As the crazy discount madness continues to flourish in time for the coming Holidays, Best Buy has announced a big price off for TiVo HD DVR and TiVo HD XL DVRs. The TiVo HD DVR is now available for only $249.99 while the TiVo HD XL DVRs now retails for only $499.99 plus the cost of service. And the deal even gets better. If you plan to buy an HDTV, you get an additional $100 off on the cost of an HD TiVo DVR (from $249.99 to $149.99). Now that is really a very Merry Christmas treat only from Best Buy!

(Source) Press

Home entertainment gets another boost as PrimeDTV unravels their PHD-HM5 HD home-networked media player. This portable HD media player has been named among the hottest electronic products in Amazon, delivering exceptional videos which can practically play all video file formats up to 1080p. Aside from video entertainment, the PHD-HM5 can also be a handy digital music player and HD display contraption. It is quite easy to set up and can show stored photos and videos on a digital camcorder or camera for widescreen viewing. It comes with 2 USB ports and Ethernet input ports as well to broaden multimedia capabilities for this portable player you just have to get in the market today.

(Source) Press

Genesis, a leading developer of high-end luxury loudspeaker and amplifier systems, is honored to be named as CES Best of Innovations 2010 Design and Engineering Award Honoree for Genesis 7.1f loudspeaker. The G7.1f is a high-end audiophile loudspeaker designed and engineered to be a value priced product in the Genesis line.

The Genesis 7.1f delivers full-range musical performance. It comes with a built-in servo-controlled 8" subwoofer delivering bass down to 22Hz, while the ribbon tweeter ensures perfect high frequencies to 36 kHz. The loudspeakers have been designed to be beautiful and elegant and to fit into your living room perfectly.

The Genesis 7.1f will be demonstrated at the 2010 International CES, in January at Las Vegas and will also be displayed at the Innovations Design and Engineering Showcase.

As we see a new wave of interface jacks and ports being integrated into mobile devices today, the VESA group has decided to make the mini display port standard. It is also known as the mDP which should now be compatible with most displays used provided they meet Display Port 1.1 standards. So don’t be surprised if the next time you buy a new MACBook or laptop, there is a new port in the mix!

(Source) Ubergizmo

Chill out this winter with this Equalizer Music Hat that will not just let you listen to your favorite tracks but also keep your ears warm. It is definitely an interesting gadget, ideal to beat the upcoming cool temperature as well as stay entertained on the go!

The Equalizer Music Hat has built in blue luminescent displays in either side that reacts to the volume and the beat of the music being played. The louder the music, the more lights gets illuminated. Powered by two CR2032 batteries, the hat uses 3.5mm audio connector and is compatible with anything that needs a headphone, such as iPod, MP3 player or Walkman. This hat will be perfect for your winter journeys. It is available for purchase at GBP19.99 around $30.

Motorola’s Home & Networks Mobility business recently announced the addition of DCX700 all-digital, high-definition (HD) set-top to its DCX product line. The low-profile design of this new HD DVR will enable cable operators to successfully migrate an all-digital network. It will also accelerate the delivery of personal media experiences and multi-room-DVR (MR-DVR) capabilities.

The small and streamlined profile of the Motorola DCX700 allows a space-saving wall-mounted installation. It is a cost-effective set-top with a single 1 GHz tuner. Plus, it supports both MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 AVC services. Above all, the DVR includes the latest audio and video output, including HDMI and Dolby Digital Plus.

The DCX700 will either support CableCARD conditional access or embedded MediaCipher conditional access. Motorola will be showcasing the DCX700 HD DVR at the 2009 SCTE Cable-Tec Expo from October 28 - 30 in Denver.

A bit out of date, I know, but it’s doubly fun because not only is this a sweet home theater setup, it’s also a sweet home theater setup concocted, in its entirety, by a guy who worked at Best Buy.

Maybe you’re wondering–and rightly so–how a guy who works at Best Buy could ever possibly afford a sweet home theater setup. This guy actually works in their research and development division, so he’s naturally better paid than all the blue shirts out there.  Sorry guys.

So he waded in to make a home theater setup that was part proving ground and part fun family gathering place.  He put in a slew of M&K speakers and receiver gear, a Stewart Firehawk one hundred six inch screen, a Sony four hundred DVD changer, and even a couple of strange components like a Toshiba HD DVD player and a Pioneer laserdisc.

Even looking at the picture is enough to make just about anybody wish they worked for Best Buy R&D, because even if you (used to) work for Circuit City, you’re still probably calling that a sweet home theater setup.

Now this is some highly strange news.

Word is out from research company GigaOM that says the home 3-D market is going to go off like an M-80 in a blowtorch, suggesting that, by 2013, forty six million homes will have 3-D HDTVs.  This strikes me as preposterous at first glance, because that implies that, despite the fact that we’re in the worst economic conditions since the Great Depression, and the worldwide economy is in nigh-total collapse mode, somehow, it’s going to all pull out within four years and everyone’s going to rush out and be an early adopter of a new technology.

And I say “new” with complete accuracy–no one’s even managed to RELEASE one of these 3-D HDTVs yet.  Sony and Panasonic both have plans to, but neither one of them will actually set a unit on store shelves until sometime in 2010.  So basically, this report figures that forty six million households will manage to rush out and buy untested, UNRELEASED technology in the midst of economic death.

Excuse my skepticism, but I suppose that only time will tell.

JVC Kenwood unveiled their new concept “RYOMA/M-Linx”.The device is an All-in One Solution for your entertainment needs. No need to buy a separate TV tuner, BD/HDD recorder! Ryoma integrates HD Digital TV Tuner, BD and DVD player and recorder, HDD Recorder, CD player DLNA Support in a single device! However, access to radio functionality is given by a smaller device M-Linx. M-Linx would fetch some visual information like schedules or content of the radio shows while you are busy listening them.  More information about the device is likely to come during CEATEC 2009.

There are those who say that the “home theater in a box” idea is a way to push off overpriced, underpowered crap that can’t hope to match the power of proper single source components.  But the JVC NX-T10 is going to try and beat that by offering up a super-slim theater setup.  You can actually mount the speakers and such on the walls due to their relatively slim size.

The array has five hundred twenty watts of total power, and can handle playback of DVD, WMA, JPEG, and MPEGs four, two and one, as well as DivX, though I’m not really all that sure who actually uses DivX any more.  Anyway, it also has a front surround system with omni-directional speakers, HDMI with 1080p upconversion, touch panel operation, a slot-in DVD mechanism, USB music recording and a powered subwoofer.

This is actually a fairly complete system as systems go, and JVC has definitely put quite a bit of value in this package.  It’s not on Amazon yet, so there’s not much pricing data, but this is a pretty solid system as long as the price isn’t too out of line.

Give a boost to your viewing experience with the latest Samsung UN55B8500 55" 1080P LED HDTV. Enjoy breakthrough picture quality, multiple connectivity option and smooth motion, all wrapped up in an ultra slim 1.6" design.

The new Samsung UN55B8500 55" 1080P LED HDTV uses LED local dimming backlight technology, supports Auto Motion Plus 240Hz technology and Wide Color Enhancer Pro feature to recreate reality through color and light. The connectivity options of this TV include Internet@TV that will let you to receive content via Yahoo!®, Flickr® and other online TV Widgets on screen and four HDMI.

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Looking for a sleek looking hard drive to couple with your WD TV Mini? Well, Verbatim may have your answer with their latest InSight portable hard drive.

This particular hard drive features a very small foot print weighing in at just 164 grams and measuring 153 x 87 x 16mm. But just because it’s small doesn’t mean its storage is small as Verbatim has managed to cram a full 500GB into the InSight.

If you’re interested in purchasing Verbatim’s InSight 500GB hard drive you can do so now for around $200.

via pocket-lint

The Sony Bravia KDL 40W5100 is another in an excellent lineup of Sony model televisions–in general, I’m very fond of the Bravias for representing a quality brand above all else, and this one is certainly no exception.

The Sony Bravia KDL 40W5100 is a forty inch 1080p LCD TV that comes with Sony’s exclusive Motionflow technology to reduce image blur and artifacts. It also offers four HDMI slots, an HD combination slot, a USB port, a PC input jack and the normal lineup of Bravia-specific internet options. It lists for seventeen hundred bucks, but over on Amazon you can pick it up for just over a grand, which is definitely a plus.

This Bravia is, as I’ve said, an absolutely beautiful picture with great sound and easy controls.  If you don’t mind shelling out four figures for a TV, then you’ll have a hard time finding better out there than this magnificently intuitive Bravia.

Yes, I know, no one wants to be the bearer of bad news, but sometimes you’ve just got to suck it up and deal with it.  After all, you come here for no holds barred unvarnished commentary, news and advice, so I’m glad to be the one to dish it out.  It’s not always pleasant but it’s usually necessary.

1. The gear you buy today is either already obsolete or will be within days.

That’s the nature of the beast, folks–you’ll find a better deal on better components before you’ve put the hundredth hour on your home theatre setup.  There’s just no two ways about it.

2. Just because the picture looks great in the store doesn’t mean it’ll look good at home.

The TVs that you see in the store–even the projector images–are specifically set up for that store.  You’ve got to consider that, especially if you’re shopping the big box store, you’re in a huge cavernous space.  The light levels, the sound flow, everything will look (and sound!) different between there and there.

3. Something will go wrong.

Sorry perfectionists in the crowd, something’s going to go wrong and it’s going to do so a lot sooner than you expected, too.  That new 1080p you bought has MILLIONS of pixels, and the chances of one of them dying are really REALLY good.  Like almost certain good.  So chances are your magnificent five thousand dollar set will lose a teeny-tiny chunk of the screen within the first few weeks.

And there’s your bad news feed for the day–don’t worry; it can only get better from here.

You’d think that HDTV wouldn’t have haters.  You’d think that most people would love the HDTV, with its improved clarity and better sound and more slots and better fit into any home theatre setup.  But no, this is sadly not the case.  Apparently over at MSNBC, they don’t like the HDTV.  Maybe it’s got something to do with Keith Olbermann, but anyway, MSNBC’s got five big problems with HDTV.

Jumbo Sweat

Apparently MSNBC takes issue with the “real life” display of most folks, blemishes, shaving nicks, pores, sweat and all.  Okay, maybe it DOES have something to do with Keith Olbermann.

The Edge of Black

Since not every TV show is presented in HD yet, some shows come presented with black bars on the sides that cut the viewing area of the screen.  This could be regarded as a problem, but time is one thing that should fix this up nicely.  Plus, most cable or satellite providers offer HD lineups.

Not All HD Is HD

One network news channel’s HD looks crisp and sharp but the rival network’s show doesn’t.  Of course at this point, some would say “then just watch the GOOD one, duh” and let the market prove who’s got the best HDTV.  But that’s not an option for MSNBC, apparently.

HDMI

If I have to hear about overpriced cables one more time I think I’m gonna take a pair of Monsters, twist them up into a noose and HANG MYSELF.  Yes, some cables are overpriced.  But not all HDMI cables are overpriced, and HDMI is a solid format for transmitting HD signals.  What is everyone’s problem with this?

Fun With Calibration

Okay, sure…some HDTVs aren’t ready out of the box and need some calibration.  But you don’t need a three hundred dollar trip to the geek squad at your local Best Buy–a twenty to forty dollar calibration DVD will do the job just fine.  But apparently MSNBC doesn’t read Cyber Theater, because if they DID, they’d know about the FREE CALIBRATION UTILITY AVAILABLE FOR DOWNLOAD.

So some people do still have a hate-on for HDTV.  But if they give it some time, and a little understanding, I bet they’ll get just as much out of it as we do.

The sheer unparalleled spectacle of breathtaking glory that is the Samsung UN40B6000 will likely make your eyes go wide with awe–that’s exactly what they did to mine.  Seriously, when I first got a look at this monster LED screen, I just about lost it.  It was unbelievable.  It was amazing. And of course, I’m talking about the price tag there, which weighed in at an equally spectacular twenty four hundred bucks.

The Samsung UN40B6000 is a forty inch LED TV that shows images in full 1080p, and includes a detachable swivel stand, Broadband internet capability, four HDMI ports, one component jack, two USB ports, one  Ethernet port, one PC port, and one optical digital audio output.

As possible hubs for a home theatre system go this one could definitely go a long way toward providing exactly what you need.  It’s got more than enough slots and ports to be a real workhorse, plus the picture and sound quality are excellent.  The LED really is as good as advertised, although like most Samsungs it still has that odd and distressing variant of not bothering to include exterior controls.

Aside from that small trouble and a monstrous price tag, the Samsung UN40B6000 is pretty much all the TV you could ever want.

ViewSonic has today come forth to announce a whole slew of new LCD HDTVs of both varying sizes and hardware specs. First up are the VTW3245 and VT3745 which will sell for $649 and $799, respectively, and feature a 1080p resolution, 4,000:1 contrastio ratio and a 5ms response time.

Next up is the N4285 which is presumably larger than the above mentioned TVs clocking in at $999 with a 1080p resolution and 10,000:1 contrast ratio. And finally we have the VT2042, VT2342 and VT2645, priced at $299, $349 and $449 respectively and will presumably features 720p (with the VT2342 featuring 1080p).

There’s no word on exactly what sizes these panels will come in but as soon as we find out we’ll let you know.

via engadgethd

To offer top-quality home theater sound, JVC recently introduced two new home theater systems, the TH-BA1 and TH-SB100. Both the TH-BA1 and TH-SB100 systems are 4.1-channel systems accompanied with wireless subwoofer. So, if you do not want to deal with wires running all over your living room, they are the perfect solution.

The TH-BA1 include two components, the sound bar and wireless subwoofer, while the TH-SB100 adds a separate Blu-ray player to the package. The low-profile sound bar includes four speakers, an amplifier and a sound processor. In addition, it also features built-in Dolby Digital, Dolby Pro Logic II and DTS decoding. Other features of the systems include BD Live compatibility, HDMI ver.1.3 with Deep Color and x.v.Color, USB Host, LAN for BD Live, component and composite video outputs, and analog, optical and coaxial audio outputs.

Both the TH-BA1 and TH-SB100 home theater systems will be available in September, priced at $399.99 and $699.99, respectively.

ASUS continues to blur the line between HDTV and computer monitor with their latest T1 series of computer monitors. The T1 series will feature displays in sizes of 22, 24 and 27 inches all featuing a full 1080p resolution, 2 HDMI ports, 2 seven watt speakers and last but not least a TV tuner.

According to Pocket-lint, these monitors are available now starting at around $461 with no word of a North American release.

If you are looking for a small HD TV that will easily fit into any corner of your room, then have a look at the new Sony HD BRAVIA S57 Series. It is a slim, lightweight and portable 19” LCD HD TV, jam-packed with advanced features.

For enjoying movies, images and music from other devices, the Sony HD BRAVIA S57 Series supports HDMI™ and USB connections. The TV comes integrated with a built in tuners for receiving digital channels. To deliver incredible details and image depth, the TV supports BRAVIA ENGINE™ 2 and a Dynamic Contrast ratio of up to 8.000:1.

The Sony HD BRAVIA S57 Series further comes with a range of eco-features such as Power Saving and standby mode. Integrated with all the advanced features and curved design, the BRAVIA S57 is without doubt an ideal addition to liven up any room.

Via: Sony