tv

The subject of Sony remotes is a painful experience for some of us at Crave. Ever since we purchased what was touted as an uber-remote nearly a decade ago (the "Commander"), we've been scarred ever since. In addition to finding it virtually impossible to program, it has an exceedingly uncomfortable box-like form--it's like carrying around a small answering machine instead of a remote.

So it is with some trepidation that we view this new model on the Japanese market, a table remote that takes another squarish form at 3.8 by 5 inches. Unlike the Commander, … Read more

There have been some rumblings recently about the next generation of Ambilight televisions from Philips. A number of leaks have now provided model numbers and a few details about the new televisions.

From what we can gather, the new Ambilight technology will no longer just rely on reflecting colour on to a wall--instead, the light will be projected behind the screen as well as shine through the bezel of the TV. The question that we immediately have is: Will that be horribly distracting?

Early details indicate that one of the screens will be a 42-inch LCD, with full 1080p support, … Read more

Nearly a year after its first sightings, the $130,000 "Yalos Diamond" TV may finally have some competition--at least in the Department of Gaudy (otherwise known as DOG).

Speaking of abbreviations, we didn't know that LG stood for "Luxury Gold," as it does in the case of this 24-carat monstrosity. True to its moniker, the home theater system includes a 71-inch LCD in full 1080p high definition, as well as receivers, media players and a 500-watt sound all trimmed and plated in real gold, according to Aving. It's truly obscene.

The price of the … Read more

Last week the new "Baby Einstein" study came out suggesting that "educational" baby videos are ineffective teaching tools. The most memorable conclusion from one of the researchers: "I would rather babies watch American Idol than these videos."

Over the weekend I was invited to debate BabyFirst TV co-founder Sharon Rechter about the relative merits of these products. BabyFirst TV is a 24-hour cable channel that broadcasts "educational" shows aimed at infants and toddlers. Their programming includes the Brainy Baby video series, some of which were included in the recent study.

Unfortunately, a technical glitch meant I didn't get to participate in the discussion as planned, but preparing for the segment gave me a chance to examine the culture behind these products. Why are these videos so appealing to today's parents? As I thought about it over the weekend, and re-read Susan Gregory Thomas' new book Buy Buy Baby I came to realize that there is a perfect match between the marketing messages coming from companies like BabyFirst TV and Baby Einstein, and the culture and socialization of Gen X parents in particular. … Read more

The BBC's recently launched iPlayer, which allows eligible U.K. residents to download episodes of shows they missed on the telly, seems to be a magnet for complaints lately.

The Windows-XP only online service has already peeved Mac, Linux and Windows Vista users who can't, at least for the moment, get direct access (BBC has promised an upgrade this fall) and drawn protests over its use of Microsoft-produced digital-rights management technology.

The latest brouhaha is reminiscent of the Net neutrality debate that has raged here in the States. That controversy surrounds whether broadband operators ought to be able … Read more

Flash memory makers have taken over cell phones and MP3 players and want to start moving into notebooks. So what's next on the colonization roadmap?

Servers, says Frankie Roohparvar, vice president of NAND development at Micron Technologies. Server makers are looking at ways of replacing drives in servers.

"That is the area where they (the hard drive industry) are weakest next," he said over a lunch meeting.

It sounds weird initially. Servers typically come with large drives, and flash memory costs around 10 times as much as space on drives, when you look at it from a … Read more

Apparently it's not enough to have a mirror that sends text messages or even engages us in conversation. We need one that'll run Windows too.

Facing stiff competition in its mainstay telly business, U.K.-based Mirror Media has created a line that incorporates a PC into its reflective TVs in sizes ranging from 20 to 36 inches with frames in wood, metallic and other finishes, according to Chip Chick. It remains to be seen, however, whether they'll be able to create the ultimate convergence appliance by including a radiator.

A device made to find and use open areas of the spectrum band has received a failing grade from the Federal Communications Commission.

The companies involved likely don't feel too bad, after all, it was the FCC's idea to begin with. Last December, the commission called for suggestions for wireless devices that would sniff out and use the portions of the spectrum not utilized by TV broadcasters. Thus, the White Space Coalition was born, which includes Dell, EarthLink, Google, Hewlett-Packard, Intel, Microsoft and Philips Electronics.

Apparently the prototype the coalition submitted didn't cut it. Not only did … Read more

Pity the fool who is stuck in a hotel room needing to surf the Web, but without a laptop or Web-accessible handheld device.

I was stuck in just that situation this weekend. I went to meet an out-of-town friend at her fancy downtown San Francisco hotel and wanted to look on Yelp for some local bar recommendations. We turned on her huge thin-screen wall-mounted TV and selected the Internet option and were told we had to pay $9.95 for an hour instead of getting free access as she was supposed to be getting with the room.

After a quick … Read more