Audio Video News

After simmering on the back burner for lack of compelling performance and ease-of-use, "convergence" was once again a hot topic at the 2006 CES. Sure, it wasn't as ubiquitous as things designed to work with Apple's iPod (including a toilet paper dispenser/iPod dock combo - hey, I'm not making that up), but convergence wasn't far behind. Some items were just plain bizarre (like that iPod toilet paper thingee). Others made you think, "Hey, that's cool!" And then there were the ones that made you say, "Man, I think I'd actually use that."

Digitrex's new HD Network LCD TVs fit in that last category of product. The company says their new HD Network LCD TVs are the world's first high-definition network LCD TVs to include Microsoft Windows Media Connect capabilities. The three newly introduced models - 32, 40, and 46 inches - have built-in wireless 801.11 b/g networking components along with a built-in "mini-computer" running Microsoft Windows Media Connect software.

The combination allows a user sitting in front of the LCD TV to access and view multi-media content - including digital photos, video, music, content from PlaysForSure services, and high-definition Windows Media Files (wmv format) - from any Windows XP-based PC connected to the home network. In other words, no external media center set-top box is required.

Each LCD HDTV is controlled by an embedded interface with graphical icons and on-screen drop-down menus. The three 16:9 displays are said to have resolution of 1366 x 768 with a contrast ratio greater than 800:1.

The $1,999 32-inch (JFN-3250W) and $3,499 40-inch (JFN-4050W) models are expected to be available around the end of March, 2006. The 46-inch JFN-4650W is scheduled to arrive sometime during the second quarter of the year. The price has not yet been determined.