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Cello Electronics intros HDTV that records to SD cards

by Darren Murph posted Jun 24th 2009 at 8:59AM


We'll go ahead and hurt the feelings of those in Asia, North America and the Cook Islands: this here set is bound for the European market only (for now, anyway), but hey, at least we know the technology is here. Over in the UK, one Cello Electronics has issued the first HDTV that records OTA (Freeview) content directly to an SD card, giving users an easy option for shuffling recorded content to portable players. The set itself boasts twin TV tuners, a built-in EPG, split-screen functionality and an integrated DVD player; as for sizes, you'll find it in 22-, 26- and 32-inch flavors. Sadly, you'll be stuck with "just" 1,440 x 900 pixels and no HDMI socket, but those who couldn't care less can take ownership starting next month for TBD, £399.99 ($661) or £469.99 ($777) in order of mention.

Update: Cello pinged us to say that all three models do indeed have HDMI sockets. The larger two have a pair, while the 22-incher has one.

Sanyo's PLC-XF71 projector packs 10,000 lumens for extreme brightness

by Ross Miller posted Jan 16th 2009 at 9:39AM

While not high definition like the company's most recent projectors, Sanyo's PLC-XF71 manages to compensate with 10,000 lumens for some serious brightness. By comparison, the recently-unveiled PDG-DHT100JL sports 6,500 lumens and its sub-$2000 PLV-1080HD just 1,200. Beyond that, it's got a 1024 x 768 picture and a 3000:1 contrast ratio. If you don't mind trading resolution for intense luminance, look for it to show up this month for a papered Abe Lincoln under $17,000.

Warner and Paramount sign up for movies on SD cards

by Steven Kim posted Jan 10th 2009 at 3:49PM

SD card Warner and MOD
If you've ever wished out loud for movie distribution on solid state memory, a glimmer of a speck of hope has just popped on to the radar thanks to a partnership between digital media delivery system company MOD Systems and movie studios. Anchor Bay, First Look, Image Entertainment, and -- wait for it -- Warner and Paramount are among the studios signed up to set 4,000 titles loose at a kiosk near you. The bad news is that only standard definition titles are going to be set loose to devices or SD cards. That standard def limitation is a whine, we know -- we like where this is headed.

Poll: Do you still watch SD programming?

by Darren Murph posted May 17th 2008 at 12:00PM


With just south of a hundred HD channels on carriers like DirecTV, and even dozens on the average cable operator, one may wonder if there's even a reason for turning to an SD station anymore. Here at the Engadget HD lair, there's only a few programs still shot and delivered in standard-def that we catch ourselves watching, but we'll admit, it's been an awful long time since SD programming consumed more than 10-percent or so of our viewing. Not too tough a question for you this week: do you still find yourself flipping to SD networks with the growing amount of HD content out there? If so, how much? And be honest -- is it solely due to your wife's obsession with America's Next Top Model?

[Image courtesy of Rickey]

Do you still watch SD programming?

ExtremeTech points out 5 HDTVs with quality HD & SD pictures

by Matt Burns posted Aug 27th 2007 at 3:19PM

Standard definition, something your Grandma's TV can produce effortlessly, is sometimes the hardest signal a HDTV to processes. Jagged lines appear, colors can roll vertical on the screen, and everything just looks crappy. Unfortunately for every HDTV owner, not every station is broadcasting in high-def so when you wanna watch, lets say FX, ya' have to deal with the crappy picture. In fact, most of the time that picture looks better on Grandma's TV but fortunately, ExtremTech has posted reviews of 5 HDTVs that deal with SD favorably: NEC Multeos M46-AVT, Sony KDS-55A2020, Vizio VP42, Pioneer PRO-940HD, and AOC Envision L32W461 - wanna place a bet for the best performer? Anyone? Obviously, the Pioneer Elite plasma came out on top but the other four served-up standard-def well enough. Most people don't buy an HDTV with SD in mind but consumers need to understand that not everything on their new, sexy flat-panel is going to look hot.

[Image via DigitalConnection]

Blackmagic intros DeckLink HD Studio: "world's first" HDMI / analog capture card

by Darren Murph posted Jan 13th 2007 at 12:07PM

Although Blackmagic already tossed out a budget-friendly way to capture direct from HDMI sources via PCI-Express, now the firm is hittin' the high-end by offering up the DeckLink HD Studio to handle both newfangled HDMI-capable decks as well as component / analog renditions. Thanks to the HDMI input / outputs and the multifaceted breakout D-sub cable, users can connect a variety of inputs new and old into a single card, and it also touts the ability to "instantly switch between high definition and standard definition video connections," giving you one less reason to ditch those analog decks you just can't stand to part with. The card supports HDMI (up to 1080i), component, and 14-bit analog video, and of course, plays nice with both Macs and PCs. Those looking to get serious about capturing, but aren't quite ready to go purely HD just yet, can pick up the DeckLink HD Studio for $995 and juggle both worlds.

[Via MacNN]

Legendary Yule Log broadcast pits SD against HD

by Darren Murph posted Dec 22nd 2006 at 2:53AM

Anyone remotely familiar with history in New York or the holiday season in general can remember the ole Yule Log broadcast that showed a burning fireplace with soft, classic seasonal hits cycling through in the background. While it's not likely to be the most invigorating thing on television come Christmas morning, the folks at WPIX, who are restoring the classic log show for a three-hour broadcast, say that it allows families to reminisce and think back on the gatherings of yesteryear. However, Jason Patton -- vice president for business development on INHD -- feels that the new widescreen version of the heartwarming fireplace is the superior rendition. Shot by Ron Roy in high definition, the picture will clearly outshine the "30 year old" version looping on standard cable, but apparently some folks actually prefer the classic look to the new. Nevertheless, we HD freaks should be sure to catch the fiery new version on INHD starting at 7:00AM on Christmas morning and continuing on for 24 hours.

Xbox's 'Dead Rising' seems to require an HDTV

by Matt Burns posted Aug 14th 2006 at 9:28AM

One of the Xbox's greatest features of allowing players to view the games in ether high-def or standard-def seems to have been forgot by Capcom in Dead Rising. Internet forums are flaming away on how the in-game's text are un-readable on normal SDTVs and users are claiming that the game must have been test only on high-def sets. This 'bug' effects nearly every portion of the game as the player cannot read anything in any conversation or receive the games instructions when viewed on a normal TV. So far there hasn't been any fix released, but Capcom is aware of the issue. We are sorry that we don't have a fix for you but just a warning to the owners of standard-def sets, don't buy this game - yet.

NOTE: We could not find any screenshots of the issue indicated above so if any of you are experiencing the same issue, feel free to send over a pic of it and we would gladly post it. Thanks

Read: Capcom forum post
Read: Xbox.com forum post

Panasonic 4GB SDHC card

by Matt Burns posted Jun 8th 2006 at 12:05PM

It's not everyday that a flash media card makes news here at HD Beat. This normal looking SD card though is something special to us and is hopefully going to help along the HDTV revolution. It is a Class 2 SD card that has the speed and capacity needed for high-def recordings. This little SD card has a transfer rate of 2MBs/16Mbps and a 4GB storage capacity. That Sayno HD pocket cam was the first flash based high-def recorder but it definitely was not the last. Panasonic themselves has a new camcorder, while it isn't HD, utilizes this new type of media. The speed of flash media has always been a stumbling block for portable HD devices but not anymore.

Unfortunately, this card is not backwards compatible with older SD devices. It will be available in Japan on July 15 for a price of $265.

The DTV transition is here

by Ben Drawbaugh posted May 1st 2006 at 4:21PM

Toshiba CRTOk, it officially started some time ago, but it is finally being adopted by the average consumer.

I was visiting my parents this weekend which is like going back in time in regards to technology. I love my parents, but it pains me to visit and watch SD when I am used to HD. While I was visiting my parents, they came home with a new TV and to my surprise it was equipped with a ATSC and QAM tuner. My father plugged it (I helped him lift) into his basic cable and and my mother easily used the remote to setup the TV and a few minutes later we were watching down converted HD. If you have never seen down converted SD, let me tell you it looks much better than analog cable. The cool part is that the TV automatically found the QAM channels and added them to the line up. Of course the channels numbers are not the same as digital cable, but it was still nice to have them there.

Here at HD Beat we are always talking about consumer acceptance and to me when my parents buy it, it has arrived. I mean my parents didn't buy a DVD player till I bought them one for Christmas in 2002!
Have any of you seen these new ATSC SD TVs in action?

Let It Wave introduces Super-Resolution Bandelet upconversion technology

by Richard Lawler posted Apr 12th 2006 at 3:04PM

BandletYeah sure thats a mouthful, but if it is nearly as good at converting SD sources to HDTV resolutions as they claim, you'll memorize it pretty soon. They claim their bandlet (or bandelet depending which page of the site you read) technology allows them to upconvert SD sources to HDTV resolutions with no flickering or artifacting whatsoever. We won't try to decipher the mathematic reasons they give as to why this is possible, but you can check out their tech page for yourself.

Their press release includes an endorsement by the namesake of the Faroudja DCDi upconverter, now all we need to do is see some products and maybe watching standard definition won't hurt so bad anymore.

Shocker: 32" widescreen set is smaller than 32" 4x3

by Richard Lawler posted Dec 23rd 2005 at 1:18PM


Screenmath.com

From the Capt. Obvious department, if you're shopping for a new HDTV, and you buy a widescreen TV (there 4x3 HDTV's also, which this site fails to mention), even if the size is listed as the same, it will be a few inches shorter in height. They've got a chart to make sure you don't actually end up with a smaller (height-wise) TV than you had before.

Of course, you'll probably be gaining quite a bit of real estate when you watch widescreen formatted programming like high definition broadcasts or DVD's, which in my opinion is a lot more important. I know I'm looking at my 4x3 32" Sony with a questioning eye now that I do all of my gaming in 1080i. I suppose especially for people who might not be getting high definition broadcasting right away (like 50% of you), the last thing you would want to do is spend the money and look at a smaller picture, so consider this an FYI.

[Via digg]




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