Prices for period 4th February to 5pm Thursday 11th February have been uploaded.
TVs That Will Suck Hollywood Into the Third Dimension By Brian X. Chen, January 14, 2010, Wired
LAS VEGAS — Piggybacking on the hype of 2009’s biggest blockbuster Avatar, major TV manufacturers are placing a big bet on 3-D video with special high-end televisions slated for commercial release this year.
Donning dorky glasses, Consumer Electronics Show attendees crowded into the booths of Sony, Panasonic, LG, Toshiba, Mitsubishi and Samsung last week to gaze into the big-screen 3-D TVs on display. Wired.com toured the show floor to compile a photographic montage of the biggest 3-D TVs we could find.
Video companies are optimistic that 3-D TV will be huge this year. But would you buy one? Would you be into the idea of wearing ugly glasses to watch a 3-D football game after a long day of work?
Before you contemplate the answer, it’s important to gain a clear understanding of what specifically defines a 3-D TV and what you need for a full experience. The 3-D TVs at CES all varied in different ways, but most of them shared some fundamentals. In order to display a full-frame image in 3-D, you need an extremely high frame rate, so usually the TV must be capable of a 240-Hz refresh rate. The TV also needs to support HDMI 1.4, the latest generation of HDMI, which will transmit the massive amount of data necessary to process and display 3-D images.
Most 3-D TVs also include a transmitter that can synchronize with the 3-D glasses. The transmitter, usually in the middle of the TV, synchronizes with active-shutter glasses so that the glasses’ lenses show and hide the left and right images at the proper frequency (120 Hz for each eye). The result: Each eye sees the image meant for it, and the onscreen image appears to pop out in 3-D. So don’t forget you’ll have to purchase extra pairs of 3-D glasses for each person who wants to watch the show. Pricing for these glasses has yet to be determined, but is probably in the $100 to $300 range, according to one company we queried (Mitsubishi). That can really add up if you want to host a movie night or a 3-D Olympics party with a large group.
As for content, you’ll need a 3-D-capable Blu-ray player or, some day, cable box. Manufacturers are quick to brag about whether their Blu-ray players can output 3-D properly, so just google the model of your player. (If you have a PlayStation 3 or a DirectTV box, you’re in luck: These devices will gain 3-D capability through firmware upgrades, according to their respective manufacturers.) Then you’ll have to buy special Blu-ray discs that are explicitly labeled to use the same 3-D tech as your TV and glasses. So far there’s only one 3-D Blu-ray disc available: Monsters and Aliens, which Dreamworks released with great fanfare last week. (There are other 3-D Blu-ray discs available, but they use the old blue-and-red glasses 3-D technology, which doesn’t look nearly as good.)
For television, you’ll have to wait for the video industry to pump out more 3-D content on cable channels. ESPN and Discovery, for example, have already established partnerships with Sony to create 3-D content; these channels probably won’t launch until 2011.
With all that said, manufacturers are confident that consumers will come along for the 3-D ride sooner or later. The Consumer Electronics Association estimates that 4 million 3-D TV sets will be sold in 2010, most of them in the fourth quarter.
To check out the future of 3-D, take the plunge into our photo collection of 3-D TVs from CES, courtesy of Wired.com photographer Jon Snyder. No glasses are required.
TRENDnet, a best-in-class wired and wireless networking hardware brand, today announces the launch of the 8-Port Gigabit GREENnet™ Switch, model TEG-S80Dg, which features TRENDnet’s embedded power saving GREENnet™ technology.
GREENnet™ is a TRENDnet switch-based technology that determines and supplies the appropriate amount of electrical power to each hardwired switching port as required by the connected device, by the port, or by the length of the connected Ethernet cable. GREENnet™ technology can reduce port-based power consumption by up to 70%.
GREENnet™ solutions automatically detect if an Ethernet port is not in use and will reduce the amount of power sent to the respective unused port. A port may not be in use when either no device is connected to the port, or when the device that is connected to the port is powered down or in Standby mode. Less power is required to send data over shorter cable lengths. GREENnet™ technology automatically detects the length of respective connected cables and adjusts the power supply accordingly. GREENnet™ technology functions automatically, requires no management, and has no affect on product performance.
The 8-Port Gigabit GREENnet™ Switch, model TEG-S80Dg, boosts efficiency and eliminates network congestion with a total switching capacity of 16Gbps with Full-Duplex mode support for all eight Gigabit Auto-Negotiation RJ-45 ports. The device offers a convenient built in power supply, simple Plug and Play installation, diagnostic LEDs convey port status, and Jumbo Frame support transfers more data in less time. The TEG-S80Dg comes with a five year limited warranty and will be available from TRENDnet’s online and retail partners this month. The MSRP for the TEG-S80Dg is US $49.99.
“TRENDnet has released 14 products with integrated GREENnet™ power saving technology over the last 12 months,” stated Zak Wood, Director of Global Marketing for TRENDnet. “An additional 10 GREENnet products are scheduled for launch in 2010. Our actions support our commitment to develop network hardware solutions that help reduce our carbon footprint.”
Full list of TRENDnet products with integrated power saving GREENnet™ technology:
TEW-673GRU: 300Mbps Concurrent Dual Band Wireless N Gigabit Router
TEW-672GR: 300Mbps Dual Band Wireless N Gigabit Router
TEW-652BRP: Wireless N Home Router
TEW-651BR: 150Mbps Wireless N Home Router
TEW-639GR: 300Mbps Wireless N Gigabit Router
TEW-634GRU: 300Mbps Wireless N Gigabit Router with USB Port