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Zune HD specs fill in the blanks on video format support, battery life and more

by Richard Lawler posted Aug 13th 2009 at 3:28PM


Now that everything Zune HD is official and available for pre-order, Microsoft has seen fit to loose official specs, putting to rest -- at least until we can do a full hands on -- questions about what to expect from the OLED touchscreen packing device. From dimensions (52.7 mm x 102.1 mm x 8.9 mm, 2.6 oz) to battery life (24 hours for music with wireless off, up to 4 hours of video) and charge time (3 hours, 2 hours to 90%.) While the official site (incorrectly) currently lists max video res at barely-better-than-DVD 720 x 480, we contacted Microsoft and received the official specs on video support, and if for some reason you needed to hear it again: the Tegra chip is a beast. Ready for HDTV playback when it's plugged into the AV dock, the Zune software supports up to 1280 x 720, 30 frames per second at a max 14 Mbps bitrate for WMV HD and h.264 sources. Confirmed still a bummer? No wireless video streaming from the Zune Video Marketplace, though the specs do indicate that purchases and rentals will work across all three screens, PC, Zune and Xbox 360. Check the corrected specs after the break, now all that's left is getting some alone time with one.

Update: Microsoft has hit us with the corrected & updated spec list with a slight change to battery and charge specs: 33 hours of life playing music with no wireless, up to 8.5 hours of video. 3 hours to charge from PC, 2 hours via AC adapter. Hopefully that's long enough to cover your one man rave in the woods far away from A/C outlets. Check the PDF for yourself, but beware, as Microsoft has informed us one typo remains, as the Zune HD can hold up to 22 / 48 hours (16GB / 32GB) of video optimized for the device, no matter what the official sheet says.

Continue reading Zune HD specs fill in the blanks on video format support, battery life and more

Toshiba's Cell processor powered TV still on for '09?

by Richard Lawler posted Apr 8th 2009 at 1:56PM


Latest word from Toshiba is that its Cell TV -- the network video slurping, six HD tuner recording, SD-to-4K upscaling, 3D GUI powered beast -- will launch in about six months in Japan. Previously we'd been expecting a 2010 debut, although both dates could be true, with Japan seeing the new technology first, Europe later and the U.S. likely somewhere in between. Can't wait until then? Check out our spy shots from the CES show floor or Toshiba's press conference.

Upscaling gets broken down and explained in layman's terms

by Darren Murph posted Dec 3rd 2008 at 9:34AM


Resolution+. Super Resolution Technology. Upscaling. Upconverting. You've heard it all, but what does it all really mean? Home Cinema Choice has taken the liberty of breaking down the art of upscaling to explain in-depth what's going on when pixels become slightly-more-detailed pixels. We'll leave the dirty work to the read link, but if you've been wondering just how good SD content could look (or if these upconverting technologies were simply sophisticated bottles of snake oil), you owe it to yourself to give this a look. As you could likely glean, the end-all statement is that upscaled material still can't match bona fide high-def, but it's still worth understanding the who's, what's and why's behind making your current DVD collection and SD shows look their best.

Hands-on with Toshiba's SRT REGZA HDTVs (and other old crap)

by Darren Murph posted Sep 4th 2008 at 7:31PM Featured Story


Man, what a toll the loss of HD DVD has taken on Toshiba. Judging by the vast expanse of floor space at Tosh's booth not covered with people (seriously, look for anyone in the gallery below) and the inclusion of CES-announced DVD / VHS recorders (yes, really) as premiere products, we'd say the outfit is still hurting from the outcome of the format war. In all honesty, we felt kind of sad sashaying through its installation while reading slogans like "See everything in HD (even the non-HD stuff)." We even viewed the Super Resolution Technology demonstration with an open mind, and while there's certainly a mild difference with SRT, these sets hardly make SD signals into high-def. Grab a tissue and wander through the gallery below.

Toshiba's Super Resolution-infused REGZA HDTVs get US prices / release dates

by Darren Murph posted Sep 4th 2008 at 12:39AM

Toshiba got official with its new RV / XV REGZA families last week at IFA, but now Tosh is debuting 'em along with a smattering of other lines at CEDIA. The main news here is the US pricing and availability, but if you care to get neck-deep in marketing hoopla, we'd be happy to oblige. The company is trumpeting its Super Resolution Technology (now available in the REGZA RV535 and XV545), which purportedly uses a "proprietary processing system" to "improve image sharpness, brightness and color, [thereby] enhancing standard movies, TV shows, camcorder movies and most video games to near HD quality." For details on how much he AV500, RV525, AV502, RV535 and XV545 sets will cost here in America, head on past the break.

[Image courtesy of TWICE]

Toshiba's new ZF LCDs include Cell-based Resolution+ upscaling

by Paul Miller posted Aug 28th 2008 at 6:33AM


As expected, Toshiba is offering a new (supposed) world's first here at IFA: a true upscaling TV, finally getting rid of the middle man for upconverting those SD sources. The new ZF Series LCDs include Cell processors and Toshiba's home grown Resolution+ technology, which does similar edge and detail enhancement to Toshiba's XDE upscaler -- sharpening detail, smoothing edges, and leaving the rest of the image alone -- but with the added fun of Cell power in the mix. As for the actual displays, Toshiba will be shipping the 40ZF575D (40-inch) and the 46ZF575D (46-inch), both offering 1080p, 30,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio, 6ms response times and Active Vision M100 HD 100Hz 5:5 pulldown processing, along with four HDMI plugs, component video, RGB and PC input. Right now this is just a Europe launch, and we don't have exact ship dates or pricing, but hopefully Toshiba will soon rectify that.

Gallery: Toshiba's new ZF LCDs include Cell-based Resolution+ upscaling

DirecTV and Comcast make amends, settle HD survey lawsuit

by Darren Murph posted Dec 21st 2007 at 2:02PM

Apparently, DirecTV isn't looking to pay its lawyers any overtime over the holiday break, as it has been settling outstanding lawsuits recently like it's going out of style. Just over a week after it put aside its differences with Cox, the satellite provider has decided to make amends with Comcast over a suit filed in May. If you'll recall, DirecTV was quite flustered by Comcast's "survey," which allegedly found that two-thirds of respondents preferred Comcast's HD picture over that offered up by DISH Network / DirecTV. Notably, the actual terms of the deal weren't disclosed, but spokespeople from both outfits affirmed that they were satisfied with the outcome -- which, by the way, does allow Comcast to continue to cite the survey.

But wait! 1080p really DOES make a difference! ...If you have the connectors

by Erik Hanson posted Aug 18th 2006 at 12:44PM

Our favorite HDTV celebrity-basher Phillip Swann has a guest column up on today's TV Predictions, with a couple of responses to the recent Microsoft exec announcement that "1080i is just as good as 1080p." One of the columns points out that people are probably using component cabling for their sets, which means they'll only be getting 1080i in the first place, so they can't do a good comparison between the 720 lines versus the "540p x 2" that 1080i gives you. If they'd just move up to HDMI (or presumably DVI as well) then they could really see the difference, says the columnist. Then there's a rebuttal to that, saying that many first-generation sets (like the CRT RPTV I have) only had component connectors, so HDMI makes no difference to the quality of picture they can get.

Of course, we pointed out when we covered the Microsoft story that they have a vested interest in making 720p sound as good as possible, given that they are pushing it as the "best" resolution for gaming, and viewed in the light that the PS3 is capable of outputting 1080p (on the HDMI-equipped model). I also believe that when more 1080p content and equipment -- Blu-ray and second-gen HD DVD players, for example -- take full advantage of its capabilities, 720p will look less appealing. Compare the 921,600 pixels of 720p versus the 2,073,600 of 1080p, and you'll see the benefits of the progressive scanning and the increased resolution of 1080 lines, while dropping problems with bob and weave (at least, for natively-progressive content). Then again, if someone smarter than me, like HomeTheaterMag, says it doesn't matter, then what do I know?

Pioneer releases "1080p-compatible" 720p plasmas

by Richard Lawler posted Jun 8th 2006 at 6:17PM


This is becoming a trend. Much like the just announced Hitachi plasma line, Pioneer's flat-panels will accept a 1080p/24hz signal via two HDMI inputs, but downscale it to display on a 1024x768 screen. The PDP-4270HD, PDP-5070HD and PDP-6070HD are available now and will retail for $3,500, $4,500 and $7,500, respectively. The 50- and 70-inch models have a native resolution of 1365x768. The sets feature detachable bottom-mounted speakers, ATSC and NTSC tuners, CableCard support and 3:3 pulldown for film-based material. They've also made many improvements to the construction of the screen (Crystal Emissive Layer, red and blue phosphors, color filter, etc.) to improve viewing quality.

It seems not-1080p has a new wrinkle, where first we had TVs that displayed it and couldn't accept it, we are now seeing a bevy of of panels that accept it but don't display it. A few posters on AVS Forum were very impressed by the glass technology in earlier models and anticipate even better performance with 1080p inputs, but we're not convinced. Anyone out there ready to drop 3 large on a 1024x768 plasma and tell us how satisfying it is?

As it stands, we will likely have to wait until Pioneer ships their (now-delayed) Blu-ray player before we get a true 1080p plasma.

[Updated native resolution of 50- and 70-inch, title for clarity]

Hitachi 32HLT79 and 37HLT79 1080p LCDs...aren't

by Richard Lawler posted Jun 7th 2006 at 7:29PM

Remember those too good to be true priced to move 32- and 37-inch Hitachi 1080p LCDs we told you about? Turns out they were just that, while the image processor inside the panels is 1080p, the screens themselves are 1366x768 (720p) native. The guys at TG Daily spoke with Hitachi and confirmed this, looking at the original press release it is easy to see how the mistake was made. It doesn't mention the actual resolution of the screens anywhere, despite highlighting the aforementioned processing, refresh rate model #s and price. The Hitachi rep is quick to tell us that for typical viewing distances for that screen size 720p will be just fine which may be true for most, but we'd prefer less processing instead of more, even if it is 1080p. Worse, such terminology makes the 1080p debate just that much more confused.

However if you really need a sub-$3,000 1080p TV LCD the Westinghouse 37-inch LVM-37w3 is available for much less than $2k and supports 1080p input, while the just announced LVM-47w1 47-inch model will also retail for less than $3,000. As an additional bonus, they have a very clear list of specifications on their website. We'll be watching to see if that Hitachi Ultravision 32HLT79 and 37HLT79 hit our local electronics store with big 1080p stickers on them.

HDBeat Poll: which resolutions are high-def?

by Kevin C. Tofel posted Mar 6th 2006 at 2:09PM

We warned you the poll was coming and here it is. This poll allows for multiple choices, meaning you can "vote" for more than option here. Right off the bat, we better see everyone vote for the 1920 x 1080 resolution because we all see eye-to-eye on that one, right? Let's forget progressive and interlaced for a second and keep this simple: which of the resolutions listed in the poll do you consider to be high-definition? The voting is open now; let's keep the fight clean, OK? No rabbit punches or discussion of frames per second; just a pure vertical by horizontal show-down.
Which resolutions are high-def?
Which resolutions here are "high-def"?
1024 x 768
1280 x 720
1366 x 768
1920 x 1080
Other (list in post comments)

view results




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