Cool stuff is now available at the right price to put you in home-theatre heaven
Grant Mckenzie
Sun
The 42-inch widescreen plasma from Panasonic has just broken the $3,500 price barrier.
The Logitech Harmony 880 universal remote can do the work of six remotes
while the OPPO DVD player is not only affordable but also very cool
When it comes to electronics, there is a certain sweet spot where price meets lust that propels the consumer to eagerly climb aboard.
DVD players didn’t begin selling by the tens of thousands until they broke the $200 barrier; new DVD movies began to fly off the shelves when they snuck under the $25 mark; and Apple’s 99-cents-a-song deal turned millions of illegal MP3 downloaders into a formidable legion of paying music lovers.
The sweet spot, I believe, has now been reached for the drool-inducing, high-definition, widescreen plasma television.
Every man wants one, but until now the beckoning bank of glistening, colourful, so-detailed-you-can-see-just-how-desperate-those-housewives-really-a re widescreen displays at the electronics store have made the women in their lives use the chequing account balance as ammunition against purchase.
Well, weep no more my salivating brothers, for the new 42-inch widescreen plasma from Panasonic (TH-42PX60) just broke the $3,500 barrier.
The reason this news makes your legs feel a bit rubbery is that Panasonic’s display is so crisp and vibrant it makes watching television exciting again. Hook this display up to a digital cable or satellite box, tune in to one of the high-definition channels for the first time (most of the mainstream channels such as CBC, ABC, FOX, NBC, CBS, PBS, etc., broadcast in high-definition) and you’re likely to weep like a little girl.
Sports have never had so much punch, travel shows on PBS will give you wanderlust, and the creepy-crawly things on those half-dozen C.S.I. shows will give you nightmares.
When you walk into an electronic store and look at the bank of televisions, you’ll instantly know which one is the Panasonic by the quality of the picture. Using ninth generation glass and a high-definition resolution of 1,024 x 768, this puppy boasts 10,000-1 contrast, 1080p digital processing, 29 billion displayable colours, two HDMI inputs, digital audio out, simulated surround sound speakers, and more geekiness than you can stand all wrapped up inside a sleek 102 x 70.5 cm (40 by 28-inch) cabinet that’s only 9.5 cm (3.7″) thick. It can either be mounted on the wall or placed on a TV stand.
Out of the box, this display is ready to go and can be set up in under five minutes. However, a display this cool deserves a few little extras to make your home-theatre experience all it can be while making your friends and neighbours really jealous.
I’m a big believer in getting the best value for my money without sacrificing quality (which is why I recommend the Panasonic over the equally impressive, but much more expensive Pioneer model).
In keeping with this credo, I turned to Logitech for a 5.1 surround-sound system that will rock your socks off. Logitech’s Z-5500 system has an awesome 10″ subwoofer and five stylish satellite speakers that will make you think the Martians truly have landed if you drop in War of the Worlds. This system also delivers superb quality in the stunning quiet moments at the beginning of Master and Commander where the wind blows and the brass ship bell peals.
Some people pay thousands for a quality sound system, but for 99 per cent of people, it really is a waste. You’ll love the sound the Z-5500 pumps out, and you can find it for a street price of under $300.
Another Logitech product that I find comes in very handy for those late-night viewing sessions when everyone else is asleep, is their Wireless Bluetooth Headphones ($179.95). The Bluetooth wireless transmitter simply pops into the headphone jack on your TV or sound system and sends the sound to your headset without the need for wires. If a movie gets too scary, for example, you can hide behind the couch without missing a single, ear-shattering shriek or strangling yourself on cord. The headphones sound great and also work with your MP3 player, stereo or computer.
Naturally, you’re going to want a good DVD player. The buzz at the moment is all about high-definition and the battle between Blueray and HD-DVD. My advice, forget about it until the dust settles, the bugs are worked out, and the prices hit the sweet spot. At the moment, the geek factor is too high and the value is too low.
In the meantime, you can get almost the same high-definition quality with your existing DVD library if you play them in the affordable and very cool new upconverting DVD player from OPPO.
The DV970HD ($149 US at www.oppodigital.com) uses some impressive technology to scale your current 480i (lines of resolution; the more lines, the better the quality) DVDs up to the high-definition standard of 720p or 1080i. This translates into a more-detailed image that takes full advantage of your new TV.
But even more impressive is that the OPPO player can read just about any disc you throw at it. If you have movies or downloaded television shows (something a lot of networks are now making available on their websites) saved in the popular DIVX format, you can simply burn them to DVD without conversion and the OPPO will play them. In fact, you don’t even have to burn them to DVD as the 970HD has a USB port to plug in a portable hard drive or USB flash key and read your movie from there.
The variety of formats this player supports (DVD-Audio, Xvid, Super Audio CD, etc.) will make you giggle with geeky glee. It even has a 4-in-1 memory card reader for showing off your digital photos. And for those who like to collect movies from other regions (such as British mysteries), the 970HD can be easily made multi-regional with the push of a few buttons.
When you add in that OPPO supplies a high-quality HDMI cable with its player, you quickly realize that this is probably the best deal on the market.
Finally, to make everything work together as smoothly as possible, I can’t recommend the Harmony 880 universal remote high enough. Available from Logitech for just under the $300 mark, this is by far the easiest universal remote I have ever used.
By plugging it into your computer, the remote connects with Logitech’s web site and walks you through the simple procedure (i.e. you don’t have to know any manufacturer’s product codes) to program the commands for all your devices. This procedure also determines how you use your devices, such as if you use your surround-sound system with the DVD player, but not with the TV, etc.) Once that is done, a colour LCD screen on the remote allows you to watch TV or switch to DVD with the click of one button, and control every device with just the one remote.
replaced six remotes with the Harmony 880 and not only am I in geek heaven, but even my wife seemed impressed by the new lack of electronic clutter.
© The Vancouver Sun 2006
