Now this is an HTPC worth gawking at. Zotac has just revised its long-standing Zbox line with a new duo, and we have to say -- we're digging the new look. Beyond the exterior improvements, the outfit has bolstered the internals by providing the HD-ID33 and HD-ID34 with Intel's new 1.8GHz Atom D525 CPU, 2GB of DDR2-800 memory, NVIDIA's next-gen Ion graphics platform, an HDMI output, 6-in-1 card reader, gigabit Ethernet, 802.11b/g/n WiFi, a couple of USB 2.0 ports and an unexpected pair of USB 3.0 sockets. The only notable difference between the two is the inclusion of a 250GB hard drive in the ID34, while the 2.5-inch HDD slot is left open for DIYers in the ID33. Windows 7 is onboard, naturally, as is a slot-loading Blu-ray drive that the company is (rightfully) proud of. It's not talking prices just yet, but we're willing to overlook a modest premium to finally get BD support within a delightfully small package. Hit the gallery below for more eye candy.

Continue reading Zotac introduces ID33 and ID34 Zbox mini PCs, complete with Atom D525 and Blu-ray

Zotac introduces ID33 and ID34 Zbox mini PCs, complete with Atom D525 and Blu-ray originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 08 Sep 2010 20:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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As excited we are that Zac Efron's summertime flick Charlie St. Cloud is coming to Blu-ray November 9 (and we're really excited) the main reason we're mentioning this one is it's the second flick by Universal to offer buyers their choice of bonus movies viewable through internet streaming. Lorenzo's Oil and What Dreams May Come (also like the Get Him to the Greek deal because both films have not yet been released on Blu-ray) can stream to viewers TVs via their BD-Live connected Blu-ray player or to another device on the pocketBLU app for iOS, Blackberry, Android, Windows and Macintosh hardware. We're still not sure what to make of streaming video as the new big thing for BD-Live, but if these implementations work better than the buggy implementation included on the Wolfman Blu-ray, then free extras are always welcome.

Continue reading Universal's Charlie St. Cloud Blu-ray is the next to include bonus BD-Live movies

Universal's Charlie St. Cloud Blu-ray is the next to include bonus BD-Live movies originally appeared on Engadget HD on Wed, 08 Sep 2010 18:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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What we're watching tonight:

• USA (1080i) has the summer finale of Psych at 10 p.m.
• NBC (1080i) has Minute to Win It at 8 p.m. and America's Got Talent at 9 p.m.
• Showtime (1080i) has the season premiere of Inside the NFL at 9 p.m.
• HBO (1080i) has the season finale of Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the New York Jets at 10 p.m.
• TNT (1080i) has Dark Blue at 9 & 10 p.m.
• Discovery (1080i) has Man vs. Wild at 9 p.m. and Surviving the Cut: Ranger School at 10 p.m.
• TLC (1080i) has L.A. Ink at 10 p.m.
• FX (720p) has the series premiere of Terriers at 10 p.m.
• Comedy Central (1080i) has Tosh.0 at 10:30 p.m.
• Spike TV (1080i) has the season finale of Pros vs. Joes at 10 p.m.
• ESPN (720p) has Rays/Red Sox at 7 p.m. and Dodgers/Padres at 10 p.m.
• ESPN2 (720p) has Primetime at the US Open at 7 p.m.
• NFL Network (1080i) has America's Team: 2009 Saints at 9 p.m. and Kickoff Fan Forum at 10 p.m.

HDTV Listings for September 8, 2010 originally appeared on Engadget HD on Wed, 08 Sep 2010 16:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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After a slight holiday delay we're right back to cover all the big HD news from the last week. In case you were under a rock, the new Apple TV was revealed and of course competitors like Roku, Boxee and Amazon were quick to respond. After our opinions on Jobs' box and the new reality of $0.99 television show rentals/purchases we dived right into a slew of IFA news from Sony, LG, Toshiba Panasonic and the rest including Avatar on Blu-ray 3D this year, new TVs, a 3D projector from Sony and much, much more. We could be seeing the Xbox 360 added as a U-Verse set-top box soon, but we're even more excited about a new channel announced in the wake of ESPN's agreement with Time Warner. To wrap things up, we've got our impressions of the first college football game aired on ESPN 3D, the new Chuck Blu-ray boxed set and (spoiler alert) a limited edition release of Inception on Blu-ray is on the way.

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Hosts: Ben Drawbaugh (@bjdraw), Richard Lawler (@Rjcc)

Producer: Trent Wolbe

00:01:28 - The new Apple TV for $99
00:05:00 - Apple TV (2010) first look / hands-on! (updated with video)
00:10:05 - Apple TV vs. the competition -- how does it stack up?
00:12:38 - Roku lowers prices across the board: HD box now $69, $99 HD-XR to get 1080p support
00:12:51 - Boxee Box priced at $199, Avner Ronen says it'll give users 'freedom to watch what you want'
00:16:14 - Amazon streaming 99-cent ABC and Fox shows... right now (update: purchases, not rentals!)
00:19:40 - Amazon planning subscription video service to challenge Netflix and Hulu?
00:24:52 - Sony Qriocity on-demand movie service extends into Europe, 'Music Unlimited' coming by year's end
00:27:22 - Sony shows off Google TV (or a video of it, anyway) at IFA 2010
00:28:25 - Logitech Revue and Google TV get very early blurrycam impressions
00:31:31 - Sony: PlayStation 3 Blu-ray 3D update due in October
00:33:46 - Panasonic locks up Avatar Blu-ray 3D release for 2010
00:36:16 - Sony announces VPL-VW90ES 3D projector at IFA 2010
00:38:53 - LG LEX8 'Nano LED' TV eyes-on
00:41:11 - LG's 180-inch plasma that wasn't
00:42:12 - LG's 31-inch OLED spin-slices its way into our cold LCD hearts
00:43:45 - Plex announces partnership with LG, pledges to beat Boxee Box and Apple TV for free
00:45:20 - Toshiba's CEVO-Engine is Cell on steroids, with an ultra-bright LED LCD to burn your eyeballs into submission
00:47:14 - Toshiba goes all LED with new HDTVs at IFA 2010
00:48:06 - Toshiba finally dives into Blu-ray 3D with BDX3100 player, offers up BDX1100 if stereo's not your style
00:49:45 - Toshiba StorE TV+ drive connects up to 2TB of media directly to your HDTV
00:50:20 - Toshiba Places to deliver web content across all Toshiba screens
00:52:05 - Philips Cinema 21:9 Platinum 3D megadisplay eyes-on
00:53:12 - Philips Dimenco glasses-less 3D TV of the future, hopefully our future
00:54:08 - Sharp's 10.6-inch parallax barrier display makes us love our 3D glasses (video)
00:55:13 - Philips Home Control's Dual is a QWERTY remote for attractive people
00:57:55 - SageTV puts $150 HD Theater 300 up for pre-order, breaks down the specifications
01:00:57 - Amulet voice-activated Windows Media Center remote hits the FCC
01:04:50 - AT&T technical support tool suggests Xbox 360 will bring IPTV to U-Verse households soon
01:10:50 - New Time Warner Cable deal brings ESPN to mobile devices and PCs
01:16:00 - ESPN 3D review: college football kickoff
01:26:13 - Chuck: The Complete Third Season Blu-ray review
01:29:25 - Inception European Limited Edition Blu-ray (w/ briefcase) listed for December 6

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Engadget HD Podcast 213 - 09.08.2010 originally appeared on Engadget HD on Wed, 08 Sep 2010 15:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Netflix is continuing to position the Watch Instantly streaming service against existing cable networks when negotiating for content, as evidenced by its latest deal with Nu Image/Millennium Films. The two are behind flicks like The Expendables, 16 Blocks and Drive Angry 3D, but this deal will kick in starting with flicks releasing next year, and allow them to go on Watch Instantly in the same window they would usually have reached cable pay-TV channels. No word on whether or not they will include HD streaming, but more content is always welcome, there's more detailed information in the press release after the break.

Continue reading Netflix signs up more new movies for streaming in 2011

Netflix signs up more new movies for streaming in 2011 originally appeared on Engadget HD on Wed, 08 Sep 2010 14:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Another day, another exclusive Blu-ray 3D deal. This time it's Disney, opting to align its Alice in Wonderland and Bolt movies with Sony products over the holiday season as the two team up on "consumer and retail education, promotion and marketing support for in-home 3D devices and content." That means buyers of Sony 3D TVs and Blu-ray players may have one of the above as a pack-in, while everyone else waits 'til the unspecified time when they're released at retail. Hear that? That's the sound of 3D early adopters queueing up Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs for the umpteenth time, camping out in line for Monster House next week or wildly overpaying for pack in/ overseas only 3D releases on eBay. As it stands, the year's slate of unbundled releases is otherwise blank beyond A Christmas Carol and Resident Evil, here's hoping it doesn't stay that way long. More details are in the press release after the break.

Continue reading Disney makes Alice in Wonderland, Bolt Blu-ray 3D discs Sony exclusives this winter

Disney makes Alice in Wonderland, Bolt Blu-ray 3D discs Sony exclusives this winter originally appeared on Engadget HD on Wed, 08 Sep 2010 08:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ultra high-end German television maker Loewe revealed at IFA that its 32-inch and 42-inch Connect LED line will be refreshed with 200Hz edge LED backlit panels and improved MediaNet connectivity. Specifically MediaNet has been revamped to feature a new LAN interface for streaming local video or audio content on the TV's integrated DVR as well as from DLNA compatible devices and online sources. A so-called "Follow Me" feature is another handy addition that allows users to easily transfer a program in progress from TV to another display for completion -- which should prove useful to shipping magnates who prefer passing out to Titanic in bed after starting in the jacuzzi. Trusted Reviews also reports that Loewe, along with Sharp and Philips, is promoting web-based services built on CE-HTML that are optimized for TV displays, and even demoed a version of the BBC's iPlayer using the technology behind closed doors. Style-wise, the luxury set will ship in three colors along with a choice of stand and a 2.1 speaker setup when it hits the UK this November. Official pricing however is still unknown, but don't expect to find it at Asda.

Gallery: Loewe ConnectLED TV

Filed under: Displays, LCD

Loewe shows off new Connect LEDs, wallets cringe originally appeared on Engadget HD on Wed, 08 Sep 2010 03:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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What we're watching tonight:

• USA (1080i) has the season finale of White Collar at 9 p.m. and Covert Affairs at 10 p.m.
• NBC (1080i) has America's Got Talent at 9 p.m.
• Syfy (1080i) has Warehouse 13 at 9 p.m. and WWE: NXT at 10 p.m.
• HBO (1080i) presents My Trip to Al-Qaeda at 9 p.m.
• Discovery (1080i) airs Swords: Life on the Line at 9 p.m. and The Colony at 10 p.m.
• FX (720p) has the season premiere of Sons of Anarchy at 10 p.m. and the season finale of Louie at 10 & 10:30 p.m.
• G4 (1080i) has the season finale of It's Effin' Science at 9 p.m.

HDTV Listings for September 7, 2010 originally appeared on Engadget HD on Tue, 07 Sep 2010 20:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Toshiba will be happy to tell you that its upcoming CEVO-Engine, which launches early next year in a "sub-€5,000" TV designed by former B&O-fave design firm Jacob Jensen Design, is the best thing ever, but it takes some work to figure out just exactly why that's the case. We did some digging, subjected our eyeballs to the display's brilliance, and have our full thoughts on the new tech after the break.

Continue reading Toshiba's CEVO-Engine is Cell on steroids, with an ultra-bright LED LCD to burn your eyeballs into submission

Toshiba's CEVO-Engine is Cell on steroids, with an ultra-bright LED LCD to burn your eyeballs into submission originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 07 Sep 2010 17:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It's Monday, and we know that getting the week started can be tough. We're here to help by letting you peek into the recording booth when the Engadget HD podcast goes to tape at 5:30 pm. Think of it as a kind of time machine that will help you power through your day by reviewing what happened in the week HD-wise. Embedded Ustream tools and a list of topics after the break.

Continue reading Join the Engadget HD podcast live on Ustream now

Join the Engadget HD podcast live on Ustream now originally appeared on Engadget HD on Tue, 07 Sep 2010 16:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The 2009 BCS National Championship game showed us the potential of 3D sports broadcasts but now it's 2010 so while Sam Bradford and Tim Tebow have taken their game to the NFL, ESPN 3D has made it a reality for viewers at home. Last night's Boise St./Virginia Tech matchup was the first of 13 the network plans to air including the next BCS Championship game so we didn't waste any time plugging in a 3DTV and taking a look. Check after the break for our impressions and a bit more explanation on 3D technology (Still not up to speed? Check out our post-CES breakdown of 3D tech for the home right here.)

Continue reading ESPN 3D review: college football kickoff

ESPN 3D review: college football kickoff originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 07 Sep 2010 15:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Among Warner's slew of TV show releases this week is Chuck: The Complete Third Season, and we took a quick look at the boxed set before it hit shelves. In case you're still unfamiliar with the NBC show, Chuck Bartowski was a regular employee at the Buy More electronics store before accidentally downloading a computer database into his head and becoming a secret agent -- all without telling his family, friends and co-workers. In the third season, Chuck makes steps towards becoming a full-fledged agent on his own and the show has a lot more action, but it still retains the comedy elements that have kept it going so far.


In the Blu-ray box set the four discs contain all 19 episodes, plus a deleted scene or two from most of the episodes. The other extras available are a 20 minute behind the scenes featurette that's thankfully in HD and should be very entertaining for fans of the series, plus an incredibly detailed (and also HD) 10 minute Behind the Music-style documentary focusing on the band formed by two of Chuck's coworkers, Jefster. Otherwise, there's some lower-res gag reel footage and Warner's standard BD-Live hooks on the fourth disc, that allow users to mark the disc in their collection and view trailers and extras from upcoming releases like The Big Bang Theory. Unfortunately, there's no commentaries to be found here and there doesn't appear to be any extra downloads or streaming on the way. While the audio and video here are of good (though still grainy by choice) quality, some will be disappointed by the lack of a lossless audio soundtrack. While it crosses the line of fulfilling the standard expectations for a boxed set in 2010, it doesn't go too far beyond that. While we should probably just be glad the show is returning later this month for a fourth season it'd be nice to see even more of Blu-ray's technology put to use to bring the fans into the show -- Chuck community screening sponsored by Subway seems like an obvious choice to us.

Continue reading Chuck: The Complete Third Season Blu-ray review

Chuck: The Complete Third Season Blu-ray review originally appeared on Engadget HD on Tue, 07 Sep 2010 15:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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There are plenty of QWERTY remotes out there, trying to be all fancy and make operating your TV more like operating a computer. They think they're so clever, but they've all overlooked one important point: you're dead sexy. Do they really expect you to rock a remote that any old ugly person could buy at Sears and point at their more-than-an-inch-thick LCD? Philips understands, and its Home Control division is launching the Dual remote just for you. It's a pretty simple execution, with a minimal remote on one side and the full QWERTY on the flip. It's a little hard to tell from the presser, but it sounds like there's an optical track pad hidden somewhere on here as well. We also don't have any mention of release date or price, but do details like that really matter? No, they don't. Because this remote's sexy. And you're sexy. Problem = solved.

Continue reading Philips Home Control's Dual is a QWERTY remote for attractive people

Philips Home Control's Dual is a QWERTY remote for attractive people originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 07 Sep 2010 11:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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As you're probably well aware, the Wintermute-like intelligence known as Google has designs on your television. Not only is Samsung contemplating Android for its sets, but Eric Schmidt has stated that its Google TV service is on track for launch this autumn (as a beta, undoubtedly). Finally, Maps on your plasma! Unfortunately Samsung's plans are far less certain, with company President Yoon Boo Keun offering little more than a "[w]e will have to see, but we are reviewing," when asked whether the OS will make a suitable platform for couch potatoes the world o'er. According to Yoon, about half of the company's 3-D TVs rock web browsers, a figure that will only increase over the next couple years. We only hope that if they do go with Android, the implementation is better than that of some of their handsets.

Google TV set to launch this year, Samsung considering Android for its TVs originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 07 Sep 2010 10:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Our eyes were drawn to an FCC filing this morning from a California start-up by the name of Zelfy; a quick glance at Zelfy's site reveals that they're in "stealth mode," but the picture of a woman using an iPhone to control her TV should give you an idea of what these guys are up to. Indeed, digging through the filing shows a product called "Peel" whose central component, the "Peel Fruit," is a small, battery-powered sphere of an IR blaster that connects to your home network router. Next, you download the Peel app onto the iPhone (or iPod touch) of your choice and control the Fruit over WiFi. The filing reveals little in the way of UI or functionality, but the product's tagline is "every remote and TV guide now on your phone," so we would assume that you'll have access to your cable provider's lineup and schedule from the app. More on this one just as soon as Zelfy decides to emerge from stealth mode, we suppose.

Zelfy Peel might be the iPhone remote you've been looking for originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 07 Sep 2010 09:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If the AppleTV announcement didn't satiate your need for a Google TV set-top box battle royal, then new details about Amino's Freedom box might do the trick. Yes it still packs the same hardware announced back in 2009 such as an Intel CE4100m Atom Processor, 500 GB of internal storage, SD card support, Bluetooth, WiFi 802.11n and 1 GB of RAM. We've now discovered however that it'll also run its own Amino branded version of Nokia's MeeGo OS, adding apps and gaming support to its list of capabilities that already included 1080p playback, VOD streaming, and DVR recording. In other words there's going to be a new Google TV competitor on the block sometime before the end of this year looking for a fight. Whether it'll provide a Lincoln Hawk-worthy performance though is something we'll let the bookies squabble over until we can go hands on with both.

[Thanks, Hary]

Amino launches Freedom over-the-top video set-top box, challenges Google TV to arm wrestle originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 07 Sep 2010 07:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Not many day and date new movies in a sea of Warner TV shows -- who knew Warner made so many TV shows even though the company doesn't own a TV network? -- bu Michael Douglas' Solitary Man looks like a solid choice. There are also a few classic sci-fi titles like THX 1138, Forbidden Planet and Lost in Space. Finally the BCC has a docu' that looks interesting with Wonder of the Solar System.

Solitary Man (Anchor Bay)
Blood Into Wine (Dreamy Draw)
Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam (Disney)
Chuck: The Complete Third Season (Warner)
Forbidden Planet (Warner)
It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (Warner)
Mars Attacks! (Warner)
The Matrix Reloaded (Warner)
Poltergeist (Warner)
Smallville: The Complete Ninth Season (Warner)
Supernatural: The Complete Fifth Season (Warner)
THX 1138 (Warner)
The Black Dahlia (Universal)
The Office: Season Six (Universal)
The Skeleton Key (Universal)
In Cold Blood (Sony)
Tommy (Sony)
The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond (Screen Media)
Lost in Space (New Line)
The Player (New Line)
The Phantom (2009) (Genius)
Stardust (Paramount)
That Evening Sun (Image)
Wonders of the Solar System (BBC)

Blu-ray releases on September 7th 2010 originally appeared on Engadget HD on Mon, 06 Sep 2010 22:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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What we're watching tonight:

• ABC (720p) airs Bachelor Pad at 8 p.m.
• ABC Family (720p) has the summer finale of The Secret Life of the American Teenager at 8 p.m.
• TLC (1080i) has the season premiere of Little People, Big World at 8 & 8:30 p.m., Kate Plus 8 at 9 p.m. and Quints by Surprise at 10 & 10:30 p.m.
• TNT (1080i) has The Closer at 9 p.m. and Rizzoli & Isles at 10 p.m.
• USA (1080i) has WWE Raw at 9 p.m.
• A&E (720p) has the season premiere of Hoarders at 9 & 10 p.m.
• History (720p) has Pawn $tars at 10 & 10:30 p.m.
• Travel (1080i) has Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations at 10 p.m.
• ESPN & ESPN3D (720p) has Boise St/Virginia Tech college football at 8 p.m.
• ESPN2 (720p) has Federer/Melzer US Open action at 7 p.m.

HDTV Listings for September 6, 2010 originally appeared on Engadget HD on Mon, 06 Sep 2010 17:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Someone (we're looking at you, Ben) notched Redbox's billionth rental recently in Tampa, Florida recently, and to celebrate the company's launched a "Thanks a Billion" giveaway. Renting a disc during the promotion (or sending a letter through the mail, no e-) nets a free rental, while the real prizes start with "Golden Ticket" rentals -- 50 codes placed on DVDs across America that are worth a $500 gift card -- plus a grand prize of a Sony 52-inch HDTV, surround sound system, Blu-ray player and some movies...or a trip to the People's Choice Awards. We know that's not really a choice for you, so all that's left is to check out the details and map of areas where Golden Ticket are located on the official website.

Continue reading Redbox crosses a billion rentals and celebrates with a giveaway

Redbox crosses a billion rentals and celebrates with a giveaway originally appeared on Engadget HD on Mon, 06 Sep 2010 14:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Carl Zeiss keeps on making minor improvements to its Cinemizer head-mounted display, announced way back in 2008 and intended to be the most amazing way to watch stuff on your iPod. They didn't exactly catch on then, and two years later we're not entirely sure that the latest revision will either. The tiny screens that sit a fraction of an inch from your eyeballs have been upgraded to OLED, which should make them bright and lovely as they pummel your rods and cones, but sadly they're still stuck in VGA land -- 640 x 480 is not a lot of pixels these days. This version also pledges greater compatibility with non-Apple devices, a welcome change, and even more welcome is the new visual styling, which makes you look a little less walleyed than the last model. Despite this the price hasn't changed much, estimated to be around €400 ($515), but that's still a lot to pay just to have the coolest Frozone costume ever.

Carl Zeiss Cinemizer 3D Plus glasses get OLED infusion, still no attention originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 06 Sep 2010 10:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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