Free High-Resolution (24-bit/96kHz) Audiophile Tracks

HDtracks.com has released another free sampler of their audiophile recordings called the HDtracks 96/24 Ultimate Download Experience. The tracks are in the 24-bit, 96kHz FLAC format and are culled from HDtracks' extensive collection of audiophile recordings. I downloaded them and they were excellent when played through the Sound Blaster X-Fi Platinum.

Cheap HDMI Cables

This is possibly one of the cheapest HDMI cables you can get. Only US$1.05! Considering how much HDMI cables can cost (esp. the so-called Premium brands), this is really a steal. They also have cheap TOSLink Optical and DVI-to-HDMI cables.

Western Digital WDTV

Just got the Western Digital WDTV from the IT Show 2009. It's basically a no-frills media player which lets you plug in a mass storage device (e.g. Hard drive, ThumbDrive etc) and play your media files stored within. It supports 1080p resolution in its HDMI output as well as Dolby Digital surround sound via the optical SPDIF output.

I used to hook up m MacBook to my TV/AV receiver whenever I wanted to watch a podcast like Tekzilla or the .mkv files that I have, which is really a hassle. Now I just have to copy the files over to my external HDD, plug it into the WDTV's USB port and bingo. HD entertainment at my fingertips.

Been using it for a while through my Pioneer PDP-428XG plasma TV and I gotta say it's excellent. The HD playback is smooth and I don't see any dropped frames. I watched a BD rip of Planet Earth on it and it just looks gorgeous. My only gripe is the lack of any network capability, but at this price point (<S$200) I can't really complain.

For those interested, the WDTV is reviewed together with Seagate's FreeAgent Theater in Episode 81 of Tekzilla.