The HDTV Jungle
High-def channels are widely available and prices for HDTVs continue to drop. But there's still the problem of too many TV types to choose from. The Solution
Entertainment Overload
Having a monster CD and DVD collection is a tremendous joy — except when you actually want to find something. The problem is, the bigger the forest, the harder it is to find a certain tree. The Solution
Out of Control
You've just upgraded to a new home theater system, but no one can figure out how to use it! Even the "simplest" systems can be trick to operate. The Solution
By Al Griffin
THE PROBLEM Your old TV works just fine, so you’ve put off buying an HDTV. You used to have some good reasons for waiting. Prices for widescreen high-def sets were higher than you’d ever imagined paying for a TV, and a swarm of new technologies with strange names like plasma, DLP, and LCoS left you baffled. And it wasn’t clear how you’d actually get HDTV programs. Sure, the network TV stations in big cities were broadcasting high-def, but the affiliates in your hometown took longer to get on the bandwagon. And when you called your cable company to see if they offered HDTV, the service rep just said, “HDTV — uh, what’s that?” But now that the cable company is calling you to extol the virtues of HDTV, you’re wondering how to get in the game.
THE SOLUTION High-def channels are now widely available on both satellite and cable, and broadcast stations in cities from Florida to Alaska are airing HDTV during prime-time. So programming’s no longer a reason to put off buying an HDTV, and set prices continue to drop. But there’s still the issue of too many TV types to choose from. With a little advice, though, you can zero in on the right one.
If you’re tight on money, space, or both, your best bet is a direct-view CRT model. These HDTVs display high-def programs using the same cathode-ray tube technology found in your old TV, and most have a wide “16:9” screen. With screens ranging from 26 to 36 inches (measured diagonally), they can easily squeeze into small spaces, and prices go from a very reasonable $500 up to $2,000.
Another HDTV option for the space-challenged is flat-panel plasma and LCD sets — but you’re going to have to spend a lot more. The key advantage here, of course, is that you can mount the TV on a wall like a picture. But flat HDTVs can also deliver exceptional pictures. Recent 42-inch plasmas that received glowing reviews in these pages include Pioneer’s PDP-4350HD (May), Panasonic’s TH-42XVS30U (May), and Dell’s W4200 (September). Actual selling prices (as opposed to hyperinflated “list” prices) are $5,000, $4,500, and $2,899, respectively.
Flat-panel HDTV screen sizes can be as big as 71 inches for plasma and 45 inches for LCD. But prices for those mammoth models are unthinkably high for the average Joe. With screen sizes ranging from 42 to 73 inches and prices starting as low as a thousand bucks, a rear-projection TV (RPTV) provides a much bigger bang for your buck.
RPTVs use tubes or a light engine with DLP (Digital Light Processing), LCD, or LCoS (liquid crystal on silicon) technology to project images onto the screen. While rear-projection sets can be bulky — especially those based on older CRT technology — most of the latest DLP and LCD sets are less than 20 inches deep, with many measuring only 15 to 18 inches. (You’ll even find a handful of really slim DLP models that use a special lens assembly to get cabinet depth down to a mere 7 inches, though they’re a lot more expensive.) Unlike direct-view tube and flat-panel plasma and LCD sets, which perform well in brightly lit rooms, RPTVs need a dim space to look their best. Even so, our reviewers have waxed poetic about such models as Mitsubishi’s 48-inch WS-48515 (February/March), Toshiba’s 52-inch 52HM94 (June), and Sony’s Qualia 006 (May). Actual selling prices are as low as $1,999, $1,895, and $10,999, respectively.
LOOKING AHEAD With more high-def channels coming online all the time, HDTV is on a roll. You can expect to see even more set types unveiled in the near future, with HDTVs driven by exotic technologies like SED — short for Surface-conduction Electron-emitter Display — which combines the best aspects of CRT technology with a flat-panel form factor. But with more companies adding their own unique spins to capture your high-def dollars, set prices can only continue to come down. As that happens, there’ll be no reason left to sit on the sidelines.
Entertainment OverloadBy Ken C. Pohlmann
The Problem Hey! Congratulations! Your bookcase o’ discs is mighty impressive. What are we looking at here? Maybe a thousand CDs and 500 DVDs? A monster collection like that must be a tremendous joy — except, of course, when you actually want to find something. You can alphabetize them, use the Dewey Decimal System, or any other scheme, but that one CD might be in your wife’s car, your kid’s boombox, or your toddler’s mouth. Speaking of 2-year-olds, I know one who passionately loves to rearrange shiny discs into an ordering that only his secret genius can fathom. The fact is, the bigger the forest, the harder it is to find a certain tree.
The Solution Throw away all your discs, of course. Whoa! Wait a second — let me explain. In other words, move all that precious entertainment to a server. That’s not as scary as it sounds. I’m not suggesting that you call IBM and have a mainframe installed in your living room. Servers can be a PC, a dedicated box with a big hard-disk drive, or as simple as an iPod. Whichever way you go, you’d be transforming that brimming collection of discs into an easy-to-manage collection of digital files. So instead of a wall of CDs and DVDs, you’d have a hard drive loaded with your favorite music and movies. (Of course, most folks will hang onto their discs for archival purposes or at least back up their newly minted electronic collection on a secondary drive.)
The advantages of file storage are compelling. For starters, apart from the server itself, files don’t take up any space. And you can organize and classify to your heart’s content without ever touching a CD or DVD, build playlists for any occasion, and find any song you want in a matter of seconds. No more hunting for missing discs in the kids’ rooms or under a car seat. (Sure, you can do that with a CD or DVD megachanger, but it’s easier and faster with a server.) Last but not least, you’ll be able to set up a wired or wireless network around your server that lets you access your collection from anywhere in the house.
So, a server is the clear winner, right? Well, that depends on what you want to use it for. Music can eat up a decent amount of disk space but video takes up more — a lot more. With modest data compression that doesn’t compromise sound quality, you can fit 1,000 CDs on a reasonably priced server, but several hundred DVDs copied without additional compression will require a much bigger investment in drive capacity and might raise some legal questions. For example, Hollywood is challenging the legality of movie servers like the Kaleidescape (February/March 2004) that let you store copies of your DVDs on a huge hard drive.
Still, manufacturers are hotly pursing this new market. We’ve reviewed a number of servers. For example, Yamaha’s MusicCAST (September 2003) has a CD drive, an 80-GB hard drive, and Wi-Fi to send music wirelessly throughout your house. The Escient DVDM-300 (June 2005) ups the ante, ripping CDs to its 300-GB hard drive and controlling up to three DVD/CD changers. And the awesome Xperinet Polaris (June 2005) can deliver up to seven streams of movies from its 1.25 terabytes of storage. That’s just the beginning.
Looking Ahead To serve or not to serve? If you’re a trendsetter, a server is the way to go. It’s simply more elegant and convenient than discs. And as prices come down, servers will proliferate. Look for an explosion of fully integrated systems that can acquire, store, organize, and distribute all your entertainment assets. As we break the habit of buying and playing discs or copying them to memory, we’ll skip the disc part and just buy files to store on home servers. It’s possible we’ll eventually skip personal storage altogether in favor of on-demand delivery from some huge central server. Either way, whether it’s in your home or hidden in a silo in North Dakota, the advantages of a server make it the bookcase of the future.
Out of ControlBy John Sciacca
THE PROBLEM See if this doesn’t sound familiar: You’ve just upgraded to a new home theater system with an HDTV and surround sound, but now no one can figure out how to use it! Even writing notes to yourself like, “To watch a movie, put the TV on Input 1 and the receiver on DVD,” isn’t enough to prevent occasionally getting sound but no picture, or vice versa. Having to continually switch inputs is making the whole family homicidal, and the prospect of mastering the mound of remote controls frightens even the bravest souls. You’re thinking about getting satellite radio but you tremble at the idea of adding yet another remote! There has to be a better way, right?
ThE SOLUTION This is a common dilemma, and unfortunately, even the “simplest” home theater systems can be tricky to operate. Just playing a DVD can take six or more button presses on multiple remotes and make anyone feel like committing a felony! Even though some receivers come with so-called “universal” remotes designed to handle all the control chores for your home theater, these are rarely easy to use. Sometimes they lack the buttons essential for system operation. Other times they’re so poorly laid out that they cause more frustration than satisfaction. What you need is a system controller that makes operating your gear simple enough for anyone in the household.
A great controller is not only easy for even the most technophobic member of the family to use with little or no instruction but powerful enough to handle every chore necessary to operate a system day in and out. One of my current favorites is the Harmony 676. At $199, this remote can tame most systems while remaining a breeze to operate. One of its best features is a Help button that walks you through all the steps necessary for getting back on track. Plus, Harmony’s Web-based interface greatly reduces programming time and aggravation. (Pete Pachal looked at the Harmony 880 in the July/August issue.)
At $1,399 (plus programming costs — professional assistance required), the Niles IntelliControl (bottom right) isn’t foolin’ around. This remote uses radio frequencies to beam commands through walls (and cabinets) and will have you controlling your system instead of the other way around. A single button press is all it takes to do nearly anything — including lowering the lights, closing the drapes, and powering up your components.
LOOKING AHEAD It’s likely that remotes will always be with us in one form or another, but in the future, look for gear to be controlled via their own Web browsers. Logging onto a Web page using a computer, PDA, or cellphone will let you operate your system from anywhere in your home — or the world. It will all be done through a slick graphical interface, and each piece of gear will report its status — TV on Input 3, receiver on DVD input at 80% volume, DVD playing Chapter 3, and so on. Also, as more components incorporate connections like HDMI or FireWire that carry control commands along with audio/video information, the parts of your system will be able to “talk” to one another. So as your DVD player powers up, it will tell your receiver and TV to turn on and go to the proper input. The next step will be for it to tell your fridge to bring you a beer!