Cowon yesterday announced that it will bring an almost entirely intact version of its Mac- and Windows-compatible Q5W media player to US shores after previously limiting the device to southeast Asia. Adding the W to reflect its wireless abilities, the handheld will strip out Korea-only DMB digital TV tuning support but will have both 802.11g Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 2.0 to browse the web (including with Flash animations), access other online content, and gain stereo audio support respectively.

Its 5-inch screen is vivid enough for regularly watching DivX, MPEG-4, Windows Media, and XviD clips, according to Cowon: the LCD offers greater-than-DVD resolution (800×480) and a 500:1 contrast ratio that bests most media players.

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Reacting to observations on his comments that the HD war is in a "stalemate," Sony CEO Howard Stinger now insists that Blu-Ray will ultimately win. The format has the "the momentum and the scale" needed, Stringer says, particularly because it has the exclusive support of movie studios such as Disney, Fox, MGM and Lionsgate. Warner Brothers releases in both Blu-Ray and HD DVD, while only Universal and Paramount have stuck to HD DVD.

Stringer further says that Blu-Ray is "just a better format," not only because it can hold up to 50GB versus HD DVD’s 30GB, but because it has tighter security measures that studios may be attracted to. On the subject of quality, Stringer notes that even Steven Spielberg has insisted that his movies stay on Blu-Ray. "It isn’t the cheaper format, but it is the better format," Stringer observes.

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California’s Vizio remains the dominant maker of LCD TVs in North America, despite heavy advances by its main rival, according to a report from the research firm iSuppli. Vizio sets accounted for 13 percent of all LCDs sold during the third quarter, a mere 0.2 percent better than South Korea’s Samsung. The latter has managed to dramatically boost its share, jumping from 10.8 percent in the second quarter to its current 12.8; this pales next to Vizio’s recent climbs however, since the company only lept to prominence in the second quarter, beating out established heavyweights such as Samsung, Sharp and Sony. The latter two are currently third- and fourth-placed in iSuppli’s rankings.

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Considering Toshiba’s original entry-level HD DVD player (the HD-E1) only launched towards the end of 2006 at a price of £450. So it’s remarkable that its direct replacement, the HD-EP30 here, is widely on sale for less than half as much.

The format war with Blu-ray is a big driver behind this. But what might be bad for Toshiba’s profit margin means good news for consumers. At least for the time being.

Of course, in the back of any potential buyer’s mind is the fact that HD DVD players like the HD-EP30 can’t spin Blu-ray titles, and vice versa.

While HD DVD has gathered support from Paramount, Universal and Warner studios (the latter releasing also on Blu-ray), industry support for Blu-ray is also strong. Toshiba’s format remains in danger of becoming the niche alternative, unless dual-format players become the preferred choice in the market.

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A slightly more affordable model than the £2k AVR-4308, Denon has launched the AVR-3808 that’s said to share many of the features, but with a £1299.99 price tag.

It features Denon’s latest "wave" style industrial design, heavyweight "battleship" build and claims to enable outstanding picture and sound quality.

It’s a spec-heavy beast, so here’s a run down:

Features Overview:
– HDMI 1.3a
– HD Video
– HD Audio
– iPod
– Internet Radio
– PC/Mac and USB Music & Photo streaming
– Easier to use than ever before, with a new photo-real
graphical interface and ergonomic control layout
– Better sound quality than any previous Denon 3800 AVR,
greater ease-of use, total connectivity and multi-zone

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Onkyo has launched the LS-V501, an HDMI-equipped, all-in-one Universal DVD system with SACD, DVD-Audio, DVD, CD and iPod compatibility and 2.1-channel speakers.

Only available in black (£600 with 2.1 speaker system, £400 without) Onkyo says it’s designed to offer a "convenient, easy to accommodate yet comprehensive home entertainment solution".

AV technologies employed are the same as in Onkyo’s home cinema receivers and the integrated DVD player will read any DVD, CD, SACD and DVD-Audio disc, with WMA/JPEG/DivX disc compatibility thrown in.

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British radio maker Revo has released a new device, the Blik. Though able to function as a normal FM radio or alarm clock, the Blik’s key advantage is its Wi-Fi, which has listings for over 6,000 continually-updated Internet stations, as well as various "listen again" services such as those operated by the BBC. Should Internet options not be appealing, users can stream MP3 and WMA audio from their Mac or PC, or plug in an iPod for more direct playback. The Blik is selling in the UK for £100 ($205).

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Axiom Audio is ready to rock the music market again with the introduction of their first ultra-high performance amplifier – the A1400-8. The amplifier is classic in design and comes in silver color to the music lovers. The A1400-8 distribute out 1400 total watts of output power into 2 ohms, averting compression or deformation of the music’s dynamics.

The amplifier delivers high power performance at a comparatively lesser price. All this comes to the users in a compact and small, sleek, cool-running case that leave the user astonished with its efficiency.


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Pioneer, renowned manufacturer of HDTV’s brings to its users the stunning new world of its latest model KURO PRO-110FD Flat panel display. It brings with itself a world of high-definition that will forever change the way the users see, listen to and feel. ELITE® Flat KURO Panel HDTV comes in 50” Diagonal or 16:9 Wide-Screen Aspect Ratio. The HDTV is designed in Deep, Intense Black color with Unmatched Contrast. The KURO PRO-110FD 50″ 1080p Flat Panel Display supports Video Formats WMV9, MPEG1, MPEG2-PS, MPEG2-TS, MPEG-ASP.

The 1080p display is reworked from the ground up generating deeper black’s resultant in vivid colors, more detail and improved contrast. The HDTV carton weights about 124.3 lbs and would reach the users at a pricing of $6,000. To know about the date of arrival of the HDTV the users need to wait for some more days.

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