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

Home Cinema is a big market now, I guess mainly due to the fact it’s so expensive to go to the cinema and with the development of HD video and sound it’s just as good to watch at home that it is to go out and spend a fortune on tickets and sweets. Panasonic have just revealed two new models of Blu-Ray home cinema kit, neither top end or indeed bottom end they certainly are pleasing to the eye and have a couple of nifty features.

Firstly what’s interesting is they are both 2.1 setups (incorporating 2 front speakers and a subwoofer) yet Panasonic say the sound output from them will sound pretty much like a 7.1 setup. How? Apparently it’s all due to the technology inside the speakers and their construction. Even the small subwoofer, which is on the small side in comparison to most Panasonic claims gives “powerful, reverberating bass”.

What’s great aesthetically pleasing is the design and use. The front of the unit has a sliding door which when opened allows the user to insert a disc or dock an iPod. When an iPod is docked, you can play any content from it onto your telly. Other features of both models are “High Precision 4:4:4 and PHL Chroma Processor Plus technology”. In English that basically means it boosts picture quality of your content. The only difference between the two models is the SC-BTX77 model has Pure Direct Sound speakers, in other words they’re better . Another feature is the Panasonic Viera cast. This allows YouTube video access and playback and there’s also a USB port and SD card access for even more content playback.

Available now the RRP for the kit starts from £450.

Onkyo have recently released some of their new AV Amps including the TX-SR506E and the TX-SR576E. Both these units include 7.1 Surround Sound,1080P video switching with 3 HDMI inputs, Dolby Digital Plus encoded audio and a long list of other features to keep any Home Cinema fan happy.

However they are also releasing the new TX-SR606 shortly with some online retailers already taking pre-orders. The 606 is a revamp of the award winning TX-SR605 but rather than just a little tweak here and there they seem to of made it the best AV amp ever when looking at the price and functionality.

The TX-SR606 specs include:

• 7.1 receiver
• 1.3a HDMI Switching (4 IN, 1 OUT)
• Up-conversion of all video inputs to HDMI
• Up-scaling of all video inputs to 1080i
• 3 component inputs, 1 component output
• Bi-Amping Capability for Enhanced Musicality and Power
• 140 watts at 6 ohms
• Powered Zone 2 audio output
• Audyssey 2EQ room calibration
• Auto Setup, via plug- in mic
• 5 digital inputs (3 optical, 2 coaxial)
• Music optimizer for compressed music
• DTS-HD, DTS-HD Master Audio, Dolby digital plus and Dolby TrueHD decoders
• Dolby Pro Logic IIx, Dolby Digital and DTS decoders
• Dolby Digital EX and complete DTS-ES
• 24-bit/192 kHz DACs for all channels

Onkyo have managed to pack in all the above functionality at a price of £399! Previously if you wanted upscaling on an Onkyo you had to go with their TX-SR875 model or higher with the 875 costing £999. Granted the 875 upscaled to 1080p however at a price difference of £600 I will live without it. Another big improvement over the 605 is that they have increased the HDMI inputs from 2 to 4 which should handle all your HDs sources and some.

If you need any other inputs/outputs the unit also has:

• 4 S-Video Inputs and 2 Outputs
• 5 A/V Inputs and 1 Output
• 2 Audio Inputs and 1 Output

Overall it seems almost too good to be true. From what I have read on Onkyo I have heard they run very hot and they are also very large (the 606 is WHD: 435 x 174.3 x 374.7 mm and 11.6 kg) but if you are looking for a midrange AV system I doubt this will be beaten easily.

Some pictures after the jump.

Read the rest of this entry »

I bought a modded Xbox a few years ago and primarily used it as a media server. In fact I only replaced it when i built a dedicated media PC and I still miss it. Lifehacker has recently written a guide to modding your xbox into a Media Centre. This technique uses a soft mod so there is no need to even open the Xbox.
Read the rest of this entry »

Now this sounds like a pretty decent buy for anyone that has limited room to set up a home cinema. Logitech have managed to create 5.1 sound from a single strip of speakers that can sit at the bottom of your LCD. It manages it using 15 speakers built in the strip with 13 of the mid-high speakers and 2 subs.

Read the rest of this entry »