CES 2010

Sitting next to an IPhone, you can see that Netgear's new Internet TV Player is pretty small. Hook it up to any TV (and yes there is HDMI) and you can browse the Internet right from your TV using your existing home network. You can stream TV shows and videos from a wide selection of channels in full screen HD. There are icons you can click for key sites such as CBS, ABC, YouTube and more. Its possible to search via pre- programmed interests, too. Moreover, you are not restricted to just US sites, you can check out sites originating in Europe and Asia. The Internet TV Player will hit the stores sometime this summer for $199.

Driving to Vegas, I always stop in Baker, California, gateway to Death Valley and home of the world's tallest thermometer—134 feet, representing the highest recorded temperature in the US of 134 degrees in 1913. In this night shot, the thermometer is reflected in the 2009 Lincoln MKS that THX loaned me for the trip to check out the THX-certified sound system therein. Unlike past systems, this one can play multichannel DVD-Audio and even DVD video on the in-dash screen (as long as the car parked). Just like past systems, however, this one is quite boomy in the bass, and the only EQ controls are bass and treble. I got it sounding pretty good, especially on Donald Fagen's <I>Nightfly</I> DVD-A, though road noise—even in a car as quiet as this—can wreak havoc on something with a wide dynamic range like Stravinsky's <I>Firebird</I>.

One of the coolest parts of the drive from Southern California to Las Vegas is the Cajon Pass, especially if you're a rail fan like me. The Cajon Pass connects the So Cal basin with the High Desert where multiple rail lines weave through spectacular geography rising from sea level to over 4000 feet elevation. These mile-long container trains carry goods shipped from Asian ports to the Ports of Los Angeles or Long Beach and then to destinations in the Midwest or East Coast. Perhaps your next flat-screen television, home theater system or disc player is in one the containers on this train.

The Consumer Electronics Show may not start until Thursday (Wednesday for us press folks), but LG has decided to get a head start on product announcements. In a move clearly designed to complement its Netflix-streaming <A href="http://www.ultimateavmag.com/hddiscplayers/lg_bd300_network_blu-ray_play... Blu-ray player</A>, LG announced today a new line of LCD and plasma TVs with broadband connections and embedded software that will allow them to display streaming Netflix content directly. Currently, there are 12,000 titles to choose from, 300 in high definition&#151;clearly an underwhelming number, but one that is certainly going to increase as quickly as Netflix can encode them.