Toshiba launching 3D laptop

It looks as if the Toshiba are joining the rest of the competition by bringing out a 3D capable laptop in the form of the dynabook T551/D8B, it is due out next month in Japan with an price tag of around $2,600, so it not going to be cheap at first.
The excellent Toshiba dynabook T551/D8B comes with a 15.6 inch screen with a low end 1,366 x 768 pixel resolution, although it should be enough to put the user right into the action, but only if they are wearing the right sort of glasses, luckily a pair are actually included in with the package. Although if the user wants to watch 3D video on a larger screen with some friends, more glasses are required and as these can cost around $40 a pair that is quite an expensive evening in!
Blu-ray drive which is fully 3D compatible, allow the latest 3D DVD’s to be played on the device, it also has come with one HDMI interface this means watching 3D and HD DVD’s on a larger screen or 3D high definition television easy.

Toshiba dynabook T551/D8B is powered by the Intel Core i7 2630QM 2 GHz 1 GB, for the graphics quality there is the NVIDIA GeForce GT 540M graphics card and the Intel HM65 Express chip set
This laptop comes with a useful 8 GB of memory and a nice 750 GB hard drive.
When it comes to connectivity there is one super fast USB 3.0 port, three standard speed USB 2.0 ports, for wired broadband access there is the Gigabit Ethernet and of course not forgetting the Wi-Fi IEEE 802.11b/g/n
The is a small but handy 0.3 MP web camera built in to the screens frame and the machine will be running Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit version plus there is the handy addition of Microsoft Office Home and Business 2010 software package.
Toshiba will be launching the dynabook T551/D8B in Japan at some time in February with an estimated price of around $2,540.

Source [Crunch Gear]

How Blu-Ray Could Speed up 3D TV Adoption

Remember the videotape format war between VHS and Betamax in the 1970s and '80s? When wide adoption of a new consumer packaged-media format is at stake, format launches aren't always smooth.

Blu-ray Disc is the latest example. It struggled out of the gate in 2006 while engaged in a fierce battle with HD DVD to become the high-def format of choice, a contest it won in 2008 when HD DVD conceded and manufacturers ceased production.

Now, just a year after its introduction at the 2010 Consumer Electronics Show, 3D Blu-ray is leading the charge to bring 3D -- the next frontier for packaged media -- into the home.

There are roughly 30 3D movie titles currently in retail stores (with more on the way), and players have been created by leading consumer electronics manufacturers including LG, Panasonic, Samsung, Sony, Toshiba and Vizio.

Industrywide agreement was key to the success of a 3D format launch, according to Andy Parsons, U.S. chairman of the Blu-ray Disc Assn.'s (BDA) promotions committee and senior vp product planning at Pioneer Home Entertainment Group.
Last spring, the BDA formed a 3D task force comprised of industry stakeholders to develop a 3D technical spec -- essentially the blueprint for the 3D format used by all manufacturers -- and it took only eight months for the spec to be agreed upon and completed.
"I don't think I've ever seen an association turn out a spec in such rapid time," Parsons said. "The alternative would have been two or three different ways to do 3D on a disc -- and that's death to a format. Everyone understood that could happen. We avoided what could have been an ugly, messy situation."
Since its introduction, 2D Blu-ray has also been challenged by Internet-based services that offer movie downloads and streaming, and there are many who remain skeptical about whether a new packaged media format is needed or can even survive in today's connected world. Others believe 3D could become the defining feature of the Blu-ray format.

As the New Year begins, stakeholders are focused on growing consumer awareness, as well as the penetration of 3D players and TVs along with the amount of available content.
"We will see large 3D (Blu-ray) theatrical releases, timed day-and-date with their 2D Blu-ray counterparts," says Rich Marty, vp new business marketing at Sony. First up was Resident Evil: Afterlife on December 28. The Green Hornet, opening theatrically January 14, will be among the titles arriving later in the year.

Studios are also considering 2D to 3D conversion of library titles as additional revenue opportunities.
"As conversion techniques continue to get better and the cost of conversion comes down, there will be growing interest to do more of these titles," Marty said.
But this may take some time, as the techniques are still young. "For us, it is all about the consumer experience," he said. "We're really focused on 3D native titles to be sure we put our best foot forward."
Another key requirement in the format launch is a wider selection of 3D movies, and many say that that is dependent on getting more 3D players and displays in the market -- making it more commercially viable for the studios to release more content. "Once we get to a meaningful number (of households with 3D TVs and players), there's no question the studios will be ready, willing and able to support it with 3D content," said Peter Staddon, senior vp, worldwide new business development, Deluxe Digital Studios.
At this early stage it's difficult to gauge the market penetration of 3D players and TV sets. A Black Friday survey from the Consumer Electronics Assn. suggested that of consumers who bought consumer electronics over the 2010 Thanksgiving holiday weekend, only 5 percent bought 3DTVs, and 12 percent bought Blu-ray players (2D and 3D were not distinguished in the survey).
BDA believes that roughly 25 percent of the Blu-ray players sold in the U.S. are now 3D ready (this doesn't include 3D Blu-Ray supported PS3 players.) The Consumer Electronics Assn. has that figure at around 19 percent.

When it comes to 3D Blu-ray, Hollywood's technology community is still hard at work.
During 2010, 3D production workflows, 3D subtitling systems, authoring systems and related processes had to be developed in order to fill the content pipeline.

In year two, consumers might begin to see more sophisticated 3D menu design.
Technicolor has already developed Blu-ray 3D Java interactive tools and 3D menu services.
"(Today's) are early menus," said Technicolor's Bob Michaels, vp worldwide DVD. "There's depth between menus and the picture behind it, but not to the menus itself."
He predicts new levels of interactivity in year two "not only from a more advanced interactivity experience but a 3D interactivity experience."
Supply chain collaboration is also needed as the industry goes forward, added Seth Hallen, CEO of Testronic Labs, which offers quality assurance and testing services. Noting steps from authoring to quality control, he said: "There are niches, and the supply chain is challenging themselves to find how to work together more effectively and more collaboratively."

By Carolyn Giardina

Toshiba Satellite C665D packs AMD Fusion in 15.6-inch frame

Toshiba as part of its CES rollouts brought out its first notebook based on AMD's new Fusion chips. The Satellite C665D is unique in running on AMD's 1.5GHz E-240 but with the same 15.6-inch display as other Satellites with more power-hungry processors. Toshiba hasn't given battery life figures but, through the Radeon HD 6310 built into the processor itself, should still deliver 1080p video and DirectX 11-grade 3D.
The larger frame gives it typical headroom that allows for up to 4GB of RAM and a 320GB hard drive. Toshiba also saw fit to equip the notebook with a DVD burner that contributes to the 5.5-pound weight.

Toshiba should begin shipping the C665D soon with a $399 asking price that puts it in near-direct competition with netbooks.

By Electronista Staff

Toshiba BDX3000 3D Network Blu-ray Disc Player Review

Greg Robinson

On April 18, 2006 Universal Studios Home Entertainment shipped its first HD DVD title, Serenity, Joss Whedon's superb follow-up to the ill-fated gem that was TV's "Firefly." The quotation above is taken from that film, and it seems fitting as I sit here poring over Toshiba's latest and greatest Blu-ray Disc player, the BDX3000. Toshiba and its HD DVD format may have failed to best Blu-ray in the high definition format war, but that hasn't stopped Toshiba from re-grouping, moving forward, and giving us a fast, handsome Blu-ray Disc player that gets a lot of things right without making too large a dent in the wallet.

Consumers currently shopping for a Blu-ray Disc player are looking for solid 2D performance, 3D readiness, integrated wireless, and most importantly - for some, at least - they're looking for Netflix, and myriad internet streaming applications such as Vudu and Pandora. If that describes you, then you'll want to read on as Toshiba's BDX3000 may just be the one you've been waiting for.

The Walk-Around

Unlike Toshiba's bargain-priced BDX2500, the flagship BDX3000 sports a more upscale look complete with touch-sensitive buttons on the front panel. Ironically, when it comes to the buttons, they should have left well enough alone. The right side of the front panel is home to touch-activated controls for Power, Stop, Play and Open/Close. As the Owner's Manual states:

1. These indicators are located in the sensor field.
2. When the unit is off, these indicators are dimmed. If a finger is brought close to the sensor field, the indicators will be invoked and light up.

The first point is correct. The second? Not so much. Allow me to explain. When the unit is off, only the Power indicator is lit, which makes sense. Its red glow makes for an easy target and the unit powers on after applying the lightest of pressure. However, if you prefer to power your player on with the Open/Close button - something most players will allow - you're out of luck. The BDX3000 must first be turned on and only then can you eject the tray. But don't wait too long or the the Open/Close light will disappear after ten seconds or so. And just bringing your finger "close" won't do the trick. In my experience, you actually need to touch the sensor pad to invoke the button lights, and then touch it again to register your button push. They may look slick, but these touch controls had me yearning for backlit hard buttons.

The front panel also features an insanely-bright Blu-ray Disc logo which glows blue at all times. Although you can dim the text area's brightness using the remote control, you cannot dim this logo light without turning off all front panel illumination entirely. I'm not sure if this is some sort of "say it loud and say it proud" statement regarding Toshiba's new role as a Blu-ray hardware manufacturer, but maybe next time we can ditch the bright blue beacon.

On a final note regarding the front panel, it's unfortunate that Toshiba chose to forego a front USB port, opting instead to give us one in the rear only. We do get a front SD card slot, which some folks will surely welcome. The front USB omission is doubly frustrating when you consider the fact that the BDX3000 is a surprisingly versatile media player. Although I was bummed to see DLNA compatibility missing, and I was unable to play DivX HD (AVI) files from my USB stick, I had no trouble with my VOB and MKV test files, and I was even able to play a pair of movie trailers in Apple's QuickTime movie format (MOV). The latter was a pleasant surprise, as very few non-Apple devices play nice with the versatile media format.

The BDX3000's home screen and user interface is both attractive and intuitively organized.

Remote, Control

If there's one area where the BDX3000 falls short, it's the remote control. The central cursor pad is great - but everything else about it, well, let's just say I'm not a fan. I can just see my mom looking at this remote wondering, "What's the difference between Home Menu, Top Menu, and Menu?" And for once, I wouldn't blame her - it's not obvious. Not only are these buttons too far from the cursor pad, but they're also right next to each other, equal in size and shape, making it impossible to determine which is which in the dark, a fact not helped by the remote's complete lack of backlighting.

OK, "Connected" may not be terribly intuitive, but it's what inside that counts.

Toshiba's chosen user interface is attractive and reasonably intuitive. One does wonder why they chose the word "Connected" to serve as the road sign for Netflix and the other web apps, but aside from that everything is relatively easy to find. As for those internet applications, Toshiba has outfitted the BDX3000 with Netflix, Vudu, Blockbuster, and Pandora. These pickings are somewhat slim relative to some of Toshiba's competitors, but at least the apps you do get are heavy hitters. Also, fans of Netflix instant streaming will be pleased to know that the BDX3000 features the latest version of the Netflix interface, which allows for title searching and a convenient way to browse the newest instant titles available.

The BDX3000 features the latest implementation of Netflix Instant streaming

Picture This

After verifying that the BDX3000 was outputting 1080p video, I queued up the DVD and Blu-ray ediitons of IDT's HQV Bechmark 2.0 disc and jumped right into test pattern evaluation. (Note: when evaluating a Blu-ray Disc or DVD player's video process prowess, make sure it's outputting progressive video. You want to be sure that the deinterlacing your seeing is being handled by the player and not your TV.)

On the Video Resolution and Film Resolution tests, the BDX3000 did an excellent job of keeping the rotating white bars smooth and solid during their revolutions and Old Glory revealed only the slightest of stair-stepping as it flapped in the breeze. 3:2 cadence was locked down quickly during the race car lap test, though the 2:2 clip showed some moire noise in the grandstands. Ringing was not apparent and object edges looked crisp during the Resolution Enhancement clips.

Browse the latest instant arrivals or search by title

Real world viewing material looked fantastic on the BDX3000. Watching the first 30 minutes of I Am Legend on Blu-ray, I was routinely impressed by the 1080p image put forth by the Toshiba. The interior of Will Smith's fortress apartment revealed wonderful image detail in the kitchen while Sam the dog's fur showed clearly-delineated texture. Watching the Gladiator DVD, I was quite impressed by the Toshiba's steady handling of the tricky coliseum flyover near the close of chapter 12.

Tick Tock

With my trusty Android stopwatch at the ready, I next conducted our standard battery of speed tests. With the unit off, it takes less than 6 (yes, SIX) seconds for the BDX3000 to render its Home screen. As for disc loading, the test subjects included: a standard DVD (Gladiator), an early non-Java Blu-ray Disc (Sony's Underworld: Evolution), a Java-enhanced Blu-ray Disc (Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl), plus the latest BD LIVE-stuffed heavyweight, Sylvester Stallone's The Expendables. As usual, for each load test I started with the unit on and the tray extended; I hit play on the remote and timed how long before disc-specific content appeared.

The Gladiator DVD presented its soundtrack menu in 15 seconds flat, which is about average. The slightly more challenging Underworld 2 Blu-ray displayed the Sony Pictures Home Entertainment logo in 25 seconds, which is again fairly average. Pirates' gold coin stopped spinning and gave way to the Disney logo after 41 seconds - not a bad time, but not breaking any records either.  With BD-LIVE "partially permitted," The Expendables loaded in 1 minute and 12 seconds before revealing the Lionsgate gears. Surprisingly enough, this was a full 9 seconds quicker than LG's speedy BX580 which I just reviewed. Bottom line: typical DVD and Blu-ray load times easily fall under the umbrella of "fast," which should keep the "furious" to a minimum.

3D? Check.

If you're looking to jump on the 3D bandwagon, you'll be happy to learn that the BDX3000 is fully compatible with the Blu-ray 3D format. Although it would have been nice to get a second audio-only HDMI 1.3 output on the rear panel, the HDMI 1.4 output you do get means you can output 3D video to compatible display devices, such as Toshiba's 55WX800U (review coming soon). I played with a few 3D titles using this Toshiba duet, and apart from my usual griping about the current state of Blu-ray 3D video, everything appeared to behave as advertised.

Holy MENU buttons, Batman!

Turn-Ons:

• Blazing fast system boot time of < 6 seconds
• Netflix, Vudu, Blockbuster & Pandora = good times
• Excellent de-interlacing and video performance
• Analog multi-channel audio outputs

Turn-Offs:

• No YouTube, no Hulu Plus, no Picasa, No Facebook
• Remote lacks backlighting and is confusing in the dark
• No audio-only HDMI 1.3 output
• Front panel touch controls are moody; can't use Open if unit is off

Final Thoughts

It should be apparent to anyone who reads consumer electronics reviews that no product is perfect. It's always about trade-offs and compromise. For every nine things a product gets right, there's always going to be at least one thing that annoys you and keeps you from calling it a perfect ten. The BDX3000 gets a lot of things right - a whole lot - and it has quickly earned a spot near the top of my recommended Blu-ray players list. If not for the irksome front panel touch controls and lousy remote, I'd be saying run, don't walk. As it stands though, the BDX3000 is a terrific player, a tremendous value, and proof positive that Toshiba may have been down for a while, but they're far from out.

Features and Specifications

• Video Upconversion: 720p/1080i/1080p
• Supported Audio Formats: Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby True HD, DTS, DTS-HD, DTS-HD Master Audio
• Other Supported Media Formats: MPEG1, MPEG2, MKV, WMA, MP3, AC3, AAC, JPEG
• Convenience: BD-Live (Profile 2.0)
• Integrated Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g/n)
• Internet Streaming: Netflix, Vudu, Pandora, Blockbuster
• Unit Dimensions: 16.93" W  x 2.52" H x 8.27" D
• Unit Weight: 3.89 lbs
• MSRP: $249

Connectivity:

• HDMI x 1
• Component Video Output
• Composite Video
• Analog Stereo
• Analog Multi-Channel Audio Out
• Optical Digital Audio Out
• Ethernet Port
• USB Port (1 rear)
• SD Card Slot (1 front)

Company Contact Information
Toshiba America Consumer Products
9740 Irvine Blvd.
Irvine, CA 92618
(800) 631-3811

Website: www.tacp.toshiba.com