Going on record: the Philips LX7500R
Home CinemaYou can't escape convergence. Your phone wants to be a GPS navigation system, your PSP wants to play your movies, and now Philips' latest home cinema system wants to record your films as well as play them. With a combi DVD player/recorder at the heart of the system, as well as a bunch of other cool features, the LX7500R is the AV equivalent of a Swiss Army Knife.
Not only does the LX7500R want to combine all the boxes under your TV into one neat unit, it's happy to do it all for the paltry sum of £500. So what have those Dutch geniuses had to sacrifice in order to reach such a price? Well not much, as it happens -- the system will happily play back MP3 discs, it will programme all your recordings using the simple VideoPlus+ system, and its clever Dolby Pro Logic II processing will create meaty surround sound from a measly stereo source. And if you want to match up the effortlessly stylish 'tall-boy' speakers with your plasma or LCD, you can use progressive scan to treat it with the best pictures this side of Tate Britain.
NEC HT510: DLP delight
Home CinemaCinema is dead! A bold claim, but judging by the number of budget projectors pouring into Crave every day, we'd say our trips to the local Odeon are numbered. One of the most attractive models yet is the NEC HT510 -- a £1,200 beauty that now takes care of after-hours entertainment here in the office. Despite its lack of DVI input for high definition playback, we're pretty impressed with what it has to offer.
The secret ingredient is a DLP chipset -- DLP (for Digital Light Processing) technology, developed by Texas Instruments, has not only knocked LCD into a cocked hat, but now offers truly cinematic pictures at around £1,000. That means it will take even less time to recoup the investment on your own cinema -- just don't forget the little cup holders for your sofa.
You might like these...
E4: It's not heavy, it's my Big Brother
TelevisionsFreeview box owners rejoice! No longer do your days have to be filled with aimless channel surfing, furiously zapping for something worth watching only to stop and ponder how many lobotomies QVC presenters go through. Those days are over, because E4 is finally coming to Freeview on Friday -- and it's renowned as the place to see the best new shows like The West Wing and The Sopranos, and other things you secretly love but would never admit to in public (like Desperate Housewives).
Well, sod all that effort providing quality programming, because it's much easier for E4 to launch a new channel on the back of 24/7 Big Brother coverage. So instead of drama and comedy, you can look forward to a month of charisma-free twenty-somethings taking part in increasingly gladiatorial-style games for your amusement, while the ever-present threat of violence and fornication provides front cover material for every tabloid in the land. Isn't television great?
Archos AV400: well weapon
HandheldsThe Archos AV400 has been pronounced the world's best portable PVR, but we sceptical types at Crave don't take such claims lightly. Not only have we got hold of one to give it the thrashing of its little life, we've got the new upgraded 80GB model. Apple iPod 60GB? Ha! The Archos laughs at such puny storage.
First impressions of the AV400 are good -- it has a nice weight that will certainly hurt an opponent should we need to use it as a weapon, but with soft rubbery corners to help protect it when we inevitably drop the thing. We've built up a library of DivX files from all the portable players we've had in, and when we loaded them on the Archos there were some definite problems. The first episode of 24 looked amazingly crisp, but it was dropping frames and looked incredibly jerky. As a result, Kim Bauer's constant running wasn't nearly as satisfying to watch.
Hot little pocket rocket: mPack P800
HandheldsDoes Archos think it's the leader of the portable media player pack? It'd better watch out. This mPack P800 has a blade in its pocket and it's not afraid to fight dirty. It might have a slightly less intuitive interface than the Archos, but the picture quality on the P800 blows us away.
It's difficult for an 89mm (3.5-inch) LCD to inspire awe -- let's face it, on a cinema screen, an actor's pore could fill that space -- but the P800 has the sweetest looking screen of any portable player we've seen yet.
Welcome to our new Web site
CamcordersWelcome to the new Crave. We thought Crave's crack team of highly-trained gadget monkeys were having far too much fun to be left on their own, so we've decided to join them and Crave is now part of CNET.co.uk, a brand new Web site which launches today.
Crave will continue to keep you up to date on the latest gadget gossip, but will now also be able to give you access to in-depth product reviews on many of the things the Crave team have been lusting after, as well as to personal technology and consumer electronics News and Digital Living features to help you make sense of the technology you already own.
You might like these...
Sony PS3: 'Reality Synthesiser'
Games and GearPlayStation 3. Spring 2006. Fully High Definition capable. These are the important facts that Crave took away from Sony's PlayStation 3 announcement, which took place last night at E3.
Just last week, you couldn't get a word in edgeways in the office over talk of the Xbox 360, but such are our fickle affections to shiny new things, we've started drooling over the latest supermodel in town. While the console itself might not whet the appetite of designers quite as much as the Xbox 360, we were really just eager to see what the current king of the console world would choose to supercede the PS2. After all, it was the first console manufacturer in history to lead the market for two successive generations Continue reading...
Akai LM-H30CJSA: low-cost display
TelevisionsIn the face of a capitalist marketing regime that aims to turn us into brand-loyal consumer monkeys, it takes a brave person to buy from a relatively unproven name. Luckily, Crave is here to help point you in the direction of gadgets that might just be worth that risk. The Akai LM-H30CJSA, for example, is a 30-inch LCD available for just £799 -- in other words, only a couple of hundred pounds more than an equivalent CRT.
"Where's the catch?" we hear you ask. Well, the screen might not be up there with the Sharps and Sonys of the flatscreen world, and it's not high definition compatible (that would be a remarkable bargain). On paper, however, the screen's specs look pretty good, with a WXGA panel resolution and progressive scan component inputs. So if you're the sort of person that likes to fly in the face of convention and, for example, choose a Creative Zen MP3 player over an Apple iPod, the Akai LM-H30CJSA might just float your boat.
Video killed the games star
Games and GearPortable Video Players. We love 'em here at Crave -- we can watch The Office on the way to work, show off to our fellow commuters and get cool I-nearly-got- mugged anecodotes, all at the same time. Now we've bought a 1GB Memory Stick Duo, we can do it all on our Sony PSP, with our geek chic credentials set to stun.
Sometimes we have to worry about our craving for new technology turning into an addiction. Not only did we import our PSP to get one before Sony deigned to release it over here, but the 1GB Memory Stick Duos are so rare that we had to go through the same rigmarole to get our grubby hands on one.
DHD4000: dual in Thomson's crown
Home CinemaCount us impressed -- the Thomson DHD4000 is our new favourite Freeview hard disk recorder. Swooping into the office in a pretty battered box, the inconspicuous little blighter looks more like some sort of network router than a life-changing televisual wonder.
Its brilliance lies in the fact that it uses dual-tuners, meaning that you can record one channel while watching another. All the time, the box is buffering two channels simultaneously onto the hard drive, meaning you can flick between channels without losing where you are in either programme. Genius!
NEC 61XR3: rich man's plasma
TelevisionsWe've seen a few nice TVs at Crave recently -- Samsung's rear pro was a beacon of light during our late-night testing sessions. However, nothing quite prepared us for The Simpsons on a 61-inch plasma, something which attracted the attention of half the office. In fact, watching TV from a normal distance and still having a good portion of your peripheral vision taken up is actually a scary experience, especially if you're watching Trisha.
This formidable flatscreen comes with a formidable price tag, clocking in at just under £8,000 online, and for that you don't even get speakers. Luckily though, we subscribe to the idea that a product's value is directly related to how heavy it is. And at 61kg, or 1kg per inch of screen, you know the image quality is going to be pretty spectacular. We were blown away with standard DVD playback, and the downside is that it's too posh for an RGB Scart connection. No joy for us Freeview plebs.
Finned wonder: the Moore Medio
DesktopsStand to attention soldiers, this is military grade home theatre equipment. The Moore Medio runs Windows Media Edition, but looks like it fell off a fighter jet. Tough steel fins run down both sides of the CPU, these serve as heat-sinks -- good job too, considering the kind of heat the chassis generates.
The Medio comes in its own aluminium carry case - we felt like we were unpacking a nuclear bomb when it arrived at Crave HQ. Everything on the Medio is beautifully machined and polished. It's not elegant in the vein of Linn or Bang and Olufsen, but it definitely doesn't look cheap. If you've ever stripped down a Briggs and Stratton, you'll have an idea of the sheer bulk and solidity of the Medio. Continue reading...
Toshiba SD-P2700: DVD-a-go-go
Home Cinema“Sweet heavens, is that really a portable DVD player?” we hear you cry. Crave had also been labouring under the impression that the entire world had moved onto hard drive-based video devices, but Toshiba’s SD-P2700 has proved us entirely wrong.
Not only does it have a 23cm SVGA screen, but it can play DivX files, meaning you can watch all those, ahem, ‘backups’ on the go. Not only that, but your photos of that perfect summer in Spain can be revisited whenever you like thanks to an integrated 3-in-1 memory card reader (SD, MMC, Memory Stick). With two headphone sockets, you can share DVD love with the beautiful stranger beside you on the train home to Bracknell.
Monster Cables: King Kong's connectors
Home CinemaIn a level of irony not seen since… well, this morning when Labour got voted back into power, DVD Players are now so cheap you can buy them for less than the discs you put inside. That doesn't stop aspiring Del Boys down London's Tottenham Court Road trying to sell us cables that reach upwards of £100 a metre though. "24k gold contacts," they boast, with the £ signs literally replacing their dilated pupils. "High velocity nitrogen cellular dielectric and 0.1% oxygen cores," they continue, upping the ante past the point where even they don't know what they're talking about. Crave just nods, quietly creeping out of the door and down to Argos to pick up a £5 Scart cable.
However, we're entering the digital world now, and since the kind bods at Monster sent over their new digital range of cables, we're reeling from the results. We've probably mentioned it enough already, but DVI and HDMI connectors are the SCART of the future. When you see it in action, the sharpness is so good it's like a layer of Vaseline has been removed from the screen.
Apple Mac: the future of video starts here
DesktopsThe Apple fans currently have some good ammunition against the PC-heads in the office, with some of the team unleashing Tiger as we speak. And since Monday, fans of white finishes and fruity logos have access to high definition movie trailers too. Available from its trailer site, you can now watch clips from new movies such as Batman Begins, Fantastic Four and Kingdom of Heaven.
For anyone unfamiliar with the hi-def revolution, its basic advantage is that it offers video at a much higher resolution than current standards, such as television and DVD material. Written down that might not sound too exciting, but in action it's a revelation -- think of a bigger jump in quality than DVD over VHS and you'll be somewhere close to the additional detail you'll see with hi-def.
Sony PS2: smooth like satin
Games and GearLet's face it, whatever is hip and trendy in the fashion world is usually described as 'the new black', but in AV, silver is still the way to go. Fans of harmonised electronics will be pleased to hear that a new 'satin silver' version of the world's favourite gaming console is due to hit the shelves on May 13th. Which, coincidentally, is the same day that Microsoft premiers its Xbox 360 on MTV.
Argos is probably the last place you'd expect to leak news of the new PS2, but for the past few months its Web site has been promising this very model. Sony has now confirmed that we can get our paws on the premium edition within a couple of weeks, but it has sadly still not dropped in price, staying firmly at £115.
Tranquil T2: not so peaceful
DesktopsThere's something odd afoot in the minds of Microsoft. This is the third Media Centre in a row that doesn't display video on a TV out of the box. Beat us like dogs if we're mistaken, but shouldn't a device that is brazen enough to claim it's the 'centre' of all your 'media' at home be able to communicate with the lowly television set?
Ok, we've coaxed these stubborn animals to output video to TV before, but why in the name of Bill aren't they configured for TV output by default? Things looked momentarily hopeful with the Tranquil T2 -- the Windows start-up screen appeared on our TV and then... an ominous black cloud fell across the world. Continue reading...
Dell W2600: Dell-iciously good LCD
TelevisionsWe've seen so many LCD TVs at Crave that we've begun using them as our PC displays. Having such a big screen on your desk brings certain -- benefits. For example, playing Half Life 2 on a 26-inch widescreen display is a dream for avid gamers, even if it is a bit obvious when the boss strolls by.
Now that the asking price for an all-singing, all-dancing high-definition display is as little as £825, the urge to go flat is even more difficult to resist. That's the price Dell has managed to achieve with its W2600, a hugely impressive LCD TV that really shows the traditional AV companies a thing or two about design. It has every connection under the sun -- 12 separate sockets that include a Sky HD-compatible DVI input -- and although we challenge anyone to actually have enough kit to use them all, it's very nice to have the choice.
TerraTec Cinergy T²: freeview on the go
TelevisionsCrave's tireless efforts to bring you the latest gadget news means that we're permanently glued to our laptops -- in bed at 2 a.m. or on the morning bus fighting off angry commuters. However, we're set for some respite thanks to TerraTec's Cinergy T², a matchbox sized Freeview adaptor that plugs into the USB 2.0 port of any PC.
Thankfully, once the Cinergy T² receives the Freeview signal, a lot more functions are offered by its included software. Recording schedules can be set with one button from the Electronic Programme Guide, and you can then use Ulead MovieFactory 3 to edit and burn them to DVD. Just like any other Freeview PVR, you can pause television, holding 24 while you go off and make a cup of tea to come back and find Jack Bauer exactly where you left him.
Fear and Loathing: Media Center PCs
DesktopsPicture this. You plug in your VHS video recorder with two leads, you insert a video, you press play. You watch the video. Fairly simple, right?
Ok, now picture this. You plug in your Media Center and no picture appears on the TV. What are you going to do now? If like us, you turned to the manual, then you're a sucker. It's no help whatsoever -- in fact it actively taunts you with a series of cute little drawings that imply that plugging in a Media Center is like plugging in a toaster. The manual will beat you into a rage with its patronising tone, skipping over vast detail -- like a helicopter manual that asks you to 'take to the skies' before explaining how to switch the thing on.
Android App 
RSS Feeds 
iPhone App 
Newsletters 
