Now that Toshiba has embraced Blu-ray it makes sense for the high definition disc format to be added into some of its notebook computers.
The Satellite P500 is Toshiba’s first notebook PC with a built-in Blu-ray rewriter drive for creation and playback of high definition discs.
Toshiba has got quite a bit of mileage from its Camileo camcorders, and late last week it announced a further three high definition models: the S20, H30 and X100.
Let’s take a look at their features in turn.
First up, the Camileo S20 is touted as one of the world’s slimmest HD camcorders, at just 17mm thick, yet it still packs in a 5-megapixel CMOS sensor capable of shooting in full 1080p high definition video.
Toshiba has announced an interesting little portable multimedia device, which looks much like digital photo frame but in fact can do a great deal more.
The Journe Touch, featuring a seven-inch touchscreen, is totally portable so it can be used around the house to listen to music, watch videos, connect up to a high definition TV via HDMI, and access a range of web sites.
It runs on Windows CE 6.0 Pro, a popular choice that’s built-in to a range of consumer electronics devices, and can connect to a Wi-Fi network.
Before Toshiba has embraced Blu-ray and announced its first Blu-ray player, it was a staunch advocate of technology to upscale standard definition DVDs, to the point that it suggested the technology was almost as good as Blu-ray itself.
Well, although it now has a foot in the Blu-ray camp, it hasn’t given up on the XDE (eXtended Detail Enhancement) technology which significantly improves SD DVD picture quality above and beyond what simple upscaling players do, and has announced the XDE600 DVD player.
Now that Toshiba has embraced Blu-ray and joined the Blu-ray Disc Association, it has announced its first standalone Blu-ray player, the BDX2000.
As you’d expect from any modern Blu-ray player, it incorporates all the latest features including BD-Live Profile 2.0 support, for full interactivity on compatible discs, full 1080p output including upscaling of standard definition content, support for advanced HD audio including Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio, and Deep Colour.
Toshiba has also put its own REGZA-LINK functionality into the player, meaning that it’s possible to control it and other compatible equipment from a single remote control unit.
Following last month’s bevy of new compact cameras from Samsung comes another: the ST45.
Stylish and thin, featuring an aluminium body and just 16mm in width, it boasts 12 megapixels and Samsung’s new Smart Auto scene recognition which has 11 optimised picture presets including Portrait, Night portrait, Macro and Macro Colour.
If you like the concept of colourful visuals to accompany your music, the GEAR4 SoundOrb Aurora could be just for you.
Not only does this soundbar pump out all your audio, via its built-in iPod dock, but the EveryColour ambient light feature cycles the LEDs through thousands of different colours.
We already know that the Sony-created Blu-ray format is to go 3D sometime soon, and now Sony has committed to 3DTV development in the coming year.
Speaking at this year’s IFA conference, Sony announced that it would launch a 3D-compatible BRAVIA LCD HDTV next year, based on a frame sequential display and active-shutter glass system (a method of 3D display where the TV set alternates the image for the left and right eye, and glasses open and shut in sync with the image on the screen).
I’m not totally convinced by V-MODA headsets — I really want to like them but they don’t quite cut it for me. They’re generally well constructed, though — just personal taste in headphone design.
Maybe the latest Faze headset will do it, though it’s an exclusive with Best Buy so I’m not likely to get my hands on one.
Wires: who needs them? They’re so twentieth century which is why audio equipment manufacturers are embracing Wi-Fi in order to stream music around the home.
Take the latest Squeezebox music players from Logitech, which connect up to Internet radio stations, digital music files stored on PCs, and music subscription services.