Samsung 40 Inch Full HD 100Hz LCD TV

• Brand: Samsung
• Model: LE40A615
• 40 Inch Full HD
• 1080 24p Real Movie
• Resolutiion:1920 x 1080p
• Dynamic Contrast Ratio: 30.000:1
• Entertainment Mode
• Picture in Picture
• Picture Ratio: 16:9
• 100 Hz Technology
• DVB-T
• Clear Panel
• Movie Plus
• Wide Colour Enhancer 2
• DNIe Pro
• A2/NiCAM
• Downfiring speaker
• SRS TrueSurround XT
• Electronic Program Guide
• Loud Speaker Output: 20 Watt (2 x 10W)
• Power Consumption: 240W
• Connections:
• 3 x HDMI / Component (Y/Pb/Pr) / 2 x Scart / Video Monitor Out (L/R) Only Audio / PC Connection (D-Sub) / Optical Audio Out / USB 2.0 / S-Video / Composite / Headphone
• Dimensions: 99.8 x 63.8 x 8.4 cm (WxHxD) / 99.8 x 69.9 x 30 cm (WxHxD) including Foot
• Weight: 17kg / 20.2 kg including Foot
• Warranty: 2 years

Price: € 777,00

Go iBOOD. That is one serious telly. I would buy it in a heartbeat if I wasn't up to my eyes in tv's, projectors and monitors at the moment. €12.50 shipping seals the deal.

DVICO 6500 Multimedia Player 1TB, €449 ex. shipping

For those of you who missed out on Monday's iBOOD Argosy 500GB offer, or who couldn't decide in time if it was what they wanted, here's what it aspires to.

The DVICO 6500 is a pretty high-end piece of kit. "Does it support format X?" Yes. End of discussion. It is one of the best devices ever for format support, especially HD because this sucker goes all the way to 1080p without breaking a sweat, unlike the 720p/1080i Argosy.


The 1TB SATA drive is almost the least interesting part, given that you can replace the Argosy's 500GB SATA drive at any time. A second drive bay would be nice, given the size. Still, better than a kick in the teeth.

I haven't used divxplayer.nl myself, but I hear good things. Head over to MPC club to find out more.

Oh, and why is it a bargain? Well, check out the usual price... (full specifications available)

Technomate 6900 HD SUPER

With January 2009 looming around the corner, we move ever closer to a world of Digital Terrestrial Television. But all those people who bought Freeview-ready TVs to be "ready for the future" are in for a shock: the vast majority of them won't work in Ireland. There have been a few DTT trials around the country (mainly Dublin) that worked on the old equipment but these have now ended and there are new trials in places. These use the more modern Mpeg-4 AVC standard also known as H.264, x.264 and Mpeg-4 part 10. So, if you want to receive terrestrial channels after jan '09, you have a couple of options.

• Buy a TV with DTT and Mpeg-4 decoding built in. (Expensive)
  
• Buy a seperate box for DTT and Mpeg-4. (Probably not too expensive but who knows?)
• Buy a combo satellite and DTT tuner with Mpeg-4.

You may have guessed which one I'm going to recommend.

The Technomate packs a whole lot of functionality into it's shell, it can pick up channels from DTT and satellite sources, decode SD and HD channels, and download program info from the internet. It probably does more but I'm already sold! For the interested, you can view the specifications here:

2 High Definition Tuners: DVB-S/DVB-S2 Satellite & DVB-T Terrestrial Compliant (MPEG-2 / MPEG-4 / H.264)
576i & 576p, 720p & 1080i supported
1 Smart Card Reader & 2 Common Interfaces (2CI)
HDMI & Component Output (YPbPr) with Hardware Upscaler to Improve Picture Quality
Very Fast & Detailed Hardware Blind Search (power scan)
Ethernet Communication Port
eSATA Port
2x USB Ports (Front + Rear Ports)
PLL type RF-Modulator (Ch. 21- 69) and UHF tuning function
10,000 TV & Radio Channels
USB 2.0 PVR Ready via USB External Device
USB PVR Features: Rewind/Forward, Slow Motion Rewind/Forward, Timeshift (Pause Live TV) & Record Scrambled/Free-To-Air (FTA) Channels & Record current channel and playback a recording at the same time
Music player & JPEG viewer via USB 2.0
Fast Software & Channel List download via USB 2.0
2 Scart Outputs with RGB Support
Fully Featured VFD text Front Panel Display
Super Sensitive tuner for very weak signals
Dolby Digital Optical S/PDIF
Dolby Digital by HDMI
S-Video Output
Less than 1 second channel change
DiSEqC 1.0, 1.1, 1.2 & 1.3 (USALS) compatible
Auto Navigation system – select as many satellites as you want to search
On-screen display with true full color resolution
Enhanced 16 Favorite channel groups
Channel control by: Favorites, Lock, Skip, Move & Delete
Channel sort by: All, Alphabet, Transponder & CAS
Parental, Installation & Receiver Lock
Multilingual OSD Menu: English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Dutch, German, Italian, Turkish, Arabic, Russian, Greek, Czech, Romanian, Persian
Fast & Easy-To-Use Menu System
Extended EPG and program reservation on EPG
Teletext & Subtitle by OSD and VBI
Last channel memory function
Factory default channel list
Various games
Software & channel list upgrade via RS-232C: PC to STB, STB to PC, STB-STB and USB
Zoom function on Pause & Live channel
Multi picture display
Support for multiple language broadcasts
SCPC & MCPC receivable from C/Ku band satellites LNBs supported: Universal, Single, Single S & C band wideband LNBs
Multi TV Standards supported: PAL G, I, K, M
4:3 & 16:9 Screen Formats
90-250V AC 50/60 Hz
LNB Short Circuit protection onboard
Software & channel list upgrade via RS-232C: PC to STB, STB to PC, STB-STB and USB
Dimension 390mm x 262mm x 67mm
Available in Silver or Glossy Black

Would a 28" monitor fit on your desk?

Please note: the motorbike is not included.

This is in fact a rare and strange beast, a 28" monitor with full 1080p HD capabilities. No TV tuner, just HDMI and VGA to get the signal in.

So without further ado:

28" Hanns-G HG281DP Widescreen Monitor

• 1920 x 1200 (WUXGA) Optimum Resolution
• 16.7 Million Colours
• 800:1 Contrast Ratio
• 3ms Response Time
• 500 cd/m2 Brightness
• Viewing Angle (H/V): 170°/ 170°
• One HDMI Input (Comes with a HDMI to DVI lead)
• One Analogue Input
• 2 Integrated 2.5W Speakers
• 3 Year Manufacturer Warranty

28" is an unusual size for a monitor. 23" and 26" are popular for televisions but 22" and 24" are normally where the action is on the PC scene. It's not necessarily a bad thing, it's just... odd. And it seems to be astonishingly good value.

Aria PC: £267.84 + £40.75 (!!!)

Overclockers UK: £258.49 (time-limited offer) + £22.00

PC World Business: €424 (ex VAT)

So for the price of a 24" you could have a 28", not too shabby. Reviews seem generally positive too. Will this be the first of a long line of 28's, or just another mad venture by HannsG/Hannspree? Only time will tell...

1080p TV for less than €600

POLAROID TFU-43743B LCD Television

The good:

• 5,000:1 contrast ratio
• VGA Input
• HDMI Input
• 1080p resolution
• €599
• DVB-T
  

The bad:

• No DVI input
• No MPEG-4 decoder

Polaroid make TV's now? I'd take it as a sign that 1080p TV's are approaching a more reasonable cost level but I wouldn't be rushing out to buy it.

[iBood] 500 GB Argosy mobile video HDD HV356TB

Right. This is the LAST 500GB drive I will ever blog about. From here on out, it's a minimum of 750GB. But it's a good one, truly. The drive itself is nothing special but the multimedia case is superb. It supports a ton of different video types so you spend less time mucking around converting them, has component connectors for HD viewing, a handy remote that can be clipped underneath the drive when not in use, supports subtitles files, it's quiet, it's compact and it's €119.

Oh, and it's a standard SATA drive, so when 500GB just isn't enough just take it out and pop in a bigger drive. It even supports NTFS.

HD-DVD, picking the corpse clean

HD-DVD gets a bad rap. It was unable to beat blu-ray, blu-ray's much maligned copy protection, the PS3, the Xbox didn't want it, Microsoft were closely associated with it... the list goes on. And now it's on the way out, a fate it richly deserves. But hold on, as evidenced by the budget price of the Xbox HD-DVD add-on, there are a few bargains to be had. It is still a HD format with all the fancy bells and whistles that go with it, and now the prices are on a par with regular DVD! So for a modest investment in a player you can pick up HD titles at rock bottom prices from the following:

• Asda Entertainment from GBP £4.93 (free shipping)
• Play.com from GBP £4.99 (free shipping)
• Ezydvd from GBP £4.39
• DVD Crave from GBP £4.39

XE.com Universal Currency Converter

37. What a number!

Err... it just is right? Three and seven, that's as lucky as they get.

Actually I'm referring to the minimum recommended size in ye olde inches for a Full-HD TV. Yes, you just won't see the difference in a smaller telly, mostly because they are rare but also because you would need to sit about a foot away to notice the extra detail. Anyway! Let's have a look at what we can get:

Komplett.ie
Estimated shipping: €120
Samsung LE37M86BD €811.00
Samsung LE37A552 €911.01
Toshiba REGZA 37" LCD-TV 37XV505D €911.01
Philips 37PFL5603D/10 €991.00

Powercity.ie
Estimated shipping: ???
LG 37LF65 €735.95

Pixmania.ie
Estimated shipping: €43
LG 37LF65 €807.00
Toshiba37XV503DG €864.00
Samsung LE37A556 €879.00
Toshiba REGZA 2XV505DG €948.00
Samsung LE37A558 €954.00

Nothing special on luzerntech.com or technikdirekt.de at the moment. Just remember, prices are always coming down.

Watch satellite and terrestrial TV on your computer

Normally when you see a title like that, it is some sort of scam. Wait, come back! This is not a scam! What I'm talking about is hardware that adds a TV tuner to your home PC. Personally, I use an old co-ax tuner to watch and record both the standard terrestrial broadcasts (RTE1,RTE2,TV3,TG4) and satellite as fed from a skybox through a composite input (the yellow video wire). You could do away with the skybox completely by getting a 2 in 1 satellite/analogue tuner. At €79 it works out at the same price as a bottom-of-the-range Free To Air satellite box, but with the added benefits of picking up the Irish channels, being able to record and getting (and recording) HD broadcasts for free. In the future there is also the possibility of someone adding support for the Freesat EPG so you can't really lose especially if you have a PC pretty enough to sit under your TV.

Games Consoles

So you've got a HD TV or projector, now what can you do to make the most of it? Modern consoles are more than just games playing machines. They can play music, videos, HD videos, photo slideshows, browse the internet, organise your life etcetera, etcetera. Games are of course a great way of showing it off, but you might also use it for watching near-cinema quality films with the added bonus of no chewing-gum riddled, spring loaded, popcorn-salt covered, tatty velour seats. Here is what is on offer:

Wii
Nintendo
Typical price: €270, comes with bundled Wii Sports game

The market leader. Does not play High Definition discs, or any other kind of disc. Does not output resolutions higher than 480p. No internal hard drive. Has wifi. Does play video from SD card. Backwards compatible with Gamecube games and controllers. Downloadable games and retro games. Popular with all ages despite non-HD graphics.

Xbox360
Microsoft
Typical price: €200 for Arcade model, €350 for Elite model

The number 2 console. Play High Definition discs, however only in the soon to be defunct HD-DVD format. Plays and upscales DVDs. Output resolutions up to 1080p. No wifi or internal hard drive on Arcade model. Has ethernet networking. Backwards compatible with some Xbox games. Downloadable games and videos from Xbox Live!. HD-DVD discs are being sold very cheaply.

Playstation 3
Sony
Typical price: €400 for 40GB model

Last place. Plays High Definition Blu-ray discs. Plays and upscales DVDs. Outputs resolutions up to 1080p. Has wifi and internal hard drive. Has ethernet networking. Backwards compatible with some PS1 games. Built in web browser. Downloadable games from Sony Store.

...And a screen for that projector

Yesterdays 1080p projector, while good enough to project onto a bare white wall, would benefit nicely from a good reflective screen. Problem is these screens are usually limited in size, a bit of a nuisance to roll up and down and expensive. If you have a big blank wall that you'd love to fill with big screen goodness, take a look at screen goo. Sold in a can like regular paint, you can apply this directly to the wall, or onto a thin, flat layer of basecoated board and it acts like a fixed screen at the size you want.

1080p Projector

Right. Today I just wanted to post about something expensive, while trying to get a good price. 1080p? The highest of High Definition? Check. Projection? Over 200 inches? Check. Under €2000? No way, can't be done. Or can it?

Introducing the Mitsubishi HC4900. This little number has been getting some great reviews when stacked against pricier models. Silent, easy to use, fantastic price.

If I wanted to buy 1080p, and I will one day, this is what I would buy.

Digital heaven or dismal lemon?

AKA how to spot a dud 101

Sometimes I see a deal that sounds too good to be true. And like all such deals, that's exactly what it is. For example, the 5 Megapixel SD memory video camera in Aldi this week promises to shoot video in 720p for the low price of €100. That is phenomenally good. It is also far, far from the full story. Just in case you are wondering, I did not buy it. I have seen the quality (or lack of) of the budget optical devices Aldi sell and suspected that this was not one of their better offers. A quick visit to hotukdeals.com was enough to convince me to steer clear.

Just remember, 5 Megapixels of crap is still crap.

iBood

Internet's best offer online daily. Sometimes it's an exaggeration, sometimes it's not. Watching ibood is more for those of us who like to use the "I'm feeling lucky" button :)

http://www.ibood.com/


Shipping is €12.50 to Ireland for one item or two items, and €25 for three items or four items. 4 is the limit. Bad for small items, great for 50 inch tv's!

Satellite TV (and radio)

Ah, satellite. Is there no end to the joy you bring? For many years now people all over Ireland have been reaping the benefit of Free To Air satellite transmissions. For a very modest outlay, you can get over 200 television and radio channels beamed into your home for no monthly cost. Since early May '08, these channels have been supplemented by Freesat: an offering that delivers an EPG, a range of High Definition decoder boxes and PVR functionality without a subscription. At the moment there are about 80 channels available on the EPG and the PVR boxes are not on store shelves yet but it's only a matter of time.

I'd like to make a special note of how good the satellite radio is: the sound is better quality than FM and you can get a great variety of channels. Well worth looking into!