HDI do it again, they have announced the HD Lite 53D, a tower unit based on the Sigma SMP8653 chip. One downside is end users cannot install an internal hard drive, it has to be done by a reseller oh and it disables an eSATA port. It comes in some pretty colours and will do just about everything you want.

Introduction

The device is compact, looks attractive and, remarkably, is presented in four different colors: with light-blue, green, white, pink and black case.

The player features two high-speed USB 2.0 ports, SD memory card slot and SATA (in case the internal HDD is installed, the external SATA port is turned off) connector (together with SATA power connector) for connecting external storage. Set of video outputs is represented by one HDMI v1.3 port, composite and component analog outputs. Sound may be connected via HDMI, using the optical Toslink interface, or an RCA stereo connectors. A special feature is the capability to play back audio and video files over a local network. For this purpose an Ethernet port is offered, which allows to transmit data with a high rate of up to 100 M bits per second.

In terms of functionality, the Dune HD Lite 53D meets all requirements addressed to modern multimedia players of low-price segment, and in many points exceeds them. For example, it allows to install a 2.5″ SATA HDD inside the case for recording and playback of different audio and video contents.

The Lite 53D is compatible with almost any modern audio and video format, supports IPTV and Internet Radio, and has an embedded torrent client. It also should be noted that the functionality of the Lite family players is continuously improving by regular firmware updates.

Key Features

• The newest Sigma Designs 8653 media processor: enjoy excellent playback and performance of interactive features.
• HDD player: connect an HDD to the player and play content directly from the HDD.
• Network player: connect the player to a local network and play content directly from PC or NAS (UPnP, SMB, NFS).
• MKV player: play HD and SD video in a popular MKV format and other modern video file formats, including top quality HD video with very high bitrate.
• 2 USB ports: conveniently connect HDDs, USB flash drives, USB card readers and other USB storage devices.
• SATA port: connect an HDD via the most efficient SATA interface.
• SD card slot: easily play media files on SD memory cards from your camera or other devices, or use an SD memory card as a local storage.
• HDMI 1.3: ensure the best possible quality of HD video and audio.
• A rich set of standard A/V connectors: use S/PDIF optical audio, stereo audio, component video, composite video outputs to easily connect any A/V equipment.
• Video output flexibility: output video in any resolution and format (from SD to 1080p, 24p/PAL/NTSC).
• Upscaling: high quality upscaling of DVD and any other SD video content to Full HD (1080p) or other HD resolution.
• File browser: convenient file browser with powerful file management (copy, move, delete, rename, organize, sort).

Extra Functions

• High-quality music playback: play very high-quality (up to 192 Khz / 24-bit) music files in various formats (FLAC, Monkey’s Audio APE, WAV/PCM, DTS, etc).
• Playlists: build playlists from your folders, use your own playlists, use repeat and shuffle functions.
• NAS function: access files on storage devices (HDD, optical drive, etc) attached to the player from the local network (using SMB or FTP).
• BitTorrent: use built-in BitTorrent client to download files from P2P networks.
• Customizable user interface: work with media collections using cover art and icon browsing (with Full HD graphics).
• Internet radio: playback and record various Internet radio stations (HTTP/MP3).
• IPTV: playback and record IPTV streams (multicast UDP/RTP) from your Internet provider (check availability of multicast UDP/RTP streams with your Internet provider).
• Digital TV option: playback and record Digital TV channels using an optional Digital TV USB dongle (Digital TV USB dongle is not included; this option can be purchased separately).

Specification

• Processor: Sigma Designs 8653
• RAM: 256 MB
• Flash memory: 128 MB, expandable with a HDD partition, USB flash drive, or SD card (2GB recommended)
• Media sources: internal HDD (SATA 2.5”), external HDD (USB, SATA), external optical drive (USB, SATA), USB devices (USB flash drive, USB card reader, etc), built-in SD card reader (SD/SDHC), PC and NAS in local network (SMB, NFS, UPnP, HTTP), other Internet and local network media sources (HTTP, multicast UDP/RTP)
• Video codecs: MPEG2, MPEG4, XVID, WMV9, VC1, H.264; support for very high bitrate video (up to 50 MBit/s and higher)
• Video file formats: MKV, MPEG-TS, MPEG-PS, M2TS, VOB, AVI, MOV, MP4, QT, ASF, WMV, DVD-ISO, VIDEO_TS
• Optical disc formats: data discs (CD/DVD/BD) (MP3, JPEG, etc), Audio CD (PCM/DTS), DVD-Video (retail and user-authored discs) (playback of optical discs requires an external optical drive).
• Video output modes: wide range of supported output resolutions (up to 1080p) and framerates (including 23.976p, 24p, PAL, NTSC)
• Video output framerate: automatic (according to the played content) and manual
• Audio codecs: AC3 (Dolby Digital), DTS, MPEG, AAC, LPCM, WMA, WMAPro, EAC3 (Dolby Digital Plus), FLAC, multichannel FLAC, Ogg/Vorbis; support for very high quality audio (up to 192 kHz / 24-bit)
• Audio file formats: MP3, MPA, M4A, WMA, FLAC, APE (Monkey’s Audio), Ogg/Vorbis, WAV, DTS-WAV, DTS, AC3, AAC
• Subtitle formats: SRT (external), SUB (MicroDVD) (external), text (MKV), SSA/ASS (MKV, external), VobSub (MP4, MKV, external SUB/IDX), PGS (TS, MKV)
• Picture file formats: JPEG, PNG, BMP, GIF
• Playlist file formats: M3U, PLS
• Photo viewer functions: slideshow, transition effects, picture rotation, zoom, browse playlist, repeat, shuffle
• Audio playback functions: browse playlist, repeat, shuffle, ID3 tags, plasma TV burn-in prevention
• Filesystems: FAT16/FAT32 (read-write), EXT2/EXT3 (read-write), NTFS (read-write)
• Ethernet: 10/100 Mbit
• WiFi: optional 802.11n WiFi (via an external USB WiFi stick, D-Link DWA-140 recommended)
• Dune Network Playback Accelerator: special optimizations ensuring best-in-class network playback performance for the Sigma Designs 864x platform and enabling smooth playback of any supported kind of media content via any network protocol (including NFS and SMB) even in 100 Mbit/s Ethernet networks.
• Dimensions: 85 mm (width) x 145 mm (depth) x 160 mm (height)

Regards, DE Support Team

HDI Dune has a new range of media center components that offers a modular approach to building your home entertainment center. Called the Dune HD Smart, the new line offers users the option to buy one of the three starter modules (Smart B1, Smart H1 and Smart D1), which are media players and act as the base unit. The starter modules are slightly different, you have media player with or without hard drive or built in display.

For more functionality owners can buy extension modules (Smart HE, Smart BE and Smart ME) with the function they need; with one exception The Dune HD Smart ME is the only one for the time being with Extension boards for DVB-T/T2, DVB-S/S2, and DVB-C (terrestrial, satellite and cable TV).  HDI Dune said we can expect more extension modules in the future.

A cool feature about the Smart series is; they don’t connect vertically as other entertainment systems; they connect horizontally.  So if you have three modules connected they will look like the Dune HD Max and have the same front size. Also if you install two Smart HE modules, one ME and BE module to the Dune HD Smart D1 base module, you would even surpass the capabilities of the Dune HD Max media player.

User feature are too many to mention here, only to say they are packed full of features. The series supports most audio file formats and standard and high definition video formats and play DVD and Blu-ray discs (Smart B1 or media player with the Smart BE module) and images with ease. They offer Internet Radio functions, IPTV as well as the built-in torrent-client and Internet browser. Each Dune HD Smart base modules has three USB 2.0 ports for external storage and extension devices, as well as a USB slave port (excluding the Smart B1).

The idea behind this approach is you buy a cheap base unit and then if in the future you wish to add retail Blu-ray playback all you have to do is purchase the extension unit.

Pictures below.

Regards, DE Support Team

At IFA 2010 the nice lads at Dune unveiled another media player, this time its called the Dune HD Max, which combines and expands the characteristics of their popular Dune BD Prime 3.0 and Dune HD Base 3.0 media players.
The Dune HD Max is equipped with Sigma Designs SMP8642 video processor, 512 MB RAM, has 3.5″ SATA HDD rack with hot-swap support, built-in Blu-ray drive, SD card slot and three USB 2.0 ports for connection with external storage and extension modules. The media player will also have a special compartment for extension boards like DVB-T/T2, DVB-S/S2 and DVB-C (terrestrial, satellite and cable TV),  located at the rear, that  allows  up to 2 boards to be installed simultaneously. As of yet no idea if it does freeview HD.

 The Dune HD Max supports practically all audio and high-definition video formats,  plays DVD and Blu-ray discs and images,support IPTV and Internet Radio functions, as well as built-in torrent-client and Internet browser. HDI Dune promise regular firmware updates for new functions and formats – All in all a sexy bit of kit.

Introduction

Dune HD Max features the powerful modern Sigma Designs SMP8642/8643 video processor, and a built-in silent optical drive that allows the Dune HD Max to play anything from CDDA to DVD and Blu-ray disks. The player also has a 3.5″ SATA HDD rack with hot-swap support, an SD card slot, and 3 high-speed USB 2.0 ports to connect external storage and extension modules.

One of the main features that distinguishes this media player from its competitors is its special compartment for extension boards. The compartment is located behind a panel at the rear of the media player. Up to 2 boards can be installed simultaneously.

The new device justifiably promises to be as successful as its predecessors in the 3.0 series, which won all possible industry awards, and came out top in all the comparative tests conducted by different high-profile technology publications around the world. The Dune HD Max supports practically all audio and standard and high-definition video formats. It is compatible with all types of “high-definition” sound formats (Dolby TrueHD, DTS HD Master Audio etc.), and plays DVD and Blu-ray discs and images with ease. Special notice should be taken of the extremely fast networking speed, the IPTV and Internet Radio functions, as well as the built-in torrent client and Internet browser, not to mention the constant product development with firmware upgrade possibility.

Key Features

• The newest Sigma Designs 8642/8643 media processor: enjoy excellent playback and performance of interactive features.
• Blu-ray and DVD player: play Blu-rays and DVDs (plus Audio CD and data discs with video/music/photo files).
• HDD player: connect an HDD to the player and play content directly from the HDD.
• Network player: connect the player to a local network and play content directly from PC or NAS (UPnP, SMB, NFS).
• MKV player: play HD and SD video in a popular MKV format and other modern video file formats, including top quality HD video with very high bitrate.
• RealD: watch 3D video in this ultra modern format used in cinema for the latest movies.
• HD audio: enjoy top-quality audio tracks (Dolby True HD, DTS HD Master Audio, LPCM, FLAC).
• 3 USB ports: conveniently connect HDDs, USB flash drives, USB card readers and other USB storage devices.
• HDD rack with hot swap function: easily and quickly insert and exchange internal 3.5″ SATA HDD.
• SD card slot: easily play media files on SD memory cards from your camera or other devices, or use an SD memory card as a local or system storage (required for BD Live function).
• HDMI 1.3: ensure the best possible quality of HD video and HD audio.
• A rich set of standard A/V connectors: use S/PDIF optical audio, stereo audio, component video, composite video outputs to easily connect any A/V equipment.
• Extended support for Dolby True HD and DTS HD Master Audio: output bitstream (up to 7.1 channels) or decode to LPCM (up to 7.1 channels) for maximum flexibility when connecting audio equipment, and for extended support of advanced playback features (such as Picture-in-Picture).
• Video output flexibility: output video in any resolution and format (from SD to 1080p, 24p/PAL/NTSC).
• Upscaling: high quality upscaling of DVD and any other SD video content to Full HD (1080p) or other HD resolution.
• File browser: convenient file browser with powerful file management (copy, move, delete, rename, organize, sort).

Extra Functions

• High-quality music playback: play very high-quality (up to 192 Khz / 24-bit) music files in various formats (FLAC, Monkey’s Audio APE, WAV/PCM, DTS, etc).
• Playlists: build playlists from your folders, use your own playlists, use repeat and shuffle functions.
• NAS function: access files on storage devices (HDD, optical drive, etc) attached to the player from the local network (using SMB or FTP).
• BitTorrent: use built-in BitTorrent client to download files from P2P networks.
• Customizable user interface: work with media collections using cover art and icon browsing (with Full HD graphics).
• Flash applications: extend the player functionality with FlashLite applications.
• Internet radio: playback and record various Internet radio stations (HTTP/MP3).
• IPTV: playback and record IPTV streams (multicast UDP/RTP) from your Internet provider (check availability of multicast UDP/RTP streams with your Internet provider).
• Digital TV option: playback and record Digital TV channels using an optional Digital TV USB dongle (Digital TV USB dongle is not included; this option can be purchased separately).
• Internet browsing: view Internet Web sites on your TV using the built-in Web browser (built-in Web browser has limitations and may not allow to view some Internet Web sites).

Specification

• Processor: Sigma Designs 8642/8643
• RAM: 512 MB
• Flash memory: 256 MB, expandable with a HDD partition, USB flash drive, or SD card (2GB recommended)
• Media sources: internal HDD (SATA 3.5”), built-in Blu-ray drive, external HDD (USB), external optical drive (USB), USB devices (USB flash drive, USB card reader, etc), built-in SD card reader (SD/SDHC), PC and NAS in local network (SMB, NFS, UPnP, HTTP), other Internet and local network media sources (HTTP, multicast UDP/RTP)
• Video codecs: MPEG2, MPEG4, XVID, WMV9, VC1, H.264; support for very high bitrate video (up to 50 MBit/s and higher)
• Video file formats: MKV, MPEG-TS, MPEG-PS, M2TS, VOB, AVI, MOV, MP4, QT, ASF, WMV, Blu-ray-ISO, BDMV, DVD-ISO, VIDEO_TS
• Optical disc formats: data discs (CD/DVD/BD) (MP3, JPEG, etc), Audio CD (PCM/DTS), DVD-Video (retail and user-authored discs), Blu-ray (retail and user-authored discs)
• Blu-ray playback: Blu-ray menu, BD-J, BonusView, BD-Live – for both Blu-ray discs (retail and user-authored) and full Blu-ray structures (Blu-ray-ISO, BDMV) played from HDD and network
• Video output modes: wide range of supported output resolutions (up to 1080p) and framerates (including 23.976p, 24p, PAL, NTSC)
• Video output framerate: automatic (according to the played content) and manual
• Audio codecs: AC3 (Dolby Digital), DTS, MPEG, AAC, LPCM, WMA, WMAPro, EAC3 (Dolby Digital Plus), Dolby True HD, DTS HD High Resolution Audio, DTS HD Master Audio, FLAC, multichannel FLAC, Ogg/Vorbis; support for very high quality audio (up to 192 kHz / 24-bit)
• Audio file formats: MP3, MPA, M4A, WMA, FLAC, APE (Monkey’s Audio), Ogg/Vorbis, WAV, DTS-WAV, DTS, AC3, AAC
• HD audio support: pass-through (up to 7.1 channels) and decoding (up to 7.1 channels) of Dolby TrueHD and DTS HD MA audiotracks (Blu-ray, TS, MKV), pass-through (up to 7.1 channels) of multichannel LPCM audiotracks (Blu-ray, TS, MKV), decoding (up to 7.1 channels) of FLAC audiotracks (MKV, external)
• Subtitle formats: SRT (external), SUB (MicroDVD) (external), text (MKV), SSA/ASS (MKV, external), VobSub (MP4, MKV, external SUB/IDX), PGS (Blu-ray, TS, MKV)
• Picture file formats: JPEG, PNG, BMP, GIF
• Playlist file formats: M3U, PLS
• Photo viewer functions: slideshow, transition effects, picture rotation, zoom, browse playlist, repeat, shuffle
• Audio playback functions: browse playlist, repeat, shuffle, ID3 tags, plasma TV burn-in prevention
• Filesystems: FAT16/FAT32 (read-write), EXT2/EXT3 (read-write), NTFS (read-write)
• Ethernet: 10/100 Mbit (with 1000 Mbit/s experimental support) ^*
• WiFi: optional 802.11n WiFi (via an external USB WiFi stick, not included, D-Link DWA-140 recommended)
• Dune Network Playback Accelerator: special optimizations ensuring best-in-class network playback performance for the Sigma Designs 864x platform and enabling smooth playback of any supported kind of media content via any network protocol (including NFS and SMB) even in 100 Mbit/s Ethernet networks.

Package Contents

• Dune HD Max media player
• Remote control (batteries may not be included)
• Power supply cord
• AV cable
• HDMI cable
• Quick start guide
• Additional items (optional) may be included into the package, depending on player configuration, region, and distributor

Dimensions

• Player itself without legs: 429 mm (width) x 299 mm (depth) x 56 mm (height)
• Player itself with legs: 429 mm (width) x 299 mm (depth) x 65 mm (height)
• Gift box: 140 mm x 360 mm x 500 mm

Weight

• Net weight: 4.8 kg
• Gross weight: 5.8 kg

Interested then get in touch!

Regards, DE Support Team

HDI have been busy lads the last couple of weeks and recently announced 4 new models at IFA 2010. One of these is the rather chunky and expensive HDI Dune Pro. What does it do? Everything!!!!!!!! Interested then get in touch.

Hi-End Features

• Hi-End power supply: high-performance large toroidal power transformer ensures a low level of interference in the power supply section and prevents possible distortions in the analog audio output, making the sound more clear and transparent, making music images articulated, precise and focused, and making the video more vivid and intense.
• Hi-End audio outputs: the highest quality balanced XLR stereo outputs as well as the analog 7.1 multichannel RCA outputs, served by a high performance stereo DAC WM8741 from Wolfson Microelectronics (supports from 16 to 32 bits and sampling rates up to 192 kHz).
• Balanced AES/EBU digital output: AES/EBU supporting PCM-encoded audio at 48 kHz or CD-audio at 44.1 kHz can be used to deliver digital stereo sound of the highest quality.
• High-quality music playback: play very high-quality (up to 192 Khz / 24-bit) music files in various formats (FLAC, Monkey’s Audio APE, WAV/PCM, DTS, etc).
• Solid case: the Hi-End case design ensures a low vibration level of the components including optical disc drive as well as the internal HDD, minimizing the noise and the level of the disc tremor, and allowing to read data with higher accuracy.
• IR input: get more flexibility for player installation (connect an external IR eye) or connect the player to external control platforms.
• RS-232 control port and 12V trigger input: even more flexibility for integration of the player with external control platforms.
• PURE AUDIO button on the front panel: listen to the music directly, with video output electronics disabled, that helps to get even better audio quality.
• DIMMER button on the front panel: control the brightness of the built-in display or turn it off completely.
• Detachable 19″ rack brackets: put the player into a standard rack mount.

Media Player Features

• The newest Sigma Designs 8642 media processor: enjoy excellent playback and performance of interactive features.
• Blu-ray and DVD player: play Blu-rays and DVDs (plus Audio CD and data discs with video/music/photo files).
• HDD player: connect an HDD to the player and play content directly from the HDD.
• Network player: connect the player to a local network and play content directly from PC or NAS (UPnP, SMB, NFS).
• MKV player: play HD and SD video in a popular MKV format and other modern video file formats, including top quality HD video with very high bitrate.
• RealD: watch 3D video in this ultra modern format used in cinema for the latest movies.
• HD audio: enjoy top-quality audio tracks (Dolby True HD, DTS HD Master Audio, LPCM, FLAC).
• 4 USB ports: conveniently connect HDDs, USB flash drives, USB card readers and other USB storage devices.
• HDD rack with hot swap function: easily and quickly insert and exchange internal 3.5″ SATA HDD.
• SD card slot: easily play media files on SD memory cards from your camera or other devices, or use an SD memory card as a local or system storage (required for BD Live function).
• HDMI 1.3: ensure the best possible quality of HD video and HD audio.
• A rich set of standard A/V connectors: use S/PDIF optical audio, stereo audio, component video, composite video outputs to easily connect any A/V equipment.
• Extended support for Dolby True HD and DTS HD Master Audio: output bitstream (up to 7.1 channels) or decode (up to 7.1 channels) for maximum flexibility when connecting audio equipment, and for extended support of advanced playback features (such as Picture-in-Picture).
• High-quality music playback: play very high-quality (up to 192 Khz / 24-bit) music files in various formats (FLAC, Monkey’s Audio APE, WAV/PCM, DTS, etc).
• Playlists: build playlists from your folders, use your own playlists, use repeat and shuffle functions.
• Video output flexibility: output video in any resolution and format (from SD to 1080p, 24p/PAL/NTSC).
• Upscaling: high quality upscaling of DVD and any other SD video content to Full HD (1080p) or other HD resolution.
• File browser: convenient file browser with powerful file management (copy, move, delete, rename, organize, sort).

Extra Functions

• NAS function: access files on storage devices (HDD, optical drive, etc) attached to the player from the local network (using SMB or FTP).
• BitTorrent: use built-in BitTorrent client to download files from P2P networks.
• Customizable user interface: work with media collections using cover art and icon browsing (with Full HD graphics).
• Flash applications: extend the player functionality with FlashLite applications.
• Internet radio: playback and record various Internet radio stations (HTTP/MP3).
• IPTV: playback and record IPTV streams (multicast UDP/RTP) from your Internet provider (check availability of multicast UDP/RTP streams with your Internet provider).
• Digital TV option: playback and record Digital TV channels using an optional Digital TV USB dongle (Digital TV USB dongle is not included; this option can be purchased separately).
• Internet browsing: view Internet Web sites on your TV using the built-in Web browser (built-in Web browser has limitations and may not allow to view some Internet Web sites).

Specification

• Processor: Sigma Designs 8642
• RAM: 512 MB
• Flash memory: 512 MB, expandable with a HDD partition, USB flash drive, or SD card (2GB recommended)
• Media sources: internal HDD (SATA 3.5″), built-in Blu-ray drive, external HDD (USB), external optical drive (USB), USB devices (USB flash drive, USB card reader, etc), built-in SD card reader (SD/SDHC), PC and NAS in local network (SMB, NFS, UPnP, HTTP), other Internet and local network media sources (HTTP, multicast UDP/RTP)
• Video codecs: MPEG2, MPEG4, XVID, WMV9, VC1, H.264; support for very high bitrate video (up to 50 MBit/s and higher)
• Video file formats: MKV, MPEG-TS, MPEG-PS, M2TS, VOB, AVI, MOV, MP4, QT, ASF, WMV, Blu-ray-ISO, BDMV, DVD-ISO, VIDEO_TS
• Optical disc formats: data discs (CD/DVD/BD) (MP3, JPEG, etc), Audio CD (PCM/DTS), DVD-Video (retail and user-authored discs), Blu-ray (retail and user-authored discs)
• Blu-ray playback: Blu-ray menu, BD-J, BonusView, BD-Live – for both Blu-ray discs (retail and user-authored) and full Blu-ray structures (Blu-ray-ISO, BDMV) played from HDD and network
• Video output modes: wide range of supported output resolutions (up to 1080p) and framerates (including 23.976p, 24p, PAL, NTSC)
• Video output framerate: automatic (according to the played content) and manual
• Audio codecs: AC3 (Dolby Digital), DTS, MPEG, AAC, LPCM, WMA, WMAPro, EAC3 (Dolby Digital Plus), Dolby True HD, DTS HD High Resolution Audio, DTS HD Master Audio, FLAC, multichannel FLAC, Ogg/Vorbis; support for very high quality audio (up to 192 kHz / 24-bit)
• Audio file formats: MP3, MPA, M4A, WMA, FLAC, APE (Monkey’s Audio), Ogg/Vorbis, WAV, DTS-WAV, DTS, AC3, AAC
• HD audio support: pass-through (up to 7.1 channels) and decoding (up to 7.1 channels) of Dolby TrueHD and DTS HD MA audiotracks (Blu-ray, TS, MKV), pass-through (up to 7.1 channels) of multichannel LPCM audiotracks (Blu-ray, TS, MKV), decoding (up to 7.1 channels) of FLAC audiotracks (MKV, external)
• Subtitle formats: SRT (external), SUB (MicroDVD) (external), text (MKV), SSA/ASS (MKV, external), VobSub (MP4, MKV, external SUB/IDX), PGS (Blu-ray, TS, MKV)
• Picture file formats: JPEG, PNG, BMP, GIF
• Playlist file formats: M3U, PLS
• Photo viewer functions: slideshow, transition effects, picture rotation, zoom, browse playlist, repeat, shuffle
• Audio playback functions: browse playlist, repeat, shuffle, ID3 tags, plasma TV burn-in prevention
• Filesystems: FAT16/FAT32 (read-write), EXT2/EXT3 (read-write), NTFS (read-write)
• Ethernet: 10/100 Mbit (with 1000 Mbit/s experimental support) ^*
• WiFi: optional 802.11n WiFi (via an external USB WiFi stick, not included, D-Link DWA-140 recommended)
• Dune Network Playback Accelerator: special optimizations ensuring best-in-class network playback performance for the Sigma Designs 864x platform and enabling smooth playback of any supported kind of media content via any network protocol (including NFS and SMB) even in 100 Mbit/s Ethernet networks.

Regards, DE Support Team

Taipei, Taiwan, September, 2010 – QNAP Systems, Inc., a leading manufacturer of world class NAS servers today announced the Fall 2010 refresh of its Business Series Turbo NAS servers which are hugely popular with SMB and corporate users for their sheer performance and business-ready features. Announced today are the 2-drive TS-259 Pro+, the 4-drive TS-459 Pro+, the 5-drive TS-559 Pro+, and the 6-drive TS-659 Pro+ with up to a whopping 12TB of online storage (using 2TB hard drives). The new Business Series Turbo NAS Pro+ models incorporate new dual-core Intel® Atom™ processor D525 with 1.8GHz clock speed and 1GB RAM, which can achieve up to 116MB/s transfer rates (FTP/Samba reads) while maintaining guaranteed low power consumption. Businesses looking to embrace cloud computing will find the new Turbo NAS Pro+ models interesting as they are fully VMware and Citrix ready and Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V clusters compliant. QNAP continues its industry-leading iSCSI support on all the new models for fully virtualized server clustering and virtualized environments including support for MC/S, MPIO, SPC-3, and thin provisioning. With built-in iSCSI initiator and target service, network storage can be virtually expanded by simply adding additional QNAP Turbo NAS units to the network and adding virtual volumes, up to 8 per device. Data security is built in, with volume-level AES 256-bit encryption.

“Businesses of all sizes have really come to love their QNAP Business Series Turbo NAS servers,” said Laurent Cheng, Product Manager for QNAP Systems, Inc. “No other NAS manufacturer equips their NAS offerings with the performance and business-critical features of QNAP units. The new Turbo NAS Pro+ models continue that tradition of excellence.”
The new Turbo NAS Pro+ models feature a host of desirable features including support for 2.5-inch and 3.5-inch hard drives housed in lockable, hot-swappable drive carriers, RAID 0, 1, 5, 6, 5+ hot spare, and 6+ hot spare (5-drive and higher models) with online RAID capacity expansion, online RAID level migration, and RAID recovery. QNAP Turbo NAS Pro+ models offer a rich suite of business applications including the most comprehensive centralized backup available, website hosting, printer sharing, file server/sharing, and even video surveillance recording using networked cameras. The capabilities of the Turbo NAS Pro+ units can be expanded with exclusive QPKG open-source developed for a variety of business applications including SQL database management, Customer Relationship Management (CRM), and even ecommerce.
Turbo NAS Pro+ series comes with new V3.3 of the QNAP NAS management software embedded as firmware. More details about the new firmware V3.3 are available on http://www.qnap.com/fw_v3/

Regards, DE Support Team

V4 firmware is undergoing some “alpha” stage testing – expect a public release sometime this month – the offical words are below.

I felt it was the right time to share the excitement about our new Mede8er release that we have been working on. Our main goal on V4 was to implement HD Audio support for the DD+ hardware and to do our best to improve the general Mede8er experience.

We have had some huge challenges as we had to change to a new SDK (all the normal issues that come with new SDK’s) and we also had no Flash memory space left on the Mede8er hardware. To resolve the Flash memory problem we built in support for HFS file system and now the code can be squashed with the net effect of a 50% space saving in the Mede8er Flash. We recognized that our network performance was not up to the market requirements and we have spend a lot of time optimizing this and squeezing every last drop out of our hardware. The improvement in network performance (streaming) is good and we will possibly have one of the better performing Realtek players in terms of network streaming.

To design a GUI that suits everyone is rather challenging and I can also add that its been a lot of weekend and late night work. I think we have more than achieved our design goals after many months of hard work I am pleased to announce that V4 GUI is really looking good.

The browse by cover art has been the highest requested Mede8er user requirement to date, so we decided to implement this functionality but we took this concept one step further. Firstly we designed the wall to be the right size from a normal viewing distance and secondly we made sure that the operational speed was acceptable even over the home network. The ability to custom map folders and shares and consolidate all of these on the wall has made its functionality rather special. We also added the bonus of being able to apply Genre artwork to each shortcut on the wall. We have even allowed for the ability to add custom Genre art to the wall. All in all a very nice experience and I am sure that most of you will enjoy this new functionality.

V4 is basically complete and just needs to pass the Alpha test stage and then it will be released to the Beta team for further testing. Unless we come across a curve ball we are hoping to be on track for a public release in September.
At this point I would like to thank Insomniac , Maasbommel and Getsko for their time spent and valuable input in getting V4 to this stage.

Highlights of V4

• Support Dolby True HD and DTS MA passthrough – DD+ hardware
• New “Video Wall” with mapped share functionality
• New GUI
• Improved network streaming performance (both Samba & NFS / DD+ and DD hardware)
• Improved and fixed SAMBA NTFS write (NAS Mode)
• Shoutcast Radio API implementation
• New SDK and general improvement and bug fix
• Picture Thumbnail Viewer
• Improved upsampled picture quality SD content

Video Wall Demo swf
http://megaswf.com/serve/44912/

Regards, DE Support Team

Nintendo has quietly released a firmware update this week for its DSi portable gaming console. The update seems to have targeted flashcards, The latest 1.4.1U firmware update blocks the Acekard 2i, DSTTi, iPlayer, M3i Zero, Supercard DSTwo, EZ-Flash Vi, ismart DS, Hyper R4i and other similar cards from working. Of course, the good news is that the flashcards can also receive firmware updates, so they might be updated with a new firmware to circumvent Nintendo’s protection again, but we’ll have to wait and see what crops up next. In the meantime, the cat and mouse game continues.

Our advice – do not update.

Regards, DE Support Team

The list of media players we are interested in gets bigger by the day – this is the latest offering from the nice guys at Buffalo

Buffalo just launched the Link Theatre LT-V100. The new model supports 1080p video, DTS, Dolby Digital 5.1 and the normal file formats and codecs.

And like all good media players the new LT-V100 is capable of connecting up with a NAS or PC via a LAN connection so it can access your content.

Interested? let us know.

Regards, DE Sales Team Sales@Digitalera.co.uk

Now all you lucky Sonos users can play 3,500 live concerts.
Sonos has just added a new music service, Wolfgang’s Vault® to the Music Menu, letting customers try it for free. It’s all part of Sonos ongoing commitment to play all the music you want, all over the house.

Sonos and Music
With the introduction of Wolfgang’s vault to Sonos’ music line-up, you can now enjoy all this music, all over the house:
• 3,500 live concert recordings
• 100,000 free Internet radio stations and programmes
• Millions of songs and stations from select music services (to learn more, please visit www.sonos.com/music )With Wolfgang’s Vault and Sonos live music fans can:

• Play the world’s largest online collection of live concert recordings from the past 50 years in any room
• Enjoy unlimited access to over 3,500 concerts featuring more than 40,000 songs
• Listen to live performances, ranging from Bob Dylan and the Grateful Dead to Miles Davis and The Who
• Enjoy a free 30-day trial to the service. After the 30-day trial, Sonos customers can upgrade to full premium membership.

To learn more about an annual subscription to Wolfgang’s Vault, please visit www.sonos.com/wolfgangsvault/subscribe

Wolfgang’s Vault, “where live music lives” is the definitive online source for the best in live music, from yesterday, today and tomorrow.   The archive is focused on the fans, creating the most informative, and complete source of the world’s best performances and the related art and photography. 

Pretty good huh!

Regards, DE Sales Team Sales@Digitalera.co.uk

The very popular PogoPlug is getting an upgrade! As resellers of the PogoPlug in the UK we thought you maybe interested in this!

Pocket lint reports the following:

hard-drive based cloud service Pogoplug has got in on the email printing game by adding a feature whereby you can plug in any post-2005 HP or Epson printer and print remotely.

The service works along the same lines as the HP ePrint range. You simply email what you want to be printed to a dedicated email address for your Pogoplug and, as long as it’s switched on and also connected to your Pogoplug, it will print. That means printing from not only your laptop, but also your phone, tablet or any other email capable device.

“Pogoplug’s vision is to free the modern digital lifestyle from dependence on an always-on home or office computer”, said Daniel Putterman, CEO and co-founder of Cloud Engines, Inc.  

“First we changed the way people think about personal storage by making every hard drive accessible over the Internet. Now we’re web-enabling printers”.

Pogoplug’s printing option will be coming our way by the end of the summer and it’s free for all Pogoplug users.

Pretty cool huh?

Check out the PogoPlug in our store – its pink and very good!

Regards, DE Sales Team Sales@Digitalera.co.uk