Alongside the Blu-ray recorder Panasonic unleashed yesterday, there were 14 new Viera TVs. That’s right. Fourteen. That number includes nine plasmas – including a new 46-inch model – and five new LCDs. 11 of these new sets will be available in time for the Olympics.
Six of the nine plasmas are Full HD, offering 1080p pictures, 24p cinema mode, 100Hz technology, 134 billion viewable colours and 30,000:1 native contrast ratio.
Panasonic have reiterated their position that plasmas are better for bigger screen sizes, while LCD TVs are perfect for smaller sizes and brightly lit rooms.
In the LCD department, sizes range from 32-inch to 37-inch, with Full HD models available in both sizes.
Hit the jump below for the full press releases, including release schedules and pricing:
For everybody who’s been hanging out for the local release date and of “the world’s smallest Full HD camcorder” from Sony, we’ve got the details here.The HDR-TG1 is available now for the bargain price of $1,599.I had a little play around with this camera the other day – one of the coolest features is the ability to automatically bookmark people’s faces as you film, so when you’re playing back on the camera you can select a face and playback will start from the point in time their face was registered.Stay tuned for a more detailed look at this impressive little camera soon.[Sony]
Last month, Acer held a big exciting event in New York to launch their new range of Gemstone Blue Entertainment notebooks. Yesterday, they held a much smaller, low-key affair to launch the laptops in Australia. The range, which includes both 16-inch and 18.4-inch models, are available now for RRPs starting at $2,499 for the 16-incher and $2,699 for the 18.4 monster.
Each model incorporates its own Blu-ray player, a widescreen, 1920 x 1080p screen and Dolby digital sound. There is also their stylish, touch-sensitive CineDash media console, which looks awesome, but could be a little awkward for some people to get used to.
The 18.4-inch behemoth also features six integrated speakers for “surround sound”, which could pump out decent audio, although not as loudly as you would expect. There’s a port on the back for those who want their digital music through dedicated speakers though.
Battery life is around two hours playing back a Blu-ray disc, or so they said.
There’s a fair amount of cool technology crammed into these machines, and the price is actually pretty decent when you take it all into account. If you’re after an entertainment or desktop replacement notebook, this actually looks pretty damn decent.
[Acer]
Meant more for geeky vacationers than pros, Sony’s calling its HDR-TG1 Handycam the world’s smallest “full HD” camcorder, packing 280 grams into a 1.3 x 4.7 x 2.5-inch titanium frame. Sony is all about face-detecting as of late, which comes standard here on both video and still shooting. It can identify up to eight mugs, and supposedly adds extra “encoding bits” to faces for the best possible rendering of your subjects. Unfortunately, Sony’s still forcing the Memory Stick standard upon the world, this time, a choice between PRO Duo or PRO Duo Mark2. (How many more MS flavors can we stand, Sony??) It’ll be US$900 in May, though you can pre-order tomorrow online. Full press release below. [SonyStyle]
Besides your bodily filth, what else do you take into the bathroom with you? How about a 57-inch waterproof TV? That’s right, those fellows at Aquavision, who have brought us all manner of waterproof TVs in the past, have now gone to work on the world’s largest waterproof display.
