Honda Unveils Experimental Walking Assist Device With Bodyweight Support System

Honda Unveils Experimental Walking Assist Device With Bodyweight Support System

Japan, November 7, 2008–Honda Motor Co., Ltd. unveiled its second experimental walking assist device that helps support bodyweight to reduce the load on the user's* legs while walking, going up and down stairs, and in a semi-crouching position. Honda will now begin testing the device in real-world conditions to evaluate its effectiveness.






Walking assist device with bodyweight support system


Going up stairs while wearing the device



The new walking assist device with the bodyweight support system reduces the load on leg muscles and joints (in the hip, knees, and ankles) by supporting a portion of the person's bodyweight. The device has a simple structure consisting of seat, frame, and shoes, and the user can put it on by simply wearing the shoes and lifting the seat into position. Moreover, a mechanism that directs the assisting force toward the user's center of gravity and the ability to control the assist force in concert with the movement of the legs – both unique Honda innovations – make it possible for the device to provide natural assistance in various postures and motions.

Honda began research of a walking assist device in 1999 with the goal to provide more people with the joy of mobility. Honda developed the knowledge required to develop the walking assist device from its thorough study of human walking represented by the research and development of Honda's advanced humanoid robot, ASIMO. This research has been conducted by the Fundamental Technology Research Center of Honda R&D Co., Ltd. in Wako, Saitama. To evaluate the effectiveness of the experimental model of the walking assist device with bodyweight support system, Honda will test the walking assist device at its Saitama Factory (in Sayama, Saitama) starting this month. * This device is designed for people who are still capable of walking on their own.


■ Key Features 1. Convenient sitting-type device
· The user simply needs to wear the shoes and raise the seat into place.


· The user can benefit from the assist without need of a belt to fasten the device to their body.


· The structure to position the device between the user's legs minimizes the required footprint, therefore making it easier for them to maneuver.



2. Method to assist bodyweight support
· The device will support a portion of the person's bodyweight by lifting the seat as the frame between the shoe and seat bends and extends, just like knees, with the force from the motor. As a result, the load on leg muscles and joints (in the hip, knees, and ankles) is reduced.


· Honda developed a unique mechanism where the seat and frame follow the movement of the body and legs. The assisting force will be directed toward the user's center of gravity, just as with human legs, which enables the device to provide assistance in various movements and postures including walking, going up and down stairs, and in a semi-crouching position.



3. Natural control of the assisting force
· Natural walking is achieved by changing the amount of assisting force applied to the right and left legs through the control of two motors based on the information obtained though sensors imbedded in the shoes of the device.


· The effectiveness of the device was increased in those motions and postures which put increased load on knees, such as going up and down stairs and in a semi-crouching position. This was achieved by adjusting the assisting force in accordance with the bending and stretching motion of the knees.



■ Key specifications of experimental walking assist device with bodyweight support system
Weight 6.5kg (including shoes and batteries)
Drive system Motor X 2
Battery pack Lithium ion battery
Operating time per charge 2 hours (including walking and in a semi-crouching posture, etc.)
Suitable height of the user Within plus or minus 5cm of the set height
(Example: set height for Medium size is 170cm)

iBangle

The iPod pretty much owns the day in the world of MP3 players, but that doesn’t mean they can’t give it a drastic upgrade in the future. Designer Gopinath Prasana prefers a wearable player and so created the iBangle concept. Wearing it is better then carrying an extra gadget after all.

This MP3 player is in the form of a bracelet or bangle, hence the name. It features a multi-touch track pad so you can control your playlist. It’s pretty small, so you won’t be watching videos or movies, making this like the iPod shuffle. Since everyone has different wrist sizes, the iBangle adjusts by inflating a cushion so it will fit snugly.

Dolby True HD

Dolby TrueHD
Dolby TrueHD is Dolby’s next-generation lossless technology developed for high-definition disc-based media. Dolby TrueHD delivers tantalizing sound that is bit-for-bit identical to the studio master, unlocking the true high-definition entertainment experience on next-generation discs. When coupled with high-definition video, Dolby TrueHD offers an unprecedented home theater experience that lets you enjoy sound as stunning as the high-definition picture.
Features

100 percent lossless coding technology.
Up to 18 Mbps bit rate.
Supports up to eight full-range channels of 24-bit/96 kHz audio.*
Supported by High-Definition Media Interface (HDMI™), the new single-cable digital connection for audio and video.
Supports extensive metadata including dialogue normalization and dynamic range control.
*Dolby® TrueHD can support more than eight audio channels. HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc standards currently limit their maximum number of audio channels to eight.


Benefits

Delivers enthralling studio-master-quality sound that unlocks the true high-definition entertainment experience on next-generation discs.
Offers more discrete channels than ever before for impeccable surround sound.
Compatible with the A/V receivers and home-theaters-in-a-box (HTIBs) of today and tomorrow.
Dialogue normalization maintains the same volume level when you change to other Dolby Digital and Dolby TrueHD programming.
Dynamic range control (Night mode) enables you to customize audio playback to reduce peak volume levels (no loud surprises) while experiencing all the details in the soundtrack, enabling late-night viewing of high-energy surround sound without disturbing others.
Selected as the mandatory format for HD DVD and as an optional format for Blu-ray Disc.
Next-Generation High Definition Disc Players are Compatible with Current A/V Receivers

Whether you own an older audio/video (A/V) system equipped with Dolby® Digital, or a newer A/V receiver equipped with an HDMI™ connection or external line-level multichannel inputs, you are assured of a compatible, high-quality playback path.

3D display

A 3D display is any display device capable of conveying three-dimensional images to the viewer.

There are few basic types of 3D displays. Stereoscopic technology separately sends two views of a 3D scene on its screen(s) to the viewers two eyes. autostereoscopic 3D displays advance on stereoscopic technology without the need for any special glasses or other head gear by using high resolution flat panels to generate a given number of views of a 3D scene through some sort of pixel redirection technology. This solution gives "ok" quality 3D views from predefined sweet points in front of the display, but leaves a tangled image while in between the sweet points. Continuous 3D light field display developed by Holografika generates a glasses free 3D image with no restrictions on the number of viewers, their position in front of the screen and their movement. Holographic 3D displaying researchers are able to create a light field which is identical to that which emanated from the original scene (for the technology, see Computer Generated Holography). This last technology is capable of reproducing horizontal and vertical parallax at the same time, while stereoscopic and autostereoscopic technologies can create horizontal parallax 3D images only. This may seem a limitation of 3D displays, but the longitudinal location of human eye on the head is in perfect pair with the horizontally multiplied views of these displays.

In addition there are volumetric displays, where some physical mechanism is used to display points of light within a volume. Such displays use voxels instead of pixels. Volumetric displays include multiplanar displays, which have multiple display planes stacked up; and rotating panel displays, where a rotating panel sweeps out a volume.

Other technologies have been developed to project light dots in the air above a device. An infrared laser is focused on the destination in space, generating a small bubble of plasma which emits visible light. Up to now (August 2008) the experiments only allow a rate of 100 dots per second. One of the issues which arise with this 3D display system is the use of technologies that could be harmful to human eyes.

SAMSUNG HT-X715 HOME THEATRE SYSTEM

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800W RMS
With a powerful 800W RMS output, you can be confident that you will feel the impact of your favourite action movie, and still hear the soft dialogue, and delicate musical scores.

stylish 5.1 Semi-tallboy speakers
Convenient stylish Semi-tallboy speakers allow you experience true surround sound without large imposing speakers dominating your living room

stylish ''Crystal'' finish
SAMSUNG's signature ''Crystal'' finish means that you can perfectly match your new home theatre system to your SAMSUNG 6 Series LCD or Plasma TV for a seamless stylish look.

Bluetooth connectivity
With a Bluetooth connection you can easily (and wirelessly) play music directly from your Bluetooth MP3 player or mobile phone.

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Xbox 360 follows Wii in rush for the mainstream

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Microsoft is hoping to convert a new generation of gamers to its Xbox 360 console with features that allow owners to interact with one another via the internet and stream movies their TVs.

With a nod to Nintendo - which has enjoyed great success with its Wii device by reaching out to the non-core gaming audience - the software giant said the next range of Xbox games would include an online game show as well as one which allowed players to become actors in films.

It also announced a partnership with Netflix, the DVD rental company, which will allow Xbox owners to stream more than 10,000 films and television shows from their Xboxes to their TVs.

Unveiling a host of new features at this year's E3 video games conference in Los Angeles, Microsoft said it hoped the Xbox could become a general hub for entertainment in the living room, offering something more than the shoot-'em-up experiences that have been at the gaming industry's core.

Chief among the new products to be released this autumn is a version of 1 vs 100, the television game show created by Endemol, the production giant behind Big Brother, which will allow contestants to compete in a quiz against others elsewhere in the world.

1 vs 100 will be supplemented by You're in the Movies, which lets players improvise scenes using the device's built-in camera and transfer them into movie settings, and the latest version of Guitar Hero, the popular music-making game in which players form virtual bands that compete against one another.

Also new is a feature which lets owners create an avatar - a cartoonish character custom-built to represent themselves - which can then be sent to virtual "parties" and other online environments where Xbox users come together via the internet platform, Xbox Live.

“For the last few years we have consciously and continuously fed the core gamer audience, and now we are reaching that inflection point where we have to reach out to the mainstream consumer and bring them into the Xbox 360,” David Hufford, Microsoft’s director for Xbox product management, said in an interview with The New York Times.

“So we have to appeal to the mainstream more than ever now. And what really is appealing to that mainstream consumer is that social experience; whether it’s the older consumer or the Facebook generation, they see games not as a solitary experience but as something you do with friends and family."

The company added that it had not forgotten those enamoured of violent games, previewing a new version of Gears of War 2, the sequel to one of the most popular games of 2006, as well as Final Fantasy XIII, published by the Japanese company Square Enix, which is due out next year.

Separately, Electronic Arts, the publisher, showed off its line-up of games for the end of the year. New offerings included Spore, an "evolutionary" game which lets users fashion their own monsters one body part at a time, and Dead Space, a Alien-style science-fiction horror game which takes place on a space station.

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BlackBerry Bold takes on iPhone

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The BlackBerry Pearl and Curve models began the trend and the BlackBerry Bold, billed by many as RIM's answer to Apple's iPhone, makes its entrance as the all-singing, all-dancing range-topping BlackBerry.

RIM launched the Bold here last week, with stock expected to hit the market in mid-August.

The Bold is the first multimedia BlackBerry to be able to handle the speedier HSDPA 3G mobile data pipes. The more traditional 8707G was the first 3G BlackBerry sold here.

Publicly RIM says it's happy for competitors such as Apple to come in and lift the overall smartphone market and RIM front man Dennis Kavelman has even offered to buy Apple's Steve Jobs a drink for his efforts (blackberry and vodka perhaps). Under the spin, the Canadian smartphone maker is protective of its fat business smartphone market share and wants to lift its game in the consumer market.

RIM feels the new Bold is the gadget that will hold the line against the likes of Apple, and the new phone has some features that surpass the iPhone.

There's a 2.0 megapixel camera with flash and video capability (the iPhone has a rudimentary 2mp camera without flash or video), a separate camera for video calling (the iPhone can't do video calls), a micro SD slot to supplement the Bold's 1GB for storage and 128MB of system memory built in (the iPhone comes with a minimum of 8GB but can't be upgraded) and a long-life, replaceable 1500mAh battery. The iPhone has to be sent back to a service centre if the battery dies.

Unlike the somewhat slippery iPhone, the Bold has a grippy leather backing with a chrome screen surround. The Bold measures 114mm by 66mm by 15mm.

The two phones have a similar footprint, but the Bold is 2.7mm thicker and 3 grams heavier than the iPhone.

There's also a snappy 624MHz processor, a loudish speaker, GPS navigation, WiFi and a universal 3.5mm headphone socket.

Both the iPhone and the Bold have Bluetooth but the Bold can double as a tethered modem - which is very handy for supplying bandwidth to a notebook on the road - while the iPhone can't do the Bluetooth modem trick.

The Bold sports a small but high-res 480 by 320 pixel screen with a trackball for navigation and full QWERTY keypad for input, while the iPhone sports a much larger, 3.5in, 480 by 320 pixel touchscreen.

Here is where the two diverge sharply in design and philosophy.

With its much larger screen, the iPhone is a terrific handheld viewing platform for text, pictures and movies, especially for those with ageing eyeballs, and its clever touchscreen-driven user interface is state of the smartphone art.

The Bold's much smaller screen and trackball-driven user interface are functional enough but I found the iPhone easier to drive and better to watch. When it comes to text input, the BlackBerry has the edge, with its more positive mini-keyboard surpassing the iPhone's pop-up touch keypad.

The Bold syncs up through the simple-to-use BlackBerry Desktop Manager and can suck down unlicensed iTunes music through the new Media Sync tool.

Onboard applications range from media players, GPS mapping, calendering, email and web browsing to productivity apps such as the Word To Go and Sheet To Go document handlers.

There are a few games such as Texas Hold 'Em and, like Apple's App Store, supplied applications can be supplemented with free and pay programs, which are available online.

When it comes to hooking into enterprise email and applications the Bold supports Microsoft, Lotus and Novell servers and there are BlackBerry versions of many enterprise apps.

RIM claims the data compression used by the corporate-only BlackBerry Enterprise email server chops expensive 3G data usage five-fold compared with other smartphones.

RIM's service came under fire last year when a major server outage in the US disrupted BlackBerry communications worldwide. RIM has been spreading its server infrastructure around the world to boost redundancy, but RIM could not say when it would build a data centre in the Asia-Pacific region.

The Bold may be parsimonious with data, but RIM says the latest BlackBerry is designed to create handset envy among high achievers. "Our job in recent years has been to disguise this tool as something fashionable."

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There have been a bunch of great gadgets that supply people with portable music. Surprisingly the first portable music gadgets were available about one hundred years ago. These devices played records and were powered by springs that could be wound up. Since these early devices were spring powered, they didn't require electricity, and that went a long way toward offsetting their bulk in making them portable.

There have been a bunch of great gadgets that supply people with portable music. Surprisingly the first portable music gadgets were available about one hundred years ago. These devices played records and were powered by springs that could be wound up. Since these early devices were spring powered, they didn't require electricity, and that went a long way toward offsetting their bulk in making them portable.

When audio devices switched over to being electrically powered, they took a break from being particularly portable. Part of this was created by the need for vacuum tubes in audio devices- radios specifically. In fact, the first radio sets were huge affairs that were built into wooden cabinets and generally stationary fixtures in people's living rooms.

The invention and wide spread adoption of the transistor- which replaced the vacuum tube- made audio devices portable again. These audio gadgets came in a wide variety of shapes and styles. For example, there was the battery operated radio that has varied throughout the years from being simple, single speaker devices to the massive boom boxes of the nineteen eighties. There have also been a number of portable tape recorders and players (also built into boom boxes), as well as portable CD players.

One particularly popular idea for portable audio gadgets has been the portable cassette deck, often referred to as the Walkman after the name that Sony gave to its version of this device. These gadgets could play audio cassettes and generally had AM/FM radios built into them as well, and played their audio over headphones. Portable CD players like the Discman, also followed this same general concept, only with a CD deck replacing the cassette deck.

Then, in the late nineteen nineties, portable MP3 players became available. MP3 players, or more accurately digital music players because of their ability to play more audio formats than MP3's, have the advantage of using flash memory to store audio rather than audio cassettes or compact discs. This allows a single portable audio playing gadget to hold hundred of songs that can be played back either in a preprogrammed order or a random sequence. The audio tracks for these gadgets are generally purchased on the Internet and then downloaded to the digital audio device. This has also caused a different kind of dynamic in the music industry where the album is becoming obsolete as people buy songs individually.

Newer gadgets that use flash memory have moved beyond audio playback. Some of these devices can also play video on built in LCD screens and most can display digital photos on their screens. The pictures can be downloaded from the Internet or a digital camera and the video is often bought online and then downloaded in much the same way the music is. These devices can also display video that was recorded on a digital camcorder and then loaded onto a computer before being downloaded to the gadget! Some of these gadgets have gotten so sophisticated that they can even record video themselves- either through a digital camera or off of TV signals.

Portable gadgets that are capable of entertainment just keep getting more and more functional!

www.1staudiovisual.com.au

Apple's MacBook Air hits the shelves

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Apple has started shipping its super-thin MacBook Air notebook in the UK.

The device measures an unprecedented 0.16in at its thinnest point, while its maximum height of 0.76in is less than the thinnest point on competing notebooks.

The MacBook Air boasts a 13.3in LED-backlit widescreen display, a full-size backlit keyboard, built-in iSight video camera and a trackpad with multi-touch gesture support so that users can pinch, rotate and swipe. The unit is powered by a 1.6GHz or 1.8GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 4MB L2 cache, and includes 2GB of Ram as standard, an 80GB 1.8in hard drive, 802.11n Wi-Fi technology and Bluetooth 2.1. The Air is available now through Apple Stores and resellers at a suggested retail price of US$1,799.

However, Apple also announced that the new Apple TV software update, which allows users to rent high-definition movies directly from their widescreen TVs, is not quite finished. Apple now plans to make the free software download available to existing Apple TV customers in another week or two.

The Apple TV software update will allow users to rent movies on the iTunes Store directly from their TV. A catalogue of over 1,000 titles will be available by the end of February, including over 100 titles in HD with 5.1 Dolby Digital surround sound. DVD-quality iTunes Movie Rentals are US$2.99 for library titles and $3.99 for new releases, and high definition versions are just $1 more.

www.1staudiovisual.com.au

PocketDish Is A Better Portable Video Device

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As computers get better and better at providing entertainment it should make sense that computer based technology is producing devices that are more and more convenient for taking entertainment with us wherever we go. While there are a variety of computer based devices like laptop computers and portable DVD players, only one type of computer device does a really good job of combining all of the best parts of a home entertainment system into a package that's compact and easy to afford. This is the portable media device.

As computers get better and better at providing entertainment it should make sense that computer based technology is producing devices that are more and more convenient for taking entertainment with us wherever we go. While there are a variety of computer based devices like laptop computers and portable DVD players, only one type of computer device does a really good job of combining all of the best parts of a home entertainment system into a package that's compact and easy to afford. This is the portable media device.

Portable media devices come in a variety of different models and are made by a variety of different companies, but they all have several things in common. They all have built in color LCD screens that can display video and digital photos. They also all have the ability to play digital music, either over headphones, or- if so equipped- speakers. Many of them can also be used as platforms for portable video games and many can also display their visual elements onto full sized TV screens.

One thing that most portable media devices also do that can be something of a liability is rely on video downloads from the Internet for any video content. While there's nothing inherently wrong with downloading video from the Internet, there are a lot of inconveniences associated with it. For instance, before you can download video from the Internet, you first have to find it. This can mean spending time sifting through all of the online content of online video stores, and because online video stores are still in their infancy, you might not find the TV show or movie you're looking for if it's even a little bit obscure. Even if you do find what you're looking for, you probably won't be able to download it for less than about two dollars, and then unless you have a broadband cable Internet connection- or something faster- you'll probably have to wait an inconvenient amount of time for it to download. This will be especially true if you're trying to download a full length movie.

There is one portable media device that sidesteps this problem though. It's the PocketDish and it's made by Dish Network. The PocketDish is capable of downloading videos that are stored on Dish Network digital video recorders. The videos that are stored on Dish Network's digital video recorders are each stored as individual video files in MPEG-2 format. Since these videos are stored in distinct files, it's easy to pick and choose which files to download to the PocketDish. The download time is fast- at about an hour of video for every five minutes of time spent downloading- and best of all the downloads are free.

Perhaps the most valuable aspect of downloading video from Dish Network's digital video recorders to the PocketDish is that it's possible to get the programming that you want to watch. That's because all of the programming that's available from Dish Network is also available to record and download (with the exception of High Definition Television which current PocketDish models can't handle). This makes concerns about finding what you want from an online video store a thing of the past.

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Cable Television Unable To Keep Up With Dish Network's Low Prices

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A great measure of a company's efficiency is how low they can keep their prices while still doing okay as a business. Companies like WalMart proved to the world that keeping prices extremely low while making large profits and being able to grow was possible. When it comes to the world of television, Dish Network is the company that is proving this fact. Cable television companies might be upgrading their level of channel selection and starting to offer some digital television channels, but nobody would ever associate cable television with low prices. However, when given the phrases low prices and television service, most people would think of satellite television. This is one of the reasons that Dish Network is doing so well. Everybody loves a bargain, especially when the product is even better than the one that costs more. And this is the case with satellite television. Cable television has a product that offers fewer channels, poorer customer service, and less advanced technology for high prices. Dish Network, however offers a product that has a huge array of channels, award-winning customer service, and extremely advanced technology.
A great measure of a company's efficiency is how low they can keep their prices while still doing okay as a business. Companies like WalMart proved to the world that keeping prices extremely low while making large profits and being able to grow was possible. When it comes to the world of television, Dish Network is the company that is proving this fact. Cable television companies might be upgrading their level of channel selection and starting to offer some digital television channels, but nobody would ever associate cable television with low prices. However, when given the phrases low prices and television service, most people would think of satellite television. This is one of the reasons that Dish Network is doing so well. Everybody loves a bargain, especially when the product is even better than the one that costs more. And this is the case with satellite television. Cable television has a product that offers fewer channels, poorer customer service, and less advanced technology for high prices. Dish Network, however offers a product that has a huge array of channels, award-winning customer service, and extremely advanced technology.

Why does cable television cost so much? Some of it is business practices. Let's face it, cable television is composed of an array of providers that each service a region of the country. This means each provider has a relatively small segment of the population and cannot save money by using economies of scale. This term refers to saving money by increasing a consumer base because it is almost always possible to produce a product or service for less per customer when you are offering it to millions of customers. With satellite television, however, the companies can take advantage of economies of scale because of the national base of satellite television. By using satellites to deliver programming, satellite TV companies can offer programming to people all over the country and not be confined to a certain region. This also saves on administrative costs. One well-run, efficient company can offer lower prices that a multitude of disjointed and inefficient companies spread throughout the country.

Of course, business practices aren't the only reason that cable companies charge more than satellite TV companies. Another big reason is that the infrastructure of cable is not as flexible as that of satellite TV. With Dish Network's system, making upgrades to allow for higher tech programming or other advances can be as simple as sending another satellite into orbit or offering higher tech satellite dishes for customers to use. Even though sending a satellite into orbit requires a lot of planning and a fairly large investment, it is nowhere near as complicated as trying to replace or upgrade an entire underground system of cables. When cable companies need to upgrade their infrastructure, they have to rip up entire roads in order to lay down new lines. The amount of manpower and other costs necessary to make these upgrades is staggering. Of course, the price increases for cable service in the past years have also been staggering. And, with future technologies the process will have to be repeated again at even greater cost.

The saying you get what you pay for does not apply to television service. This is the rare case where paying less for satellite TV service will get you a lot better service and more options. Cable television needs to charge a lot to pay for inefficient business practices and an inflexible infrastructure, but Dish Network has the advantage of more advanced technology

www.1staudiovisual.com.au

Is the future in modular computing?

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The Dell XCS Concept - The future?

This week ASUS announced the first dedicated external graphics card, designed to be used with laptops. Interestingly enough the product - dubbed the XG Station - is not likely to cause much excitement in the mobile computer community, as much as it will for desktop fans. Why? The answer is simple enough.

While it may not look like it on the surface, the XG Station seems to be a step towards modular computing, a concept that has been contemplated over the years, but never seen fruition. Modular computing is essentially the idea that the desktop PC as we know it will eventually disappear, to be replaced by something which is not confined to the dimensions of a conventional PC case, but rather something which is designed around the idea that the computer's separate parts can easily be replaced by other components over a standardised communications system. Of course the modern PC is easily upgradable, but it is still based on dozens of different input systems, from PCIe to 5.5" ATA to CPU sockets. Rather, modular computing would see a more streamlined way for the different computer parts to communicate with each other, allowing for a better PC.

The XG Station is one step toward this ultimate goal, along with the external power supply, something which is gaining speed in a world where internal video cards are demanding more and more power. The arrival of the external graphics card could also make the external power supply rather redundant, should the XG Station see a desktop counterpart, however the concept of modular computing continues to lie underneath it all. Unfortunately, the idea is decades off at the best, so until then it seems like external graphics cards are the new market to watch out for.

www.1staudiovisual.com.au

Technology Could Ease Transition To Digital TV

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The over the air digital TV transition is less than two years away and that doesn't really mean anything to most Americans. This transition will mean the ceasing of over the air analog TV broadcasts in favor of digital over the air TV broadcasts. This means that after the cut off date of February 17, 2009, TV sets without digital tuners (which account for a lot of the TV sets out there) won't be able to display over the air TV anymore- at least not without an adapter. This presents a serious problem for a number of people who rely on over the air TV signals as their only source of TV programming.

The over the air digital TV transition is less than two years away and that doesn't really mean anything to most Americans. This transition will mean the ceasing of over the air analog TV broadcasts in favor of digital over the air TV broadcasts. This means that after the cut off date of February 17, 2009, TV sets without digital tuners (which account for a lot of the TV sets out there) won't be able to display over the air TV anymore- at least not without an adapter. This presents a serious problem for a number of people who rely on over the air TV signals as their only source of TV programming.

People who do rely on over the air TV signals for their TV programming, and who don't have digital TV sets, do have some options though. The most obvious thing to do would be to buy a new TV set. All TV sets sold in the United States are now required by law to have the digital tuner that will allow them to pick up digital TV signals over the air. While this may be the obvious solution, it certainly isn't very realistic to expect people who can't afford to subscribe to satellite TV or a cable TV service to scrape together the money to buy a new TV set.

Another option that people who rely on over the air TV signals have is to get a set top box that contains a digital tuner and can display the digital TV programming on an existing analog TV set. There are a few different ways to do this. One is to buy a set top box that's designed to do this conversion with over the air TV programming. The other possibility is to subscribe to a satellite or cable TV service, because they will provide the equipment needed to translate their digital signals into analog signals.

Another thing to keep in mind is that it's not clear right now whether or not cable TV companies will be forced to deliver their programming in digital format. One of the main motivators of making the switch to digital programming for over the air transmissions is that sending out just digital transmissions will take up a lot less of the on air bandwidth than the digital and analog transmissions that are being used now. But because cable TV isn't broadcast over the air, it shouldn't necessarily have to convert to digital. Although there are a number of arguments that point out that it would be a good idea for cable TV companies to make the switch, considering that many haven't done so yet, makes it doubtful that it's really as simple as it seems. In any case, the status of cable TV's use of digital versus analog transmissions should be irrelevant to the conversion.

While there are a lot of different ideas floating around about what should be done to educate the public about the coming transition, there is one easy solution- simply run public service announcements about the coming transition on the stations that supply over the air TV and stop worrying about it.

www.1staudiovisual.com.au

Blu-Ray Technology Faces Opportunity For Format Supremacy

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The format war between HD-DVD and Blu-ray for supremacy in the High Definition DVD market has produced a story with a lot of convoluted twists and turns. There have been a considerable number of extremely good strategies waged along with a considerable number of mistakes as well. One great example of this was the introduction of the Play Station 3 by Sony which is also able to function as a Blu-ray player. Sony recognized this opportunity and provided a free movie title on Blu-ray disc along with the first couple hundred thousand units purchased. The idea was that video gaming fans would by the Play Station 3 for its video gaming capabilities (which take advantage of HDTV technology and render incredibly realistic graphics) and then try out the movie that came with those units. The idea was that once the owners of those devices saw the movie, they would go out and buy more movie titles on Blu-ray disc to watch on their Play Station 3's. The sales of Blu-ray titles would increase, and therefore win more confidence from movie studios and other consumers. Once the consumers were won over, the format war would be won.

The format war between HD-DVD and Blu-ray for supremacy in the High Definition DVD market has produced a story with a lot of convoluted twists and turns. There have been a considerable number of extremely good strategies waged along with a considerable number of mistakes as well. One great example of this was the introduction of the Play Station 3 by Sony which is also able to function as a Blu-ray player. Sony recognized this opportunity and provided a free movie title on Blu-ray disc along with the first couple hundred thousand units purchased. The idea was that video gaming fans would by the Play Station 3 for its video gaming capabilities (which take advantage of HDTV technology and render incredibly realistic graphics) and then try out the movie that came with those units. The idea was that once the owners of those devices saw the movie, they would go out and buy more movie titles on Blu-ray disc to watch on their Play Station 3's. The sales of Blu-ray titles would increase, and therefore win more confidence from movie studios and other consumers. Once the consumers were won over, the format war would be won.

This strategy largely worked and the success of the strategy is reflected in the fact that Blu-ray discs have recently outsold HD-DVD discs by a margin of two to one, and there are now substantially more Blu-ray players (including Play Station 3's) in American homes than there are HD-DVD players.

The success of the Blu-ray format is even more impressive when you look at all of the bungles and mistakes that Sony has made in bringing the Play Station 3 to market. The first obvious mistake came with the fact that Sony priced its Blu-ray players so that they were almost twice the cost of Toshiba's HD-DVD players. Then, when the Play Station 3's were released, there weren't enough units to go around. This was a real misstep because of the fact that the Play Station 3, while expensive for a video gaming platform, is cheap for a Blu-ray player. This should have made it the obvious choice for anyone wanting a Blu-ray player. After all, why buy a Blu-ray player when you could get a video gaming platform that happens to play Blu-ray discs for substantially less than the Blu-ray player? Another bungle came from failing to make the public aware that new Play Station 3's were available when the supply caught up to the demand. (There's some debate about the veracity of this. The media were reporting that Play Station 3's were sitting on store shelves months ago, and Sony blasted the media for being quick to report the shortage and then slow to report the surplus. Then, only recently, Sony officials stated that the company would be able to catch up with demand for devices over the next few months. Clearly, someone is confused.)

Now though, despite all of these missteps and two campaigns from Toshiba to provide five free HD-DVD titles with the purchase of an HD-DVD player, Sony's Blu-ray format is poised to win the war. The real question is whether or not Sony will be able to heed the advice of analysts and take advantage of its current position to dominate the market.

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Acer announces worlds first 50000:1 contrast ratio LCD monitor

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Acer has introduced the world's first LCD monitor offering a 50000:1 contrast ratio.

Aimed at high-end PC gamers, the Acer G24 features a stylish copper bezel and supports high-definition graphics.

The 24in 1920x1200 resolution widescreen LCD also features Acer OD (overdrive) technology. Acer claims this significantly improves grey-to-grey levels by reducing deviation in transition time.

The G24 has Acer CrystalBrite technology with 400-nit brightness. According to Acer, this technology promotes clearer images and sharper edges while minimising ambient light reflection.

The monitor is optimised for Windows Vista and supports HDMI for instant connectivity to DVD players, set-top boxes and high-definition consoles. It has been designed to match the Aspire Predator desktop gaming PC, in order to provide a complete gaming package.

Acer has not yet announced pricing or launch details.

www.1staudiovisual.com.au

Samsung HT-TZ315 Home theatre system

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An impressive home theatre system for any budget. Feel the deep roaring bass, and intricate spoken dialogue.

Powerful 1,000W RMS sound and clarity

With a powerful 1,000W RMS output, you can be confident that you will feel the impact of your favourite action movie, and still hear the soft dialogue, and delicate musical scores.

bluetooth connectivity

With a Bluetooth connection you can easily (and wirelessly) play music directly from your Bluetooth MP3 player or mobile phone.

USB Host input

With the direct USB Host input you can seamlessly play music, image or movie files that are stored on your USB flash drive, giving you convenient access to media files via your PC.

5.1 tallboy speakers

Convenient slimline Tallboy speakers allow you to experience true surround sound without large imposing speakers dominating your living room.

1080p upscaling for DVD

Enjoy your current DVD collection like you never have before. With 1080p upscaling you will see clearer image details and more vibrant picture, giving you a more realistic viewing experience.

HDMI Output w/AnyNet+ (HDMI-CEC)

HDMI offers high bandwidth all-digital connection to your TV, which eliminates the need for Digital-to-Analogue conversions which can affect picture quality. SAMSUNG's Anynet+ system also works using this increased bandwidth, consumers are able to control all connected Anynet+ devices with the 1 remote, and the signal will be passed to the appropriate component via the HDMI cable.

www.1staudiovisual.com.au

SAMSUNG DVD VR375 DVD RECORDER / VCR COMBOS

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Progressive scan - The slightest blurs and distortions are now a thing of the past thanks to progressive scan. You’ll enjoy maximum image clarity and more realism. Progressive scan pushes the limits of standard resolution and provides a more film-like image that takes watching DVDs to another level.

Conveniently and easily transfers high-definition video from your DVD player to your TV and other digital devices using a single cable.

1080p up-conversion - With selectable up-conversion to 1080p you are assured of clear distinct images.

www.1staudiovisual.com.au

Samsung's 950 and 750 LCD TV's improve connectivity

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Arriving on these shores early Autumn, Samsung's 'Crystal Design' series of LCD TV's will be the first in the UK capable of receiving media files as part of a home network.

The new screens will also have the capability to receive RSS feeds directly from the internet and will feature built-in content as standard.

Available in a stunning 'platinum black', the 950 series combines its new multimedia functionality with all of the features of the current top end A656 series of LCD TV's.

www.1staudiovisual.com.au

LG HT903TA HOME THEATRE SYSTEM

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The premium, upscale design for your status, and LG's unique Home Theatre System will perfect your lofty ideals that you've dreamed of.

• 1000W output • HDMI in and HDMI out: simple connectivity between video products and the TV • iDock: connect your iPod and control it all from the remote control • HDMI with 1080P up-scaling • 10.1 Virtual Sound Matrix (V.S.M) for 10.1 virtual surround sound • USB ripping: copy music to a USB compatible MP3 player direct

• HD AV sync: eliminate lip sync problems which may appear with some TV transmissions • Simplink: control with a LG TV remote control • Optical input: digital audio direct to the home cinema system • DivX movie playback • Play back MP3, WMA and JPEG files

www.1staudiovisual.com.au

Apple's IPhone Faces First Test in Fickle Japan Market

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In many countries the latest version of the iPhone represents the epitome of high-technology but the picture is different in Japan, which gets its first-ever taste of the iPhone with the Friday launch. Consumers here are used to advanced handsets that handle digital TV, e-money and replace their subway and rail cards for travel, so the reaction the iPhone -- which does none of these -- will get in Japan is being watched with interest.

The original iPhone never went on sale here because the country doesn't use the GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) standard on which it was based. But with the new phone's embrace of the WCDMA (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access) standard, it's been snapped up for sale by Softbank, Japan's number three carrier with about 19 million subscribers.
Buzz is building ahead of the launch.

"When the iPhone was announced, I watched Steve Jobs' keynote and thought it looked like a great product and I've wanted one ever since," said Hiroyuki Sano, a student from Nagoya in central Japan.

After travelling for five hours to Tokyo, he set up camp outside the Softbank shop in the trendy Harajuku district at around 6a.m. on Tuesday, three days before the launch. Softbank's announcement that it will begin selling handsets from 7a.m. on Friday prompted about 20 people as of Wednesday lunchtime to queue outside the shop in the hope of securing an iPhone.
It has long been a challenge for foreign companies to penetrate the discriminating Japanese market, but Apple has proven its mettle with the iPod, which became the top music player in Japan upon its release there in 2006. Japan remains Apple's top international market.
As a loyal Apple user, the arrival of the iPhone 3G sits well with 35-year-old Ryusuke Hiratsuka. "The interface and style are unbeatable, plus I don't have to carry my iPod anymore -- everything is integrated," he said.

The biggest deterrent for him isn't the hardware but the hassle of switching carriers and losing discounts he has built up with his current carrier, KDDI. "The amount of money I'd spend monthly for owning an iPhone is equivalent to the phone bill of my wife and I," he said.
At ¥23,040 (US$216) for the 8G-byte version the phone is affordable for most Japanese who are used to paying at least this much for a new cell phone. The price alone can definitely result in sales to about a million units in the first year, Deutsche Bank analyst Kenichi Nishimura recently told Bloomberg TV.

The launch timing works in Softbank's favor as well because it coincides with Japan's summer season, when most Japanese workers receive a bonus equivalent to several weeks' pay. Apart from travel and leisure, electronics is typically a top-choice for how Japanese spend that bonus, according to consumer research company MMRI.

The iPhone, with all its hype, also has its share of detractors.
"I originally wanted to buy the iPhone but I think by using plastic, they sacrificed the design in this model. I'm a bit disappointed about that," said John Hsu, a graduate student.
IDC analyst Michito Kimura thinks Apple might have to add Japan-only features, such as the IC-chip payment system and "One-seg" digital TV technology, to ensure continued sales beyond the launch phase.

"While the iPhone is attractive, its lack of functions unique to the Japanese market may lead to a loss in sales opportunity," he said.

For many early buyers, these "minuses" will be minor details.
"Just the interface itself is enough reason for me to buy the iPhone, but the best thing about it is that I can get a full web surfing experience -- something I've wanted for a long time," said Andrew Shuttleworth, a smartphone aficionado who runs the iPhoneinJapan.com Web site. A long time Windows Mobile user, he is convinced that the Apple's iPhone is his ideal smartphone.
"Internet on Japanese mobile phones have been following the i-mode system ever since. It has hardly improved even when smart phones arrived in 2005, but I think the iPhone can change that," Shuttleworth said.

Whether or not the iPhone will be a success, or be brushed off as just another model released in the extremely competitive Japanese mobile phone market, its entry marks a changing tide. "At the very least the iPhone will open eyes of the consumers that there is something better out there," Shuttleworth said.

However, for some, the iPhone's specifications and capabilities aren't the only deciding factor. "I definitely want one, but I still have to ask my wife," Hiratsuka said.


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