The Roku Streaming Stick packs Wi-Fi, a processor, memory, and custom software that allows it to connect to MHL-enabled HDMI ports on modern HDTVs. This means that you’ll be able to access services like Netflix, HBO Go, Hulu Plus and Pandora without any problems. It hasn’t yet been confirmed whether it will offer 720p or 1080p resolution, as Roku typically only includes 1080p on their top-of-the-line models.

While many sets these days have built-in digital content capabilities already, Roku makes a good point that by going with their approach, you’ll be able to upgrade to the latest tech inexpensively and without having to buy a whole new TV. Good news for consumers, not so much for the TV manufacturers though.

The only problem I see with the Streaming Stick the need for the special HDMI MHL port, that not all HDTVs have. If you haven’t got it on your TV, you won’t be able to use this version of Roku. Some sets from Samsung and Toshiba already have this port, and many more are coming out this year. However, if you have an older set without one, you’ll need to stick with a regular set-top box.

The IPHDAVAD essentially combines Apple’s Camera Connection Kit and digital AV out, except it doesn’t have an SD slot and has an analog AV out, cables included. Speaking of cables, the adapter also comes with a mini-USB-to-USB cable, so you can charge and sync your iOS device while you’re playing video or transferring media.

The IPHDAVAD seems to be limited to Japan as of now; JTT is selling it on their website (JP) for ¥4930 (~$63 USD). That’s not a bad price considering its features. Hopefully it’ll be available internationally, and with a better name.

[via Akihabara News]

Codenamed Cotton Candy, the device weighs just 21g and can be powered via USB.  It has an ARM Cortex 1.2GHz CPU – the same that’s in the Samsung Galaxy SII – a quad-core ARM Mali GPU capable of processing 1080p video, 1GB RAM, a USB port, an HDMI port and a microSD slot (it’s primary means of storage). It also has Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity. Cotton Candy can run a variety of operating systems, but in the demo video below it’s shown running Android 2.3 while plugged into a MacBook Air and on an HDTV:

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

So why would you want a device like this when you’ve already got a laptop, tablet or smartphone? FXI has several suggestions, including lengthening the life of monitors, PCs and other gadgets with screens. It’ll also make it easier to run multiple operating systems and drive the cost of owning a computer even cheaper – assuming you have a screen to plug it into of course. And again there’s the much hyped cloud computing.

If we do end up storing and streaming our media en masse on remote servers, it would make sense for people to carry something like the Cotton Candy to plug into dumb terminals to add local functionality. I don’t think it’s a good replacement for laptops, but I could see schools and businesses adopting a system of dumb terminals for students and employees to use and plug into. It makes for more personalized computing at lower costs.

[via FXI Technologies, The Verge & Bored at Work]

The cable can be ordered on Thanko’s website for ¥6980 (approx. $84 USD). It seems like sales are limited to Japan only, but I don’t see why it shouldn’t find its way abroad someday soon.

[via Akihabara News]

This iPhone HDMI Adapter from Sanwa looks much like the SD card reader that Apple offers. There’s not a lot to look at here, as it simply plugs into your 30-pin connector, and offers up a regular HDMI port. It will give you 720p output, and only works with the current iPhone 4 and iPad. The best part? It will set you back $72 (USD). At that price, you almost expect it to be an officially-licensed Apple product.

[via Akihabara News]

Several laptops with Core i5 CPUs come with this feature built in. The folks at Intel were kind enough to send us a Sony VAIO VPCS111FM laptop, along with the $119 NETGEAR Push2TV receiver module for testing. Setting up the system is pretty painless.

Just plug the Push2TV into an outlet, then connect it to your TV using either the HDMI or composite outputs. I only tested with HDMI, and I would think picture quality would suffer greatly on composite – especially at today’s resolutions.

Before pairing, I would recommend that you make sure you have the latest Intel Wireless Display software and reboot the laptop. Once  you do that and the Push2TV is powered on, you simply press the special wireless display button on the PC, select the display you want to connect to, and pair up by entering  a 4-digit auth code displayed on the TV.

Upon establishing a connection, the computer automatically switches into 1280×720 (720p) resolution, which appears to be the maximum resolution the technology currently supports. Audio on your laptop is also automatically muted once connected, so as not to have a maddening echo across the room. Yes, there is a slight (less than 1/2 second) delay between what you do on the the laptop and when it appears on your TV screen, but it would only be a problem if you were trying to use the wireless display to play games – clearly not the primary use case for this.

As you can see from these photos, your TV really does display exactly what’s on your PC, which is cool for web surfing, and enjoying all manner of online content on your TV. Keep in mind that since they’re using Windows display mirroring to achieve this, so you can’t display different content on the TV from what’s on your laptop.

I tested with everything from YouTube to Hulu to Vimeo to Netflix, and all video content played back very well across from across the room. Web content and PC applications are where the technology clearly shines.

So what’s the bad news? Well, the biggest issue with this wireless display tech is that it failed to work with every single DVD I threw at it, thanks to copyright protection issues. I tried new discs and old ones, and every one eventually displayed the dreaded copyright fail message. Sometimes I’d get as far as the FBI warning, and other times the disc would just fail to play entirely. Conversely, all discs I tested played properly on the PC when the wireless display was disabled.

While I am disappointed by this shortcoming, it’s really a non-issue for streamed content, your home movies, and digital videos played locally on your machine. It really only comes into play with DVDs or Blu-ray discs.

One other note: If you only have a 5GHz network set up, you need to switch your laptop to use the 2.4GHz network on your router, as the Push2TV doesn’t support 5GHz networks. Also keep in mind that the recommended distance between your computer and the Push2TV is a maximum of 12 feet away for best performance.

So with its gaming limitations and DVD/Blu-ray playback, and competition from devices like Google TV and Apple TV, you may wonder where the Intel Wireless Display tech fits in. Well, it does have a place. In my opinion, it would be absolutely great for business presentations where you want to get content from your laptop onto a big screen TV. I have this exact situation in my office, and it would be way easier to use this for the occasional presentation instead of running an HDMI to DVI cable across the room – and that doesn’t support audio. The wireless connection is a real bonus in those situations. And since it doesn’t really add to the cost of the laptops, the $119 MSRP Push 2 TV is your only cost – and you can find that at Amazon for only $85 these days.

The system also has got a leg up over dedicated devices in that services like Hulu and other web-based content video sites can’t be blocked from playback on your big screen like they have been on Google TV. Sure, the system’s limitations do narrow its usefulness, but it’s still got some differentiators. If Intel could find a way to reduce the lag and to allow playback of DVDs and Blu-ray discs, it would be just that much more compelling for entertainment purposes. That said, if you need to do business presentations and have a big screen TV with an HDMI input, Intel’s Wireless Display technology is a solid bet.

[FTC Disclaimer: Technabob was provided with the hardware tested in this review by Intel at no cost. However, all reviews on Technabob are the unbiased opinions of our authors, and in no way represent the views of Intel, Sony, Netgear or other product manufacturers.]

What are some of the advantages of HDBaseT? Well for one, it uses Ethernet cables, which are dirt cheap. The cost of a 5 ft. HDMI cable could probably buy you 80 to 120 ft of Ethernet cable. Also, as you can see in the banner above – it’s from the HDBaseT website – HDBaseT not only transmits uncompressed audio and video, it can also be used to link devices in your home network, as well as transmit power, kinda like a USB cable. Here’s a more detailed comparison between HDMI and HDBaseT, along with DisplayPort:

I’m really interested in seeing the new A/V devices that use HDBaseT; the ability to use long cables and transmit power and data over one cable sounds sweet. Check out the link below for more info.

[via Digital Trends]

Unfortunately, the Wii still only can handle 480i, 480p (NTSC) and 576i (PAL) resolutions, so you won’t all of a sudden have high-def graphics with this thing. That said, if your display or receiver has more available HDMI inputs than component ones, this might be worth a look.

You can grab the Wii2HDMI over at Neoya’s shop for $39.95 (USD).

[via Chip Chick via SlipperyBrick]

Since this is the first post in the series, I thought I’d take a minute to walk you through the TouchSmart 600′s hardware. The particular configuration I had my hands on was the 600-1055. The system features a beautiful 23-inch widescreen display, powered by NextWindow’s optical multitouch technology. Since the display uses an infrared touch technology, it can only handle two points of input, but that’s enough for manipulating simple media interfaces and handling gestures like flicks, pinch and zoom with aplomb. The system also has a high quality sound system built in, and the audio is certainly as good as anything you’d find built into a good television these days. It’s no substitute for a full surround rig, but it’s fine for a small room. And of course, there is an SPDIF optical output if you really do want to hook the TouchSmart to a proper surround system.

Under the hood, there’s a serviceable Core 2 Duo P7450, running a 2.13GHz, and the system has 4GB of RAM and a speedy 7200RPM 750GB SATA hard drive, perfect for recording television programs and handling other media utility work – right in the sweet spot for this machine. The system ships with Windows 7 Home Premium, 64-bit edition, so they didn’t skimp on the OS, either.

My first objective with the TouchSmart was to see how well it would work as a TV/DVR. The timing for this couldn’t have been better, as my brand new 58-inch Samsung plasma died and we had no TV in our living room for the last month (eeegads!) So while I wouldn’t normally recommend using a 23-inch display as your primary television, it worked for us in a pinch. The TouchSmart’s display size is definitely better suited to a bedroom, or maybe an office or den. It’s just a little large for most kitchens, but they do offer a 20-inch model as well.

So, back to the TV/DVR thing. There are a few ways to slice and dice this on the TouchSmart, and that’s part of the beauty of this thing. You can watch live television using the computer’s built in Digital ATSC tuner, and using either the included TouchSmart software or Windows Media Center, you can view live programs, and record them for later playback. I personally preferred the Windows Media software for this, as it works with the bundled remote control, and was a bit zippier than the TouchSmart interface. That said, the TouchSmart version does work well if you plan on primarily the touch screen for input, so maybe it would be good in a small room where you will be right by the screen all the time.

I recorded several programs in both the foreground and background, and didn’t run into any problems with playback quality, even for 720p and 1080i HD broadcasts. Oddly enough, I did run into some stutter on HD content in the TouchSmart app during live TV though, but it’s possible some sort of background task (maybe anti-virus or system updates) was hogging resources. This only occurred once or twice in my experience. The recording worked fine, even in the background while other tasks were going on, although since there’s only a single tuner, you won’t be able to record two programs at the same time like you can with some DVRs. However, I couldn’t figure out a way to pause or scrub that program while the program was recording using the TouchSmart software. It works fine with a live program that you’re not currently recording, though, so go figure.

That all said, I felt that the program guide interface for the Windows Media side of the house was much easier to read from a distance and found more APG program data than the TouchSmart version managed to muster. That said, the system includes both interfaces, so its your choice. Here’s the TouchSmart running Windows Media Center Live TV for comparison:

In addition to over-the-air television, the TouchSmart software includes apps for Netflix and Hulu, both of which performed admirably, and featured touch-enhanced interfaces with bigger buttons, and nice scrub bars for jumping through content. I’ll be covering the DVD/Blu-Ray and streaming video capabilities in more detail in my next post.

But what if you’ve got a satellite or fiber-optic receiver? With most desktop PCs, you’d be out of luck. There’s an S-Video input and an IR blaster output if you want to use a set-top tuner with Windows Media Center. And while you can’t use the built-in media or touchscreen software to watch from one of these devices in high-def, the TouchSmart has a handy HDMI input on the side, which lets you flip out of computer mode, and use it just like a regular HDTV.

I tried it with both my DirecTV HD DVR and my Sony PlayStation 3, and it worked great with both. My only issue with this input is that there’s no decent cable management for it, whereas all the other ports on the computer are neatly tucked behind a cover, this cable ends up sticking out of the side of the display. That said, It’s a minor complaint. More computers need to include this feature. There’s also a component RCA and stereo audio input there too, but I’m not really looking forward to watching crappy old video signals on a beautiful 1920 x 1080 LCD, are you? On the other hand, God of War III looks mighty nice.

Overall, I’d say the TouchSmart 600 is a fine performer for watching and recording television programs, and there are numerous choices for how you get your digital content into the system. I wouldn’t say it’s an ideal living room system because of the relatively small screen size, for a bedroom or office, it’s perfect. And while the TouchSmart software itself may not be as refined as Windows Media Center for TV viewing, the hardware is quite capable, and it’s your choice which interface to use.

Over the next few days, I’ll be talking about my experiences with movies and streamed content, as well as music and audio on the system. Be sure to swing by again for more details. And if you’re really attentive, you’ve got a chance to win a TouchSmart 600 for yourself.

Chinavasion’s CVHD-E16 media player lets you play videos in a wide variety of formats on your HDTV. There’s support for video files in MP4, MKV, MOV, MPEG, MPG, VOB, AVI, DIVX, XVID and RMVB formats, as well as audio files in MP3, AAC or WMA formats too. Wherever would you find videos to play on this thing?

Just load up your video files onto an SD/MMC card or USB flash drive (SD max size 16GB/USB max size 32GB), plug it into the front of the player, and you’re off to the races. In addition to the HDMI digital multimedia output, there’s component video with coax, optical and plain old stereo analog outputs. The player supports HDMI 1.3, and outputs video in either 720p or 1080p resolutions. Also in the box is an infrared remote for you to easily navigate through your digital media from the other side of the room.

The CVHD-E16 HD media player is available over at Chinavasion for $108.66 (USD).

The CVGI-E28 projector is a low-cost LED based projector that’s got all sorts of stuff built in. Sure, you can hook up your standard video sources via VGA, HDMI, S-Video or composite inputs, but that would be boring. Under the hood of this projector is a complete multimedia system, including a built-in DVD player, and digital media player and video game system. It’s even got stereo speakers built in.

Of course, anything that’s this much of a jack-of-all-trades is bound to be a master of none. The projector cranks out an anemic 640×480 resolution, and the video game console only plays cheap knock-off version of Wii Sports called AllSports. It even comes with a pair of RF motion-sensing controller that looks like a Wii-mote that’s missing a chromosome. Given the likely DNA of the gaming system, there’s an outside shot that it’ll emulate games from classic 8-bit/16-bit systems too, but I wouldn’t bet on it.

In addition to DVDs and video games, the projector has a USB and an SD/MMC slot which let you play your digital audio, video files and view photos on screen. The region-free DVD player can also be used to play back AVI, MPEG, XVID, MP3, WMA and JPEG files too. There’s even a (very soon to be obsolete) analog TV tuner if you manage to get this thing in your hands before June 12th when those stations go dark in the U.S. Now that’s what I call “planned obsolecence”.

The all-in-one CVGI-E28 multimedia projector is available over at Chinavasion for about $350 (USD).

Octava’s HDMI converters are equipped with their ClearEye technology that improves HDMI quality by compensating for transmission degradation caused by “attenuation and propagation speed” over cables. Did you get that? If so, please explain it to me, because I sure as hell did not. Of course, don’t expect ClearEye to may your crappy 480p signals look like 1080p – that would take a true miracle.

You had me at “converts standard component to HDMI” Octava. The Component/VGA to HDMI Converter is available for pre-order at Octava’s website for $200 USD; the wonder device will be available starting May 11.

[via hometoys]

Flexicord cables are 10 ft long, but they can be compressed to as small as 1 ft. As you can see the cable holds its shape and length and can be reshaped and resized as needed.

There are Flexicord USB cables, HDMI cables, RJ-45 network cables, S-Video cables and even Composite Video cables. The cables get their Reed Richards skills from a patent-pending technology called Memory Cord. I’ll stop playing salesman for a while and point out that if your USB device is always as close to your computer as the one pictured above, then I think you’ll be overdoing it if you get one of these stiffy stretchies. But I know a lot of people who could use one of these, myself included.

The HDMI Flexicord cable was hailed as one of the most innnovative products of CES 2009. Unfortunately, these cables are not yet widely available, but you can contact e-filliate, the Flexicord‘s distributor and at 1-800-592-7031 for orders.

Flexicord: Always The Right Length. (That’s What She Said.)

[via Everything USB]

For starters, the Archos comes with double the storage for less cost than Apple’s set top boxes. The TV+ also supports recording of content from analog video devices (note the component, S-video and composite inputs on the back panel), and acts as a full DVR, complete with a TV program guide. Just like it’s competition, the device only handles standard-def content, meaning that you’ll be able to store a whopping 700 hours of video on on the larger model.

In addition to its media recording an playback capabilities, the Archos TV+ can surf the web using an optional Opera browser with Flash capability. It can even read PDF files if the mood strikes you. There’s also access to the Archos Content Portal which allows for digital downloads and streaming of new content to the box. Network connectivity is provided via built-in 802.11g Wi-Fi or a wired Ethernet port. I particularly like the provided QWERTY remote control, which should make web surfing and navigation a breeze compared to normal remotes.

The 80GB version of the TV+ will retail for $249, while the 250GB model will run $349. Expect to see the Archos TV+ hit stores sometime this later this year. You can check out the detailed product specs here.

[via Ubergizmo]

New Medium Enterprises’ (NME) proprietary HD VMD (Versatile Multilayer Disc) format uses standard red lasers, but crams in 4 layers per disc to handle the data needs of full high-definition content. VMD’s cost advantage comes from the fact that discs and players can be produced using much of the already existing infrastructure that’s set up to produce standard DVDs. First generation VMD will store up to 24GB, but there are already plans in the works to expand this capacity further using more layers, and potentially thinner wavelength blue lasers as prices come down.

The manufacturer claims the format supports full 1080i and 1080p resolutions, as well as bit rates up to 40 Mbps (about half way between the two competing HD formats). The players support video compressed in MPEG- 2, MPEG-1, VC-1, H-264(AVC) formats. As an added bonus, HD VMD is region free, so you don’t have to worry about where you bought your discs. Audio support includes Dolby Digital and DTS, but none of the more advanced audio formats you might find on Blu-Ray and HD DVD players. Even the least expensive HD VMD players offer HDMI and component outputs, and will scale old-school DVDs up to 1080p over the HDMI connection.

The most obvious downside to the budding format is the current lack of available content. NME has only scored distribution rights to a a handful of movies that I’ve ever heard of. Launch titles include: Hostage, Apocalypto, Pulp Fiction, Babel, Saw II and Saw III. Most of the other movies are either lesser-known independents, older films or Bollywood features from India. It’s doubtful that the company will be able to garner support from most major studios, given their already significant investments in the other HD formats. With HD DVD and Blu-ray prices on the decline, HD VMD will face a serious uphill fight.

The top-of-the-line Shuttle D’VO SG33G5M Deluxe features 1080p high-definition video output via an HDMI output. 7.1-channel surround sound includes Dolby Digital Live! and DTS Connect capabilities. The system has a full home theater-centric front panel display which includes just about everything you’re used to seeing on a home-theater-in-a-box receiver.

In addition to its multimedia prowess, its got built in 802.11b+g as well as Bluetooth wireless connectivity. You can even view photos and media stored on your mobile devices via wireless sync. External interfaces include USB 2.0, Firewire 400 Gigabit Ethernet and eSATA connectors. It’s even got a fingerprint reader built into the front if you want to keep prying eyes off of your media content.

The system’s Intel G33 Express chipset is designed to handle CPUs as powerful as a Core 2 Quad, with bus speeds up to 1333MHz. The D’VO series is sold in a bare-bones configuration for around $459 USD, so you’ll need to add your own CPU, memory, operating system, hard drive and disc reader (Shuttle plans on offering a Blu-Ray/HD-DVD combo drive as an option).

It’s going to take a little time for all the older 360 Premiums to sell off, so if you’re thinking about buying one, be sure to check the box. According to a Microsoft representative, the new consoles will have an HDMI logo on the package.

With the recent price drop to $350, improvements in cooling, the addition of this new port, not to mention games like Bioshock, Stranglehold and Halo 3 all hitting stores in the next couple of months, there’s never been a better time to buy Microsoft’s powerhouse console.

[via Kotaku, Shack News and Opposable Thumbs]

The DV-980H supports Dolby Digital Surround EX, which adds the surround back speaker channels, giving the player a leg up over traditional 5.1 surround. The player’s video processing circuitry can crank out 1920×1080 full frame images, letting you take advantage of the native pixel resolution of today’s top of the line 1080p displays.

This is a true “universal” player, supporting DVD, DVD-Audio and SACD format discs. Of course, it doesn’t play today’s high definition formats like Blu-ray or HD-DVD, but it’ll sure make your old DVDs look as good as they possibly can. The player also handles DivX format video files with ease.

In terms of connectivity, the 980H offers an HDMI (v1.2a) digital output, as well as component video, optical, coax, and discrete analog outputs for each of the eight audio channels too.

The only real gotcha here is that this player doesn’t include the stellar Genesis/Faroudja video chipset that was found in the classic DV-971H and DV-981HD models. But if you’re looking for both 1080p output and 7.1 channel audio, this new model is the way to go.

As is always the case with OPPO’s players, the DV-980H offers a ton of bang for the buck, retailing for just $169.

[via SlipperyBrick]

The Sceptre 46-inch 1080p widescreen LCD set is now on sale for just $1299.99 (after a $300 rebate.) The set offers full 1920 x 1080 native pixel resolution and supports true 1080p input signals. Contrast ratio is a solid 8,000 to 1, which is pretty good as LCDs go.

I also like that they didn’t skimp on inputs, even though the price is low. Sceptre includes 3 HDMI ports, as well as 2 Component and 2 Composite/S-video inputs too. There’s also a VGA input for hooking up a PC. The set also offers four built-in speakers, and SRS TruSurround XT audio enhancement.

This special offer is only valid through August 12, 2007, so if you’re interested in taking advantage of it, hop on over to the Costco website now.

The Pioneer HTP-LX70 system features a standalone control “pod” which has a bright backlit display that shows the current input and other settings. It’s got full support for the latest surround technologies, including Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD master audio as well. It’s also got a special 3D spatialization technology which is said to provide some serious soundfield expansion.

The system has 400W of total power, driving the left, right and surround satellites at 50W each, but adding dual drivers to the center and subwoofer channels, so they each get 100W of amplification. Pioneer also opted to split the center channel in half, so you don’t have to try to fit the speaker under or over your television. I’m not sure what this means for center channel imaging, but I think that’s part of what they’re trying to accomplish with the 3D sound feature.

I like that this system offers three HDMI 1.3a ports, making it easy to hook up and switch multiple high-definition sources. The HTP-LX70 is definitely at the “high-end” of the Pioneer price range though, within a retail price of ¥261,000 (about $2200 USD.)

[Press Release]