Arcam's newest upscaling player aimed for the high end market will retail for 1800 pounds. With this price you would expect a feature set to rival anything on the market and it no doubts comes through. I'll list a few below but you will have to click through to see the rest.

From the article:

* cutting-edge video technology using the latest generation Zoran Vaddis 888S core processing engine
* ABT1010 10 bit video scaler to 720p, 768p, 1080i, 1080p, from Anchor Bay
* broadcast quality ABT102 video deinterlacer
* quality bad edit detection and 'any format' cadence processing
* twin audiophile-grade toroidal transformers for audio
* unique Arcam 'Mask of Silence' electro magnetic damping technology
* unique Arcam tri-laminate damped SDS (Sound Dead Steel) chassis - The DV139 uses the unique FMJ tri-laminate SDS chassis, to mechanically separate the electronic circuits from internal or airborne vibration. Arcam's 'Mask of Silence' damps EMC. Twin audiophile-grade toroidal transformers, give delicate audio signals a completely separate power supply from the digital and video parts. Optimized circuit board layout and a wealth of subtle tweaks stem from Arcam's long history of cutting edge DVD and Hi-fi design.

One of the reasons I went with a DLP TV in the end was due to ambient light problems with front projectors. To get a workable solution would cost a lot more money then I wanted spend. According to EngadgetHD, Planar's Xscreen is going to help out this type of problem without spending a lot of money.

Read the rest here:

It also sports an "ultrafine" .0065-millimeter pitch along with a "high-contrast filter" that allows the projected image to be reflected by the screen while it absorbs incidental light from other sources. While we've no idea how much DNP plans to charge for this daylight-friendly device (nor if it actually works as claimed), we shouldn't have to wait around too much longer to find out.

One thing about the holiday season, it brings out the shopping expert in everyone, including Future Looks. This is another back to basics article that I am very fond of. Assuming people know the basics is foolish and sure to lose you sales. It also reminds me of an article from earlier this week; be sure to bring your own material to audition.

From the article:

LCDs hold many of the same characteristics as their projection brethren. With increased production yields and reduced costs, they are quickly becoming the dominant flat panel technology. LCDs, of course, are not bulky like their projection counterparts as the image is produced right on the screen of Liquid Crystal panels. A giant fluorescent backlight is filtered through the LCD panels to create colour: Nice and simple. But problems with contrast and (to a lesser extent) viewing angles still plague the LCD.

Digital Trends had the opportunity to sit down with the CEO of Sling Media and chat with him about their products and technology. For those of you not in the know, the Slingbox allows you to take content from your TV, DVD player etc and strema it over the net.

From the article:

I am quite impressed with what speakers you can get in the thousand dollar range these days. The Tannoy HTS speaker set just eeks under this price range and gets a pretty good review from Sound & Vision. The finish of the speakers is quite nice but will likely only fit in with a specific decor so be sure to consult your wife before making such a purchase. I think these would find their way nicely into a livingroom style setup rather then a full fledged dedicated setup.

From the article:

I powered up and spent a few minutes tweaking the sub. As is typical, it has level and crossover (50 to 200 Hz) controls, as well as a 0/180-degree phase switch. After some preliminary listening, I settled on a crossover frequency of about 110 Hz and no phase shift. I experimented with the foam plug and eventually decided to use it for music but remove it for movies. The plug mainly affected the upper-bass response, with the system delivering tighter bass with the plug in and louder (but boomier) bass with it out. Also, after some listening, I pulled the towers away from the wall a short distance till the front grilles were about 12 inches from the wall behind them. This marginally tightened the upper-bass response in my room. Of course, your room and speaker placement will uniquely dictate your decisions.

If you are looking for a teeeeny USB ATSC tuner for on the go life or simply ran out of PCI slots, have a gander at PC Magazine's review of the Artec T14A Digital Tuner. I have heard more then a few positive comments on this little bad boy. Its also worth mentioning that it works with MCE. The review had a few problems with the device but I am not convinced it wasn't the environment. Oh.. and tip to reviewers..... never review the bundled software.... unless its a known PVR package

From the article: 

There's promise here in this relatively easy-to-use device. I could imagine dropping it in my bag and enjoying HD content from the comfort of a hotel room. If you have a digital tuner on your TV (or connected to it) you can plug the Artec antenna's standard coax connector right into it—you leave out the Artec Digital Tuner. I tried this at home with my HDTV, but the HD signals were too weak to produce watchable HDTV. However, until all the bugs are worked out and the software starts to recognize some interface standards, I can't recommend Artec's T14A Digital TV Tuner.

I think this is more a proof of concept than an actual money maker. Not many people have enough upstream bandwidth to even make this practical. I personally have problems streaming through orb via DSL and that's horrible quality. But ya gotta love the potential when everyone has FIOS ;-)

Matrixstream 1080p IPTV streaming has made it to the next level, now calling itself MyTVPal and offering a beta version of its software video player for free download. The company also promises to roll out the Matrixstream MX1020HD set-top box (pictured above) to accompany its H.264-based IPTV video service, vowing to eventually deliver 1080p video over an everyday "best effort" broadband connection.

Read the rest here.