Engadget RSS Feed http://www.engadget.com Engadget http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.engadget.com/media/feedlogo.gif Engadget http://www.engadget.com en-us Copyright 2013 AOL Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/ <![CDATA[Toshiba 'Space Chair' ad redefines armchair viewing (video)]]> http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/16/toshiba-space-chair-ad-takes-armchair-viewing-into-space-vide/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/16/toshiba-space-chair-ad-takes-armchair-viewing-into-space-vide/ http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/16/toshiba-space-chair-ad-takes-armchair-viewing-into-space-vide/?utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Engadget#comments
There's something wrong when an advertisement is more memorable than the product. Nevertheless, here we have Toshiba's Space Chair ad campaign promoting its new 2010 REGZA SV LCD TV series, Toshiba's first with LED backlight and local dimming. The campaign will later expand to include a second take featuring the Satellite T Series of 11-hour CULV laptops set for introduction in 2010. The ad follows the journey of "an ordinary living room chair" to the edge of space before falling back to Earth where the ground crew relied upon a GPS beacon to locate the craft. A few facts about the shoot:
  • A helium balloon lifted the chair and Toshiba's own IK-HR1S ultra-compact 1080i camera to a height of 98,268 feet above terra firma
  • FAA regulations required that the weight of the rig had to be less than four pounds
  • The chair is made of biodegradable balsa wood at a cost of about £2,500
  • The rig was launched in Nevada's Burning Man Black Rock desert
  • The temperature dropped to minus 90 degrees at 52,037 feet
  • The chair took 83 minutes to reach an altitude of 98,268 feet and just 24 minutes to fall back to earth
Truly amazing stuff. Now buckle up and click through for the show.

Gallery: Toshiba 'Space Chair' ad redefines armchair viewing (video)

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]]> adadvertisementadvertisingblack rockblack rock desertBlackRockBlackRockDesertchairculvdimminglcdledled backlightled backlitLedBacklightLedBacklitlocal dimmingLocalDimmingnevadaregzaregza svRegzaSvsatellitesatellite tSatelliteTspacesvt seriestoshibaTSeriesvideo Mon, 16 Nov 2009 06:15:00 -0500 21|19240811 <![CDATA[Samsung updates A950 LCD HDTVs, early adopters left frowning]]> http://www.engadget.com/2008/10/20/samsung-updates-a950-lcd-hdtvs-early-adopters-left-frowning/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget http://www.engadget.com/2008/10/20/samsung-updates-a950-lcd-hdtvs-early-adopters-left-frowning/ http://www.engadget.com/2008/10/20/samsung-updates-a950-lcd-hdtvs-early-adopters-left-frowning/?utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Engadget#comments
So you went out and purchased a brand new LED-backlit A950-series HDTV after hearing such good things, did you? Guess what? It's already old hat. Okay, so maybe that's a bit extreme, but it doesn't change the fact that Samsung has already rolled out an updated version of the unit without providing an easy / free way for existing owners to get the upgrade. Reportedly, all A950s manufactured after September 20, 2008 have the upgrade; ones crafted before that, don't. The tweak raises the black levels in very dark scenes, improves shadow detail and eliminates some of the worst blooming effects. However, the "older" model still exhibits darker overall black levels, and according to CNET, the changes weren't drastic enough to warrant a revision to their original rating. Those looking to make a mountain out of a mole hill can probably kvetch enough to land some new hardware required for the update, but in all honesty, we'd probably just try and forget about it.

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]]> A950black levelblack levelsBlackLevelBlackLevelsdimmingfirmwarefirmware updateFirmwareUpdatehdlcdled-backlitLN46A950samsungupdate Mon, 20 Oct 2008 08:59:00 -0400 21|1346217