March 3, 2010
Written by Gadget Gurus
TiVo Premiere, one set-top box to replace everything in your home AV
TiVo Premiere, which has just been announced by the company is a single set-top box that is able to replace almost all you have in your current home entertainment system. The TiVo Premiere has two versions available, which are one with 320GB HDD that allows up to 45 hours of HD recoding and is priced at $300. And the other version is with 1TB HDD, allows up to 150 hours of HD video recording and costs $500.
Each TiVo Premiere has wide screen interface that is more user-friendly, and is equipped with Ethernet Internet connection, allows it to pull contents from the Internet including Netfix and and Amazon Video On Demand. One distinct capability of the TiVo Premiere is it works like a search engine that searches the shows you want from all sources such as those on broadcast channels, video-on-demand, Netflix, Amazon Video On Demand, etc.
The Premiere also has CableCard slot, so you can replace your existing Cable box. Most homes these days may lack of an Ethernet jack but you could wait for a few months later in June, when TiVo will release a WiFi N adapter for the Premiere. A remote control with QWERTY will also be released later this year, which is great for faster typing of what shows you want it to search.
Two caveats: Cost, at $13 a month depending on the plan you pick and lacking of playback capability of 3D broadcasts at full HD.
Affordable HDD, VHS, DVD and Blu-Ray recorder combo
DX Antenna of Japan, has announced the DXBW320, which is dubbed as one of the cheapest HDD/VHS and Blu-ray recorder combos in the market. The DXBW320 costs 70,000 Yen or about $784, comes packed with a 320GB HDD, a DVD and Blu-ray recorder and even the retro VHS deck.
The DXBW320 also comes equipped with two digital TV tuners, which means you should be able to record any digital TV contents onto any one of the four media (HDD, DVD, Blu-Ray discs or VHS tapes). Currently, it’s available in Japan, no information on whether it’ll be released in the Europe or US market.
How To Click & Grow pots grow your plants using computer
Growing plants might not be an easy task, if you do not know the know-how. Well, hand this little complex task to an automated planter pot called Click and Grow, which will take care everything of growing your plants from watering to fertilizing.
The Click and Grow pot has various sensors, a processor and a software in the pot. The system doesn’t use soil to grow your plants. It actually uses a system called aeroponics, which grows plants in an air or mist environment.
The user first needs to place a plant cartridge that contains some seeds into the pot, fill the water tank and download the proper growth program to the pot via your computer’s USB port, and the system will then take care of the rest.
The Click and Glow pots will be available with basic and advanced models. The basic model still needs the grower to refill the water tank and it will notify the grower when it needs to be refilled. The more expensive or advanced model will take care of everything for you including refilling the water tank.
The Click and Glow pots will start at a price around 17 Euros, with seed cartridges to sell for between 2.5 and 4 Euros at nurseries or over the Internet.
January 31, 2010
Written by Gadget Gurus
ULTIO Pro full HD Home Theater Media Player
Mvix has announced their full ULTI Pro HD Home Theater Media Player, which is a hard drive in 1080p Media Player that is available in two models – the SANS to drive and the model that has a premium of 2 TB of hard disk.
The ULTI Pro supports a wide range of HD video codecs including H.264, MKV, Dixv HD, MOV, VC-1 and FLV. The device also features a functionality PVR (Personal Video Recording) that allows you to record your favorite HDTV. It’s loaded with a Torrent client to download clips Torrent, and capable of NAS, which can be connected to the network for the exchange of media on it.
The Premium model comes with the support of wireless WiFi n, while the norm comes as an optional extra cost. It is now available for pre-order. The standard version costs $ 169, while the premium model with a 2TB hard drive costs $ 348. It is a great device to take home for playback and recording media in full HD quality.