ITC: All-in-One, Home Entertainment System
Posted by bensto in Home Audio on 03 22nd, 2008
Maybe you think that high-end custom installs are getting too complicated. If you go it alone you’ve got a bewildering array of option when it comes to amplifiers, video processors, projectors, sound etc and that’s before you’ve tried to make them all talk to each other.
Nowdays they’ve done the hard work for you. The ITC One (Integrated Theater Console), the world’s first personalized, compact, all-in-one, plug-and-play home entertainment system Take a large box that wouldn’t be out of place in a high-tech computer room. Fill it full of best-of-breed technology (Bryston amplifiers, high def TiVo etc). Make a customised interface to control it all and Voila, you get “The all in One”.
The full list of toys is too long to repeat and includes mechanical as well as electronic devices. Think power conditioners, cable management, anti-vibration systems, your choice of game console, media center PC the list is endless.
It looks nice, since it costs only $24K and it has a space for you to plug in your iPod.
read comments (0)The upcoming PS3 firmware update 2.20
Posted by bensto in GAMES, Sony on 03 21st, 2008
Panasonic just launch their new Blu-ray player, the DMP-BD50.This firmware update allow the PlayStation 3 to play upcoming “BD-Live” Blu-ray discs, will make the console an even better Blu-ray bargain than it was before.
The upcoming PS3 firmware update 2.20, which is due before the month is out, will let you access the downloadable, Net-enabled features and widgets that come with the latest Blu-ray movies.
Those Net-related features are part of the newest Blu-ray specification—Profile 2.0, a.k.a. BD-Live, which is only available on a handful of upcoming Blu-ray players.
As I’ve blogged about before, most available Blu-ray players only work with profiles 1.0 or 1.1, and except for the PlayStation 3, they can’t be upgraded to Profile 2.0 (or even Profile 1.1, in the case of 1.0 decks).
And while Profile 2.0 Blu-ray players are beginning to trickle into stores—for example, Sony just announced a pair of upcoming 2.0 decks, and Panasonic has a 2.0 player set for later this year—they’re still way too pricey.
Finally, the free PS3 update should arrive in the next week or so and the firmware patch makes the PS3 the Blu-ray player to beat (lack of DTS-HD Master Audio support notwithstanding).
iSonicast,The Wirelles iPod Connection
Posted by bensto in MP3 Player on 03 20th, 2008
This iPod Friendly system. Monster Cable has turn up with a beautiful, cheaper choice they call iSoniCast. With simple two-piece audio bridge wirelessly added your iPod into your home stereo system, you can listen to tunes stored in your music player. The iSoniCast ships with a base station that connects to your home stereo equipment, and a transmitter that plugs into the bottom of your iPod and can stream music up to 30 feet. The transmitter also gives you the capability to control the music you want to play, so no other software or remote controls are needed. The iSoniCast wireless audio bridge is available now, and retails for $99.95.
