http://www.ecoustics.com/latest/links Latest links, updated every five minutes http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/news/17763 Just a day after the company spilled news about re-partnering with cable operator DirecTV, DVR pioneer TiVo has unveiled a new DVR unit at this year's CEDIA Expo—and it's a whopper. The new TiVO HD XL includes a 1 TB hard drive, enabling users to record up to 150 hours of high-definition programming. As with previous TiVo HDs, the unit offers dual tuners, THX certification, HDMI connectivity, and a backlit Series 3 remote control. The new DVR is available now for $599.99."With so much HD content now available, we felt it was vital to offeRead | Permalink | Linking Blogs Thu, 04 Sep 2008 11:45:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/pcw/reviews/149969 Both the Pinnacle PCTV HD Pro Stick and the Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-950Q turn your PC or laptop into an HDTV. But they don't handle the task equally. Wed, 03 Sep 2008 16:36:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/ah/reviews/televisions/flat-panels/jvc-lt-42sl89-lcd The JVC LT-42SL89 promises to be slim - in fact they promised to be the slimmest LCD display with internal tuners. On that they delivered. But being slim isn't enough (unless you live in LA), the real questions are: How is the picture quality and How well does it work? Well, for the former, it delivers, for the latter, not so much? Wed, 20 Aug 2008 06:20:00 -0400 http://ecoustics-cnet.com.com/8301-13845_3-10018078-58.html?part=ecoustics-cnet Plug this digital tuner into your PC to pull down over-the-air or cable QAM signals. It comes with DVR software, though you can also use Windows Media Center. Fri, 15 Aug 2008 09:00:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/news/17397 While flat-panel TVs bound for the living room get scrutinized from every angle, reworked bezels from famous designers, and expensive materials to make them look like they belong in a furniture catalog, your basic desktop monitor still probably has the same matte black plastic as the face of your toaster oven. Not so any more. Samsung has brought the same elegant “touch of color” design from its HDTVs down to a new line of monitors for the style-conscious.The T220, T240 and T260 (22-, 24- and 26-inches, respectively) not only provide the same translucent ruby bezels as their big br Mon, 28 Jul 2008 09:40:00 -0400 http://news.ecoustics.com/bbs/messages/10381/502204.html Mon, 14 Jul 2008 12:12:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/news/17151 Westinghouse Digital has introduced two new LCD HDTV models, one aimed squarely at the living room like a traditional big-screen flat panel display, and the other designed to tuck into more unconventional places—like a kitchen.First up the TX-42F430S features 1,920 by 1,080-pixel full high-definition resolution, an integrated ATSC/NTSC/ClearQAM tuner, an 8 ms response time, a 5,000:1 contrast ratio (although the specs say it's only 1,000;1), and Westinghouse's 1080Pure output on all HD connectors, including component and VGA. The set also features video/S-Video input, S/PDIF audio output, a Mon, 30 Jun 2008 13:40:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/news/17135 When chipmaker AMD took over ATI back in mid-2006, one of the first things it did was cancel the ATI All-in-Wonder, a moderately priced video card that combined graphics acceleration with an integrated television tuner. Now, AMD is bringing it back, announcing the ATI All-in-Wonder HD, a PCI 2.0 card that combines premium graphics and high-def playback capability with an HD television tuner."Never before has this level of HDTV and graphics performance been seen in an all-in-one PC multimedia solution," said AMD graphics group VP of ma Fri, 27 Jun 2008 11:30:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/news/17103 JVC has announced that, beginning in July, it will begin offering two new LCD HDTVs in its Procision line that claim to be the world's thinnest LCDs with integrated television tuners. Or, at least that was true way back in January when JVC first showed off these units at CES, but there's little denying that they're still pretty svelte, consuming just 1.5 inches in depth across most of their width, and just 2.9 inches at their deepest.JVC plans to offer the systems in 42- and 46-inch screen sizes, under the LT-42SL89 and LT-46SL89 model numbers, respectively. Both support full HD resolution (1,920 by 1,080 pixels). JVC Tue, 24 Jun 2008 12:15:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/news/17049 Sometimes it seems silly to pay $69 for a display-free music player that has to be completely configured using desktop software—especially when a few dollars more will get you a media player that can display photos and video plus pull in your favorite FM stations. The Nextar T30 is just such a beat, offering 4 GB of onboard memory (and an SD slot for another 2 GB of storage), an integrated FM tuner, a voice reorder, and a 3.5-inch 320 by 240-pixel LCD display."Users will find our new T30 portable media player [..] the perfect solution for enjoying their favorite movies, music, and mem Wed, 18 Jun 2008 13:15:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/tl/18306/ In Parts 1 and 2 of this series, we discussed many things: the standby power supply, main power supply, horizontal and vertical deflection circuits, degaussing, and tuners. In Part 3 of this series, we will discuss the IF (Intermediate Frequency), AGC (Automatic Gain Control), sound IF, sound amplification, and the remote control circuits of the basic television set. IF (Intermediate Frequency) Circuits The most important feature of the IF amplifier is selectivity. Selectivity is the process of allowing only the desired frequencies to pass, while rejecting all others. There will be about three or four separate amplifier stages in a color TV IF circuit. By amplifying the signal in stages, the amounts of distortion in the IF signal waveform are reduced. The IF stages of a color TV set are fixed-tuned to a single IF frequency. Both the video and audio IF signals travel together through the IF amplifiers. The IF amplifiers need to have a bandwidth of at least 4.5 MHz, if amplification stages range from 41 MHz to 46 MHz. Traps through the circuits are used to attenuate transmission of the video carrier of the next higher channel, sound carrier of the current channel, and the sound carrier... Mon, 09 Jun 2008 12:30:05 -0400 http://ecoustics-cnet.com.com/iLuv_i168_HD_Radio/4505-7866_7-33032316.html?part=ecoustics-cnet Though it does include an HD Radio tuner at a fairly low price, the no-frills iLuv i168 doesn't offer much to distinguish itself from the clock radio competition. Fri, 30 May 2008 13:06:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/news/16794 Westinghouse may not be the most-recognized name in the flat-panel television game, but they're doggedly trying to appeal to consumers who want straightforward, multi-functional entertainment. The new VK-40F580D tries to appeal to folks who want things simple, combining a 40-inch 1080p LCD flat-panel television with an integrated slot-loading DVD player and two HDMI inputs that can automatically detect when an external video source is activated.The VK-40F580D offers a 1,920 by 1,080-pixel resolution, an integrated NTSC/ATSC/ClearQAM tuner, and can function as a PC display at a variety of resolutions. The di Fri, 23 May 2008 15:15:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/news/16349 As further proof that HD DVD is dead but not forgotten, Shuttle launched a new home-theater PC this week that handles both Blu-ray and HD DVD discs. The XPC G5 3101M includes a single combo drive to play discs in both high-def formats, plus conventional DVD discs.Besides the wide array of discs the 3101M will handle, it also gets a handful of other HTPC features including a TV tuner that handles DVB-T digital signals, an ATI HD 3450 256MB graphics card, and onboard 7.1-chan Fri, 11 Apr 2008 10:45:00 -0400 http://ecoustics-cnet.com.com/8301-10784_3-9916535-7.html?part=ecoustics-cnet Some big retailers got hit with heavy fines for not properly labeling that analog-only TVs will need special tuners to get digital signals when TV broadcasters switch to all digital transmission next year. Thu, 10 Apr 2008 18:37:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/news/16316 Snip:"The N95's music player supports MP3, AAC, AAC+, and WMA files, as well as Real's OM-DRM and Microsoft's WM DRM 10. We had no problems loading music onto the device via an 8GB microSD card, and the music player found our files quickly. The audio quality is good, though the bass output could be stronger. We're extremely happy that the phone has a standard 3.5-mm jack, and the built-in speakers are surprisingly loud and clear even at max volume. The FM tuner's sensitivity is excellent: We picked up even fringe stations like 88.3 (WBGO) in New York City -- as long as we had the headphones plugged in, since they act as the antenna.The video player supports MPEG-4, H.264/AVC, H.263/3GPP, RealVideo 8/9/10 fo Tue, 08 Apr 2008 15:51:01 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/video/n/2248114 The Toshiba Qosmio G45-AV690 is a desktop replacement laptop with HDMI, 17-inch display, HD TV Tuner, and more. Mon, 07 Apr 2008 11:15:10 -0400 http://ecoustics-cnet.com.com/Zenith_DTT900/4505-6487_7-32887594.html?part=ecoustics-cnet The Zenith DTT900 DTV converter box has an easy-to-use design and solid video quality, but buyers should be aware of cheaper--and possibly better--alternatives coming in the future. Mon, 31 Mar 2008 15:12:00 -0400 http://news.ecoustics.com/bbs/messages/10381/461882.html Fri, 14 Mar 2008 11:49:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/ah/reviews/receivers/yamaha-rx-v863 The RX-V863 is the top of the new mid line receiver offerings from Yamaha. It sports HDMI 1.3 inputs, internal decoding of all the latest HD audio formats, 1080p analogue video upconversion, and two subwoofer outputs. All the bells and whistles include and HD radio tuner, 7x105 watts, and no less that 17 surround modes. All that and more for just under $1k! Thu, 28 Feb 2008 08:25:03 -0500 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/news/15781 On February 17, 2009, the United States will shut off analog television broadcasts, leaving television users who receive their programming via traditional over-the-air antennas with nothing but snow on their screens until the end of time. To keep up with their favorite programming—not to mention news and important bulletins—TV watchers will need to tune into new-style digital television broadcasts. For folks with older televisions, that may mean buying a whole new television, but a less-expensive option is buying a DTV converter: essentially, a new tuner that you hook up to your existing TV that lets you tap into digital broadcasts.However, digital television converters aren't free. To facilitate the transiti Mon, 18 Feb 2008 13:00:00 -0500 http://news.ecoustics.com/bbs/messages/10381/448039.html Tue, 12 Feb 2008 14:38:00 -0500 http://www.ecoustics.com/ah/reviews/digital-media-servers/alienware-high-definition-media-server The just announced Alienware High Definition Media Server got our attention for a number of reasons. Sure, it's Alienware which, though bought out by Dell, has long been associated with high (priced) quality computer builds. But it's also because of the hot-swappable RAID 5 drive bays. The HD Media Server come standard with 250GB x 4 but can be ungraded all the way to 4TBs. The unit can control up to four TV tuners and provide remote access to your media. Oh, and did we mention HDMI and 7.1 analogue outputs? Mon, 04 Feb 2008 12:35:20 -0500 http://ecoustics-cnet.com.com/Sangean_HDR_1_portable_radio/4505-7866_7-32399249.html?part=ecoustics-cnet The Sangean HDR-1 is a capable tabletop HD Radio, but its lackluster controls and dearth of extras leave only its retro wood styling to distinguish it from the competition. Fri, 25 Jan 2008 13:48:00 -0500 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/news/15409 Fresh off being sued for violating the GPL license of a software package embedded in its Hava devices, Monsoon Multimedia has announced Havasoft, a new software package that can bring TiVo-like DVR capability to any PC wth a television tuner. In addition, Havasoft can take advantage of in-house Wi-Fi so the computer can act as wireless network TV tuner for several Media Center PCs in a household."We developed HavaSoft for our OEM partners to bundle with their products to add place-shifting and video streaming capabilities to further enhance their TV solutions for new customers and extend these features to customers who alread Fri, 11 Jan 2008 11:40:00 -0500