When the Blu-ray Disc format was first announced, a feature that industry execs liked to pimp in their PowerPoint presentations was BD-Live. With your player plugged into a home network, we were told, a BD-Live-enabled disc could access all manner of wonders by way of the Internet -things like games and extra scenes and commentaries not included on the original disc.
Sometimes, basic is the best way to go. Take the newest crop of LCD and plasma TVs: many new models are jam-packed with features that most viewers aren't likely to care about or use - everything from YouTube access to preloaded cooking recipes (I'm serious!). For its 650U series LCDs, however, Toshiba chose to keep things relatively simple.
No longer content to be tethered to A/V systems alone, many new Bluray Disc players augment their basic BD-Live online capability with streaming services like Netflix, Pandora, Vudu, YouTube, and CinemaNow.
My first brush with home theater was in a large, dedicated room equipped with a top-shelf cathode-ray-tube (CRT) front projector, a Faroudja video processor, a 100-inch (diagonal) screen, and a killer sound system. Subsequently, I've measured every home theater experience against that one, making me a tough customer to please.
Roaming the packed halls of CES 2003, I'm not surprised to see a continuation of many of last year's video trends. Flat-panel plasma and LCD TVs are everywhere. Tube-type HDTVs, though upstaged by their slim, wall-hanging cousins, are still around and selling at increasingly attractive prices.
(Photos by Tony Cordoza) Sometimes just watching TV isn't enough. There I am, sunk deep into the couch, remote in hand, when a Happy Days episode comes on. Suddenly, I'm seized by a fierce desire to know as many details as possible about Pat Morita, the actor who plays Arnold, owner of the drive-in restaurant where Potsy and his posse hang out.