It’s been a few days since I last posted here on KrunkerHD - I’m going to try and catch up a bit here. According to Akihabara News, Toshiba introduced four new Regza HDTV sets in France. They are as follows:

Model 26A3030DG (26 inch display):

• 1366 x 768 resolution
• Brightness of 500 cd/m2
• 700:1 contrast ratio

Model 32A3030DG (32 inch display):

• 1366 x 768 resolution
• Brightness of 500 cd/m2
• 950:1 contrast ratio

Model 37A3030DG (37 inch display):

• 1366 x 768 resolution
• Brightness of 500 cd/m2
• 1000:1 contrast ratio

Model (42A3030DG (42 inch display):

• 1366 x 768 resolution
• Brightness of 500 cd/m2
• 1000:1 contrast ratio

Other common features include:

• RGB, S-Video, HDMI, YUV, PC D-Sub 15 pin, Component, and Composite inputs
• Digital audio output, RCA audio output

These displays should be available in France in July and August.

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Toshiba, Regza, France, LCD TV

Do you love your Toshiba HD DVD player but wish it supported 24p (or 24 frames per second) playback? Well it soon will! Toshiba has announced that they will be adding 24p playback support via an upcoming firmware update for their second generation HD DVD players. The supports players include the HD-XA2 and the HD-A20. The current crop of Toshiba HD DVD players support 30 frames per second playback. One thing to keep in mind though. If your HDTV doesn’t have a supporting frequency for 24p playback, 3:2 pulldown will still occur at some point. Most LCDs have a 60 Hz refresh rate. You’ll want a newer LCD with at least 120Hz refresh rates to fully support 24p playback.

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Toshiba, 24p playback

If you happen to live in Taiwan, you’ll be happy to hear that Sony has released up to 9 new LCD television sets for that country. The LCD’s range in size from 20 inches to 46 inches with most due out in August. Here’s the information from DigiTimes thus far:

Sony G3000 20 inch model:

• 20 inch display
• 170 degree viewing angle
• Sells for 19,900 yen
• Available August 3rd

Sony U3000 26 inch model:

• 170 degree viewing angle
• Sells for 24,900 yen
• Available August 3rd

Sony U3000 32 inch model:

• 178 degree viewing angle
• Sells for 29,900 yen
• Available August 3rd

Sony U3000 37 inch model:

• 178 degree viewing angle
• Sells for 49,900 yen
• Available August 17th

Sony D3000 32 inch model:

• 178 degree viewing angle
• Live Color Creation
• 10 bit panel
• Bravia engine
• Motion Flow
• Sells for 49,900 yen
• Available August 3rd

Sony D3000 40 inch model:

• 178 degree viewing angle
• Live Color Creation
• 10 bit panel
• Bravia engine
• Motion Flow
• Sells for 69,900 yen
• Available August 3rd

Sony V3000 32 inch model:

• 178 degree viewing angle
• Live Color Creation
• Bravia engine
• Sells for 39,900 yen
• Available July 23rd

Sony V3000 40 inch model:

• 178 degree viewing angle
• Live Color Creation
• Bravia engine
• 10 bit panel
• Sells for 59,900 yen
• Available July 23rd

Sony V3000 46 inch model:

• 178 degree viewing angle
• Live Color Creation
• Bravia engine
• 10 bit panel
• Sells for 89,900 yen
• Available July 23rd

[Check it out]

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Video Business.com is reporting that Samsung is busy working on their third generation Blu-ray standalone player - the BD-P1400. The company will display the model at the upcoming 2007 IFA consumer electronics conference to be held in Berlin on August 31st.

The Samsung BD-P1400 is expected to have the following features:

• Dolby Digital Plus support
• Dolby TrueHD support
• DTS-HD support
• Built-in Ethernet port

Interestingly enough - if Samsung plans to ship the BD-P1400 after October 31st of this year, the player will have to support several new features not found in current Blu-ray players today because of a new mandate from the Blu-ray Disc Association. One of these features would be picture-in-picture support which basically means having a secondary video stream be played at the same time the main feature film is played.

[Check it out via High-Def Digest]

Technorati Tags: Samsung BD-P1400

It looks like the upcoming Samsung dual format BD-UP5000 player will come out a bit sooner than expected. We originally reported the player was slated to come out in October but now Samsung has supposedly stated the Blu-ray/HD DVD standalone player will come out in Europe by the end of next month (August). Other rumors are stating that the Samsung BD-UP5000 could be priced as low as €400 ($548/£271). Again - that’s JUST a rumor. The BD-UP5000 will supposedly offer full interactive support for both Blu-ray and HD DVD titles which stands in contrast to the LG dual format player which fully supports Blu-ray but only plays the movie portion of an HD DVD disc.

[Check it out]

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If you don’t subscribe to Home Theater Mag, then you might be interested in reading this article entitled “Blu-ray and HD DVD Face Off“ over on their website. The article first appeared in the June 2007 edition of the magazine and essentially covers the backgrounds of both Blu-ray and HD DVD. They then compare three different high definition players - the Tosiba HD-XA2 HD DVD player, the Panasonic DMP-BD10 Blu-ray player, and the LG BH100 Blu-ray/HD DVD player. If you’re not familiar with either Blu-ray or HD DVD, then you should definitely give this article a look over as it gives some great background high level information on both formats and the state of affairs of the format wars as it stands now.

Here’s a blurb from the article:

Until the average consumer can buy the cheapest player on the market and rent a disc without looking at the label (”What do you mean this disc won’t play in my player?”), neither format will gain mass acceptance. Regardless, this is going to drag out over years, and there is no possibility that either format (or both combined) will grow as fast as DVD. If Sony, et al, and Toshiba are lucky, they’ll grow faster than VHS.

[Check it out]

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We reported a few days ago that Sharp was going to introduce a new Blu-ray player this fall called the BD-HP20S. Unfortunately, according to PC World, the new Blu-ray player is slated only for the Japanese market and not for the U.S. market. Folks here in the U.S. will have to wait for the BD-HP10U which was announced back at CES 2007 but has yet to see the light of day here. Ah well..so much for a new cheap player from Sharp.

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Sharp BD-HP20S

Thinking about buying a new HDTV set? You might want to briefly check out this list of top rated HDTVs over at SFGate.com (the list is actually provided by CNET.com). This isn’t necessarily the definitive list of displays of course but it does serve as a nice guide to displays that are undoubtedly top notch. When purchasing an HDTV, always do your research. When I purchased my Samsung LN-S4695D 46 inch 1080p LCD display, I spent months looking into user reviews, product reviews, and specifications. I looked at prices.. I looked at what people were saying about the display months into owning the display.. and I looked at connectivity options. Remember - always cross check reviews with other reviews. Don’t just solely rely on a single persons’ statements.

Here’s the list of displays that CNET thought were “top-rated”:

• Pioneer PRO-FHD1 (8.7 out of 10)
• Mitsubishi WD-65831 (8.6 out of 10)
• Pioneer PDP-5070HD (8.4 out of 10)
• Samsung LN-T4665F (8.3 out of 10)

[Check it out via EngadgetHD]

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CrunchGear has published a review of the Sony VAIO FZ180 notebook here on their website. The FZ180 is a 15 inch multimedia machine featuring an Intel Core 2 Duo processor and an integrated Blu-ray drive inside. Yes - there’s a Blu-ray drive inside which means of course, you’ll be able to watch Blu-ray movies wherever you take this notebook. Unfortunately the display has a resolution of 1280 x 800 which also means you won’t be able to enjoy the full 1080p splendor of Blu-ray movies. I know - it’s a bummer. Anyhow, here’s the verdict from CrunchGear:

This is a media machine. If you’re the type of person who wants to start up a decent Blu-ray library, and also needs a Vista-powered notebook, this may be for you.

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Sony VAIO FZ180, CrunchGear Review

This is a re-posting from Krunker.com. CamcorderInfo has published a comparison between the Canon TX1 and the Sanyo VPC-HD2 - both of which offer high resolution still images and 720p video recording capabilities. The TX1 is marketed more as a digital camera than an HD video camcorder while the VPC-HD2 is marketed more as a camcorder than a camera. Before getting to the verdict, here are the important specs to both cameras.

The Canon PowerShot TX1 features:

• Small form factor
• 7.1 megapixel resolution
• 10x optical zoom lens
• Proprietary Optical Image Stabilizer Technology
• DIGIC III Image Processor with improved Face Detection Technology and Red Eye Correction
• 1280 x 720 HD movies at 30fps with Face Detection, stereo sound, and 1080i component video playback
• 1.8 inch Vari-Angle, Wide-View LCD with scratch-resistant, anti-reflection, anti-fingerprint coating
• Sensitivity range up to ISO 1600
• All metal construction with built in lens cap
• Print/Share button for easy direct printing and downloading

The Sanyo VPC-HD2 features:

• 720p HD video recording (1280 x 720 at 30fps)
• 7 megapixel resolution
• 10x Optical Zoom Lens, 10x Digital Zoom lens
• Rotating 2.2 inch LCD screen
• SD or SDHC memory card support
• HDMI output
• Records in MPEG-4
• 9 image display function
• Simultaneous shooting of 7 megapixel still images and HD video
• 48kHZ, 16 bit 2 channel sound for AAC-LC encoding
• Image stabilization feature

Here’s the verdict from CamcorderInfo:

Overall, we have to side with the Canon TX1 as the victor. It’s far from perfect, but it’s a promising step in the right direction.

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Canon TX1, Sanyo VPC-HD2, HD Digital Cameras