Gramophone’s Favorite Things

Sony Adds to Its ES Line with Three New Enhanced Receivers

Sony is adding three new receivers to its ES (Enhanced Standard) line, which is available here at Gramophone. Each of the three receives are designed for discriminating videophiles and support 1080/24p video signals, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, dts High Resolution Audio and dts HD Master Audio formats. Each receiver will upconvert all video signals to 1080p when connected to your HDTV via HDMI cables. The STR-DA4400EShas a 120-watt amplifier, while the STR-DA3400ES and the STR-DA2400ES each have 100 watts.

Report on TVs from the 2008 CES show

I attend the CES convention every year in Las Vegas to get a sneak peek at the prototypes and new technology on the horizon. This year, the big story was focused on thin TVs. And I mean really thin, beginning with the Pioneer Project Kuro Concept TV. We’ve had phenomenal success with the Pioneer Kuro at Gramophone. It’s easily the best-looking and best-performing TV we’ve seen. At the CES show, I got to take a look at the new Pioneer Concept Kuro, and it truly blew me away. This amazing television is only 9mm thick. For those of you who need a conversion, that’s about 3/10” inches. And I haven’t even mentioned that it contains technology that eliminates all measurable light from the screen, meaning the pictures are the richest and most detailed ever seen.

A few others exciting televisions on the horizon:

- Sony showed the XEL-1 OLED. This 11” television is incredibly only 3mm thick. It’s the first Organic Light Emitting Diode television to debut in the U.S. This new technology boasts incredible contrast and brightness – a quality level Sony promises will become the standard against which all TVs are measured.

- Hitachi also showed a line of 32”, 37” and 42” televisions that are just 1.5” thick.

- Sharp unveiled a prototype model for a massive 108” diagonal LCD TV, the first two of which are reportedly scheduled for delivery to the White House. Needless to say, a 108” TV is a pretty amazing spectacle that drew a lot of attention at CES.

On-the-Go Media

Talk about breaking down barriers. The Sony LocationFree® Base Station provides access to all of your DVR content, local channels and much more via an internet stream while you’re away from home. You can even connect the Base Station to your DVD player to access your home media library when you’re miles away. All you need is access to a computer and internet connection and the Base Station streams the media wherever you are – across the globe – or even just on the other side of the house.

A Scrapbook for the Digital Age?

Sony HESV1000 Home Entertainment Server

When I first heard about the Sony Home Entertainment Server, I was non-plussed. Sure, I like the way it stores up to 200 DVDs including the new Blu-Ray high def discs so you can access your movie library through one location. And, it’s great that it can store up to 2,000 albums. But we’ve seen this kind of thing before. The Kaleidescape system (featured HERE on the blog) does almost all of this even better so long as you’re willing to pay the price. But here’s what got me to say “Wow!” about the HES-V1000: besides being a very conveninet way to manage movies and music, it’s the coolest management tool for digital photos I’ve seen to date. Margey (my wife) has this on her Christmas list and she says she hates technology.

You can load up to 20,000 digital photos on this server, then create custom slideshows using supplied graphics and backgrounds, all synced with music from your own digital collection. Then you can display your slideshows directly on your compatible TV. It’s really nifty, and it gives me a place to stash all the photos from the digital cameras my entire family takes everywhere.

Your kids will have hours of fun creating digital scrapbooks of themselves and their friends complete with their own soundtracks. And it’s great for us to create custom shows for family and friends. And here’s the ultimate: at the touch of a button, you can burn any of your slideshows right to a disc to present to your guests and friends. Finally, Sony’s created an end to the digital photo black hole.

Enjoy,
Brian

Take Your Library With You: Sony Reader

Book lover? Then you’ll love the new e-Reader from Sony. It takes an entire library of books and makes it portable in a slim, lightweight electronic pad. I like to think of it as an iPod for my books. No more choosing which books to take with you when you travel. No more lugging heavy volumes through airports. Now you can take hundreds of books with you in a device smaller than a paperback.

You simply download your favorite e-books, then intuitively select and read your books through the simple graphic interface. You turn pages by pressing a button, and the Reader bookmarks your pages and remembers where you left off so you can easily begin reading again. And you can read multiple books at the same time if you’re the kind of person who likes to keep lots of books open.

The rechargeable battery lasts through 7,500 page turns. It doesn’t have a backlight, but you can purchase an accessory lamp to add to your Reader if you need it. I’m reading “Life of Pi” right now. It’s a great book and you might make it your first Reader selection as well. 

Enjoy,
Brian