Denon cares about you, movie-buff, and you need only look at the company’s two latest Blu-ray player offerings to realize that. Enter the DVD-3800BD and DVD-2500BT, the former supports 1080p, 12-bit DAC at 297MHz, the exciting acronyms of D.D.S.C-HD (or Dynamic Discrete Surround Circuit-HD), and D.P.I.C. (Denon Pixel Image Correction), plus HDMI, RCA / BNC, and RS-232C connectivity. The latter is a slightly more stripped-down version which axes some of the capital-letter feature flourishes. Both players will be available in Japan in January of 2008, priced at Â¥336,000 for the DVD-3800BD, and Â¥231,000 for the DVD-2500BT.

[Via Akihabara News]
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from engadget

Panasonic’s got a slew of new set-top Blu-ray recorders today, all of which include AVCHD playback. Further details (like price) are scarce, but they’re launching in Japan today, so who knows if they’ll ever cross the Pacific.

• DMR-BW900 – 1TB drive, 1080p/24 support,
• DMR-BW800 – 500GB drive, 1080p/24 support,
• DMR-BW700 – 250GB drive,
• All three support: 7.1, DD Plus, TrueHD, and DTS-HD

• DMR-XW300 – 500GB drive,
• DMR-XW200V – 250GB drive, also has DVD / VHS
• DMR-XW100 – 250GB drive,

Gallery: Panasonic turns out six new Blu-ray recorders

    

from engadget

We’d like to thank Toshiba for going the extra mile on this one to confuse consumers ever so slightly more. The company behind the HD DVD format is apparently working on a new flagship Vardia DVD / HD DVD recorder (with hard drive) tentatively dubbed the RD-RX7, which is also capable of recording HD video to, wait for it, non-HD DVD DVDs (aka regular DVDs, like the kind your mom finally just got last month). Apparently Toshiba can even fit about 2 hours of HD video onto old school DVD media with “HD Rec technology”, which ain’t too bad compared to the 6 hours of HD video it gets on an HD DVD. It actually kind of leaves us wondering why the hell they’re insisting we upgrade to HD DVD, dunnit? Oh, and the thing also supports HDMI out with 1080p/24, not unlike the other HD DVD recorder being shown off today (about which we’ve little info), the RD-A201. Enjoy.

Gallery: Toshiba’s Vardia HD DVD recorder burns HD video to DVD, too

 

from engadget

Evidently, loosing the DSM-750 Extender for Windows Media Center just wasn’t enough for D-Link, as the firm seemingly felt the need to give loyal (and to-be) owners of the DSM-520 Wireless HD Media Player a nice bonus. Starting today, buyers of the aforementioned digital media adapter will have access to “more than 200 online channels,” as the unit can now take advantage of active-TV technology. The service reportedly “allows easy access to internet video and entertainment sites with a remote control,” and it also uses a “content aggregator developed by MediaMall Technologies.” Some notable channels include Comedy Central, CinemaNow, Google Video, Movielink, ROOtv Music Videos, Akimbo, MTV, Musicmatch, Napster, VH1, ESPN and FOX Sports, and there’s also international content out there for those willing to branch out. The expanded DSM-520 should be shipping momentarily for $249.99, and existing owners can snag the update gratis on October 4th.

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from engadget

It’s been nearly a year to the day since Toshiba unleashed a slew of VARDIA updates — the RD-A600 notwithstanding — but recently the firm got official with four new combo recorders. Starting things off is the October-bound RD-W301 (Â¥90,000; $785), which is the only newcomer to record to HDD, DVD and VHS, and it also includes a 300GB drive, HDMI / S-Video / composite outputs and a hybrid TV tuner. The RD-E301 (Â¥80,000; $698), which is also slated to ship next month, shuns the VHS crowd but maintains the other features already mentioned. As for the RD-S301 (Â¥90,000; $785), it keeps the 300GB hard drive but doubles the amount of built-in hybrid tuners and tosses in an Ethernet jack for good measure. The flagship RD-S601 ups the ante even more with a DV input, i.LINK connectivity and a 600GB HDD, and should be available for Â¥120,000 ($1,047) when it lands alongside the S301 in November.

[Via Impress]
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from engadget

TV junkies rejoice, Sharp just announced their new 1TB, Blu-ray recording slickster. The Â¥300,000 (about $2,611) AQUOS BD-HDW20 ships December 1st packing a 127-hour slab of silicon heroin to sooth your full HD television jones. Sharp’s high-ender brings gold-plated HDMI output supporting 1080/24p video and DTS-HD Master Audio, Dolby TrueHD, DTS-HD HRA, and high-def bitstream audio. We’re also looking at IrSS infrared, 2x Firewire, recordings to 50GB dual-layer BD-RE/-R discs, and a lickity quick TV recording fix in just under a second. A 500GB model BD-HDW15 is also available for a bit less but really, why would you?

[Via Impress]
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from engadget

For those scouting a simple way to broadcast content from your PC onto a TV sans wires (and regardless of format), Addlogix is demanding your attention. The firm’s InternetVue 2020 Wireless PC2TV Receiver enables users to “mirror what is on their computer screen on projectors or TVs,” and it also features composite / component inputs and 802.11b/g compatibility. Reportedly, any content (read: pictures, movie clips, presentations, live streaming sporting events, etc.) can be passed on from your machine to your television without worrying over formats or codecs, and it’s said to be shipping out as we speak for $249.

[Via eHomeUpgrade]
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from engadget