Review It won’t be long before all HDTVs incorporate BBC iPlayer, video-on-demand services like Lovefilm and Blinkbox, and the playback of content stored on USB- or local network-connected drives.
Digital Stream’s DPS-1000: iPlayer inside
Heck, most sets from major brands released in the last year or two already do. Case in point: the Samsung that graces the Reg Hardware office lets me do all of the above. So does my telly at home, its iPlayer support having rendered my DVR redundant in less than a twelvemonth. Read the rest of this entry »
It’s not often that a mere cable merits a review of its own, but the Digital AV Adapter that Apple recently launched along with the new iPad 2 is worth a closer look.
The cable plugs into the dock connector on the base of the iPad 2, and is also compatible with the original iPad, the iPhone 4 and the current fourth-generation iPod Touch. The other end of the cable provides a full-sized HDMI interface so that you can connect it to an HD TV, along with a pass-through dock connector so that you can still charge up the iPad at the same time. Read the rest of this entry »
Review The R50, from US brand Universal Remote Control (URC), is a chunky A/V entertainment integrator that delivers a decent amount of functionality whilst being fairly easy to set up. While aimed more at the family market – real tech-heads might want a little more programmability and customisation – the product makes a decent fist of putting your home entertainment controls all in one place.
Universal solver? URC’s Digital R50
The R50 delivers control of up to 18 products of your choice and has the option of adding macros for one-touch multi-function commands. The unit is no bigger than your average TV remote, but feels considerably heavier. This is no big problem, as a little bit of extra weight actually pushes the unit nicely into the palm of the hand with the R50’s rubberised back also helping to hold the product steady in the hand.
Included with the unit are the four AA batteries that, once inserted, power up the R50’s on-screen guide. URC supplies a quick start guide, but the onscreen menu is by far the easiest way to get going. The text on the start up screen is a little blocky and could do with being a little bigger for ease of reading. However, assigning products for the remote to control is very simple and the on-screen instructions are easy to follow. Read the rest of this entry »
Review We liked the first version of Western Digital’s WD TV box. It was released in December 2008, barely nine months ago, but WD has already rolled out its successor.
Western Digital’s WD TV Live: now with networking on board…
There’s no substantial change to the functionality: WD TV – now called the WD TV Live – is a compact media player that has no storage of its own. Instead, you use its two USB ports to connect external hard drives, cameras and the like, and the WD TV will cast their contents onto your telly.
As before, the box has an HDMI 1.3 port and a composite-video output, though this time the three RCA jacks – yellow, red and white – have been replaced by a 3.5mm headphone-style jack that’s converted to RCA by the bundled cable. WD TV uses the same mechanism to provide component-video support, which is new to this edition. Read the rest of this entry »
Review Sometimes, less is more. Take Ricoh’s GR Digital III. It’s a compact Camera costing more than £500, but if you’re looking for masses of megapixels, countless scene modes, HD movie recording or even an optical zoom, then forget it. This is the digital Camera equivalent of the fixed-gear bicycle; a product for enthusiasts who basically want a Camera that can deliver excellent results without the frills.
The quality compact: Ricoh’s GR Digital III
Clearly, the GR Digital III isn’t aimed at the average consumer expecting all the bells and whistles for a couple of hundred quid. Instead, it’s designed for the DSLR user or advanced enthusiast who feels more at ease carrying a quality compact in his or her pocket than ever sallying forth cameraless. So it is worth investing in a fixed-focal length compact that costs more than some entry-level DSLRs? You might be surprised.
The GR Digital III is a successor to the GR Digital II, launched back in November 2007. Both cameras have many similarities, including a sleek, black metal alloy body with a large rubberized grip. Yet the GR Digital III has a number of enhancements including, a new F1.9, 6.0 mm lens which is equivalent to 28 mm on a 35 mm film Camera. The new GR Engine III image processor has improved noise reduction, and the Camera features a large 3in LCD screen composed of 920,000 dots.
Beneath the skin you’ll find a pop-up flash, plus a 10Mp 1/1.7in CCD with an ISO range of 64-1600. The GR Digital III shutter speeds span 180-1/2000sec and it shoots in JPEG and RAW (Adobe DNG) formats, although there’s no option for simultaneous capture in both formats. Read the rest of this entry »
