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HDHomeRun Prime is the first CableCARD tuner to deliver live TV to DLNA Devices
Our favorite shows, anywhere, that's all we really want. Of course that is asking too much but we'll be closer to the dream now that Silicondust has announced its three tuner HDHomeRun Prime CableCARD is a certified DLNA Digital Media Server (DMS). While the options this opens are seemingly limitless, one specific use case is watching premium cable on a PS3. CableCARD tuners aren't exactly known for their ease of setup, but once you do get this working with your cable company and on your network, it'll show up like any other DLNA source to your PS3. From there you can browse the list of channels and watch any you happen to subscribe to. The PS3 isn't the only DLNA Digital Media Player (DMP) or Digital Media Renderer (DMR) that works with a DLNA DMS, and plays MPEG2 video. However, at this point it's the only one we know of that also supports DTCP-IP, which is the DRM required to play premium content. A representative of Silicondust told us he's confident more compatible devices are on the way, while even more devices will support the unprotected content. Keep an eye out for an official list of compatible hardware on its site some time after this update starts rolling out later this month. Finally, yes, you will be able to use your DLNA Digital Media Controller (DMC) to record content to your other Digital Media Servers -- is that enough acronyms for you? If this interests you, then stay tuned for CES where Silicondust plans to announce phase 2, which is where we think things could really get interesting.
Rumor: 3DS tech specs leaked, Digital Foundry analyzes
IGN claims to have received the technical specs for Nintendo's 3DS. According to the site, the handheld will use the DMP PICA200 GPU, but running at a slowed-down 166MHz, along with two ARM11 CPUs, each running at 266MHz. That's quite a bit less powerful than the Nvidia Tegra chips once rumored to be in the device. According to IGN, it will also have 1.5GB of flash memory for storage. Okay, so IGN listed a bunch of names and some numbers -- along with the claim that "Numerous developers working on software for the platform have likened its graphical capabilities to current-generation consoles like the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, albeit on smaller, lower-resolution screens." But to find out what all those numbers mean, we turn to Digital Foundry. The parts "represent a massive step-up from the existing DSi," DF said, "while measuring up badly against the latest in smartphone technology." For example, the 64MB of RAM does not compare favorably to the iPhone 4's 512. However, DF notes that there's no iOS to hog resources, and in terms of the graphical capabilities, the relatively low resolution (compared to consoles) uses far less overhead. DF notes that the motherboard originally sent to the FCC appeared to use a Tegra chip, suggesting that Nintendo has changed the design since then. "Quite why Nintendo decided to switch suppliers and go with DMP remains something of a mystery," the site says, "especially bearing in mind just how much more modern and capable the Tegra IP is compared to the much older PICA-200." To get a better idea of what 3DS games look like than you'd get from people talking about numbers, investigate these screenshots of 3DS games.
Rumored Nintendo 3DS specs include two separate 266MHz ARM11 processors, 1.5GB storage
The mystery of what's actually under the hood of the Nintendo 3DS is likely to elude us until launch date, when the inevitable teardown commences. That isn't stopping IGN, however, from pooling together its rolodex of sources to report what it believes the specs are: two 266MHz ARM11 CPUs, a 133MHz GPU, 4MB dedicated VRAM, 64MB RAM, and 1.5GB flash storage (in addition to the previously-known SD card expansion). If based on ARM11 architecture, it'd certainly be in good (if not wildly disparate) company: iPhone (original and 3G), the first two generations of iPod touch, all Amazon Kindles, Palm Pixi, a plethora of Nokia handsets, and... the Kin One and Zune HD. Two separate processors isn't too far fetched, either, as the original DS had both a 67MHz ARM9 and a 33.5MHz ARM7 (quite an uptick, eh?). Digital Media Productions took credit for the GPU back in June, claiming its Pica200 would be the chip of choice. That's got a maximum speed of 200MHz, which according to this rumor is being underclocked. So, nothing that runs counter to the admittedly little we got via the 3DS' FCC leak, and still nothing to keep the Tegra 2 hopeful in check (poor souls). Those with a need to know so passionate it runs through their very being will, as we said before, probably have to wait until it hits retail. And we should find out when that is next week.
Cowon X7 materializes from the ether into a real life FCC applicant
Alright, so this isn't quite like seeing Duke Nukem Forever popping up on Walmart shelves, but the Cowon X7 has been a long time in the making. Rumored since 2007, the Korean company's portable media player has now finally sauntered up to America's Communications Commission to dot some Is and cross some Ts. We're let into the knowledge that it'll come with a Bluetooth radio and a HDD of some kind, which GenerationMP3 speculates will be a 1.8-inch unit. Really now, a spinny thing in our PMP feels better suited to good old '07, but then if Cowon can combine some capacious storage with a large screen, it could still have a winner on its hands. Particularly if the rumblings of Android as the OS turn out to be true.
Sony outs NWZ-E350 Walkman
Sony's just announced a new E-Series Walkman, the E350. Available in blue, red or black, these bad boys come in both 4GB and 8GB varieties. Simple players, they offer up to 50 hours of music playback, and up to ten hours of video, and support a variety of formats. Other than that -- well, there's not much more than that. If you can't wait to get your hands on one, well you'll have to wait until next month, but it'll cost you $70 for the 4GB and $80 for the 8GB version once available at Sony Style. Full press release is below.
Nintendo 3DS uses DMP's PICA200 GPU
Instead of going with the rumored Nvidia Tegra chip to power the display in the 3DS, Nintendo has chosen a product from Digital Media Professionals. The Japanese hardware company announced last night that its PICA200 chip was selected by Nintendo as the GPU in the Nintendo 3DS. DMP boasts that the 200MHz chip can provide 15.3 million polygons a second, 800 million pixels a second, and can perform alpha blending, full-scene antialiasing, and other features that sound like they make nice graphics. Nintendo has yet to reveal the CPU or any of the other chips behind the 3DS, but at least we're starting to get an idea what's going on in there. After the break, check out a video made by DMP to show off the chip's abilities. Perhaps you can look at it on two monitors at once to get an idea of the 3D capabilities of the system, or wiggle your monitor back and forth.
DMP's Pica200 GPU is the power behind Nintendo 3DS (video)
We'd never heard of Digital Media Professionals until this very moment, but we'd guess the company won't have that problem in future -- according to a press release fresh off the Japanese wire, its Pica200 GPU is the one pushing pixels to Nintendo's autostereoscopic screen. While we don't know exactly how the tiny graphics unit works or what CPU it might be paired with in a system-on-a-chip, the company claims it supports per-pixel lighting, procedural textures and antialiasing among a host of other effects, and generates 15.3 million polygons per second at its native 200MHz. What's more impressive is the video after the break -- reportedly rendered entirely on the chip -- and of course, the 3DS itself, but you'll have to take our word on that.
Yepp, Samsung's working on another PMP -- but this one's a four-inch Android with AMOLED
Samsung's interstellar voyage with Android has just begun, it seems -- after a host of smartphones and a freshly announced tablet, it looks like the OS will cameo in a new Yepp PMP. The YP-MB2 was recently spotted in the databases of the Bluetooth SIG, where it's described as "a multi functional Mobile Internet Device" with GPS, Wi-Fi, TouchWiz 3.0 and a huge four-inch AMOLED touchscreen. Digging deeper into the technical documents, we can see it's got Android as well -- oh, and Bluetooth, of course. As the geographic availability section reads "Asia" and the unit's "MB" designation typically means South Korea's T-DMB, we don't expect to ever see it stateside, but when the device surfaces next you can probably expect it to look like a larger one of these.
Samsung TicToc PMP player lets you shake right past that Ke$ha song
Back at CES Samsung apparently unveiled this little guy -- the TicToc PMP, which seems to be aiming firmly at the iPod shuffle demographic -- whatever demographic that is. This little bad boy's got just one physical button (for power and volume control) while other functions of the player -- playback, skipping past songs and the like -- are all controlled by shaking. The TicToc will come in 2GB and 4GB varieties, have a supposed battery life of up to 12 hours, and it'll also have a cute little docking station to go with it. There's no pricing information yet, but we hear it'll definitely be available later this year. There's one more shot after the break.
Flash Zunes that disappeared from the Zune site reappear -- is someone toying with us?
Remember just a few days back, when the sadness and confusion surrounded us as every last flash Zune disappeared, leading us to ponder the meaning of life? Well, they're back! Huzzah! Our suggestion? Get them before they go for good -- unless you're holding out for the Zune HD.
Sony Ericsson's facial recognition patent plays the perfect song to complement your mood
We don't expect this to be indicative of any near-term projects for the now financially hindered phone maker, but one of Sony Ericsson's recently unearthed patents paves the way for some interesting uses. From what we gather, while listening to music on your device, a picture of your face would be taken. That image would then be run through software that interprets your mood, and an appropriate next song based on those emotions would be picked -- so much for the art of mixtapes. Presumably, it'd also require a phone or device with a camera mounted on the same side as the screen, so unless mobile video conferencing takes off in a huge way, we can't see people paying extra for a phone or device with this configuration. And if you just got dumped over SMS, we hope it doesn't intepret those tears as a good time to play that Damien Rice song you two fell in love with. Hit up the read link for the full patent details. [Via Slash Gear]
Second anonymous MP7 player surfaces -- MP3, MP4 shrug shoulders
Finally, the world's second attempt to escalate the neverending MP arms race. This sexy piece is totally standard, feature-wise -- plays audio / video, has a 1.3 megapixel camera, FM tuner and voice recording feature -- but for just $70, it's pretty much the best deal ever, right? Right?[Via PMP Today]
Sony's TDM-NC1 WiFi audio streamer for Bravia systems
You know, Sony really has made a lot of moves to make its products more standards friendly, what with AAC and MP3 files on its DAPs, and a whole freakin' Linux install on the PS3, but it seems they've dropped the meme here with the TDM-NC1. The sexy little WiFi audio streamer supports ATRAC, AAC and WMA files over a wireless or Ethernet connection with your Windows PC, but unfortunately the only output option is Sony's proprietary Digital Media Port, which is only compatible with a handful of Bravia systems. Too bad, 'cause while the $200 pricetag is a tad steep, there's just no arguing with the looks here. Sony is accepting pre-orders now, and should be releasing the unit on June 8th.[Via Le Journal du Geek]
Shred Ready offers up waterproof, helmet-ready Freestyle Audio DAP
We know the winter's coming soon, and if you haven't hit the slopes just yet, we know you're itching to climb back in that ski lift as soon as possible. Shred Ready is making sure those "first day back" errors won't cost you an MP3 player, as its Freestyle Audio DMP is not only small enough to fit in any of the 238 (or so) available pockets your ski coat presumably has, but it's completely waterproof as well. Designed to handle the harsh, unforgiving nature of the mountain, the DAP promises "skip-free" playback from the built-in 512MB of storage, and even if you pull an all-nighter on the black diamond trial, the reported "40 hours" of battery life should keep things jamming 'til the break of dawn. It also comes bundled with the SR Can-Can Earflaps to conveniently attach to your helmet and keep the cabling under control. Unfortunately, the $199.95 price does not include a helmet of your own, but there's certainly no shortage of MP3-ready headgear if this one looks a little steep (ahem) to you.[Via Red Ferret]
Minox intros DMP-3 media player
Camera maker Minox is pushing beyond its usual boundaries once again with its new Volkswagen-designed DMP-3 media player, a follow-up to the DMP-2 and DMP-1 before it. As with its previous players, Minox is talking up the device's digital photo album and video playback capabilities as much as its MP3 functionality, although the smallish 2.5-inch LCD makes for less than ideal viewing conditions. On the storage tip, Minox has again opted for a paltry 128MB of internal memory, making the SD slot essential if you plan on using the device to capture VGA or QVGA video in MPEG-4. No word yet on pricing or availability, although if the previous model is any indication, it should come in somewhere around the $200 mark.
