Unlike Sanyo, Pantel has a pretty good idea of when outdoor displays will sell: summertime. That being the case, Pantel has jubilantly announced that its 20-, 52-, and 65-inch models are all shipping. Each display boasts a "weatherproof" enclosure that keeps the panel within safe from unpredictable weather. These units were designed to withstand water, extreme heat / cold, wind and dust, and judging by a few unofficial tests, they'll hold their own against sugary beverages as well. Grab yours now for $2,999, $9,999 or $25,999 (respectively) and make your way over to the deep end.

When Sony introduced its classically-styled BDP-S350 Blu-ray player in late February, all we knew was that the $400 machine would land sometime this summer. Now, we're seeing a pre-order page (on Toys R Us, admittedly) that pegs the ship date at July 15th. Yeah, a fortnight from now. The price remains unchanged at $399.99, but at least you'll find Profile 2.0 compatibility as well as bitstream support for Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio, right? Okay, now that it's a date, who's buying (and more importantly, who's not?)

[Thanks, Rahul]

Bargain alert! No need to liquidate every asset you own to bring home (wherever "home" would end up being) one of Sharp's 108-inch LCD HDTVs, as Westinghouse has just announced that its 56-inch D56QX1 Quad HD display will be on sale as of this month for half of that. Yeah, we've seen it (along with its 52-inch sibling) around forever, but we're thrilled to hear that a handful of affluent aficionados will finally have the pleasure of watching one in their 4,800 square foot den.

[Via TG Daily]

You heard it right -- Hitachi's UltraThin 1.5 family that caused such a stir at CES is finally available for US consumers. Available in 32-, 37-, 42- and 47-inch sizes, the lot has been broken down into two distinct clans: the Director's Series (X) and Ultra Vision (V) models. Each member of the former comes with a 2-year warranty and a sticker ranging from $1,999 to $4,699, while the latter gets a 1-year warranty and price tags between $1,799 and $4,499. Curiously enough, it seems that several sets (the UT47X902, UT47V702, UT32A302/W, UT32V502/W, UT42V702 and UT37V702) may actually not yet be ready for shipping judging by their July to September availability dates, but we'll leave it to you to sort out the contradictions in Hitachi's press release with your dealer. Hit the read link for more details.

There are times when form overcomes any missteps in function, and we'd probably say this is one of those times. On the downside, Brionvega's 19-inch Alpha LCD / DVD combo display tops out at 1,280 x 1,024 and obviously boasts a 4:3 aspect ratio, but it can be equipped with a digital DVB-T tuner. Beyond that, you'll find a 1,200:1 contrast ratio, 350 nits of brightness, five-millisecond response time, 160-degree viewing angles and a small array of ports. There's also a pair of three-watt stereo speakers in there, and the integrated DVD player even handles VCD, SVCD and MP3 discs. If you've found yourself overran with disposable income, you can grab yours in orange / silver / black for €1,950 ($3,016) and up.

[Via RetroToGo]

3D baby, that's what we've wanted from home television for 50 years. Now it's yours... if you live in Japan anyway. Introducing the world's first 46-inch 3D stereoscopic television. Built by Hyundai, the 1,920 x 1,080 set is capable of grabbing BS11 3D broadcasts pumped by Nippon BS in Japan for the last few months. The ¥498,000 (about $4,857) LCD brings 2x HDMI and 3x composite inputs (to name a few) and apparently works fine for traditional 2D broadcasts. Unfortunately, you'll have to wear what appear to be 3-feet wide, 3D glasses judging by the image provided above. Perhaps they're meant as a radiation shield since the set is also the world's first TV with built-in "nuclear reactor" according to the machine translated text. Be careful out there kids, it's just television.

[Via Impress]

Remember that gorgeous new DirecTV HD DVR that stirred the pot at CEDIA last September? Sure enough, said box is finally available to the masses. Of course, it will run you $599 to own, but that's where DBSTalk's first look comes in -- to help you decide, not help you finance it. Those lucky buggers managed to snag one of their very own and test it out, and noted that it came stocked with a 500GB Seagate drive and the same software set as the HR21-200. Also of note, the HDMI socket is v1.2 (with HDCP 1.1), and there's more ports 'round back than you can shake a stick at. Anxious for more? Head on down to the read link for a bevy of snapshots and the full blown review.

[Thanks, Earl]

DNP -- the very same folks that developed the daylight-friendly Supernova Flex Screen -- is all set to begin shipping out its newfangled Supernova Epic Screen. Clearly aimed at high-end home theater enthusiasts, this particular projection screen promises to provide "widescreen reproduction of movies in all aspect ratios displaying superior high-contrast images in 100-percent neutral color." Additionally, the unit's motorized masking system is "fully adjustable from closed to 2.40:1 settings," and it even combats retro-illumination so you don't have to. The Supernova Epic is available in standard sizes up to 156-inches (though custom orders are welcome), and while pricing has yet to be divulged, we're taking that as a sign of unaffordability.

[Via AboutProjectors]

For those that can bring back wish lists from last October, you'll undoubtedly remember the totally promising Popcorn Hour Networked Media Tank. Now, it seems the device has received somewhat of a facelift since our initial sneak peek and hasn't lost a bit of its popularity. The A-100 media streamer enables users to stuff an HDD within and transfer files via BitTorrent when not dishing out all sorts of media or acting as a NAS. Additionally, it supports 1080p output and plays nice with just about every format imaginable, including: MPEG1/2/4, MP3, AVI, ASF, WMV, MOV, H.264, XviD, AAC, WAV, JPEG and lots, lots more. Sadly, this $179 gem is currently backordered, and requires some sort of fancy sign-up process just to get in line. Still, with specs like these, the wait is probably worth it.

[Via BoingBoing]

While Samsung's BD-UP5000 still shows as unavailable until next month over at Amazon, it appears that the combo player is nevertheless leaking into select big box retail locations. Currently, the unit is out of stock online at both Circuit City and Best Buy, but a quick zip code check revealed that it was actually in stock and begging for an owner in select New York, Texas and New Mexico locations (just to name a few). Of course, it looks as though CC is charging a whopping two bills less than its scorned rival, so we'd probably head that way if at all possible. We're calling on you, dear readers -- let us know where the BD-UP5000 is (and isn't). After you snag your own, of course.

[Thanks, Bill M.]
Read - BD-UP5000 at Best Buy
Read - BD-UP5000 at Circuit City

Right on cue, the Venturer SHD7001 HD DVD player has gone on sale via QVC UK, and while all the specs look exactly as we predicted they would, the price is a hair lower than we expected. Pegged at £169.92 ($338) -- or available for two easy payments of £84.96 -- this 1080i player comes packaged with Troy and Hulk, an HDMI cable and eligibility for five other free flicks. Notably, this is QVC's "Special Value" of the day, so there's a good chance that the price will increase after the unit's first 24 hours on sale, but at least those interested in a cheap HD DVD player (and located across the pond) can snap it up now and save a few pounds over the alternatives.

[Via RegHardware]

Rumors were swirling about Samsung's BD-UP5000 close to the beginning of this year, and after things got official, more details were leaked out and we twiddled our thumbs while dealing with a last minute delay, all is finally well -- if you can manage to locate one, that is. Yep, the time has finally come for Samsung's own HD DVD / Blu-ray player to make its mark, and a fortunate fellow over at AVSForum has already managed to snag one and snap a few pics to prove it. Of course, just about everyone and their cousin third-removed has chimed in with a flurry of questions, so be sure and check out the read link to see if your inquiries haven't already been answered.

If you've been toying with the idea of ordering up one of Dell's XPS 420s, now wouldn't be a bad time to pull the trigger -- particularly if you're into CableCARD. Effectively immediately, users can configure their XPS 420 with single or dual ATI TV Wonder Digital Cable Tuners, and each one will only add $180 to the bottom line. Reportedly, the option will become a mainstay on the model, and if you're cool with the basics, you can snag a CableCARD-equipped tower for just $1,079 right now. Decisions, decisions.

[Via Chris Lanier's Blog]

Despite the fact that numerous websites have suggested that Panasonic's highly-anticipated, Profile 1.1-compatible DMP-BD30 is experiencing delays -- not to mention the fact that Amazon apparently thinks the release date is closer to December 1st than last week -- we're seeing reports that at least some Blu-ray aficionados already own one. Granted, these same threads also point out that finding one in-store seems to be a bit more difficult than landing one online, but nevertheless, it looks like Panny's $500 BD30 (also seen as the BD30K) is already available in some form or another. So, dear readers, what gives? Have any of you already had the pleasure of enjoying a few films on a shiny new DMP-BD30, or are all these so-called early adopters just blowing smoke?

Update: A number of our readers have successfully snagged this player (even in-store). If you've been waiting, now's the time!

Read - Panasonic's DMP-BD30 delayed
Read - Panasonic's DMP-BD30 on Amazon
Read - Panasonic's DMP-BD30 being received

Considering that the war between HD DVD and Blu-ray is still raging, we'd really be hesitant to jump on board NME's bandwagon. Nevertheless, New Medium Enterprises' proprietary HD VMD players are starting to show up for under two Benjamins, but of course, there's only a handful of notable films available on the format (for now, at least). Those still interested in giving it a whirl can jump on the ML622S ($189) or ML777s ($199) right now, but don't blame us if the content you're dreaming of never makes its way over to HD VMD.

[Via Technabob]