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Dolby's spreading the word, reaching out to eyes and ears

by Steven Kim posted Nov 5th 2009 at 11:19AM

Dolby truck
Our trip to Dolby's San Francisco lab facility was mind-blowingly great, but it turns out that the company is ramping up efforts to let you get behind the "double D" logo. Things have come a long way from optically-encoded film audio and analog tape noise reduction, so Dolby just launched a campaign to bring everybody up to speed on how much higher your grin factor will be if you treat yourself to great surround sound in your home and on-the-go audio setup, no matter if music, movies or games are your cup o' tea. Fire up your browser and hit the links below -- the company is blanketing the webisphere with a microsite, special twitter activity (a little birdie mentioned the magical "giveaway" word), YouTube and flickr. Things will get really fun, however, if you push back from the keyboard, venture into the sunlight and get yourself into the Dolby truck as it makes the rounds at special events around California. Planned stops for the funhouse on wheels are in the links below; you'll see why we'd like to "borrow" this little rig chock-full-of audio wizardry to go alongside our own CES double-wide.

Read - truck schedule
Read - campaign microsite
Read - twitter feed
Read - YouTube
Read - Dolby's flickr feed

Continue reading Dolby's spreading the word, reaching out to eyes and ears

Video: OLED technology explained using a pickle and an Igor

by Darren Murph posted Oct 2nd 2009 at 9:53AM

Say bub, do you care to know what all that OLED jazz is about? We'll bet you do, but you don't wanna read some dry polysyllabic academic paper written by five guys during their time away from the lab. What you want is a sharp demonstration, preferably by an MIT professor, that goes straight to the point of what an Organic Light Emitting Diode is. Igor, roll in the pickle, please. Okay, he's not an Igor, his name is Vladimir Bulovic and he does a terrific job of explaining how the passing of electric current excites organic molecules into creating those luscious ultra-bright colors we lust after inside ridiculously small spaces. Slide past the break to see the vid in full, and yes, it's just as weird as you think it'll be.

[Via OLED Display]

Continue reading Video: OLED technology explained using a pickle and an Igor

VIZIO Connected TV & VIZIO Internet App platform demoed at CEDIA

by Richard Lawler posted Sep 12th 2009 at 9:09PM Featured Story


With VIZIO's first LED local dimming backlit HDTV just days away from debut and its first Connected TV nearing production, we were able to lay eyes and hands on the television and its funky QWERTY Bluetooth / IR combo remote. Check the pics and videos (including looks at VIZIO's smaller LED sets ready to hit shelves this fall) for a look at our walkthrough; in the demos at least, the VIZIO Internet Apps platform was speedy and easy to use, however our experience with widgets so far has given us more than enough reason to wait for a full retail rollout before making any final decisions. One tidbit for those not ready to invest a whole new TV? The next iteration of VIZIO's Blu-ray player should pack not only integrated Wi-Fi, but also the full VIA / widget experience.

Gallery: VIZIO Connected TV & VIZIO Internet Apps demo

Continue reading VIZIO Connected TV & VIZIO Internet App platform demoed at CEDIA

Panasonic Full HD 3D experience eyes-on

by Richard Lawler posted Sep 11th 2009 at 10:13AM


It's been less than a year since we first entered Panasonic's demo trailer, the main difference at CEDIA this year was the addition of a trailer for James Cameron's Avatar. We were lucky enough to get an early look at the footage shown, while it shared much with the trailer released a few weeks ago, you haven't seen the Terminator and Titanic director's latest effort unless you've seen it in 3D. Check after the break for the rest of our thoughts on the 3D demo, and what the future has to hold for thid display tech in the home.

Gallery: Panasonic Full HD 3D Demo - CEDIA 2009

Continue reading Panasonic Full HD 3D experience eyes-on

Audio Karma Fest going down in Livonia, MI this weekend

by Steven Kim posted May 1st 2009 at 2:13PM

Audio Karma Fest 2009 logo
If you don't have plans for this weekend yet and you're in the neighborhood of Livonia, MI, maybe pencil in some time to check out Audio Karma Fest. It sounds like it's going to be quite the playground for audio- and videophiles, with demos of the really expensive stuff from some high-end brands. For example, McIntosh will be showing off the limited-run Classic System and unveiling its MR88 AM/FM/XM/HD tuner. Paired up with McIntosh equipment will be some high-ticket speakers from sister company Snell; and if you want to boost your speaker design chops, you can't do a whole lot better than sitting in on a Joseph D'Appolito seminar. Also getting the "for your eyes only" treatment is the US unveiling of the Marantz UD9004 universal Blu-ray deck. Hit the links for more detailed info on what vendors are bringing to the party; playground admission is $25.

Read - McIntosh at Audio Karma Fest 2009
Read - Snell's lineup
Read - D'Appolito seminar
Read - Marantz demos

USB 3.0 demonstrations dazzle: uncompressed 1080p transfer proves simple

by Darren Murph posted Nov 19th 2008 at 5:47PM


You've been adequately teased with what all USB 3.0 (or SuperSpeed USB, as we tend to refer to it) can do, but a gaggle of companies took the chance in San Jose, California to really demonstrate just how quick the protocol is. Most notable was the demo by Synopsys, which prototyped an HDTV video transmission system based on USB 3.0 and showed to wide-mouthed onlookers that an uncompressed 1080p feed at 30 frames-per-second could be whisked along at around 450Mbps. Sure, USB 3.0 has wireless HD to watch out for, but given that said technology is currently on track for an August 2298 release, it could really do some tethered damage in the meanwhile.

Industry professionals chime in with preferred demo material

by Darren Murph posted Jul 22nd 2008 at 8:55AM


Okay, so there are a few titles out there on Blu-ray, DVD and / or CD that simply shine. Those are undoubtedly the ones you bring out when looking to wow onlookers who are checking out your setup for the first time. But wouldn't you like to know which titles industry professionals use to seal deals and land clients? Thanks to a feature over at CE Pro, now you can. Bigwigs from SpeakerCraft, Richard Gray's Power Company and the Imaging Science Foundation were questioned about their favorite source material, and just to name a few, Cars, Casino Royale, The Fifth Element (the remastered version, obviously), Vertical Limit and Contact (DVD) made the cut. Hit up the read link for the full list.

Cannon PC showcases Media Center with six CableCARDs

by Darren Murph posted Jun 20th 2008 at 12:39PM


Ah, companies that don't just rest on their laurels. Not even a month after we heard that Cannon PC would be offering up dual- and quad-CableCARD rigs, in flies word that said company is demonstrating a machine capable of handling half a dozen CableCARDs. Yeah, six cards controlled simultaneously by one computer. For those curious, the devices in question were ATI's Digital Cable tuners, and while gloating about something is one thing, it's another to host a video up on the 'net for all to see. Six high-definition programs get recorded at once in the video just after the break -- c'mon, you know can't resist checking out such a feat out.

Continue reading Cannon PC showcases Media Center with six CableCARDs

In-store demo compares Monster HDMI interconnect to composite cable

by Darren Murph posted Apr 21st 2008 at 2:02PM


It's not like we haven't seen Monster Cables used in "A-B" demos before, but the latest in-store comparison is downright laughable. The image shown above was reportedly captured at a Fry's Electronics in Indiana, and as you can see, some clever bloke / dame figured they'd attempt to pull the wool over ignorant eyes by setting up an absolutely absurd side-by-side demonstration. The only difference between the two rigs is the use of a Monster Power Filter versus a vanilla power strip and a Monster HDMI cable versus a... no-name composite cable. Both devices were piped to a 19-inch 720p LCD, and according to the tipster who snagged the picture, the actual image quality was only marginally different -- presumably due to the "nearly monochromatic ocean scene" that did nothing to show off the differences between the two mediums. Donuts to dollars a coat hanger would've actually proven superior to the Monster.


[Thanks, P.]

Toshiba tosses in HD DVD demo disc with A205 laptops

by Darren Murph posted Oct 12th 2007 at 11:38AM

According to a number of new A205 owners, it seems that Toshiba is throwing in an HD DVD demo disc to get users hooked on the format from the moment they fire up their new rig. The unit, simply dubbed 2007 Demo Disc, reportedly includes a "a full 1080p version of the Take the Red Pill HD DVD branding trailer, as well as a series of HD trailers for flicks that are either currently available or headed to HD DVD, including Blades of Glory, Next, Hot Rod, The Bourne Ultimatum, Transformers, Oceans 13 and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix." Additionally, you'll find trailers for Stardust and The Kingdom, both of which just hit theaters in the not-too-distant past, and a seven-page pamphlet which simply plugs the format a little more. So for those eying a new A205, there's likely to be a nugget of enjoyment bundled in, but we wouldn't go throw down our hard earned dollars on eBay just to pick this up or anything.

LG to demo 1080p broadcast television content at CES

by Darren Murph posted Jan 2nd 2007 at 10:28AM

While we're sure to see plenty of high definition on display at next week's CES, LG is hoping to cause a stir of its own by broadcasting something other than finely tuned HD DVD / Blu-ray loops. Reportedly, the company will demonstrate "full HD" 1080p content on a series of 37-, 42-, 47-, and 55-inch LCD TVs, but the imagery seen will actually be experimental television footage from Nippon Hoso Kyokai. NHK, a public broadcaster in Japan, will be showing off content captured with 1080p "high speed motion cameras," and while most of its HD footage thus far has been beamed out in 1080i, this could potentially spark up more interest in getting 1080p to the home. Of course, none of this matters if you believe ole Mossberg's take, but we'll take all the televised HD content (especially in 1080p) we can get.

Sony's Blu-ray player demoed in the wild

by Erik Hanson posted Sep 22nd 2006 at 5:55PM

So here I am in San Francisco for a work conference, and I take some downtime to check out the Metreon mall downtown. I notice a Sony Style store, so I naturally stopped in to see what was there. Across the hall from the PS2s and video cameras, I discovered a Blu-ray demo setup -- complete with Sony's unreleased BDP-S1 player, hooked up via their DA7100ES receiver to the 60" SXRD A2000 model. The demo was sadly short and sweet, but the quality was very good, despite the TV being set on "vivid" mode, which I quickly fixed to standard mode *cough* It was obvious no one had really tuned the setup to its maximum performance, at least it was using HDMI cabling and was hooked up to a 5.1-channel amp.

Continue reading Sony's Blu-ray player demoed in the wild

Tokyo Game Show and X06 footage on Xbox Live Marketplace starting tomorrow

by Richard Lawler posted Sep 19th 2006 at 6:51PM

Microsoft had a pretty good response (1.5 million individuals downloading 5 million pieces of content over several days certainly qualifies as pretty good) to their Bring Home E3 event on Xbox Live, allowing Xbox 360 owners to download large amounts of trailers, demos and high definition video direct from the show floor, so for the next nine days they'll be doing it all over again. With the Tokyo Game Show and their X06 event in Spain coming in the next few days, they plan on making over 100 pieces of content available including HD video from the show. Since our passes to the shows appear to have been lost in the mail, we're definitely feeling this. Add in the ability to queue up 5 downloads at a time added in the Spring dashboard update and it's even easier to get everything posted for the next nine days. Make sure that you do because some of it will disappear forever after September 29th. We're still playing the Lost Planet demo from E3, as good as reading about all the HD gaming coming our way is, we'll take actually experiencing it at home any day.

[Via Xbox 360 Fanboy]

HDClips.net - high-def content via Bit Torrent

by Matt Burns posted Jun 13th 2006 at 10:09AM


Even though there is a good amount of HDTV stations available now, we still need more content. We stumbled across HDClips.net via their high-def trailer site of Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. The site has some forums and general news but the true gem is their torrent listings of HD clips. Currently there isn't that much on the site as they seem kind of new but we would totally recommend downloading some of the HD Demo Loops that they have. These are the loops that you will find in retail stores that make the HDTVs look so good. Our favorite one so far as been the Seven Seasons Sony loop - astounding.




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