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Panasonic's $699 UHD Blu-ray player arrives in September
If you thought Ultra HD Blu-ray players were already pretty expensive, Panasonic would like to have a word. Whereas Samsung's player and the recently released unit from Philips aim for a mainstream crowd with $400 price tags, Panasonic is targeting audiophiles and folks with slightly deeper pockets. The DMP-UB900 costs $699 and features a few wild specs like twin HDMI outputs for separating audio and video signals; premium capacitors, circuitry and signal processors; "digital tube sound" that supposedly replicates analog warmth from a digital signal and playback for DSD and ALAC audio formats. Yep, your TV's speakers would be a waste of all this tech.
Vizio's high-end 4K TVs are on sale at (some) Best Buy stores
After more than a year of waiting Vizio finally opened up orders for two models from its "Reference Series" line, and now it's expanding the rollout. At Best Buy's Magnolia Design Center locations (they're a bit more limited than the regular Magnolia in-store units you're probably used to seeing, here's a list), well-heeled buyers can order up a $6,000 65-inch Ultra High Definition TV packing Dolby's HDR tech, or go big with the $130,000 120-inch model. Of course, at that price, some of you may want to window shop before making a purchase, and a rep told one AVS Forum poster that they may have in-store samples coming. This close to CES you may want to wait for what 2016's TVs have to offer, but Netflix has that ultra wide color tech, 384 LED lighting zones plus UHD apps from Netflix, Amazon and Vudu.
Bravely Second details attend magic university
More details for Bravely Second, the sequel to Square Enix's RPG Bravely Default: Flying Fairy announced just last week, have surfaced. The game's familiar locale is that of Luxendarc, "several years" after the Warriors of Light saved the world, according to a translation of the game's official site provided by Gematsu. Specifically, players will be concerned with the "magic university town" of Istantarl, built under the decree of the Lakrika prime minister on the Nadarakes continent in the game's world. The professors of the university helped to develop a "new structure of magic" at Istantarl, indicating that the game may feature some new magic-based battle elements for players to enjoy. Additionally, the silver-haired lady's moniker Magnolia isn't short for "Steel Magnolias" like we'd hoped, but rather "Devil King Buster Magnolia Arch." Magnolia "appears in unexpected places at unexpected times," and also has a "daredevil attitude." Magnolia is the lone survivor of the moon nation, has strong fighting skills and also rescued Tiz Oria, one of the Bravely Default's primary characters. Bravely Second will launch on 3DS in Japan at a to-be-determined date.
Kaleidescape revamps Cinema One movie player with easier setup in mind
Kaleidescape's Cinema One player has been many things to movie buffs, but "accessible" isn't one of them -- limited distribution and an emphasis on custom installs has kept it out of reach. The company is widening that scope with a redesigned Cinema One that's almost as easy to install as an off-the-shelf Blu-ray player. It's a tad more advanced than that, of course. The Cinema One integrates with most home automation systems, and it stores up to 100 Blu-ray quality movies (including Kaleidescape Store downloads). Viewers who need more storage can attach a second player or the older DV700 Disc Vault. The revamped Cinema One is still expensive at $3,995, but it's at least easier to buy than its predecessor -- Kaleidescape is selling the new media server as a walk-in purchase at Magnolia and other retail stores.
Tizen 2.0 SDK and source code emerge from alpha, bring slew of new features
Sure, an early version of Tizen 2.0 Magnolia may have first emerged last September, but now the SDK and source code have dropped the "alpha" designation for a proper release. After a few months of incubation, the open source OS has been laden with enhanced support for HTML5 and a beefed up Web UI framework that enables full-screen and multi-window features. Developers can now leverage new hardware APIs for Bluetooth and NFC support, and access a device's call history, calendar and messaging "subsystems." Support for background applications, text-to-speech and IP Push have also made it into the operating system along with reference applications including the likes of a calendar, gallery and phone app. In addition, a native IDE and a spruced up web development environment have been released with the latest code. Hit the source link for the full skinny and appropriate downloads. [Image credit: Tizen Project, Flickr]
TiVo Premiere Elite will bring quad tuners, 2TB storage to retail this year
When TiVo announced its first quad tuner DVR, the Premiere Q, fans were devastated to learn it would only be available via cable operators, and that it featured a smallish 500GB hard drive. Fortunately, the company has rectified both of those issues by announcing the TiVo Premiere Elite, a quad tuner Series 4 DVR with 2TB of storage built that will be available through TiVo.com, Best Buy's Magnolia stores and authorized home theater installers. There's no word yet on price or an exact release date, as all of this is still pending a waiver from the FCC allowing TiVo to sell the box without any OTA or analog cable tuners, making this a digital cable (or Verizon FiOS) only experience. It's also THX Certified and most of the press release is dedicated to focusing on the high end nature of the hardware TiVo is unleashing. Also unmentioned so far is any retail edition of the TiVo Preview multiroom extender box, but we should get some hands-on time with this quad tuner edition very shortly during CEDIA 2011. For now, just check out the press release, included after the break, and for our European readers Engadget Spanish has you covered on the launch of the TiVo Premiere for ONO in Spain. Update: The official TiVo.com/elite page is live, and reveals the price as $499 "with service", $499 additional for a lifetime subscription. [Thanks @PhilipSaad] %Gallery-132837%
Panasonic 3D home entertainment system goes on sale to a country in mourning
Beginning today, customers at Best Buy's Magnolia stores can pick up that Panasonic full HD 3D Home Entertainment System the kids in Japan have been going crazy over for the last month or so. Consisting of a 50-inch Viera VT20 HDTV, a BDT300 Blu-ray Disc Player, and but one pair of Panasonic 3D Active Shutter glasses, the total price is $2900 -- but if you plan on having company over you'll need to pick up additional pairs of 3D eyewear for $150 each. As you well know, Panny is due to start sponsoring free 3D programming to DirecTV HD customers starting in June, so if you're not set up with the service you might as well add that to your shopping list. PC Magazine braved the stampede to check out the scene in Manhattan, so hit the source link to see the pics. As for us, we're going back to watching Snowboard Academy on VHS, as we do every time one of its stars has fallen. PR after the break.
Don't let retailer's lights distract you from buying the right HDTV
In case you hadn't already learned your lesson and started checking behind the displays while HDTV shopping, the HD Guru points out another element of the in-store experience that throws off buyers (and likely contributes to the LCD vs. plasma choices we find so infuriating): lighting. In case you don't recall from your last trek to a big box superstore, the lighting is quite often stuck on blinding making it nearly impossible to discern any difference in picture quality between televisions, specifically in terms of contrast and black levels (the pictures above are of the same value priced display, at left, under normal home lighting, at right, how it looks under some store lighting setups.) Tested with an illuminance meter, all the stores (except Best Buy's Magnolia showrooms) averaged well above home ambient lighting levels, with Wal-Mart and Costco measuring the highest at 411.66 and 742.77 lux. Still, there's tips on how to get a good idea of a TV's black levels even under those circumstances, plus some choice words left over for the incredible (and useless) dynamic contrast ratio numbers every manufacturer trots out these days, so go ahead and get educated.
Best Buy taking direct control of Magnolia, closing 7 standalone stores
Best Buy just announced plans to streamline Magnolia's operational structure, starting by shutting down its headquarters, distribution center and 7 of 13 stores. It's far from the only high-end A/V dealer feeling the pinch, but Best Buy claims these moves will streamline operations and it remains committed to the brand, adding a new location in Chicago this year and keeping all of its in-store locations open. So far Valentine's Day is working out better than Halloween but we're officially calling a holiday watch for all electronics retailers.
McIntosh, Magnolia reaching out to California customers
In addition to its announcement of new shipping products, McIntosh is getting out in front of customers in the flesh. Teaming up with Magnolia stores, the company has announced two "Evening with McIntosh" events for June 10th: one in Palo Alto and the other in Santa Monica. These seminars will run from 6 - 9 PM, and will give attendees a chance to talk with McIntosh reps. They won't be trying to sell you a timeshare, but you'll be treated to a historical overview of how "McIntosh has helped define the ultimate in Hi-Fi luxury." Also, McIntosh is putting up a MC275 amp for a free giveaway -- enter at select California Magnolia stores this week. C'mon McIntosh, show the rest of the US some love, ok?
Fans react to 3D Mavericks / Clippers matchup
Under normal circumstances, we tend to give 3D a hard time around here, but it's hard to deny the strides the technology has made of late in an attempt to move beyond being a gimmick and into a desirable product. It seems that hundreds of NBA fans that packed the Magnolia Theater just days ago were quite impressed with the first regular season matchup to be aired in 3D. Those in attendance were able to catch a commercial-free 3D broadcast of the Dallas Mavericks versus the LA Clippers courtesy of two Sony 4K projectors and a set of gaudy glasses. Unfortunately, we're not sure if the one-time event will blossom into something more, but feel free to tap the read link for more opinions and a couple more snapshots.[Via AboutProjectors]
FSN Southwest preps first NBA regular season 3D broadcast
It's good to see those Brits aren't the only ones getting 3D HD sports action this season, as PACE is back and hooking its Fusion 3D tech to an NBA game yet again. For the first time during the regular season (after last year's All-Star Game and a Finals game) -- and unsurprisingly with a connection to Engadget HD friend Mark Cuban (where's our invite man?) -- the March 25 game between the Dallas Mavericks and L.A. Clippers can be viewed live at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, or across town in the Magnolia Theatre with Sony's SXRD 3D projection system beamed onto an 18x42 foot screen for VIPs and 100 lucky fans who can win entry on mavs.com. Now if they could just find a way to simulate buying tickets for way over face value from eBay or StubHub in the theatre, it would be just like going to a real game.
Magnolia Pictures' The Architect to hit theaters and discs December 5
Mark Cuban has been pushing for day-and-date releases and giving customers choices on how they want to experience content; for those who decide to check out The Architect when it's released they will certainly have plenty of choices. With a day-and-date theatrical, cable, DVD, HD DVD and Blu-ray release you can check it out on any format you want -- no BitTorrent Mark? -- but it remains to be seen if this type of release will spread to other studios. The Architect is a film about a mother who is trying to get the housing project where she lives torn down and rebuilt, and brings the original architect to see what has become of it. No word on any HD extras, the DVD has an MSRP of $28.98 while the high definition versions are set for $34.98[Via MovieWeb]
Widget Watch: Ma.gnolia Ma.rker
Who says del.icio.us should have all the fun in the social bookmarking arena? Ma.gnolia is one of many competitors which takes a decidedly more human approach to the social aspect of online bookmarking, offering discussion forums, themed groups, user spotlights and more. While we've blogged plenty of ways to leverage del.icio.us, it's nice to see more more tools for other services like this widget for Ma.gnolia. The Ma.gnolia Ma.rker allows you to easily post links, customizing all the standard elements like descriptions and tags, along with rating the link before you send it off. The one catch the author didn't specify is which browsers this widget can work with; I don't personally have a Ma.gnolia account so I can't test it, but if any of you readers take it for a spin, let us know if it works with anything other than Safari.
Amazon.com adds callcenter for TV buyers
Next time you're looking for advice on buying a new HDTV, Amazon wants you to consider their customer service department, targeted at people buying $1,000+ television sets. While we recommend actually looking at the displays you're considering and even hooking up your desired accessories if possible, if that isn't an option you may want to check this out. You can access the service by a button located on the page of certain TVs and have a representative call you. The service is headed up by a former employee of Best Buy's ministore Magnolia. Amazon is even looking to branch out into custom installation, it looks like retailers are certainly looking to take advantage of HDTV confusion by providing information. We certainly hope that information is a more accurate than pure sales hype, but that remains to be seen and besides, that 70-inch LCD would definitely fit through your doorway, no need to measure.
MovieBeam gets a boost from Magnolia Pictures
Magnolia Pictures, friendly day-and-date releasers of such HD flicks as Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room and Bubble, have announced support for the MovieBeam platform. According to VideoBusiness, despite already having support from the major studios, MovieBeam thinks they can find a niche delivering HD flicks to film buffs who want to avoid the messiness of finding an arthouse actually showing limited release movies. Combined with Magnolia's unorthodox release strategies, they seem to make a good match. Also of note, if you want to check out the service without laying down $199 for the box up front, our friend Dave Zatz mentioned a coupon code (PR49B) that drops the price to $49, although we don't know if that is still valid. Ben wasn't very impressed with the quality of the HD when he reviewed MovieBeam, while Dave had a better impression of its SD capabilities. If you get your HDTV OTA, this may be the VOD service for you.
