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The Daily Grind: Are the stakes too low in modern PvP?
Player vs. Player gameplay has undergone a drastic change in recent years. Games like Meridian 59 and Ultima Online didn't pull any punches. Anyone could kill anyone anywhere, and the penalties could be quite severe. When you died In Meridian or UO, you dropped all of your gear. The person who killed you could steal whatever he or she pleased.Of course, in games like that, gear wasn't quite such a big deal. In Meridian a sword would wear out after a few of hours of use anyway. But combined with stat and skill losses, death in the games of the 90s was comparatively harsh. Now, in World of Warcraft, Age of Conan, and Warhammer Online, the stakes are lower. You have absolutely nothing to lose by dying in PvP in WoW, and AoC and WAR's designs aren't much more aggressive.But here's a question from a veteran of the oldschool: with stakes this low, does PvP really matter? Will it really get you sweating? Will you really care that much about winning or losing? Some oldschool folks will argue that PvP is boring and meaningless now that death has been de-clawed. Maybe we should go back to the barbarism of the old days. What do you think?
Meridian's $185,000 810 Reference Video System unveiled
Anyone even remotely familiar with Meridian will understand that it caters to the affluent sect. Anyone even considering disputing that fact need look no further than the recently unveiled 810 Reference Video System. This monstrous projector boasts ten full megapixels of resolution, a native 4,096 x 2,400 resolution, 3-chip D-ILA module, PKI Xenon light, 10,000:1 contrast ratio, 4,000 lumens and a video processing box created by Marvell. Slated to ship in Q3, the PJ comes packaged with a long, short or medium-throw lens as well as a "motorized 2.35:1 anamorphic lens assembly for fixed height ultra-wide screen installations." Each unit also comes bundled with the 810 Reference Video Scaler "which connects to the projector with four parallel DVI-D cables, each carrying one quadrant of the image." Early reports suggest that even with all the fancy hardware, the $185,000 asking price may still be a bit high, so make sure you give this one a serious look before committing.[Via BigPictureBigSound]
Meridian's i80: the $400 universal iPod dock
Meridian's multi-thousand dollar F80 has long since been just a pipe dream for those looking for a tabletop audio system, but one of the biggest gripes about the spectacular device was the inexplicable omission of an iPod dock. Now, Meridian is out to remedy that problem by introducing the i80 Universal Dock for iPod. Able to play nice with dock-connecting iPods and iPhones, this dock integrates "nicely" into the aforesaid F80 and will be available with clip-on red / yellow trims for those with vivid tastes. Wash that $399 away this August, or go for broke by dropping $3,395 on the i80 / F80 kit.[Via Trendy Gadget]
Meridian $3K F80 home entertainment system gets reviewed
Before you unload $2,995 on anything, you're likely going to want the opinion of someone who has had a chance to try things out beforehand, no? Working under that assumption, we present to you a review of Meridian's stratospherically priced F80. Proudly called "the most expensive tabletop music system in the history of the civilized world," this unit was seen as a "model for all tabletop systems," with the reviewer even begging everyone else to look at this before starting up design on yet another ho hum alternative. The critic also noted that this unit pulled off what he thought was impossible: "identifiable left- and right-channel sound from a system that measures only 16-inches wide." As expected, the F80 was indeed the "best" he had ever heard in this category, but the omission of an iPod dock was a sore spot. For those with more disposable income than they know what to do with, this one seems a surefire winner; for everyone else, it's not worth going into debt over.
Meridian breaks bank, hearts with M810 video system
If pairing the Meridian's lowly MF10 projector with your DSP7200 speakers is just too "entry level" for you, Meridian has a kind of HTIB to show you. The M810 video system (yeah, it's a system) consists of 800 Series electronics, a 7.1 speaker setup built around the DSP7200 speakers, and a new M810 Projector. The term 'HTIB' doesn't really capture this setup accurately, but replace 'box' with 'super-great-audio-video-enclave' and you get the gist of it. The M810 Projector makes use of JVC-sourced 4k D-ILA silicon in conjunction with a 850-Watt lamp to pump out 10-megapixel video. Our friends at CEPro were pretty impressed by the demo; and it'd be just plain rude to the setup crew to say otherwise, seeing as how they spend four days setting up and calibrating each M810 system. Yours for $175,000, home not included. Father's Day has passed, but there's always next year, right?[Image courtesy CEPro]
Vigilante Meridian 59 players wage war against pirate servers
Meridian 59 is a game with a pirate problem. A while back, the server source code leaked onto the internet and seedy players began hosting their own servers without subscription fees. Pirate servers are a problem for many MMOs, but because of M59's comparatively small scale, it has a lot more to lose to the trend.Amidst these troubles, some M59 players can be quite loyal. Case in point: the blog of game developer Patrick Rogers tells the story of two former M59 players hacking into a pirate server and mass-killing all its residents with powerful admin commands. The vigilantes hoped to make life (and death) on the pirate servers as unpleasant as possible so as to encourage the residents to migrate to the legitimate servers hosted by Near Death Studios. That's not the most amazing bit, though.
Meridian's Ferrari-branded F80 home entertainment system priced at $2,995
We fully expected that Ferrari logo and lacquered paint job to add a stuff premium to Meridian's F80, but this is undeniably insane. The "transportable home entertainment system," which has been hovering about since last March, is at long last ready to be purchased. Finding prospective buyers, however, will likely be challenging. The unit is now available in silver, yellow, white, black and the obligatory red, and each one will set you back a dumbfounding $2,995. We're thinking the unit itself would go for around three bills sans branding, but apparently Italian ponies aren't cheap.
Meridian announces MF10 1080p D-ILA projector at EHX
Every so often, a projector hits the market that's just so delectable, it's hard to stop fantasizing about what pieces of your kids' rooms could be auctioned off in order to procure it. Enter the $14,995 Meridian MF10, which is most certainly one those units. Packin' a totally familiar black chassis, three 0.7-inch 1080p D-ILA chips, a native 30,000:1 contrast ratio, 700 lumens, and a 2x zoom lens (2:35:1 Cinemascope is optional), this PJ exudes confidence. You'll also find a pair of HDMI 1.3 ports along with component, S-Video and composite (saywha?), an RS-232 control terminal and the ability to play nice with the firm's $3,995 DVP2351 digital video processor (shown after the jump). Yeah, they're both available as we speak, but can your Centurion Card really handle it? [Warning: PDF read link]
Meridian announces DSP7200 speakers
Meridian announced the successor to their DSP7000 speakers, the DSP7200. Meridian has always been happy to forge their own path in coming up with technical solutions for digital audio, and the DSP7200 is no exception. These are digital active speakers, meaning a digital bitstream is fed to the speakers and D/A conversion and amplification tasks are handled internally. There are real-world advantages to this approach -- vastly simplified cabling (both audio signal and control signals are passed around via standard daisy-chained CAT5), signals are kept in the digital domain as long as possible, and all processing can be done in the digital realm. The downside is the whole-system approach you have to commit to, which discourages mix and match. Membership in the Meridian club at this level isn't cheap, either. Pricing for the new DSP7200 was not announced, but the DSP7000 speakers being replaced cost about $25000 per pair. Ouch. We'll keep moving down the aisle to some of their other offerings.
Meridian Iris HD upscaling iPod Dock
Playlist is reporting that specialty audio equipment maker Meridian is planning to release the Iris universal iPod Dock with a built-in HD video upscaler. Using Marvell's Qdeo digital processing engine the device will upscale iPod video to 1080p (HDMI) or 720p (component) as well as feature digital (optical) and analog audio. Considering that the iPod's TV out resolution is limited to VGA (640x480) this could be a major improvement. On the other hand, upscalers can only do so much--there's just not that much data there to begin with--so it's still going to be a far cry from true HDTV. Personally I'd be quite curious to see what its output looks like when he device ships in November.The Iris iPod Dock will sell for $379 when it's released in November.
Meridian's iRIS iPod dock upscales videos to 1080p via HDMI
If you're having a flash of déjà vu, fret not, as this device certainly isn't the first from Meridian to output 1080p content from your iPod. Unveiled today, the iRIS universal dock for iPod claims to pump out your stored videos in resolutions as high as 1080p via HDMI, all thanks to the "high-end video upconversion processing." Of course, we're admittedly skeptical about how well this thing truly walks the talk, but nevertheless, users who opt for component outs instead of HDMI can purportedly witness 720p / 1080i content straight from their Pod. Notably, the Qdeo technology is said to "further incorporate advanced DSP for per-pixel, motion-adaptive video processing that corrects both color and contrast losses," and while there's no word on whether this thing plays nice with the new family of iPods, users will enjoy the coaxial / optical audio outputs, headphone and line-level outs, and the HDMI input for external sources. We know you're intrigued, so look for this bad boy to land in November for $379.
Meridian teams with Ferrari for F80 home entertainment system
No, it's not surprising in the least that Ferrari has found yet another firm willing to cater to their every demand in order to form a distinct partnership, but regardless, the automotive firm is looking to sweep the rug out from under your current home entertainment setup with the F80. Teamed up with Meridian Audio, the same folks who channeled HD content from your iPod to your TV, Ferrari is delving into yet another consumer electronics realm by coordinating an oddly-shaped and still mysterious "home entertainment center." Aside from looking more like a semi-circle and less like an AV component, the device purportedly packs DAB / FM / AM tuning, a CD / DVD player (no word on HD DVD / Blu-ray just yet), and 80-watts of power dispersed through the two front-firing speakers and rear-mounted subwoofer. In typical Ferrari fashion, the unit should be available in a variety of colors, including white, yellow, silver, and red, and while we're not entirely sure when this rubber is set to hit the road, you can hit the read link if you just can't wait 'til race day.[Via ShinyShiny]
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.
Meridian Faroudja @ CEDIA - 1080p D-ILA projector - D-ILA1080PMF1
It's hard to walk 10 steps without hitting a 1080p device at this years CEDIA EXPO. Seriously, it is hard. Meridian Faroudja added to mix with a sweet looking D-ILA projector. The D-ILA1080MF1 is a three-chip 1080p (1080p60 & p50) D-ILA-powered beast. If color is a concern of yours, look no farther, as this monster sports D65 reference color temperature that is higher then the standard SMPTE240. The CEDIA handout advertises flexible installation but we just don't see that with only RGB, S-Vid and DVI inputs. There is an optional processor that will solves this problem by adding multiple progressive analog video outputs/inputs including RGBHV, component, RGBS and RGsB - but it will cost ya an extra $5,000 for a total of $25,995. That's right, the D-ILA1080PMF1 without the additional processor is going to MSRP at $20,995.Keep goin' for more live shots..
