Technology Corner

Archive for the ‘Media Player’ Category

The LG BD590 is a bit thin, less bulky unit, despite the fact that it includes a hard disk. The front panel is dominated by a brilliant long spinning down automatically when the disc tray is ejected. During the rest of the front panel a few playback buttons and a USB port. The power and eject buttons are placed on the top and always accessible.

The most interesting feature in the BD590 is the ability to rip CDs directly to the hard drive. Pop in a CD and LG BD590 start playing immediately, immediately downloading the metadata (artist, album title and track / fin) Gracenote service.

Netcast is the name of LG’s suite of media streaming services, and luckily, after entering the Netcast section, floating cubes make way for large tiles with the names of services. LG’s lineup of services is impressive, including Netflix, Vudu, CinemaNow, YouTube, Pandora, Picasa, and AccuWeather. The BD590 has built-in Wireless-N networking. The BD590 features on board, both for decoding high-resolution Dolby and DTS formats. It also includes an Ethernet port, if you prefer the stability of a cable connection.

Pressing the info button brings up the option to “archive” the CD, then you select your tracks, your bit rate (128, 192, 320Kbps, or Lossless). The BD590 enables you to keep listening to the CD while rips, which takes much of the pain out of the extraction process your music collections.

The LG BD590 lacks a quick-start mode and therefore by default uses very little power in standby mode. The drawback with the BD590 is that you do not have the option of faster load times, if you’re willing to pay the additional cost of electricity. It’s also worth pointing out that though the BD590 uses a few more watts than most other standalones in use, it is probably because of the built-in hard drive, the extra juice costs next to nothing over a year.

JVC U.S.A., headquartered in Wayne, New Jersey, is a division of JVC Americas Corp., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Victor Company of Japan Ltd. JVC distributes a complete line of video and audio equipment for the consumer and professional markets. JVC Professional Products, division of JVC U.S.A., today announced that D’Ambra Technologies, a medical technology research firm based in Portland, Maine, is using the JVC 46-inch 3D LCD HD monitor as part of a system that allows observers to watch surgical procedures in real-time 3D at Massachusetts General Hospital (Mass General) in Boston.

Established in 2004, D’Ambra Technologies develops imaging systems that were able to take advantage of 3D technology in the medical community. The company combines software and optical technology with existing medical equipment to improve the image for various medical procedures.

“What we do better than anyone else is acquire, record, and display realistic medical 3D content independent of the source,” explained David Kaplan, M.D. at D’Ambra Technologies. “We are working to build a system which can model a real surgical field in real time 3D – and then allow virtual surgery to be performed on that virtual surgical field. Surgeons will be able perform a ‘practice operation’ before they cut anything on a patient.

JVC’s GD-463D10U 3D monitor uses less polarized (passive) points and produces flicker-free high-definition 3D images with your Xpol integrated polarization filter. “This is a new monitor JVC have managed to overcome my earlier reservations,” says Kaplan. Monitor JVC, together with the router, Black Diamond, provides very low latency solutions. This means that the image on the screen almost immediately with the actual movements of the surgical field.

In collaboration with Black Diamond Video in Alameda, California, D’Ambra 3D technologies installed a monitoring system for the mass-General last December. Lawrence Borges, MD, neurosurgeon attending Mass General is currently using the system during the procedure when using the 3D microscope. JVC Monitor allows observers in the operating room to observe the 3D process as is the case. Kaplan said the initial response was positive, both of Borges and other surgeons who saw the system in action.

Zune HD is the first portable media player that combines a built-in HD Radio receiver, high-definition (HD) video output capabilities, organic light-emitting diode (OLED) capacitive multi-touch screen, and a WiFi Internet browser. It is also the first device to be equipped with the NVIDIA Tegra processor.

A Very nice gadget, the 16GB Zune HD is Onyx Black and the 32GB version is Platinum Silver. The larger-capacity player is available in designer colors like red, blue, yellow-green. The most important aspect of the Zune HD’s design to recognize is that there’s something missing: the ugly. Gone are the days of the bulky, brown brick. In contrast, lean body Zune high definition and construction of anodized aluminum and industrial futuristic science fiction movie prop. Inch glass screen of 3.3 defines the front of the device, and angular blocks of aluminum around the curve of the back, which feels cool and solid HD Zune in hand.

For audio, the device can play only MP3, WMA, and AAC files. Includes support for HD video and SD versions of WMV, MPEG-4 and H.264. Zune can handle high definition HD 720p, but the player, who will play in standard definition. HD playback is only possible on an HDTV or PC, using the HDMI connection, said the optional dock. For photos, you can only view JPEG. Zune HD is 802.11b / g. compatible.

Microsoft Zune device HD beautiful inside and out, which is one of the attractive and affordable alternative to first Apple Ipod Touch. Microsoft deserves some credit for Zune music and video experience beyond the standard set by Apple. What remains to be seen whether people will appreciate the Microsoft Media Award expertise to support the increasingly multi-named iPod.

Apple’s fourth-generation iPod Nano returns to the original long, light, and slender formula that put the series on the map. The Nano 4G feels impossibly light and thin, with a seamless metal construction that allows you to click, like a twig. Curved glass now covers the iPod Nano’s screen, with better scratch resistance. The shape have softened, measuring 3.5 inches tall by 1.6 inches wide by 0.25 inch thick at its center. Headphone and dock connections are located on the bottom of the Nano 4G, and a slide switch allows you to maintain the appearance in the top of the player.

Menu text size has increased slightly and album cover art takes up less real estate on the main menu. In an effort to increase the availability Nano for people with impaired vision, Apple has included a font size in the fourth generation Nano that makes its menus more legible. The Nano’s music playback screen now presents full-screen album art by default, and Cover Flow view is zippier than before, offering alphabetization letters below the covers to quickly navigate through your collection.

All of the features from last year’s Nano have migrated to the fourth-generation model, including music, video, and podcast playback, as well as extras such as photos, calendar, games, alarms, stopwatch, contacts, notes, and clocks. Apple has also added some features that make the 4G Nano more compelling than its predecessors.

The fourth-generation iPod Nano’s speed and usability is better than ever, but its sound quality and rated battery life haven’t budged. Apple rates the battery of the fourth generation iPod Nano at 24 hours of audio playback and 4 hours of video. Apple does not seem motivated to intervene in the iPod’s sound quality or any new audio enhancement settings beyond its traditional slew of EQ presets.

When Apple releases new iPod models, sometimes all they change is how much storage the model offers. Other times, all they change is everything. Now in its third generation, Apple iPod Nano gets a substantial redesign to accommodate games and video playback. Apple did a lot of iPod nano is still one of the smallest, most delicate and exquisite designed MP3 player market. It is also one of the most affordable, with a 4GB silver () model offered for $ 149, and 8GB (silver, black, red, green or blue) model for $ 199.

The redesign of the iPod Nano has drawn plenty of criticism. The Nano measures a petite 2.75 inches long, 2 inches wide, and 0.25 inch thick. In the bottom of the Nano, find your own iPod USB port, along with headphones and the hold switch that prevents accidental release of the player buttons. Nano keeps Apple’s ubiquitous Click Wheel design, although the Nano’s new Click Wheel is smaller in diameter–it’s only 1 inch–than the previous Nano’s 1.25 inches. The Nano’s most dramatic design change is, of course, its larger, brighter screen. The 2-inch color screen packs a dense, crisp 320×240 video resolution that looks richer and brighter than that of any iPod to date.

The Nano’s second-most impressive design improvement is its dramatically overhauled menu system. One of the biggest changes in a split-screen main menu that displays the menu on the right side of the screen and photographs relating to the election of the left. The Cover Flow system, to see your music collection with an emphasis on album artwork, finally makes its Nano debut, although Cover Flow I lose some appeal when not on screen, communication devices like the iPhone.

The third-generation Nano’s piece de resistance is its support for video playback. The iPod Nano supports H.264 or MPEG4 video in either MOV, MP4, or M4V file formats, with a maximum resolution of 640×480 at as much as 30 frames per second. The iPod Nano support for iTunes video games. Although the game is a very convenient way to take some time, do not expect a Nano to compete with Sony PSP in the near future.