Panasonic is back with a couple of brand new 7.1 channel Blu-ray Home Theater systems, and these come complete with wireless-ready rear speakers and an integrated iPod dock (as any other decent home theater system should these days), allowing maximum enjoyment for downloaded video and audio content. The two models in question are the SC-BT200 and SC-BT300, where they will feature seven speakers to envelop viewers in a remarkably true-to-life surround sound experience. We’re pretty sure that not only movie buffs will find this set to be highly entertaining, but gamers as well – especially for those whose computers come with a multi-channel sound card – too bad game programmers rarely go more than 5.1 in their audio programming.

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Panasonic has announced that it will offer a new line of DivX Certified HDTVs from Panasonic that are available in Europe (why not in other parts of the world?), and they will consist of the Panasonic VIERA Z1, V10 and G15 series that boast cutting-edge 1080p full-HD flat panels to enable consumers to easily playback high-quality DivX video straight onto the television. I guess there is much more reason to get those terabyte-class external hard drives and storage solutions now, while keeping your computer on all night long to download full HD movies (just make sure these are legit copies and not bootlegs – we don’t condone piracy here at Coolest Gadgets) in DivX format for viewing later in the living room.

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Listening to the sage words of the wise one, Congress has stepped up and voted heed the Obama Administration’s council and delayed the proposed digital TV transition. Originally scheduled for next week, the digital TV transition in the United States would shut off most analog broadcast signals (except those from stations that are so small they can’t afford to make the switchover) and go completely digital. The plan, which has been in place for several years and prompted a multi-million dollar ad and voucher campaign to help viewers make the switch, drew concern from the incoming administration as there are still thousands of people waiting for digital converter vouchers and no money to pay for them. It seems that the free $40 voucher, which is meant to help absorb the cost of a digital to analog converter box, was so popular that the entire program funding was depleted with a month to go, leaving thousands in the lurch until the more then 40% of unused vouchers were recycled and reprocessed for redistribution. And that’s where the perceived problem came.

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If I were to travel in space, I sure as heck hope that I get one of these Ovei pods instead of being frozen in a cyrogenic chamber as Lt. Ripley was in the film Aliens. After all, feeling like a piece of meat in a fridge is no fun, and the Ovei pod from Oculas Group offers way more entertainment options. It won’t be for the ordinary Joe on the streets though, as the base of the Ovei starts from £50,000 upwards. Inside, you will find a 5.1 surround sound system, a 26″ LCD display, climate control and all that jazz to keep you comfortable throughout your journey, although with that amount of money, you can always spruce up your room with much more than what you’re getting from the Ovei. Of course, it won’t be that cool, but spending such an obscene amount of money in these economically tough times isn’t exactly the best idea in the world.

Source: Technabob

I showed up for Sony’s Press Conference the day before CES, and it basically consisted of a high-level Sony-exec saying: “We are awesome, yes we are! Our new products are just going to prove our level of awesomeness!”

Still, they had some terrific products to show, including the VAIO P Series netbooks, they also had several televisions on display, including the Sony Bravia VE5 Series. These televisions are an upgrade of the V-Series models, and they have Full HD 1080p resolution and Motion flow 120Hz technology.

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Apricorn is name that you should know if you deal with personal storage, and the company has just released what they dub to be the highest capacity DVR external hard drive on the market, upping the ante with its 1.5TB DVR Xpander. Let us save you the headache of calculating just how many more backlog of shows you are able to run out before even that amount of space becomes insufficient for your needs – 1.5TB is able to add up to 843 hours of standard programming or 187.5 hours of high definition programming to your DVR. Just in case those numbers have yet to sink in, bear in mind that’s roughly the equivalent of sitting in front of your TV for 7.81 days straight without getting up or doing anything else except to enjoy high definition programming. Sounds like overkill? We definitely think so.

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In the technological world, designers are always striving to make devices that can do two or more things at the same time. For example, it’s not enough to have just a cellular phone, but it’s got to have an MP3 Player and a camera.

Now there is a new multi-functional device on the tech block with the SoundBulb, a lightbulb that has an 8 ohm speaker inside. These Soundbulbs also have a Bluetooth receiver that allows for wireless streaming of audio from a computer or cellular phone. There is an on/off switch on the outside that helps to ping to a Bluetooth or Wi-Fi device.

Inside the SoundBulb is an LED light bulb, and the outer edge functions as a volume control. Hopefully you won’t burn yourself on the hot glass when you are turning your music up or down. As for power, it runs off of whatever is powering the bulb, be it a battery or AC cord.

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I remember reading the back of one of my DVDs to see a disclaimer: “The film is presented in ‘widescreen format’ The black bars on the top and bottom of the screen are normal”. All I could think when I read that was “duh”. I mean, if you hadn’t figured that out by now, than you shouldn’t own a DVD player.

Of course, most people are fully used to the black bars when watching their movies in 16:9 format, and HDTVs are built for this. However, Philips has recently unveiled a way that viewers can see their movies in 21:9 format with the Cinema 21:9 HDTV.

You see, some movies are shot in 2.35:1 aspect ratio, which require the black bars on the screen to be seen at home. Any movie that is shot in an 1.85:1 aspect ratio can easily be converted to 16:9 format without the black bars. The Cinema 21:9 HDTV will finally allow users to see a 2.35:1 movie that will take over their entire screen, and the company states that the 21:9 can somehow adjust for 16:9 DVDs.

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