LG’s DVB418 is the big brother to the DVB318, which I have on a personal install. I love the DVB318, it upconverts to 1080i over component and the output is great, offering more detail than standard 480p.

Let’s see how the DVB418 fares under the eyes of designtechnica:

“Pros
High end appearance and styling
Rich features and audio/video output options
Excellent picture quality

Cons
No indication of resolution or HDMI mode available remotely.
Memory card picture playback is extremely slow
No video enhancement from the up-conversion processing
Does not come with a cable (HDMI)

Conclusion
The LGDVB418 DVD player is feature rich, very attractive, and intuitive to operate. The picture quality was excellent with both Component Video output and HDMI output. However, we were not able to discern that resolution up-conversion added anything to the video quality. This may be due to the high quality of the Hitachi plasma display in all resolution modes or it could simply mean that the LGDVB418 does not use any signal processing tricks to enhance the video quality during the up-conversion.”

Bummer, too bad it didn’t live up the the 318’s reputation. I fully recommend the 318, it can still be found at retail:


Full Review - DVB418

While Plasma and Rear Projection sale prices remained generally stable, LCD prices have been falling in October, especially the larger sized models.

LCD TV models are now being advertised at the same price points as PDP TV models in the 42-inch segment, and both technologies have narrowed the price gap with RPTV models of similar size, according to PMA (Pacific Media Assoc) Vice President Rosemary Abowd. The aggressive pricing in all three segments may make it difficult for retailers to cut prices further as we lead up to Black Friday and head into the holiday buying season, Abowd said.

“The biggest advertised price movements in October were for larger LCD TVs. In the 40-to 42-inch category, advertised prices continued to challenge 42-inch HD (high definition) PDP technology. An Olevia-branded 42-inch model appeared at J&R for US$2,299, and Best Buy offered a 40-inch JVC LCD TV for US$2,999, down US$500 from September.

Prices for Sharp LCD TVs declined across-the-board, with its 26-inch model offered at US$1,199 (Circuit City, CompUSA); 32-inch model falling several hundred dollars to around US$1,500 at several retailers; and 37-inch model priced at US$1,999 (6th Avenue Electronics), which is US$800 lower than the September advertised prices.

In the 26- and 27-inch LCD segment, models from Maxent (US$688 at 6th Avenue Electronics), ViewSonic (US$750 at CompUSA), Westinghouse (US$800 at Best Buy & The Great Indoors) and Syntax (US$800 at CompUSA) mirrored September’s prices and remained several hundred dollars below similar-sized top-brand models.”

News Source

Tired of your DVD player spewing moral truth at you? Is God talking to you through your DVD collection?

Would you prefer a more palatable moral media machine? From the East, we give you, the Religion Free DVD Player.

Order now, supplies limited!

There is nothing like an ad gone wrong, lost in translation…

From Gizmodo

In the big screen LCD sector, the competition is heating up. Both Samsung and LG-Philips are moving ahead of schedule for mass production of 40, 42, 46 and 47 inch LCD HDTV models.

Look for this battle to be one by who is first in with consumers.

Market watchers say LG-Philips and Samsung advanced their schedule for the new factories in a bid to seize control of the large-LCD market segment. LG-Philips focuses on manufacturing 42-inch and 47-inch LCDs, Samsung on 40-inch and 46-inch LCDs.

Source

The hot new release this week is Madagascar, another animation feature from the digital powerhouse DreamWorks.

This is a family-friendly flick with adult humor along the way, similar to everyone’s favorite ogre, Shrek.

The story goes like this: Spoiled by their upbringing with no idea what wild life is really like, four animals from New York Central Zoo escape in search of their friend and find themselves on route to Madagascar…

Madagascar - rent it from Netflix (free 2 week trial)

Here is a decent review of Panasonic’s popular 50″ plasma hdtv. It lacks a tuner and aspect ratio control, but has great image quality.

Available under 3 grand (see “Best Deals” tab below), this set is a great choice.

“The good: Relatively inexpensive; excellent black-level performance; accurate color decoding; solid video processing with 2:3 pull-down; independent memory per input; versatile PIP function; extensive picture adjustments; customizable inputs.

The bad: Does not include a stand, a tuner, or speakers; sparse input selection; doesn’t include a digital input; cannot change aspect ratios with HDTV sources; floats blacks.

The bottom line: Although it’s missing a couple of inputs, the Panasonic TH-50PHD8UK surpasses any 50-inch plasma we’ve reviewed in terms of image quality and overall value.”

CNET Review

The xbox 360 launch title list is now set, fo sho. A couple highly anticipated games like The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion and Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter have been pushed back a bit, and won’t make the initial launch.

Here are the titles available for purchase when the Xbox 360 goes on sale next Tuesday. Which games do you plan on buying?

• Amped 3
• Call of Duty 2
• Condemned: Criminal Origins
• FIFA Soccer 06 Road to 2006 FIFA World Cup
• GUN
• Kameo: Elements of Power
• Madden NFL 06
• NBA 2K6
• NBA LIVE 06
• Need for Speed Most Wanted
• NHL 2K6
• Perfect Dark Zero
• Peter Jackson’s King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie
• Project Gotham Racing 3
• Quake 4
• Ridge Racer 6
• Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 06
• Tony Hawk’s American Wasteland

Microsoft has also published a list of over 200 xbox games that will be playable on the 360. You’ll need the hard drive option for this to work, though.

Here is the list of backwards compatible games.

Via Joystiq

Following up our first review of the Panasonic PT-AE900U LCD Projector from Audioholics, ultimate AV give us their take on this popular machine.

“Pros
Film-like images with fine subjective color
Impressive blacks
Nearly silent operation (in Low lamp mode)

Cons
Non-defeatable sharpness enhancement in 480i and 480p
Some softness and grain
May not be compatible with some HDMI sources

Conclusion
$3200 may sound like a lot of money for a video display to those accustomed to buying a $500 TV every 10 years. But in the world of front projection, it’s relatively cheap. You can go cheaper, but at this price level you definitely get what you pay for.

And with the Panasonic you get a lot—a compact, quiet projector with fine color, solid black levels, no DLP rainbows, and a range of adjustments that is the equal of projectors costing several times as much. It definitely deserves a close look. ”

Here’s a more recent review as well
Full Review
Comparable to Sanyo PLV-Z4

Spotted at HD Blog

Team xbox have just uploaded a new trailer for Need for Speed: Most Wanted “Black Edition.” The Need for Speed series has long been one of my favorites, I’m a horsepower junkie.

Check it out here: Need for Speed Most Wanted BLACK EDITION Trailer

Here is a review on this new PLV Z4 LCD projector from Sanyo, from Projector Reviews.

This unit receives the “Hot Product” award, and generates a favorable review.

The summary findings are:
Pros
* Sharp image
* Good color accuracy, that can be improved with calibration
* 2:1 zoom lens for placement flexibility
* More range in the vertical lens shift, than in competing models
* Very quiet
* Extensive control of colors, image handling, and other settings
* Wide choice of preset modes work well from fully darkened rooms to those with significant ambient light
* Long warranty
* Two component video inputs in addition to 1 HDMI
* User saveable settings

Cons

* Poorer than average performance on low resolution signals (regular TV, VCR…)
* Remote control - cramped buttons, limited range
* Ability to resolve dark scenes, not quite as good as some competing projectors and more expensive DLP models
* Lamp life, at least Sanyo does not publish typical lamp life. Historically, older models seemed to have shorter lamp life than their competing products

Other

* Manual - good, actually better than average, but does not fully explain many of the adjustments and capabilities.
* Menus - easy to navigate, although engaging some features is slightly awkward (no big deal)
* Price Performance

“The Sanyo PLV-Z4 projector is an excellent choice, and should be one to consider if your budget is $2000+. Since its overall performance is extremely close to one or two other projectors, you may find that certain features, rather than image quality itself might be the reason to select the Z4 or another model.

In fairness, if you budget allows, there are projectors a cut above, starting at under $4000, but in its price range, the Z4 truly impresses.”

Full Review
Another PLV-Z4 Review
This projector is comparable to the Panasonic PT-AE900U