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Wal-Mart gets dirt cheap on digital-to-analog TV converters
Attention Wal-Mart shoppers -- you're about to get a sweet deal on a digital-to-analog TV converter box. According to an excited press release from the company, your local stores are now stocked from floor to ceiling with an ultra-cheap Magnavox converter, selling for the shockingly low price of $49.87. Of course, since households across the US are about to get those succulent $40 coupons for converters, this little puppy won't cost much more than about two gallons of gas. We kid, we kid. But seriously, they're pretty cheap.
Numark's TTi turntable transfers vinyl to iPod sans a PC
Sure, there's a smorgasbord of products out there designed to transfer your precious vinyl recordings to a slightly more modern format, but few pack the cool factor that comes bundled in gratis with Numark's TTi. This newfangled turntable not only brings back not-so-fond memories of your second high school prom, but it also boasts an integrated iPod dock, USB interface, a metal platter and pitch control to boot. Besides ripping records directly to your 'Pod, the unit also features a line-level output and comes with versions of EZ Vinyl Converter software for the PC or Mac should you prefer vinyl-to-computer ripping. We know, it's tough to leave the 70s, but the TTi should make the transition somewhat less painstaking when it lands in Q2 for $449. One more angle's waiting after the break.
Tributaries coax / Toslink converter
Wouldn't you know it -- just as we bemoan the lack of a coaxial digital output on the Toshiba HD-A30, a device to address that gripe comes along. Tributaries has introduced its AC100 coax/Toslink converter to keep the digital audio bits flowing over either format for times when you either get caught short on cabling or (worse yet) you've run out of appropriate inputs/outputs. Operation of the 2-inch square box is easy enough: plug in the wall-wart, plug in your cables and set the switch for conversion direction. The unit will pass along PCM, Dolby Digital and DTS; so if you're relying on coax or Toslink for audio (no DD+, TrueHD, DTS-HD or DTS-MA) you're covered. The MSRP of $50 is worth the price of a headache saved, if you ask us. While you can get no-name boxes that do the same thing for less, we're hoping the installer market the AC100 is meant for will get treated to higher quality components.
LG's Zenith-branded DTT900 converter box gets pictured
It's not everyday that you see Zenith hanging out on the cutting-edge, but for those camping out under a rock since 1995, you should probably be informed that LG owns a majority share of the company. If you'll recall, LG was tooting its own horn just last week about having the first digital-to-analog converter box to be certified for the US Commerce Department's coupon program, and if two and two really equal four, the unit you see pictured above is indeed the device that was previously referenced. The DTT900 was developed and produced by LG, but it will apparently be sold under the Zenith brand name -- you know, so it'll blend in better with that 80s-era TV.
Sony's DVDirect VRD-MC5 handles HD video transfers
Not down with countless late nights behind the editing station just to extract a few unwanted relatives clips from a family reunion? Sony most certainly feels your pain, and the DVDirect VRD-MC5 looks to be just the thing for transferring home videos to DVD without even involving a PC. The multi-function DVD recorder promises to make HD or SD video transfers a breeze, and can even handle AVCHD-quality clips. The device transfers data (including photos) directly from a Sony HDD or Memory Stick-based camcorder onto a DVD "in their native 1080i resolution," and sees no problem with SD footage taken in via FireWire, S-Video, composite, or USB. So go on, give pops a break from the grind of color correction and volume adjustments by picking up Sony's VRD-MC5 for $230 next month.
Gefen goes wild: extenders, HD PVRs, and wireless HDMI
That wireless USB hub you peeked this morning was just the calm before the storm, as Gefen has now unveiled a smorgasbord of HD converters, extenders, and other accessories that you just can't do without. Up first is the $249 Component + Digital Audio to HDMI Adapter, which pipes that recently one-upped component and Toslink connection into a single HDMI cable. Next, it looks like Gefen is expanding its PVR lineup with an HD iteration that supports HDMI and is capable of recording HDCP-compliant sources in 1080p. Moving on, you'll find a 4x4 HDMI CAT5 Matrix to string your HDMI signals along up to 200-feet using vanilla CAT5 cabling, and the $399 Component Audio Extender enables nearly any audio source to be transferred 330-feet away over Ethernet. Last (but certainly not least), the $699 Wireless HDMI Extender delivers a plug 'n play method of extending HDMI signals up to 33-feet over the air with no loss in quality. Unsurprisingly, Gefen's latest niche convenience products won't enter your AV system without a premium, so be sure and avoid the gallery below if you're already being negatively tempted to pick something up.Read - Component + Digital Audio to HDMI AdapterRead - Personal Video RecordersRead - 4x4 HDMI CAT5 MatrixRead - Component Audio ExtenderRead - Wireless HDMI Extender
Joystiq Review: Pelican PS2 to PS3 controller adapter
The whole point of backward compatibility for most PS3 owners is being able to get rid of that PS2 in the old entertainment center. Yet many PS3 owners have had to keep their PS2 units hooked up for a few reasons, namely: Support for our old memory card saves. Support for rumbling controllers. Support for the Guitar Hero controller. The first problem is solved by an official Sony adapter which you can buy for $15, use once, and then throw away, we suppose. The second problem is solved by the recent firmware update 1.7, which added rumble support for old controllers hooked up via any number of USB to PlayStation controller adapters. Yet the third and most important problem remained -- if you want to play Guitar Hero, you need to keep a PS2 handy. Pelican's new controller adapter promises to fix this final problem, but the execution is less than perfect.
Elgato's Turbo 264 USB stick painlessly coverts vidz to H.264
It's taking a bit longer than expected, but sure enough, manufacturers are coming out of the woodwork to give the iPod / iPhone-to-be customers an easy way to convert videos to H.264. Following ADS Tech's lead, Elgato is on the scene with a Mac-compatible USB stick that acts as a hardware encoder to get your clips and flicks from whatever format they're currently in (within reason, we presume) into a format widely recognized by Apple-branded paraphernalia. Reportedly, the device speeds up the encoding process "by two to four times," and partially relieves your Mac's CPU of the transcoding duties by handling most of the dirty work (shown after the break) within itself. So if you're more interested in forking over your hard-earned cash for an easy solution to your file conversion needs, Elgato's Turbo 264 should be landing around the April timeframe for €99 ($132).[Via iPhone-Scene]
Component to HDMI cables already exist, already pointless
Our BFF, Engadget, got a tip about an upcoming component to HDMI cable for the non-elite 360, and we're left shrugging our shoulders. Such adapters already exist at a steep cost; you plug component and audio cables in one end, and a single HDMI cable feeds out the other.That's cool if you're down with OCD, but for the rest of us, why bother? One feature of HDMI is to run a digital signal for audio and video over a single cable. Connecting each audio and component feed into an analog-to-digital converter negates that one-cable, digital-only benefit.Another "feature" of HDMI is its support for HDCP, and these adapters can't handle that copy-protected signal. What that means is someday, when a studio executive pushes a red button to turn on an Image Constraint Token for new movies, an HD-DVD enabled 360 will down-scale HD movies to DVD-quality; full quality in that future scenario will require a direct HDCP connection between a device and a TV. And some of our fancy HDTVs don't even support HDCP. Thank you, piracy panic.Maybe Microsoft is preparing an HDMI cable to interface with the original 360's video-output port. Even then, the interface change won't impact games; it's only a convenience and movie issue.Note that pictured adapter includes component to VGA cable.
LG readies $60 digital TV converters for 2008 release
You won't find a bunch of happier folks than us when bringing up the (slowly) forthcoming analog-to-digital cutover, but we aren't looking forward to picking up one of these newfangled converter boxes for the grandparent who refuses to swap out that cabinet-based CRT they've had for decades. It shouldn't come as any surprise that these things won't be handed out for free, and since the vast majority of analog TV owners are certainly looking to remedy the imminent issue a full year or so in advance (ahem), we've already got manufacturers lining up to hit the market early. Following in the footsteps of RCA's DTA800, LG is reportedly readying a digital converter of its own for a 2008 release, and while it didn't divulge many specifics, it did note that the selling price would hover around $60 -- or $20 if you manage to snag one of those $40 government issued coupons.
Make your videos PSP compatible online
Do you want to convert videos for use on your PSP without the hassle of downloading and installing any other programs? Well, for the few of you out there, there's a new solution for you: Media-Convert. The site will let you upload your own files, or simply copy-paste a URL, and have them converted into a PSP-friendly format. It's incredibly easy, and as a bonus, lets you save your results on their servers for up to 6 days.However, there's a huge drawback: the quality really sucks. In my opinion, it's barely watchable. For higher quality vids, you'll probably want to stick with PSP Fanboy Theatre.[Via Pocket Gamer]See also:Convert YouTube videos for PSP really easily
Convert YouTube videos for PSP really easily
The PSP is supposed to play Flash video one of these days ... but considering Sony's slow adoption of features we really want, we wouldn't hold our breath for it. Until then, there's a ridiculously easy solution for converting videos from sites like YouTube ... and it doesn't even involve downloading any software!1. Get the URL of the video you want.2. Copy URL into the "FLV Online Converter" at vixy.net3. Choose "MP4 for iPod/PSP"4. Wait for the conversion, download file, and then save it to your PSP under the "VIDEO" folder.Does it get any easier than this? Not really. I found it to work quite quickly, with some impressive results.[Via Zeropaid]
Meridian MV-D1 iPod dock outputs 1080p content to your HDTV
You know what they say, if Apple won't provide a way, blaze your own trail anyway. Granted, the vernacular might be a bit off, but apparently Meridian gets the gist of it, as it showcased the MV-D1 iPod video dock at CES as a means of getting a "real HD video experience" out of that yet-to-be-widescreened 5.5G rendition. The primarily glossy red device casually holds your iPod video, and provides a Source, Format, and Connect button to go along with the volume keys, and houses Marvell's 88DE2710 digital video format converter to handle the upscaling. Reportedly, the dock can take any stored SD / HD media and output it via HDMI, cleaning up the noise and artifacts in the process. Moreover, the unit can be powered by either USB or your average AC plug, and even includes digital audio out for a (somewhat) "true" high definition experience. While pricing and availability information wasn't readily available, we're sure Meridian won't keep us iPod-toting HD freaks waiting for too much longer. Click on through for a closeup.
Team Xtender's XFPS 360 in action
While product announcements are certainly thrilling at times, there's really nothing better than getting some live action video to spy before you buy. We've seen Wowwee's FlyTech Dragonfly buzzing around T3's headquarters, and we've witnessed Doom being played on an OLPC XO, but now we've got several videos showing Team Xtender's XFPS 360 doing its thang. The handy converter box allows gamers who dig the Xbox 360's high definition visuals -- but prefer to input commands via Sony's dual-shock controller or the tried and true keyboard / mouse tandem -- to have their wildest wishes granted. Moreover, it reportedly plays nice with the PS2 light gun, racing wheel, dance mat, and guitar (huzzah!). So if you're still fence-bound trying to decide whether or not this thing's worth your $79.99 come the first week of January, be sure to click on for a YouTube demonstration, and hit the read link for some more in-depth coverage.
Finally - a tool for exporting Address Book to Thunderbird (and Gmail)
Answering the prayers of potential Thunderbird switchers everywhere, a wonderful and as-yet unnamed individual has put together a web-based vCard-to-CSV Converter for easily moving your contacts from Address Book into either Thunderbird or Gmail. The interface and process are both conveniently simple: export your desired group in Address Book (File > Export vCard) and feed it into this tool. You have three conversion options: LDIF (which is Thunderbird-friendly), CSV and Gmail CSV.After discovering the joys of Gmail (but not removing Mail.app from my Dock just yet) I'm not that interested in Thunderbird, but I fired it up just to verify that this conversion and import process is the first I've seen to truly work without a single hangup. The new LDIF file imports just fine into Thunderbird, and you won't even have to remap any fields.[via Hawk Wings]
