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There's no shortage of of remote controlled helicopters out there but how about something completely different. This is the Draganflyer X6 helicopter, which uses six main horizontal rotor blades that allow it to hover efficiently and manoeuvre rapidly using differential thrust. All that lift means that it can be equipped with HD camcorders, night vision, still or thermal imaging cameras and because it has in-built GPS, it can be set to hover over a particular location while you go make a cuppa. Here's what the makers say:" Aimed at industrial and commercial use, it provides reconnaissance and inspection information using on-board wireless video and still cameras. The Draganflyer X6 helicopter is able to fly autonomously or can be flown manually by remote control. The Draganflyer X6 helicopter achieves its stability by using an on-board processor running more than ten thousand lines of code and receiving data from eleven on-board sensors (three gyros, three accelerometers, three magnetometers, one barometric pressure sensor, and one GPS receiver). It can be piloted by users with minimal or zero training. The Draganflyer X6 helicopter can be put into GPS hold mode where it will maintain its position without any user input. This means that after activating GPS hold, the pilot can set the handheld controller on the ground while the Draganflyer X6 helicopter flies itself. This mode will allow the user to focus on other tasks such as aerial photography from the Draganflyer X6 helicopter. The Draganflyer X6 helicopter uses interchangeable cameras, covering different areas of use. A high definition video camera provides 1080p resolution. For dawn and dusk use, there is a low light (0.0001lux) video camera. For night use or search and rescue, the thermal FLIR (Forward Looking Infra-Red) camera provides heat vision. High-resolution photographs can be captured with the 10.1 mega-pixel digital still camera. When using any of the camera modules." The controller is a custom-designed handheld with a 2.8in colour OLED touchscreen. The control also receives streaming video from the X6 and passes this to the video goggles, giving you an onboard view of what's happening. There's no price but I want one. Check out the video of the X6 in action below.-Martin Lynch gadget spy helicopter

from @ Gizmodo UK

The price of a dedicated Blu-ray player has remained high - too high - even after winning the HD war against HD DVD but, Tesco has teamed up with German PB big-shot Medion to sell a performance PC with Blu-ray drive for just £600. The PC in question is the shiny, black Medion Akoya P36888 and, despite the attractive pricing, it's no slouch. The P36888 is powered by the Intel Core 2 Quad Processor Q6600, runs Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium, has a 1TB 7200rpm hard disk drive, 3GB of RAM, a hybrid TV tuner and the all-important Blu-Ray Reader/DVD-ReWriter. Here's the full line up:* 3GB DDR2-SDRAM * 1000 GB Hard Disk - 7200rpm, interface Serial ATA * Blu-Ray Reader/DVD-ReWriter o Max: 4x DVD+R9 (DL), 4x DVD-R9 (DL), 16x DVD+R, 16x DVD-R, 8x DVD+RW, 6x DVD-RW, 40x CD-R, 24x CD-RW, 5x DVD-RAM * NVIDIA® GeForce® 9300GS o PCI-Express Graphics card with 256MB, DVI-I, 1 x D-Sub VGA and 1 x TV Out * Integrated Memory Card Reader o reads from and writes to all standard memory cards** * DVB-T/Analogue TV tuner card*** * Network controller Gigabit 10/100/1000 Mbit/s * IEEE 1394 FireWire * 8 Channel Audio * PS/2 keyboard and mouse * Remote control The PC will be available in Tesco Extra and Tesco Homestore outlets around the country, as well as online.-Martin Lynch PC blu-ray news

from @ Gizmodo UK

If you've been contemplating whether or not to upgrade your Sky subscription to an HD box, it seems like now might be a good time. Not only has it recently dropped the price of an HD upgrade to £150 (plus £60 installation and the obligatory extra tenner a month), you'll now find that seven more channels are set to be added to the 19 currently available. They are mostly movie related with HD versions of its existing Sky Movies Action/Thriller, Sky Movies Sci-Fi/Horror, Sky Movies Drama, Sky Movies Modern Greats, Sky Movies Family and Sky Movies Comedy to appear from October. The seventh, rather strangely we might add, is Sky Real Lives HD, which offers programmes like 'The Real A&E' and 'Lorraine Kelly's DNA Stories'. The move will bring the current HD selection to 26 channels and Sky seem confident that it'll add four more by the end of the year. In addition, a new EPG (electronic programme guide) is also set to launch in October and with the popularity of HD-ready screens constantly on the rise, it seems like an upgrade for most people is simply a matter of time. - Paul Lester [Guardian] Sky HD movies

from @ Gizmodo UK

Having been sent packing with its tail between its legs in the high-def format war by Blu-ray, Toshiba has stubbornly maintained that it will not build a Blu-ray player. Instead, it announced that the best way to beat Blu-ray would be to build an uber-DVD player that upscales really well. It might sound bizarre but since a huge number of regular Joe consumers don't know what Blu-ray is, or think it's something to do with the porn industry, it might make some sense. And, it doesn't hurt that the new XD-E500 only costs £75 [in the US for now]. The XD-E500 uses XDE, "eXtended Detail Enhancement," technology, which Toshiba says offers more than just normal upscaling. Alongside upscaling images to near-1080p, XDE throws in 3 picture processing mode settings. They are: Sharp Mode offers improved detail enhancement that is one step closer to high definition. Edges are sharper and details in movies are more visible. Unlike traditional sharpness control, XDE technology analyzes the entire picture and adds edge enhancement precisely where it's needed. Colour Mode makes the colours of nature stand out with improved richness. Blues and greens are more vivid and lifelike. Colour Mode combines the improvement in colour with the detail enhancement of Sharp Mode and is ideal for outdoor scenes. Contrast Mode is designed to make darker scenes or foregrounds more clearly visible without the typical "washing out" that can occur with traditional contrast adjustment. Recommended for dark scenes where detail may be difficult to notice, Contrast Mode is also combined with Sharp Mode to provide a clearer viewing experience. Other features include HDMI-CEC, DivX certification, JPEG capability, MP3 and WMA playback. Considering just how many DVDs people already have, and if the cheap XD-E500 is any good, Toshiba could be onto a winner. It's still a shame it won't swallow its pride though and make a Blu-ray player that doesn't cost the earth.-Martin Lynch dvd blu-ray HD DVD movies

from @ Gizmodo UK

Having been sent packing with its tail between its legs in the high-def format war by Blu-ray, Toshiba has stubbornly maintained that it will not build a Blu-ray player. Instead, it announced that the best way to beat Blu-ray would be to build an uber-DVD player that upscales really well. It might sound bizarre but since a huge number of regular Joe consumers don't know what Blu-ray is, or think it's something to do with the porn industry, it might make some sense. And, it doesn't hurt that the new XD-E500 only costs £75 [in the US for now]. The XD-E500 uses XDE, "eXtended Detail Enhancement," technology, which Toshiba says offers more than just normal upscaling. Alongside upscaling images to near-1080p, XDE throws in 3 picture processing mode settings. They are: Sharp Mode offers improved detail enhancement that is one step closer to high definition. Edges are sharper and details in movies are more visible. Unlike traditional sharpness control, XDE technology analyzes the entire picture and adds edge enhancement precisely where it's needed. Colour Mode makes the colours of nature stand out with improved richness. Blues and greens are more vivid and lifelike. Colour Mode combines the improvement in colour with the detail enhancement of Sharp Mode and is ideal for outdoor scenes. Contrast Mode is designed to make darker scenes or foregrounds more clearly visible without the typical "washing out" that can occur with traditional contrast adjustment. Recommended for dark scenes where detail may be difficult to notice, Contrast Mode is also combined with Sharp Mode to provide a clearer viewing experience. Other features include HDMI-CEC, DivX certification, JPEG capability, MP3 and WMA playback. Considering just how many DVDs people already have, and if the cheap XD-E500 is any good, Toshiba could be onto a winner. It's still a shame it won't swallow its pride though and make a Blu-ray player that doesn't cost the earth.-Martin Lynch dvd blu-ray HD DVD movies

from @ Gizmodo UK