Panasonic PZ81 Freesat Plasma TV Range

We touched on this briefly when we announced the launch of the Freesat service, but we thought it would be the ideal time to take a look at the range of Freesat inclusive HD TVs that are being launched by Panasonic. Available, we believe, sometime in June these TVs represent pretty much the entire hardware range that the average tech savvy consumer can actually get excited about.

The PZ81 series offers three different models of plasma television; the 42 inch, 46 inch, and 50 inch versions. The televisions obviously come with a built in Freesat tuner as well as the features that have made Panasonic televisions some of the more popular entries to the market – 3 HDMI outputs, Ethernet port, SD slot, and the V-Real 3 processor.

We believe there will also be two smaller LCD Freesat televisions although these won’t be available until some time in October.

Freesat has launched with a reasonable 80 channels of SD and HD televisual entertainment and this figure is due to increase to more than 200 by the end of the year. The release was a somewhat quiet affair and, in our opinion, there were very few reasonable pieces of hardware available at launch. The set top boxes represented pretty much the entire range, with no televisions and no PVR options available as yet.

100MB Broadband Coming Soon To Bournemouth Residents

I’m sure there are plenty of incredible reasons to live in Bournemouth, and H2O have released news that offers yet another. H20 intend to pioneer super fast broadband cables that run through the sewer system within the Dorset town with more towns to be announced in the near future. Companies have been toying with methods to deliver improved Broadband speeds to the country’s residents, and using the sewer seems one of the more viable and cost effective methods.

Work will begin on the network that is currently being offered to businesses, within the next 6 months. This means that residents will be able to enjoy super fast broadband (a term regularly thrown about by Broadband providers already) of up to 100MB.

Ofcom has been at the head of research to develop methods that offer improved Broadband. This action has been taken because the UK has one of the poorest Broadband options in Europe. In other European countries residents can already enjoy the kinds of Broadband connection that H20 wants to develop.

Increased Broadband, like this, will mean greater possibilities of on-demand HD TV and other services that are currently restricted by poor Internet connections. Virgin Broadband currently offers residents up to 24MB broadband and aim to increase their entire network to speeds of 50MB by the end of this year.

Source – BBC Technology News

Sharp X-Series Launches With Wireless Option (In Japan)

The area behind the television in our house is a space where nobody dares venture. The great wire graveyard where dust collects at an alarming rate could, though, be a thing of the past very soon. Sharp has released its first wireless television in Japan – the X-Series uses a Wireless High Definition Interface (WHDI) to do away with games console, DVD player, and even satellite connection wires.

A seperate box is provided, which is used to route the TV inputs through. This box can be placed up to 100 feet away from the TV and even works through walls using a 5GHz band. The X-Series of Televisions offer the wireless technology as an optional extra, rather than a standard feature.

Sharp has partnered with Amimon to create and distribute the technology behind the wireless TV. Chip manufacturer Amimon claim that WHDI enables 1080p high definition quality to be broadcast at speeds of up to 3GB/s with a range of up to 30 metres.

The X-Series is quite a breakthrough in TVs. The range offers 37” to 46” displays and was released under the banner of being the then world’s thinnest LCD TVs.

If the technology is effective enough, and affordable enough, it could spell the end of ridiculous lengths of cable between many of the devices attached to your TV set. I, for one, wait with baited breath.

Freesat Launch Products Look Limited

In light of the news that 98% of the population would be able to receive free satellite through the new Freesat service released today, we thought it may be prudent to look at the equipment that was immediately available. Unfortunately, there is only a handful of manufacturers making equipment at the moment but Freesat does run on open standards so other manufacturers are likely to join in the party once they’ve seen how successful the launch actually is.

The Standard Definition Freesat box offers an affordable way to receive all the standard definition channels. Bush, Grundig, Goodmans, and Humix all manufacture these as well as the High Definition boxes. Prices range from about £50 upwards.

If you want to watch High Definition channels through Freesat on your new Plasma or LCD TV then you will need an HD box. Humix is also promising the release of an HD box that incorporates the functions of a PVR so you can record, pause, and rewind live TV.

Panasonic are in the process of developing and launching High Definition TVs with built in Freesat receivers. While you will still need a satellite dish to receive the channels, this presents a good opportunity to buy a new HD TV with a good freeview package that is due to expand and include a lot more channels in the very near future.

In my opinion, it’s a fairly major mistake that no PVR option will be available at launch. However, if you just want a good freeview type offering and aren’t concerned with recording or any of the other features offered with a PVR then Freesat looks to be a superb option. The boxes are all relatively similar and you may want to wait until Panasonic release their impressive looking range of Freesat TVs.

Freesat Launches In UK

Freesat, the free UK satellite TV service, launches today. The free service, established by the BBC and ITV, will reach an impressive 98% of the population including many people that have been previously unable to receive freeview through their terrestrial TV aerial. Prices start at £49 for a standard box, plus £80 installation and set up, with no monthly charges following that payment.

A High Definition version is also available, costing a little more at £120 for the box – installation remains £80. All viewers will initially receive the full 80 channels on offer, and this figure will rise to more than 200 by the end of this year. Both the BBC and ITV hope that the new service will especially encourage an icnrease in HD TV viewing.

Pretty much all new TV sets are HD ready, but few people either have access to HD channels or are willing to pay extra for an HD subscription. With the new Freesat service this should be less of an issue and the service will launch with a BBC HD channel included. ITV HD is set to follow shortly.

The only people that will be unable to receive Freesat are those that do not have a clear line of sight of the satellite, and those that live in listed buildings and therefore cannot erect a satellite dish on the outside of their homes.

Is Blu-Ray Really The Future?

With HD-DVD being the Betamax of the 21^st century, Blu-Ray players are, apparently, the future. Of course, the PS3 offers one of the most affordable all-round solutions to owning a Blu-Ray player, but we don’t all want to use a games console that bears a striking resemblance to a George Foreman grill to watch films.

Unfortunately, try though I might, it’s a real struggle to find any Blu-Ray players or recorders that stand out. News that Blu-Ray sales tumbled (from an already unimpressive figure) last month does little to make us believe that things are likely to improve in the near future.

Sony, presumably not wanting to compete with the PS3, are equally responsible (if not more so) than any other company. Their own efforts appear over-priced and under-featured compared to the PS3.

It is possible to get a Blu-Ray player for marginally less than the price of a PS3 but the hardware definitely seems to suffer as a result. Sharp have released a couple of decent efforts, in terms of price, but the sensible money still rests with the PS3 – for now, at least.

For those of us that are always on the look out for a new avenue of gadget dreams, the future does not look Blu. We are on the look out for Blu-Ray equipment to review, but if you see anything first, let us know.

9X Media Wins Multiple Monitor Peeing Contest

I didn’t really know one existed either but apparently so. The Masterplex started it all with a six screen multiple monitor rig. More entries subsequently joined the race, but all have been competely eclipsed by the 9X Media system. While it would work with as few as two monitors, it’s the bigger end of the boast that we’re particularly interested in.

The X-Top enables users to combine up to 64 screens in a multi tiled display spanning 1 to 3 rows. The screens on offer range in size from 19” to 40” and are high spec LCD monitors. 9X will completely customise your rig for you, and it’s a hardly surprise when you consider how much you would probably have to pay for this kind of set up.

I say “probably have to pay” because try as I might I can’t find any indication of a price, even for the “smaller” set ups. Again, though, if you have to ask… you know the rest. Incredible though it looks, I do tend to question the actual deployment of a 64 screen multi-tiled display using 40” monitors. I think you’d struggle to play GTA IV on a video wall that size. And another point, presuming you use 3 rows of monitors, that would require two rows of 21 monitors and a single row of 22 monitors. That’s just not symetrical.

Samsung Soundbar HT-X810T Due For Release In May

Samsung will release its all in one Soundbar HT-X810T next month. First announced at CES 2008, the all in one wall mountable home theatre system is the perfect accompaniment to a wall mounted LCD TV. The Soundbar itself includes an upscaling DVD player that takes standard DVDs and essentially converts them for top notch HD viewing. A wirelessly operated sub woofer is also included to maximise your audio experience.

Despite being a single unit, the latest Soundbar will deliver an impressive 300W of 5.1 surround sound. Plus, it will deliver the depths of sound that only a dedicated sub can produce making your home theatre enjoyment even more enjoyable.

The DVD Player is an impressive piece of gadgetry goodness too. It upscales virtually any DVD, in a majority of formats (including DivX, WMA, WMV, and all the recordable formats) up to 1080p.

In terms of form and design, the HT-X810T is designed to sit neatly below 40-inch wall mounted televisions and larger so not exactly ideal for your 15 inch portable.

Alas, there’s no real indication of a price as yet, which makes me a little apprehensive but I guess if you have to ask then you probably can’t afford it, right?

HP MediaSmart HDTV’s get Windows vista update compatible with Internet TV

HP’s MediaSmart HDTVs, has released its long-awaited Vista Media Center Extender update. The SL4278N and SL4778N model TVs should get the automatic update as long as they’re connected to the Internet. They’ll update with a fully patched version of Vista Home Premium or Ultimate edition machine and you will be able to access your Media Center library including DivX, Xvid, h.264, MPEG-2 and WMV media content as well as live TV, recorded TV and other media files you may have directly through the TV.

When it comes to keeping your Windows media center remote control there is a walk though available on HP’s support page to guide you though the process so you will be able to keep your Windows Media Center remote so that its compatible with the new update. The HP MediaSmart HDTV is compatible with the Internet TV which is designed for both TV and PC screens and is accessible via these Media Center Extenders including the Xbox 360 extenders. Internet TV is designed to deliver high-quality video and media content streamed over the internet to the Windows Media Center. Users are able to watch full episodes of TV shows, concerts from music artists, high-quality movie trailers and clips from media sources such as MSNBC.

These HDTV’s made by HP allow you to experience full high-definition 1080p clarity media via the latest LCD HDTV technology. Apart from just being able to access thousands of movies, videos and music from online media sources you are also able to browse the web and use any software available on the Windows vista operating system platform.

Panasonic TH-50PZ70B Review Specification and Offers

Panasonic TH-50PZ70B

Save £300, now just £1499.99

Read more

Next Page »