OkoroMedia Systems has launched what I’d call a first in home media centers: a solid state drive. Available in the ZX series, each model utilizes Intel’s Quad Core processors, NVIDIA PureVideo HD technology and an automotive color of your choice. Yup, that’s right. You can finish the device in any automotive color of your choice. Currently available is the ZX100, which includes 3GB of memory, a 32GB High Speed Solid State OS, and 1TB for media storage. Also added is a mini wireless keyboard, an IR or RF remote control, and a Blu-ray/HD-DVD combo drive .
Playing Guitar Hero 3 requires me to stand such that I can my best guitar moves on. The first few plays are always crap because I have to acclimate to looking down at the TV - an awkward angle if you know what I mean. The Thanko Motorized TV Stand solves this problem by moving the TV up and down in a range of 51 inches. Included in the package is a wireless remote and the stand can handle sets up to 110lbs.
Called Portomedia, the start up plans to offer movies via a proprietary USB flash drive and reader, with a supposed ultra fast download/upload speed (95 Mbps). To obtain movies - you can either rent or buy - you must visit one of the company’s touch screen kiosks that’ll be found in supermarkets, etc. At the kiosk, which contains 100s of movies on hard drives, you insert the flash drive, enter payment, and the movie is transferred in less than a minute. Currently their site doesn’t detail cost and expiration time of the rentals. They company is based out of Ireland, so don’t expect it state side any time soon.
At first glance I thought this home theater had to me a computer fabrication. Not so. In fact, it’s all real with more pictures below to tell just how over the top one audiophile went. Although the system is 8.8 channels there are 3 center channels, sixteen 18″ subs, 8 towers, 10 tweeters and a Sony ultra resolution (4,096-by-2,160) SRX-S110 digital projector and so much more it’s a challenge to list. Stuffed into the back of the room is an 18×10 foot screen and all this power, at least the audio is driven by a multitude of tube amps putting out 11,315 watts. Total cost: $6 million. Number of visits to the movie theater: 0
I’m still waiting for Texas Instruments to unveil their highly anticipated cell phone projector. Until then, will all have to settle for Samsung’s almost-pocket sized DLP projector. The Ultra Mobile Pocket Projector (U310) features a 1000:1 contrast ratio and 150 ANSI lumens brightness. To put it in perspective, some full sized DLP projectors rock 2500:1 contrast ratio and 1500 lumens. So you can see the sacrifices that were made in favor of size. Oh yeah, it’s only SVGA (800×600).
What’s that you say? I can’t hear you over the AudioEngine A2s!
I said the ‘Audioengine A2’s are a clear representation of good things do come in small sizes’.
I won’t dispute that the price tag ($199) is a little steep for a pair of computer or book shelf speakers, but where can you find Kevlar, a glossy finish, and self powered for that price. Furthermore, I was pleasantly surprised by AudioEngine’s packaging job. They took it a step further and placed the necessary cords in suede like bags (see pics). They also provided the headphone-to-headphone cord in two different lengths - which in my experience is the least likely of cords one would have lieing around - although I noticed that the headphone jacks aren’t iPhone compatible (errr - more upset with Apple). Ok moving on…
Performance
The AudioEngine A2’s deliver some top notch sound. The timbre quality is almost there, but simply lack the final finish because of their small size. Put it up to any ‘tower speaker’ and judge them on a sliding scale and they’re sure to compete, if not beat. The bass ports on these things are super slim and can literally blow your hair back (check out the below video). I ran the A2’s off my Macbook - figured why not since they’re intended for computers and iPods - and cranked the volume to max. With my iTunes and computer at max volume I did manage to achieve some minute distortion in the highs, but was once again pleasantly surprised with how well they held out. The bass held tight but couldn’t hit the low-lows you’d experience from a dedicated subwoofer (no surprise there considering the speakers frequency range).
Design
These things are rock solid. The glossy finish and sans grill look is killer. As a result they’ll fit in with the professor’s bookshelf or on the dorm room desk lined with beer cans. The slim bass ports are a nice touch, and reduce speaker size all the while maintaining sound quality. Kevlar ain’t so bad either. This insures long lasting woofers that shouldn’t blow for ‘time to come’.
Conclusion
I gotta give it to AudioEngine. They’ve built a solid pair that rock out some top notch sound quality at l-o-u-d. The buzzing in the power pack/converter (not in the speakers/audio) was a little disconcerting, but hopefully an isolated incident and not a representation of poor grounding (not sure exactly how this would work but in my experience this is the case). The lack of the USB plug (aka iPod/iPhone) hookup is a little annoying, but considering the other options available (RCA or headphone) I really can’t make a good case. I am gonna have to mark the AudioEngine A2’s with a ‘buy’!
Update: The buzzing in the power supply seems to have subsided. I spoke with the founder of AudioEngine and they’ve sold hundreds without a reported problem. I am going to write it off as an isolated incident.
So back in Feb 2006 we featured AudioEngines A5s. These things are were kick ass and super notable due to the top loading headphone and USB jack, and rear AC plug for Airport Express or whatever you wanna plug in. To get themselves onto computer desktops and into dorm rooms, they’ve crafted a new set of speakers called the A2s. They’ve removed a few features while maintaining the same sound quality (review to come) and dropped the price point to a more palatable $199. You won’t get the AC plug or USB input, but you’ll score a mini-jack and RCA input. For $150 less I’d gladly sacrifice the power adapter and hold on to the bullet proof woofers.
Late last week I noticed what I perceived to be a Firmware update to my Time Warner HD box. The indication came in the form of a font change in the Moxi enabled box’s windows. Then I realized that the navigation windows weren’t appearing, but were in fact ‘popping up’ ala Apple style. Even niftier was the doubling, if not tripling in speed I experienced while navigating from menu to menu, or deleting a show. Prior to the update the Timewarner Moxi boxes stalled when entering the guide and often experienced a bottle neck effect when scrolling through the channels. They’ve also updated the menus and one of the more notable features is to view all upcoming shows in a vertical (sports, kids, etc) by a particular time. In the past you had to scroll through each channel’s time slots which is was a mind numbing and annoying task. Dare I say they’re more on par with Tivo then ever before…at least from a speed stand point? I might just snap photos of the new updates - that is assuming I can’t find any online.
, an IR or RF remote control, and a Blu-ray
