Smart Home Blog

Amex Digital has introduced a HD networked media player Venice-V38HD with built-in optical driver. It allows to playback AVI, WMV, MPG, VOB, MP4, MKV, XviD files and rip CD and DVD to internal 2TB storage. The player provides HDMI, S-Video, Component and Composite video output as well as Coaxial, Optical and Stereo audio outputs to connect to TV and amplifier. It also can be used as NAS, NFS, UPnP and FTP server.

There is no any word about availability and price of the Venice-V38HD.

[via Tech Gadgets]

Networked media players like Popcorn Hour or ZyXEL DMA-2500 are good get media content from HDD, NAS or PCs. But they lack for possibility to play CD/DVD or Blu-ray disks. Sure it isn’t so necessary now (I played DVD a few monthes last time) but it can be important for owners of huge collection of DVDs, for example. The company Syabas, producer of Popcorn Hour, filled that gap. Its networked DVD player offers the same functionality as networked media tank except torrent client (it doesn’t have internal HDD). Additionally you may play CD, DVD and even HDNet discs (HD Disc with HTML navigation). The player sports Composite/S-Video, Component Video (Progressive and Interlace) / D4, HDMI video and SPDIF, Coaxial and Analog Stereo audio outputs, 10/100Mbps Ethernet port, WiFi 802.11a/b/g adaptor, USB port.

No any information about the player’s price and shops where it can be bought.

If you want to save a space in TV area you might be interested to see a new NAD DVD player with integrated receiver. The NAD L54 combines a high-quality integrated stereo (playback CD, AM/FM tuner and two-channel 50-watt amplifier) with superior DVD and DivX playback. The NAD L54 features Component, Composite, and S-Video outputs and includes two digital inputs (one optical, one coaxial) to connect additional sources and optical digital output. It also has SRS 3D circuitry that emulates surround sound using only a pair of loudspeakers. All L54 features are easily accessed with the supplied learning remote, which can also operate almost any other IR remote controlled device.

The NAD L54 DVD/Receiver is already on sale with the price $699.00.

[via CePro]

Recently JVC presented its Sophisti DD-3 – compact and stylish media system which allows to play computer-based music and video files to your audio/video devices. It includes a DVD player, an AM/FM tuner and inputs for connecting other components, subwoofer and three speakers. Also, Sophisti DD-3 features an Ethernet connection that hooks it up to a PC, letting you retrieve media content from your PC via LAN.
Moreover, the system contains USB Host allowing you to connect your digital devices to the system. This includes flash audio players, USB drives, digital cameras and card readers.
The Sophisti’s main unit houses a built-in decoding of Dolby Digital, DTS and Dolby Pro Logic II soundtracks. An HDMI interface ensures that crisp and clear pictures are seen on the TV. The system supports JPEG, MP3, WMA, WAV (PCM), AC3, MPEG1, MPEG2, MPEG4, MS MP4 v3, DivX. The 220 watts system has the patented Direct Drive technology.
The system is available for $1000.

[source: Gizmodo]

English company Naim which specializes in producing of high-end home AV devices released NaimNet. The NaimNet is a combination of Naim’s expertise in audio and video together with the IP technology of StreamNet™ licensed from NetStreams® LLC. Using NaimNet you can build a scaleable multi-room AV system (it can accommodate up to 1.8 million rooms!). It is possible also to have a high-end AV system in one primary room, a high-end audio system in another and a reasonable but low cost system in the kitchen or bathroom, for example.

The NaimNet system can be easy operated through a range of rich interfaces such as wall panels, PDAs, Tablets, a PC or a stand alone control interface.
For more information please read or download the NaimNet brochure [PDF, 2.24MB].