What's going on these days? Pirates are attacking everywhere. Already bored with DVD, pirates have set their spyglass on Blu-ray. Authorities in China, home of the most voracious pirates in the video business, seized a stash of over 800...
We talk a lot about VOD and digital downloads. So does everyone else. But the reality is that, according to a new survey, consumers preferred Blu-ray over downloading or streaming 10 to 1. That's huge!The survey was conducted by SmithGeiger...
It's official. The merger of XM and Sirius is a done deal, and the new system is up and on-the-air. How do you think they've handled the transition?I was the first to complain (okay, among the first) online about the new XM channel...
The arrival of a new TV is always a moment of joy in any household. But it also raises a problem: What to do with the old one? Thanks to Sony's new Green Glove service, you'll no longer have to worry about this.
A full week before Black Friday, we're seeing a Memorex Blu-ray player for a mere $139.99, plus a flat $5.00 shipping fee. Do you go shopping now?Depends on what you're looking for in a Blu-ray player. This is a Profile 1.1 "picture...
The on-demand movie business is alive and well and living in the set-top box business. And competition is fierce. Climbing above the fray, Vudu is claiming to have more HD movies than anyone else. More than Netflix, Xbox 360, Apple TV, and...
Oh happy day. We reported last week that lucky Aussie's were getting pizza through their TiVos. But, starting today, TiVo broadband subscribers can order Domino's Pizza, right from an on-screen widget on their TiVo menu. The service is...
Price: $999 At A Glance: Tweeter isolated in separate chamber • Aluminum drivers in satellites • Hand-applied piano black lacquer finish
Building a Better Satellite
Energy has always taken satellite/subwoofer sets seriously. The Canadian speaker brand, recently acquired by American-owned Klipsch, got into the sat/sub game early with the now legendary Take Five package. As successive Take products became steady bestsellers and proceeded through multiple generations, Energy established itself as a major name in sats and subs. It also helped turn the sat/sub set into a respectable product category. This especially applies to décor-conscious households that like to have surround sound but balk at the prospect of five to seven bulky speakers hogging a room.
Price: $400 At A Glance: Affordable BD-Live performance • Great DVD playback performance • Lacks multichannel analog audio support
More Blu for Your Budget
The BDP-S350 is Sony’s follow-up to the popular BDP-S300. One of the most inexpensive standalone players on the market, the BDP-S350 includes some great new features that the BDP-S300 design didn’t have. Sony overhauled its form factor, with a case that’s nearly half the size of the company’s earlier players. The player also employs a sleek new interface that uses Sony’s popular Xross Media Bar. While player prices have not headed farther south yet, the bang-for-the-buck factor is going up, as players at the lower end of the market add more essential features. Sony’s $400 player is BD-Live ready (firmware update pending), Bonus View PiP capable, and includes bitstream support for the next-gen lossless audio formats from Dolby and DTS.
