TechRadar: Home cinema news

Roku hits UK - brings iPlayer, Netflix and HD streaming

Kate Solomon — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 10:52:00 GMT

Roku is finally bringing its brand of titchy set-top media streamers to the UK and bringing BBC iPlayer with it.

Having been around in the US for years, the Roku boxes are now set to nestle beneath British televisions, allowing for streaming of iPlayer, Netflix, Crackle and a number of other web-based broadcasts to your TV.

Brits have the choice of two boxes: the Roku L T which is a snip at £49.99 and allows for 720p video. Double the price to £99.99 and you'll be in for 1080p streaming and a Bluetooth motion controller.

You can use that motion controller for the gaming element of the Roku, which includes the near-obligatory Angry Birds among others.

Mildly disgruntled winged bipedal vertebrate animals

This is just the beginning for the UK's Roku adventures though, as Clive Hudson, VP and general manager for Europe at Roku explains: "Roku recognises the importance of region-specific programmes so today we are excited to announce the addition of BBC iPlayer to our platform.

"This is among the first of many significant content partnerships for Roku in Europe and we look forward to making additional announcements in the coming weeks."

US users have access to the likes of Amazon Instant Video which we're hoping speaks of an imminent Lovefilm announcement on this side of the pond.

Google developing wireless home entertainment device?

Chris Smith — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 02:13:00 GMT

Google is plotting to launch a home entertainment system, which will stream music throughout a number of rooms in the house, according to reports.

In a surprising article, the Wall Street Journal says the multi-room hardware solution would be sold and marketed under the Google brand.

The report suggests that the speakers would be controlled using an Android smartphone or tablet and would make use of the company's Google Music cloud storage solution.

The project is apparently a brainchild of the Android team at Google andm according to those familiar with the plans, could include the streaming of other digital media as well as music.

The journal reports that Google began testing the product six months ago and could launch the hardware sometime during 2012.

AirPlay rival

The launch of a Google-branded wireless streaming solution would put the company in competition with Apple's AirPlay.

Apple's tech currently owns that portion of the market by allowing iOS device owners to send content to AirPlay-enabled docks and speakers or send video to its own Apple TV set-top boxes.

After years of relying on other manufacturers to push software like Android and Chrome, Google will soon have more power in the hardware market thanks to its pending acquisition of Motorola.

The home entertainment system would be the company's first real foray into hardware sales.

It has partnered-up with OEMs before now on gadgets like the Google Nexus One, but that was built by HTC and failed miserably mainly due to the lack of a support structure or a sales partner.

Opinion: Comparing 3D to arrival of colour is ridiculous

Patrick Goss — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 11:35:00 GMT

"Watching a movie in 3D is simply a better way to watch a movie. It's like black and white versus colour," said legendary director and producer George Lucas this week, becoming the latest person that I respect to prostrate themselves before the altar of 3D spouting nonsense.

I consider myself relatively neutral in the great 3D debate. I like it in the right circumstances - a blockbuster movie or a carefully shot documentary for instance - but if it was the World Cup final and I had to choose a format to watch it in it would be 2D (HD) all the way.

But what I absolutely will not accept is that 3D is to 2D what colour is to black and white.

Although I wasn't around at the time, I cannot for the life of me imagine that those lucky few who witnessed the birth of colour wandering out of the cinema and grumbling.

"All this colour gives me a headache!" I imagine them not saying loudly. "I preferred it when you couldn't tell that Dorothy was ginger."

The fact is that colour was clearly taking things on a step; not a gimmick, not a trick – merely the next stage in film.

3D, however, cannot lay such a claim. It's certainly increasingly impressive and directors are beginning to use it intelligently rather than merely to thrust object at us out of the screen every five minutes, but that doesn't mean that the general public are clamouring to see Coronation Street or the Superbowl in 3D even when (in the latter's case) they are given the option.

In fact, for me, claiming that 3D is the new colour is actually damaging to the process. People's expectations are built up to the point that what they experience inevitably falls well short of what the likes of Lucas bill as "a truly immersive and overpowering experience".

As I say, I enjoy 3D – but accept that it is limited and, if I'm being honest, will probably remain limited in its true scope throughout its technological life time.

That's not necessarily a terrible thing, if the success of smash hit black and white modern film The Artist has shown, there is room for multiple formats. Nobody is saying that The Artist proves black and white films are the new colour, just as nobody should expect that the brilliant and impressive Avatar sounded the death knell for 2D.

Cinemas have clearly benefited from 3D - giving it a much needed boost because it works better on bigger screens and as an event - and directors need to keep movie theatres buoyant.

Indeed, someone like Lucas will be aware that 3D also helps protect content from piracy because of bigger file sizes and cutting out the surreptitious film tapers, but neither of these reasons make the movie better to watch.

We all know that Lucas has a film to sell – JarJar, poodo and all – and that he's a man known for pushing the technological boundaries, but comparing a technology that is only just peeking outside of the realm of gimmick to the arrival of colour isn't doing anybody any favours.

3D is here to stay, and I, for one, welcome that; I just wish people who should know better would be frank about its impact rather than trying to persuade us that this is the second coming of the golden age of cinema.

That'll clearly be when holographic feelies arrive…

Lucas: 3D is a better way to watch a movie

Patrick Goss — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 08:42:00 GMT

Iconic director George Lucas has insisted that the best way to watch a film is in 3D, as Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace arrives in 3D cinemas.

Although the first of the prequels is a long (long) way from being the fans' favourite movie, there is still huge excitement at the prospect of seeing some of cinema's most enduring characters in a new way.

With 3D still hugely divisive, many directors have thrown their weight behind the technology including Lucas who insists that it pulls movies on in the same way as colour enhanced the viewing experience.

Revolution

"We're going through a new technological revolution that is set to change everything," he wrote in a letter to Shortlist magazine.

"Watching a movie in 3D is simply a better way to watch a movie. It's like black and white versus colour. Watching a movie in black and white is fine, however, colour makes it look more real.

"With 3D the depth brings reality to the digital characters and you notice things in the background that actually impact on the story. It becomes a truly immersive and overpowering experience."

Obviously some will point to Lucas' vested interest in making people go and watch The Phantom Menace and he has already pointed out that only success will mean that 3D versions of the much loved original Star Wars trilogy are made.

But it's still fascinating that one of the most influential of figure in Hollywood is insisting that 3D is not only good, but better than traditional 2D movie-making.

The proof of the pudding may well be in the tasting, with Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace in cinemas now.

Explained: WHDI: what it is and why you should care

Gary Marshall — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 11:43:00 GMT

WHDI: what you need to know

The Lenovo IdeaPad S2 tablet, shown off at CES 2012, has an interesting trick up its sleeve: wireless HD streaming courtesy of integrated WHDI.

WHDI, which is short for Wireless Home Digital Interface, promises to deliver wire-free HD streaming without lag, hassle or unnecessary expense - so does it work? Will you want it?

And how does it compare to the other four hundred wireless HD standards currently competing for the hearts, minds and living rooms of the world? Let's find out.

WIRELESS WONDER? WHDI promises to cut the cables from your home entertainment kit

WHDI is designed to make your life easy

The idea behind WHDI is simple enough: HD home entertainment without the hassle of home entertainment cabling or drilling through walls when you want to stream content to other rooms.

With WHDI, you'll be able to connect your Blu-Ray player, tablet or any other device in the same way you'd add Wi-Fi kit to your home network.

The current WHDI standard is the second generation of the technology; the first generation got lots of press coverage in 2009 and 2010 but didn't really amount to much.

WHDI does HD and 3D TV

Operating in the 5GHz frequency band, WHDI can stream uncompressed HD at up to 1080p resolution, with support for 3D TV and 5.1 surround sound too.

WHDI isn't Wireless HDMI

That's a different standard altogether, from the Wireless Gigabit Alliance. Inevitably, the two technologies don't talk to one another.

WHDI isn't WIHD

Guess what? That's yet another standard!

WHDI isn't WiDi

You can probably guess where this one is going. Yep, that's different too: WiDi is Intel's short-range wireless telly tech.

WHDI range is reasonably short

WHDI isn't designed to chuck HD video over huge distances: it's a short-range technology that runs out of puff at around 100 feet (30m). It doesn't require line of sight connections, though, so you can hide any adapters behind the TV.

WHDI tablets are pretty nifty

Lenovo's WHDI tablet isn't noticeably different from other seven-inch Android devices, so adding WHDI clearly doesn't add any bulk. It's not a huge battery hog either, and the demo shown off at CES 2012 appeared to work well without any noticeable lag. Lenovo's WHDI tablet mirrored its display, so anything you did on the tablet - not just video, but games and apps too - appeared on the TV.

WHDI TVs aren't out yet

If you're waiting for us to mention dongles, wait no more: as yet there aren't any commercially available TVs with integrated second-generation WHDI - they're coming, but you can't buy them yet - so for now you'll need an adapter such as HP's Wireless TV Connect with WHDI. This $199 device uses WHDI to stream HD content from your PC to your TV.

WHDI says DEATH TO ALL CABLES

We're quite taken with Belkin's Screencast AV4 Wireless, which uses WHDI to connect four audiovisual devices to your TV without any of the usual spaghetti junction stuff.

WHDI prices are reasonably low, but they'll get lower

We've already mentioned the $199 HP kit, while the Belkin Screencast is $249.99. That's not bad for a brand new technology, and of course like all other tech you'll see prices fall the more popular and established WHDI becomes.

WHDI has lots of pals

It looks like WHDI is gathering momentum: WHDI members now include not just creator AMIMON but also LG, Motorola, Samsung, Sharp, Sony, HP and Hitachi, and products have been announced by the likes of Belkin and Asus too.

However, it's worth pointing out that many of the same names are also supporters of Wireless HD too. With multiple technologies promising much the same thing, it might be an idea to sit back and wait for a victor - or at least, interoperability between rival standards - to emerge before committing any of your cash.

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Apple iTV on test in Canada?

Jools Whitehorn — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 09:08:00 GMT

Two Canadian telecommunications companies, Rogers and Bell, are rumoured to be testing out Apple iTV in their labs.

After the rather speculative Apple iTV specs offered up in a market research questionnaire by US retailer Best Buy, it's now supposedly popped up in Canada, too.

One anonymous source of Canadian paper The Globe and Mail says of Apple: "They're looking for a partner. They're looking for someone with wireless and broadband capabilities."

Another claims that Rogers and Bell already have Apple iTV in their labs. We would have put it in our living room, but that's just us.

But you chose last time, Siri!

Some more, hazy feature lists have come out as well, with the paper claiming that iTV will have SIri voice-recognition onboard to "help viewers make programming choices".

Apparently, viewers will also be able to use hand gestures, while an on-screen keyboard will let you get busy on the 'net. Giant hands and a very close sofa are presumably required, too.

Testing by telecoms companies suggests that the Apple iTV may be tied into a broadband provider when it finally materialises, but we'll just have to wait and see.

In Depth: How to set up your PC for great surround sound

Neil Mohr — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 11:20:00 GMT

Set up your PC for great surround sound

Two, four, six, eight how many speakers do we appreciate? The days when people would be awestruck to hear a PC make tiny cheeping sounds from its internal speaker are long gone.

Today we're used to better-than-CD quality sound from every application we use, not in just one or two channels but in up to eight channels.

In many ways it was the advent of the CD drive that started the big push for PC audio quality. It also introduced some of the issues we still find today, particularly in how PCs have to juggle the many different sources, codecs, DRM issues and new digital destinations for audio.

When new technology promises multichannel, mega-bit audio streams, people rightly want to exploit and experience this. But when that very same technology becomes a barrier to enjoying these supposed delights, due to incompatibilities and complexities of how it works, it can feel more trouble than it's worth. You don't see people having issues using the latest car, they just put the petrol in and go.

So why does the technology industry feel it's in the right to put artificial barrier between you and your entertainment? It is an ongoing struggle, ever since the first PC sound card there have been issues trying to entice beautiful music from the contraptions.

Today hardware in many ways is far better behaved, largely as it's integrated on an industrial scale to the despair of poor Creative.

This is backed up with far less complexity within Windows itself. The issues that many people face are ensuring they get the best experience from their existing set up, while making the PC or laptop play nice with external entertainment devices.

This can be tracked back to when the first CD drive was connected to the PC. Someone had the bright idea to use a cable even though it was perfectly possible to redirect the sound digitally, and would lead to people without CD audio.

The same went for DVD and Blu-ray now brings its own issues of digital audio with DRM. So PC Format is here to cut through all the connectors, cables, standards and settings so you can get the best sound – surround or not – from your PC for ear-pleasing games, music and films.

Sound and vision

We all take sound for granted. Hearing's the neglected sense, constantly running second place to vision. But without sound Michael Bay films would be an unintelligible kaleidoscope of fire and posing pseudo-teen actors. Next time you're playing a game or watching a film, switch off the sound and see how long you last.

With games, audio adds vital subtle clues as to your enemy's whereabouts and actions that visuals just can't do. While for films a mixture of atmospheric soundtrack and a range of effects builds tension and emotions. So if sound is the carrot stick in a salad buffet – unappreciated and ignored – it's time to scoop that carrot into some delicious taramasalata and let the deliciousness slop over your taste buds/metaphorical ears.

Before we start unravelling the yards of wires involved with surround speakers, let's quickly cover the sound systems Windows uses in Vista and 7. Either right-click on the Notification Speaker icon and select Playback devices, or select Control Panel > Hardware and Sound > Manage audio devices.

This lists what Windows considers to be all of your audio output devices, it's useful as it enables separate configurations for your main speakers, headphones and digital output for films to an amp or HDTV.

If you select 'Speakers' this will highlight the 'Configure' and 'Properties' buttons. You should click and run through 'Configure' at least once, it tells Windows how many and how the speakers are set up. It's unlikely you have full-range speakers, these are capable of producing reasonable base response and are not satellite speakers.

If you're running a 2.1, 3.1 or another odd configuration, selecting '5.1 Surround' will provide a further option to remove unused speakers from the configuration.

Once Windows knows how many speakers you're running click 'Properties'. This enables you to adjust just how Windows treats the audio, what connections it thinks are available and how they are configured.

Click the 'Enhancements' tab and this provides a number of genuinely useful real-time effects. Bass Management, Virtual Surround and Loudness Equalization all provide adjustments to the audio to suite your tastes. Bass Management is useful for satellites as you can specify the 'cross-over' point for bass effects handled by the sub-woofer. The standard is 80Hz; raising this to 100Hz or even 120Hz provides a smoother transition from the satellites to the sub.

Room Correction is especially useful; it's an auto-configuration for your surround system. Using a microphone it will tweak the delay for each surround speaker to enhance the surround effect for the room and speaker positions. This means that you won't have to worry about precise placement of the satellite speakers.

The most common integrated sound manager is from Realtek and it's the orange speaker Notification area icon that you have probably seen. Double-click this and, while the interface is somewhat more complex, it offers the same base settings as Windows does, from Room Correction to speaker selection. It does provide jack selection, so you can switch the function of jacks around, which saves a level of demeaning crawling around the back of your PC.

Sounds great

A major inspiration for writing this feature has been the amount of emails we get from readers regarding problems they have encountered with HDMI audio.

It sounds like such a simple idea: a single cable that carries both the audio and video signal. But the depth of the complexity is only matched by the despair of trying to get audio and video to where you want it.

Please consider, our fair audience, the reasonable task of wanting to take video from a PC to an HDMI display, and audio from the same said PC to an AV Receiver. To begin, HDMI is a digital connection and it's designed to carry audio, video and control signals over the same data channels and wires. Technically, the audio and any control data is transmitted in the horizontal and vertical blank periods of the video signal.

For us PC users we know that graphics cards can generate the video but how does the audio get into the video signal? We're glad you asked. Ever since the GeForce 3xx and Radeon HD 2xxx series sported integrated sound cards the audio has to be 'injected' into the signal by the graphics card. Prior to this an internal S/PDIF or HDA pass-through cable was required to move the digital audio from the PC's integrated audio to the graphics card and then to your display.

Of course this isn't always that simple, some cards use two-pin while others use three-pin connectors, though both are compatible you'd have to jerry-rig the cable yourself; identify the ground (GND, usually black) and 5v signal line (S/PDIF, usually red or white); and plug them in. You may need to dig out your motherboard manual for a complete pin-out. It's similar to the situation with CD and DVD drives that used to require a similar device-to-motherboard audio cable.

Another cause for confusion is when it comes to DVI, technically DVI isn't designed to carry audio, however it is pin-compatible with HDMI and if those wires transmit the correct digital audio and video data, no-one and no-device would be the wiser with it all working seamlessly. Simply put your HDTV will produce sound and vision even if an HDMI to DVI adaptor is used, and the graphics card internally redirects the digital audio over the DVI port.

Outside help

As long as Windows has correctly selected the right audio source – double-check this via the Playback devices dialogue we covered earlier under the Speaker Notification icon – any external HDMI device should be able to pick up the PC audio.

There's a small chance either a laptop or even an older HDTV may not be correctly wired for audio. Similarly some older units don't correctly support the DRM HDCP protocol, and that will also disable the audio and video when it kicks in with protected content.

The question is if you don't have a suitable HDMI device or you want to use an HDMI display but use an external AV Receiver for the audio, how do you split this combined digital signal?

There are obvious and easy analogue solutions but we're going to leave those for a moment and stick with true digital options. To begin your HDTV may provide a S/PDIF out, unfortunately it's likely this only carries its internal TV tuner audio, which is rubbish. This is potentially useful as Freeview/DVB-T2 is capable of broadcasting Dolby audio.

Ideally and if you're serious about home entertainment, an AV receiver with HDMI in/out would be the ideal solution. Using this it's possible to take the HDMI signal from the PC, to the amp then direct it to the HDTV while you enjoy the vastly enhanced surround sound.

The big issue is what if you don't own an HDMI-equipped amplifier? Well, it depends on what you want and where you want the audio. Even on an HDMI-equipped laptop there will be the option to use the 3.5mm mini-jack to siphon off the audio with a suitably long-enough cable, if you have access to an AV amp Dolby Pro Logic virtual surround will do a fine job of up-mixing even stereo audio.

With a desktop PC then many amps provide a 'matrix' input mode via a bank of three or four stereo RCAs. Using one-pair per set of front, side and rear satellite speakers, plus one more for the centre and the sub channels, it can connect the standard back-panel 3.5mm mini-jacks to the 'matrix' with all the surround decoding done on the PC side.

For a true digital solution the next best option is that either the PC or laptop has a built-in optical or coaxial digital S/PDIF output. It's uncommon, and not unheard of to find these on laptops, but many desktops offer at least one, or two, on the backpanel. If you're starting to panic as none of these apply, most motherboards also provide an S/PDIF header and it's easy enough to buy and add a dual coaxial/S/PDIF bracket for around £10 on eBay.

If all of these have so far failed you then, as a final solution, plump for a new sound card that's either internal or USB. We've seen basic models of both types offering eight-channel output with S/PDIF for around £10.

A final and crazy option is to pick a HDMI splitter that provides a separate digital audio output, they are not the most common of things but a couple of models do exist such as the CASP100 for around £65. At this point that's just about every viable option of getting audio off your PC onto another device either digitally or analogue that we can think of covered.

No standards

A final area to be aware of is how the audio is decoded and piped off the PC, with music, gaming and films being handled in subtly different ways.

Music is the most simple as it's typically a decoded and encoded stereo audio stream to a selected sound device. Windows at that point takes over and will up-mix if you've enabled virtual surround, otherwise that can be left to your external amp.

Gaming is equally as simple; the game will be using either the DirectX Audio API or a third-party option, such as OpenAL to generate its multi-directional audio. Windows will then assign the audio to the most suitable audio channel. The original Nvidia nForce boards provided encoded Dolby Digital gaming sound, but the feature was dropped from later boards much to the dismay of many people.

Films is where it gets a little more complex largely due to the various and evolving container formats, such as MKV and additional digital audio standards such as Dolby TrueHD. Add in the number of media players, decoders and codec packs with the fact you typically want external amplifiers to do the decoding and it can get very confusing.

Blu-ray and HDMI are designed to carry a number of standard multi-channel sound formats, we'll list them in order of increasing bit-rate: Dolby Digital + Plus (AC3), DTS, Dolby Digital TrueHD, DTS HD Master and LPCM (Wave/AIFF).

Sounding good

If you're enjoying a film that uses one of these soundtracks and are using an external amplifier then you'll want it to pass through the audio, so it can be decoded externally. We usually recommend using the CCCP codec pack that uses the FFDShow stream switcher.

Open the Audio Decoder, select 'Output' and make sure you tick all the Dolby and DTS formats under 'Pass-through'. Be aware that S/PDIF can only handle compressed audio, i.e. standard Dolby Digital and DTS, there are options to down-sample Blu-ray HD audio formats as otherwise you'll only get stereo PCM going over the S/PDIF.

Throughout this feature we've stuck with integrated sound and for a good reason; PC Format a good while back did a blind test of integrated vs add-in sound cards. Frankly, your man-in-the-street couldn't really tell the difference.

But with integrated sound offering eight-channel audio, digital optical and coaxial on top of HDMI audio and HD input at 24-bits at up to 192KHz – what more do you need?

In Depth: Why the future of TV is gesture controlled

Jamie Carter — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 11:00:00 GMT

Beyond the remote control: using gestures

Who needs buttons and onscreen menus when our hands and feet lay idle?

It was the Nintendo Wii that first got us moving, before augmented reality apps and games-stuffed smartphones had us waving them in a ridiculous figure-of-eight, but so far the humble television has remained stoically still.

As the dust settles on CES 2012 that's all set to change, with the big TV brands revealing in Las Vegas that motion sensors will be embedded in upcoming smart TVs of the very near future.

The rise of new two-way IPTV services on both smart TVs and set top boxes looks set to bring not just point-and-click Wii-style remotes, but gesture recognition to control web surfing, app-based games, and to navigate TV schedules.

Smart TVs already exist, of course, but the jury is out on exactly how clever they really are. Many TVs can be networked, though the viewing of videos on YouTube and BBC iPlayer, perhaps with a virtual remote app on a smartphone, is about as interesting as most of them get.

Basic gesture control

Content is ever-changing, but it's the way we use TVs that will change most in the next five years. Hand gestures require only a cheap webcam, while voice control is becoming more accurate; the dashboard of an Xbox 360 fitted with a Kinect can now be controlled with spoken instructions after virtually no training, and it's coming to Windows PCs soon.

Samsung and LG revealed their new ranges of TVs will indeed feature 'intuitive' control. That used to mean a well thought-out remote, but now requires a conversation with a TV.

On Samsung's upcoming top-of-the-line Smart LED 8000 series launched this Spring – as well as on its 55-inch dual core Super OLED TV due later this year – we'll see a built-in high definition camera that's able to recognise movement in the foreground, with two unidirectional microphones that can, claims Samsung, accurately recognise and interpret voice instructions even amid high levels of background noise.

Saying 'Hi TV' will activate voice control, for example, while uttering 'web browser' will … well, you get the picture. Gestures will play a part too; just pointing a hand at the TV can change the volume. We expect it not only to work with the TV's main user interface, but with specific apps, too.

"The TV is the heart of our homes and is the central device that connects our family at the end of a long day," said Robert King, Head of Consumer Electronics at Samsung UK & Ireland. "For Samsung this means providing the future of Smart TV now through new TVs that recognise and respond to you."

Lucky us. If Samsung's gesture tech uses a camera akin to the Xbox 360's Kinect, it appears that the other big hitters are concentrating on keeping the remote control firmly in play. Sony's Bravias will have a voice in this new market with a hard-button remote control – just the thing Samsung and Microsoft are trying to ditch – that carries the microphone, alongside a QWERTY keyboard.

Sony's Chairman and CEO Sir Howard Stringer recently spoke about 'a new kind of television', but he was probably talking about Crystal LED – a new screen tech rather than a way of interacting with content. LG is also pinning its hopes on an upgrade of its Nunchuk-style Magic Remote, which in Las Vegas was revealed to now feature voice recognition tech, and there are others busily innovating new handsets.

Already in use

Movea's MoveTV system, a point-and-click remote control that also deals in gestures, is being used by FREE in France, the largest IPTV provider in the world, as well as other remote control designers and makers. The user draws virtual circles, squares, lines, numbers and letters in the air using the remote to control various functions on the TV.

"The future of TV and home entertainment is changing dramatically, with a wide variety of content now all becoming available to the large screen in the lounge – DVDs, set-top boxes, the web, and cable," says Dave Rothenberg, the Worldwide Marketing Manager at Movea.

"The traditional design of remote control, with four directional control buttons, is being replaced with a new generation of motion-enabled remotes that provide not only pixel-accurate cursor positioning to rapidly navigate through menus, but also motion-enabled interactivity for gaming without consoles." Now that does sound interesting, though we're sure Sony and Microsoft are a step ahead in terms of their next-gen consoles.

Those concentrating on hand movements rather than voice will, we suspect, have more success; anyone who's used a Nintendo Wii will have no problem with hand gestures, but talking to a TV? The novelty soon wears off; in our experience on the Xbox360 that happens just after it becomes apparent that only five or six stock phrases can be used.

CLASSIC MOVES: Does the Wiimote point to the future of TV remote control?

Why are the big TV manufacturers suddenly embracing voice and gesture control, despite the tech having been around for a while? The answer is Apple; press talk about the high possibility of what's being called its Apple iTV smart TV product has sent shockwaves throughout an industry that fears it could soon be severely degraded by the appearance of a smart TV that truly lives up to the name.

So far, the only thing that's saved the rather conservative TV manufacturers has been that, unlike a smartphone, people don't change their TV very often – about once every six or seven years, in fact.

Details are light, but it's thought that Apple will offer voice and gesture control, and strike content deals around the world to offer domestic customers their TV diet exclusively over a broadband Internet connection. Already the owner of the rights to NHL, NBA, and MLB in the US, it's been reported that Apple could bid for rights to Premier League footie. In the long run might satellite dishes and TV aerials disappear from city skylines?

Probably, and though debut efforts will be expensive, gesture tech seems essential if the truly smart, connected TV is to take-off.

Hands on: Pure Music review

Marc Chacksfield — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 10:05:00 GMT

Hands on: Pure Music review

Radio manufacturer Pure has announced Pure Music.

It's a new subscription-based service available in the UK through the company's Wi-Fi capable DAB radios, smartphones using the Pure Lounge app and via its website.

Taking a leaf out of Spotify's book, the service is all-you-can-eat, with a monthly subscription of just £4.99 giving you access to millions of songs.

Given this is half the price of Spotify Premium – the top version of Spotify which allows music streaming to phones – it's certainly enticing price-wise, but how does it compare when it comes to usability?

TechRadar has been playing with the service for a good few weeks now and, on the whole, we're impressed with it.

We've been trying it out using the iOS app - an Android version is also available - the website and through a Pure One Flow. And, while the experience on each platform do differ quite significantly, the service is easy to use as long as you can forgive the rather fiddly set-up process.

Before you can use Pure Music on your DAB radio you need to make sure it is registered to your Lounge Account. This does take a few minutes but once it was done we never had any problems with the service not recognising our devices.

We had to do the same thing with our iPod touch – once the app was downloaded, our device then had to be registered to our Lounge Account.

It's easy to keep track of the devices you have registered as they all appear on the favourites section of the Lounge website.

Playing a song on our devices was a cinch – on both the app and the website, the service is fairly easy to get around.

There's a search bar in the top right of the site and this feature is also situated on the top of the app.

One other way to drill into the content when using the app is to use the A-Z quick jump feature. Unfortunately, the presentation of this leaves a lot to be desired. When we searched, we got plain old folder icons instead of album art. Hopefully this will be something that is ironed out when the service officially comes to market.

When we did find the song we were looking for, we found that buffering took quite a while. In the iOS app, it seemed that song choices lingered on 'now tuning' for quite some time. When tracks did eventually play though, the quality was decent.

Buffering is a lot quicker through both the Pure ONE and the website.

One of the great things we found with Pure Music is that we could use multiple devices streaming off of the same account.

We had the Pure OneFlow radio going, while a song was also streaming through our iPod touch. It's a nice addition, given the amount of devices you can have tethered to the service.

As for the content available, the majority of chart hits were at our fingertips and when we delved a little deeper, the archive content seemed plentiful – everything from Rihanna to the Wu-Tang Clan seemed to be catered for.

At the moment, there are a few things missing from the service that need to be added if it is to have any longevity.

For example, there's currently no offline access to tracks. Pure is promising this in the future. There also seems to be a lack of collaboration and social features with Pure Music.

Spotify thrives on its playlists and this doesn't feel like a service that will garner the same sort of collaborative community.

If you have a Pure radio with Wi-Fi connectivity then signing up to Pure Music is definitely a logical step. It may be a touch fiddly to search for content through your radio but once mastered it's great to know that pretty much anything you want to listen to is a knob twiddle away.

Pure Music UK release date is out now and the first month is free. Go to TheLounge.com for more information.

In Depth: Winners and losers of CES 2012

Dan Grabham — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 13:13:00 GMT

The winners and losers of CES 2012

Now that our jetlag is subsiding, it's time to take a look back at the utter madness that was, and always is, the Consumer Electronics Show.

CES 2012 didn't have a huge amount of absolute stand out kit, but for a time of financial uncertainty, there sure were a lot of launches and the industry certainly hasn't been shy in terms of coming forward with expensive designs.

This was the biggest CES ever, with 1.861 million square feet of exhibit space, beating the previous record from 2008. 153,000 attendees dragged themselves to Las Vegas to traipse the miles around the show and Sin City's infamous megaresort hotels.

So let's look at some of the key themes and check out who did well and who did rather less well.

Ultrabooks are great, but there's a problem

Much to our chagrin, Intel is succeeding in making the Ultrabook moniker stick. Ultrabooks were one of the dominant themes of this CES with so many jumping on the bandwagon to make something that, in basic hardware terms at least, is comparable with the MacBook Air. Trouble is, Intel has a big problem - not that Intel's Mooly Eden would admit it (below). Ultrabooks may be desirable, but they are too expensive. And because of the spec that Intel has put together is tight, it doesn't leave manufacturers much wiggle-room. Hence we're going to see cheaper Ultrabooks, but they'll be lower spec. Core i3 and smaller SSDs won't be uncommon. It's a shame, but inevitable.

Intel does phones

It was also a massive show for Intel as it announced bone fide partners for its Atom chip in smartphones. Lenovo and Motorola have taken a big punt, the latter especially considering its ARM heritage. We can only assume a huge sum of cash was involved. We can't wait to see how this one develops next month at Mobile World Congress 2012 in sunny Barcelona.

Microsoft's move seems odd….

While it's pretty understandable that Microsoft would want to withdraw from doing a keynote talk every year (the last few have been super dull), it seems bizarre that Microsoft would withdraw from having any presence at the show. Still, that's what is currently happening, and the company's massive booth space has already been sold elsewhere for CES 2013. Microsoft's strength is in its partners and it will be happy enough that people like Nokia, Samsung and Lenovo will carry the fight for Windows and Windows Phone – although we'd have expected to see more from the next Xbox by this time next year…

….but they won't be alone

While Microsoft will join Apple has a CES absentee in 2013, we reckon they might join the growing band of companies eschewing a stand in favour of suites at a Las Vegas hotel. Asus and Acer had a presence elsewhere, for example. But while meeting space is allowed, we've seen the CES organisers try and restrict actual exhibiting elsewhere in the past. Dell, who had a massive product and meeting room presence in a separate hotel in 2011, weren't there in 2012 – their key product, the Dell XPS 13, was launched in Intel boss Paul Otellini's keynote.

Nokia is back. Kind of

While the Sony, HTC and LG phone launches at the show were all very nice, Nokia grabbed the headlines. Nokia is beginning from a standing start in the US, but the Lumia 900 was very well received at the show and the when Stephen Elop was joined on stage by Steve Ballmer was a bright moment in a turgid day of press conferences. What's more, a lot of people actually really like Nokia's latest generation of Windows Phones. Even us. The big question, of course, is whether Finland's finest can translate its successful buzz into sales and market share – not only in the US, but elsewhere too.

OLED is still way off mass market

We loved the Samsung and LG 55-inch OLEDs we saw at CES. LG's effort is a ridiculously thin 4mm thick. But while the sets will launch this year, the cost is set to remain probative. $5,000 is the latest estimate for Samsung's Super OLED. Wow. Also interesting was Sony's prototype display technology called Crystal LED, though the company says this new technology is "parallel to its continued development and commercialization of OLED displays." Odd.

The future's in the cloud

Yes, so we've heard it all before. But the OnLive Desktop for iPad really does give us an insight into how we might be using remote computers for tasks more complex than our thin and light portable devices can handle. Here it's about bringing a full desktop experience to the iPad. Clever stuff.

Windows 8 blurs the lines

It's an Ultrabook but it's also a Windows 8 tablet. That's the mantra of one of the finest pieces of hardware we saw at CES 2012, the Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga. It sets the tone for what is set to be a massive year for mobile computing. Windows 8 will drive a whole raft of devices that don't conform to the usual laptop-tablet designations and Intel is also talking about touch-based Ultrabooks too. But, once again, cost will be a massive issue with all of these options. These kind of devices won't undercut the iPad. Broadly-speaking though, we can't wait for 8.

Google TV is getting better

The Sony NSZ-GP7 set-top box and LG G6 Google TV show what Google's TV platform is capable of. And, while it's still not a brilliant solution, it is better than a lot of the existing smart TV platforms that remain slosw to start up and tedious to use.

Pie-in-the-sky prototypes

CES remains the place to show off your prototype kit. But is Razer's Project Fiona gaming tablet (pictured below) really worth bothering about? Despite all the buzz, it's a hugely thick tablet that we're betting won't ever see the light of day. We also thought Intel's Nikiski see-through notebook was just plain weird. It has a clever glass touchpad that doubles up as a touchscreen when you close the lid. Sadly though, What Laptop magazine editor James Stables reminded us of its resemblance to Windows Vista's Sideshow tech. Which was rubbish. In TV, Sharp's prototype 8K panel boasted 7,680 x 4,320 pixels. That's 16 times the resolution of HD. Remember that we hardly have any content for 4K displays as yet let alone 8K…

Well done, Lenovo

Our company of the show comes from an unlikely quarter. It may seem surprising, but Lenovo is all set to be a superpower in consumer electronics. Lenovo started the way they meant to go on, previewing laptops and tablets aplenty at the first CES event for press last Sunday. It even had the token secret device, in the form of the IdeaPad K2. But it didn't stop there. At another event on Monday it showed the awesome IdeaPad Yoga mentioned above. But then on Tuesday, Intel announced Lenovo as the first partner for Intel Atom smartphones before Lenovo uncovered the K800 handset at yet another event. It was a nightmare to cover for us journalists but, in the words of Sir Bruce, didn't they do well?

Nick Nolte: 3D TV will cause psychotic states

Patrick Goss — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 12:12:00 GMT

Actor Nick Nolte has claimed that 3D technology causes 'psychotic breaks' in an odd rant at the launch of his new television show.

While most of the chat at the Television Critics Association event was reserved for the growing trend to move from film to TV for major players, Nolte reserved a little bile for 3D.

"3D disconnects the eyeball, the lenses from the brain," said Nolte, according to the Hollywood Reporter. "It's like the brain itself is creating the hallucination of 3D...

"They're going to find out six hours of 3D TV will cause psychotic breaks. Australia is doing the research. I can just tell you that."

Disconnect

Nolte's new show, Luck, is a key arrival to our television screens, not least because some of the biggest names in film are attached, including Dustin Hoffman, writer/producer David Milch, director/producer Michael Mann and Nolte.

Nolte is by no means the first to level criticism at 3D, although few have been quite so strident in their opinions.

We're now all a bit concerned that we will see the rise of the jibbering madman with gimlet eyes hidden behind 3D glasses –although that does give us an idea for a film. Any ideas about the leading man?

LG to get first dibs on next Google TV software?

Chris Smith — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 22:58:00 GMT

LG will reportedly get first access to the next version of Google TV in order to create a Nexus-style flagship television for the platform.

According to Bloomberg sources, the company wants to replicate the Android model, which has seen new builds of the software adopt a launch partner before filtering down to the others manufacturers.

Previously Google has worked with the likes of HTC, Motorola and Samsung to launch new versions of Android on devices like the Nexus One, Xoom Tablet and Galaxy Nexus.

Bloomberg says two people familiar with the project says no decision has been made although talks are underway.

First LG Google TV announced

LG revealed its first Smart TV with Google TV at CES 2012. The device brings the Android Market into the mix rather than pushing LG's own range of Smart TV apps.

That television, which also boasts LG's passive Cinema 3D tech, features Google TV version 2.0 - offering a big improvement on the original iteration.

It also comes with a redesigned Magic Remote, which features a full QWERTY keyboard as well as voice and motion control.

So far Sony is the other major manufacturer with a Google TV-enabled television set on the market, but more will folow from Samsung and budget manufacturer Vizio will follow later this year.

CES 2012: In pictures: Samsung DA-E750 Audio Dock

Marc Chacksfield — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 01:58:00 GMT

Samsung has decided to get into the audio dock market in a big way with the DA-E750, its latest music system shown off at CES 2012.

While the dock may have a retro-looking chassis, the tech under the hood is pretty advanced. Samsung has opted to use some hybrid vacuum tube amplifier technology to pipe out the audio.

The use of the vacuum tubes are said to give the audio a warmer feel. While tubes usually add extra bulk to a music system, though, Samsung has managed to get round this but only adding the technology to the pre-amp.

The power amplifier is actual digital which means that chassis is actually pretty slim.

When it comes to audio power, the Samsung DA-E750 houses a 2.1-channel speaker and a built-in subwoofer with 100 watts of sound.

Samsung has also added its AllShare technology to the mix so you can wirelessly connect phones like the Samsung Galaxy S2 to the dock. There's also AirPlay on board so Samsung is finally getting a little bit cuddly with Apple.

There's no Samsung DA-E750 UK release date or price as of yet but this is definitely one of the most stylish docks we have seen.

Avatar 2 'four years away'

Patrick Goss — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 13:42:00 GMT

James Cameron may have teased us with the thought of Avatar sequels in 2013 and 2014, but producer Jon Landau has revealed that we shouldn't be holding our breath – with the 3D classic not getting its next episode until 2016.

Speaking at a screening of Titanic 3D, Landau confessed that a sequel is 'four years away', which means we will have waited a massive seven years from the first film, although Avatar 3 may well be filmed at the same time and screened a year later.

Despite a massive price tag, the genius that is James Cameron proved that 3D could be a major draw – with the original Avatar smashing box office records despite criticism from reviewers.

Another dimension

Creating a CGI world and rendering it in an extra dimension pushed the boundaries of movie tech, something that Cameron has been a passionate advocate of throughout his career.

With his business partner Vince Pace recently suggesting that technology had now moved well beyond what was done in the original Avatar, we can't wait to see what is planned for Avatar 2.

But Landau suggested that the footage would be filmed at 50 frames per second, but by his timeframe we will have to wait several years to take a look.

Netflix takes aim at PlayStation Vita

Jools Whitehorn — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 07:49:00 GMT

Netflix, the formerly US-only movie and TV streaming service that has just launched in the UK, will be available to users of Sony's upcoming handheld console the Playstation Vita.

Film lovers will have to wait until after the PS Vita's launch on 22 February to enjoy the service on its 960 x 544px 5-inch OLED screen. Meanwhile PS3 users are eagerly waiting news of when the recently-appeared Netflix appwill go fully live in their XMB.

War games

Since Netflix launched in the UK yesterday, a price war has started with UK-based service Lovefilm. Netflix first undercut Lovefilm with a £5.99 a month unlimited streaming deal, then Lovefilm returned with a new price of just £4.99.

Where Netflix goes Lovefilm will surely follow, and vice-versa. So expect to see Lovefilm appear on the PS Vita soon after launch as well.

It's all great news for movie lovers, and the competition between the two should see them work harder to launch quickly on new platforms.

Lovefilm is already available on PS3, Xbox 360, iPad and other devices, and both Lovefilm and Netflix are offering one month free trials of their unlimited streaming services.

CES 2012: Sony Google TV kit announced

Patrick Goss — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 02:11:00 GMT

Sony has outlined its planned Google TV devices at CES 2012, with a Blu-ray player and network media player coming soon.

Despite rivals integrating the Google TV UI into their sets, Sony has not announced an integrated TV at CES but stuck to set top boxes.

Ben Law, Category Marketing Manager, Sony UK commented: "We were the industry's first to launch Google TV platform products in 2010.

"By leveraging our Sony Internet TV know-how, we will offer new products with enhanced user experiences to more customers.

"Furthermore, we will create new value in home entertainment by strengthening the compatibility of Bravia TV as well as mobile devices."

Partnership

"We're excited about our strong partnership with Sony on Google TV" says Mario Queiroz, VP of Product Management at Google TV.

"Consumers have reacted very positively to the Google TV software update of last October, and we are looking forward to bringing new devices of different form factors to consumers in multiple countries in 2012."

The NSZ-GS7 Network Media Player and NSZ-GP9 Blu-ray Disc Player have North America, European and UK release dates of "early summer 2012."

So what do the latest Sony Google TV offerings bring? Well, both have QWERTY remotes, which is sensible given the importance of search, and both Media Remote and TrackID.

Also on the remote are a touch pad for easy operation and a three-axis motion for gaming.

CES 2012: Panasonic 2012 Blu-ray players unveiled

Patrick Goss — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 01:24:00 GMT

Panasonic has shown off its latest Blu-ray player line-up with four 3D and two 2D models arriving.

The four full HD 3D models are the DMP-BBT01, DMP-BDT500, DMP-BDT320, DMP-BDT220 and they all feature Panasonic's brand new Viera Connect.

The players feature what Panasonic is terming an improved UniPhier chip processor.

24p and Viera connect

Also on offer are: 24p output for VOD, an expanded VIERA Connect functionality, and FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codec),192kHz/32bit Audio DAC (not available on the DMP-BBT01), and smartphone remote control capability.

The DMP-BBT01 and the DMP-BDT320 are slot loading, with the former capable of sitting horizontally or vertically.

"The UniPhier single chip signal processing LSI employs a simplified circuit architecture that eliminates unnecessary wiring, resulting in reducing noise on the picture and sound signal to the absolute minimum," explains Pana.

"The UniPhier chip produces high clarity sound and turns off the analogue video circuit when not needed – otherwise the analogue video circuit is working even when not in use, causing interference to the other circuits.

"Adaptive Chroma Processing, a high quality image processing technology, precisely processes the video signal of each pixel in vertical and horizontal directions, resulting in a 50% increase in vertical colour data processing as compared to 2010."

The 2D models feature IP VOD, a service that offers a limited, though targeted, selection of such sites as Netflix, Vudu, CinemaNow and YouTube.

We'll, of course, keep you updated on release date and prices.

Samsung deal brings on demand movies with Dolby Plus

Patrick Goss — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 23:05:00 GMT

Samsung has announced a partnership with Acetrax and Dolby that will see it offering a pay as you go movie on demand service with Dolby Digital Plus soundtracks.

Available through the Acetrax app on this year's audio visual Samsung kit, the enhanced sound quality will be a major boon for those who have sat through the previous stereo-only offering.

"By joining together with Dolby, Samsung will be offering viewers the choice to upgrade to a full discrete 5.1 surround sound experience as though they were watching a Blu-ray disc or DVD, as well as an enhanced stereo listening experience," explained Samsung's release.

"The partnership offers viewers high quality Dolby Digital Plus surround sound on VoD content, to give a cinematic experience in the comfort of their home.

"With a Samsung home theatre system, viewers will be able to enjoy a truly immersive movie download experience, with full discrete 5.1 high quality audio transmitted through five speakers and a subwoofer."

Movie experience

The app is available through the now familiar Samsung Smart TV Hub.

"For movie lovers, cinematic surround sound is a vital element of the whole movie experience and Dolby Digital Plus ensures a superb quality 5.1 experience," said Dolby's Julia Kennard.

"So we are delighted that Samsung and Acetrax have chosen to deliver their new pan-European VoD service in Dolby Digital Plus to provide their customers with first class movie streaming."

CES 2012: In pictures and video: LG 55-inch OLED TV

Marc Chacksfield — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 17:03:00 GMT

LG has finally shown off its newest flagship television to the world, revealing its 55-inch OLED TV for the first time at CES 2012.

Considering OLED TVs are usually confined to the small screen, it is great to see the technology finally get the big-screen treatment and we have to say the results are more than impressive.

brightcove : 1381774198001

The TV has been described by LG as a 'a significant step forward' for the screen technology and we have to admit that the company is right.

As it uses OLED, LG has managed to make the TV thinner and brighter than most on the market.

To put it into context, the LG 55-inch OLED TV is just 4mm thick, which is thinner than any of LG's phones. It's not as light as a phone, though - but weighing in at 7.5 kg it is light for a television of its size.

LG is hoping that the TV will hit the mass market, so this is not just a screen for the minority – as OLED has usually been pegged as such – LG is hoping to keep the price down enough so that it is at least attainable.

LG is using some new tech in its OLED panel. It has Oxide TFT technology built in to reduce cross-talk.

When it comes to price and release date, LG is keeping a little tight-lipped but it is ensuring the world that it is affordable – whether that's affordable to an A-list celeb or Joe Bloggs remains to be seen.

In Depth: The Dark Knight Rises audio: the movie's other Bane?

Marc Chacksfield — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 09:00:00 GMT

The Dark Knight Rises audio

The Dark Knight Rises prologue currently being shown off in selected IMAX cinemas has not just caused a storm with fans wanting to catch a glimpse of how director Christopher Nolan will end his Batman vision, but also with audio enthusiasts who have been questioning the sound mix of the footage.

Those who have been lucky enough to see the prologue at the IMAX will agree that the six minute clip, which introduces the main antagonist Bane, is exhilarating stuff which leaves you wanting more. But when it comes to understanding just what Bane says, the response has been, well, a touch muted.

Just last week, there was rumour that Nolan, known for having the utmost control over his movies, had tweaked the audio due to studio and public demand and that a new sound mix was playing in IMAX cinemas.

A statement from IMAX, however, denied this is the case – despite many fans, according to Collider, who have seen the prologue a number of times insisting the footage was definitely cleaned up to make the masked Bane that little bit easier to understand.

To put the clip into some context, while not going down the spoiler route, the prologue does involve Bane in a mask and a very noisy plane. So should the dialogue clarity really be criticised?

According to the Hollywood Reporter, however, industry insiders believe that if the audio mix is the same for the rest of the movie, then this could cause major problems when the movie is released and that Warner is "scared to death of the situation".

With so much emphasis put on picture quality in both the cinema and the home, what The Dark Knight Rises audio has done is emphasise the importance of sound quality in filmmaking.

To understand a little more about just why getting the right sound mix can make or break a movie, TechRadar contacted two of the sound industry's biggest companies, DTS and Dolby, to get their thoughts on the situation.

"People have got much more savvy when it comes to audio," explained Ted Laverty, Director of Business Development atDTS, speaking to TechRadar.

"Expectations are higher, viewers are cognoscente, so you have to be really careful when it comes to things like muffly speech."

Laverty believes it's the advent of Blu-ray in the home which has made moviegoers into audiophiles, as this more capacious format has meant that lossless audio can now be heard through affordable home entertainment systems.

"We are now able to bring pure losslesss audio [to the home] so we are seeing that consumers are valuing high-quality audio.

"TVs have gotten thinner, there are more pixels but people are now thinking that I can spend a few hundred quid to get access to these lossless formats.

"We believe your audio transport format should not be getting in the way of movie watching. As a viewer, you want to be having an experience that is not frustrating.

"We don't like people mumbling or being muffled. I sometimes find that when you get that from movies not on Blu-ray, you do notice and it does get in the way."

Julian Pinn, Director of Live Content Services at Dolby, agreed that audio formats have improved so much that consumers are now more in tune when it comes to deciphering good and bad audio.

"We are seeing an increasing number of movies being mixed in Dolby Surround 7.1," explained Pinn.

"While 5.1 surround sound revolutionised the movie audio experience, films presented in a discrete 7.1 mix now not only raise the bar for the director and the sound mixer, but also deliver an improved audio experience to exhibitors and their patrons.

"By using eight discrete channels to establish four surround zones within a cinema, it improves panning and sound localisation, enhances definition, and expands the listening sweet spot."

So, if sound has improved to such an extent why has a movie like The Dark Knight Rises been criticised for its audio clarity?

Pinn told TechRadar that there are a number of factors that can alter a movie's soundtrack which need to be considered.

"Some typical challenges to sound quality do indeed exist through the chain from production through to exhibition ranging from set or location noise that needs cleaning up, replacement lines and delivery that needs optimising, and the varying sizes, shapes and condition of cinema auditoria around the world.

"Dolby is often involved at every stage of a movie's soundtrack creation to help achieve optimum results and to help cinemas reproduce the directors' artistic intent with the highest integrity.

"Occasionally of course [bad audio] can be caused by something as simple as a fault in the audio playback at the cinema, poor layout of a theatre and faulty speakers, although generally these days, cinemas pride themselves on providing a high quality surround sound experience."

We may never know if The Dark Knight Rises' prologue's audio clarity was creative or technical but given the fact that The Dark Knight was awarded an Oscar for sound editing, there is no denying that Nolan is very aware of the importance of audio in his movies.

The Dark Knight Rises trailer does have seem to have a more eloquent Bane and it's hard to disagree that the prologue was lessened by the character's muffled speech – the clip's fantastic set piecs and the fact it looked stunning on 70mm IMAX film meant that your senses were blown regardless.

Roll on July so we can see which of Nolan's banes the world will be talking about – the character, or the movie's audio.

The Dark Knight Rises UK release date is 20 July 2012.

CES 2012: Hands on: Optoma PK32 review

Marc Chacksfield — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 06:16:00 GMT

Pico projectors may not have the lustre they had when first released but there's certain companies which keep churning out the pint-sized product again and again.

Optoma is one of these companies and it chose CES Unveiled, the precursor to CES 2012 to show off not one but two pico projectors.

While the ML300 is a decent device, piping out 300 lumens of brightness, it was the Optoma PK32 we were enamoured with – a tiny projector which manages to produce an impressive 100 lumens.

The projector is a stunning study into the miniature. Optoma must have used every inch of its pico knowledge to pack image technology that can throw a 150-inch image into a device that weighs a mere 250g.

As it beams out 100 lumens of brightness, the Optoma PK32 is the most advanced pico on the market. When it comes to its measurements, it's just 4.7x1.2x 2.7 inches, with most of the controls for the device situated on the top.

There's six function keys and a home key – if you use some functions more than others then the projector remembers and allows you to access your most used through single-key access which is more than handy.

The PK32 delivers a contrast ratio of 3000:1 and also has an internal battery so there is no need to tether.

If you do this, though, the projector cuts its lumen output to just 25 lumens which is fine but definitely not top of the class.

Optoma has decided that sometimes you will use the PK32 without a computer so has installed Office Viewer software, which is a nice touch as you will be able to view the likes of PowerPoint, Word and Excel without switching on your laptop.

In our brief hands on with the Optoma PK32, it's easy to see that Optoma has upped its game when it comes to the pico projector world and has thankfully not given up on the small-form format.

The Optoma PK32 is out now in the US and is priced at $449. UK pricing and release date is still to be announced.

Week in Tech: Why we're crazy about CES 2012

TechRadar — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 11:00:00 GMT

What's big, hot and makes everybody gasp? That's right: CES, the consumer electronics industry's annual beanfeast and arguably the world's greatest technology showcase.

As ever, it's happening in Las Vegas - and, as ever, the best way to enjoy it is to be as far from Las Vegas as humanly possible.

While some 140,000 attendees will battle one another to get hold of the hottest new gadgets, you'll be able to get the skinny from the comfort of your sofa thanks to our cunningly named Techradar @ CES news hub.

CES 2012: all the latest news

So what are we excited about? CES is where the big guns of home entertainment show off their most exciting new kit, and we're expecting to see some cool new tellies from the likes of Samsung, whose latest TV designs are positively lickable.

LG will be there too, with some new home theatre systems and an impressively hefty 55-inch OLED display and a 4K TV. If you're not familiar with 4K, it's the latest standard for higher-than-high definition TV: where typical HD resolutions are expressed in vertical lines (720p, 1080p), 4K is horizontal and means resolutions of nearly 4,000 pixels across. Expect to hear a lot of 4K chat at CES.

CES TV announcements won't just be about TVs, though: the lines between TV and computers continue to blur, and Opera will be showing off its TV app store this month while various firms show off internet-enabled Smart TVs.

Gaming, Windows 8 and yet more tablets

Could this year's CES bring good news for gamers? We already know about Nintendo's Wii U, but little internet birdies have been tweeting about the possible unveiling of Microsoft's next console, which probably won't be called the Xbox 720. A CES announcement would certainly steal the march on Sony, whose PlayStation 4 remains a long way in the future, but it all depends on whether Microsoft reckons it's got something to shout about yet.

The biggest of the big deals will be Windows 8, which is going to dominate computing news throughout 2012. Expect to see lots and lots of Windows kit, especially Ultrabooks. Intel and AMD will both be showing off important new PC components including Ivy Bridge processors, the successor to the Sandy Bridge range, and AMD's new Southern Island graphics cards.

Like last year, CES 2012 will have more tablets than you'll find in a branch of Boots. We're particularly excited about the device we've dubbed the GoBot, the Asus Transformer Prime Mini. As the name suggests, it's a Transformer Prime but, er, mini-er. We'll also see the potentially hilarious PadFone and a new version of the Eee Memo Pad.

There's "something big" from Sony Ericsson, which we think means a "super phone" boasting a ridiculously clever 13MP camera and the rubbish codename of LT28at. SE should also take the wraps off its Experia Arc HD, which we're told has an Exmor R camera for superb low-light shooting. It's going to be one of very many top-end smartphones we'll see over the next few days, but we promise not to use the phrase "iPhone Killer". Apart from that bit, just there.

Last but not least, there's this frankly bizarre-sounding bit of kit as described by CES boss Gary Shapiro: "There is a product that is made by a British company which is apparently more effective than IVF for helping a woman figuring out when she should get pregnant and it has a money back guarantee." What on earth could it be? All will be revealed in four days time.

Samsung 7.1 channel 3D Blu-ray system announced

Marc Chacksfield — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 17:32:00 GMT

Samsung has given the world a sneak peak at what to expect from them at CES 2012, by announcing the arrival of three new home cinema setups.

The top of the range is the HT-E6750W, a 7.1 Channel Blu-ray 3D Home Theatre System which is all amped up so easier to install in your home.

The speaker setup includes four tall boy speakers which actually have the front height speakers inside of them, some rear satellite speakers (which are wireless) and a wide centre channel and meaty sub.

These come in a high gloss black finish and are said to sync closer to the audio track to match the movement in whatever movie you are watching.

Raising the bar

If you are not yet set to get a 7.1 setup, then there is also the HT-E5500, which offers virtual 7.1 and also comes with an Apple-certified iPhone dock.

Samsung has also shown off a new sound bar, the HW-E551. This is a system that will fit nicely under your television and will magically split into two so you can have a 2.1 system if you are not happy with the sound bar shape. Clever.

There's no pricing or release date on any of the products but they will be shown off at CES 2012, so expect more information next week.

LG announces four home theatre systems for CES 2012

Patrick Goss — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 09:05:00 GMT

LG has announced four new home theatre systems will be shown off at CES 2012 including the LG BH9420PW which comes with the Korean giant's latest 3D sound technology.

The LG BH9420PW incorporates LG's proprietary '3D Sound Zooming tech' which will apparently, and intriguingly, match the sound with the location and movement of the on-screen 3D images.

It does this based on an algorithm that analyses the depth of the on-screen objects on the 3D TV and LG believes that this will "immerse and surround" viewers.

Immersive

"Whether it's TVs or audio systems, LG continues to offer the most immersive 3D home entertainment experience possible," said Havis Kwon, president and CEO of LG Home Entertainment Company.

"Our Cinema 3D Smart TVs will now be accompanied by a wider variety of Cinema 3D Sound Home Theatre products that offer consumers a complete 3D experience and further strengthen LG's leadership in 3D."

The LG BH9420PW is a 9.1 system which adds an additional upright 3D speakers to a more traditional 5.1 setup.

"The four upright 3D speakers pump sound upward, ensuring that the vertical space is completely filled with sound," explains LG's release.

"Meanwhile, a 360-degree reflector inside each of the upright 3D speakers reflects sound in all directions, creating acoustics as rich as those in a concert hall."

Expect Smart TV functionality which will bring the company's 3D Zone content service and, of course, 3D Blu-ray support.

AT&T agrees to $215 million TiVo payout

Patrick Goss — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 08:49:00 GMT

TiVo took a key step in its longstanding fight over copyrights relating to the DVR, with giant US broadcaster AT&T agreeing to pay $215 million to settle litigation and licence rights to the technology.

TiVo – a high-profile partner of Virgin Media in this country – was a trailblazer in digital video recording technology and has been fighting to have its IP realised in longstanding lawsuits.

"People will begin to view our intellectual property value with some greater predictability," said Tom Rogers, TiVo's chief executive.

The company has struggled of late in the US, but the prospect of big payments over its DVR patents has been a big factor in maintaining some manner of confidence in its prospects.

Settlement

The news that AT&T has settled for $51 million upfront plus $164 million (a total of around £137.5m) in the coming years and incremental fees based on subscriber numbers has inevitably boosted share values for TiVo.

Interestingly, the end to uncertainty about how much the fee could be means that AT&T's stock also went up significantly.

In the UK, Virgin Media's TiVo boxes have become a familiar sight, although the DVR market is still dominated by BSkyB's Sky+.

Sky partnership

Sky had originally formed an alliance with TiVo before unleashing its own DVR and the US company has been criticised the satellite giant for its actions.

Back in March 2010, TiVo vice president and general manager Joshua Danovitz told TechRadar that the the company was forced to withdraw from the UK market because of 'partnership failure' with Sky.

"We partnered with a company [BSkyB] that wasn't 100 per cent dedicated to promoting TiVo and soon after working with us and coming to market started promoting their own technology," he said.