Hitachi has been busy this week showcasing their Fall 2007 line up of plasma displays for the masses. These models range in size from 50- to 60-inches and price from around $3,000 to $8,000.

The most impressive of the models Hitachi is preparing is a 60-inch Director’s Series plasma (P60X901). This model, like select others in the new plasma line up, comes loaded with cutting edge viewing technologies. These include, in a nut shell, 1920 x 1080 resolution, 2-million pixels and something the company is calling Reel60. This last feature is designed to “accurately and automatically eliminates the jittery or stuttering visual effect called ‘judder’ which results from outdated methods for 3:2 pulldown correction (i.e. converting from 24 frames used in film to 60 frames used in television).”

I always like other nice touches like stylish looks, a remote control with glow in …

You’ve probably already guessed with all the i’s prefixing the name of this product that this home multimedia system has some claimed integration with Apple’s iPod player, and it does. In fact the integration the iLuv i199 has with the iPod and other devices is pretty legit and actually useful.

The iLuv provides quality music playback through jAura speakers and can play music from a variety of sources. The top of the device has a universal dock for iPods which will playback songs and charge the device. If you connect the AV out to your television you can even watch videos from your iPod through the iLuv system on your TV.

Probably the most significant feature of the iLuv i199 is the BluePin Bluetooth audio transmitter and receiver. What the BLuePin does is allow you to stream media from other Bluetooth enabled devices …

Coming toward the end of this month is a new hifi CD player from Opera Audio called the Forbidden City Ping featuring a solid-state 100 watt 2-channel amplifier, and a LED display and an AM/FM tuner. They’ve designed a linear style player with an interesting color pattern that comes in red or gray that almost looks like peg-board.

The interesting part about this hifi CD player/amplifier is it’s a USB 1.1 connection to your computer. Using a SpAct interface through USB the Ping player can play music on you computer hard drive or any other mounted drive, and works with Mac and Windows (English and Japanese versions). The SpAct architecture recovers the audio clock from the USB packet data. This enables the playback on the stereo to happen with low clock jitters in the music.

The price tag for the Forbidden …

Here’s a chair you might find worth adding to your home media room layout. The Inada W.1 Massage Chair, claims its manufacturer, is the world’s first massage chair which synchs music and sound from a home entertainment system with massage.

The chair, which has a built-in amplifier as well as speakers integrated into the head rest, connects to your home entertainment system. It takes the music and sound playing from that system and tries to time the massage to the bass range, while also doing tapping and back vibration for the treble range and leg vibration. It comes complete with up and down buttons to adjust the bass and treble levels and is designed to provide you “deeper mental relaxation.” I’m not sure about that last part though - can you imagine trying to relax as an action scene from a movie like Miami Vice …

Two months after releasing its first docking station for Apple’s iPod, Sony is back to show off a new adapter that connects your ‘pod to Bravia home theaters. The Digital Media Port iPod Dock, a.k.a. TDM-IP1, acts as the middleman between the two technology titans, a move that Sony had been putting off for some time.

The sleek black appearance weighs about 220 grams and is 90 x 78 x 65 mm, so it doesn’t take up too much space somewhere close to your TV. The TDM-IP1 is compatible with the more recent iPods (like the first and second generation nanos and the fourth and fifth gen iPods/iPod minis), but does anyone still have an older model kicking around anyway?

Sony has priced the adapter at a penny under $100 which doesn’t make it the cheapest iPod adapter out there, but …

Those of you who are fans of George Lucas’ “Star Wars” saga and feel the need to elevate your home theater experience into the Force, will probably be targeting Nikko Electronics 2.1 speaker system that is shaped like twin TIE Fighters. There’s also a subwoofer unit that bears the distinctive logo of the movie, just in case you have someone over that doesn’t quite get the connection.

The company will exhibit the TIE Speakers at this week’s CeBIT where we’ll probably get prices and availability. Nikko also offers a life-size R2-D2 home projector unit, remote control shaped like the Millennium Falcon and an Anakin Skywalker lightsaber Skype phone so you really could go all-out and deck your pad in a complete “Star Wars” motif. All you need is a Han Solo-encased-in-carbonite piece of art to hang on the wall and you’re all set.

Sony has been busy with product announcements this week. The latest announcement from Sony is a new line of seven BRAVIA high-definition televisions.

The BRAVIA televisions come in two series – the 1080p V-series and the 720p S-series. The V-series units include 40- and 46-inch (pictured) screen sizes, while the S-series offers 26-, 32-, 40-, 46-inch models.

The new televisions are compatible with Sony’s new BRAVIA Internet Video Link module which provides access to Internet video, music videos, movie trailers, user generated videos and RSS feeds. The module mounts on the back of the TV and connects to the Internet via broadband Ethernet connection.

The BRAVIA televisions are expected to be available in Summer 2007. The pricing details have not been released.

Samsung brings some of the glitz and glitter of the Cannes Film Festival to your home with three newly announced plasma screen televisions named after the prestigious French movie party.

The company says that its new PDP image quality delivers brighter screens, richer colors and clearer images using new technological features incorporated into the Cannes line. For example, the Ultra DayLight component delivers a contrast ratio of 1000:1 in brightly lit rooms and 15000:1 in dimmed environments. The reproduction of natural colors is improved with Natural True Color Technology which processes reds, blues and greens with faster 18 bit speed processing. Finally, the Real Motion Studio technology sharpens the image on-screen, making letters and hard outlines less blurry.

That sounds all well and good but the bottom line is how much will it cost? Samsung is going to launch three sizes …

Sony Electronics has plans to release seven new home theater systems to retail starting in March, with three of them specifically tailored to complement its Bravia line of TVs.

The DAV-HDX500 ($500), DAV-HDX267W ($300), DAV-HDX265 ($300) BRAVIA models combine a DVD player/changer with HDMI output with 720p/1080i video upscaling, a Digital Media Port that allows WiFi and Bluetooth devices connectivity to the system, and Bravia Theater Sync, making it easier for each component to talk to each other over HDMI. Sony is also installing Digital Cinema Auto Calibration (DCAC) in each unit, allowing you to balance your multi-channel surround sound setup with the use of an included microphone.

If you have a Bravia TV already and want your system to compliment its style, your best bet is probably the HDX500 which matches the look and height of …

Onkyo has released a new compact home stereo system that’s designed to integrate nicely with your digital music collection. The Onkyo BR-NX10 also has Sony’s AnyMusic service built in.

The Onkyo home stereo holds an 80GB hard drive to store digital music, and with the CD player it allows playing or ripping of the audio disks to the hard drive. This device also has a USB port to transfer files from a PC and an Ethernet port to connect to the internet. Once connected users can browse, purchase and download songs from Sony’s AnyMusic.

An FM Stereo tuner to allow recording the radio would be a nice feature in this package, however we didn’t notice any controls or features for FM radio. The BR-NX10 from Onkyo is expected to retail for about €600 (~$780 USD).

Onkyo via Akihabara News

LG has some new HDTV’s coming your way with a nice built in feature. The new XCanvas high def televisions almost negate the need for a DVR by housing a built in hard drive.

We’ve seen LCD and plasma televisions with built in DVD players, but we seem to like this even better. Using an internal 160GB hard drive, high definition television and movies can be recorded and played back at a later date, even in a dual picture mode similar to having two tuners.

Your might soon start to wonder just how much high def TV the 160 HDD can hold, but have no fear. The new LG XCanvas televisions come with a USB port to transfer the media in or out, although we’re not sure of the format at this point.

These new hard drive toting TV’s also come with the …

Sporting a spherical form factor measuring 10.63″ in diameter and 3.58″ high, the Sony VAIO TP1 Living Room PC is a bold new approach to home PC design. Promoted as a “Living Room PC”, the TP1 was made to blend with your home decor and allow you to surf the web and watch live and pre-recorded TV shows from the comfort of your sofa.

The TP1 comes equipped with a matching wireless keyboard and remote control. The lightweight keyboard was designed to fit on your lap and has a built-in touchpad with hot buttons that launch your frequently used applications.

Frequently accessed features such as the optical drive, USB ports and multi-card reader are located on the front of the PC, hidden behind a curved slide-away panel, while constantly-connected terminals are hidden from sight on the back of the unit.

Specifications
The TP1 features Windows Vista …

In the quest for superior sound quality combined with superior designs, the BeoLab line of loudspeakers from Bang & Olufsen often times will end the search, for a price.

Bang & Olufsen has recently released the BeoLab 9 loudspeaker, which is the latest in their line of high-end speakers, and the fourth offered with their Acoustic Lens Technology for treble sounds. The lens sits on top of the speaker in a specially shaped housing which distributes the treble in an 180 degree arc, and limits it’s exposure to echoing from the floor and ceiling. The BeoLab 9 speaker also has a manual position switch which changes the sound based on it’s position in the room. Placing the speaker in an open area, a corner or against a flat wall can be accommodated without sound compromise.

The look of these high-end speakers gives it …

Today IntelliTouch announced its new Eos wireless speaker system for the Apple iPod. The speaker system uses WiFi technology to provide high-quality sound to the remote speakers.

The system comes with a docking station for the iPod which includes built-in speakers, and one additional wireless speaker. More wireless remote speakers can be purchased and added on separately. Each remote speaker can be mounted directly on a power outlet or set on a counter top with a cord to be powered.

The wireless connectivity for the speakers can transfer the sound up to 150 feet away, through walls and works indoors or outdoors. There is also a wireless accessory for a weatherproof outdoor amplifier with it’s own volume control to run the sound off of existing outdoor weatherproof speakers.

IntelliTouch expects the Eos iPod speaker system to be available in March of this year retailing …

A common problem with digital music is that it sits on your PC. Sure you can listen to it with headphones or transfer it to DAP, but what if you want to play it on that kick-butt stereo system that you have?

Well, your in luck. There are a number of ways you can get your digital music to come through your stereo, but the Siren Screamer may be one of the easier and more convenient ones. Connect on component to your stereo, and the other to the USB port of your PC. The music is transmitted wirelessly from your PC to your stereo, and you can control it with a handy remote, to boot.

The remote has an LCD display and can run Windows Media Player and iTunes to control the playback, all without wires. The receiving unit connected to the stereo uses has …