The Mini PC Nova Lite PX24 has been unleashed by the boys at ASUS and a fine piece of kit it looks too. They claim that it is the world’s smallest PC to offer 1080p HD playback. Here are a few more bits and pieces about the unit

* dedicated graphics card pumping out 1080p
* 241 x 183 x 51 mm
* low 26db noise level
* built-in speaker with 5.1 channel optical outputs
* 1.2 GHz Intel Celeron 220 CPU
* 2 GB memory
* SATA II HDD either 160 or 250 GB capacity
* sports Vista with Media Centre software
* HDMI and DVI-I outputs
* DVD drive

Yet again no Blu-Ray love - guys the war is over - and no price tag as of yet either. So we’ll hold back on the cheers or booes for the moment but as far as looks go, we’ll give the Nova Lite a definite ‘Sexy’ mark.

Source: ASUS

Featured tags: asus nova lite pc

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The boys over at Westinghouse have been busy and this week launched a whole raft of new LCD HDTVs as well as a few other all-in-one units etc. For those of you into that kind of thing, take a deep breath and read on.

First up are three 1080p LCD TVs, namely the TX-42F430S, TX-47F430S and TX-52F480S which are sized unsurprisingly at 42, 47 and 52 inches respectively. All units boast the following bits and pieces

* Inputs - RF, S-Video, YPbPr x 2, HDMI x 4, VGA
* 5,000:1 contrast ratio (1,000:1 on the TX-42F430S)
* 50,000 hrs lamplife
* 176 degree viewing angle both horizontally and vertically
* 2 x 10 Watt speakers (15W on the 52 incher along with a 12W sub-woofer)

The 52 incher also boasts an internal ATSC/NTSC/ClearQAM Tuner. Looking for a combo unit? Well the lads have knocked together the VK-40F580D unit with the following bells and whistles

* Inputs - RF, YPbPr x 1, HDMI x 2, VGA
* 1,800:1 contrast ratio
* 50,000 hrs lamplife
* 176 degree viewing angle both horizontally and vertically
* 2 x 10 Watt speakers

whilst also sporting a DVD player. Wait a minute, wot no Blu-Ray love? Tut, tut Westinghouse. Anyway having dropped the ball with that model, they press on and round off the launch with a series of smaller 720p units in the new SK, PT and W ranges.

The W range starts at 26 inches and expands up to 32 with all units boasting the same tuner as in the TX units along with multiple HD inputs. The SK range sports the same functionality as the W but a faster response time and consequently the units are aimed at the gaming market.

Last and by no means least the PT range offers a series of portable units ranging from 16 to 19 inches. Now by the far the most important stat of all, price tags

TX-52F480S	$2000	TX-47F430S	$1600
TX-42F430S	$1200	VK-40F580D	$1100
W3223	$700	W2613	$500
SK-32H730S	$750	SK-26H730S	$600
PT-19H140S	$380	PT-16H120S	$280

Not shabby, Westinghouse, not shabby at all, affordable HDTVs for all. The specs are not great but at those prices what do ya expect. If you are looking for a cheap entry into HDTV then you can’t go wrong with one of these suckers, enjoy!

Featured tags: hdtv lcd tv westinghouse

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Whilst the latest projector range, LB80, from Panasonic is squarely aimed at schools and offices, if you’re looking for portability from your projector then one of these suckers may be just what you are looking for. The range includes the PT-LB80NTU, PT-LB80U, PT-LB75NTU, PT-LB75U and a widescreen version the PT-LW80NTU and all of them weigh in at under seven pounds.

The NTU dubbed units also feature wireless connectivity which enables them to be located just about anywhere in your school, office or home. And for some reason they allow up to 128 PCs to be connected to them simultaneously. If you’re still keen read on for further details

* 802.11g connectivity for NTU units
* 1280 x 800 res for the PT-LW80NTU
* 1024 x 768 res for the others
* 3,200 lumens for the PT-LB80NTU and PT-LB80U
* 2,600 lumens for the rest

Here are the key stats though PT-LW80NTU - US$3,499, PT-LB80NTU - $3,299, PT-LB80U - $2,999, PT-LB75NTU - $2,299, PT-LB75U - $1,999.

Whilst the units are nothing flash in the display quality department, the portability and wireless connectivity may appeal to some-one out there.

Source: BusinessWire

Featured tags: lb80 panasonic projector

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We have been waiting almost half a year for the final details on Panasonic’s latest range of Viera plasma HDTVs, the PZ850 series, and here they are at last. The 46, 50, 58 and 65 inch units sport built-in internet access for Youtube video and Picasa pics plus other sites to be announced in the future. Here are a few more specs for you to drool over

* four HDMI ports
* PC input
* native contrast ratio of 30,000:1
* dynamic contrast ratio of 1,000,000:1
* H.264 decoding
* SD slots so camcorder video can be watched without conversion
* 24p native playback
* 1080p resolution

The 46 and 50 inch versions will be out this summer, whilst the big boys will appear in the autumn. Price tags are as follows, 46 - US$3100, 50 - US$3500, 58 - US$4300 and finally 65 - US$8000. These suckers, despite the cost, seem to have a nice number of bells and whistles and if their performance matches the outstanding specs, one of them should really be gracing your viewing room sooner rather than later.

As an aside, nice shot from the original version of The Thomas Crown Affair.

Source: Panasonic

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This gorgeous audio centre, the R4, will be released in early June by Vita Audio, a British firm who design and build exquisite audio products. The R4 certainly has the looks but does it have the sound to match? Since Vita Audio produce the award winning Ruark loudspeaker systems, we are betting that it does! Here are a few features and specs of this sumptuous piece of audio gear

* 80 W output
* Slot loading CD player plays CD-Audio, MP3 and WMA music disks
* USB port for playback of MP3 and WMA music files
* Integrated iPod Dock for most models/versions
* their very own funky-looking Rotodial docking remote control
* a couple of other inputs in case you have other toys you’d like to hook up
* 145 x 450 x 255 mm
* 8 kg

Needless to say the price tag matches the quality and elegance of the unit with a walnut version rocking in at 500 GBP (US$976) and a ‘Dream White’ version sporting a 550 GBP (US$1074) label. Not cheap, but then we suspect you get what you pay for with the R4 and that’ll be high quality audio reproduction.

Source: Vita Audio

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With the format war now well and truly over, you would think manufacturers would be rushing out new Blu-Ray players for the new and previously untapped undecided HD consumer. However we haven’t seen much evidence of this product onslaught, but Pioneer have leapt in with two new Blu-Ray players to complement their Kuro range of plasmas, the Elite BDP-05FD and BDP-51FD. Feast your eyes on these specs

* BonusView extra disc content support
* 1080p 24fps output
* HDMI 1.3a ports
* PureCinema Deinterlacer for upscaling standard definition DVDs
* 7.1 surround sound
* Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, DTS HD and DTS HD Master support
* BDP-05FD has gold-plated connections and a faster 297 MHz video encoder as opposed to standard connections and 108 MHz on the BDP-51FD

These suckers talk ever so nicely with Pioneer’s Kuro HDTV range with both players featuring auto-setup when detecting a Kuro HDTV hanging off of it. The settings have been entered by Pioneer engineers to

ensure subtle details, vivid colors and deep shadows are accurately reproduced when shown on KURO displays

according to the marketing blurb. The price tags are US$600 for the BDP-51FD and US$800 for BDP-05FD, not cheap but then these units are not the run of the mill Blu-Ray players.

Pioneer are obviously aiming these at the home theatre enthusiast with a large-ish wallet believing that it was these consumers playing neutral during the war. If they are right then these puppies will sell like the proverbial hot cakes!

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For those of us whose wallets may not have seen the light of day in a while may well want to skip this article. Pioneer have just unleashed the Kuro KRF-9000FD projector - a snip at 8000 Euros (US$12,460). So what do you get for this princely sum?

* 1920 x 1080 res using Liqiuid Crystal on Silicon technology
* 60 to 200 inch picture size range
* supports movie aspect ratio of 2.35:1
* 30,000:1 contrast ratio
* 80% vertical and 34% horizontal lens shift
* 600 lumens brightness
* 2 1.3 HDMI ports, component/composite/S-Video inputs
* 24db noise level
* 280W power consumption
* 11.6 kg
* 455 x 172.5 x 418.5 mm

Well the bells and whistles certainly look good, so if you’re up for recreating a movie theatre in your own home, the Pioneer Kuro KRF-9000FD may just be what you’re looking for. Just in case you’re still not convinced here’s a bit of the marketing spiel from Pioneer

Developed specifically for cinephiles with a dedicated home cinema room, the KURO projector is configured for screen sizes starting from 60 inches. Aside from displaying signature KURO style cosmetics, it supports advanced calibration and is in line with the KURO benchmark of deep black levels and rich colours, resulting in the unmistakable look of film. It incorporates LCOS 1080p technology, producing the highest native contrast ratio. Based on 3 x 0.7 inch D-ILA, it boasts a wide lens shift capacity and dual HDMI 1.3 support.

As with all forms of display, its what works well with your given entertainment area that matters, but if you are looking for a great home cinema experience then the KRF-9000FD is certainly going to help you achieve that.

Source: i4u

Featured tags: KRF 9000FD kuro pioneer projector

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