GIGABYTE to Showcase Lineup of New Motherboards

GIGABYTE United is set to showcase its range of new motherboards for Intel and AMD CPUs. On display at Computex will be the live demo of GIGABYTE’s flagship P45 motherboard, the GA-EP45-EXTREME that is designed for extreme overclocking.  Based on the latest Intel P45 chipset with support for Intel multi-core processors up to FSB 1600MHz, the motherboard makes one supports ATI CrossFireX Technology with 2 PCI Express 2.0 x 8 interfaces, and dual LAN.

The GA-EP45-EXTREME is also equipped with GIGABYTE’s unique Hybrid Silent-Pipe slot cooling system which utilizes the natural convection of air inside and outside the chassis to dramatically and noiselessly cool down the North Bridge, South Bridge and CPU MOSFETs without the use of a fan. The GIGABYTE Hybrid Silent-Pipe can also be used with water block cooling systems for additional enhanced thermal performance.

Also on display will be the GIGABYTE GA-EG45M-DS2H, an integrated graphics solution based on the Intel G45 chipset. It is meant for building digital home theater systems and features the latest GIGABYTE Dynamic Energy Saver technology and Ultra Durable 2 design, providing optimized power savings, ultra cooling performance and extended system durability.

On the AMD side, the GA-MA790GP-DS4H features AMD 790GX chipset with integrated ATI Radeon HD 3300 DirectX 10 graphics engine and support for the latest AMD Phenom quad-core processors including a 4+1 phase power design to support 125W TDP and above processors.

In addition to support for HDMI 1.3, DVI and HDCP interfaces, the GA-MA790GP-DS4H includes support for ATI’s Hybrid CrossFireX and CrossFireX technology as well as dedicated 128MB DDR3 SidePort memory. GIGABYTE also includes the ALC889A high performance audio codec and powerful Dolby Home Theater suite of audio technologies making it suitable for ultimate home theater usage.

GIGABYTE Ultra Secure and Ultra Power Efficient Technologies

New GIGABYTE Dynamic Energy Saver Advanced
According to GIGABYTE, its new Dynamic Energy Saver Advanced provides better energy saving capabilities and enhanced system performance. The company says, GIGABYTE Dynamic Energy Saver Advanced is the world’s only motherboard energy saving technology with hardware-based Dynamic 6-Gear* Switching. With support for VRD 11.1, GIGABYTE’s DES Advanced allows the motherboard to switch to 1 Gear phase switching during idle, allowing for a dramatic increase in power savings.

Ultra TPM – Dta Security via onboard TPM

With a Trusted Platform Module (TPM) chip built-in, GIGABYTE provides TPM hardware-based encryption and decryption with digital signature keys to ensure a maximum level of data protection with 2048 bit encryption. GIGABTE’s Ultra TPM provides an added layer of security by allowing users to store their digital signature key on a USB thumb drive, so that when they step away from their system, they can take the key with them, locking up their data and preventing unauthorized access while they are away.

Gigabyte products are distributed in India by Avnet (India), Ingram Micro and Redington. The Gigabyte GA-EP45-EXTREME is priced at Rs. 21,000.

Buffalo Intros External Blu-Ray HD DVD

(Check my blog for more interesting news)

Buffalo recently announced the MediaStation Blu-ray HD DVD (BRHC-6316U2), its first external Blu-ray HD DVD player. It is the first device of its kind from Buffalo in the market that allows users to both read and write Blu-ray content. It provides the ability to save high-definition content, giving users an all-in-one solution to meet their entertainment needs.

Users can also connect the player to a notebook or other mobile device via USB and view their favorite video content while on-the-go. In addition, the player allows for playback of HD DVD content.

The Blu-ray HD DVD player also comes with Nero’s proven software for playback and burning, which allows for seamless integration with all recent versions of Microsoft Windows. Backed by a limited one-year warranty and toll-free technical support, the MediaStation Blu-ray HD DVD will be available in May 2008 for Indian market at a price of Rs 45,000.

Sony Launches World’s Smallest HD Camcorder

Sony has developed what it says is the world’s smallest high-definition video camcorder. The Sony HDR-TG1 measures 32mm by 119mm by 63mm and weighs 300g.

It’s a tall and thin camcorder with a fold-out display – a design along the same lines as Sanyo’s Xacti line of high-def camcorders, but the Sony camcorder is about two-thirds the volume of Sanyo’s latest full high-def model.

Sony plans to put it on sale in Japan later this month and in the US in May.

One of the secrets of its thinness is the lack of a DV tape desk, hard-disk or optical drive. Instead the TG1 records to a Memory Stick Pro Duo or Pro-HG Duo memory card. The camera lays down AVCHD format video at 1,920 by 1,080 resolution (so-called ‘Full HD’). AVCHD is a high-def format developed by Sony and Panasonic that’s designed to provide some compatibility between camcorders and living room disc players and other entertainment hardware.

In the highest quality ‘FH’ mode, which is full HD resolution at 16Mbps, the supplied 4GB card will be able to store 25 minutes of footage. This lengthens to 55 minutes in HQ mode, which records a 1,440 by 1,080 resolution image at 9Mbps. The SP and LP modes record drop the video bit rate – and thus the quality – to 7Mbps and 5Mbps, respectively and result in 65 minutes and 85 minutes of recording time.

As with other card-based cameras, higher capacity cards mean more recording time.

In addition to video the camcorder can also take 4-megapixel resolution still images. Like some of Sony’s still cameras the TG1 has face detection and can track up to eight people in the shot.

Other features include an optical 10X zoom, 2.7-inch widescreen touch panel LCD monitor and HDMI connector.

It will be available in the US in May and will cost about $900.

YouTube HD

Screenshots of YouTube videos in HD

YouTube began testing HD last fall. Now it’s here. Sort of. A tipster nabbed this screenshot of a YouTube video which gives the use the option to “watch this video in higher quality.” We tried it out and took screenshots from the same frame in the video. Comparison shots, below.

Normal quality:

Higher quality:

The full-screen comparison isn’t exactly startling. Here’s a detail that makes the distinction clearer.

Sony PS3 Set To Enable Downloads

Sony announced that its PlayStation 3 is poised to take the next step in the evolution of the Blu-ray Disc format.

The firmware update, due soon, will update the PS3 to Blu-ray Disc Profile 2.0, also referred to as BD Live. BD Live enables Internet-connected activities such as multiplayer gaming, e-commerce, downloading new content, and social networking.

BD Live impressed crowds earlier this year at the Consumer Electronics Show, where Sony demonstrated downloading ring tones and new content to a BD Live player. Sony announced last October that the PlayStation 3 would support BD Live. Now, it appears that the PS3 will be the first Blu-ray Disc player to support this latest advancement in the Blu-ray format. Sony Electronics’ own forthcoming BD Live-capable players aren’t due out until this summer and fall.

Director of PlayStation Network Operations, Eric Lempel, revealed the news in his latest blog entry, ahead of the company sending out a press announcement.

The first titles to take advantage of BD Live are due out on April 8 from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment: The 6th Day and Walk Hard — The Dewey Cox Story. The extent of the BD Live features on these titles remains unknown.

Releasing this firmware update is a pretty cagey move on Sony’s part. Since the PS3′s release, frequent updates to the system have brought boatloads of needed features on-board — including the ability to upscale standard-definition DVDs.

Research and disc sales show that consumers are using the PS3 as a Blu-ray player. The PS3 played a role in the growing volume of Blu-ray disc sales, which in turn prompted Warner Brothers to back Blu-ray Disc exclusively at the start of the year. Warner’s move led to the format war with rival HD DVD.

Other multimedia additions for the upcoming release include the ability to copy PlayStation 3 Music and Photo playlists to a PSP system (previously, you could create Music and Photo playlists on the PS3, but couldn’t export them to a PSP). Another feature for PSP users: turn your PSP into a remote control, for playing back music files on your PS3 without turning on your TV. You can also play long DivX and .WMV format files (over 2 GB).

Disc playback has been enhanced, to allow resume play: You can pick up where you left off on a DVD or BD disc, even if you’ve ejected the disc and inserted a different movie or game in the interim.

Finally, Sony says the PS3′s Internet browser now displays some web pages faster. You can also save file files locally or to external storage media via the PS3 web browser.

Acer Unveils Multimedia-Optimized Notebooks

Acer unveiled a line of multimedia-optimized laptops in New York at its first-ever U.S. press conference, where it also announced the close of its acquisition of Dutch computer-maker Packard Bell.

Acer unveiled the Aspire 8920 and 6920 series of notebooks with a new design, the company is calling Aspire Gemstone “blue.” The laptops, which come in both 18.4-inch and 16-inch versions, include a Blu-Ray disc drive, full high-definition (HD) LCD screens and support for the Dolby Pro Logic 2.0 surround-sound audio system.

Speaking at a press event, Senior Corporate Vice President Jim Wong said the new design is aimed at bringing a “true multimedia innovation” to the notebook form factor. The new notebooks are based on Intel Core 2 Duo processors and run either Windows Vista Ultimate or the Windows Vista Home Premium OS because of the multimedia functionality those OSes can deliver. However, Wong said, Acer would consider running a different OS — presumably Linux — on machines that don’t require rich multimedia capability.

The New York event, was a U.S. coming-out party of sorts for the Taiwanese computer-maker. Acer is eager to woo U.S. consumers now that it is offering not only its own notebooks here, but also eMachine computers from Packard Bell and PCs from U.S. computer-maker Gateway, the acquisition of which Acer revealed last August.

In his first official press appearance in the U.S., Acer’s President Gianfranco Lanci clarified company’s branding strategy going forward, saying products from all three companies will remain in the market under their own names. “We didn’t buy a company to kill the brand,” he said.

Lanci said Acer plans to keep all three brands in the U.S. and Europe, although Gateway computers — including the eMachines brand — will be sold in “some countries only.” In Asia and the U.S., the Acer and Gateway brands will be most prominent, including the Gateway eMachines brand in the U.S. Lanci said Acer is basing its brand distribution on how well the different products sell in each geographic area.

Having all three brands also will diversify Acer’s market penetration across its three main geographical regions, broadening its reach in the U.S. while reducing the amount of business that comes from Europe, he added.

For the most part, Acer will keep the design of each of the three brands consistent with their current design. The new Aspire Gemstone “blue” design, for instance, will only be used for Acer notebooks.