The Zone

HWM was recently in Singapore to check out LG's Perfectly Tuned with Mark Levinson. Showcasing sound systems tuned by audiophile and sound guru Mark Levinson, LG opened up their event in high fashion. Although dubbed as the Golden Ear, Mr. Mark Levinson scoffed at his own title and proceeded to give members of the press a taste of truly awesome sound using a mixture of Burwen Bobcat and LG's tuned sound systems. For a more in depth report check it out later in HWM. If you think you've got better 'Golden Ears' then go to the jump below for a chance to win some LG merchandise.

http://lggoldenears.com/

Not to be contended with televisions, singer/songwriter/model/extraordinare Bjork has made up her mind about televisions; the little streets in them look beautiful! Look at how she takes apart her own CRT (and manages to not get shocked by the bunchful of capacitors in there) and explains on how they work! A must-watch.

Last week, Pioneer had a regional launch in Singapore for their upcoming second generation Kuro plasma TVs, which also marks the introduction of their 9th generation Plasmas to the market. We didn't manage to publish this on time for the November issue of HWM, so why not tease you with some of the images from the launch itself? The new Kuro TVs sport even deeper blacks than the previous-gen televisions, and one should certainly see them in action - seeing is believing, its what they say with the Kuro! Although Pioneer did not refresh the smaller 42" market, we saw a new 60" Kuro that boasts some really juicy specs, as below;

Full HD 1920x1080 resolution with 24p capability, Enhanced Optimum Mode - a seperate white balance probe can be purchased for on-the-fly claibration of both room darkness and hue, Five times the darkness as compared to previous Kuro models, a 100000:1 contrast ratio and the capability to blow your mind.

More images after the jump!

For the uninitiated, Logitech does not only make computer peripherals, trick audio systems and de facto standard racing wheels, they also manufactuer cool remotes which literally becomes the One Remote you'll ever need. More after the jump!

The second part of the two page feature is here!

The LG M3200C-BA Flatron monitor - with a USD2199 list price that includes HDMI with HDCP, 1080i-ready, 1600:1 contrast ratio and a three year warranty, its more sensible to own than some newer sets. Don't forget that there's a bulk discount price, too!

Continuing where we left off, the main reason for the increase in exposure of industrial monitors is due to two main reasons - affordability and future-ready. While the general public would be more receptive to finished, sleek products for their homes where they can brag about their latest big-screen TV, there is a percentage of the population who would rather DIY their garages instead of pre-ordering one from ACE or Home Depot. They include the average family man who buys supplies in bulk at Tesco, to the up-and-coming studio executive who needs a large, but affordable screen (or screens), or for art directors and the like in the creative industry to fulfill their display needs. (more after the jump)

Surprise, surprise! When we thought that were were one of the last countries to recieve cool gadgets, Samsung relieves us of our gadget thirst and launched the K5 just about a week ago. Undoubtedly one of the cooler MP3 players to own, it sports touch-sensitive keys, an OLED display, sizes in 2GB and 4GB, super sound quality, and built-in speakers to boot!

More after the jump

This morning I wasn't able to listen to the NVIDIA's GeForce update briefing, so I missed out on some good stuff ;_; However, DailyTech has a summary of the launch dates and prices. Some sites have apparently gotten their review units of the latest cards, so we should get ours soon.

Check out Hardware Zone's 8600GTS preview, which they posted a couple days ago. Not exactly mind-blowing results, though, but they should prove to be a decent card for mid-range consumers who want to brag of owning a DirectX 10 card...even though no games at the moment supports DirectX 10. Still, I'd rather go for an X1950Pro for now.

Still crossing my fingers for ATI's R600 though. :3

There were no more disputes when the real speaker gods showed up at the San Diego Comic Con (SDCC), thanks to urban artist Marka27. Made from vinyl, like all your other Micheal Lau toys, these 'toys' are from a limited edition run, and there are only 800 units available - at the SDCC only. While they look cute and all, they certainly are large, with each speaker standing at a full 16". Would we want a pair? You bet!!

In other news, a Russian ATM was caught with its pants down - it had an unactivated copy of embedded Windows. Anything can be done in Russia, really, but we wouldn't know if that ATM had the nessacary patches required to stop hackers from getting free money - and vodka.

Philips' millionth Ambilight Flat TV has gotten some plastic surgery, and while its other siblings are busy entertaining millions (since they've made a million) of families, this one had a porejob among other things. Created in conjunction with New York–based jewelry company A.Link, the 42-inch Ambilight LCD HDTV features 225 carats of diamonds - close to 2,250 individual diamonds are applied along the sides and edges of the set’s Ambilight frame....and its not for sale, unfortunately. The pic below was taken from the Malaysian leg of its worldwide tour - like supermodels, you're expected to start a jet-set lifestyle! :D

So yes, we weren't really buying into the Monster cable hype, and yes, we can tell the difference between a Philips HP1000 and a Grado SR60, but then again, many people are not 'privileged' enough to actually buy 2-foot HDMI cables for RM380. Heck, we're still using our free cable that came with a plasma....and it works fine! So, if you want better image and sound quality, its either your toys OR your eyes and ears that are letting you down. 

Mr. Min Yong Ho launching the collection 

When it couldn't get any better, Samsung has just rolled out their latest AV products last Thursday with a couple of surprises up their sleeves which includes 1000000:1 dynamic contrast ratio Plasma TVs, sleek LCDs which have built-in programs for working out, cooking and entertainment, two new MP3 players, an upscaling DVD player and their latest Blu-ray player. Feast your eyes on the buffet spread after the jump!

Mr. Taku Taguchi introducing the Sony Time convention 

Sony heralded the return of its Sony Time convention, this time at the Mandarin Oriental in KL. Boasting two halls in seperate floors, the convention showcased everything HD under Sony's banner and even gave us a glimpse of whats to come. They also launched the W200 LCD TV series, a host of AV equipment which includes home theater in a box(es) and the Cyber-shot DSC-T300 with Rynn Lim. More pics after the jump!