CES - Home theater

LAS VEGAS--A ton of inexpensive, decent sound bars came out in 2010, but for the most part they lacked HDMI inputs, forcing you to make separate audio/video connections or use your TV as a switcher. Samsung's HW-D550 is an update to last year's HW-C450, with the big improvement coming in the form of two HDMI inputs. Even better, both inputs support both 3D video passthrough and ARC.

The rest of the 46-inch sound bar features are standard, including a wireless subwoofer, virtual surround sound mode, and 310 watts of total power. Samsung also includes a wall-mount bracket … Read more

LAS VEGAS--We're used to seeing AV receivers with integrated Blu-ray players in home-theater-in-a-box systems, but they're pretty rare as standalone products.

Samsung's newly announced HW-D7000 combines a full, component-style AV receiver with a Blu-ray player, packed with features on both counts. The receiver has standard midrange specs, such as 120 watts per channel, four HDMI inputs (each with audio return channel and 3D compatibility), and DTS-HD Master Audio/Dolby TrueHD/Dolby Pro Logic IIz sound processing.

The HW-D7000's Blu-ray features are similar to those of other high-end Blu-ray players Samsung is showing at CES 2011, although … Read more

LAS VEGAS--Samsung went small with its BD-D7000 Blu-ray player and it's going slim with the BD-D7500.

Samsung claims the BD-D7500 is the world's slimmest Blu-ray player, coming in at 0.9 inch deep. It has a silver, brushed metal look, with a slot-loading disc drive on the side. It's certainly an eye-catching design, although we prefer the small footprint of the BD-D7000 to the BD-D7500's razor edge.

Aside from the slim design, the BD-D7500's features are similar to those of other high-end Blu-ray players Samsung is showing at CES 2011. It's 3D-compatible and also … Read more

LAS VEGAS--All-in-one home theater systems are often called home-theater-in-a-box (HTIB) systems, but we've never seen one where the home theater is a box.

Samsung's newly announced HT-D7100 Blu-ray home theater design features a unique cubelike design, shunning separate speakers and components for a single large enclosure. The early press photos aren't clear enough to tell exactly how the HT-D7100 works, but we'll take a hands-on look tomorrow on the show floor and update this story.

The HT-D7100 is a 2.1 system, which means it contains a built-in subwoofer, and it features 110 watts of total … Read more

LAS VEGAS--Blu-ray home-theater-in-a-box systems are hardly unique anymore, but Samsung's flagship HT-D6730W is packed with features, including built-in Wi-Fi, wireless rear speakers, and two HDMI inputs.

The HT-D6730W is a 7.1 system with 1,330 watts of total power. Samsung is also offering a sound-processing mode called "3D Sound Plus"; we don't have many details on what that means yet, but we'll update this blog if we get more information.

The system's connectivity is highlighted by two HDMI inputs and it also features an iPod/iPhone dock. Samsung's press release indicates that … Read more

LAS VEGAS--We've seen Blu-ray players get smaller every year, but Samsung just leapfrogged everyone.

The newly announced BD-D7000 Blu-ray player features an ultrasmall design, looking more like an external DVD drive than a home theater disc player. It has a slot-loading disc drive with touch-sensitive buttons along the front.

The rest of its features are similar to other Blu-ray players the company is releasing in 2011. It's 3D compatible and also has built-in 2D-to-3D conversion processing. Of course, most 3D TVs we've reviewed last year can also convert 2D content to 3D, but it will provide buyers … Read more

LAS VEGAS--The early class of "pocket" pico projectors hasn't taken off as quickly as some people expected, largely because the image quality hasn't been good. Texas Instruments hopes to kick-start the category with a new DLP Pico HD chipset that will make its way into products shipping later this year.

The company says the new chip delivers "stunning" HD (WXGA) video and images on "nearly any surface, with more brightness and greater energy efficiency than ever before," and that it will usher in "a new era for portable high-definition entertainment." … Read more

LAS VEGAS--Exactly a year ago, Netgear debuted its first Intel Wireless Display-based display device, the Push2TV, which enables consumers to stream whatever is being viewed on a laptop to the TV without the need for cables or wires, via a click of a mouse.

Today the company announced the second generation of the product, the Push2TV HD TV adapter (model PTV2000), which now offers full-HD 1080p video resolution and other improvements, including:

30fps video: Image quality is now improved with full motion video.

Dual-band wireless connectivity: Supports multiple wireless bands to minimize wireless interference.

Extend mode: Users now can browse … Read more

Onkyo may be best-known for its receivers and home theater-in-a-box systems, but the company planted deep roots in audiophile-grade hi-fi in the 1970s. As I recall, Onkyo had more street cred among audiophiles than Sony or Pioneer in the days before home theater ruled the roost.

Today at CES in Las Vegas Onkyo will debut a new range of elite stereo hi-fi components, with a style reminiscent of the company's classic models of the 1980s. All three components--the P-3000R preamplifier, M-5000R power amplifier, and C-7000R CD player--incorporate Onkyo's new Dynamic Intermodulation Distortion Reduction Circuitry (DIDRC), that is said … Read more