If you've ever been on a long journey with kids in the back of the car you'll know that after a while your kids will get restless and that means your journey quickly descends into a nightmare.?Qualcomm, the company behind most of the chipsets in smartphones around the world, believe it has the answer with the?FLO TV, a spin off from the technology it's already dabbled with in mobile phones from companies like LG and HTC.

The concept is that you get a small portable dedicated device for watching television on without having to plug-in aerials (it's a mobile signal that is transmitted digitally over UHF channel 55), worrying about tuning-in stations or not having anything stored to watch.

The Flo TV device sports a 3.5-inch capacitive touchscreen display, a built-in speaker, 3.5mm headphone jack, and flip-out stand so you can perch it on your desk.?Made by HTC, the design of the device is fairly simple. Buttons are kept to a minimum (volume, mute, EPG and battery status) with the main control coming in the guise of that touchscreen display.

The quickest way to access stations to watch is either via the EPG (electronic programme guide) or simply by flicking your finger from top to bottom or bottom to top of the screen. Doing so loads up the next channel for you to watch with the system letting you see what is on (via an EPG message) so you can keep scrolling if you don't fancy the station.

Each programme, just like the EPG on your cable box at home, has information about it and the channels available include full-length simulcast and time-shifted programming from Adult Swim Mobile, CBS Mobile, CNBC, Comedy Central, FOX News Channel, MSNBC, MTV, NBC 2Go and Nickelodeon. ?

The stations aren't actually exact copies of the actual stations, a legal wrangle thing we're told, and certain stations aren't running all the time (Adult Swim only comes on from 10pm till 6am for example).

That's the theory and in practice the device quickly lets you watch television on the go, lets you switch through channels easily and lets you quickly shut the kids up with Nickelodeon in the back of the car. The in-built speaker is surprisingly good, if not a little tinny, and will fill a room allowing you to treat this as a radio in your hotel room (there aren't actually any radio stations available).

However, it's not all high fives. The quality isn't as good as we would have liked with the screen resolution somewhat lacking.?Then there is the inability to record any programmes, meaning that while you've got used to your PVR and time shifting television in your home you won't be able to do that on the road.

You can set reminders in the EPG, however you've got to have the device on to let it remind you.?We are sure it's a legal thing stopping the recording aspect rather than?Qualcomm?making that decision, but we can't say we wouldn't have wanted this feature.

The final grumble is that while the channel selection is okay it's not amazing, especially considering the Flo TV comes with up to $14.99 monthly subscription on top of the $250 purchase price (you do get the first 6 months free).

The 12 or so channels are a start (Qualcomm promises there will be up to 20 in the future) but for a device aimed at keeping the kids quiet in the back of the car we would have expected more content aimed at children. Nickelodeon is good, but where is Nick Jr, PBS Kids, and all the other crazy channels allowing you to get your fix of Wonder Pets every waking minute of the day?

As for the battery life we managed to get around 5 hours without changing channels too much, pretty much what Qualcomm claims.

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Verdict:

Remember that scene in Wall Street where Michael Douglas is watching TV on a small black and white portable? Well that's what this will enable you to do, but in colour and without the big aerial.

If that's what you want to do, then the Flo TV will be right up your street. Everyone we showed, that wasn't a technology journalist, was impressed. However most did comment on the lack of quality on the 320 x 240 resolution screen.

From a hardware perspective it works, and works well. However while the technology looks and sounds promising, the execution for us isn't there just yet.

A bigger screen, better resolution and more channels are all on our wish list for version 2. For now, take this as a first attempt that could easily be bettered with more content and a higher resolution.

Tags: Home Cinema Qualcomm FLO TV Televisions

Flo TV portable television originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Wed, 18 Nov 2009 12:00:00 +0000

Do TVs need Bluetooth? LG thinks so, and has packed its latest LCD TV with this aging wireless tech. Activate Bluetooth via the onscreen menus and it’s then possible to pair the TV with either a set of wireless headphones, or a mobile phone. The latter makes it possible to send photos to the set wirelessly, though it’s the former that’s the most useful. It's a unique feature to LG's TVs, and essential; the wired headphones slot is hidden away on the back of the panel in a less-than-practical position.

Presented in a two-tone grey and maroon high-resolution graphics, and second-guessing whatever it is the user is trying to do (shortcut buttons ate regularly, but subtly, presented at every stage), the 32SL8000’s icon-based system is a joy to use.

Honestly, any idiot could perform an ISF-standard calibration, something that used to be the reserve of eggheads only. Via a comprehensive Picture Wizard that covers everything from colour gain to contrast - but in a very simple, picture-led way - it’s possible to get an excellent image on the 32SL8000 from almost any source.

Before we leave the onscreen menus, it’s worth mentioning the 32SL8000’s onboard media capabilities. Instead of supplying a USB port that can play MP3 files and a DLNA networking module that makes a hash of streaming (some) video files from a PC, LG has instead opted for a very clever USB port. Not only does it treat JPEG and MP3 files with due care (slideshows can very simply be set to music, or music set to pictures), but it’s able to playback everything from MOV and MP4 to AVI and MKV - including DivX HD files. All that’s missing are MPEG and WMV files, though it does warn you in advance if it doesn’t support a file type; instead of presenting a moving thumbnail of the video file, a lightning crack is shown.

All very impressive, and playback of DivX HD files is as impressive-looking as it is reliable. Yup, it’s obvious that media whores will love the 32SL8000.

Those after exacting high-def may not. Although it doesn't an admirable job with all kinds of video, Blu-ray in Full HD on the 32SL8000 is not as mind-blowing as it should be. There's plenty of rich colouring and images are always immaculate. Contrast and detailing within black areas is decent, too (if not benchmark) and its TruMotion 200Hz does remove virtually all judder and blur from quick camera work and high-octane scenes. It’s worth remembering to turn TruMotion 200Hz down to its "low" setting for best performance - "high" can introduce some video nasties.

Verdict:

If it lacks ultimate Full HD sharpness - and that's about all it does lack - there's nothing wrong with the 32SL8000's interpretation of Freeview, which is classy and clean. Sound quality is nothing to shout about, but the onboard underslung speakers do an adequate job. The TV itself is too small to appreciate any kind of stereo separation on, and movie soundtracks are bereft of low frequency effects, but regular TV audio is handled just fine.

A good, if not a great TV in terms of pure HD picture quality, the 32SL8000's multimedia features and addictive digital TV pictures help make this exceptionally user-friendly TV one to cherish.

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Tags: Home Cinema Televisions LCD televisions LG LG 32SL8000

LG 32SL8000 television originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Tue, 10 Nov 2009 09:00:00 +0000

A brand usually found in the lower echelons of the flatscreen TV market, Toshiba is making a bid for the big time with this huge LED screen. The trouble is, the 55SV685DB's very large price heaps on the pressure; is it much better than a 50-inch plasma, which now go for under ?1,000?

However unlikely that might seem, Toshiba has strived to make the 55SV685DB seem good value by packing in some new features. The first, and most important by far, is LED backlighting. The 55SV685DB uses perhaps the most comprehensive form of the new tech, called "local dimming" or "full LED" by some brands. Instead of a backlight that's always switched on, rows of tiny LED lights line up behind the LCD panel. Capable of switching on and off individually, it's possible for the screen to show total darkness in one area of an image, and bright white in another.

The second crucial feature is Active Vision M200, a 200Hz anti-blur system, though a film stability mode (aimed at removing that annoying judder in all Blu-ray discs) Toshiba's much-hyped Resolution+ upscaling tech for digital TV and DVD is just as important on a screen of this sheer size.

The 55SV685DB's other features seem frivolous in comparison. Take its SD card slot, an unusual find away from Panasonic's Viera TVs. It's there to provide JPEG photographs for the Picture Frame mode, though the TV itself has so little onboard memory that instead of a slideshow, just a single picture can be transferred – and it's slow to load, too.

Just as distracting is the 55SV685DB's stilted stab at DLNA networking. Fetching digital media from a PC or Mac on the same home broadband network is a fantastic idea, but, like a lot of brands, Toshiba hasn't got anywhere near perfecting it. After quickly finding a networked computer, a slow and rather brutal process begins; a file type must be selected, then a specific file, before finding out whether it's compatible (only AVI and MPEG videos seem to be). The system gets ahead of itself by trying to display thumbnails photos/videos, but they never load and just slowdown the process further (Toshiba may have solved this issue on its Japanese-only Cell Regza 55X1, which offers 143 times more processing power).

The remote control doesn't help; it's unable to cancel commands and return to the previous menu, extending the agony. It's a similar story with the Media Player feature that reads files from a USB stick.?

Resolution+ also fails. The 55-inches of LCD screen just cannot display DVD or digital pictures coherently – digital artefacts and fuzzy edges are everywhere – which leaves the 55SV685DB looking rather forlorn and in need of a phenomenal performance with Blu-ray.

And it makes a respectable stab at greatness. Its LED backlighting is endlessly tweakable, with dynamic bars showing ambient light (plotted on a graph, even!), alongside the light output of each pixel.

And a high-def picture is indeed worthy of such examination. Black areas of the picture are jet-black, with plenty of subtle detail within. And subtlety is everywhere; bright whites, incredible colours and entrancing detail make for a picture that's lusciously cinematic. It's helped by an effective film mode that helps create a smooth image with sharp, well-defined edges even when objects are moving rapidly across the screen.

Verdict:

Toshiba has created a Full HD marvel that uses its LED backlighting to create astonishingly deep blacks and rich colours for a LCD TV, but its ?4,500 price tag proves it's downfall. However well it deals with high-def, it's impossible to forgive the 55SV685DB for its lack of versatility because how many of us just want to watch 1080p Blu-ray? For now, a ?1,500 plasma remains a better deal.

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Tags: Home Cinema Televisions LCD televisions Toshiba Toshiba Regza 55SV685DB

Toshiba Regza 55SV685DB television originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Tue, 03 Nov 2009 09:30:22 +0000