The Kicker zKICK ZK500 in High Resolution

http://www.kicker.com/06/kicker_home.html

I like speakers that sound good, speakers that have a bit of muscle; that's why I just wasn't all that impressed with the Altec Lansing M604. I've written about the zKICK ZK500 from Kicker before, but since it was hard to make out much detail about the unit from the video I took at CES (YouTube and their low-res quality), I thought I'd upload some sweet high-resolution images.


[click the image above for the 2000 pixel wide JPEG, 879 KB]


[click the image above for the 2000 pixel wide JPEG, 802 KB]

I can't wait to check one of these out when they start shipping!

GTAIV officially dated April 29

Take Two has finally pinned down the official release date for the game, April 29. We should note that this is the worldwide release date for GTAIV, so gamers the world over can officially start getting excited now. If you're not excited, then perhaps you should direct your attention to the flood of previews that swept the internet yesterday. Once you've reached the proper level of excitement, please read this post again and react accordingly.

Paradigm reveals SIG-LCR 5 and SA-LCR 3 in-wall speakers

Paradigm's latest duo isn't exactly cut out for retrofit applications, but if you're looking to add a wing and have a thing for keeping your speakers extra close to your insulation, these just may do the trick. Both the six-driver SIG-LCR 5 and four-driver SA-LCR 3 require the firm's Backbox support frame, and each can be installed in a variety of configurations depending on application. It should be noted that these suckas pack more than just good looks, and for more on the specifics of the $2,999 SIG-LCR 5 and $1,199 SA-LCR 3, click on through for the full release.

Continue reading Paradigm reveals SIG-LCR 5 and SA-LCR 3 in-wall speakers

from Engadget HD

Devil May Cry 4 Demo is coming Tomorrow!

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Warm those broadband connections. The Devil May Cry® 4 playable demo hits both the PLAYSTATION®Store and Xbox LIVE® Marketplace this Thursday, January 24, 2008. Devil May Cry 4 has been rated M for Mature by the Entertainment Software Ratings Board (ESRB).

The demo introduces gamers to the gothic-inspired supernatural world of Devil May Cry 4, new protagonist Nero and the awesome power of his Devil Bringer. The demo consists of a sampling of sections from the full game, chosen to showcase Devil May Cry 4's varied locales, allowing gamers to familiarize themselves with Nero's unique abilities. Players will receive instruction on the various new actions that the Devil Bringer bestows, such as the ability to slam creatures to the ground, cover great distances in a single bound or even grab enemies while on the ground or in the air and pull them towards Nero to continue an attack combo. The Exceed system allows Nero to "rev up" his sword as if it were a motorcycle throttle and unleash devastating attacks. Players will need to master all these techniques before the end-of-demo showdown with the mighty Berial.

Fully demonstrating the power of the next generation of consoles, the Devil May Cry 4 demo brings to life the coastal city of Fortuna and its surroundings in exquisite detail, such as the port and the snow-capped mountain ranges. Devil May Cry 4 delivers its intense action at a constant 60 frames per second at 720P resolution on HD monitors, ensuring seamless and breathtaking gameplay in stunning high definition.

Zune Desktop Software 2.3 Fixes Explained

Well, well - it seems that 2.3 software update contains more than just a few little fixes - there's some very significant stuff in the update. I've re-published the list here for your convenience.

"Key Marketplace fixes

* Allow users to view top music videos in marketplace
* Misc improved error messaging including splitting sign-in issues into 4 separate errors for customer and support benefit
* Resolved most cases where retrieval of subscription download history stalls
* Better handling of accounts that have expired credit cards
* Podcasts with spaces in their name can now be subscribed to
* Marketplace no longer blocks explicit content purchases when parental controls are set to allow
* Points balance label is now updated when user purchases new points

Key Player UI fixes

* Allow zooming in/out (2x, 4x, fullscreen) during video playback to prevent stretched playback
* Ability to switch Zune to GDI mode through command-line parameter

Key Podcast fixes

* Allow subscriptions to podcasts larger than 10MB
* Fixed some parsing errors that prevented some podcasts from syncing to the device
* Fixed bug where podcasts were unsubscribing themselves

Key Setup fixes

* Fixed numerous bugs affecting build to build upgrades
* Improved installation for users accessing from corporate networks
* Fixed driver uninstall failures
* Included device 2.3 firmware in client download
* Failure in creating system restore point no longer blocks client installation

Key Sync fixes

* Fixed issues with reverse sync
* Fixes issues with sync meter UI showing incorrect information as to what is on the device
* Fixed issues using wireless sync with multiple devices to the same PC
* Fixed a few different issues setting up wireless sync
* Device is no longer being reported as full even after deleting large file from device
* Device content is no longer being turned into guest content when it shouldn’t be
* Content with bad metadata now shows properly so it can be removed from device
* Turning off “autolaunch when a Zune device is connected” no longer prevents “Sync Now” from working from a wirelessly connected device
* Podcast bookmarking is now transferred/saved to the device
* Wireless sync connection continues to work after rebooting host computer
* Unsubscribe podcast from device now works properly
* Changing album art in the client now updates the device as well
* Duplicate tracks are no longer synced to the device twice

Key Xbox Streaming bug fixes

* Xbox Streaming now monitors the rip folder if user changes default location
* No need to reinstall client to fix Xbox Streaming when upgrading from XP to Vista

Key Infrastructure fixes

* Vista x64 customers can now get to web help from error messages
* Client no longer crashes if database is corrupted

Key Library fixes

* Changes in pictures or video metadata made outside client will now get updated in the library
* UI is now smoother during file groveling
* When a track is added to an album we will now always update the track on disc
* User can now update album art for marketplace tracks
* 'Unknown Artist' metadata is no longer written to files when writing out user edit of album name
* Renaming an artist now more reliably keeps the change
* Two different copies of the same album no longer get duplicated down to one when it shouldn’t
* Access violation no longer occurs when checking song properties in the burn list
* Multi-disc albums imported from iTunes no longer show in the client as a single disc album
* Thumbnails for video content now extract on XP properly."

from Zune Thoughts.com

Universal exec says studio and HD DVD are moving forward

In an interview, Universal executive vice president and HD DVD Promotional Group co-president Ken Graffeo gave some insights to the recent format war developments. First up, he addresses the obvious: the pre-CES Warner announcement was a surprise, and the necessary re-jiggering of the HD DVD press conference is what led to its cancellation. Graffeo also reiterates that Universal will continue to stand behind the HD DVD format and roll out new titles; "business as usual" as he calls it. It's a brave face to put on the embattled format; but if consumer purchases are the strongest statement that can be made, then how can the 60:40 split in sales figures be reconciled with his statement that "... we just haven't addressed (Warner's move) yet?".

from Engadget HD

Is the future really Blu?

Ok, I am back from my break.. With the holidays and CES (I worked the whole show - a week in Vegas is 4 days toooo long) I needed some time to rest. So at CES our good friend Warner turned the tables on HD-DVD, backing only Blu come May of this year. The announcement was a shock to many and the reason they defected made very little sense. If you are truly concerned with the Economy (because of rising gas costs, housing, etc) your best move is to continue to back both formats as Warner is making money off both. This really bothered me along with the noise on the show floor that strongly suggested that Blu paid to end the war. I heard 400 million on several occasions but of course had no evidence. Then the week after CES some news drops of what really went down. A reputable reporter for the Pittsburg Post Gazette claims that Fox was going to defect from Blu to join Warner in the HD-DVD camp. This started to explain my Fox had been selling Blu-Ray discs at 2 for 1 prices in Nov and Dec. Remember when I talked about Blu-Ray yields and cost production and many of Blu Fan boys called me a liar? Strange how the main motivator for Fox was Blu-Ray production costs and issues.. Apparently Blu paid 120 million to get Fox to stay and then Warner felt like they had no choice but to side with Blu helping to bring things to an end (after taking a reported 500 million). It appears Warner did not want go over to HD-DVD alone... On some level you have to appreciate Warner aggressiveness in ending the war. They did make a real effort to back the superior format first but when $$$ prevailed, HD-DVD was doomed.

With Blu finally embracing features that made HD-DVD the format to beat, things "should be" ok but unfortunately the consumer will pay for Blu's victory. The PS3 is the best Blu-Ray player the camp has. Not because of Visual Quality but because it can support profile 1.1 and 2.0. Other Blu owners are screwed scrambling to spend more of their hard earned cash on future players. Visual performance of the PS3 is weak. The PS3 suffers from soft images just like the 1st gen Samsung player (Samsung 2nd Player schools the PS3 in visuals). It is a shame that the camps best player is "half-ass" with profile support but weak visuals. Remember, the PS3 is a software player and not driven by an SoC (System on a Chip). Microsoft did a much better job on visual performance with the 360 HD-DVD Player than Sony did with Blu-Ray support in the PS3. Will Sony work to improve the visual quality of the PS3 (actually putting the CELL to work)? I sure hope so because right now it is the only player to own.

With Blu's ever changing profiles and high cost, Blu will never reach the mass acceptance that DVD has. HD-DVD has a damn good chance to take on DVD as the prices are getting very close to the sweet spot but Blu is doomed and Digital Downloads will rule the future (believe that). At CES this year Digital Content was front and center ready to dominate our digital lives in the near future. :)

from HiDef.com : The High Definition World... Simplified!

CES 2008: Candid conversation with Blu-Ray BD LIVE Programmer!

Naturally I stormed the Blu-Ray booth like Darth Vader and his Storm Troopers looking for Princess Leia. I immediately dropped the "LOADED" question: Why does Blu deserve to Win? My adversary for this little conversation was a Blu-Ray BD LIVE Programmer. I am going to withhold his name because he was candid with me which is something I appreciate. There is nothing I hate more than listening to some marketing clown (do not get me wrong, marketing is needed but should always be done right) who probably is not capable of finding his way out of a wet paper bag let along give me real answers. ;) This guy was VERY COOL and we had a sweet conversation. I first accused Blu of playing copycat. He did NOT respond with denial but instead admitted that the camp had a tough time collaborating on the 1.1 profiles so Blu consumers could utilize PIP and other interactive features. With so many members it turned out to be a tough task. Having worked in alliances I know how hard collaboration can be... He realized consumers are getting the short end of the stick and once 2.0 profile is here, things will be stable.

Next I went after codecs. I pushed on why Blu-Ray studios did not utilize VC-1 over MPEG-4 and MPEG-2. We both agreed that MPEG-2 is not sufficient for HD content as the codec is aging, lacks the necessary compression, color spaces, etc. I of course love the VC-1 codec and implied that I believe the codec is superior even to MPEG-4. I used several examples such as Spiderman III and Resident Evil 3 vs a hand full HD-DVD titles (Bourne 3, Matrix, Batman, etc). He argued that we could argue all day over which one is superior and that he has learned one thing in the business. There is NO such thing as bad compression just a bad compressionist. Essentially he was admitting that the Blu-Ray studios could do a better job of encoding. I agree with this as well because if you put Resident Evil 3 against Transformers, both encoded in MPEG-4 AVC, Transformers stomps all over Milla (I do LOVE that movie). The difference in visual quality is huge (my comparison is with Toshiba HD-DVD Player vs PS3 using 1080i - full review coming soon) and makes you go "hmmm"....

Next we talked about upcoming BD LIVE features such as interactive games that are playable while viewing a movie. On display Fox had a version of Aliens vs Predator where two people can shoot facehuggers and aliens (scoring points) while watching the actually movie. This type of interactive content is possible via Java that is utilized by BD LIVE. With HD-DVD's HDi being browser based there are some limitations and creating interactive content such as the game in AVP, can actually become very difficult using HDi.

We ended our conversation with him asking me "how I know so much"? Told him hey, I work and play in the technology sector. It is what I do. :) We agreed to talk more in the future.. :D

from HiDef.com : The High Definition World... Simplified!

HD DVD and Blu-ray releases on January 22nd, 2008

The slow new releases continue for both camps, but both camps have the same number of titles this week, two. But while Blu-ray has movies from Disney and Lionsgate respectively, the red camp gets one from Vanguard Cinema and one from Music Distribution. The one ting in common for both camps is that there isn't anything to get excited about. That being said, with this lineup from Blu-ray we'd expect about the same sales share for HD DVD as it had last week. Looking ahead, this trend looks like it'll continue and if HD DVD's lineup doesn't improve -- unless of course Universal and Paramount step up soon -- we don't see this being much of a war. But of course we said the same thing about this time last year and we couldn't have been more wrong.

HD DVD 378 vs Blu-ray 420*

Blu-ray

• The Game Plan (Walt Disney)
• Saw IV (Lionsgate)

HD DVD

• Channels (Vanguard Cinema)
• Method Man: Live from the Sunset Strip (Music Distribution)

* Blu-ray total does not reflect 32 Paramount titles that were previously available.

from Engadget HD

Xbox LIVE Arcade Undertow Free of Charge

Recently, Xbox.com posted a letter from Marc Whitten, General Manager of Xbox LIVE, thanking subscribers for their patience with the service. We’ve implemented several improvements to the service, to help ensure ongoing reliability and performance. As the popularity of Xbox LIVE expands, we’ll continue to closely monitor the service and make adjustments. As always, if you are having any problems, please contact your local support (1-800-4-MYXBOX in North America) so that we can assist you.

Marc announced that all Xbox LIVE members (Gold and Silver) around the world would have access to a full Xbox LIVE Arcade game to download free of charge. We’re pleased to announce that beginning next Wednesday, 2:00 a.m. PST through Sunday, 11:59 p.m. PST, Xbox LIVE members worldwide can download the full version of the recent award-winning Xbox LIVE Arcade game, Undertow.

Developed by Chair Entertainment Group, Undertow is one of the highest-rated and best looking games available on Arcade. Undertow redefines aquatic based shooters through a mix of high-definition graphics, intuitive controls and multiple modes of game play action. The game features a full story driven-single player campaign, on and offline co-op, and multiplayer for 2-16 players over Xbox LIVE for Gold subscribers. Players battle for control of the oceans as one of three selectable races, each with four unique, upgradeable units. "Undertow" is available worldwide (normally 800 Microsoft Points) and is rated E10+.

For more details on “Undertow,” please visit http://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/u/undertowxboxlivearcade/