The Home Theatre Enthusiast
Christmas Gift Guide: Great gear to upgrade your home entertainment setup
Does your home entertainment kit need an upgrade? We shortlist our favourite sound systems, speakers and Blu-ray players to make buying new components for your favourite lounge lizard (whether that’s for you, your friends or family) a breeze this festive season!
Like any self-respecting couch potato, you probably already own an HDTV. However, this is only one part of the audio-visual puzzle (the visual part, to be precise). To truly immerse himself in the summer cricket series, the Australian Tennis Open or the latest blockbuster movie, you will need some speakers to go along with that oversized boob tube. Here are a few of our favourite picks to add to your wish list for upgrading your home entertainment setup.
Foxtel iQ2
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Foxtel iQ2 DVR
The iQ2's main strength is its ability to access HD channels and the wide range of content available on Foxtel. The recording functions, On Demand service and a redesigned case are nice upgrades from the previous iQ, but the real star of the show are the superb HD channels, provided you're willing to pay for them.
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Revo Blok iPod dock
The Revo Blok is a stylish iPod dock with a great design and good speakers. If you're looking for an attractive iPod speaker for your bedroom or living room, the Revo Blok is hard to pass up.
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Bowers & Wilkins Panorama soundbar
Bowers & Wilkins' Panorama soundbar is one of the best single-speaker home theatre systems on the market. Apart from its unnecessarily complicated setup, it's a great all-rounder with unparalleled sound quality in both our movie and music tests.
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Western Digital WD TV Live high-definition media streamer
The latest version of Western Digital's WD TV media player is better than ever. It boasts an Ethernet port and has ability to view YouTube videos and photos on Flickr. The WD TV Live's extensive format support will let you access almost any movie, photo or song.
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Panasonic DMP-BD80 Blu-ray player
The Panasonic DMP-BD80 is a top brass Blu-ray player with a respectable brace of bells and whistles. If you specifically require 7.1ch audio and DivX playback, it's pretty hard to beat. Otherwise, plump for its cheaper stable mate, the DMP-BD60.
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Samsung HT-BD8200
Samsung's compact HT-BDS200 soundbar system includes a subwoofer and Blu-ray disc support, and its design complements the company's recent TVs.
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Compro T1000W media streamer
The Compro T1000W is a media streamer that can handle any format you're likely to throw at it. It doesn't have an internal hard drive as standard (although you can add one) but with three USB ports and in-built wireless networking means it can play all your saved content.
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Panasonic DMR-BW750 Blu-ray recorder
The Panasonic DMR-BW750 is an excellent choice for people who want to record HD content off TV. With its 250GB hard drive, dual HD digital tuner and writable Blu-ray optical drive, there are plenty of options for media hoarders. Highly recommended.
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LaCinema Black PLAY media streamer
Beautifully built and feature rich, the LaCie LaCinema Black PLAY media streamer is a solid device.
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Sony MU.TE.KI (HT-DDW7500) home theatre system
If you have the spare space to set up the Sony MU.TE.KI (HT-DDW7500)’s nine separate speakers and two amplifier stacks, you’re in for a treat. The MU.TE.KI home theatre system has plenty of power to give and the right digital sound processing to simulate multi-point surround sound.
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Panasonic SC-HC3 micro hi-fi system
Panasonic’s SC-HC3 micro hi-fi is a great product. It’s attractive and has an integrated iPod dock. It has especially good sound quality considering its slim design.
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Samsung HT-BD1255 home theatre system
If you’re looking for a simple yet feature-filled system to accompany a new flat-screen television, Samsung’s home theatre in a box does the trick nicely.
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Samsung HT-BD1255 home theatre system
If you’re looking for a simple yet feature-filled system to accompany a new flat-screen television, Samsung’s home theatre in a box does the trick nicely.
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Samsung BD-P1600 Blu-ray player
Samsung’s BD-P1600 does everything you could want a Blu-ray player to do. Great picture quality, plenty of audio decoding support and a speedy interface combine to make it an easy choice. Our only concerns (the build quality and the design) are minor.
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Olin HVBT-2000 set-top box
If you’re looking for a cheap device to make your older television digital TV ready, the Olin HVBT-2000 set-top box is a great choice. It’s simple and fast, with no serious issues (bar a bland interface).
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Creative Gigaworks T3 PC speakers
Compared to a conventional two-box stereo speaker system, a 2.1 sub/sat setup means you can reap the benefits of smaller-looking speakers – although there will still be a nest of wiring to contend with. The Creative GigaWorks T3 is a well-designed example of what you can do with the principle, and undoubtedly one of the finest sounding compact PC systems available today. Available now for less than $400, it fully deserves a hearty recommendation.
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Panasonic DMR-BW850 Blu-ray disc recorder
As a digital television recording and archiving device the Panasonic DMR-BW850 works brilliantly. Blu-ray disc playback image quality is free of any problems and the integrated BD-Live and Internet access features add an extra layer of interactivity. The downside to this is a high price for the recorder and Blu-ray discs, along with a complicated interface and some problems using discs on other Blu-ray disc players.
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DVICO TViX R-3300 set-top box
The DVICO TViX R-3300 performs well in terms of support for different file formats, network playback speeds and image quality. The difficult-to-navigate EPG may prove troublesome for those who primarily want to watch television, and limited network access could prove irritating, but overall the DVICO TViX R-3300 is a versatile personal video recorder and set-top box.
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LG HB954WA home theatre system
The LG HB954WA is a feature-packed home theatre bundle with decent sound quality. We like the inclusion of YouTube access and the integrated iPod dock, and the fact that this system is one of the cheaper Blu-ray compatible units serves to recommend it further.
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Panasonic DMP-BD60 Blu-ray player
On all counts, the Panasonic DMP-BD60 is a well-made Blu-ray player, and it ranks among the best Blu-ray players you can buy today. Highly recommended.
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Logitech LS21 PC speakers
For listening to music while using your computer the Logitech LS21 speaker system is more than powerful enough. These PC speakers lose a bit of their lustre in larger rooms as the maximum volume is quite low, but as a budget system the Logitech LS21 is hard to beat.