Mighty Gadget Blog: The latest technology news & reviews in the UK

Now we have Freeview HD it was only a matter of time before we’re inundated with Freeview HD boxes of all shapes sizes and flavours and obviously if you want to record your telly you’ll need an HD PVR. Dutch electronics experts Philips have released one just in time for the World Cup and just as Sky have released the 1TB version of its Sky+ HD box.

Inside you’ll get 500GB of storage to store and record all your favourite Freeview HD shows via the twin tuners. The usual routine of watching one program whilst recording another is available here too. Basically if you’re recording a SD programme you can record up to 250 hours whereas HD programmes, you’ll get around 125 hours.

Now obviously the other thing you need is Freeview HD, which at the moment is only available in half the UK so if you’re luck enough to live in an area with the HD signal the Philips HDT8520 will set you back £299.

If you’re looking at some future-proofing tech for the 3D revolution, but don’t fancy forking out a fortune for a new TV maybe a projector is what you should be looking at. Normally only a select breed go down the projector path but this one shows that you can have the ability to access 3D technology of the future without destroying your bank balance.

Obviously you’ll need a large enough, “spare” wall to view the images, but the ViewSonic PJD6531w(catchy!!) projector can show images at 720p(ok it’s not 1080p but read on). It has a 3000 Lumens lamp for super bright images and has a fantastic 120Hz refresh rate. Couple that with a HDMI socket it’s capable of everything you throw at it, even 3D. This will be obtained via a firmware update sometime in the future, in time for the roll-out of Sky 3D and 3D Blu-Ray.

Out This month the ViewSonic PJD6531w will only cost a measly £649.99

The LG OLED TV has been doing the rounds at tradeshows and on blogs the world over for a good year or so now but now us Brits can expect a release of the super sharp but small TV anytime soon. Now we can finally get our hands (well if you happen to be well-off) on a bigger rival to the Sony XEL-1 which was the only OLED screen available.

At 15” you may think this is relatively small in comparison to a 50” plasma or LCD but the quality is far beyond that of either of the older techs which if you have a mobile or PMP that utilises OLED technology you may have noticed the difference between it and its LCD counterpart. The output is a good 720p and will have Freeview inside. It also has a USB port and will playback any of your movie files including DivX HD. To top all that off though is the best part ………… It’s only 3.2mm thick.

No exact date has been posted by the South Koreans for us though but expect real soon. Also price details are a bit hazy too but you’ll be looking at around £1500. A lot you might say for a 15” screen. Unfortunately OLED screens aren’t cheap to make but when it’s only competition is the Sony XEL-1 which is a few inches smaller but £3000, it doesn’t seem too bad.

Freeview HD is still in it’s first steps. Although the signal is being broadcast in some regions, the sheer lack of set top boxes available to catch the signal seems to be hindering it hitting the mainstream. Sony though have announced that new lines of TVs incorporating the subscription-free Freeview HD tuners will be launched this week.

The NX803 will be available in 40”- 52” screen sizes capable of LED backlit 200Hz images and future-proofed with 3D support. With built in Wi-Fi this model can stream media from your PC but also incorporates the Sony/LoveFilm widget, allowing subscribed users to stream movies from the DVD rental people(when it gets launched)and Skype and Bravia Internet Video(a TV catch-up service).

Also for the more budget/eco conscious, there’s the HX803 and Bravia Essential EX703. The HX803 same as the above but minus the networking options and the EX703 will have the networking options only a less responsive 100Hz screen and energy saving features. Both the latter models will be available in 40” and 46”

As you may have guessed (despite the recent flurry of mobiles on our blog) we love a good telly and this one looks like a great one coming from those super-relaxed Dutch folk at Philips. This is a contrast ratio beast.

The 2 models will both have Full HD capabilities, available in 32”, 40” and 46”(9000 series) and 37”, 40”, 46”and 52”(8000 series) both have a 0.5ms response time and a staggering 10million : 1 dynamic contrast ratio thanks to those lovely little LED's showering the screen in light.  The 9000 also dishes a super fast 400Hz refresh rate whilst the 8000 a lesser 200Hz(you say lesser but it’s still great) Both series also pack Wi-Fi which can stream video direct from a DLNA enabled PC.

What else makes these great is that both series of TV will be ready for the 3D revolution. However this function wont be given as standard with the initial release. If you want it, you’ll have to upgrade with a a pack containing a wireless transmitter and “Active Shutter” glasses.

The launch has happened today in Spain so details of a UK release and price are still unavailable at the moment but should be around soon.

It took them a while to face the reality of losing the HD format war but eventually Toshiba buckled and decided to make a foray into the Blu-Ray market. Now we have it’s second blu-ray player on the cards the BDX2100KB, a respectable player on the market with a respectable price tag to boot.

As said it’s respectable but not the best blu-ray player on the market. It’s BD Live compatible but without a Wi-Fi connection you’ll just have to make do with the hard reality of wires. As per it does the full 1080p video output at 24fps and does the usual DVD upscaling. Put all this with Dolby True HD and DTS Master Audio which you can output at 7.1. One great feature it does have is MKV support via a USB port which will also play DivX.

On sale in May for £129.99 this will appeal to those who just want a Blu-Ray player a little better than the lowest entries but not “all that”

We here at Mighty Gadget cant wait to embrace the 3D revolution and all these wonderful AV gadgets that one will need. We’ve talked about the TVs and the supply from Sky/Freeview etc. Today we have a projector. The Acer H5360 has just come out and is one of the first of its kind to be on shelves for us to buy.

The H5360 is compatible with NVIDIA’s 3D vision(what it uses in its graphics chips) which dispalys two images at 120Hz for each eye. What this means is when you slap on the glasses, the images converge into one a 3D image that runs at 60Hz. The projector itself projects(obviously) a 2500 ANSI Lumens image which has a contrast ratio of 3200:1. As for resolution, 720p.

The projector is on sale now for a measly £549.99. Not bad for a brand new piece of kit so if you’re thinking ahead its not too bad an investment. If you want use out of it now however, you’ll need an NVIDIA 3D vision powered PC to use it.

After Toshiba’s HD-DVD lost the HD format war to Sony’s Blu-Ray, it has finally decided to release a Blu-Ray player. It has been 18 months since the major movie studios decided to stop producing films onto HD-DVD opting for the Sony format.

Toshiba have since been working on upscaling regular outputs to HD quality. Daily Yomiuri a Japanese newspaper, has reported that the electronics giant will be releasing a standalone Blu-Ray player by the end of the year aswell as a Blu-Ray recorder.

Despite the UK CEO claiming that the Blu-Ray format would soon be outdated, blu-ray sales are up 91% in the first half of 2009 alone so they might aswell get into it while the moneys there.