Tivoli Audio announces PAL+ and Model 10+ clock radios, we go ears-on originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 01 Sep 2011 20:50:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Long car rides can be pretty boring, and entertainment helps make it a little less boring. The people at BMW auto dealer Chatsworth agree, and in response have armed their vehicles with some of the most innovative technology available today. With seemingly endless ways to customize your entertainment experience for your car, you can be sure that those riding with you will stay quite content on those long car trips.

At Chatsworth BMW, their technology goes beyond the scope of just entertainment. One of their prime focuses is on the safety of you and your passengers, making safety and performance technology an important priority.

People are experiencing music better than ever with the help of HD radio. HD radio transforms your typical FM and AM stations into a completely different type of sound. Radio stations are suddenly crystal clear, and you won’t believe what you’ve been missing. Whenever a song comes on your HD radio, the title of the track and the name of the artist scrolls across the screen, keeping you updated on what and who you’re listening to.

If you love music, you’ll love how BMW has taken the next step towards enhancing the speaker quality in their vehicles. The THX Certified Premium Audio System helps you to hear every single beat in your favorite song. With all sorts of different options for how many speakers you want in your car, you gain access to a truly upgraded musical experience.

Watching movies on a road trip helps make the trip not seem so long. When you purchase a BMW, you are able to decide if you want a DVD player installed. This six-disc DVD player fits into the glove compartment, where it can be easily accessed. The screen is located between the two front seats, and you are able to chose from wireless headphones or regular headphone jacks. This device can play both DVD’s and music on CD’s, which ensures that passengers will stay happily entertained for the entire duration of the drive.

You are also able to hook up your iPhone, iPod, or other mp3 device into your BMW, making music available right at your fingertips. You are easily to manage volume and track with easy access controls on your steering wheel or iDrive console.

All of these features are all tied together by the iDrive system put into every BMW. This system takes all of your GPS, music and entertainment, and communication features and puts them in one easily accessed locations to help you stay focused on driving. This function also comes with an optional hard drive that allows you to store music if you like. The screen is perfectly positioned so you never have to take your eyes off the road, something that makes it stand out from its other competitors.

Driving should be something you enjoy. It’s easy to get stressed on long road trips, but when you are in a BMW from BMW automobile dealers Chatsworth, they’re different. The ride is smooth, the entertainment is plenty, and your overall experience is enhanced. A whole variety of options are available to help you customize your ride to your wants and needs, and the folks at Orange County BMW Dealerships can help you get started.

Avoiding the large clutter of cables has lead to a multitude of wireless audio transmitter devices over the years which promise to untie your home audio equipment. We will examine the influence of new technologies on the performance of these devices. In addition, we’ll investigate if they keep their promise of removing the cable clutter.

AM and FM radio was introduced several decades ago and was the earliest type of wireless audio transmission. While still being popular now, FM radio is now being replaced by new technologies including HD radio, satellite radio and DAB broadcasts. Today’s wireless consumer products such as wireless speaker kits, baby monitors, Bluetooth audio transmitters and wireless microphones eliminate the cord.

One of the main use for wireless audio is distributing music all through the house and installing loudspeakers without running speaker cables which is a big difficulty in houses that are not wired for audio. The technologies used today all have pros and cons as we will examine.

Let’s look at the most traditional technology first: FM broadcasts. FM audio transmitters send the audio by employing a high-frequency signal which is continuously changing in frequency according to the audio signal. This method is called frequency modulation or FM for short. The biggest advantage of FM transmitters is their simpleness and thus cost as well as range. Most of today’s wireless consumer products use FM transmission. FM, however, has serious disadvantages in comparison with new technologies.

FM transmissions will pick up noise which is noticeable as a background hiss depending on the location of the wireless receiver. FM radio waves are often reflected by walls and obstacles. This will cause several components to cancel each other out consequently causing a varying signal quality in different locations. This phenomenon is known as multipath fading. Using two antennae is one approach some devices utilize to cope with this problem (diversity receivers). FM radios will easily pick up interference from other consumer devices which is another problem.

Bluetooth has gained popularity lately for wireless audio transmission even though this protocol was primarily designed to connect computer peripherals. Bluetooth audio transmitters will convert the audio signal to digital information and then transmit via the Bluetooth protocol. While offering high robustness against wireless interference, Bluetooth has several problems in regard to audio transmission since it was never designed with the purpose of transmitting audio. The range of the transmission is only 30 ft or less. Also, Bluetooth does not have enough room to transmit an uncompressed CD-quality audio signal. Thus the audio is compressed prior to the transmission. Due to the compression, the audio quality will be degraded compared to the original. Bluetooth will cause a delay or latency to the audio signal which is a drawback for surround sound and video applications because the wireless speakers will be out of sync with the remaining speakers and video.

Terrestrial digital and satellite radio technologies offer high range but use extensive audio compression and have an audio delay of up to several seconds.

Another technology which is used in wireless audio transmitters from Amphony sends the audio digitally without using audio compression. The audio signal will preserve CD quality because no audio compression is used. The audio latency of this technology is less than 1 ms. Consequently it can be used for real-time applications such as wireless speaker kits in home theater setups.

This technology is fairly robust against radio interference from other wireless transmitters by using a technique called forward error correction. Amphony products use the 5.8 GHz frequency band which is less crowded than the 900 MHz and 2.4 GHz bands. The result is high robustness. Other than Bluetooth, this technology can operate any number of receivers per transmitter which is key for sending audio to several locations throughout the residence.

Zune HD 16 GB Video MP3 Player (Black)

• IMPORTANT PRODUCT INFORMATION: To get started using Zune HD, download the latest software to your PC from zune.net/setup and charge your Zune using the supplied cable for at least 30 minutes before use
• 16 GB capacity for up to 4,000 songs, 24 hours standard definition video, or 5 hours high definition video
• 3.3-inch OLED screen with 480 x 272 resolution and 16:9 display
• HD Radio gives you access to many local stations with crystal-clear digital sound at no extra cost
• Watch supported 720p HD movies, TV shows, and videos in high definition
• Buy, stream, and update your music, download free games, and surf the web via a Wi-Fi connection
• NOTE: In order for headphones to work properly, insert jack into device port until it clicks into place

Zune HD 16GB Black MP3 PlayerZune is the premium digital experience that gives you access to the latest in entertainment and technology, allowing you to enjoy, connect, and discover content in a whole new way–the way you like it. Browse, stream, buy, and play all you want, including music, HD video, podcasts, games, and much more. Gain the freedom to enjoy your entertainment. Zune brings your content up front, so you’re always in control. Instant entertainment that you control. Click to enlarge. Browse, stream, buy, and play all you want, including music, HD video, podcasts, games, and much more. Click to enlarge. With a 3.3-inch size and vivid 16:9 display, truer and brighter entertainment is at your fingertips. Click to enlarge. Weighs just 2.6 ounces and is only 8.9 mm thick. Click to enlarge. Instant Entertainment that You Control HD Radio Technology: More Stations, better sound, no fees HD-compatible Video: High-quality video on the go or on your HDTV

Rating: (out of 533 reviews)

List Price: $ 199.99

Price: Too low to display

To follow up with earlier rumors we’re happy to report that the Zune HD 64GB is now a reality. Microsoft just announced the Zune HD 64GB for $349.99, available April 12, just outside of the event horizon that is the iPad ship date.

This new device will run the 4.5 firmware.

In addition to introducing the new 64GB capacity, we are also reducing the prices of the 16GB and 32GB devices. Starting today, new price lists are being distributed bringing the estimated retail price (ERP) for the Zune 16GB device to $199.99 and the Zune HD 32GB device to $269.99.

With its OLED multi-touch screen, built-in HD radio, HD video out capabilities and Internet browser, Zune HD is a full-function media player which has received accolades from press and consumers. We’ve also announced details of an upcoming firmware update which will add even more features to the device, such as Smart DJ auto-playlists capability directly on the Zune HD, ability to browse, stream and acquire music from Zune Marketplace on your TV (while the device is connected to a TV set through the A/V dock) and expanded codec support allowing users to play more video formats natively from the device.

You can pick it up here.

Ford announced today their move to upgrade their SYNC in-car communications system into MyFord Touch. This all-encompassing system integrates not only your cell phone or portable media device, but now your GPS, air conditioning, audio library, and much more. Multiple touch screens will replace the traditional dashboard of your car, and remember that mobile Wi-Fi hotspot we were talking about before? Seems that this technology will be moving on past MyFord to MyLincoln and MyMercury soon. Although I’m personally holding out for MyDeLorean.

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