Samsung's Blu-ray home theater systems get tubes, cloud DVD storage

Samsung's audio announcements yesterday included an innovative sound bar and tube-based iPod speakers, the company also rolled out its new line-up of all-in-one Blu-ray home theater systems.

Two new systems were announced, the HT-E6730W and HT-E5500W, both with a similar set of core features, including built-in 3D Blu-ray, hybrid vacuum tube amplifiers, built-in Wi-Fi, and Samsung Apps.

The higher end HT-E6730W is a 5.1 home theater system features two tall-boy front speaker, while the HT-E5500W has smaller, bookshelf front speakers. The press release mentions that the HT-E5500W has two HDMI inputs and an iPod dock; it's unclear if those features are available on the HT-E6730W as well.

The most intriguing feature of both systems is what Samsung calls "disc-to-digital". As Samsung describes it, the feature "enables users to turn eligible copies of their personal DVD collection into digital content. Once users register their ownership of movies, they will be able to access and view this content on multiple devices in the home and on the go, or upgrade their collection by purchasing HD quality versions of these movies." That description raises more questions than it answers, especially regarding pricing, and I'd expect Samsung to reveal more details at CES 2012.

Samsung has not released pricing or availability for the two systems yet.