Blu-ray buzz: Exciting HD players under $300

Several models bring top-notch image quality, streaming services to TV

After its lengthy battle with HD DVD, Blu-ray emerged as the high-definition standard in 2008. Blu-ray has been advancing slowly ever since, but the format finally seems to be moving forward full-steam with the advent of 3-D video, expanded multimedia capabilities, and “flipper” discs. Costs have spiraled down and made powerful Blu-ray players distinctly more affordable. We've chosen 10 players under $300, ranging from budget models hovering around $130 to pricier, feature-packed machines at the higher end of the spectrum. Stunning Blu-ray image quality is universal, but some players provide better upscaling of regular DVDs, offer built-in Wi-Fi, or include worthy multimedia options.

Kohjinsha DZ6KH16E Dual-Screen Netbook Now Available

Though the computer is priced $300 above ($1,111) its initial $800 target price, Kohjinsha's DZ6KH16E dual-screen netbook is still a conversation piece nonetheless. Featuring two 10.1-inch LCDs, a 1.6-GHz AMD Athlon Neo MV-40 processor, 1GB of memory, ATI Radeon HD 3200 graphics, and a 160GB hard drive. Available now in Japan. Video after the break.

Holiday Gift Exchange Goes Web 2.0

Free Online Service Makes Secret Santa Gift Giving Simple

Anyone who has ever organized a Secret Santa gift exchange knows all the legwork that goes into it -- and how much of a potential headache it can be.

Now a free online service called Elfster.com promises to make the process much easier by using a Web 2.0 approach. It's an online portal for organizing a group gift exchange and includes everything from mailing and management tools to wish lists and 12 Days of Christmas shopping guides that kick off on December 1.

You and your group can become members in three simple steps:

Sign up to create a log-in and password;
Enter the emails of the people you want to include in your gift exchange -- family, friends and coworkers, for example;
Click "Send Invitation" and an email will go out to each member in your group, with the name of the person they are buying gifts for.

Beside keeping the group organized, Elfster.com also recommends gifts that range from the latest gadgets and name-brand products to wares from independent designers who make unique and eco-friendly clothes and crafts. And just using Elfster.com can make your holidays greener since you won't be wasting gas driving to the mall and back -- and getting stuck in traffic each way.

Gifts on Elfster.com are organized in convenient categories such as Food & Entertaining, Home & Garden, Games, For Him, For Her and For Kids, and there's even a Give Back category with philanthropic gift ideas. Gifts are also listed in price categories of Under $25, $25-$50 and $50-$100.

Elfster.com also offers a 12 Days of Christmas Gift Guide that allows members to browse thousands of gift ideas and add items to their own wish list -- which greatly reduces the chance that you'll give or get the dreaded pass-along gift.

Xbox 360 Goes Way Beyond Gaming

Social Networks, HD Movies, Music Streaming Come to Consoles

Xbox 360 owners and Xbox LIVE subscribers have been able to stream movies from Netflix for a year now, and last week their entertainment and media options expanded exponentially. As of November 17, Xbox LIVE Gold members are able to access the most popular social network sites, watch HD movies and stream music from their Xbox 360 consoles.

Features added to Xbox LIVE allow direct access to:


Facebook so that users can update their status as well as share what movies, games or other entertainment they're enjoying and also connect with friends and view their status updates, streams, photos and videos on the big screen. The interface is custom-built for Xbox 360 and seamlessly integrated into the console and also allows simultaneous viewing of both Facebook and LIVE friends lists.
Twitter feeds so that users can read, post and reply to Tweets directly from an Xbox 360, as well as view profiles, conversations and Tweet geared to favorite games.
Zune HD video in full 1080p and 5.1 channel surround sound at the touch of a button -- with no long wait for downloading or buffering. There's also the ability to share the experience with up to seven friends through voice chat and Avatar integration on a TV's screen.
Last.fm music streaming for exploring hundreds of personalized radio stations and building your own perfect gaming soundtrack by choosing to skip, "love" or "ban" tracks. There's even "Gamer Stations" that feature music tailored to the gaming community.
With so much content at your fingertips and on your TV screen, you may never leave the couch. Now if they would only add the ability to order take-out ...

Taking Pictures to Unlock the Past

A small, wearable camera developed by Microsoft Research in Cambridge, England, could help those suffering from memory loss piece together their past by automatically taking time-lapsed pictures throughout the day. The SenseCam captures low-resolution digital images approximately twice a minute, which researchers believe can prompt the brain to unlock previous memories for amnesia and Alzheimer's patients.

"The SenseCam is all about recalling a piece of information someone already has," Dr. Emma Berry, a clinical neuropsychologist at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge, told CNN. Berry has used the SenseCam while working with memory-loss patients.

Berry has also worked with Microsoft Research to conduct clinical trials of the device. In one trial, a woman with severe amnesia was given the SenseCam. "She viewed the [camera's] images," Berry said, and "the memories came flooding back. When asked about it later, she described events in detail." The patient even recalled things that were not captured in images on the SenseCam, Berry added.

The technology is also being tested with people who have Alzheimer's disease, with similar results. "When patients viewed SenseCam images of events they have experienced, they were able to recall the events three months later without needing to review the images," Berry said. "We think that Alzheimer's patients are able to store memory but are unable to access it. Even motion-blurred pictures have an effect on recall."

The SenseCam's battery needs to be charged daily, and its 1GB of memory can store up to 30,000 photos. The SenseCam was invented in 1999 by Lyndsay Williams, a former researcher at Microsoft Research. Vicon, a developer of motion-capture technology used in the film industry, plans to market the device as the Vicon Revue. According to CNN, it will cost around $800, and Vicon plans to make the product commercially available by the end of the year.

While it's primarily designed for those suffering from memory loss, just think of the potential it holds for solving problems in everyday life -- like remembering where you left your car keys. "I think of it as becoming the microwave oven of home movies," Steve Hodges of Microsoft Research told CNN about SenseCam's commercial potential.

1 Headset, 2 Ways to Call

Because there's more than one way to make phone calls, Plantronics Voyager PRO UC Bluetooth headset ($199.95) works with cell phones and computers. Pair it with a cell phone and it works like any other Bluetooth headset, but it also comes with a USB Bluetooth dongle for use with a VoIP system such as Skype that lets you call from an Internet-connected computer.

The Plantronics Voyager PRO UC allows switching between cell phone and computer calls with a touch of a button on the headset, and it features the company's AudioIQ2 digital signal processing and a dual-microphone boom for better sound quality for callers on either end of the line. It also features Plantronics' WindSmart technology to reduce wind noise when outdoors.

For in-office use with supported enterprise "softphone" systems, the Plantronics Voyager PRO UC also includes PerSono Suite software to handle answer/end, volume and mute functions and to manage messages. Call alert can notify of incoming calls while the user is listening to streaming audio, and a single button on the headset lets users answer/end calls. The software also allows users to personalize a system with ring tones and volume levels and to pause music when a call comes in.

Best of all, it means never having to switch headsets when taking different calls.

SEMA Show 2009: Car Gadgets Galore

The annual SEMA Show in Las Vegas is the trade show for displaying anything and everything that can be added to a car -- from air filters to air fresheners. The automotive aftermarket industry gathers to unveil and gaze at the latest parts and accessories, while automakers and car customizers turn out in droves to display how vehicles can be tricked out with all the stuff.

Cool car gadgets, like the Kiwi MPG from PLX Devices ($89.99) shown above, are always a part of the SEMA Show experience. It's a digital gauge that plugs into the OBD II port of most vehicles made after 1996 and can be mounted anywhere in the interior to show mpg, mpg per trip and dollars of gas consumed at the push of a button. It will also display fuel used, distance traveled, distance to empty, rpm, speed, coolant temperature and more. And if your car displays a "Check Engine" light, the Kiwi MPG can read the engine code and clear it, saving a trip to a mechanic.




We saw several "crash cams" at SEMA, but the Paparazzi Sidekick Drive View Recorder ($349.99) was one of the coolest, as well as one of the few available in the U.S. It's a self-contained unit that mounts to a car's windshield and continuously records to a supplied 2GB SD card. If the camera detects a shock over a certain level -- such as slamming on the brakes -- it automatically saves 12 seconds of video before and eight seconds after the event. It can also be manually engaged to capture video at the scene of an accident or to just get a great drive down for posterity.

A big part of the SEMA Show is car bling -- everything from massive 22-inch wheels to chrome replacement parts. Grote Industries allows adding some shine to almost any part of a ride with its LightForm flexible LED lighting film. It's less than 1 millimeter thick, flexible and even waterproof so that light can be added to almost any area of a car. Each LightForm strip measures 10 inches long and one-half inch wide, and up to three strips can be connected. They come in red, amber, green or blue and have a peel-and-stick adhesive backing.