Home Theater

Moxi introduces three-tuner HD DVR, reduces prices on dual-tuner version

Sean Portnoy — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 02:39:36 +0000

TiVo isn’t the only company trying to entice people to choose its DVR solution over one you can get bundled with your cable or satellite programming. Moxi is going the extra step with the latest version of its HD DVR, unleashing a new model that incorporate three HD tuners instead of the dual-tuner setup introduced [...]

Sony to charge $24.95 for Bravia owners to rent "Chance of Meatballs" before DVD release

Sean Portnoy — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 02:42:43 +0000

Leveraging some synergy between its electronics arm and its movie studio, Sony announced today that it’s going to offer its hit kiddies flick “Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs” to owners of select Bravia home theater gear a full month before it’s released on DVD. The price for this privilege—and there sure is a price [...]

TiVo readying 802.11n Wi-Fi adapter?

Sean Portnoy — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 20:18:49 +0000

It’s been a tough slog for TiVo, whose once-innovative DVR ecosystem has been co-opted by cable companies’ own DVR services. (Though some offer the TiVo interface for an additional charge.) The company and its devices still have their champions, but it’s difficult to achieve mass success when buyers have to pony up a minimum of [...]

Viewsonic introduces $100 VMP70 HD media player without network connectivity

Sean Portnoy — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 01:43:34 +0000

Viewsonic is best known for its computer monitors, but it also offers HDTVs, mostly through online retailers. Now it hopes to expand its living room presence with its first media player, the VMP70. The good news is that it can handle 1080p HD, though that’s not a major accomplishment these days. Perhaps the VMP70 is most [...]

Wal-mart preempts Black Friday with HDTV specials this Saturday

Sean Portnoy — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 04:26:54 +0000

Every year, retailers’ ads for Black Friday—the day after Thanksgiving and the unofficial starting of the holiday shopping season—manage to leak out a few weeks beforehand (this year being no exception). And every year, said retailers freak out when the ads appear online, perhaps fearing that competitors could change their prices in response. Wal-mart appears to [...]

Holiday Gift Guide 2009: Top Five HDTVs

Sean Portnoy — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 05:21:28 +0000

Whatever the size of your wallet, every living room should have a respectable television set. Good news: HDTVs are cheaper, bigger and better than ever. Here are my top five picks for this year. Splurge: Samsung UNB8500 Series If you don’t need to wait for a full economic recovery to hit before you can afford a new [...]

Holiday Gift Guide 2009: Blu-ray Players/Home Theater Systems

Sean Portnoy — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 05:21:17 +0000

With prices for both players and discs plunging, this may be the holiday season for Blu-ray. Already online movie streaming is making inroads—even on Blu-ray players themselves. Some of these picks are integrating on-demand video services into their feature sets, hoping to keep themselves relevant in the disc-less future. Splurge: Oppo BDP-83 You don’t drop $500 on [...]

Men watch more high-def than women--and other things about HDTV you probably already know

Sean Portnoy — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 12:41:27 +0000

There was a time not too long ago when a lot of people bought an HDTV, brought it home, and started watched TV, all the while thinking they were watching in HD when they hadn’t bothered to upgrade their cable or satellite package to make high-def programming available. Now viewers have become savvier, according to [...]

Is HDTV turning Americans into hockey fans?

Sean Portnoy — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 01:08:37 +0000

Hockey, the national pastime of our neighbors up north, has always been the number-four sport in the U.S., save for pockets of the country with a puck pedigree (the Northeast, the northern Midwest). While the league expanded south and west during the 1990s, and managed to have Fox broadcast Stanley Cups during the decade, that [...]

Would you let Wal-mart do your home-theater installation?

Sean Portnoy — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 17:57:15 +0000

Above all else, Wal-mart is about offering the lowest prices possible (seemingly at all costs), but when it comes to electronics products like HDTVs, being the cheapest only gets you so far. Best Buy has remained strong during the recession in thanks to its service offerings, most notably its Geek Squad of techies who can [...]