Televisions

We firmly believe in freedom on the road, but we have to draw the line at watching TV in the car. After all, if we're already concerned about using the phone while driving, how do you expect us to feel about channel surfing?

We hope, therefore, that KVH's "TracVision A7" is designed for the passengers in the vehicle because it would be dangerously distracting to anyone behind the wheel. The mobile receiver provides up to 185 DirecTV channels and XM Satellite Radio, as well as standard broadcast transmissions. And if you can't resist sneaking a … Read more

While we're always in favor of plasma progress, we're conflicted over this latest development. In the ever-elusive quest for an all-in-one entertainment device, Samsung is trying out a "Multi-Media Center" that combines its 50-inch HP-T5064 plasma TV with a Wi-Fi receiver and a hard drive that can be used for storing video and PC media. Electronista says the media center will be shown at the Consumer Electronics Show in January.

Why do we have mixed feelings? It's taken so long for flat screens to get so sleek and affordable (relatively) that we're afraid the … Read more

Just what the world needs: More plasma TVs. Not that we mind having screens, of course (especially if it means lower prices for us).

So we wholeheartedly endorse NEC's move to update its high-end XR line of displays, which range from 42 to 60 inches. Interestingly enough, the changes don't involve the usual visual upgrades for the already-full-featured models: Shiny Shiny says the major difference is less power consumption, which NEC claims will be lowered by 22 percent. Pricing isn't yet known, though you can bet they won't be cheap. But if you hang onto one … Read more

So you've been meaning to waterproof your iPod but haven't gotten around to it. And now the rainy season has begun, and you're afraid of getting it wet.

Why not just watch your videos on the umbrella? That's what researchers at Tokyo's Keio University do, with their invention called the "Pileus": a system that projects photos and videos onto your open brolly. According to Plastic Bamboo, it can even stream Flickr photos and YouTube videos directly through a Wi-Fi connection.

We assume the university won't be held responsible for the sidewalk accidents … Read more

Speaking of weird experiments, we have an update to last week's item on a wooden plasma TV being developed at LG. BornRich points out that Sweden-based SWEDX has beaten LG to the punch with the "world's first" LCD TVs embedded in natural wood, in 40- and 46-inch sizes and 1080i resolution, no less. Crave apologizes, for we should have known better: In another life, we actually pointed to sylvan products made by SWEDX and other manufacturers earlier this year.

In the cruelly fickle and anorexic world of handheld devices, 0.07 millimeters can be the difference between love and rejection. So for the moment, at least, the Thinner Than Thou Award apparently belongs to Samsung, which has developed an LCD no thicker than a credit card at 0.82 millimeters.

Newlaunches says the new 240- by 320-pixel screen, which is scheduled for mass production in the second half of 2007, obliterates the previous record by a whopping 0.07 millimeters. At this size, every fraction counts: Even the screen's surface measurement comes in two sizes, of 2.1- … Read more

Continuing today's theme of natural materials, our cousins across the pond have alerted us to this "eco-friendly wooden plasma TV."

High-tech carpentry is nothing new, of course, but it's usually been reserved for sylvan hobbyists and other odd blokes. But LG is going mainstream with a woodland look of its own for a new 52-inch flat-screen set destined for commercial customers. Crave UK wasn't allowed to film the TV but ingeniously came up with an artist's rendition as seen here.

"The bezel is made of compressed wood (derived from renewable forests) and finished … Read more

It's a problem that many never think about until it's too late. You buy a flat-panel TV, choose a wall for it, and then it dawns on you: There's too much glare to see the screen where you had planned to put it.

That's where this could come in handy. The Peerless motorized wall mount can hold your TV and turn it 28 degrees from side to side, 25 degrees down and 7 degrees up--all by remote control.

The "X-arm" itself weighs 180 pounds, a heft needed to support flat panels in sizes from … Read more

Consider this an update to the old Hollywood cliche of the wall safe hidden behind a painting. The difference is that, instead of family heirlooms and Krugerrands, the treasure is your television set.

Media Decor, which brought us the "HideandChic" art-over-TV disguise, has released a two-way "Media-Mirror" that conceals your flat-screen TV. If we understand the way it works (always a dangerous proposition), the framed mirror doesn't slide away to reveal the television; instead, its reflection essentially disappears when the TV behind it is turned on by remote control. It's able to do this … Read more