Audio/Video, Home Theater

GIGABYTE GT-U8000-RH Digital TV Tuner

Audio/Video, Home Theater, Computers / By /

GIGABYTE GT-U8000-RH Digital TV Tuner The TweakTown Team reviewed the GIGABYTE GT-U8000-RH Digital TV Tuner recently and gave the product high marks.

“This is a Hybrid tuner, which means that it can tune in both analogue and digital DVB-T TV programs. GIGABYTE also has a digital only version, the U7000, which is a physically smaller model. Both models are based on a Dibcom chipset and if this doesn’t say anything to you, then what you should know is that this is one of the best DVB-T chipsets on the market for PC applications.

It allows for the device that’s it’s based on to be used on the move, in fact it should work in speeds up to 100km/h (or a little over 60miles/h), so you could in reality use this in your car or onboard most trains which is connected to whatever mobile device you are using that includes a USB port and supported operating system (Windows XP and Vista – both 32-bit and 64-bit versions).”

Slingbox and PCTV To Go in China

2 Comments / Audio/Video, Home Theater / By /

SlingboxHaving already reviewed the PCTV To Go and Slingbox a while back, I decided to revisit the technology during my stay in China.

I’m staying at a decently nice hotel with plug-in high speed Internet access so I thought watching TV from Atlanta in China would be a piece of cake. After all, in our 5+ hour layover in Tokyo, I was able to watch some TV and control the DirecTV TiVo system fine. While the Internet connection is stable in Beijing, I find that the bitrate varies tremendously so we see only choppy video and audio. This is the same across both systems. Unfortunately, I can’t watch choppy video and audio so both boxes will be unused until our next city (Chongqing City). Hopefully the 5-star hotel for under $100USD will provide a better connection.

Review: DLO HomeDock Music Remote

Audio/Video, Home Theater, Reviews / By /

The DLO HomeDock Music Remote TechwareLabs has published a review of the DLO HomeDock Music Remote. Here’s a clip from the review:

Having an iPod is one of the great entertainment items that is widely enjoyed today, walking about, at work, in our car and in our homes. For most, this experience has been a lone affair as the sound is transmitted through ear bud headphones which does not facilitate sharing the sweet sounds with others nearby in get together parties. This is all about to change as Digital Lifestyle Outfitters (DLO) has produced a series of products for the ipod audiophile to enjoy their music and to allow others to enjoy it with them. One of these products, the DLO HomeDock Music Remote, allows you to wirelessly control your ipod while it simultaneously serves to charge your ipod and also the remote when the remote is not being used, piping the sounds to your stereo’s speakers for all to enjoy.

Source: DLO HomeDock Music Remote Review @ TechwareLabs

Open Source Community Enables YouTube Browsing on Neuros OSD

Audio/Video, Home Theater / By /

Our friends over at Neuros Technologies have announced a beta version of a YouTube browser for their award-winning Neuros OSD product. With this release, the device can now be used to easily browse and play the entire YouTube video collection on any TV, both standard and high definition. Functionality already in this release includes keyword searching and browsing by category and rating. Future releases will bring user interface improvements and added functionality such as sharing, subscriptions, and much more.

The real story is that this advancement has been made possible by Neuros’ worldwide community of open source developers. Neuros’ embraces the open source community and closely works with developers to quickly incorporate these open source contributions in official releases.

It sounds like Neuros Technology has a lot more up their sleeves for future releases:

Though this release is perhaps its most exciting to date, “it’s just the beginning”, said Born. “We’ve got a number of user interface enhancements and fixes already under way that are making the OSD an increasing pleasure to use, and we also look forward to bringing an array of exciting connectivity tools to the Neuros OSD in the coming weeks and months.”

Sling Media Announces Two New SlingLink Powerline Ethernet Adapters

2 Comments / Audio/Video, Home Theater, Networking & Internet / By /

Turbo Sling Link

Who knew that Sling Media won an Emmy?! Not I. Yup, they did, for the Slingbox. Anyway, nevermind that. We’re here to tell you about Sling’s latest products – their 2 new powerline Ethernet adapters. These little devices allow you to hook your Slingbox(es) into your network without needing to run actual cable to the device or have a network drop nearby. All you need near your Slingbox is a power outlet. The SlingLink TURBO 1 Port ($99.99 MSRP) and the SlingLink TURBO 4 port ($149.99 MSRP) come in pairs. One plugs in near your Slingbox and the other near your home network router/switch, and voila – connectivity.

The SlingLink products stay true to the traditional understated Sling shape and look. Naturally, you could get some other powerline based networking products, but at least if you get these from Sling, you can be pretty confident that it’ll work with your Slingbox.

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Harmony 670 DVR Remote

Audio/Video, Home Theater, Gizmo of the Day / By /

Harmony 670 DVR Remote

Moving to the next gadget that dad’s would love to receive on Father’s Day… a Harmony Remote Control that can control up to 15 devices with a single, simple to use remote control. This remote not only controls up to 15 devices but the remote is designed to specifically work with TiVo and other DVRs with the essential DVR buttons built in.

Al Bundy from “Married with Children” would be in heaven with this remote in his left hand and his right hand sitting comfortably in his pants.

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Tangle DNA Speakers

Audio/Video, Home Theater, Gizmo of the Day / By /

Tangle DNA Speakers

DNA is pretty respected in the scientific community, but it never really gets any respect in the music business. And that’s not fair, because DNA might look like a square (well, really, a helix) but in fact it’s quite hip. DNA likes rockin’ out to all sorts of music. It twists and turns and just lets loose. To celebrate DNA’s love of tunes, we present the Tangle DNA Speakers.

As you can see from the pics, the DNA Speakers can be bent into almost any position. Looking like a big-eyed alien, the speakers pump out some killer sound. Keep it all for yourself or share with a friend (just bend one speaker around!) The DNA Speakers can be powered by batteries, AC power, or USB power, and the volume is easily adjusted with the buttons in the middle of the base. Crafted in white, space-age plastic, these speakers look at home on any desk. And if you have some glue or a chin strap, they could look equally at home on top your head. Just be sure to use batteries if you place them on your head – otherwise you could hurt yourself.

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Canada: King of Film Piracy

Audio/Video, Home Theater / By /

Starting with Oceans Thirteen and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Warner Bros. press screenings in Canada will take place in private rooms and all promotional screenings of movies will no longer be held because Warner Bros says 70 percent of their films have been pirated in Canada over the past 18 months. Apparently within the first week of movie screenings in Canada, a Canadian copy usually appears on the Internet.

Canada has become the source of film piracy due to the lack of a Canadian federal law making “camcording” (using a camcorder to shoot films in a theater) illegal and permitting the confiscation of equipment.

Move over Russia and China!

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Nuvo Grand Concerto 6-Source 8-Zone System

Audio/Video, Home Theater, Gizmo of the Day / By /

Nuvo Grand Concerto 6-Source 8-Zone System

Nuvo has created the perfect whole-house audio called the Nuvo Grand Concerto 6-source 8-zone system. What does 6-source and 8-zones mean? Well, this whole-house audio system provides access to 6 different sources such as a satellite radio channel, a radio channel, a DVD player, a CD player or even a computer. 8 zones mean you can listen to ANY of those sources in 8 different rooms.

In addition to the excellent source and zone count (you usually only get 1 or 2 sources and 4 or so zones), the music travel through CAT5 cable which every geek should have a box in their basement with extra cable and you can control the Grand Concerto using gorgeous OLED control pads.

Sure it’s expensive but this system is feature rich.

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10-Inch Passive In-Wall Subwoofer

Audio/Video, Home Theater, Gizmo of the Day / By /

10-Inch Passive In-Wall Subwoofer

I’m a fan of hearing and not seeing my audio and video equipment and one of the worst offenders of this rule is the massive subwoofer box found in most home theaters or media room. You can still get the bum-thumping bass of your movies and music without the eye sore using the 10″ passive in-wall subwoofer which mounts flush in your wall.

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