Sony's DVDirect VRD-MC6 Camcorder-To-DVD Recorder Creates AVCHD DVDs With 5.1 Sound

Sony's new VRD-MC6 DVDirect is a new gadget and it looks and acts an awful lot like the previous VRD-MC10 and VRD-MC5. It can take 1080i video with 5.1 audio off your Handy cam’s drive or Memory Stick and shoot out an AVCHD DVD that plays back on compatible Blu-ray drives like the PS3. It can also transfer standard-definition home videos to DVD discs without the need of a computer from virtually any camcorder, VCR or digital video recorder. The new model includes Digital Video (i.LINK/FireWire/IEEE-1394), Composite Video inputs, and USB (for Sony hard drive, DVD and Memory Stick media-based Handycam camcorders). DVD video discs recorded in this manner are playable in most consumer DVD players.

In addition, the VRD-MC6 can directly record digital photos to a DVD as a slideshow or just for photo storage from any of the four popular digital camera memory cards. It supports slots for Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro, Memory Stick Duo and Memory Stick Pro Duo media, Secure Digital (SD/SDHC) and xD-picture card™ media, or via USB from Sony hard drive, DVD and Memory Stick media based Handycam camcorders. The DVDirect VRD-MC6 will retail for around $229 at Sony Style stores and other major retailers around the country in September.

Sony Rolls Out Goofy Music Player: The Rolly

Is Sony's egg cracked? Japan never ceases to amaze me with its abundance of new gadgets. The most recent gizmo to come from Japan, the Sony Rolly, is no exception.
Unveiled on Monday, the Rolly is an egg-shaped music player that can flap and rotate its robotic wings, gyrate across the floor, and spin up a storm amidst a neon show of green and blue lighting.

In addition to playing back music from its internal memory the Rolly can also receive music streamed via a Bluetooth connection.

As far as I'm concerned the best part of the Rolly is its reported ability to analyze music and come up with the dance moves. Users can even program the Rolly's moves themselves.

The gadget is small enough to fit in your hand and comes standard with 1GB of internal memory (some 500 songs, though programing the Rolly with more complex dance moves will diminish that capacity), stereo speakers, and a five hour battery life.

It goes on sale in Japan on September 29 for equivalent of about $353 U.S.. No word whether it will make to the U.S. for sale. My fingers are crossed it will.

Sony VAIO Nebula FW

Sony has been releasing limited-edition VAIO laptops called "Signature Collection," featuring different premium specs. Adding to that collection is the new Sony VAIO Nebula FW, which is distinct primarily because of its stellar-designed cover.

Mixing performance flair with premium multimedia technology, the Sony VAIO Nebula FW brings gaming and media experience to unknown frontier with its 16.4-inch LCD monitor with 16:9 aspect ratio, ideal for watching movies in their original cinematic format without the annoying black bars. This laptop also comes with Blu-ray drive for the ultimate HD viewing everywhere you go and 5.1-channel Dolby Sound Room technology for cinema-quality audio.

Gamers, meanwhile, would be delighted to this device's ATI Mobility Radeon HD4650 graphics card, promising fluid graphics processing and faster gaming without placing huge demands on the CPU. The VAIO Nebula FW also comes with the Intel Core 2 Duo processor, up to 8GB of RAM, a standard hard drive with up to 500GB of memory, and Windows 7.