What's New In -- Home Entertainment?!
There's a whole new generation of hi-tech toys to upgrade your TV system - and turn it into a home theater.
Whatever you're watching can look amazingly crisp, clear and detailed, according to Amazon.com Vice President of Consumer Electronics Paul Ryder.
On The Early Show Saturday, Ryder pointed to several devices he says would make great upgrades.
TiVo HD DVR $299
TiVo has gotten even better! It's a digital video recorder, but also a digital video retriever - actually going out and grabbing any movie, any song, and any video you want and delivering it straight to your television set. Essentially, you can find any content you want and bring it to the TV set using the TiVo service - they're striving to be the one-stop shop for any consumer interested in content. And the most important part is making it easy and integrated into one search, one user interface, and with one remote.
Apple TV $229
Provides access to a variety of free and premium media content - including movie rentals, TV shows, music, photos, podcasts, and YouTube videos - on your TV. Streams media from networked Mac or Windows PCs. Purchases and rentals can be done directly through iTunes Store on your TV. Movie rentals from all major studios include some in HD and surround-sound. Sleek external design and elegant user interface. Simple, streamlined setup. Includes state-of-the-art 802.11n wireless networking and smooth, hiccup-free streaming. With its enhanced iTunes video offerings, PC-free operation, and a lower price tag, the updated Apple TV is a compelling Internet-enabled entertainment device for the living room.
Netflix Roku Player $99
If you're a Netflix subscriber, you may have noticed that, in the last year or so, the company has rolled out a "Watch Now" option that enables you to instantly watch some of the movies and TV shows in the Netflix library on your Windows PC (with a broadband connection, of course). More recently, in upgrading its digital offerings, Netflix has taken things a step further by separating out the Instant Queue from your DVD Queue. While the all-you-can-eat streaming video option is a nice perk for users (it's available to any subscriber on the $8.95 per month plan or better), the real dream for many people is that, instead of watching movies on your PC's monitor, you cut out the computer completely and go right to your TV. "Streams Netflix Watch Now" titles to your TV. There's an affordable price tag: Unlimited viewing with no additional charge beyond the standard ($8.95 or higher) monthly Netflix fee. The PC-free movie watching features a simple setup, including built-in wired and 802.11g Wi-Fi networking. It works with all TVs. Upgradeable firmware allows for new features, interface improvements, and bug fixes.
Samsung Blu-Ray Player $344
The next generation of DVD is here, promising true high-resolution video and more features than the current generation of DVDs. There were two competing high-def standards, HD DVD and Blu-ray. Because the formats are incompatible, hardware manufacturers, movie studios and you, the consumer, have to choose sides. Blu-ray is considered the winner of the format war. This unit is relatively inexpensive compared to other standalone units. Very good image quality on most Blu-ray discs. Excellent look, not too loud, amazing picture and sound. Working Ethernet and USB port.
This high-definition disc format is designed to maximize the viewing experience available from today's HDTVs. Blu-ray discs boast high-resolution video up to 1080p, as well as new, more detailed surround-sound formats. Blu-ray players can also play standard definition DVDs, and most can play CDs as well.
Samsung DVD Player $90
Inexpensive and very small, this is a great DVD player, with video up-conversion. These players can up-convert DVD video to a resolution that more closely matches that of your HDTV monitor. The signal remains digital as it travels through digital video connections to your compatible high-def TV for the cleanest possible transfer.
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