Oh! Gizmo

By Chris Scott Barr

If you have a PS3, then you probably take advantage of of its Blu-ray player. You’d be crazy not to. Unfortunately one drawback to the PS3 is that you have to have a separate remote to operate it. Why? Because it’s one of the only home theater devices to use Bluetooth to communicate with its remote. Well luckily there now exists a remote that can control more than just your PS3.

The Blu-Link remote works off of both Bluetooth and infrared signals, thus catering to all of your devices. It supports up to six different devices, and can learn commands from other devices. You’ll also find dedicated PS3 and Blu-ray control buttons. $49 might seem steep for your average universal remote, but this one looks to be well worth the money.

[ Interlink ] VIA [ Technabob ]

By Andrew Liszewski

Not only are massive ‘wall wart’ transformers a pain in the butt to squeeze onto a standard power strip, but they’re so heavy they have the tendency to fall out by themselves, severing your gear’s power source. So the PlugLock power strip solves that problem with a simple innovation. Each of the five generously spaced plugs can accommodate even the largest of transformers, and they all feature a dedicated clamp which can be adjusted to securely ‘lock’ the transformers in place. It’s also rated for 15 Amps, comes with a heavy-duty 5 foot, 14 AWG extension cord and is available from various online retailers for about $45.

[ Furman Sound PlugLock-PFP ] VIA [ The Red Ferret Journal ]

By Chris Scott Barr

Remember back when TVs were just boxes that were just used for watching movies, cable and playing video games? I guess that wasn’t all that long ago, since the TV I just bought a few months ago still needs another device in order to really do anything. However, soon you’ll be able to go and get yourself a Vizio HDTV that comes with all sorts of cool applications built-in.

I’ve got a small PC that sits in my entertainment center which gives me access to streaming video, audio and of course the web. With the new line of Vizio XVT HDTVs, I could almost get rid of it. Owners will have access to free streaming content from Revision3, Showtime and Pandora while also being able to subscribe to services such as Vudu, Netflix, Blockbuster OnDemand, Amazon Video On Demand and Rhapsody. The icing on the cake is access to Twitter, Facebook, Flickr and Yahoo Widgets.

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By Chris Scott Barr

I have enough devices in my home entertainments center to fill up an entire 12-port surge protector. While not everyone has a dozen devices to hook up, it can be a pain to get everything plugged in as it should be. Plus there’s never an outlet where you need it, right? Well here’s an interesting concept, fill your entire wall with outlets!

I’m no electrician, but I can imagine that this is a fire hazard waiting to happen. Not to mention dangerous for small children to be around. However, you have to admit that it looks pretty damn cool. With so many outlets, at first glance it just looks like the person has fancy wallpaper. Then again you could always fill most of the area with false plates if you just wanted the look. Of course that would defeat most of the purpose in the first place.

[ Ironic Sans ] VIA [ Dvice ]

By Chris Scott Barr

Monster Cables is a company well-known for suing other people for uttering the word “monster” when not referring to their products. Oh, and they produce overpriced cables. Unfortunately it would seem that the poor economy and sheer amount of lawsuits over trademark infringement have really taken their toll on the company. As you can see from their latest product, the MCC AV50 Home Theater Controller, they had to let go their entire design team.

Normally I wouldn’t bother writing about a $50 universal remote, but this thin is too hideous to pass up. Sure, if it were coming from some unknown company out of China, I wouldn’t have given it a second glance. Yet somehow this is being sold by Monster Cable. I suppose if you needed a remote to fit in with your living room which has been modeled after the original Enterprise, then this might do.

[ Monster Cable ] VIA [ BoingBoing ]

By Shane McGlaun

It hasn’t been too long now since HDMI specification 1.3 came on the market and it’s already time for another specification to drop. I am glad to see that the HDMI Licensing company doesn’t sit on its laurels when it comes to adding new features to HDMI.

The full specification is due to be available for download no later than June 30, 2009. Until we can see the full specification, we do know a few of the features that HDMI 1.4 will offer. One of the most interesting is an HDMI Ethernet channel that allows HDMI connected devices to communicate at 100Mbps without needing another cable. An audio return channel is also featured in the spec along with support for 3D over HDMI.

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By Shane McGlaun

I have several iPod accessories around the house and each time I dock my iPhone I get that wonderful “this accessory is not iPod compatible” message. That little message means you can’t place calls while the iPhone is docked in the accessory, but I assume calls will still come in. I haven’t had that happen yet.

Pioneer has announced a new A/V receiver series that are certified to work with the iPhone and iPod touch. The receiver models include the VSX-819AH, VSX-919AH, and VSX-1019AH receivers. Users can plug their iPhone or iPod into the receivers and use the full-color GUI to browse album art and control music playback from across the room with the A/V receiver remote.

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By Shane McGlaun

I really like home theater gear and have wanted a projector set up in my living room for a long time. The thought of a massive image in HD resolution for watching the UFC and playing games makes me giddy. The problem is that getting all the gear together to set up a projection system can be a pain and it’s expensive.

Epson has announced new Ensemble HD home theater kits using the latest 1080p HD projectors from Epson. The new Ensemble kits include the firm’s 3LCD 1080p front projectors, motorized 100-inch screen, integrated surround sound, AV controller with built-in DVD player, universal remote, and the components needed for installation.

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By Luke Anderson

How often do you watch the special features that come on most DVDs? Personally I’ll watch the outtakes once in a while, but rarely dive in much deeper than that. If you’re the kind of person that likes to listen to all of the director commentary on all of your flicks, you just might get a disappointment next time you go to rent a movie released by Fox.

It seems that Fox is trying to encourage people to rent less and buy more by taking out the special features on rental DVDs. The first movies to be released with a special stripped-down version will be “Slumdog Millionaire”, “The Day the Earth Stood Still”, and “The Wrestler”. It will be interesting to see the reaction to this move, though I doubt that a lot of people will be all that upset. I mean, if you really care enough about a movie to sit through 4 hours of commentary and behind-the-scenes footage, maybe you’ll actually want to watch the movie more than once.

VIA [ Crave ]