New Gear

There's little question that Pioneer's Elite-branded Kuro plasmas were among the best — if not the best — televisions ever produced, with black levels still unmatched, in the opinion of most.

With a pair of new smart TVs, Best Buy's not looking to win prizes for putting out the biggest or most full-featured devices in their class. But the Insignia Connected TV (available in 32" and 42" sizes, at $499 and $699 respectively) is aiming to bring a new class of consumer into the smart TV market.

Bang & Olufsen have announced the BeoSound 5 Encore, the baby brother of their BeoSound 5 music system.

The cat's been out of the bag for a month or two now, but today Roku officially announces an entirely redesigned line of streaming media players, featuring a smaller form factor, a few new content channels, Angry Birds — and, on the top-of-the-line XS, a motion-control remote. The new units should hit stores by the end of the month.