Although they are certainly not the first company to do so, China-based Gemei had launched their latest portable media player, dubbed the HD-660, which allows for native 720p HD playback on its 4.3-inch widescreen display.
The player sports a 480×272 resolution and can hold TransFlash memory cards up to 32GB. For audio, the player supports MP3, WMA, AAC and FLAC and for video the player supports RM, RMVB, AVI, FLV and MPEG video files. JPG, PNG and bitmap are supported photo formats.
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Lately most advances in DVD player technology seems to center around Blu-ray. While that makes some sense in terms of manufacturer goals, reality is that standard DVD players still account for the majority of consumer spending. Pioneer is looking to take advantage of that market with their new DV-420V DVD player.
In addition to playing standard DVDs the DV-420V can also play MPEG-4 AVI and WMV (Windows Media Video) files and includes upconversion capabilities.
But what makes the new player really interesting is its audio features. Like most DVD players it supports MP3 playback, but also adds support for both AAC and WMA (Windows Media Audio).
It also includes its own audio encoder which can be used to make MP3 files from CDs. Put a CD in the DV-420V and you can create MP3 files which can be put on a USB flash drive plugged into the built-in USB port.
This new DVD player should be available this summer for $90. A pretty good price for so much innovation.
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The decently popular website Play.com has begun offering high quality, DRM-free MP3 music downloads for the relatively low price of 65p in the UK, and the company says it will start with about one million tracks from EMI and indie labels.
The files, which will be 320kbps, should be playable on most if not all media devices on the market, due to its MP3 format. Apple already offers EMI tracks DRM-free as well but in AAC format which is mainly supported by its iPod line. The price is also cheaper and a Play.com spokesperson has said that “we’re going to be cheaper than [Apple's] iTunes. Whatever price iTunes goes down to, we’ll be looking to go lower.”
In a recent decision, the EU has told Apple it must standardize its prices across Europe and so the tracks are expected to drop from its high 79p current price.
Play.com should also see competition from Amazon MP3 which already undercuts Apple’s track prices and offers DRM-free music from all major labels. So far Amazon MP3 is only in the US but it will hit the UK later this year.
The company says it is talking to the other major labels, “and if one or more had been quicker we might have held off the launch. We think that within the year, the others will be on board.”
