Ad: Manage updates with the Download App
  • CNET
  • All hdx posts

hdx

Onkyo 3D-ready HTIBs are coming

Tuesday we told you about a slew of new Onkyo receivers that will support 3D content. Thankfully, that upgrade has trickled down to the company's 2010 line of home-theater-in-a-box products. Both the HT-S3300 and HTS-5300--which are follow-ups to the HT-S3200 and HTS-5200--will fully support 3D video pass-through.

Sure, 3D support is a welcome addition; however, perhaps the most notable improvement to this year's models is the capability pass both video and audio via an HDMI cable. Until now, these Onkyo HTIBs required a separate audio connection, but now you can ditch the extra wires.

Finally, the company announced an unconventional 2.1 HTIB, the HTX-22HDX, that is designed to emulate surround sound with just two speakers.

Highlights of the three new models:… Read more

Sony dishes out three five-disc DVD home theater in a box systems

Sony today announced a threesome of five-disc DVD/CD carousel changers, the DAV-HDX587WC, DAV-HDX589W and DAV-HDX285. Each 5.1 home theater in a box promises an improved initial setup experience as each system ships with a speaker calibration CD. All the newly announced systems feature an iPod cradle that can play audio or video off the device via the company's proprietary Digital Media Port interface. Additionally, all three home theater systems can upscale DVD video to 1080p when using an HDMI connection.

While all three models have the ability to use the Sony-branded S-Air wireless technology, both the higher-end … Read more

When Blu-ray and laptops collide

If you're waiting for Blu-ray players to dip below the $99 mark before replacing your DVD player, let us offer an alternate solution: a Blu-ray-equipped laptop.

While Blu-ray drives first appeared on huge laptops with 18.4-inch screens that were capable of displaying 1080p video, we've now seen Blu-ray drives on laptops as small as the 11-inch Sony Vaio TT. With an HDMI port becoming an increasingly popular laptop feature, you're able to easily connect a laptop to an HDTV for HD movie playback. And with Blu-ray player prices dropping, you don't necessarily need to break … Read more

Vudu's 1,100-plus HD movie library bests Apple TV, Netflix, and Xbox Live--for now

Vudu is now offering more than 1,100 movies in high-def, making it No. 1 in on-demand HD. The company says that it blew past the 1,000-title milestone by adding more than 150 HD flicks per week in October, and it's pledging to continue its HD focus in the weeks and months ahead. (The HD selections represent about 11 percent of Vudu's total library of on-demand movies.)

Indeed, a quick examination of competing services seems to bear out Vudu's claim. We counted more than 1,100 HD movies available through Vudu's box (including about 200 … Read more

HP's massive 18-inch HDX18 moves up to the 16:9 club

If it seems like we're seeing more and more 18-inch laptops recently, that's because we are. Behind the scenes, the catalyst is that the companies that make the glass for laptop and television screens would rather make one style of panel, rather than two (16:9 for TVs and 16:10 for laptops). Hence, systems such as the Acer Aspire 8920 and Sony Vaio AW, with 18-inch 16:9 displays.

HP already makes some of the best multimedia laptops, so we were pleased to see them get into the game as well, with the new HDX18. We've … Read more

Amazon.com has the HP Pavilion HDX9010NR 20-inch Entertainment Laptop for $1849.96, after $1692.04 savings, plus free shipping.

Amazon.com has HP Pavilion HDX9010NR 20-inch Entertainment Laptop for $1849.96, after $1692.04 savings, plus free shipping. >> Regular price is $3542 >> Sale price is $1849.96 >> Savings $1692.04 (47.77%) >> Click here for deal

Hands on with HP's new 18-inch and 16-inch laptops

Every time we turn around, it seems like a new laptop screen size is vying for our attention. Netbooks have turned us on to 9 and 10-inch displays, and PC makers have been buzzing since CES about new 16 and 18-inch screens. That's because those two new larger sizes are 16:9 aspect ratio displays, which match HDTV screens and work perfectly with HD content, such as Blu-ray movies.

So far, we've only seen 16:9 displays in real life from Acer and Sony (including the just-announced Sony Vaio AW 18-inch laptop), but now HP has just unveiled the HDX16 and HDX18, two systems we had a chance to see and play around with in person last week.

These two new laptops have little in common design-wise with the massive 20-inch original HDX laptop (which hasn't had anything other than internal component upgrades since its introduction). That model is tremendously fun, but impractical. These two new systems are more traditional multimedia systems, designed for the den or dorm room. … Read more