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Ready or not, the latest 3D technology is coming home

by Ben Drawbaugh posted Oct 26th 2009 at 2:06PM Featured Story

ESPN 3D camera
Avid readers of Engadget HD are up on the latest 3D display and display technologies, but the same can not be said for the general masses. And before you start on the whole "I'm not wearing any stupid looking glasses," because no matter what you say, there are more people paying extra to go 3D movies than ever and the reason is simple; it's because this isn't like the crappy 3D you saw during the Super Bowl last year -- or that our parents grew up with. No, the 3D that Sony, Panasonic, and others are promising next year is like nothing you've seen. We've come a long way since the old anaglyph red and blue glasses that come in cereal boxes. So if like most, you could use a refresher on the 3D technologies and when you might get to use them, you should head on over and check it out.

Ask Engadget HD: How do you evaluate HDTVs in-store?

by Richard Lawler posted Oct 21st 2009 at 12:30PM Featured Story

We all know the situation, there's a series of impossibly large numbers on the spec card, the quality of the lighting is questionable, and a salesman who may or may not know anything about televisions is droning on about the death of plasma. Still, you want a new HDTV, and this is where the televisions are. What Sean wants to know is, how do you figure out the right set for you in a retail setting?

"Can anyone recommend video test files used to check the capabilities of HDTVs? It would be great to walk into an electronics store with a USB stick loaded full of video files to test color, contrast, motion etc. and see which performs best. Has anyone ever had success bringing in some of their own equipment to test with the televisions in-store? When I'm checking out different televisions, what differences should I be looking at to pick the right one?"

We've gotten a few handy anecdotes on how to evaluate televisions in even the worst store conditions, and we've seen enough specs to know they're never to be trusted without an independent evaluation, but as an informed buyer, what are you doing to tip the scales towards your specific interests, and not just what pads the stores sales or salesman's commission?


Got a burning question that you'd love to toss out for Engadget HD (or its readers) to take a look at? Tired of Google's blank stares when you ask for real-world experiences? Hit us up at ask at engadgethd dawt com and keep an eye on this space -- your inquiry could be next.

A first hand look at SDV and Copy Freely support in Windows 7 Media Center

by Ben Drawbaugh posted Sep 24th 2009 at 11:00AM Featured Story

ATI Digital Cable Tuner

If you have a ATI Digital Cable Tuner connected to your Windows Media Center then you've been waiting a long time for a firmware update. In fact, although updates were released fairly steadily during the first year of the product's life, the last update (1.17.1) was dated April 30th 2008. But this long delay has been particularly painful because this is the first update since CableLabs relaxed the DRM requirements last Summer -- it's also the very same update Microsoft has been touting since CEDIA 2008. So what took so long? We'd like to know, but one thing is for sure, CableLabs sure took its time in the approval process as the date on the firmware is May 1st 2009! Better late then never, so while you wait for the public release click through to find out what all the fuss is about.

Continue reading A first hand look at SDV and Copy Freely support in Windows 7 Media Center

Ask Engadget HD: 5.1 or 7.1 surround sound audio for beginners?

by Richard Lawler posted Sep 16th 2009 at 4:15PM Featured Story


We've talked about more than one surround sound setup in these parts, but for someone just building up their system it's always confusing to pick a direction. Luckily EHD reader Abul has come to the right place, we'll let him ask the question:

"To complement the audio found on Blu-ray movies or HD downloads, is a 5.1 setup good enough or will 7.1 surround make a significant difference? Any suggestions on best low end or mid-range setup?"

There's only about a million different HTIB systems or audio components to choose from, but for someone starting from scratch it's hard to know which item on the sales rack will be the best fit. Given what's available today, what would you start out with?

VIZIO Connected TV & VIZIO Internet App platform demoed at CEDIA

by Richard Lawler posted Sep 12th 2009 at 9:09PM Featured Story


With VIZIO's first LED local dimming backlit HDTV just days away from debut and its first Connected TV nearing production, we were able to lay eyes and hands on the television and its funky QWERTY Bluetooth / IR combo remote. Check the pics and videos (including looks at VIZIO's smaller LED sets ready to hit shelves this fall) for a look at our walkthrough; in the demos at least, the VIZIO Internet Apps platform was speedy and easy to use, however our experience with widgets so far has given us more than enough reason to wait for a full retail rollout before making any final decisions. One tidbit for those not ready to invest a whole new TV? The next iteration of VIZIO's Blu-ray player should pack not only integrated Wi-Fi, but also the full VIA / widget experience.

Gallery: VIZIO Connected TV & VIZIO Internet Apps demo

Continue reading VIZIO Connected TV & VIZIO Internet App platform demoed at CEDIA

Ceton is set to take over the CableCARD PC tuner market

by Ben Drawbaugh posted Sep 11th 2009 at 3:58PM

Ceton CableCARD tuners
We can't say we saw this coming, but a little technology company we never heard of until CES '09 is going to not only be the first to market with a multi-stream quad tuner CableCARD device, but will probably be the only one for some time. It is for good reason too, as Ceton (pronounced sē-tən or seaten) has been able to pick up where AMD left off with its ATI Digital Cable Tuner for Windows Media Center and improve it in the best way we can think of. This startup seems to have some special sauce that no one else has, we can't even start to think of how hard it would be to decrypt four HD streams at the same time and re-encrypt them at the same time -- and apparently that is just the beginning. We say this because we sat down with Gary Hammer, the president and CEO, and to say he is on the same page with the Media Center market, is an understatement.

Continue reading Ceton is set to take over the CableCARD PC tuner market

Video: First working Blu-ray Managed Copy demo

by Ben Drawbaugh posted Sep 10th 2009 at 7:44PM

Managed Copy video

Just because Pioneer isn't in the plasma business anymore doesn't mean the company is dead, and one of the new points of focus over there is on media aggregation. So part of the new do-it-all Entertainment Tap concept Pioneer was displaying today included a demo of storing Managed Copies of Blu-ray Discs on a hard drive. The copy itself was done in about 4x real time (dependent on the drive's speed) and looked great thanks to some hardware transcoding. We also appreciated the Pioneer interface that made copying the disc easy. Of course at this point this is just a demo, with no word on availability or price, but it is a start to what will one day hopefully be a better way to enjoy HD movies.

Continue reading Video: First working Blu-ray Managed Copy demo

Video: Dish Network Media Center tuner in action

by Ben Drawbaugh posted Sep 10th 2009 at 4:37PM


We told you we were able to get a video of the Dish Network tuner for Windows Media Center in action and here it is. You can see that for the most part, the Dish content plays back just like any other HD source. We did seem to think that the channel changes were slower than we were used to, but not bad enough to be a deal breaker. The short clip is after the jump.

Continue reading Video: Dish Network Media Center tuner in action

Windows 7 to get a better version of Netflix than Vista

by Ben Drawbaugh posted Sep 10th 2009 at 4:24PM


No the Windows 7 version of the Netflix Watch Instantly still isn't going to work on Extenders for Media Center, but it will include a more seamless experience than the Vista version does, like the movie info image above. Microsoft really wasn't ready to share any more details with us, but we suspect the search is improved. The fact that they were so tight lipped leads us to believe that Microsoft is still holding back on some Windows 7 details -- at least in regards to internet content and Windows 7. At this point it appears we might have to wait until the official release of Windows 7 to truly figure out if all that work to bring internet content to Windows 7 pays off.

Hands-on with the Ceton CableCARD tuner

by Ben Drawbaugh posted Sep 10th 2009 at 11:48AM


We learned all about it this new tuner first thing this morning and were very pleased to see a "technology preview" of the card in action at the Microsoft's booth. As expected, it is a single PCI-E card that uses one multi-stream CableCARD and offers the ability to record four HD channels at once. The tuner shows up as a single network adapter in Windows and still uses UPnP like the currently available ATI tuner does. The configuration and diagnostic interface included tabs for each individual tuner and apparently two Tuning Adapters -- unfortunately there wasn't a working demo of the SDV tuning in action. And in case you are wondering, we did ask about the price and as you might expect we were referred to Ceton for specific product questions. We do already have an appointment with them tomorrow, but we'd be surprised if they were ready to tell us.

Dish Network Media Center tuner hands-on

by Ben Drawbaugh posted Sep 10th 2009 at 11:28AM

Dish Network Media Center tuner.
We have good and bad news after visiting the Dish Network booth first thing in the morning. We're happy to say that Dish was proudly displaying a Dish Tuner for Media Center 7 at its booth. The bad news however is that it was just a "proof of concept." Which means no matter how hard we tried, no one would tell us anything about price or availability. The other thing up in the air was if the actual implementation would be based on VIP211K HD STBs like the demo, or if instead there would be a dedicated tuner. The last unknown was around VOD or PPV, which we know was recently being tested, but still no word if it'll make the final version. The other bad, but not unexpected news, is the fact that like the first generation CableCARD tuner for Media Center, all the content is copy protected. As for how it works, looks good, but the channel changing was slower than our CableCARD tuner enabled Media Center. We did grab a video, but you'll have to wait until we can get it uploaded.

Eyes-on: Sony's XBR10 LCD and its wireless video streaming box

by Richard Lawler posted Sep 9th 2009 at 7:23PM


We know, it's easy to be distracted by the sexy, slim BRAVIA LCD HDTV in front of you, but refocus your eyes for a moment on that unassuming box to the lower right. Given a distinct lack of (read: none) media inputs on the screen itself, that little devices is where all your HDMI, coax and other video sources will be going. With it's $5,000 pricetag the ability to hide DVR's, game consoles and whatever else well away from the television itself is a major selling point so feel free to peruse these pictures (no iPhone comparisons, we promise) and get familiar before this set hits shelves in October.

Gallery: Sony XBR10 wireless LCD HDTV eyes-on

Live from the Microsoft Windows Media Center event

by Ben Drawbaugh posted Sep 9th 2009 at 7:16PM



It is almost time as we wait for the event to start and find out if all or any of our Windows Media Center CEDIA predictions come true. We had to travel a long way from the show floor to get here, but so far Microsoft is doing it right. They have us setup with free WiFi and a table right up front, so now we just wait for the show to begin.

Continue reading Live from the Microsoft Windows Media Center event

Bobby Universal Remote for the iPhone review

by Ben Drawbaugh posted Sep 1st 2009 at 12:00PM


Anyone who has played with a capacitive touch screen has probably dreamed about using it as a universal remote, which is why we've been quick to try out just about every iPhone/iPod Touch remote software out there. The latest one to make its way into our setup is the Bobby Universal Remote from Cremote. The app runs $20 at the App Store and leverages one of our favorite pieces of home theater gear, the Global Cache´ GC100-6 -- which unfortunately sells for over $100. So basically Bobby is the software and the GC-100 is the IR emitter, but the real question is, how well does it work?

Continue reading Bobby Universal Remote for the iPhone review

Ask Engadget HD: Best way to feed HD to two TVs?

by Richard Lawler posted Aug 28th 2009 at 12:00PM Featured Story


Multiroom video setups are hardly an easy task, but what if you just want to pipe the A/V in whole from one spot to another? That's the conundrum facing our friend Ed, we'll let him break down the situation first.

"I have a question that I think has several answers, but I would like to know the best solution. I have a DirecTV HD-DVR - HR20-700 hooked up to my TV via HDMI and optical audio to my receiver. I have my receiver's sound also hooked up to outside speakers by the pool so I can listen to XM or any other program from DirecTV or radio. I would like to add the video outside as well. I already have an RG6 coax cable outside, and I have an open CAT-5 connection near the back door, but not outside where the TV would go. Both cable runs are approximately 100' or less. My question is, what is the best way to get the video from the HR20 outside? "

There's a bevy of splitters, extenders, slingers and media box solutions that could help our friend out, but it's hard to say what would be best for this situation. We're still waiting for the SlingMonitor to make a retail experience and give us the WiFi TV wherever we've always wanted, but how would you do it?

Got a burning question that you'd love to toss out for Engadget HD (or its readers) to take a look at? Tired of Google's blank stares when you ask for real-world experiences? Hit us up at ask at engadgethd dawt com and keep an eye on this space -- your inquiry could be next.




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