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Internet searches for more obscure topics can sometimes feel like the old needle-and-haystack conundrum - if what you want is out there at all, finding it can be a stretch, even for Google. Images and video present an even greater challenge - unless they’re tagged or labeled accurately, it’s often a matter of wading through thousands of possible matches.

The latest doomed attempt to mount a virtual cinema atop the heads of geeks everywhere comes from the oddly named Mikimoto Beans of Japan. Its iTheaterV will be available there next month for ¥39,800 ($320).

After what seems like years of waiting and fiddling around with AVCHD and the like, it seems the world is finally about to get a real next-gen HD video camera after Hitachi’s late-afternoon Tokyo announcement of the first Blu-ray camcorder.

The security hologram stickers that grace our credit cards and other sensitive items could be about to get a radical makeover if Japan’s Dai Nippon Printing (DNP) and Sony PCL have their way. The two firms have just succeeded in creating a printed hologram that contains enough different images to mimic smooth-moving video.

Those tedious arguments about whether or not the Apollo moon landings were staged could be all over next month when Japan launches its Selene satellite on the most extensive lunar mission since the US program ended in 1975. On board the probe will be the first space-going high-definition movie camera to be pointed directly at the moon.

Although Japan still leads the world when it comes to pumping out gadgets, we really have to hand it to those up-and-coming Korean companies for their willingness to go the extra mile and add new features we never knew we needed. The latest unusual addition is a video projector that will be delivered to mobile phones sold by SK Telecom later this year.

Projectors aren’t always the most exciting gadgets we come across in our line of work, but Sanyo’s latest effort really raises the bar by opening up entirely new areas for projector deployment. The ¥600,000 LP-XL50’s party piece is its ability to project large images of up to 80 inches onto a surface from just 8cm away.

If there’s one sure thing about the so-called HD TV format war between Blu-ray and HD DVD it’s that none of us should be rushing out to buy either right now. The latest high-definition recorders from Toshiba Japan underline that in heavy red ink.

Clarion Japan’s newest in-car satellite navigation system may just be the most advanced driver aid seen since the last episode of 24 and its host of BS technologies. The MAX9700DT is both a full entertainment system and a GPS unit, but costs more than many second-hand cars.

Sony chose a rainy afternoon in downtown Tokyo today to unveil a revolution in digital cinema – a projector that can show full cinema-size movies at four times the resolution of standard high definition, with an anti-piracy server system on the side.

The hope for a single format for flash memory cards, or at least for plenty fewer than there are now, took a blow over the weekend when Sony and SanDisk announced another new medium intended for use mainly in high-definition video cameras.

The National Association of Broadcasters trade show currently taking place in Las Vegas saw an announcement [reg required] yesterday that could change the face of internet video…

As expected, Samsung today announced that it will join LG in releasing a dual-format high-definition video player that supports both Blu-ray and HD DVD.

Barely five months after announcing the world’s first video camera to record HD TV images to an SD memory card, Panasonic has replaced it with a cheaper, more-capable model that it claims breaks new ground.

Panasonic will begin selling two new high-definition camcorders in December, based on the recently developed AVCHD format, it said Wednesday at a news conference in Tokyo.

Konica Minolta has some pretty cool stuff on show at Ceatec, including these eyeglasses that feature holographic displays to offer a virtual view of South Park, “mature” entertainment or, just maybe, something a bit more useful.

Panasonic plans to launch a high-definition camcorder this year that uses an SD memory card for storage. A prototype of the camera was on show Tuesday at the Ceatec exhibition in Japan.

Toshiba’s ass-kicking RD-A1 HD DVD recorder with a 1TB hard drive went on sale this morning, after a delay of a few weeks natch, for the wallet-kicking sum of ¥398,000, or about US$3,400.

Sony’s new camcorders based on the AVCHD format can record 1080i high-def to standard DVDs, HDDs and memory cards were launched last week and we were there to bring you the first shots of the intriguing new technology in action.

Sony is expanding its line-up of high-definition camcorders to quickly transition its Japanese sales from standard-definition to HD, the company said Wednesday.

Sony plans to take the wraps off its first high-definition camcorder compatible with the new AVCHD format tomorrow here in Tokyo and we’ll bring it to you as it happens.