Dec/090
Yamaha sound system soundbar, sub-infused receiver
We’re always leery of “world’s first” claims, but we’ve definitely never seen an AV receiver with a ginormous port on the front. The unorthodox device you’re inevitably peering at above is one part of the two-piece YHT-S400, which looks to provide cinema-like sound in areas where space is hard to come by. The 31.5-inch long soundbar measures just 2-inches high and is designed to fit in front of most 32- to 50-inch HDTVs without blocking the screen, while the accompanying “first-of-its-kind subwoofer-integrated receiver” provides the power, the bass and the connectivity. A trio of HDMI inputs are included, and HD audio signals from Blu-ray Discs are accepted via linear PCM transmission. It’s up for grabs now at $599.95, and if you’re hoping to add iPod or Bluetooth support, Yamaha’s YDS-11 and YBA-10 adapters are fully compatible.
Nov/090
Atlona HDAiR Now Comes With Audio, a Purpose
Nowadays, it seems there’s an adapter for anything. Whether you need an eSATA port, more USB ports or God knows what unheard of type of connection, there is an adapter that will make that happen even if your computer cannot theoretically handle it. And they keep getting better and better. Speaking of upgraded devices, the Atlona HDAiR wireless USB-to-VGA slash HDMI adapter now comes with audio support as well.
The new HDAiR now comes with the ability of outputting audio in 3.5mm analog form, but it is also embedded on the HDMI output itself. It is compatible with any projector or HD TV and can output images at resolutions of 1440 x 1050 (VESA) or 720p (PC). As far as the actual range is concerned, the computer can be accessed from as much as 30 feet (that’s ten meters, if you’d rather have the metric measurement). As far as aspect ratios are concerned, images will be shown in either 4:3 or 16:9 aspect ratios.
It is able to mirror or extend the display and comes with the VGA and HDMI connectivity, both of which are active at the same time. It is compatible with Microsoft Windows Vista and Microsoft Windows XP, with drivers offering Windows 7 compatibility being made available in early December. Seeing how, without the addition of audio, the device was quite useless, the Atlona HDAiR has now become quite the interesting gadget.
With the holiday season coming, you probably want to get it for yourself or make it a gift to your Gears of War-playing grandma. Well, it is available for purchase at a suggested price of 219 USD. Whether you get it to show off your character’s might in World of Warcraft or stream media from HULU or YouTube, the HDAiR will help you do it.
Sep/090
How to Stream Audio from any iPod
How many third party accessories are out there by now? There must be hundreds, most of them providing similar if not exactly the same functionality. Why? Because companies want money. What else could a company want? Money equals power and so on and so forth. Philosophy aside, it’s just plain boring to see another iPod accessory come out.
We’re talking about the Audioengine W2 (A.K.A. AW2) which, if you haven’t guessed by now, is an audio transmitter/receiver combo. The transmitter connects to the iPod’s data port and transmits music wirelessly by the use of WLAN technology. Compared to Bluetooth, radio or infrared technologies, this provides by far the best possible quality, since there’s a lot more bandwidth available for data transmission and lag is deeply diminished.
Of course, the second device in the bundle is the receiver, which has to be plugged into the target audio system. However, there’s a catch. The receiver needs to be powered by an USB connector. Anyway, the company took care of this little problem by providing an AC2USB adapter in the package. I just hope they made that cable long enough (which is rather doubtful).
The best thing about the AW2 is that in case you meet the above requirements, it will ensure the best quality a device like this can provide today. It’s even simple to set up. You just connect the transmitter and receiver to their respective hosts and they will synchronize in a few seconds. After that, you’re all set and good to go. This is based on the company’s proprietary 802.11 technology and an in-house audio protocol developed in order to provide the best possible audio streaming.