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Western Digital HD gadget gets more web TV to home’s HDTV

October 13th, 2009, 8:25 am by

UPDATE, 11:52 a.m.: Western Digital confirms its new media player won’t play videos from Hulu or Netflix either. Also, more pics, see below.

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Western Digital WD TV LiveLake Forest hard drive maker takes another stab at the TV market with today’s release of the WD TV Live HD media player.

There’s a major upgrade on the new player: It can stream YouTube videos, Flickr slide shows or other high-definition Internet content on a home’s big-screen TV.

While such media-sharing devices have been around for years, the Western Digital gadget is built for 1080p HD video. Last year’s model was novel and worked well, but in order to play HD video, users had to transfer videos to a USB key or external drive and then plug it into the gadget.

The new gadget still resembles a miniature “MyBook,” the company’s line of external PC hard drives that look like black books. It’s very small — about 4-by-5 inches and 1.5-inches thick — so it’s pretty unobtrusive. It connects straight into a big TV via the HDMI port (an RCA jack and other components are also available).

Western Digital WD TV Live

Western Digital WD TV LiveMore people are discovering free videos online, not just with YouTube, but sites like Hulu.com, Fancast.com, Joost.com and Veoh.com that offer full-length TV shows and movies. But few devices allow access to everything available.

Western Digital’s is no different. The press release mentions that the Western Digital device allows access to YouTube, Flickr and Pandora. However, in the product specifications, the media player “Does not support protected premium content such as movies or music from the iTunes Store, Cinema Now, Movielink, Amazon Unbox, and Vongo.” No mention of Netflix Streaming either.

UPDATE, 11:52 a.m.: Western Digital confirms this won’t play videos from Hulu either or Netflix. Here are some images of what the software looks like on the TV. Click to enlarge:

Western Digital's new WD TV Live screenshot of slide show with audio in the background. Western Digital's new WD TV Live screenshot showing Internet radio Pandora.

I’m hoping to test this out soon to get a good feel of what it really can and can’t do. The WD TV Live HD is available at the company’s store for $149.99.

Earlier on TV gadgets:

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Posted in: Gadgets • Video & TV • • • • • • • • • | 19 Comments »

SRS Labs’ gadget could end annoyingly loud TV commercials

October 5th, 2009, 4:26 pm by

UPDATE 10/23: Added TVs/speaker systems that include TruVolume. See below in bold.
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Santa Ana-based SRS Labs wants to make some noise about its latest gadget: A device that steadies the volume of annoyingly loud TV commercials. (See lots of pictures below.)

The company, which has quietly licensed its sound technologies for years to electronics makers,  plans to launch a half-million dollar marketing campaign for TruVolume, a technology that knows when an overly loud TV commercial is about to air and lowers its volume to match the show being watched.

Coincidentally, legislation working its way into Congress this week would force advertisers to keep volume to a minimum. The Commercial Advertising Loudness Mitigation Act, or CALM, would prevent commercials from being broadcast louder than their accompanying TV program. SRS believes its technology could fix this.

TruVolume prototype from SRS Labs with HDMI input to help HDTVs add the volume-leveling technology..During a visit to its Santa Ana office last week, I heard what it was all about. Steve Roney Jr., product marketing manager for SRS Home Entertainment Division, played a TV clip from the recent U.S. Open with an IBM commercial. He played it on a Vizio TV, which has TruVolume built in.

With TruVolume off, the volume of the TV commercial was significantly louder. With TruVolume on, I barely noticed the volume change.

I recorded the experience with my point-and-shoot camera and put it on video for readers to judge. (SRS also offers a demo on its site.) Since SRS didn’t have sound meter, I added one from my video-editing program to show the volume changes during the commercial. You can see an obvious jump in volume when the loud TV commercial plays:

YouTube Preview Image

Yes, yes, you’ve probably heard about volume levelers before. There’s Dolby Volume in Toshiba TVs, Sony TVs offer “SteadySound,” to name a few.

But here’s why SRS says its TruVolume is different. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in: Video & TV • • • • • • • • • • | Comments Off

Will this gadget change the way you watch TV or use your PC?

August 7th, 2009, 4:45 pm by

Who here wants to watch Hulu.com’s free movies and TV shows on their big-screen HDTV? 

IOGear's HDMI Control Center controls multiple HD video sources with one keyboard.

IOGear HDMI Control Center

Irvine’s IOGear may have something of interest. Its upcoming HDMI Control Center, part of the company’s new audio-video AVOIR product line, simplifies the union between PC and TV and other high-definition video sources by relying on what IOGear knows best: a KVM switch.

I know I may have lost half of you with that abbreviation. But bear with me. KVM is short for Keyboard Video and Mouse and, in the past decade, the technology was popular with people who worked on multiple computers but only wanted to use one keyboard, one monitor and one mouse. A KVM switch lets someone switch back and fourth between two or more computers. 

Now turn that monitor into an HDTV and add in a few high-definition video players, like a game console and Blu-ray disc player. This is what IOGear’s new HDMI Control Center does. It offers a way for consumers to easily switch between a computer, PlayStation 3 and other video device, but use the same keyboard and mouse. That’s right — pull up Hulu on your laptop and you’ve got big-screen happiness. There’s also a USB port on the front (and two more in the back) for that occasional slide show of digital photos.

Ruben Lugo, IOGear’s product marketing manager for the HDMI controller, demonstrated the technology for me on a recent afternoon and I wanted to share my first look at the HDMI Control Center. I took my point-and-shoot camera and shot some video. Far from professional, but hopefully you get the idea:

Please enable Javascript and Flash to view this Brightcove video.

More thoughts and lots of photos after the jump…

 

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in: Video & TV • • • • • • • • | 4 Comments »

O.C.’s bamboo drives, laser TVs, more get nod from tech industry

February 6th, 2009, 12:05 pm by

The Consumer Electronics Association, best known for hosting the annual tech show CES every January, named a handful of Orange County companies today as finalists for its “2009 Mark of Excellence Awards” for custom home electronics.  While there is a ton of competition, O.C. has a good showing:

Best Control System:
NevoS70 Controller (pictured on right) from Universal Electronics in Cypress. This super-sized all-in-one remote can control everything from your stereo system to computers on the home network. 

Best Green Product, Service, or Corporate Policy
D-Link Systems in Fountain Valley, nominated for its corporate policy, which includes building Energy Star-approved products, and supporting local recycling, reuse and reclamation of consumer goods. Offers “green Ethernet” products, which put unused cables in sleep mode.

Fabrik’s [re]drive is made from bamboo

SimpleTech, a Fabrik Company, in Santa Ana, introduced the [re]drive (on left) last year made partly from bamboo grown near its manufacturing plant in China. The drive also has a fanless cooling system and a low-powered drive and an Energy Start adapter to help cut energy usage by 90 percent over comparable drives.

Best Video display
LaserVue TV from Mitsubishi Digital Electronics America, Inc. in Irvine. A new type of flat TV that uses laser technology to produce the video, which is touted as offering twice the color while using half the power as comparably sized TVs.

For a complete list of finalists, visit www.CE.org/MOE. Winners will be announced on March 13, 2009 at the Electronic House Expo Sprint 2009 in Orlando, FL.

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Toshiba and Best Buy launch laptop (exclusive photos!)

October 8th, 2008, 11:20 am by

Every few months, Toshiba America invites me to its Irvine headquarters to get a sneak peek at what’s coming in the world of laptops. The one computer that stood out? The Best Buy laptop, which was announced today.

While this new Toshiba Satellite E105 didn’t have ‘Best Buy’ stickers all over it, the computer does look different. It has a smoother, simpler and more stylish design than standard laptops from Toshiba. The companies worked on the product together as part of Best Buy’s Blue Label series, which takes in consumer feedback (longer battery life, lighter, great warranty …) to build a product.

Small design touches — floral patterns on the rubber feet (pictured on right), smooth Fusion finish — gives the laptop an updated, modern look.

Specs:

  • 14.1-inch screen
  • 5.5 hours of battery life
  • Weighs under 5 pounds, 1.2-inch thick
  • Includes backlit keyboard so you can type in the dark.
  • Also includes 2-year Toshiba warranty and 30 days of Geek Squad support
  • Windows Vista
  • 4 GB RAM (memory)
  • Intel Core 2 mobile processor
  • 320 GB hard drive
  • DVD SuperMulti drive with Labelflash technology
  • Built-in webcam, microphone
  • Bluetooth and Wi-Fi (802.11 a/g/n)
  • With these specs, the model starts at $1,249.99. Currently at BestBuy.com, a similarly built laptop is $1,199.99.
  • More details at www.explore.toshiba.com/E105

Click images below for larger photos:
   

Related:

Posted in: Computers • • • • • | 2 Comments »

Toshiba’s $1,119 projector actually just $899

August 27th, 2008, 10:57 am by

I never quite understood why there is the Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price (or MSRP) and then the street price. But when it comes to electronics, the two figures can differ vastly. One, obviously, is the price the manufacturer publishes as a guide for stores. The other is the actual price the product sells for in stores.

That’s the case of the new TLP-XE30U projector, which Irvine’s Toshiba America’s Digital Products Division announced this morning. The company pitched it to me as an affordable projector. But with an MSRP at $1,119, I’ve definitely seen more cheaper projectors.

Toshiba’s $899ish TLP-XE30U projector

But keep in mind, the company tells me, that this projector is loaded with useful business features, such as a super-bright 3,000 ANSI lumens lamp, plus the nifty blackboard function, which adjusts the projector to work well with any color background including a blackboard. Other features: Digital zoom and no cool down time necessary so it can be shut off immediately.

Best of all, the company says the street price will be $899.  And what do you know?  It’s actually cheaper than the online price. At Provantage, it’s $840.69. ValleySeek.com has it for $862.24. And Colamco has it for $870.32. Shop around folks!

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New WD drive starts at 27.5 cents per gigabyte

June 18th, 2008, 10:45 am by

Western Digital My Book Mirror EditionThe price of technology always tumbles. But it’s still incredible to me that something that cost me $250 for 2 gigabytes a decade ago now costs 29 cents per gig!

That’s what Western Digital offers with its new My Book Mirror Edition, announced today. I remember documenting the Lake Forest’s company other hard drive feats: Reaching 100 gigabytes in 2001, attracting fans with its 200 GB ‘Drivezilla” in 2002, and finally hitting the 1 terabyte mark (that’s approximately 1,000 gigs) last year.

The new external USB My Book includes software to automatically backs up photos, music, and other computer files. It’s called the ‘Mirror Edition’ because it has two drives — one to back up items, the other to back up the back up. In other words, it’s configured to be a RAID 1 system.

At $290 for the 1 terabyte or $550 for the 2-terabyte capacity, the My Book is, respectively, 29 cents and 27.5 cents per gig.

This isn’t the cheapest out there. By the time the drive is widely available in stores, prices are likely to drop. At the moment, another Western Digital My Book 1 TB drive at Amazon is $199, or 20-cents per gig. And a special at Buy.com this week advertised a 500 GB drive from Fantom for $69.99, or 14-cents per gig.

Prices continue to drop because of technology improvements and competition. While companies like Western Digital and Seagate Technologies still dominate in the hard-disk drive space, they’re competing with many small players who target a niche, such as laptop drives, portable drives or drives for large business users. But since Western Digital maintains its own manufacturing and assembly plants, it says that its costs are lower than the competition. That means it can pass the savings to the consumer.

Another money-saving benefit of the new drives, they use WD’s GreenPower technology, an energy-efficient system with better cooling and no fan so it consumes 33 percent less power than comparable systems (ie: save even more money electricity bills).

Posted in: Computers • • • • • • • • | Comments Off

Review: Toshiba’s always-on USB goes ZZZZ

June 11th, 2008, 3:19 am by

Toshiba’s Sleep & Charge USB technologyWhen I first learned of Toshiba’s USB Sleep & Charge technology, I perked up.

I get pitched on new computers all the time — but these days, I only care if I spot something different.Toshiba’s newish USB technology charges gadgets all the time — even when the computer is in sleep mode or turned off.

Since I often use my laptop’s USB ports to charge a cell phone, iPod or other small gadget, this means no more waking up to find my phone battery still dead because my computer took a snooze.

The Irvine computer company offered to send me a shiny new Satellite U405 to test out. It had three such USB ports. Before I even opened the box, my Toshiba contact mentioned that I would need to turn on this feature since Sleep & Charge is disabled by default. That should have been a warning.

Read the rest of this entry »

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