Gearchimp

Okay, now that you have all that fancy home theater equipment, are you wondering how best to hook it up?

Head over to the CEA Connections Guide. According to the website, its goal “is to help you decide how to connect the various audio-visual components you’re about to purchase, or how to incorporate them into your existing home theater or stereo component system.” To do this it asks what components you have (such as TV, A/V Receiver, DVD Player, Set-top Box, etc.) and what connections each supports (like HDMI, Coaxial, Composite, DVI, etc.) for audio and video, then shows you the best connection between each component.

You can find some other good information ACE Hardware. Also check out eCoustics Cables and Connectors Explained article.

A lot of people will dispute the value Monster cables, but they have some information on setup and wiring in their Connection Guides.

There is also some good advice in an ask.metafilter.com article.

Sony has released four new Xplod® in-dash CD receivers. The models variously support non-DRM digital audio formats MP3, AAC, WMA, satallite radio, and front 1/8 mini-jack AUX input.

CDX-GT110 - CD receiver with detachable faceplate, a blue 13-segment LED
display and front AUX input. 45 Watts X 4. Around $80, and available now. CD, CD-R,
and CD-RW playback. Gun metallic finish. Seen here.

CDX-GT210 - CD receiver with detachable faceplate, blue 13-segment LED display
and front auxiliary input, MP3 and non-DRM WMA playback support. 50 Watts X 4.
Around $100, available now. CD, CD-R, CD-RW, MP3, WMA playback. Gun metallic
finish. Seen here.

CDX-GT310 - CD receiver, satellite-ready, with CD changer control and detachable
faceplate, black 13-segment fluorescent display and front auxiliary input. Has
“selectable rear/subwoofer preamp outputs that can be used to control the
frequency and output level of an external amplifier.” Satellite capability
requires a separate subscription. Compatible with the Sony XA-110IP iPod
adapter; EQ3, wireless card remote included. 52 Watts X 4. Around $120,
available now. CD, CD-R, CD-RW, MP3, non-DRM WMA playback support. Gun
metallic finish. Seen here.

An older option is the Sony CDX-GT300, which also supports digital audio formats and has a front AUX jack, but with lower power (17 Watts x 4) and no satellite capability.

CDX-GT510 - Satellite-ready CD receiver plays ATRAC3plus™ and non-DRM AAC
digital music tracks. CD changer control. Flip-down detachable faceplate, black
13-segment fluorescent display (switchable red and green key illumination).
Front and rear selectable subwoofer preamp outputs. About $140, available now.
Satellite capability requires a separate subscription. Dual preamp outputs
(front plus rear/sub selectable), DSO:EQ3, wireless card remote included, front
auxiliary input, 52 watt X 4 high power, CD, CD-R, CD-RW, MP3, non-DRM WMA,
non-DRM AAC, ATRAC3plus playback support. Gun metallic finish. Seen here.

All models seen here.

Apple introduced their new $79 1GB iPod Shuffle. It’s tiny and hold 240 songs (128 Kbps AAC). Very cool, built on a clip, and comes with a little USB dock and earphones.

While it’s really not large enough for a load of features, it plays tracks randomly or in the order they were synced in iTunes.

Macintosh system requirements are a Mac with USB, OS X v10.3.9 or better, and iTunes 7 or later. Windows requirements are a PC with USB, Windows 2000 + SP4 or Windows XP + SP2 or later, and iTunes 7 or later.

Seen here, here, and here.

As an alternative, the mobiBLU 2GB model sports an OLED display, USB support, an FM radio and voice recorder. By way of comparison, the new Shuffle is 1.07″ x 1.62″ x .41″ and .55 oz, while the mobiBLU is a .94″ cube at .64 oz. See our article on it as well.

Cellular Style

fosfor gadgets has a list of the Top 10 most beautiful cellphones. These phones are not too shabby, and include the Hitachi W42H, Samsung SGH-E900, KDDI Talby, the O2 Ice, Samsung SGH-E870, KDDI Neon, Black Diamond, Helio Kickflip, the LG KG-800 Chocolate, and the KDDI Penck. It’s an interesting list, though some of the phones are either not yet available or not available in the US.

Tastes of course vary, and here at GearChimp the following (US available) phones would have made the list.

Sony Ericsson W600 Walkman - Our phone of choice, the W600 is a gorgeous swivel-style phone with a superb external display with tons of great features, including a slew of messenging and internet capabilities (RSS, web, email, EMS, MMS, MMS Video, SMS long), picture phonebook, a 1.3 megapixel camera with video recording, Walkman music (mp3, ogg, AAC, MIDI, etc.), MIDI composer, FM radio with RDS support, voice recording, voice control, USB/Bluetooth/infrared, animated wallpapers, Java, modem, and more. It’s 3.6 x 1.8 x .9″, 4.2 oz, and available with several faceplate colors, including Universe Blue, Orchid White, and Vibrant Orange.

Another nice-looking and available Sony Ericsson phone is the W810.

Motorola PEBL - This phone makes our list because of its modern and simplistic look. It’s 1.9 x 3.4 x 0.8 inches and 3.88 oz, supports GSM 850/900/1800/1900, Java, Bluetooth, Voice menus, instant messenging, email, web browsing, SMS, MMS, has a VGA camera, MP3/AAC/MIDI, picture caller ID, and has a mini-USB port. The phone is small and has a nice feel to it.

Samsung D807 is a 4.0 x 2.0 x 0.6 inch 3.3 oz. slider phone that supports GSM 850/900/1800/1900, has a 1.3 megapixel camera and 176 x 220 pixel screen with 262,000 colors. It supports WAP, Java, SMS/MMS, instant messenging, has support for MP3 and MIDI ringtones, Bluetooth, voice memos, voice-driven menus, voice dialing, picture caller id, MicroSD memory cards, and comes in black and chrome.

Holy. Mackerel. I’m speechless. These kids are grounded for… ever.

The Man Room has a short but interesting review of Samsung’s new BD-P1000 Blu-ray player and a comparison to the Toshiba HD-AI HD-DVD player.

The BD-P1000 supports 1080p/1080i/720p and up-converts DVDs to 1080p/1080i/720p. It decodes MPEG2, VC-1, H.264, HD JPEG video and Dolby Digital, Dolby® Digital Plus, DTS®, and MP3 audio. It plays the following disc formats: BD-RE, BD-R, BD-ROM, DVD ROM, DVD RAM, DVD-R, -RW, +R, +RW, CD ROM, CD-R, and -RW.

Video outputs include Composite, S-Video, Y,Pb,Pr Component (480i / 480P / 720P / 1080i / 1080p), and HDMI (480i / 480P / 720P / 1080i / 1080P). Audio out is 2.0 and 5.1, coaxial and optical digital.

It also includes useful side-features such as accepting memory sticks, playing video clips, photo slideshows, and mp3 audio,

The new format(s) are intriguing, but while DVD and TV formats continue to shake out over the next several months, high def DVD players like these are bound to get better better, more robust, and of course much less expensive.

(Via)

On the heals of last fall’s voice recorder and mp3 player combos, Olympus is releasing a new Voice-Trek G-10 voice recorder and MP3/WMA player with direct USB connection in Japan on July 6th, 2006.

The G-10 will have 256MB, which isn’t much for a flash drive or mp3 player, but is fairly substantial for a voice recorder. On the longest record setting (i.e. lowest quality) for voice, it can record 68 hour and 55 minutes of audio.

A welcome feature is the built-in USB plug, which eliminates the need for dragging along a cable to upload to the PC or laptop.

The Japanese product also appears to have some sort of English language study system built-in.

An English Translation of the Olympus Japan product page offers some more detailed specifications.

From personal experience I can attest to the quality and features of the Olympus VN-960PC recorder.

Fascinating.

A 17KHz ringtone that adults supposedly can’t hear. Developed as a teenager-repellent sound to rid areas of loitering little hooligans, an annoying, screeching tone marginally above the normal range of adult hearing was developed by a security firm in the UK, Compound Security, to repel teenagers. And, of course, the little punks heisted it and started using it as an adult-proof ringtone.

Well, nuts. I’m pushing middle-age and I can hear it. Bad. I mean, it hurts my ears.

Either way, it’s a clever use of sound.

Metro.uk story (via)

NPR Story (via)

The NY Times article (via)

Here’s one that pulses: PulseRing.mp3 (and PulseRing.ogg). Just a smidge easier to hear too.

The amazing mobiBLU DAH-1500i cube is a fantastic little (24mm or .94″ cube) MP3 and WMA player that’s packed with features:

• Blue OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) Display, built-in clock
• Plays MP3, WMA, and WMA+DRM (Digital Rights Management)
• FM Radio and Recorder, Voice Recorder with built-in microphone
• Usable as a USB 2.0 Flash drive
• Protective case and necklace earphones
• Five Preset EQ modes (Normal / Rock / Jazz / Pop / Classic) plus one User-Set EQ mode; SRS WOW - 3D Surround Sound
• File Navigation System with Unlimited Folders
• Rechargable Lithium-Ion Battery, charges through USB connection to PC
• Upgradeable Firmware

It’s available in several memory sizes (512MB, 1GB, and 2GB) and in various colors (black, blue, silver, pink, and orange).

Here are some resources for mobiBLU owners:

mobiBLU America - the mobiBLU home page
Guide to Disassembling the mobiBLU DAH-1500i at AnythingButIPod (via)
Guillermito Cube Mod v3 Modify your mobiBLU images and animations (via)
mobiBLU DAH-1500i Review at AnythingButIPod
mobiBLU cube 2 pics Korean site with lots of pictures of the next mobiBLU cube (via)
mobiBLU Cube Speaker plug a tiny speaker into your cube
mobiBLU FM Transmitter transmit cube audio to an FM radio

When voice recording is required, such as in a class or meeting, take a look at the Olympus VN-960PC 128MB Digital Voice Recorder with USB Connection. Its features and price put it far ahead of other digital recorders and old tape-based recorders. It supports voice activation and storage of up to 300 recordings across up to three folders. Recordings can be uploaded with Digital Wave Player software via a USB cable (both included). Depending on the quality settings, it can record up to 16 hours of conversation and play back at either slow or fast speeds. Two AAA batteries will power it for 25 hours.

It is lightweight and its controls are well placed and easy to use. A function lock button on the side protects against accidental recordings. A remarkable advance over tape systems, it’s at a great price-performance point for portable digital recorder systems.

Currently around $53 at buy.com or $53 at amazon with free shipping.