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By Chris Scott Barr

Remember back when TVs were just boxes that were just used for watching movies, cable and playing video games? I guess that wasn’t all that long ago, since the TV I just bought a few months ago still needs another device in order to really do anything. However, soon you’ll be able to go and get yourself a Vizio HDTV that comes with all sorts of cool applications built-in.

I’ve got a small PC that sits in my entertainment center which gives me access to streaming video, audio and of course the web. With the new line of Vizio XVT HDTVs, I could almost get rid of it. Owners will have access to free streaming content from Revision3, Showtime and Pandora while also being able to subscribe to services such as Vudu, Netflix, Blockbuster OnDemand, Amazon Video On Demand and Rhapsody. The icing on the cake is access to Twitter, Facebook, Flickr and Yahoo Widgets.

Of course all of these features is going to require the use of something a little more advanced than your standard remote. After all, who wants to Twitter using arrow keys and an on-screen keyboard? The new Bluetooth remote will have a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, which should be useful enough to hack out the 140 characters needed to tell everyone what you’re watching. Without internet access these new programs are virtually useless, which is why you’ll have the option of either connecting via an ethernet cable or 802.11n wireless. These new XVT models will hit stores next month starting at $749 for a 32-inch and going up from there.

[ Vizio ] VIA [ CrunchGear ]

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Hope you didn’t just pull the trigger on a BDP-S350, ’cause we get the feeling Sony’s two newest standalone BD decks are going to make you yearn for the next best thing. Here in Las Vegas, the company has just come clean with the Profile 2.0 BDP-S360 and BDP-S560, the latter of which includes integrated WiFi for tapping into BD-Live content and downloading future firmware updates sans an Ethernet cable. Also, the unit is fully DLNA-ready, handles DVD upscaling, bit-streams audio via HDMI, decodes Dolby TrueHD / DTS-HD Master Audio and plays nice with external media loaded up on a USB drive. As predicted, the lower-end BDP-S360 is essentially the same player sans WiFi.

Moving on, we’ve got a new pair of 5.1-channel Blu-ray HTIB systems: the BDV-E300 and BDV-E500W. Both bundles include a BD-Live-capable (Profile 2.0) Blu-ray player, while the BDV-E500W sports integrated S-AIR wireless audio capabilities. In other words, your rear speakers will get their signal sans cabling, and those who opt for the BDV-E300 are getting a kit that’s S-AIR-ready, meaning that you can add modules in the future to get the same wireless support. Both sets also include Sony’s Digital Media Port for controlling peripherals like Apple’s iPod and Sony’s own Walkman line, and the BRAVIA Sync technology ensures that HDMI-CEC lovers are taken care of. The models also bring along the firm’s Xross Media Bar (XMB) interface, a USB port for loading up media and an easy-to-follow setup DVD. As for pricing and availability, we’ve broken all that down below.

BDP-S360 Blu-ray player: shipping this summer for around $300
BDP-S560 Blu-ray player: shipping this summer for around $350
HT-SS360 component home theater system : shipping in May for around $350
BDV-E300 Blu-ray HTIB: shipping in June for around $600
BDV-E500W Blu-ray HTIB: shipping in June for around $800

Catch the release in full just after the break.
Gallery: Sony outs BDP-S360 and BDP-S560 Blu-ray players, new BD HTIBs

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We’ve been hearing about Philips’ attempt to jump on the burgeoning connected HDTV bandwagon for nearly a year now, but at long last, it seems like the company will finally be making it happen — months after everyone else stole the thunder at CES. At any rate, Pocket-lint has it that the aforesaid outfit is readying its Net TV module — which should be an add-on of some sort that connects via wire to its 8000, 9000 and Cinema 21:9 HDTVs — for an April release. The box will purportedly bring the web’s best content to your HDTV through an easy-to-understand user interface, and the WiFi capability means that you won’t have to run an Ethernet cable to your set. Like most everything Philips does in the HDTV / home entertainment space, we suspect this will also be limited to Europe, but a boy can dream, can’t he?

[Via ShinyShiny]
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By Luke Anderson

If you’ve ever worked at a retail store, you probably know that the margin on most types of cabling is huge. The store only pays a few bucks for that $15 ethernet cable you picked up (or just about any other kind), which is why they’re always suggesting you get one. If you do a lot of networking, you learn to make your own ethernet cables. This is good for two reasons, you make it the exact length you need and you save a lot of money. Well it seems that the same theory will soon be applied to HDMI cables.

Audioquest has announced a like of HDMI connectors that can be terminated by anyone with the right tools. The 19 wires that make up an HDMI cable might look a little daunting (an ethernet cable only uses 8), but their system works by splitting those into a set of 8 and one of 9. By crimping these separately, you’ll save yourself a lot of hassle. They even claim that crimping the wires produces a better signal than with current soldering techniques (take that Monster Cable!). We still don’t know anything about pricing, so it’s entirely possible that this sort of thing will cost more than pre-made cables, but hopefully that won’t be the case.

[ Audioquest ] VIA [ CrunchGear ]

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We’re not too sure what’s up with New England-based institutions and inspiration from the depths, but the two seem to have some kind of intrinsic connection. The latest company to prove such a wacky assertion true is Boston’s own Scallop Imaging, a Tenebraex subsidiary that has developed a “low-cost” security camera that sees 180 degrees of view without fisheye distortion or the lag present in pan-and-tilt alternatives. Additionally, the multi-eyed cam automatically stitches and downsamples images, and can capture a new 7-megapixel still to transmit over Ethernet “every second or two.” It’s small enough to be placed into a light socket-sized hole, and it’s powered by the same Ethernet cable that links it into a building’s surveillance system. Of course, the fun won’t stop there, as the outfit is already looking at automotive applications of the Digital Window, including “distortion-free backup cameras for the rear ends” of vehicles.
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