The pocket camcorder market is as popular as ever, because people want a simple and easy way to record videos on the go. As this market continues to mature, people are expecting higher resolution videos and additional features without taking away the ease of use. The Samsung HMX-U10 represents the first entry into this arena by Samsung and, on paper, it sounds quite a bit more appealing than many of its direct competitors. Does it deliver? Let’s find out.

Features at a Glance

As with other devices in this niche, the Samsung HMX-U10 was designed with ease of use in mind. All you have to do is turn it on, hit the record button, and your digital memories are stored onto the SDHC memory card that you have stowed into the side.

Available in your choice of black, purple, red, green, or silver, the U10 will capture full HD video on the go, dialing up to 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution should you so desire. You can also ramp it down to lower resolutions if you’re trying to keep the file sizes down.

Other highlights from the feature set include a time lapse recording feature, the ability to take up to 10-megapixel JPEG still photos, USB charging, a 2-inch color LCD, H.264 recording format, component video output, and a 90-min built-in battery.

What’s in the Box?

Opening up the box, you’ll find almost everything that you need to get started with your Hollywood movie-shooting career. Talent doesn’t come bundled, so you’ll need to bring that to the table yourself. You’ll also notice the lack of an included memory card, so you’ll need to invest in a good-sized SDHC card too.

Inside, you’ll find the Samsung U10 pocket camcorder itself, as well as the AC wall charger, USB cable, special component video cables, tripod adapter, wrist strap, quick start guide, user manual CD, and other supplementary documentation.

It’s a bit of a shame that Samsung didn’t include some kind of carrying pouch to go with it, because the assumption is that a pocket camcorder like this would best appeal to frequent travelers and road warriors. There is no lens cover, after all.

In recent years at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, it seemed like the different manufacturers were constantly fighting with one another to produce the largest single panel television. This year was different. Instead of simply going for size, they really started to focus on new features that would actually enhance the user experience.

The Push Toward 3D TV in the Home

The idea of having a 3D TV in the living room is nothing new. If you remember the CES coverage that we provided last year, most of these companies already had 3D televisions on display. However, with the arrival of a 3D Blu-ray standard, it seems that 3D has become the “it” feature of the future.

Samsung introduced the widest range of TV products, including LED TV, LCD TV, plasma TV, Blu-ray players, and home theater systems. To push this point home, Samsung has partnered with Technicolor and Dreamworks. Having the 3D hardware is pointless without the right content. In like manner, Panasonic has teamed up with DirecTV for more 3D content.

The special 3D glasses are getting better and Samsung even has a TV set that doesn’t require the glasses at all. The performance on that unit isn’t quite as good as the others, since you have to be standing in the perfect sweet spot to get the desired effect, but it is certainly more convenient.

Increased Internet Connectivity and Apps

On the LG side, they want you to stream online content, like YouTube, directly to your LG HDTV. Further still, they’re looking for some incredible convergence. They have a media hub where you can connect all of your input sources, like your Xbox or notebook PC, and have that content sent to any TV in your home. The kicker? You’re using your cell phone as the master remote for this purpose.

Not to be outdone, the boys in blue introduced something called Samsung Apps. This is a multi-device app store that will offer new apps not only for smartphones, but also for your TV and more. Get widgets for live weather updates and so on. The free TV apps will be ready for the spring, while paid apps will arrive in the summer.

Samsung is equally dedicated to convergence in the home. I’m not entirely sure how it’ll work, but they say that all WiFi-enabled Samsung devices can be interconnected. For instance, you can use your Samsung notebook PC to control the TV or even use your smartphone as a second screen, streaming your TV content to your hands.

Technology really moves at a breakneck pace. It was only a few months ago that we took a look at the original Western Digital WD TV HD Media Player and now the company that usually specializes in hard drives has already released that product’s successor: The Western Digital WD TV Live.

On the surface, the WD TV Live looks an awful look like its predecessor, but Western Digital has included a lot of important upgrades in this new unit. The “live” part of the name, for example, points toward its network-ready capabilities.

Features and Specifications

Measuring about the same size as the first WD TV, the Western Digital WD TV Live Media Player boasts full HD video playback and navigation with support for resolutions up to 1080p. This is a perfect fit for something like a 55-inch Samsung LCD HDTV in your living room. You don’t need a Blu-ray player to enjoy 1080p.

File support has been vastly improved in the WD TV Live as well, now allowing you to enjoy your “downloaded” MKV videos with the greatest of ease. It’ll also do music and pictures, as before, but the kicker is that all three of these elements can also be nabbed from network storage and the Internet. The online component here appears to be more robust than what you got with the Seagate FreeAgent Theater+, but it’s still not quite there. I’ll go into further detail a little later on in this review.

Other highlights include a file management utility, support for the Picture Transfer Protocol from digital cameras, advanced navigation options, SPDIF digital output, and support for multiple languages.

Looking Inside the Box

Looking inside the box, you’ll get the same kind of supplies that come with most other HD media players. In addition to the media player itself, you get a remote control with AAA batteries, AC power adapter, supporting documentation, and CD-ROM.

There are also cables for composite and component video included in the box. What’s interesting is that there is only one jack in the back for AV (red, white, yellow) and one jack for the component video. I suppose this simplifies the ports in the back, but it means that you may have a harder time finding replacement cables.

Also, while the Western Digital WD TV Live supports HDMI 1.3, there is no HDMI cable included in the box. Most other players are like this too, with the noted exception of the Patriot Box Office. You can find generic HDMI cables for $5 to $15, but it still would have been nice to find one included.

Remote Control Keeps It Simple

The remote control included with this media player is exactly the same one that we got with the original. It is utterly simple and basic, giving you the bare essentials for navigating through the on-screen menus. For the most part, it works just fine. If your technophobic mom knows how to use a DVD player, she should be able to understand how to use the WD TV Live.

It’s right there in the name. Patriot Memory is a company that has largely focused on memory products in the past, loading up your computers with RAM, solid state drives, and positively massive USB flash drives. Well, it seems that Patriot has developed an interest in consumer electronics too.

Whether you’re loading up with home movies or you’re looking for a better way to enjoy the digital content that you download from the Internet, it is certainly more appealing to bring that multimedia goodness into your living room. This is where we find ourselves with the Patriot Box Office PCMPBO25 Media Player. This relatively simple device looks like a set top box for your television, but it does so much more.

Introducing the Home Box Office

Not to be confused with the premium cable television network that brought us The Sopranos and Entourage, the Patriot Box Office is a media player that connects to your HDTV, freeing “your digital media library from the constraints of a PC.” Your living room is so much more comfortable, after all.

The Patriot Box Office improves on solutions like the Xbox 360 Media Player by offering extensive file format support. This includes popular AVI and WMV formats, as well as FLV, RMVB, MKV, MOV, and more. It’ll do FLAC audio too.

In addition to regular USB expansion, you’ll notice an internal 2.5″ SATA drive slot. Other highlights include network streaming, on-board file transfer, PC-free download management, movie previews, and full 1080p HD video support.

What’s in this Box (Office)?

As with almost every other media player in this market, especially at this price range, the Patriot Box Office doesn’t come with any included storage of its own. It will be up to you to provide either your own USB external storage or a 2.5″ drive (HDD or SSD) to plunk into the internal slot.

Cracking open the cube-shaped box, we discover the metal-bodied Box Office itself, as well as a set of composite cables, USB cable, HDMI cable, wall adapter, remote control, AAA batteries, quick installation guide, software CD, and a set of hard drive screws.

Assuming that you don’t “invest” in some expensive Monster Cable product, it doesn’t take a lot of money to buy a generic HDMI cable. Even so, no other media player (to my knowledge) comes with a “free” HDMI cable. For that alone, Patriot has a better grasp on what consumers need. We don’t want to watch through composite cables, thank you very much.

Control in Your Hands

The design for the remote control is anything but inspiring, but I suppose it’s perfectly functional. If you didn’t know any better, you would think that you are either looking at the remote that comes with a TV or some generic universal remote.

It’s unclear why Patriot decided to include the digits at the top, because I did not encounter a situation where they were used. I also prefer a “five-way navigator” layout for the play, pause, rewind, and fast forward keys, which this remote does not have.

I’m not talking about iPod competitors. Instead, it seems that one of the fastest growing segments is the media player that connects to your home theater and HDTV. The Apple TV doesn’t have this market cornered anymore, because we’re taking a look at the Seagate FreeAgent Theater +, the latest in the recent onslaught of media players. The box may look familiar, but the innards just might whet your appetite again.

Features at a Glance

If you think you’re experiencing a case of deja vu, you might be thinking about the original Seagate FreeAgent Theater that came out earlier this year. I guess the team at Seagate read my review, because they’ve worked on some of the improvements I suggested. So, what makes up the “plus” in the Seagate FreeAgent Theater + HD Media Player?

The aesthetics are much the same with a similar glossy black surface and slim profile, but the hardware buttons on the top have been removed. The model here is the STCEA201-RK and it comes on its lonesome, but you can opt for the ST905004CEA2E1-RK to get an included 500GB FreeAgent Go.

There are three major “pluses” to warrant the new name. There’s an HDMI port for full HD output, an Ethernet port for network possibilities, and a digital optical audio port for surround sound. You also get better file support and a refreshed user interface.

What’s in the Box?

Even though this particular configuration does not come with any storage of its own, you can easily supply it on your own using any number of different USB flash drives and hard drives. There is also the slot to accept a Seagate FreeAgent Go portable hard drive, not to mention the LAN port in the back to access content on your network.

Looking inside the box for the Seagate FreeAgent Theater+ Media Player, we find the device itself, along with the supporting documentation, a set of component cables, an RJ45 Ethernet cable, composite A/V cable, a wall adapter, remote control, and AAA batteries for the remote.

You could certainly use the provided component cables with this, but if you’ve got something like a massive Samsung 52-inch LCD HDTV, you’ll need to bring two cables of your own: HDMI and optical audio. Aside from that, you should be good to go.

Control the Action

The remote has been heavily redesigned from the previous outing. It’s certainly a lot more colorful than the original, but I think the layout is more intuitive than before. Being able to hit the play/pause, rewind, and fast forward buttons without looking is easier, thanks to a “five-way navigator” style orientation.

I can’t say for certain whether this was on purpose, but there’s something about the new Seagate FreeAgent Theater + remote that reminds me of remote controls for entry-level Samsung LCD TVs. No real complaints on this front.

If you are going to play something like Tekken 6 on the Xbox 360, you’re going to want the right equipment for the job. You’ll want a comfortable chair. You’ll want a good set of speakers. And you’ll want a huge honking television like the Samsung LN55B650-T1F LCD TV.

Also known a little more simply as the Samsung Series 6 650, this is a 55-inch LCD HDTV with all the usual features that you’d expect from a higher-end television. At this size, nothing short of full 1080p HD will do and that’s exactly what you get here. How does it stack up? Let’s find out.

Features at a Glance

On the surface, this Samsung HDTV looks like any number of other televisions that have come off the Samsung factory line. You get the familiar thin profile, clear glass-like stand, and Auto Motion Plus 120 Hz technology for minimal motion blur.

Running our way through the official spec sheet, we find that the 55-inch LCD Panel comes boasting a 100,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio, DLNA technology, Anynet+ support, ENERGYSTAR compliance, 4ms response time, 178-degree viewing angles, and a pair of downward-firing 15W speakers.

I’ll get to the input and output options in just a moment, but let’s just say that you probably won’t have any trouble finding the right jack for your various equipment. Need room for a HD media device or Blu-ray player? Samsung has you covered.

To go along with the standard features, the Samsung LN55B650 also boasts the Medi@2.0 full connectivity suite, a content library with embedded entertainment, Internet@TV with widget technology, and a USB 2.0 movie player.

Not surprisingly, this Samsung HDTV features the company’s trademark “Touch of Color” design, similar to the Samsung LN52A630 that we reviewed last year. At first glance, you may think that this is a regular glossy black chassis, but closer inspection will reveal a rose red hue in the bezel. The red is really obvious when I took a picture with flash, but much more subtle under regular circumstances.

A Familiar Remote Control

If you’ve ever had the opportunity to toy around with a relatively recent Samsung HDTV, you’ll see that the remote control is pretty standard across the Series 6 lineup. It’s certainly a step up from the Series 3 TVs from Samsung.

The keys are clearly laid out with the digits near the top, volume and channel buttons below, main menu controls below that, color-coded quick access keys, and media player buttons. I did find that the response time on the remote was on the slow side, though. This was particularly pronounced when switching inputs or playing the embedded game.

On the plus side, I do appreciate the illuminated button feature. The orange on/off button near the top is not to turn the television on and off. It’s to turn on the lighting for the remote itself. You get a soft orange glow, making it easy to adjust things when you have the room dimmed for movie-watching or game-playing.

Don’t you wish that there were an easier way to enjoy your HD digital content in your living room? I’ve had the opportunity to review other multimedia players bound for the home theatre environment in the past, so I didn’t exactly have the highest of expectations for the Asus O! Play HDP-R1. I thought that this digital media player would be much the same as its direct competitors, but Asus has come forward with some features that you won’t find anywhere else.

Will the Asus HDP-R1 really offer you the “hassle-free multimedia playback without file conversion” that the Taiwanese company promises? Is the O!Play everything it’s cracked up to be? Let’s have a look and find out.

Features at a Glance

At first glance, the Asus O!Play HD Media Player looks very similar to its counterparts from competing companies. The overall aesthetics are strikingly similar to the Western Digital WDTV, but the exact specs and features appear to be superior in nearly every way.

The supported formats for video, audio, and images is quite extensive and I’ll be discussing them in further depth in just a moment. While it does not have a direct slot for an external hard drive like the Seagate FreeAgent Theater HD, the Asus O!Play will gladly accept external storage media via USB or eSATA. Yes, it will take an eSATA drive!

If you prefer to run content over your home network, the Asus HDP-R1 is also equipped with a standard RJ-45 LAN port. There is no integrated Wi-Fi, however, so you’ll have to stick with a wired connection. This does help to ensure higher speeds for file transfer.

Looking in the Box

Cracking open the attractive box, you’ll find almost everything that you’ll need to get started. In addition to the O!Play HDP-R1 itself, there is the AC power adapter, remote with batteries, composite A/V cable, user manual on CD, and a Quick Start Guide.

You’ll need to provide some storage of your own and there’s a good chance that you’ll want to take advantage of the HDMI output using an appropriate cable too. The Quick Start Guide also reminds you that this media player “is for media materials legally owned or licensed by the user only.” We’ll all be sure to keep that in mind, right?

A Real Remote for a Real Media Player

Unlike nearly all the other HD multimedia players that we see in the marketplace, Asus did not opt for the credit card-style wireless remote. Instead, the provided remote control is a little more conventional both in look and form factor.

You’ll also notice the slightly larger “music note” button near the bottom. This provides one-touch access to a shuffled music player, grabbing tunes from any connected USB or eSATA drives. This is pretty handy. There are also dedicated buttons for controlling subtitles, audio tracks, and repeat.

Whether you’re just a casual web surfer with an interest in Facebook and Twitter or you’re a hardcore gamer who enjoys World of Warcraft and Team Fortress equally, there’s a good chance that you want to have a quality monitor in front of your face. You can save some money with a debranded HP LCD monitor or you can splurge on something newer and fancier. For folks who value aesthetic appeal as well as usable performance, the Samsung SyncMaster XL2370 appears to be a seriously solid option.

According to some of the marketing materials circulating about this particular LCD monitor, Samsung is saying that the XL2370 offers the “highest performance” in quite possibly one of the slimmest packages. Right on the box, Samsung gives the somewhat ambiguous exclamation that this LED-backlit monitor is “finger slim.” So, what’s the skinny on this screen? Does the diminished profile result in diminished performance? Let’s find out!

Features and Specifications

Earlier this year, I took a look at the Samsung SyncMaster P2370 23-inch LCD. This seems to have a nearly identical model number as the XL2370, but it should be noted that despite some of their similarities, these are two distinctly different models.

For starters, the P2370 doesn’t get any LED backlighting and the XL2370 does. Among some of the other highlights on this LCD monitor include the following.

• Size and Resolution: 23-inch @ 1920 x 1080 pixels (1080p full HD)
• Brightness: 250 cd/m2 (+ LED backlight)
• Response Time: 2ms (G2G)
• Contrast Ratio: Mega DCR (5M:1)
• Viewing Angle: 170-degree (H), 160-degree (V)
• Power Consumption: 28W typical, <1.3W standby
• Special Features: MagicBright3, MagicWizard, MagicTune, SafeMode, ToC Stand
• Cabinet Color: Charcoal gray
• Mac Compatibility: Yes
• Weight: 3.6kg (product), 5.5kg (shipment)
• Stand: Simple tilt

Aside from the contrast ratio that seems to be grounded in marketing hyperbole rather than actual improved performance, the specs look pretty standard for a monitor of this type.

What’s in the Box?

When you purchase some LCD monitors from other companies, they oftentimes leave you without the required video cables to get the whole thing connected. The idea is that you are probably replacing another monitor and you already have the cables. That may be the case, but it’s nice to have a spare set in the box even if you don’t need it. Samsung seems to take on this latter philosophy.

Bundled alongside the LCD panel itself are the two pieces for the base, an external power brick with cable, DVI cable, VGA-to-DVI cable, installation CD, and supporting documentation. This doesn’t cover every port in the back, but it’s more than enough to get you started.

Swinging to the Back for Connections

Since Samsung seems to love the idea of keeping things as slim and simple as possible, it’s not at all surprising that this philosophy has been extended to the SyncMaster XL2370 as well. It’s not quite as barebones as the LapFit LD190, however, and that’s a very good thing.

Some people prefer the downward facing ports recessed into the body of the monitor, but I prefer the traditional backward-facing ports for ease of access. They’re not quite as streamlined and pretty, but they are a heck of a lot more functional and usable.

Along with the usual ports for power and DVI, you’ll also notice that the SyncMaster XL2370 accepts HDMI input. This means that it’s really easy to pair this monitor with a satellite receiver or Xbox 360, as well as with a regular computer. Since HDMI does video and audio, I like how there are two audio out options here too: 3.5mm stereo and optical (digital). There are no integrated speakers in this LCD, so the audio output is greatly appreciated.

Earlier this year, I had the opportunity to meet with Samsung at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. One of the more unique products that I was shown was none other than the Samsung HMX-R10. The specs make it sound like any number of other HD digital camcorders, but this thing does at least one thing differently.

Some people dubbed it the Alien Eye, because the lens of the HMX-R10 does not point directly forward like all other camcorders and even Samsung’s on previous models. Instead, it is angled upwards, because this is supposed to provide for a more comfortable shooting position for your hand and wrist. And it also happens to be the world’s smallest full 1080p HD camcorder to boot.

Features at a Glance

While you could certainly take the easy route with something like the Flip Video UltraHD pocket camcorder, you get a much more robust and feature-rich experience with the Samsung HMX-R10.

For starters, the Flip UltraHD can only do 720p, whereas the Samsung HMX-R10 can bump that up to Full-HD (1920 x 1080), giving you “superior clarity and increased depth of detail.” The CMOS sensor is also able to capture still photos at up to 12 megapixels of resolution.

Some of the more notable features include high-speed recording for 300/600fps slow motion playback, face detection autofocus, Magic Touch Focus on the flip-out 2.7″ touch panel LCD, and the 25-degree “active angle lens design.”

Among the highlights from the full spec sheet are 5x optical zoom, 100x digital zoom, F3.5 ~ 3.7, SD/SDHC slot, auto shutter speed, auto/manual focus, 15 lux low light sensitivity, six manual white balance settings, wind filter for the microphone, mini-HDMI output, H.264 / MP recording format, 80-minute battery, 229 grams of weight, and dimensions of 38.3 x 56.8 x 128.2mm.

Loading Up on Free Accessories

While the bundled accessories aren’t exactly comprehensive, you do get a healthy complement of supporting items when you unpack the Samsung HMX-R10 digital camcorder from its neatly-designed box.

In addition to the camcorder itself, there is a leather-like wrist strap so you don’t accidentally drop the thing. You’ll also find a thick mesh-style carrying pouch, a USB cable, battery, cable clips, component video cables, power brick, power cable, software CD, and supporting documentation.

It is a bit of a curiosity that Samsung would choose to include a component video cable for direct video output on the R10. Yes, the other end of the cable uses mini-HDMI so that it will work with this camcorder, but wouldn’t it be so much nicer if they included a true mini-HDMI cable instead? That would make for a better HDTV-viewing experience for sure.

You’ll also notice that the HMX-R10 does not have any internal storage memory and Samsung did not include any free SD memory cards to get you started. In this way, you’ll want to grab an (extra large) SDHC card while you’re at the store picking up this camcorder.

Pop the Hatch for Battery and Memory

Since you’ll need to rely on your own SD and SDHC memory cards with this camcorder, it makes sense that there would be some place where you would insert said cards. For the HMX-R10, the hatch for the memory cards is also the same hatch where you’d access the battery compartment.

Rather than using a spring-loaded mechanism for opening this latch, which is located on the underside of the camcorder, Samsung opted for a lock/unlock switch. It’s not really any better or any worse, but it’s a little unconventional. Personally, I would have preferred if the SD slot was on the side or the back, since this is usually easier to access than the bottom, especially if you are using a tripod mount of some kind.

Some time ago, we took a look at the Seagate FreeAgent Theater and today we turn our attention to the competing product from Western Digital: The WD TV HD Media Player. Effectively, you are able to take the multimedia content stored on nearly any USB device and deliver it to the big screen and big speakers of the home theatre in your living room.

How does the WD TV stack up against other similar solutions? Let’s find out.

Features and Specifications

The WD TV HD Media Player acts, essentially, like a set-top box that you attach to your television. Working much like a DVD player or any other piece of home theatre equipment, it can feed media content to your home theatre or external speakers and an HDTV. The difference is that all of this content is being fed through a USB connection to the WD TV instead of a coaxial cable to your set top box.

Unlike the Seagate FreeAgent Theater, this product does not come bundled with any storage of its own. You have to provide that. They say that it is optimized to work with the My Passport and My Book portable hard drives from WD, but you can use just about any USB hard drive or flash drive on the market. Assuming that it is compliant with USB Mass Storage, you can even connect your camera, camcorder, or MP3 player directly.

Like the Hi-Den Vision, the WD TV will also output your content at up to 1080p high-definition. Naturally, the content itself will need to be encoded at that resolution too. In addition to videos, this will also do photos and music in various formats which we will go over later.

Looking Inside the Box

Popping open the attractively-designed box, you’ll find the HD Media Player itself, as well as a small remote, media converter software, a composite AV cable, AC adapter, and a Quick Install guide. Since the WD TV can handle HD video, I do find it a little disappointing that they’ve only included a composite AV cable. As it stands, the bundle will not fully utilize its HD capabilities due to the lack of an HDMI cable.

Remote Control Only

It seems that the norm when it comes to many of these types of media players is to pack as slim a credit card-style remote control as you can. Thankfully or regrettably, Western Digital did not take this approach with its remote for the WD TV. Instead, it’s a pretty normal looking remote in a pretty normal size.

Interestingly, I found that there are absolutely no buttons or controls on the set top box itself. You can’t even turn it on, as far as I can tell, from the media player. Instead, absolutely everything is controlled by the remote. I guess it’s a good thing that the remote isn’t easy to lose.