Category — Television Accessories

Still haven’t picked up that Blu-ray disc player?  You might want to hurry (or not), because according to Robin Harris over at ZDNet, “Blu-ray is in a death spiral“, and will be little more than a “videophile niche in 12 months”. Here’s some of the interesting evidence Harris cites for the eventual demise of Blu-ray discs.

Upconversion DVD players:  With DVD players that up-play standard quality DVDs to near HD quality, the hype surrounding the viewing quality of Blu-ray discs is lost.

Licensing Fees:  There are whopping Blu-ray licensing fees implemented by the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) for producers who want their productions available on Blu-ray.  $3K per project, plus additional annual fees.  That might be okay for a multi-million dollar film budget, but it’s not likely to be affordable for others.

Time Lost:  The HD DVD/ Blu-ray war took a couple of years to sort out…so all the while, technology was advancing, leaving Blu-ray a little outdated.

What do you think…is it the beginning of the end for Blu-ray discs, camcorders, and other gadgets? Hitachi doesn’t appear to think so.  They just released a new line of Blu-ray/DVD hybrid camcorders.

Have you ever noticed that when the batteries are starting to get low on you TV remote control, you just press a little harder on the buttons to compensate for it? Now, instead of pushing harder, you can take out your low battery frustrations by winding…and winding some more.

This new gadget is a television remote control which is powered by an internal rechargeable battery that recharges when the user winds up the device. Fully charged after 30 winds, this universal remote control can control up to 6 of your electronic gadgets, including, TV, DVD player, cable or satellite TV box and more. And a full charge lasts a week with normal use, so you won’t have to worry about wrist injuries.

I found this wind up remote control at The Gadget Blog.

The Weemote 3 remote control for kids let’s you control what your kids watch on television, and gives your kids a cool gadget to call their own. Parents can program up to 10 channels with the Weemote, limiting the child’s viewing options. With 5 dedicated channel buttons, the Weemote remote control seems simple enough for a toddler to use. The control panel on this child’s remote control is hidden under a cover plate, out of sight for curious tots. Made by Fobis Technologies, the Weemote is also available in a senior citizens and child’s DVD version. It retails for $24.95 at www.weemote.com.