Dr. Augustine Fou's Online Scrapbook

Tuesday, October 04, 2011

drag2share: Only in Japan: Toshiba's Regza DBR-M190 serves 5TB of home media

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/10/03/only-in-japan-toshibas-regza-dbr-m190-serves-5tb-of-home-media/

Sometimes gigabytes aren't enough. You have to start talking terabytes. That's the case with Toshiba's new Regza Server, more numerically known as the DBR-M190. The just-announced home media server boasts 5TB of storage, enough for 15 days of MPEG4AVC-compressed digital TV -- from six different channels. Of course, that "server" in the name means you'll be able to stream captured content as well. The sad news? "You" means only Japanese consumers. But if you're one of the chosen many, this media-slinging behemoth will cost you 200,000 yen, or around $2,600.

Only in Japan: Toshiba's Regza DBR-M190 serves 5TB of home media originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 03 Oct 2011 19:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Engadget Japan | source

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drag2share: Toshiba's 4K, glasses-free 3DTV announced in Japan with more specs this time

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/10/03/toshibas-4k-glasses-free-3dtv-announced-in-japan-with-more-spe/

We first saw the retail edition of Toshiba's 3840x2160 resolution autostereoscopic (no glasses) 3DTV when it was announced in Europe at IFA last month, and now it has debuted in Japan during CEATEC. This time the company dropped a few more details, revealing that in lenticular 3D mode it's limited to an effective resolution of 1280x720, and showed off the face tracking that automatically optimizes the experience for up to nine simultaneous viewers depending on where they're sitting. Also mentioned were an optional THD-MBA1 input adapter due in 2012 and that 4K-res streaming IPTV is currently being tested. The Regza 55X3 will be priced comparably to its $10K~ Euro-spec counterpart when it arrives in December, but there's still no word on when it will ship in the US. Check out a few pictures of the presentation in the gallery below.

Gallery: Toshiba's REGZA 55x3 announced as world's first 4K2K TV with glasses-free 3D

Toshiba's 4K, glasses-free 3DTV announced in Japan with more specs this time originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 03 Oct 2011 21:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Engadget Japan, Toshiba | Email this | Comments

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drag2share: Double portion of prepaid LG Android handsets coming to Net10

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/10/03/double-portion-of-prepaid-lg-android-handsets-coming-to-net10/

The upcoming battle of the budget Androids just won two new recruits courtesy of Net10. The MVNO is offering up the LG Optimus Net prepaid with a 3.2-inch HVGA display, 800MHz processor, 3MP camera (though Net10's site wrongly mentions 5MP), Bluetooth, WiFi, 3G and an included 4GB microSD card expandable to 32GB. There's also a slider version called the Optimus Q, which we're trying very hard not to confuse with last year's Optimus Q and which actually looks like a variant of Virgin Mobile's Optimus Slider. There's no price tag in sight, but contrary to the saying you probably can afford it.

[Thanks, Dwayne]

Double portion of prepaid LG Android handsets coming to Net10 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 03 Oct 2011 22:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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drag2share: Zune is dead, long live Zune

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/10/03/zune-is-dead-long-live-zune/

Like Zune's own Business Development Manager once said, all consumer electronics products have a lifespan, and today the (not so long) lineage of dedicated Zune hardware expires not with a roar, but with a promise to honor its warranties. Tucked away in the inner chambers of the Zune support site lies a page spelling out Microsoft's final words on the device, "Windows Phone will be the focus of our mobile music and video strategy," it says, "we will no longer be producing Zune players." The Zune HD is survived by the Zune music service, which will continue to function with straggling standalone media players, as well as the Windows desktop, Windows Phone and Xbox platforms.

Zune is dead, long live Zune originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 03 Oct 2011 23:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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WMPoweruser | source

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drag2share: Toshiba Regza DBR-M190 stores 15 days of HDTV from six channels, we go hands-on (video)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/10/04/toshiba-regza-dbr-m190-stores-15-days-of-hdtv-from-six-channels/

There's no question that Japan gets all the cool gadgets -- many of which never make it stateside. Well, we have yet another tease for you, in the form of an eight-tuner Toshiba DVR with five terabytes of storage. The DBR-M190 reserves six of those tuners (and four TBs of storage) for its Time Shift recording, which as its name implies, transports you to an alternate dimension -- in realtime, mind you -- allowing you to watch past HD episodes of those favorite Japanese programs that you otherwise neglected to record. OK, fine, it can't actually shift physical time, but the home DVR does allow you to record 15 full days of HD content from six channels. Or 30 days from three channels, or 90 days from one -- you get the idea. It also offers 3D Blu-ray playback. Huzzah!

There's some pretty heavy compression in place in order to squeeze all that HD content with the allotted storage, but Toshiba reps insisted that the content looks acceptable. Clever as they are, reps also neglected to have that heavily compressed HD video available for demo at CEATEC, but were happy to let us peek at a show recorded using a much more liberal amount of compression, which nets you just one-fifth of the advertised amount (think three days, not 15). Still, three days of 24 hour content from six channels ain't too shabby, but that 200,000 yen price tag (about $2,600) is a bit of a deal breaker, no? As is the fact that you can't plug this puppy into cable networks overseas (Time Shift is only compatible with basic cable channels in Japan). Jump past the break to see it in action, and expect to see it hit Japanese shores sometime in mid-December.

Gallery: Toshiba Regza DBR-M190 hands-on