All Products Filed in Media Center

Monday, March 12, 2012

Not too long ago 3D was the hot consumer electronics technology, and now it appears that cloud computing has taken over as the new hot technology in 2012. Driven by Apple, as well as other computer and IT companies, consumers are quickly learning about the benefits of cloud computing and how these technologies can help them with their work and playtime activities.

The California-based manufacturer Akitio recently introduced its MyCloud Mini personal cloud server into the market and the product is designed to provide homeowners with an UPnP compatible solution that enables them to remotely access their digital music, video and photos. Akitio says the product incorporates a web-based browser to allow users to manage their digital content at home or on the road, and it can be controlled via its iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch app. The company also says that data can be uploaded to the unit and shared from multiple workstations via SMB or FTP connections.

In addition, the unit includes HDD storage expansion capabilities via ESATA, and it sets up in less than a minute.

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

In today's digital world it doesn't matter whether someone's trying to store Word documents, Excel spreadsheets or GBs of movie and music files, speed and capacity are everything.

LaCie's new 2Big USB 3.0 line of hard drives covers the requirements of users that want speed and large amounts of storage from their hard drive devices. According to the manufacturer, its new USB 3.0 hard drives are capable of operating at speeds 20 percent faster than standard two-bay RAID products. LaCie says that is 6TB drive can reach speeds of 306MBps and it says that its drives' transfer times not only provide users with a solution that increases efficiency, but the line also provide reliable file storage.

LaCie says the 2Big 6TB USB 3.0 drive and 3TB d2 drives are now available on a worldwide basis.

Friday, October 15, 2010

These days it's interesting how the polar opposite worlds of analog and digital audio are converging with millions of Americans merging the best attributes of these technologies to form creative ways to listen to music.

Creative Labs, a company's that's been at the forefront of the computer audio movement has recently added to its line of computer-based, THX certified audio components with the release of four new components that are highlighted by the Sound Blaster X-Fi HD device. The Sound Blaster X-Fi HD is a USB audio interface device that can be used in conjunction with a PC to allow users to listen to digital audio files that are stored on their computer, and the ability to rip their vinyl (LP) collections into a digital audio format such as AAC or FLAC.

The product incorporates RCA line outs with 24-bit/192kHz digital-to-analog (DAC) converters, as well as RCA/phono line inputs that feature 24-bit/192kHz analog-to-digital converters that have a dynamic range of 108dB. In addition, the device also includes Toslink input and outputs, a 1/4-inch microphone input and a 1/4-inch headphone jack.

Creative Labs says the USB powered device is compliant with Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7 operating systems.

Friday, October 01, 2010

These days, digital audio is no longer the domain of a college kid sitting in a dorm. Today everyone from the dedicated, hardcore audiophile, to the suburban housewife are downloading music files and storing them on their networks.

Straight Wire, a top manufacturer of cable connectivity products has introduced a new, high-performance USB cable that employs the company's Compressed Conductor Technology (CCT), as well as silver-plated conductors. Straight Wire says the compressed silver conductors minimize strand-to-strand signal jumping, while retaining the benefits of a high-volume silver surface area.

Straight Wire adds this type of construction also enables the cable to provide a lower resistance to allow for more accurate data transmission over longer cable lengths. Straight Wire offers the cables with gold-plated type A and B connectors and it backs the cables with its Lifetime Warranty.

The cable is available in a choice of lengths: 1 meter, 1.5 meter, 2 meter and 3 meters, and the Straight Wire USB-Link 2.0 cable supports full 24-bit/192kHz data rates.

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

There's no question that powerline technologies have advanced far beyond the Clapper.

A good example of how far the technologies have advanced can be found in Western Digital's WD Livewire Powerline AV Network kit.

Western Digital says the product is compatible with the HomePlug AV powerline networking standard and it allows CE Pros to retrofit a home with network connections by using its existing electrical outlets.

The Lake Forest, Calif.-based computing company says the system offers 200Mbps of data transfer speeds and enough ports to support the connection of seven networked devices, which could be anything from a console gaming system, to a Blu-ray Disc player with BD Live technologies.

Western Digital adds the powerline solution also supports 1080p video streams and its set up is plug-and-play to facilitate quick installations.

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Vaulting ahead of the other media server companies, the N.J.-based Windows Media Center (MCE) company, S1Digital has updated its product line through the addition of 3D video playback, lossless audio and the announcement of its new P250 MCE client.

S1 had addressed its ProLine Series, which includes the S800, P600 and P500 by adding 3D Blu-ray disc playback capabilities and HDMI 1.4 connections.

The company has also added 10 terabytes (10 TBs) of internal storage with six hot-swappable RAID drives, along with the latest Intel Core i7 processor and Microsoft's Windows 7 64-bit operating system (OS) to its flagship S800.

Beyond the 3D options for the P500 and P600, S1 has added DTS Master Audio and Dolby TrueHD lossless audio and HDMI Deep Color video capabilities to its mid-level Media Center machines. On top of those additions, the N.J.-based manufacturer has added RAID-enabled internal storage, Intel Core i5 processors, and the Windows 7 OS to the P500 and P600 to ensure the products' performance.

Rounding out its product line is the P250 client. This unit supports HDMI 1.3, the Dolby and DTS lossless audio formats, 1080p video resolutions, and seamless network access to the company's ProLine Series of products to allow the device to playback Blu-ray, music, videos and photo media.

Monday, June 14, 2010

The French speaker company Focal has developed a rabid group of followers in both the consumer and pro worlds of audio.

Recently the company's pro audio group introduced a product that should please custom installers that are servicing both consumers and the sound engineers in the pro community.

The new CMS 40 near-field active monitor is a compact, two-way speaker that can be used for broadcast and post production in the pro audio world, and consumer applications like desktop audio and home recording.

Focal drives the unit's 4-inch woofer with a 25-watt RMS Class AB amplifier, and another 25-watt RMS Class AB amplifier on the speaker's 1-inch inverted dome tweeter. The speaker also offers users a choice of RCA and XLR (balanced) inputs and a frequency response of 60Hz to 28kHz.

Audio Plus Services distributes Focal and Focal Professional in the U.S., and the Canadian-based distributor says some of the other CMS 40 details include:

• Maximum SPL: 97dB
• Tuning for low and high frequencies with adjustable filters
• Reinforced and damped die-cast aluminum enclosure with a black powercoat finish
• Dimensions with spikes 9.375 inches x 6.125 inches x 6.125 inches
• Dimensions with table stands: 9.9562 inches x 6.125 inches x 6.125 inches
  
  
  Filed in Audio, Speakers, Video, Digital Media, Media Servers, Media Center, Mixers,
  
  

Monday, May 03, 2010

Most audio enthusiasts know Data Conversion Systems by its more commonly used name: dCS.

Recently, the British company released its latest product, the Debussy, which is a new digital-to-analog converter (DAC) that can be used by CE Pros to address their clients' desires to own the latest, most technically advanced audio systems for traditional disc playback and computer based audio solutions.

The Debussy operates in asynchronous USB mode to lock the DAC and computer together, and when combined with the company's Ring DAC, which oversamples all incoming data to 5 bits at 2.822 or 3.07 MS/s, the unit is designed to be a flagship component.

In addition to its state-of-the-art circuitry and its USB 2.0 input, the Debussy also offers ES3, Dual AES and SPDIF inputs. The U.K. manufacturer also includes a digital volume control to enable electronics professionals to mate the DAC directly to an amplifier to eliminate the need for a preamplifier in the signal chain.

Thursday, January 07, 2010

The TouchClient20 is a touchscreen HDTV with a control touchpanel and Windows Media Center for streaming Blu-rays, DVDs, music, photos and other digital content. The networkable TouchClient20 includes VESA-compatible mounting provisions to allow the device to hang on a wall. It also includes a SPDIF output for surround sound audio and HDMI inputs.