Sony Blu-ray Mega Changer is Coming

Attention all you Blu-ray disc hoarders! I know you are running out of space and have been begging Sony to bring a new BD mega changer. There is currently one on the market HES-V1000 200 Blu-ray changer however being so attractive and featuring DLNA server plus 500 Gig of hard drive goodness still did not cut it. Why? Well first all, as a BD player it is pretty slow and takes its sweet time to load your discs; it is not 2.0 Profile and Sony for some unknown reason  will not issue a firmware upgrade; it does not have any way to record your HD programming neither it has a built in digital tuner. I could go on with the list of its shortcomings and am pretty sad that Sony has not really thought through all the great features it could have had from the start.

Anyways, enough of lamenting, as very soon we will see two new Blu-ray products from Sony: BDP-CX960 and BDP-CX7000ES. Most likely the CX960 will feature a 200 disc changer and top of the line ES model (Elevated Standard) will have 400 disc capacity. I was able to dig out an approximate price of the ES model - a quick search on Google brings up a Swiss product page listing the price of 2509.45 CHF (about $2250). Sony has shown its BD Changer prototype several times at IFA and CES and it looks like it is ready to bring it to the market.

This information is a Sony Insider exclusive, brought to you here first.

With Rumors Rampant, Sony Debuts DSLR-A380, DSLR-A330 and DSLR-A230 With Many Accesories

After intense speculation, Sony is catering to budget-minded and first time digital SLR buyers with the introduction of three new easy-to-use α (alpha) cameras (models DSLR-A380, DSLR-A330 and DSLR-A230). Sony has also announced four new lenses, a flash and accessories. The new cameras are designed to overcome challenges faced by many customers taking their first steps in DSLR photography. The α230L will go for about $550 at launch, while the α330L and α380L will fill a solid niche at the $650 and $850 price ranges, respectively. The L series one-lens kit comes with the SAL-1855 standard zoom lens. Sony is also going to offer a Y series variant (α380Y, α330Y and α230Y) for each model for an extra $200 that includes two-lens kit of the SAL-1855 standard zoom and SAL-55200 telephoto zoom lenses. Pre-orders will begin today at Sony Style and at selected retailers nationwide. The cameras and a range of accessories will be available in July at Sony Style, at military base exchanges and at authorized dealers nationwide.

The 10.2 megapixel α230 (above) camera is the lightest, most compact alpha DSLR camera body ever at 15.9 ounces. The 10.2 megapixel α330 and the 14.2 megapixel α380 cameras are also smaller and lighter than their predecessor models (the DSLR-A300 and DSLR-A350, respectively). An HDMI terminal gives you the option of connecting your camera to a compatible HDTV and playing back your images in high definition quality (HDMI cable required, sold separately); Bravia-Sync is also supported. The α380, α330 and α230 models are Sony’s first DSLR cameras to feature a graphical user interface (GUI) with built-in on-screen Help Guide. The Help Guide offers clear, concise explanations of various modes and settings, while the Graphic Display helps you understand the relationship between aperture and shutter speed, as well as the effect each has on photographic results.

Both the α380 (below) and α330 (above) cameras offer Sony’s Quick Autofocus (AF) Live View technology, so you can frame photos on the camera’s LCD screen as well as in the optical viewfinder. Through the use of a dedicated image sensor, Quick AF Live View maintains the rapid response of a DSLR, while avoiding the focus delay common to other live view systems. The new cameras feature a 2.7-inch LCD screen that is easy to view even in bright sunlight. Additionally, the LCD on the α380 and α330 models can be tilted up or down, making it easy to frame your subject from high or low positions, otherwise difficult to see using an eye-level viewfinder. The range of adjustment has been increased from their predecessors, making it even easier to get shots from difficult angles.

As for the accessories we mentioned earlier, here is some information and pictures of the new lenses:

The DT 18-55mm F/3.5-5.6 standard zoom lens (model SAL-1855 – $200) incorporates aspherical and Extra-low Dispersion (ED) elements to provide an all purpose lens with outstanding image quality.

The DT 55-200mm F/4-5.6 telephoto zoom lens (model SAL-55200/2 – $230) features an ED glass element and helps bring distant subjects closer, ideal for capturing sports. Both the SAL-1855 and SAL-55200 lenses are available separately, or packaged as kits with the new cameras.

To make the benefits of portrait and macro photography easier and more accessible, Sony is introducing a DT 50mm F/1.8 portrait lens (model SAL-50F18 – $150)..

..and DT 30mm F/2.8 (model SAL-30M28) macro lens. The wide aperture SAL-50F18 lens helps users capture beautiful portraits with gently defocused backgrounds while the SAL-30M28 macro lens captures intricate close-ups. Both techniques are difficult to achieve with standard lenses.

To help users take better shots with flash, Sony offers an affordable, compact external flash unit (model HVL-F20AM – $130) that is simple to operate. Unlike a camera’s built-in flash, this external flash provides higher output (Guide Number 20), and enables users to bounce light off the ceiling to eliminate harsh shadows and achieve more even illumination when shooting indoors.

Commenting System Upgraded At Sony Insider

Hello, I just wanted to note we have installed the DISQUS commenti system at Sony Insider. Ever since we started the site last Summer, I always found the commenting system to be less than ideal. The WordPress default commenting system is very basic, and as we move forward into 2009 I feel that the commenting should have rich connectivity. So, starting now, you can login to our commenting system via Facebook, twitter, or as a guest. The true benefit of this commenting system is the enhanced features it provides:

• Threaded replies reveal the conversations in your comments.
• And now it’s easier to keep the discussion alive with email and mobile replying.
• Features such as ratings and video comments make comments interactive and expressive.

I’ve run a few tests and it looks like its stable enough for prime time – enjoy!

p.s. I can’t get the video commenting to work. I’ll see what’s up.

Sony X-Series Walkman Operation Guide

Here is the full user manual and overall operation guide for the new NWZ-X1050/NWZ-X1051 and NWZ-X1060/NWZ-X1061. We’ve gone ahead and lifted some interesting items in the manual that I don’t recall seeing anywhere else, but then again there are dozens of reviews out there now for the touchscreen Walkman. We’ll go ahead and remind folks of some hard specs:

Supported codec specifics:

Noise cancelling battery life figures, with some actually useful examples:

Now here’s a random list of things I found interesting..

Capacity (User available capacity)*1
NWZ-X1050: 16 GB (Approx. 14.6 GB = 15,775,629,312 bytes)
NWZ-X1051: 16 GB (Approx. 14.2 GB = 15,254,618,112 bytes)
NWZ-X1060: 32 GB (Approx. 29.6 GB = 31,871,533,056 bytes)
NWZ-X1061: 32 GB (Approx. 29.1 GB = 31,350,390,784 bytes)

The touch panel of the player does not work properly when operated with:

• A gloved finger.
• Two or more fingers. (aka no multi-touch)
• A finger nail.
• A wet finger.
• A pen, ballpoint pen, pencil, stylus, etc.
• Touching with other objects in addition to a finger.

You can register podcasts to the player by using iTunes® and Content Transfer. To register, drag and drop the title of a podcast from iTunes® to Content Transfer.

The number of times the battery can be recharged before it is used up is approximately 500 times. This number may vary, depending on the conditions under which you use the player.

You can set JPEG files as a thumbnails of video files, by placing JPEG files in the corresponding video folders. When you display the video list, you can see the thumbnails (small pictures to display on the menu) for the video files on the player. To display a thumbnail for a video file, create a JPEG file (horizontal 160 × vertical 120 dots, extension: .jpg) and name it the same as the desired video file, then store it in the video file folder.

Playlists are created by using Windows Media Player

The “Equalizer, VPT, DSEE, Clear Stereo, Dynamic Normalizer setting is not applied while playing a video, YouTube video, podcast video, or FM radio.

If the size of the photo is too large, or the photo file is damaged, appears, and the photo cannot be displayed.

The player itself cannot delete photos without connecting to a computer.

If you transfer episodes of a podcast from a computer to the player by using Windows Explorer, you cannot refresh the podcast by using the wireless LAN function until registering the podcast. If you intend to refresh the podcast, register it by using the player or Media Manager for WALKMAN. The podcast that can be refreshed is indicated by in the Podcast List screen.

The Internet browser of the player does not support the following functions:
– Flash® contents.
– Uploading/downloading files.
– Playback of streaming media, such as audio streams and video streams.
– Windows that open a new window when clicked.

It’s Javascript compatible.

You can use the Noise Canceling effect to get peace and quiet without playing music.

The maximum number of files that can be displayed is reached. The maximum number of files is 2,000 files for videos, 20,000 files for photos (max resolution for jpegs is 4096×4096), and 20,000 files for podcast episodes. Also, the maximum number of folders for the podcast list is 1,000 folders.

Oh yeah, here’s the whole user manual; if the bookmarks page hovers over it just hit the arrow to make it go away.

Sony Converts London Underground Train Into Walkman Promotion

Model Danielle Bux helped launch the new Sony X Series Walkman media player in a London Underground tube carraige, which was been transformed into a 1940′s cinema at Charing Cross Station yesterday in London, England. (Photo by Tim Whitby/Getty Images) Charing Cross railway station is a central London railway terminus. It is unusual among London’s railway termini in that its services connect it to two of the others, Waterloo (via Waterloo East) and London Bridge. It is one of 17 stations managed by Network Rail, and trains serving it are operated by Southeastern and Southern. It is the fifth busiest rail terminal in London. The station takes its name from its location next to the central London road junction of Charing Cross. The front of the station faces The Strand, while at the other end is the northern end of Hungerford Bridge, which is crossed by all trains serving the station.

If I was there and she was standing in front of me, I’m not too sure I’d be staring at the Walkman the entire time!

Sony To Sell Y100 Billion In Bonds

Sony will tap capital markets to raise more than $1 billion in fresh funds for investment and bond redemption next month as the struggling electronics maker grapples with a slide in global consumer spending that’s pushing it to its first net loss in 14 years. Sony plans to offer Y100 billion of corporate bonds via three-, five- and 10-year tranches in early June, a person close to the deal said Tuesday according to WSJ. Nomura Securities, Nikko Citigroup, Mitsubishi UFJ Securities and Mizuho Securities will jointly lead manage the deal, the person said. A Sony spokesman said the company has decided to issue corporate bonds to raise funds for investment and to repay part of an existing bond issue that’s set to mature in March 2010. He declined to provide further details.

Sony is expected report it swung deep into a net loss for its fiscal year ended March when its releases results Thursday. It has already announced plans to cut as many as 16,000 jobs from its global work force in an effort to trim billions of dollars from its cost base. The company has forecast a net loss of Y150 billion for the 12 months ended March. While Sony Tuesday declined to comment on where it might invest some of the money it raises, analysts say it’s likely that the unprofitable Sony Ericsson mobile phone business may need fresh capital before long as it tries to target new customers in markets like the U.S., China and India.

Like much of Japan’s export-dependent technology industry, Sony has seen the value of its exports undercut by the recent strength of the yen versus currencies like the dollar and the euro. It’s also been hit by recession in major markets for its TVs, digital cameras and mobile phones as increasingly budget-conscious shoppers curtail spending plans. In an effort to speed up attempts to revive the company’s fortunes, Chief Executive Howard Stringer is taking fuller control of the company, adding the title of president and appointing younger executives to key management positions.

Information courtesy Wall Street Journal.

Sony X Walkman Available for your Pre-Orders

Well Sony and to be more exact their selling arm – Sonystyle waited for the magic date and posted the Pre-Order site for well discussed and anticipated OLED Walkman. All of you who are so eagerly awaiting its release within the US can hit the Sonystyle.com now and get your plastic to be abused with two choices of Walkman. Sony promises to ship “the precious” on or about June 20th. As it is being released Stateside you will see tons of reviews pouring in, so stay tuned!

Check out the official press release if you wish…

So will you be ordering this beauty? Leave your comments!

Sony Russia Leaks Alpha 230, 330 and 380 DSLR’s

photoclubalpha spotted new Sony Alpha DSLR’s on the Sony Russia site recently, which seemingly cater to the notion of an ideal entry-level DSLR camera at an attractive price point. Sony may very well succeed with these upcoming α230, α330, and α380 DSLR models. The A230 is a lightweight, entry-level model with numerous features to assist the newcomer, such as an on-screen handbook that describes each feature while choosing options. The top-end A380 and middle child A330 boast flip-out screens. All three boast HDMI output to TVs, but do not appear to shoot video of any definition. Features shown include a new user interface, showing aperture and shutter speed on a sliding scale.

The leaked pages mention APS-C format sensors, presumably for all three cameras. It also appears that most of these new models will support dual flash support for MemoryStick Pro and CompactFlash. The 380 will apparently have 14.2 megapixels, so we can only assume that the 230 and 330 will have 10.2 megapixels like last year’s models. Here’s the full chart:

Thanks, CNET.

Sony’s Impressively Small MCB1172 HD Camera Module

Sony has released a new super small 8.3-megapixel camera module measuring at 9.5 x 7.1mm. According to Pocket-lint, “the “MCB1172″ from Sony Europe’s Image Sensing Solutions Division is capable of delivering 720p, 30fps video (with slow-mo up to 120fps), 16x zoom, and includes movie stabilization, face detection, auto focus and motion auto focus. Sony is quoted as saying this is the “world’s smallest” HD camera module.

The MCB1172 is now hitting mass production, which means products with the module in will likely hit the security and industry markets later this year. There is obviously unlimited potential with this product in the consumer world as well, for cell phones, mini-camcorders, and so forth. I wish they would just make a necklace that could record your whole day. Then you could upload it to some stylish website that breaks up that day into chapters, has face recognition built into the video to tag friends, and search based on location, etc. Oh well, maybe one day.

Via Engadget.

Vizio Is #1 In North American LCD TV Market

With the American economy still up and down, it is a tough atmosphere for a premium brand in consumer electronics. However, people in North America are buying more LCD TV’s – Q1’09 LCD TV shipments surged 23% Y/Y to 7.2M units according to preliminary results. Additionally, NPD Group DisplaySearch has obtained some surprising new numbers that point to some extraordinary growth for Vizio in Q1 FY09 that could indicate problems for Sony and Samsung. Vizio returned to the #1 ranking in LCD TVs for the first time since Q2’07, overtaking Samsung and Sony in the process and improving their unit share from 13% to 19%.

“Vizio is a relatively young TV brand in the US marketplace, but their strong alignment with mass merchant and warehouse club retailers seemed to put them in the right place at the right time with growing channels,” said Paul Gagnon, DisplaySearch Director of North America TV Research. “As LCD TV panel makers quickly return to nearly full capacity and simultaneously push panel price increases, the industry will have to carefully monitor the impact that slower retail price declines may have on consumer demand during the second half of the year to avoid a potential repeat oversupply situation.”

Premium brands like Samsung and Sony lost share as consumers became more price sensitive, looking both for better value and smaller screen sizes than last quarter. This tells me that Sony needs to release a nice $350 – $400 32″ 1080p with two HDMI ports and blow away consumers. Nonetheless, Sony and Samsung continue to be stronger in the 40” and larger screen sizes, as well as offering advanced features such as 1080p resolution, 120 Hz or higher frame rates, and higher-quality image processing. Unfortunately, as some of this advanced tech is still not mainstream, its exclusivity all of which adds to the retail price and turns away consumers.

Sony was the #3 LCD TV brand in North America with 36% Y/Y shipment growth and was ranked #3 in overall flat panel share. Here are some charts courtesy of DisplaySearch of the Q1’09 results:

What recommendations do you have for Sony to regain the top spot?