GeekSugar

The Hotness: Hokkaido DVD Player

GeekSugar — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 03:00:09 -0700

If Phil Bartoszewicz had his way, the days of storing those boring black-cased DVD players in your attractive entertainment center would be over. He would ensure that everyone had access to DVD players that blend in with your stylish decor. And that's exactly what he's done with his concept design called Hokkaido: a stand alone optical DVD player with a retro touch, but obviously modern in its design. Sleek and geek chic, that's how I like my components.

Seriously, can someone please give this guy a job so I can claim a Hokkaido for myself? Oh, and just one tiny suggestion? Make it Blu-ray compatible, please. Thanks.

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Portable DVD Player Takes Old Concept For A Spin

GeekSugar — Sat, 22 Sep 2007 06:00:56 -0700

Remember the concept for the tiny clip-inspired portable music player that supports CD and MP3 files?

Turns out there is a pretty similar concept out there by designer Yeon-shin Seung that plays DVDs. You insert your DVD the same way you would on the CD and MP3 player, but a little display pops up to reveal your content.

I love the design and idea, but don't think it's all that practical or ready for mainstream consumers, who generally purchase portable DVD players for children and travel. No one needs their DVDs exposed while dealing with tippy cups of orange juice and Cheerios. For a closer look at the device, read more

Source: Yanko Design

Insignia Portable DVD Player Reviewed

GeekSugar — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 08:00:38 -0700

I've never been the target customer when it comes to portable DVD players because I hardly ever watch movies on small screens and when I do, I'm happy just using my laptop. Having recently spent some time with my friend's four-year-old, I learned that some people - particularly those who haven't lost their two front teeth yet - rely on portable DVD players for entertainment in planes, trains and other boring locations.

I got a chance to take the Insignia 10.2" 16:9 Widescreen LCD Portable DVD Player for a spin and was pleasantly surprised. I often think of Insignia as an "inexpensive" or "affordable" alternative to more pricey gadgets, but I was immediately intrigued by the player's compact size, light weight and sleek body.

To check out additional pictures of the player and read my full review, read more

I was most impressed with the player's design and usability. It features a fool-proof control wheel (yes, it vaguely resembles the iPod's clickwheel), as well as a small remote that fits into the body of the device for storage. It weighs 2.6-pounds, which is notably lighter than my laptop. While I'm still not sure I would travel with a portable player instead of my laptop, I see where this could be good alternative for keeping yourself or the kids entertained or even as a gift for a Luddite who wants to watch DVDs but doesn't want to deal with connecting a player to a TV (say maybe your great-grandama...).

The Insignia DVD player plays DVD, DVD+R, DVD+RW, DVD-R, DVD-RW, CD, CD-R, CD-RW, MP3 and JPEG formats, which means you can watch videos stored on your iPod on a slightly larger screen. You can also connect to video game consoles. It ships with an A/V cable, car power adapter, AC/DC adapter and remote. At first I thought the price tag of $190 was a little steep, but discovered most of the other portable players on the market are 8-inches or less. For comparison, the Panasonic 8.5" Portable DVD Player with 12 Hour Battery is $260.

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Coolest Portable Digital Video Player In the World?

GeekSugar — Thu, 25 Jan 2007 15:01:38 -0800

I know people often expect the "best" gadget in a category to be universal, however it seems each country's portable player tastes are as unique as their native cuisine.

This month's WWD Magazine featured a fun insert with a list of the coolest portable digital players from around the world. Italians pick the Zen Vision M by Creative as the coolest portable player.

The Zen Vision, $374, has long played second or third string to the iPod and other portables in the US, but apparently, Italians love the player's 2.5-inch high res LCD screen and the freedom to download videos and music in various formats.

Japan picked the Phillips PET725/44, Australia goes ga-ga for the fifth generation iPod, Brazil likes the Philips PET725/44, Japan loves the Sony DVP-FX810 and the US apparently adores the Panasonic DVD LS 91. To each his own, right?

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Geek Gear: Top Portable DVD Players

GeekSugar — Tue, 12 Dec 2006 07:00:17 -0800

Gotta love the fact that portable DVD players give us the luxury and freedom to watch our fave videos anywhere and at anytime! From planes and trains to automobiles, these tiny little gadgets are sure to keep us entertained for hours.

Polaroid 7" Portable DVD Player
This smokin little DVD player is the perfect gift this holiday season! With a clear display for a smaller size. With outstanding picture, great sound, a rechargeable battery and the fact that it includes headphones and a car charger adapter, this affordable little player is hard to pass up!

Get one at Amazon for $130.

For two more suggestions, read more

Philips PET1002

This fabulous portable DVD player has a sleek 10.2 inch widescreen and gets rave reviews for its excellent image quality. With a gorgeous black case, a battery life of over four hours, dual headphone jacks, and a car power adapter included, this player definitely got my thumbs up. Another bonus? Play home-burned discs, MPEG-4 and DivX video files and JPEG photos in this tiny but mighty machine.

Get one for about $300 at Amazon.

Toshiba SD-P2500

This cool little 8.9 inch player has an outstanding picture and a bigger screen than most portable DVDs. With two headphone jacks, you and a friend can both enjoy your daily dose of Sex and the City! Purchase a five hour optional battery and add to the three hour battery included and you are good to go for over eight hours!

Get one at Amazon for $400.

Get Your HD DVD Money Back From Best Buy

GeekSugar — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 03:15:15 -0700

Now that the war between HD DVD and Blu-ray is finally over, I bet you're still wondering what to do with that dummy DVD player that you sunk your cold hard cash into. Thankfully, there is a silver lining to your HD DVD raincloud. For all you hard core Best Buy customers, rejoice! If you bought a Toshiba HD DVD player from the home of the Geek Squad before February 23, you're entitled to a nice $50 gift card to replace your defunked player. And if you are an Xbox fan and bought your HD DVD add-on, the refund applies to you as well. Best Buy president Brian J. Dunn, hopes that the gift cards will come as a nice consolation prize for choosing the wrong side in the format war:

"Now that the format war is over, we hope these gift cards will reassure our customers that we will help them make a smooth transition into the right technology for their needs,"

This coming on the heels of Circuit City offering full credits for HD DVD players within 90 days of purchase. To find out how to get your Best Buy refund, read more

For Reward Zone members, you don't have to do a thing! You'll get your gift cards sent to you right away. If you purchased the player with your credit card, cash or check, call (888) Best Buy and supply a receipt. What's more, even if you didn't buy your player from Best Buy, the guys in blue and yellow are offering a trade in program. Once you agree on a trade in price, Best Buy will send you a gift card in your agreed upon amount. But then again, maybe you should store it - it could be worth something someday. Remember LaserDisc?

Source

Hokkaido Concept DVD Player

kristyrk — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 10:27:48 -0700

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Toshiba to Make Gadgets Blu-Ray Friendly

GeekSugar — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 11:22:07 -0700

Sony recently announced their latest Sony VAIO NW notebook, which comes fully equipped with Blu-ray disc technology and now Toshiba has just announced that they are next in line to create devices that support Blu-ray storage format.

From HDTVs to laptops to DVD players, Toshiba will start rolling out these new Blu-ray products sometime this year.

It's What You've Been Waiting For: BSG, the Complete Series

GeekSugar — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 13:45:19 -0700

I have to be honest - I've felt like a piece of me has been missing since the finale of Battlestar Galactica. I know, I know, I gotta move on. But thankfully, the epic space opera can live on in my heart, and soon it can live on a loop in my DVD player! Battlestar Galactica: The Complete Series ($220) hits shelves on July 28, and it couldn't come at a better time. What with So You Think You Can Dance drawing to a close, I'll need something to fill my time until the geeky shenanigans of The Office return to my screen.

If you couldn't tell, I'm a little channel-happy these days. That's what happens once you get a TiVo, but hey, you just gotta roll with the punches.

Geeks We Love: Adam Pash of Lifehacker

GeekSugar — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 06:00:46 -0800

Continuing on with our Geeks We Love interview series, I'd like to introduce you to Adam Pash, the editor of one of my all-time favorite blogs, Lifehacker. This past January, Adam took over the helm at Lifehacker when Gina Trapani stepped down from her position, and he's been doing an amazing job ever since. Aside from running a site that's filled with more productivity tips, organizational tools, and useful downloads than you can imagine, Adam has also co-authored the book How to Do Everything with Your iPhone and can be found whipping up helpful web applications of his very own.

GS: Lifehacker is one of the most popular blogs on the Internet today. How do you explain the appeal of your "Lifehacks"?

AP: It's no huge secret: Everyone likes doing things better. We cover a lot of stuff every day - often with a tech-heavy slant (everyone also has computers) - aimed at helping our readers streamline their lives. Lifehacker gets really good when we find a great trick for doing something completely banal a thousand times better or more efficiently. Them's the goods.

GS: You just created a useful, printer-friendly website called Printable Checklist. How often do you build online tools like this one that help make your life a little easier? Which ones do you regularly use that you would call favorites?

AP: It's actually a side-hobby I've just started. Over the past year I've been working in my spare time on a much more ambitious music site that I'm hoping to launch in the next few weeks, and in doing so I've significantly improved my HTML, CSS, and JavaScripting skills. So when I had the idea for Printable Checklist (or, rather, when I wished something like it existed), I realized that making it myself wouldn't take all that long. So. . . chances are I'll make more similar one-use web applications in the future. But MixTape.me (the music site) is my real baby.

To learn more about Adam, including some of his favorite gadgets and hobbies, read more

GS: What are your five "must have" gadgets that you can't seem to live without and why?

AP: Oh boy. Contrary to what one might assume, my personal gear isn't all that impressive - but here goes anyway:

iPhone: There are a lot of improvements I'd like to see from the folks at Cupertino, but I still am gaga about my iPhone. It's an awesome multi-room music remote, music player, mini-app monster, and it's not a bad phone, either.
My Hackintosh: I love Apple gear, but it is ridiculously expensive for my taste. It gets less expensive if you're willing to roll up your sleeves and built your own. I've been using the same Hackintosh for a couple of years, though, and I'm looking and updating my build (and my guide at Lifehacker) very soon.
Xbox 360: I don't do all that much gaming, but currently my 360 is the centerpiece of my home theater. I use it as a DVD player (lame, I know), Windows Media Center extender, and Netflix streamer. I only own two or three games for it, and the only one I ever play is Halo. (I suppose that's also pretty lame).
Logitech Harmony Xbox 360 Remote: It's a universal remote that works really well with the Xbox. It works with other stuff, obviously.
My Linksys Router: This router has served me oh-so-well, both at home and at Lifehacker. I've written about it twice on Lifehacker - once for a guide to installing the open-source router firmware DD-WRT, the other time for a guide to installing the also open-source router firmware Tomato. They're both awesome router upgrades, and their corresponding guides at Lifehacker remain two of our most popular posts of all time.

GS: Would you say your wife is as tech savvy as you are? Are there certain types of posts she inspires you to write?

AP: I hate to say that "the wife's not big on technology," but she's really not. I mean, she's good with computers and all that, but her main interests lie outside technology. She's a big Internet lover, though. She also casts a broader net than I do when she's doing her internetting, so I've gotten a lot of great non-tech ideas from her for Lifehacker - which is very important to the site.

GS: When you're not "geeking-out" so to speak, what are some things you like to do for play?

AP: As bad of an answer to your question as this may be, my main hobby for the last year has been working on my music site. I love music, play guitar, etc., (yeah, okay, I play Rock Band, too). I'm a regular jogger, like hanging out with friends, taking hikes. . . wait, I think I confused my geeksugar and Match.com emails.