Every brand has a World’s something – LG are stating that this new 55-inch television is the “World’s Largest and Slimmest OLED TV“, and the product was launched with 400 VIPs watching in Monaco. While we have not personally enjoyed the LG TVs we’ve tested in the past, having seen first hand some of their latest technology it seems display quality has really jumped up a notch. The new 55-inch OLED TV shows how far LG has come and we’re extremely impressed.

This 55-inch OLED TV features WRGB technology that has been developed, redefined, and researched for years at LG, and the real difference for OLED when compared to LCD and LED is the backlight, which OLEDs eliminate the need for backlight thanks to generating their own light. You can read the full details and technical advancements in the press release here on LG, which also features a number of photos from the event that include F1 champion Sebastian Vettel.

We’ve also included a video below that has been uploaded to YouTube within the last 24 hours, and includes a hands-on at the LG 55-inch OLED TV event in Monaco, an interview with F1′s David Coulthard and LG UK’s George Mead.

Are you looking forward to owning a large screen OLED TV soon?

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Apple hasn’t even confirmed it will launch TV set – this update would be much more than the current little black box commonly known as the 3rd generation Apple TV, and the continued rumors are giving more weight to a new TV display that has been codenamed iTV.

The signs of an Apple TV update with a big screen – earlier this week we saw Apple’s Jonathan Ive explain to the Telegraph that he’s working on the most important products of his career, and while there was no mention of what these might be it does show something big is on the way. To be impressed with any new products and services Apple are bringing and to tag them as the “most important” would take a revolutionary launch, and that something would need to be bigger than the iPhone/iPod touch/iPad, which have all changed markets forever.

More weight for a new Apple product that’s amazing – when we hear that Apple’s CEO, Tim Cook, had sat down with the companies biggest employees earlier this year and they were shown some things coming in the following months, which Steve Jobs might even of had a hand in. This again leaves us with excitement as to what these new services/products might be, and an expectation of something massive. It’s worth pointing out that Apple will not confirm anything until a time of their choosing, so with WWDC 2012 in a few weeks it is certainly a time for listening to every word for hints of the future.

What would it take for an Apple television set concept to be revolutionary? This article makes the prediction that a new Apple TV (with display) will be coming this year just before Christmas, obviously pure rumor and guess work by an analyst. Having owned every little Apple TV box so far we have a few ideas for improvements, but the most important would be iOS apps on the big screen and while you can use other devices to stream to your television via an Apple TV, this is not native apps and can work out costly with you having to own more than one device. There is also the problem of streaming and not all Wi-Fi networks keep the apps lag free.

Having iOS apps on Apple TV is something that has strangely been left out of each software update, so are they saving this to give more impact with a new product launch like an Apple television set? Apple kept Siri for the iPhone 4S only, although the hardware on iPad 3 can easily handle it but lacks full Siri functionality.

You might also want to read about the hidden implications of Apple TV 3 that launched earlier this year, the little black box, which can be seen in this article.

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Just to give you an idea of the significance of this, this is in actual fact the world’s first mass produced 55-inch OLED television. No surprises that Samsung are the first to achieve the feat, but those looking to pick one up will have to pay a handsome sum indeed to take one home.

The good news is that the new OLED models are expected to go on sale in the second half of the year. The bad news is that it is expected that consumers will have to pay around $9000 USD to buy one. That is quite staggering when you think about it, especially when you can pick up a 55-inch Samsung 3D TV for less than $2500. We understand that this is the latest tech, but $9000 seriously Samsung? That is obviously not in the price range of many consumers who were previously interested in getting one.

OLED is the future of course, and with each of the pixels individually lit, it’s clear that the high price is getting you the best picture quality available in the home. It’s obviously no comparison, but the difference between the Sony’s PSP’s screen and the PS Vita’s 5-inch OLED screen is quite remarkable, so OLED is really worth getting excited about.

$9000 is a lot of money though and it will be interesting to see many many consumers are prepared to cough up for one. Consumers in Korea will have first dibs on the 55-inch beast when it goes on sale, but they’ll have to make considerable preparations to part with $10 million won at the cashier to take it home.

What are your thoughts on this? There’s a nice unveiling video below taken from CES 2012. Do you plan to buy one of these when they release in the US and Europe, or are Samsung taking premium pricing to the extreme?

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Understanding the jailbreak necessity when it comes to Apple TV 3 – there are some extremely useful enhancements to be had if you jailbreak your Apple device, and one of these is XBMC. Xbox 360 owners might have heard about XBMC 11 (aka Eden) update, which has been in development for over a year, but the form of XBMC that can be installed on jailbroken Apple TV’s is a little different but still offers expanded abilities for creating the almost perfect multimedia center for Apple TV 3.

If you’re new to XBMC then we suggest you watch the video below this article, which gives you a visual look at an Apple TV 2 with XBMC installed, and this could help to open up your mind for what is possible with addons via new firmware.

Extra support for videos – one of the main reasons users jailbreak their Apple TV is for videos, which allows for a lot more support with different codecs. Some users store videos they have taken in their chosen format, which are then supported by XBMC and were not previously compatible with the standard Apple TV OS. You can get information on how to jailbreak the Apple TV 2 in this article, although at the time of writing it’s not possible to jailbreak the 3rd generation Apple TV.

Why would you want to jailbreak Apple TV 3? We’d love to hear your reasons for jailbreaking the latest Apple TV, also have you held out buying the new device thanks to the lack of a jailbreak? Another issue with encoding videos to work within the Apple environment is time, and encoding from AVI to MP4 can take a lot of unneeded time but also lose quality in come cases. This forum also has a lot of reasons why some people jailbreak, so have a read and let us know what you think in the comments.

Remember the negatives – it’s not always plain sailing and we’ve heard reports of users not being able to stream content from their iTunes accounts after jailbreaking, also performance has been affected as well. Doing this to your new Apple TV would be at your own risk and something we’d never recommend at Product-Reviews.net, even if Apple does lack a lot of features that could have been added easily in the first place. It’s worth pointing out that in most cases you can restore Apple TV to the factory settings in a couple of clicks.

More stories on Apple TV: You can read a little about changes that are needed for the next Apple TV 5.1 update here, see a teardown of the new Apple TV 3 via this article, and understand a little about the implications of Netflix enhancements.

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Those with the second-generation Apple TV will have to update their software to 5.0 and in most cases this will be an automatic process, you may on occasion have to go into the settings and force an update yourself. The changes within the update are certainly being welcomed because the menus are now much improved and we also love how you can now stream iTunes movies from the Cloud.

Having already established that the new features makes Apple TV a much better device, it’s been pointed out that all is not perfect because a few flaws have been found. There have been instances where the remote for the Apple TV will not only sync with that device but also a Mac as well, being able to control the latter when you wish to control the former will be a huge pain so a fix is needed. Again we have to point out this is not a widespread issue but we would like to know if you are suffering with this problem?

We’ve also learned that you are unable to control the volume without a TV remote, which as you would imagine can become a huge pain. One of the biggest issues that needs to be resolved with update 5.1 is allowing users to gain access to apps, all their iOS and new Mac devices can use apps so it’s about time that Apple TV can as well.

It’s no secret that Apple wants in on the gaming market so it makes sense to allow those with Apple TV to be able to download apps and start playing them on a larger screen. Having said that, we have to wonder if Apple are saving this feature for their (rumored) iTV device, which we hope to see in the not too distant future?

What other features would you like to see implemented in the 5.1 update for Apple TV? To see how Apple’s latest device ticks we have a teardown for you to enjoy.

Update: Having done some research we have learned that you can get around the first issue by switching off the IR receiver on your Mac.

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You can see some of the Apple TV 3 teardown images on this page, although a more detailed look at the different parts and what they might be can be seen in this forum post on XBMC. They try to discover what manufacture week their device is from, the type of RAM inside and how this compares to other devices like the Kindle Fire.

Interestingly the forum member also noticed a second antenna that didn’t seem to be inside the second generation Apple TV, and while we’re not sure what this is for it has to be said that our network issues could be helped when streaming high definition video. Most people don’t have network or Wi-Fi issues when streaming content with the Apple TV, but we’ve experience a few in our tests and would love an option for 5Ghz.

Apple missed an opportunity with Apple TV 3 – it’s a shame we didn’t see the launch of native Apple TV apps, which saw more of a minor update with the latest device and not the innovation we wanted. You might also want to read about hidden implications of the 5.0 update, which could lead to more 3rd party services coming in the future.

Head over to XBMC.org to see more photos and details on the insides, also feel free to share a comment below on the new Apple TV and what is missing in terms of specs.

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Clicking update on an existing Apple TV might be the only change needed – not everyone would enjoy the new software found on the latest Apple TV, but if you want to try it and have a second-generation device you can do so by going into general options and clicking update. Within a few minutes you’ll have downloaded the latest software that adds a touch of traditional iOS with bigger buttons.

You can see a video below this article that gives you a visual look at the new software found on 3rd gen Apple TV’s and the latest software update, although it doesn’t seem much more than a cosmetic makeover, until you look further and see a future plan might be underway with this latest update. This idea has been raised in this article, which states that Apple has included “one interesting business deal” that allows you to sign up with Netflix within the new software interface and pay via your iTunes account.

Another popular blog has also looked at the implications for other subscription services and what the future might hold, although it’s very rare to see Apple hand over customer billing to any 3rd party and can set the stage for more changes in the near future, which you can read more about here. With Apple giving their seal of approval it could help 3rd parties create more sales, but would you be sold on this idea and like the ability to sign-up via Apple TV and get billed via iTunes?

Have a watch of the hands-on video below and let us know your thoughts on Apple TV’s new interface in the comments.

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Some of the latest Apple rumors point to a release somewhere in March, which we find it hard not to believe there would be some sort of announcement at the upcoming iPad 3 event next week, especially considering they’ll already have the attention of world press. This would make the perfect launch pad for any new product they’d be introducing in the next few weeks, although it would be even more important if these products had some sort of improved integration between them.

The iPad 2 and Apple TV 2 both work together in improved ways thanks to the latest iOS 5, although Apple would always be looking to improve harmony between their products, and an iOS 6 release this year paired with enhancements for iPad 3 and Apple TV 3 could improve the cross product usability.

How could Apple TV 3 flip a crowded market? The wish lists for features on the 3G Apple TV have been published online for nearly year, from the moment the 2G device launched, and we’ve seen many requested features including app gaming for the big screen TV. Airplay in iOS 5 has helped iPhone’s and iPad’s stream web pages, games and videos to the big screen but Apple would need to innovate more in this space for the 3rd generation.

Multiply sources are pointing towards an iPad 3 and new Apple TV releasing together, and this has been given weight thanks to hints in code (the product is codenamed J33). We’d expect a faster chip to help with improved 1080p video, a better remote that supports Bluetooth 4.0 and one that is redesigned with some new slick features would be welcomed, but none of this is revolutionary.

What would Apple need to bring to the table to create something special on our big screens? The brand is known for taking technology already in the marketplace and mashing it up into a new product that “does it better“, although not everyone agrees with Apple’s tactics and feel they are mostly “one step behind“. We’d have to point these people to Apple’s sales figures and explain no matter what they think about Apple, they must be doing something right to be so popular across many markets.

Siri has been a success for iPhone 4S and could be included in Apple TV 3 with a slight spin to create something amazing for those that want natural voice control in the living room, and given this product is quite revolutionary it could be welcomed by those that love to buy Apple products. Would you want Siri on the Apple TV 3G, and could this help you pick one up on the release date?

In summary: For us more innovation with Airplay and an ATV3 with Siri and more power is enough, especially with some tighter integration via a software update. With that said our expectations are for Apple to do much more at next week’s event, and rumors of a new accessory codenamed “B82” and we wonder if this could be an Apple webcam for FaceTime in the TV room?

If Apple does have a secret weapon to innovate this year we’d love to know your predictions in the comments below. You can read about recent ATV3 rumors in our earlier article found here.

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The new model from Canon has been highly anticipated and it has now been unveiled by the company along with availability and pricing. This new model replaces the hugely successful EOS 5D Mark II and as Digital Trends is reporting should be available by the end of this month.

Canons new DSLR features a brand new 22.3 megapixel full frame CMOS senor, which compares to the 21.1 megapixels the Mk II has. There is also a high performance DIGIC 5+ imaging processor along with a 61-point High Density Reticular AF system, which are both used in the Canon 1D X.

This new model can achieve continuous image shooting of up to six fps, which is an improvement of fifty percent over the old model. Canon has announced their new camera to coincide with the 25th anniversary of its successful EOS camera system. It also has improved weather resistance that will please those who would use it outdoors a lot.

The ISO range goes from 100 through to 25,600 using the standard range, but users can also bring this down to 50 or ramp it all the way up to 51,200 and 102,400. Most users will never need this but as Canon said in its press release you might if you use the camera for law enforcement or forensics.

Round the back of the Mk III you will find a 1,040,000-dot 3.2-inch LCD display, which again comes from the Canon 1D X. The screen allows users to display two images side by side that is a first for a camera in the EOS range.

The new model offers dual memory card inputs that have CF and SD/SDHC/SDXC capability, as well as offer various options how they are used. The viewfinder offers one hundred percent coverage so users get to see the whole image as they press the shutter button.

Canons Mk II model has been hugely successful with users around the world for taking video, and the company is hoping extra features in the new model will continue this trend. These features include improved noise reduction, up to 30 minutes recording time, and built-in headphone jack for that all important monitoring of the audio. It can also take 1080p HD video content at 24, 25 or 30 fps.

The Canon EOS 5D Mk III DSLR is set to be available by the end of the month and will cost $3,499 for the body only, and the kit with the EF24-105mm f/4L IS USM zoom lens for $4,299. The company has also announced a number of new accessories for their new shooter, which includes the Battery Grip BG-E11.

This is an optional accessory for the EOS 5D MK III that can accept one or two LP-E6 lithium-ion battery packs, or six AA batteries. The new grip features a multi-controller with a multi-function button, which has a full set of controls that allows for easy operation when taking portraits and other vertical format images.

The unit is manufactured from a strong magnesium alloy that offers the same weather protection as the EOS 5D Mark III itself, and will be available for $490. There is also the Speedlite 600EX-RT that is the first professional Speedlite on the market. This will be ideal for wedding portraits and photojournalism and available for $629.99. Canon has also announced the Speedlite Transmitter ST-E3-RT priced at $470. For more information on the new accessories head over to the Canon website here.

Will you be getting the Canon EOS 5D Mk III?

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Apple CEO Cook was recently discussing the 2011 sales figures for its Apple TV set-top-box at a Goldman Sachs Technology and Internet Conference. Cook again described the Apple TV device as a hobby but revealed the company sold just under three million units during 2011 according to an article on T3.com.

Cook went on to say that the company “doesn’t do hobbies as a general rule”, and that the set-top-box was the Apple’s way of testing out the TV market. He went on to say that Apple would need something “special” if the company wants to make the TV a “serious category”.

The Apple CEO went on to explain why the company calls the Apple TV a hobby, as it is not thought the Apple TV can achieve the market size of other parts of the company’s business. Cook feels that Apple could discover something that was bigger, and that its move into the sector “could go more main-market”.

Rumors surrounding Apple bringing out a branded TV have been increasing in recent months, which ramped up after the recent release of the Steve Jobs biography. A number of screen sizes have been rumored with the company supposedly going shopping for components for the device recently.

There have also been claims that any such device from Apple could feature the Siri assistant feature currently only found on the iPhone 4S. As with any Apple device if the rumored iTV does exist it is likely to come with a premium price, and it will have to raise the bar if consumers are to spend big amounts on it.

Do you think Apple will need to offer something special with a TV set?

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