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DJing is so 1993. These days it’s all about the multi-sensual, multi-media extravaganza that is VJing- more specifically, Nano VJing.

In order to take your live audio and video sensation onto the streets, you need the most portable kit going. Tonium’s spectacular Pacemaker 60 GB forms the cornerstone of this set-up. It’s unique in moulding a pair of decks, an effects-laden mixer and up to 15,000 tracks into one pocket-friendly ingot of funk. Klipsch’s squint to-see-them Image X10 headphones provide the requisite micro monitors, while mixes are blasted out through Blaupunkt’s Velocity2Go boom box.

Sure, there are smaller speakers, but not ones that can replicate the volume levels of a miniature PA in a single, easily luggable box. No other laptop of a similar size to the Sony P-series has the power to run proper visualization software, nor the storage (up to 128GB SSD) to snaffle a bank of video clips, but its ultra-crisp 8 inch screen is nevertheless too poky to supply your burgeoning crowd with the visual kicks they crave. Hence Acer’s diddy, brick-sized K10, an LED-powered DLP projector that thrashes any pico projector on resolution (858×600) and brightness (100 lumens), but will still fit into your grab bag. It’s some kind of black magic, we tell thee.

With TVs bigger, brighter and blacker than ever, and format wars a thing of the past, there’s never been a better time to splash out on a home cinema system

Television: Philips 42PES001

Philips 42PES001

If this svelte, incredibly classy TV was a person, it would be Audrey Hepburn. But our Audrey didn’t have a removable, wall-mountable speaker and an external tuner box to make her ideal as part of a complete home-entertainment system, did she? No. Nor did she have a super-slim bezel to challenge many 40-inchers for lack of girth, yet with a 42-inch screen. And what a screen it is: pictures via either of the TV tuners are stable and detailed, while black levels and contrasts are superb (at least part of which is due to the screen’s beautifully even backlighting).

Philips 42PES001 External Tuner

Motion is dealt with confidently and skintones and textures are natural. Spin a DVD or Blu-ray and the picture’s  just as striking. Movement is smoothly rendered, high-contrast screens are utterly convincing and there are massive amounts of detail with almost no picture noise. It’s not the cheapest box, but if you want set-up flexibility and the best 42-inch pictures around, then here it is.

Stereo Speaker Package: Tannoy Revolution Signature TS12

Tannoy Revolution Signature TS 12

You’re not going to treat yourself to the good looks of that Philips TV and surround it with some ugly speakers, are you? Of course not. This Tannoy system is an outstanding Continue reading…

Lenovo IdeaCenter A600

THE IDEACENTER A600 is Lenovo’s premium all-in-one desktop PC. It attempts to blur the line between your PC and TV, and has an impressive combination of features and performance with a price tag to match. It has no seperate cabinet, and the Ideacenter A600’s centerpiece is its slim screen. It’s glossy, 21.5-inch wide and supports a resolution of 1920×1080 pixels; perfect for high-definitionmovie playback. The screen is curved inwards below the bezel which is secured firmly to a stand. The extended curved bezel also houses the onboard speakers, with a sub-woofer placed on the back panel. On either side of the curved bezel there is a combination of connectivity ports and an optical drive, and touch sensitive settings button on the front. Like any other monitor, you can adjust the IdeaCenter A600’s angle by tilting it forward and back. Continue reading…