Home Cinema
Oppo opts not to sell its BDP-831 Blu-ray player in Europe
You may not have heard of Oppo before, it isn't a huge company, but we've reviewed, and loved, several of its high-end DVD players. The company, based in China, but with an emphasis on the US market, concentrates on quality, so its DVD players use excellent scaling hardware to get the best possible quality out of standard definition material. So, as you can imagine, when the company unveiled its BDP-831 Blu-ray player, we were beside ourselves with excitement. Sadly, Oppo has recently announced that this player won't be making the journey to Europe any time soon.
Reviewers of the US version --known as the BDP-83-- remarked that it was one of the fastest loading players ever, with the same emphasis on high-quality video and audio as the company's DVD players. But in a statement on its UK store site, that was due to open at the same time as the Blu-ray player went on sale, Oppo broke the bad news. It said: “After careful evaluation of the resources available, it has been determined that the release of the OPPO BDP-831 Blu-ray Disc player in Europe will be postponed indefinitely”.
Blu-ray to get managed copy. At last
Blu-ray, eh, we're sort of stuck with it now, aren't we. That said, we love our movies with glorious 1080p and beautiful lossless surround sound. What we aren't so keen on, is the restrictive DRM that prevents us from using our films the way copyright law suggests we should be able to. We're talking here about making a copy for personal use, so that we can stream it to a media player or put a copy on an iPod or other PMP. But rejoice –in a restrained way-- because managed copy is on the way to Blu-ray, according to Engadget and Video Business.
Managed copy allows users to 'rip' video from a Blu-ray disc, but in a controlled manner, and with DRM remaining in place to prevent copies ending up on the internet. The copy protection system on Blu-ray, known as AACS has always theoretically supported managed copy, but from the 4th of December it will become mandatory for discs to allow consumers to make at least one copy. Try not to get too excited though, because in order to make a copy using this system, you'll need a piece of hardware that supports it, and have a guess how many currently do. That's right, none.
Extreme home cinema: Most ludicrous AV setups ever
Think your 50-inch plasma and 7.1 surround-sound system are the pooch's pods? Unless they're plated in gold and built into a hot-air balloon, think again. Welcome to our round-up of ten of the most awesome (and occasionally awful) home-cinema installations on the planet. If you want to join them, remember you won't just need a six-figure budget -- it'll help if you're stark-staring bonkers, too. Continue reading...
Sony BDP-S760 Blu-ray player: Super bit-mapping reality enhancer
Sony has lifted the lid on its new top-of-the-range Blu-ray player, the BDP-S760. Jammed full of exciting new features -- some of which may actually make a difference to your viewing experience -- it's also packing a walloping great price tag: £340.
The S760 and its more reasonably priced sibling, the S560 (£240), do share an interesting common feature: Wi-Fi. Instead of trailing an ugly old Ethernet cable round to your home-cinema setup, the S760 connects to your wireless network, meaning you can look at photos stored on your PC or make use of Blu-ray's thus-far disappointing BD-Live Internet features. Continue reading...
Moon lands on Blu-ray this November
Okay, okay, we're sorry about that headline. But the film's called Moon, what else do you want? One small step for man, one giant leap for Blu-ray? Obvious puns aside, we couldn't be more excited about the arrival of Moon on Blu-ray and DVD, but mostly we're salivating over the Blu-ray.
There isn't a geek on the planet who doesn't love all things space. Science fiction is our genre of choice and there have been few more stylish, subtle and compelling examples of it in recent years than Moon. Sam Bell (the wonderful Sam Rockwell) has been living in a mining station on the Moon for nearly three years, with only a robot (creepily voiced by Kevin Spacey) for company. As he prepares to come home, he makes a frightening discovery about who his replacement will be. Continue reading...
Win a CNET UK Editors' Choice swag bag worth £1,200!
Christmas may not be here yet, but we've been distilling the spirit of Santa Claus for months now, nurturing our pot bellies by gorging on pies and cultivating slightly off-putting beards. In order to indulge our premature festive inclinations, we're offering the chance for one reader to win a veritable smorgasbord of consumer tech. And we're not talking just any old gadgets -- what's on offer here is the cream of the crop, with all prize offerings having been awarded CNET UK's coveted Editors' Choice award.
The Humax Foxsat-HDR freesat PVR and 1080p Toshiba Regza 32RV635DB LCD TV are sure to please on the wintry evenings ahead, while the Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ6 superzoom camera, 8GB Apple iPod touch, and Asus Eee PC 1008HA Seashell netbook should provide ample distraction from the numbing sensation in your toes and fingers if you decide to venture outside. Continue reading...
Jamo A 102 HCS speaker system: Reduces risk of divorce by up to 3 per cent
It's been successfully proven that floor-standing speakers are responsible, in part, for at least one in every 1,000,000 divorces. As much as all humans love the sound of 5.1 surround sound, not all of them like having their lounges filled with hulking great speakers. Jamo, luckily, understands this dichotomy, and has sought to reduce speaker size to a mere suggestion of their previous dimensions. Its A 102 system is compact, but designed to provide a room-filling sound.
The system consists of two A 102 speakers, which take care of the front stereo sound effects and a similarly sized pair of A 10 rear-effects speakers. Also included is a single centre-channel speaker, the A 10 CEN, which will make speech delightfully audible and un-muddied by the crashing explosions that the SUB 200 subwoofer provides. It's a fairly conventional system, and it won't suit those looking for a 7.1-channel setup -- but let's be honest, for most of us 5.1 is more than suitable for a loveable home-cinema experience. Continue reading...
Hisense Media Player: 1080p video playback for less than £100 
The dust has only just begun to settle on our new Popcorn Hour when this Hisense media player swaggers up, threatening to rock the home-cinema boat and send its occupants into the ocean of media-streamer confusion.
The Hisense has the same basic concept as the Popcorn Hour -- namely, make it easy to get media from your PC to your TV -- but it does it for the bargain price of £70. In this case, the Hisense uses either USB or Ethernet to make that happen. Continue reading...
Popcorn Hour C-200: Adding a Blu-ray drive
Our review of the Popcorn Hour C-200 is now live, but because of some production delays, our C-200 review sample didn't come with a Blu-ray drive, or a hard disk. As such, we weren't able to test the former in our review, and had to strip down a laptop to get a 2.5-inch drive to use the latter. The good news is that, thanks to LG, we now have a Blu-ray drive to test with the C-200 and we thought we'd show you how to plug it in. Continue reading...
Popcorn Hour C-200 Blu-ray media streamer: Hands-on photos
Of all the media streamers we've seen, the Popcorn Hours are still the ones that impress us the most. It might have a silly name and its hardware has been a little, er, unconventional, but it plays every piece of video we've ever shown it and it's wonderfully simple to setup and use. The latest Popcorn Hour, the C-200, is an evolution of the A-110, offering the same media playback support, but adding a few new features to the mix.
What makes the C-200 different to every other media streamer on the market is that it's designed to accept a Blu-ray drive -- which means you get not only excellent network media playback, but also support for HD video on Blu-ray. Continue reading...
