Panasonic SC-BT100 Home Theatre System
You can't enjoy that new hi-def flat panel without an ideal home theater setup. Panasonic's latest home theater in a box will help you get the most out of your new tv with a Blu-ray disc player and a 7.1 surround sound system with the convenience of wireless rear speakers. You also get an integrated iPod dock inside the Blu-ray player for recharging and playing back music and video files and is also fully controllable with the included remote. Link: $1000
Samsung A750 Touch of Color LCD
Offering a robust set of multimedia features, Samsung's "Touch of Color" LCDs are perfect for those of you looking for something a bit more versatile for your next tv purchase. The A750 features 1GB of integrated memory with pre-loaded content, integrated woofer, 50,000:1 contrast ratio, Infolink RSS reader via built-in ethernet, 4 HDMI ports, and a USB port for viewing image, video, and audio files. Link: $1,882-$2,655
Mvix MV-2500U
Mvix's MV-2500U is a portable and convenient way to store and play all your digital video files on your home theater system. The MV-2500U is available with up to 250GBs of storage and can play back mpeg, avi, divx, xvid, and much much more. Its also capable of playing back videos in HD with support for 480p, 720p, and 1080i playback modes. Link: $250-$350
Red Scarlet
RED shook up the camera industry a couple of years ago by announcing a fully featured cinema grade HD camera at a significantly lower price than the competition. Now they've unveiled their "pocket-sized" Scarlet camera for all you wannabe Spielbergs and camera enthusiasts. Scarlet boasts a 3K sensor which is capable of shooting 1-120FPS (180 burst) and features a 4.8" LCD, 8X T.28 Zoom Lens, Dual Compact Flash storage, Firewire 800 and USB2 inputs, WI-FI controls, and Still image capability. Link: $3000
Sony NHS-130C
So your kid decided to forgo the collegiate experience to become a musician and now you're wondering what to do with all the tuition money you saved up. How about upgrading your house with a ridiculous home theater system. Sony's NHS-130C should do just the trick with a stack of components that delivers a top of the line home theater system as well as the latest in home automation controls. The rack consists of a 7.1 channel surround sound, Sony ES Receiver, Blu-ray Disc player, 400 disc DVD/CD changer, 160GB music server, and a Control4 home automation box. [$40,000-$85,000]
Denon AVR-5308CI
If you won't settle for anything less than HD, you're going to want Denon's latest AV receiver, the AVR-5408CI at the core of your home theatre. The AVR-5408CI has six HDMI (HDMI 1.3a certified) inputs, which should be more than enough to enjoy all your gaming, video, and audio in its full HD-goodness. The receiver also uses the Realta HQV chipset which lets you upconvert any analog source to 1080p resolution. You can even plug a Hard Drive or digital music player into the unit's USB ports and control your music library directly from the receiver. Other features include Dolby and DTS HD audio decoding, Wi-fi and ethernet music streaming, and XM, HD, and AM/FM radio tuning. [$5200]
Samsung HT-BD2
If you've been undecided on whether to buy a HD-DVD or Blu-ray player because of the format war, you can now make your decision because now the majority of the studios have decided to support Blu-ray. To take full advantage of the HD experience, Samsung is releasing a complete home theatre kit which includes a Samsung Blu-ray player and an 1100 watt 7.1 channel setup that's perfect for HD audio formats like dts-HD and Dolby True HD. [$TBD]
Sony HES-V1000 Home Entertainment Server
If you've been contemplating the addition of a High Definition disc player to your home theatre setup, you may want to check out Sony's new Home Entertainment Server. The HES-V1000 will not only add Blu-ray playback to your rig, it houses a 200 BD/DVD/CD disc changer and a 500GB hard drive for storing all your music, movies, and pictures. [$3,500]
Bang & Olufsen Beo5
If you're lucky enough to have a few Bang & Olufsen systems around the house, its time you upgrade to their slick new remote, the Beo5. The Beo5 can virtually control any B&O audio or video system in the house and does that with a clean button layout and customizable touch screen interface which sits behind a layer of hardened glass. The remote can also be customized to control home automation features such as lighting systems and curtains. [$TBD]
Panasonic HDC-SD5
This is not your father's tape based, shoulder mounted camcorder. Panasonic's HDC-SD5 is a full HD 1920 x 1080 shooter with what they say is the "smallest "3CCD HD Camera" which weighs in at a ridiculous .75lbs. The extreme portability is possible with the use of SD/SDHC media which can store up to 180 minutes of HD footage on a 8 GB card. Available September. [$1000]
Sony ES STR-DA5300ES A/V Receiver
With everything going hi-def these days, you're going to need a very capable A/V receiver to handle all your gear. Sony's ES STRDA5300ES has six HDMI inputs for all your HD components which all use "Active Intelligence" which Sony says picks up the best audio and video signals from your equipment. You also get 1080P upscaling, a Sirius/XM tuner, Dolby TrueHD and DTS HD support, and a digital media port for hooking up accessories such as an iPod. [$1700]
TiVo HD
Tivo's got a new set top for you guys who can't get enough DVR. The box is launching with a 160GB hard drive which is enough room for 20 hours of HD video/180 hours of Standard Definition programming and features two cable card slots, storage expansion via eSATA, and 720p/1080i output. [$300]
Infocus Play Big IN82
You could easily drop 5 grand on a spiffy new flat screen tv, or you could spend that cash on a true cinematic experience with Infocus's new Play Big IN82 projector. The IN82 is a full 1080p high-def resolution projector with upto a 12000:1 contrast ratio and HDMI 1.3a for the best possible viewing of your hd content. [$5499]
Alienware Hangar18
If you ever wished that you could easily spec out your Tivo with every bell and whistle on the shelf, Alienware's Hangar18 just might be for you. The Hangar18 comes standard with a 250GB hard drive, Stereo Receiver w/ 1000 Watt Amp, 720p HDMI output, WiFi & Bluetooth, Multi-Card Reader, Gyration Mouse/Remote, and a slot loading DVD/CD Player and Burner. For the power hungry, you can option out up to 2TBs of storage, 1080 HDMI out, up to 4GB of ram, and up to 4 TV tuners [$1,999]
Sony Bravia KDL-46V3000 and Internet Video Link
Sony recently announced their Bravia KDL-46V3000 46 inch LCD which supports the full 1080p resolution for hi-def video viewing and includes a built in capability of upscaling 480p video into HD. This model is also compatible with the optional Internet Video Link that enables access to High-Def content streaming over the web. Bravia 46' V-Series LCD [$TBD] Internet Video Link [$300]
