Samsung's trio of Blu-ray HTIBs get DLNA, Wi-Fi, apps
Samsung has announced a trio of new Blu-ray HTIBs, adding DLNA, Samsung Apps, and Wi-Fi to last year's feature set.
LAS VEGAS--We liked most of the Blu-ray home-theater-in-a-box (HTIB) systems we reviewed in 2009, but theSamsung HT-BD1250 stood as the best, thanks to its excellent sound quality (for an HTIB, at least). Samsung has announced a new line of Blu-ray HTIBs at CES 2010, adding features like DLNA-compatibility, Samsung Apps, and Wi-Fi. Here are the details.
Key features of the Samsung HT-C6500:
- 5.1 home theater system
- Built-in Blu-ray player
- Built-in Wi-Fi
- 1GB onboard storage
- Supports Internet@TV/Samsung Apps, which will provide content from Netflix, Pandora, Vudu, Blockbuster, Picasa, and Twitter
- Automatic speaker calibration
- No release date or pricing announced
Key step-up features of the Samsung HT-C7530W:
- Nature-inspired "Touch of Color" design
- Wireless rear speakers
- The HT-C7530W requires a USB dongle for Wi-Fi, unlike the other two models
- No release date or pricing announced
Key step-up features of the Samsung HT-C6730W:
- 7.1 home theater system
- 1330 total watts
- No release date or pricing announced
Internet@TV and Samsung Apps are Samsung's new proprietary content portals for home theater products. As of now, it's not perfectly clear exactly how it will work; Samsung says that the first free apps will launch in the spring, with premium apps following in the summer. When we talked to a Samsung rep at the booth, he said that standard services like Netflix, Pandora, and Vudu would all be free; he used Tetris as an example of something that would be a premium app. We get the feeling that a lot of the particulars still have to be worked out.
From first glance, the specs look to be mostly comparable to the recently announced Blu-ray HTIBs from LG. The main difference is that Samsung hasn't detailed if these HTIBs will have any HDMI connectivity; all of the LG systems have at least one HDMI input for an additional device, like a cable box.
