, perhaps Sony will compile the highlights on a 3D Blu-ray after the tournament but what are the chances you’ll have to buy a Sony TV to get it.
Our advice – hold off your 3D TV purchase until 2011, there may be more to watch and with any luck the manufacturers will have seen the light and sorted out some interoperability between their systems. If you need to replace your current 2D TV this year and are looking at a large high end screen at the top of a manufacturers range then you might as well get 3D as they appear to be good 2D TVs as well, just keep in mind that you may end us only using it for 2D in the future.
May 25
Late in the making but click the link for our Avatar review
May 18
If you in the UK now is the perfect time to pick up a new flat screen TV. with the football World Cut starting soon there are lots of great offers in the electronics stores and supermarkets. electronics store Curry’s is offering a online virtual football game where you can win a 46″ Samsung LDC 3D TV with two pairs of 3D specs.
Curry’s on-line game is part of their “Cash for Goals” promotion that offers £10 cash back for each goal that England score in the World Cup for those fans purchasing a TV over the value of £599.
for full details visit www.cashforgoals.co.uk/game/
May 18
Good news for all those caught out by disk and player updates. Pioneer’s new BDP-LX53 and BDP-330 Blu-ray players will now automatically query Pioneers servers for firmware updates and prompt the user to install them. This is the way PC’s do updates so it’s about time your Blu-ray player did the same. In addition to wired internet connection both players can be upgraded to Wi-Fi wireless internet access.
Pioneer also announced that both players will be supported by their iControlAV iPod/iPhone app.
May 18
Posts and reviews have been a little light of late. I’ll be working a lot more on the site and reviews now and am also looking at a site revamp
Apr 11
Released tomorrow in the UK, follow the link for a review of Law Abiding Citizel on Blu-ray
Mar 15
Released today in the UK, follow the link for a review of Zombieland on Blu-ray
Mar 10
Below are the top stories from around the internet.
LG 3D TV line to debut in May – The Register
Samsung to bundle glasses with 3D TVs – The Register - Only two pairs?
Samsung is betting big on 3D TV – The Inquirer
Sharp Aquos LC-52LE700E 52in LED Backlit LCD TV Review – Trusted Reviews - Dam time to upgrade
Samsung SP-A600B DLP Projector Review – Trusted Reviews
Mar 10
First of all I’ll admit to being a fan of Onkyo receivers, my own TX-SR806 has served me well and has great sound as well as it’s THX certification works well with my B&W speakers. Now Onkyo has released a new line of upgraded budget receivers topped off with the new TX-SR608 their first featuring HDMI 1.4 and able to transmit 3D HD video to a compatible 3D TV. For audio this receiver also features HD audio decoding and Dolby’s ProLogic IIz adding two height channels. Another new feature is an analogue RGB video input for connecting a media PC or laptop, however most users should still use one of the I connectors to keep the video digital (wither via HDMI on your PC or using a DVI to HDMI cable). The 608 also includes Audyssey room correction and DVD upscaling to full 1080p.
This is how the new line up looks
TX-SR608 – THX Select2-certified 7.2-channel HD home cinema receiver with 1080p upscaling, analogue RGB in, Dolby Pro Logic IIz/Audyssey DSX – £450
TX-SR508 – 7.1-channel HD home cinema receiver with Dolby Pro Logic IIz – £350
TX-SR308 – 5.1-channel HD home cinema receiver – £250
Also announced are new all-in-one packages and speakers. To partner the above is a new budget Blu-Ray player priced at £200.
Mar 01
There are a myriad of reports and Sony has confirmed that there is a bug in the PS3 that could not cope with the date role over from the 28th of Feb to the 1st of March. Thousands (probably millions) of PS3 users are reporting that they cannot play online Sony states that off line play should be unaffected, however there are also reports that off line play is also affected. Sony is working on an update to fix it but this could take days.
Errors include:
* The date of the PS3 system may be re-set to Jan 1, 2000.
* When the user tries to sign in to the PlayStation Network, the following
message appears on the screen; “An error has occurred. You have been
signed out of PlayStation Network (8001050F)”.
* When the user tries to launch a game, the following error message appears
on the screen and the trophy data may disappear; “Failed to install
trophies. Please exit your game.”
* When the user tries to set the time and date of the system via the
Internet, the following message appears on the screen; “The current date
and time could not be obtained. (8001050F)”
* Users are not able to play back certain rental video downloaded from the
PlayStation Store before the expiration date.
The only good news is that Blu-ray playback and the PS3 slim are unaffected.
I’m actually seeing this on my son’s PS3. At the moment I’m keeping mine off until there’s a fix
Feb 17
Below is a summary of some of today’s top news stories
Sayonara Sony OLED TVs – the Inquirer
Panasonic preps Freeview HD Blu-ray DVRs – The Register
OLED displays will come along – the Inquirer
BBC clambers onto iPhone bandwagon – The Register
Feb 16
I’m not sure why I missed UP when it hit the cinema usually the kids drag me to Disney/Pixar movies. So it was with some excitement and a little trepidation that we sat down to watch UP. Well I’m not sure where the uncertainty came from but it was totally unjustified. UP is easily the best Disney/Pixar movie for a while. The story a little farfetched and with a few holes (with the age of the main character just how old is the baddie) is enjoyable. Being an older viewer the start of the movie can defiantly pull on the heart strings
The video on this Blu-ray is exceptional with nice bright colours and no hint of edge enhancement or artefacts. The sound design in DTS HD Master Audio is equally as good with good articulation and some nice steering effects, defiantly demo material in the way the original Toy Story was used in many stores to demo the first flat screen TV’s.
Extras are also good with some nice shorts and documentaries. If you can go for the deluxe four, yes four disk editions. With this you get the Blu-ray main disk, a Blu-ray extras disk a DVD for the kids to watch over and over again and a digital copy that works in Windows Media Player and iTunes.
Up is by far the best Disney/Pixar has produced in a while and if you where in two minds whether to invest in it, don’t hesitate. Get your copy straight away.
Feb 02
Universal has announced that Academy Award winning picture Apollo 13 will be available on Blu-ray from April 13th. This BD-50 platter will feature HD picture and DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. As well as a host of BD Live features including integration with the iPhone. At the same time they will release their pocket Blu app for Blackberry and Android phones.
Feb 01
Below is a selection of the AV news from around the web.
Mitsubishi unveils massive 149-inch OLED display – Guru3D
Finally – News on Samsung Thin Bezel Displays is Suckage – [H]ard OCP
