elite

Pioneer offers up two new Blu-ray players

Pioneer announced two new Blu-ray players Wednesday morning, the BDP-51FD and step-up Elite BDP-05FD. Pioneer has so far taken a decidedly high-end approach to the Blu-ray market, with the company's initial players selling for upward of $1,000. Honestly, we're not sure what the appeal of these players are, but Pioneer tells us they can't fulfill the existing orders for the $1,000 BDP-95FD--proof, it would seem, that the enthusiast videophile market is alive and well. With that in mind, let's take a look at the key features of the upcoming Blu-ray players.

Key features of … Read more

Pioneer launches new Elite AV receivers

Pioneer has unveiled four new AV receivers in its high-end Elite line for 2008. The VSX-01TXH ($750) and VSX-03TXH ($1,000) will be first out the door in June, followed by the SC-05 ($1,800) and SC-07 ($2,200) in August. (A 2007 model, the VSX-94TXH, remains in the lineup as well and is widely available for 25 percent off its $1,600 MSRP.) In addition to all of the cutting-edge features (HDMI 1.3; upscaling of analog video sources to 1080p HDMI output; on-board decoding for the Dolby Digital Plus, DTS-HD High Resolution, and lossless Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio soundtracks found on Blu-ray Discs; multi-source output for up to three zones; Pioneer's top-notch MCACC auto-calibration), the SC-05 and SC-07 boast network connections for streaming digital media from DLNA-compatible network sources, including PC hard drives. The 05 and 07 also offer some super-tweaky features that will potentially appeal to audiophiles, including the Precision Quartz Locking System (PQLS) that's said to offer optimal CD playback from Pioneer's new Blu-ray players by eliminating audio jitter.… Read more

HP's 'Elite'--a steroidal Webcam

For awhile it seemed that Webcams were destined to become a standard built-in for many monitors and laptop screens, not unlike the way Wi-Fi cards eventually were replaced by integrated technologies in portables. But one way to ensure that a product stays independent is to load up on features--which is exactly what a new model from HP has done.

The "Elite" Webcam has a 3-megapixel resolution for live feeds, 12 megapixels for still shots, autofocus, stereo mic, and an "Instant Chat" button. Everything USB notes a few shortcomings in its frames per second, but you can'… Read more

Intimate seating for tete-a-tete theater

Sure, you can build your own Bat Cave or Enterprise replica to impress your buddies, but what about those times when something a little more intimate is in order? Enter the "Cuddle Couch."

It may look like un updated version of something you'd find in Austin Powers' flat, but it's not a revolving round bed. The couch is designed for the more casual home theater, according to Luxist, with cupholders built into either side and a custom glass tray that holds your snacks.

Given that pricing starts at $2,495, we were surprised to see that … Read more

Magellan Maestro Elite 5340+GPRS hooks up with Google Local Search

Well, well, looks who's stepping up its game? Today, GPS manufacturer Magellan announced its most ambitious in-car portable navigation system yet: the Magellan Maestro Elite 5340+GPRS. Scheduled to ship in March, the Maestro Elite 5340 allows you to use a GPRS connection to connect to the Web from the device itself and conduct real-time searches for local businesses, services, and events via Google Local Search. You will also be able to send addresses and notes wirelessly from your PC to the Maestro Elite 5340. Sound a bit familiar? Perhaps it's because it's somewhat similar to the … Read more

Logitech announces AudioStation successor as part of Pure-Fi line

Logitech today unveiled the successor to the AudioStation--the Pure-Fi Elite High Performance Speakers. While any major updates over the AudioStation aren't immediately apparent, the Pure-Fi Elite maintains its LCD display, touch-sensitive buttons, wireless remote, digital AM/FM tuner, line-in jack, and video out (via composite or s-video) support for your photo or video iPod. Behind the grilles are two-way satellites, 1-inch dome tweeters, and 4-inch woofers--although it doesn't look like these grilles are removable like how we saw on the AudioStation. Unfortunately, one thing we wanted to see added to the system, an alarm clock, is surprisingly … Read more

New HP desktops shine

HP announced the first product of its joint design efforts with Voodoo PC this evening. Our review of the HP Blackbird 002 is up, and it achieved the highest rating we've ever awarded a desktop. We'll let the review speak for itself, but we'll only add here that while we wrote about a custom configuration that won't be available until Oct. 1, you can buy a similar, fixed-configuration system today for $5,500 that looks like this:

Overclocked Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6850 (2) Nvidia GeForce 8800 Ultra graphics cards Windows Vista Ultimate 2GB, 800MHz DDR2 … Read more

Mesh Elite Quad 6600 FX: Best back-to-school PC ever?

Here at Crave UK, we're celebrating the end of British summer. But not because we hate Britain's perma-cloud and incessant flooding, oh no--it's because it's back-to-school time! It's that time of year when the government forces our hoodied young to vacate the street corners, put down the cans of spray paint and actually go and learn some stuff.

And since they're all going back to school and leaving us free of harassment, why not reward them with a brand new PC that can aid their studies--or at the very least help them spread their … Read more

New Pioneer Blu-ray player: Not so Elite

Pioneer announced its new Elite BDP-94HD Blu-ray player today, following up on its first generation BDP-HD1. Besides the new model name, there doesn't look to be much of a change from last year's model. The biggest addition we can see is onboard decoding for Dolby TrueHD, which means it should be able to decode Dolby TrueHD soundtracks and send uncompressed PCM soundtracks to a compatible receiver via HDMI. Pioneer is also claiming to have revamped its Home Media Gallery feature, which allows for some basic network media streaming using the Ethernet port and supposedly the capability to download … Read more