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News: Samsung Officially Announces Blu-ray/HD DVD Duo HD Player

Just on the heels of LG shipping it's Super Multi Blue Player, Samsung has announced The Duo HD Player, a dual format HD DVD and Blue-ray DVD Player.

"Consumers are hungry for more HD content but are currently confused about competing formats. Samsung's Duo HD player will allow consumers access to every HD movie title available regardless of the authoring format," says Dongsoo Jun, executive vice president, Digital AV Division, Samsung Electronics in a press release. Not only are consumers confused, they also didn't want to take part in another format war reminiscent of the Beta-VHS war. Sony lost that war but so far they're doing pretty well selling Blu-ray players although I think a lot of it's success has come with the PS3.

One area where the Samsung shines is that the BD-UP5000 will feature both BD-Java and HDi, the formats' interactive technologies. LG's Super Multi Blue Player does not support HD DVD's HDi software engine. There's also rumors that the Samsung will feature HDMI 1.3. No pricing details as of yet.

News: MyTVpal launches HD IPTV Streaming Video of Content original film in IMAX® 15/70

You've heard of IPTV haven't you? Well, we will now be featuring more news and reviews on various IPTV products and services. Here's a press release I received today:

MyTVpal.com, the world’s first instant streaming 1080p PC player and Set
Top Box (“STB”) video on demand (“VOD”) service will soon be showcasing
or more specifically, streaming video of large format films originally filmed
in an IMAX® 15/70 format, scoring an industry first, adding sixteen related
1080p high definition VOD movies to its roster of titles. Titles to be included
are Australia: Land Beyond Time, Amazing Journeys, Lost Worlds, and
Africa: The Serengeti.

Read more about MyTVpal.com

The History of Surround Sound

Robert Silva over at hometheater.about.com has posted a new article titled Surround Sound - What you need to know or The History and Basics of Surround Sound. It's an interesting article that also made me reflect on my first home theater/surround sound setup...

It was in late 1987 or early 1988 and consisted of a Sony AV Receiver with Dolby Surround Sound. The first receiver I had bought had simulated surround sound and I was unhappy with it so I took it back to the local AV store in Las Vegas where I was stationed in the Air Force. I told them it sounded crappy and the salesman showed me a brand new Sony that he said was the first home AV receiver to have Dolby Surround Sound. At least it was the only one I could find at the time so it may have been true or maybe not...Anyway, the rest of my system consisted of a 20" Mitsubishi TV that cost more than $500, which still works today after 20 years of use although after each of my 3 kids used it, it now sits in my office and doesn't get much use. I also bought a Mitsubishi Hi-Fi VCR, I believe the model was HSU-50, which I also still have but it needs new belts so it of course isn't being used either. That VCR was really great, we used the heck out of it and I only had to have it serviced once about 10 years ago for maybe $100. It was well worth it as I never found another VCR on the market that performed as well. My speaker system was made by Scott and consisted of 4 floor standing 3 way speakers that had an additional 4" mid range and tweeter facing  up on top of the speaker. I used these as my main and rear speakers...They were very efficient and even though the Sony only had about 10 or 15 watts output for the rear channel, it was awesome...Well at the time it was awesome! If I remember correctly, the original Dolby Surround Sound didn't even support a center channel.

The first VHS movie I bought was of course Top Gun and man did I impress my friends and family with that! It sounded so awesome, I think I watched it every day for a month straight. I was hooked and have been hooked on Home Theater ever since.

What is your history with Home Theater and Surround Sound?

PC World: The 50 Best Tech Products of All Time

PC World has published another best product list but this one I really like. How can you not like it when it's called "The 50 Best Tech Products of All Time"? Especially when all 50 products have been created in my lifetime! (yes I am 40 years old). Here's my personal fav's:

1. Netscape Navigator (1994)
3. TiVo HDR110 (1999)
4. Napster (1999)
8. Motorola StarTAC (1996)
13. Atari VCS/2600 (1977)
18. Palm Pilot 1000 (1996)
20. Microsoft Windows 95 (1995)
31. Nintendo Entertainment System (1985)
33. Sony Handycam DCR-VX1000 (1995)
35. Brøderbund The Print Shop (1984)
37. Commodore Amiga 1000 (1985)
40. Creative Labs Sound Blaster 16 (1992)
42. Epson MX-80 (1980)
43. Central Point Software PC Tools (1985)
46. Adaptec Easy CD Creator (1996)
47. PC-Talk (1982)

You can see the complete list here. Share your favorites...