After initiating remarkable advancement in Walkmen segment, electronics giant Sony has just introduced their World’s first HD Video Walkman GV-HD700E. This HD Video Walkman has emerged as a portable solution to view your HDV and DV tapes on the move and features a high quality 7-inch (16:9) widescreen LCD with 1,152K (800x480x3[RGB resolution of]) and a versatile interfaces theat includes i.LINK and HDMI out. The GV-HD700E plays HDV also as miniDV tapes (SP and LP) and functions as a back-up deck for professional videographers because of its potential to record HDV1080i/DV signals from an external source. It is also worth mentioning that it has appeared as first Video Walkman that sports x.v.Colour. Some key features of GV-HD700E are: – Format: HDV / DV SP / DV LP – LCD panel: 7.0 inch (16:9 widescreen) – Panel resolution: 1,152K dots 800(H) x 480(V) x 3RGB – All-scan function – User-assignable LCD setup profiles: 6 (settings for Brightness, Color Level, Contrast, Sharpness, Color, Phase) Inputs: – i.LINK (HDV/DV) – Video (RCA x1) – Audio (RCA x2) – S-Video Outputs: – HDMI – i.LINK (HDV/DV) – Component HD/SD (Special D) – Video/Audio/S Video (AV Multi-connector) – USB – Memory stick Slot – Headphone jack – Stereo speaker – Battery: InfoLITHIUM L / M series – DC power in You can use this portable device via InfoLITHIUM L and M Series batteries after hunting it from Europe from September 2007 onwards, however, there is no info about pricing yet. Via: 100cute
BLU:Sens P27 PMP with FM radio
Another entrant in portable media player segment from BLU:Sens called P27. Like other devices this smart device also sports videos in AVI, MPEG formats, MP3 music files and can display JPEG images. It comes packed in a frame that measures 2.56″ wide, 1.97″ tall and 0.39″ thick with a 2.4 inch, 260,000 color display. The sleek frame also comes equipped with a built-in speaker, a voice-recording microphone and a microSD card slot to expand the internal 1GB of storage. It also offers FM radio that you can also record. The P27 is available in Spain and to get it one has to shell about $121 or 90 Euros. Via: Slipperybrick
Apple selling DRM-free music, still demands customer information
It is very pleasant to hear that Apple is also starting to sell DRM-free music but in fact Apple’s new DRM-free music still have a users full name and account embedded in them. It is still controversial that what kind of DRM-free music Apple is offering because it is reportedly said that Apple still embeds your account information as well as your e-mail information in all songs sold on the store that also includes DRM-free music. Earlier, no one could imagine sharing the DRM music. Now, consumers have got the right to share their tunes according to their will and that data can be tracked from person or persons who bought it and moreover it can also be misused by some miscreants over the internet. But now, the question arises what Apple will do with all this information? Though, there are various methods to determine who is sharing music but by tracking buyer’s info will put copyright holder in black list. It would be quite difficult for iTunes to track every song for the embedded data into it and on finding any user with a song from a different user it can alert Apple. But would this really solve the purpose, if not then what does Apple want to do with all this information in its database. Even if iTunes performs up to the expectations of Apple and alerts it about the song used by someone other than the user, then also Apple can do nothing because the media industry is already quite obsessed with the idea of media sharing among users. Moreover there are various torrents and P2P connections from where data can be accessed without paying for it. May be Apple has something in store to cater to that too. Image Via: Arstechnica
Internet Competition Makes Music Buys More Affordable
The music industry and the internet have had a fairly tumultuous relationship ever since the days of Napster. Ever since the revolutionary music sharing site was shut down almost 10 years ago, internet users and musicians, alike, have been discussing, some more heatedly than others, the merits and ethics involved in the issues raised by the internet and its effect on the music industry. Independent musicians often cite the fact that the internet provides a platform which gets their music to the world in a way never before possible. Bigger bands, such as Metallica and Blink 182 are of the consensus that downloading costs them millions of dollars per year. Napster was shut down in 2001; however, peer-to-peer file sharing soon took its place. Many countries, including Sweden (the home of Pirate Bay), have passed legislation, which makes it illegal for people to download creative property that is protected by copyright. The penalties include heavy fines and even prison sentences. Alternatives, however, are arising. Many bands have put entire albums up on their websites for download. Radiohead shocked the record industry by offering their 2007album “In Rainbows” for as much, or as little, as the listener wished to pay for it. Other bands have offered their albums for download at a cost lower than that offered by the major retailers. Alongside this, another alternative has surfaced. Companies such as offers.com, have begun offering deals, coupons and discounts for and at major retail stores, for those who want the music, but not to miss out on taking home the cover. Companies like offers.com don’t deal exclusively with music; however, their invention has produced yet another interesting facet and alternative to the ongoing conflict. The future of the music industry is as assured as ever. However, the form it will take and whether the roles of its greatest profiteers, the record companies, will dissolve is another question all together. As always, we shall wait with bated breath to see what happens next.
Microsoft accused of cheating patent holders in granting royalty-free license
A recent suit filed by a group of interactive television patent holders alleged that Microsoft is cheating them in giving away a royalty-free license on the reasons that the company was not looking forward to make public its own DVR system. Just weeks after talks came to pass between the group of patent owners- being run under the banner of Intellivision, not linked to the 90s game console and Microsoft, the corporation started on and set off advertising for its Ultimate TV DVR product. The talks according to the grapevine came to pass in 2001, hence it seems to be a little odd that the designers awaited till January of 2007 with a view to filing their claim to nullify the original licensing deal plus get unstipulated dents, of course. Microsoft hasn’t up till now acted in response to the case but to file a merely procedural motion, hence we are going to have to await to make out how this one play out. Read
TurboLinux Wizpy flaunts the PC-bootable version of the Linux
We would not be wrong at all to comment that we now live in the that boasts of quite a few state of the art “digital music and video players”. Supporting the good old Linux operating system, this portable media player (PMP) gets a heavy name too -TurboLinux Wizpy. It incorporates the PC-bootable version of the Linux operating system that transforms your PMP interface for that up to date PC experience. In order to boot Linux into this PMP you have to simply connect it to your PC’s USB port. It’ revolutionary multimedia software helps you playback Ogg, MP3, WMA, XviD, MPEG 4, and JPEG file formats. It can record as well as make you listen to your favorite radio station channels, isn’t this amazing? It will come in two variants -2 GB and 4 GB. It will be out at the world front this month. So, are you all set to grab one for yourself? Via: Ubergizmo
Burton Audex iPod Field Jacket- Happy ears for winter sports!
If you are a regular at ski holidays, you must be indulging in a lot of winter sports. After all, who goes to a ski holiday and does not ski? Next time you go, though, make sure you get a Burton Audex iPod Field Jacket if you like listening to music while outdoors. This is an extremely elegant and efficient way to listen to your iPod even while you are out in the mountains skiing or snowboarding. Priced at almost $400, this is not a cheap jacket. But it is a high end snow jacket that comes with an iPod remote control. Next time you take a spill in the snow, while skiing, you will not have to see your snowboard and iPod run off in all directions. This time, with the Burton jacket, the MP3 player at least will stay put. If you like your music when skiing, this is necessary equipment. It has a very trendy design, and it is manufactured using duress proof, high tech material. It has taped seams, fabrics that are well laminated, and it fits compactly to your body to keep the moisture away. It has scores of zippered pockets. Some are large, where you can store your snow gloves; some are just small enough for your ear buds. There is also a pocket inside the jacket just for the iPod. Your music sits here, and plays into your ears through a pair of earphones that plug their way through a specially designed port in the jacket.
BlueRaven’s new portable media player with DVR
To contest other available products with some amendments that you might plan to buy, Blue Raven’s has introduced its new device in the market called MediaMate. This new portable media device comes with two different storage capacities to store plenty of video, that is 7040, 40GB for $380 and 7080 80GB for $430. It weighs only 1.5 pounds and measures 8 x 4.6 x 1-inches, it plays OGG, MP3, WMA files, VOB video playback and also supports AVI and MPG containers with MPEG-4 ASP and MPEG 2 efficiently if you don’t want to transcode your H.264, DivX, XviD, etc. The device also offers replaceable battery, 7-inch 480 x 234 display and stick with an Archos if you are looking ahead to record TV to your player but frankly quoting that the device does not seems quite impressive to me even if I have to shell $100 to get it. Via: Gigabeat
Audiovox’s new MP3 player costs just $29.99
I never imagined that one day I will get an MP3 player for which I only have to shell $29.99 for 1GB memory or you can also go for another version that is only for $19 with 512 MB memory. Yes, this is not a joke that I cracked, but Audiovox has just unveiled their new products to defeat other available products already ruling our shelves with costly price tags. This MP6610f comes with FM radio with 20 presets, a bright OLED display, an equalizer, WMA support and with many other common features. The battery life is only for few hours but to get MP3 player for such a low price, I think is not bad. Via: Chipchick
3d TVs are Starting to Hit Their Stride
Believe it or not, 3d technology is actually older than ordinary televisions. It was first developed in the 1880s, when a film of such an incredible activity as watching a woman brush her hair was considered to be a feat of the ages. As movies of the 2d variety began to be made, 3d films developed at roughly the same pace. Of course, it was a bit more difficult to produce a 3D video than one that is only watched “flat,” as the hardware required was somewhat more expensive to build and operate. Of course, as movies and TV became more main stream, the viewing public became aware of the down sides that most early (accessible) 3d movies presented. For one thing, they often required specialized glasses, which looked goofy and were easy to lose. And of course, even if you did not get a head ache from those glasses, you still had the amusing choice of whether to look through your “red seeing” eye or your “blue seeing” one. Fortunately, this is no longer the 1950s. Through very complicated technologies (such as attaching two cameras together side by side), a picture can be created, which seems to “pop out,” and can even be seen from different angles by simply moving your head. In the case of the World Cup, it might actually feel as if you’re a ref on the field, watching every step of the action. What is truly incredible about today’s 3d experience is that in some cases, it does not even require 3d glasses. Of course, in some cases it still does… but those glasses are not so much the “red eye / blue eye” head ache producers. They look a lot more like old fashioned pilot goggles and seem almost stylish. Hopefully, the goggles come with a fancy scarf.