Gizmo Zone

DirectTV Portable Satellite TV Box

Looks like someone finally invented a device that allows you to watch Satellite TV anywhere. DirectTV’s Portable Satellite TV Box has a satellite receiver with LCD so you can watch it from anyplace.

I should probably mention that DirectTV’s Portable Satellite TV Box weighs in at about 26 pounds, which may have you re-think the word “portable”. It does come with a remote and is powered by AC Power, DC Power via external, and DC Power via battery. You can also plug in a PlayStation or whatever video console games system you have.  No word on price or availability yet.

Source: DBSTalk.com

Sony introduces BRAVIA S3000 LCD TV series

Sony has introduced a new BRAVIA LCD TV series called the S3000 series. The new S3000 series comes with a feature that Sony calls ‘BRAVIA’ Theatre Sync. Theatre Sync is a new way of controlling Home Theater setups using the HDMI interface.

Basically, if you have components that support BRAVIA Theater Sync in place and connected, a simple push of a button will turn on the appropriate components and select the appropriate inputs and settings.  Now onto the TV set itself. The S3000 features:

• Support for Sony LIVE COLOR CREATION
• 178 degree viewing angle
• Support for virtual Dolby Surround signal processing
• BBE ViVA technology ensures virtual central channel is clear and audible
• Includes hybrid analog/digital (DVB-T) tuner
• Three HDMI connectors
• Two SCART sockets

The first S3000 LCD TV’s available will be a 32 inch and a 40 inch display. Additional versions will be available in the fall of 2007.

Source :Sony

Panasonic announces 2007 line of plasmas

Panasonic has announced pricing and availability for it’s 2007 Plasma HDTV lineup. The lineup includes 1080p models in new 50 and 58-inch sizes, as well as a surprise with a 42-inch 1080p model which will be priced around $2500 and released in June. The 42-inch TH-42PZ700U has a 1920×1080p resolution, Built-in NTSC/ATSC/QAM tuners, 3 HDMI inputs and a slew of new additions.

Panasonic has gone and bulked up the whole line, upgrading the PZ700U and PZ750U series adding a couple new ways to calibrate the TV perfectly, 3 HDMI jacks, and a “special” new paint job that has a black chrome look to it. All this comes at a price as the TH-58PZ750U will be retailing at around $5,500 when it hits stores in June.

One feature I thought was interesting was the addition of SD card slots to the whole line, but the PZ750U models bring that one step further with the ability to play H.264 video off of the cards. This is a great feature and a much appreciated one for people like myself, too lazy to convert the video and burn it to DVD.

LG Electronics Launches Eight flat televisions

LG Electronic has launched eight types of new flat televisions, including two 60-inch PDP TVs featuring an outer case made of top-class wood from Italy, two LCD TVs and two PDP TVs, which won the world’s prestigious Red dot Design Awards, and two third-generation time machine TVs.

Attention was attracted by the 60-inch wood PDP TV, which boasts the greatest harmony with other furniture through the TV case made of Italian top-end wood, and allows the television to be brand-name furniture.

The TV is available in two colors, walnut and ash, at 9.9 million won (approximately $10,545.38) units.
Source -displaybank

Apple TV now shipping

If you’ve ever dreamed about watching all those TV shows and movies you got from iTunes on that new widescreen TV in your living room without a mess of cables and docks, then consider yourself one of the lucky ones. Your dreams have come true!

The Apple Tv automatically syncs and streams your entire iTunes library over a wireless connection to a widescreen enhanced- or high-defination TV, allowing you to do everything you already do on your iPod (except play games) on a big screen. Movies, slideshows, and music are fine on a 2.5-inch screen that fits in your pocket. And they’re pretty good on a 17- to 23-inch computer monitor. But you can bet that they’re absolutely amazing on a 1080i HDTV that spans the length of your living room.

Available now with free shipping for $299.

Technovision 205-inch Luxio LCD TV unveils at CeBIT 2007

If I had a big fat bonus this year, I would definitely blow it on the new Technovision 205-inch Luxio LCD TV. It has a big killer screen for those who love to watch F1 babes or MTV videos up close. You’ll need a crane to fix this thing to your wall for sure.

TV obsessives take note: the fine folks at Technovision unveiled a 205-inch Luxio LCD TV at CeBIT. (And to think people were drooling over 108-inch TVs at CES earlier this year.) You may well need to move into a bigger house just to be able to fit all 8.3 x 15 feet of the TV. The Italian manufacturer didn’t specify how much the TV would cost, but I’m gonna take a wild guess and say that you’ll need a job that pays a little more than minimum wage in order to afford it. Count me out, then.

Apple TV to Ship on March 20?

Rumors have always been associated with a big product. Earlier Apple iPhone was engulfed in a fire of rumors and now it’s the turn of Apple TV.

According to some recent rumors Apple is expected to ship Apple TV on March 20 and the product will be available on the 26th.

The rumor has gained some heat as Apple has reassured their fans with confirmation E-mails that the product will be shipped on the 20th.

Now let’s gear up to see if the product is worth the wait or not.

Desktop LCD Flat Panel TV & DVD Player All-in-One

The Desktop LCD Flat Panel TV is no more than 3-inch thick with the DVD payer side-mounted, and includes a compact swivel base. It features a small screen measuring only 8-inch.

Other features include a remote control and AC adapter, and a SD/MMC slot for memory cards for you to view slide shows of your favorite photos.

The Bathroom TV

Life will never be the same again if you have a 10.2-inch Bathroom TV installed in your bathroom.

Features for a bathroom TV:

• Telephone function by making use of the speaker phone
• Waterproof monitor and remote control
• High performance flat Color LCD

Now if only it had a touch-screen display or voice-activated functions, that would be even great.

Matrox TripleHead2Go Digital Edition

Matrox Graphics has launched another solution which allows you to connect up to three monitors to your workstation, computer or laptop. It is designed for graphics professional and gaming enthusiasts. It provides a maximum resolution of up to 3840×1024 (triple 1280×1024).

The latest in Matrox’s series of Graphics eXpansion Modules (GXMs), TripleHead2Go Digital Edition is an external multi-display upgrade device that connects via the dual-link DVI or analog output of your system and can support both analog and digital monitors. This device comes handy in many working areas such as Mechanical CAD, 3D Visualization, and Digital Content Creation & Animation. Using surround design functionality, it enables users to examine multiple views of a design or project and simultaneously view important information that needs to be accessed quickly.

Hard-core gamers will also benefit from Surround Gaming as it involves expanding supported 3D games across three displays and provides for a greater in-game field of view. It increases gamers vision and gives more of an advantage to gameplay as users can see more of the game; outside of their normal view without having to pan from left to right.

The Matrox TripleHead2Go Digital Edition will be available in Q2 2007 at a cost of $329.