Anandtech reviews this slick-looking htpc from Shuttle. It looks great, and would fit right in with your other AV components in the stylish black case. Unfortunately, it handles HDTV poorly, and in some cases, not at all.
Bummer! I was hoping this thing could up my bling.
A great full review is up over at Ultimate AV. Here are a few specs of the PE7700:
6 Color Wheel Segments
5x Color Wheel Speed
1280×720 Pixels Native (16:9 aspect- WXGA)
HDMI, component
Their final thoughts:
“Conclusion
As I was wrapping up, I took one last look at the BenQ vs. the Yamaha. An unfair comparison to be sure, given the nearly 4:1 price spread between the two projectors. But when we want to know what advantages an expensive projector has over a more popularly-priced one it’s not unjustified. When I switched back to the Yamaha I immediately noticed how much sharper it looked—even on the relatively ordinary-looking National Treasure DVD. The deeper blacks of the Yamaha were also evident, though to be fair the PE770 is a significantly brighter projector (unless you open the iris on the Yamaha all the way, which seriously compromises its black level).
But that’s judging the BenQ against a very high standard. The fact that more money will buy you more projector is hardly a surprise; even BenQ has its own, more upscale PE8720 to tempt you with. (We just received our review sample, so stay tuned). What’s important here is just how much video projector you can buy today for relatively little money. That alone makes the PE7700 an exciting addition to the video market. The fact that it’s also a fine performer makes it a must-see before finalizing any purchase decision. I definitely recommend it. ”
About reviews this XM-enabled receiver from Yamaha.
Street price on this puppy starts at around $270, and I think it’s worth a look.
Pros
* Sound quality very good in both stereo and surround modes.
* Video signal conversion composite or S-video input to component output.
* Incorporation of an XM-Satellite Radio tuner
* Extensive speaker setup and adjustment options.
* Well designed front panel controls.
Cons
* No dedicated phono (turntable) input. (HTDude - what’s a turntable? 
* No Oscreen Menu Display option.
* No S-video or digital audio input on front panel.
* Needs a second AV input/output loop to accommodate both a VCR and DVD recorder or DVR.
Dell just announced their largest LCD panel - the 37″ HDTV widescreen W3706MC. Pricing is to be $2,299. Unit includes dual analog and digital tuners.
Specs:
— Widescreen high-definition resolution with WXGA (1,366X768)
resolution
— Excellent viewing experience with a 16:9 widescreen aspect
ratio
— Slim profile 4.41 (W3706C) and 3.5 (W5001C) inches deep when
the stand is removed
— Rich visual detail with 800:1 (W3706C) and 8,000:1 (W5001C)
contrast ratios
— Excellent display of 480i, 480p, 720p, and 1080i resolutions
with video powered by Pixelworks(TM)
— Wall or stand mountable (mounting equipment sold separately)
— Exquisite images in various lighting environments with 500
cd/m2 (W3706C) and 1,100 (W5001C) brightness
— Over-the-air high-definition content with built-in tuners
(ATSC and NTSC)
— Sharp images with 3D Y/C Comb Filter
— Robust connectivity for almost any device that connects to a
TV, including dual HDMI ports, dual composite, dual S-Video,
dual component, TV in/coaxial (NTSC/ATSC), VGA/PC audio;
composite, S-Video and audio connectors added to the side for
easy connection of such devices as digital video recorders and
game consoles
— High-quality audio with two 15-watt (W3706C) and 20-watt
(W5001C) speakers that are stand, wall or TV mountable with
SRS(R) TruSurround(TM) virtual surround sound
A new hdtv card for win xp is announced today, and it comes complete with PVR functions.
In addition to delivering high-quality HDTV , ADS Tech’s new Instant HDTV PCI Card is equipped with an analog cable TV Tuner as well, allowing the viewer to switch between HD, standard TV broadcasts and cable TV signals on their PC. Consumers can also archive TV shows to a CD or DVD for playback on their home DVD Player. Instant HDTV can even support video capture, viewing and recording from external video sources such as camcorders and VCRs.
Also comes with:
SnapStream’s Beyond TV Express
electronic program guide
NeroVision Express for dvd-authoring
(NeroVision Express supports True 16:9 Widescreen, Dolby Digital Audio, as well as dual-layer authoring )
remote control
IR sensor
a/v cables
Est street price is $129. Wow, that’s a lot of stuff for 130 bucks. I wonder how well this baby will perform. Time will tell…
The PL4200N looks to be one of HP’s better plasma offerings. Cnet Reviews:
The good:
Deep blacks result in excellent contrast ratio; solid video processing with 2:3 pull-down; comprehensive feature package.
The bad:
Poor color decoding; somewhat limited connectivity; can’t change aspect ratio with HD sources.
The bottom line:
Despite some trade-offs in color fidelity, the HP PL4200N delivers a surprisingly solid picture with excellent blacks and plenty of punch.
Digital Home Canada has a great article about deciding between LCD or DLP for rear projection TV. A couple of noteworthy points are:
The advantages of DLP over LCD include:
- higher contrast ratios ;
- more Consistent Performance throughout the life of the set ;
- no screen door effect;
- newer models offer greater resolution.
The advantages of LCD over DLP include:
- brighter images than DLP for equivalent wattage
- richer more natural colours
- no rainbows
- wider viewing angle
The articles goes on to tell how to be critical in viewing different models in stores. Great writeup.
Digital Home Canada - HDTV Insight: DLP or LCD Rear
Projection?
Blu-Ray to come out of the gate first? Maybe they’ll get a leg up on HD-DVD after all.
AOpen, a Taiwanese PC and peripheral maker, plans to begin shipping Blu-ray drives for PCs in November. Just prepare to dig deep into your pockets: while AOpen has not yet revealed pricing, you can bet that it will cost a lot-bleeding-edge technology always does.
So, in November you can be the proud owner of a new Blu-Ray drive! Then what? You’ll have to wait for something to stick in it.
So what will you put in your new Blu-ray drive should you purchase one next month? Judging by the current availability of blank Blu-ray media and Blu-ray movies, not a whole lot. A handful of manufacturers have shown off prototype Blu-ray drives in the last several months, but nothing appears to have made it to market yet.
James over at Joystiq has an interesting take.
if by November 2006 the Premium Bundle has dropped to $300, you’ll have spent less than $10/month covering the difference between this (projected) discounted price and the $400 launch price. That’s pretty insignificant for the majority of us with a gaming budget.
Right on, what’s a 100 bucks for next gen gaming today. I think my budget can handle it, if I need to I can cut something else out.
The Xbox 360 is not going to blow your mind. But I’ll be damned if after an hour or two of playtime you’re not wearing a big grin across your face.
Sounds like a worthy purchase to me.
He comments on not buying into the hype, and that’s cool. But come on, who buys into the hype these days besides fanboys - they don’t even need the hype. I know our HD angle is a bit more specialist than the mainstream, but I am definitely looking forward to HD res and WIDESCREEN as default for EVERY title! That is enough reason for me to want to jump on this baby.
I came across a review of Sony’s 27" LCD 720p offering, another great looking screen. As always, you have to pay for the Sony name, but you get the Sony quality.
The Good: Excellent picture quality; immense versatility thanks to a nice variety of inputs; beautiful, minimal design.
The Bad: Like all LCDs, it can be difficult to make out details in darker scenes; the weak speakers will do in a pinch, but they lack power and clarity; second- and third-tier brands hold a clear advantage in terms of price.
The Verdict: You may find similarly sized LCD HDTVs with more attractive price tags, but you aren’t likely to find any with better image quality.
The only truly noticeable picture quality issue with the KLV-S26A10 is its rendering of blacks — a problem suffered by all LCDs. Liquid crystal displays require a backlight to illuminate the screen. As a result, all colours — including blacks — are the product of projected light, meaning black is never truly black. This makes it difficult to make out detail in darker scenes that feature shades of grey that are close to black.
Sony has taken a couple of measures to combat the black problem. The most basic is a black correcting feature, which helps deliver truer blacks but doesn’t really work to fix loss of detail in dark scenes. A more effective — and time consuming — approach is to adjust display settings according to the circumstances. The KLV-S26A10 provides users with a wide range of image adjustment controls, but I found minute adjustments to the brightness setting often helped bring out detail in darker scenes without sacrificing much in the way of black values.
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