In the recent release of 4th generation (Haswell) Intel Core integrated processor graphics (IPG), Intel placed significant focus on changes made to Quick Sync transcoding technology included with the HD graphics portion of the chip. As the review developed, it became evident quite quickly that this aspect of the Intel Core i7-4770K warranted specific coverage outside of the more general […]
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When it comes to Digital Cable Tuners (DCT), time has been extremely generous to the home theater PC (HTPC) enthusiast. What was once $200 per tuner is now just $50. With multiple options for connection and tuner count per device available, the market appeared complete, though obviously it was not with Ceton still holding an additional card to play – […]
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For home theater PC (HTPC) enthusiasts, the 4th generation Intel Core “Haswell” family of processors has been greatly anticipated. Expectations have been set both for its GPU performance, and that the long-standing issue with refresh rate accuracy will finally be put to rest. Unfortunately time with the new integrated processor graphics (IPG) was limited to just a few hours, but […]
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As we march towards more efficient CPUs it is great to see OEMs taking advantage of the inherent capabilities to deliver smaller form factors. We saw it with Intel’s NUC, where they provided a very cabable bare-bones HTPC, and now GIGABYTE has come out with something similar. I’m really happy to see more vendors/competition in this space. Full PR after […]
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While I wish that they would do more to officially embrace a position in orchestrating the home theater it is still interesting to see how AVR OEMs evolve their products. At least from Onkyo it appears to be the year of integrated Wi-Fi & Bluetooth – which is a nice get. I’m not that interested in their custom integrator (CI) […]
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When it comes to no-hassle media playback it’s quite easy to recommend picking up one of Dune HD’s media streamers. They provide a simple “just works” content experience, but there is still some work to do when it comes to unified file storage and delivering a rich, navigable UI. Which is where VidaBox comes in with the “LiivNAS: Dune Edition”. […]
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No Home Automation (HA) is really complete without connected deadbolts making it possible to manage access. Which is exactly why I have the original Kwikset Z-Wave locks in my home. Frankly, I’m a big fan and there’s a lot to like about the locks, especially SmartKey which lets you re-key the locks whenever you want without involving a locksmith. There […]
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Panasonic’s ST line of plasma display panels (PDP) usually win the cost/benefit valuation for HDTVs, but it looks like this year they also topped last year’s best display. This is great news not just for 2013 ST buyers, but also hints at the good-things-to-come from the VT & ZT models. Panasonic’s ST60 models fall smack in the middle of their […]
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With a 17 watt integrated processor graphics (IPG) in a four-by-four inch chassis, Intel’s Next Unit of Computing (NUC) is of obvious interest to home theater PC (HTPC) enthusiasts. This footprint and low-power consumption, coupled with Intel HD 4000 graphics, promises to deliver an incredibly capable client system. It is small enough to hide away, or place discretely next to […]
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OK, they didn’t really kill any puppies (that I know of), but it certianly feels that way because they won’t be building better plasma display panels than the 2013 crop. It’s unclear what this means exactly – hopefully we’ll still be able to buy them until OLED’s production issues are sorted. Update: According to the HDGuru (who asked Panasonic), they […]
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