Televisions

High-end manufacturer Denon has released some impressive pieces of kit in its time. The best player we’ve ever tested, for example, was a Denon – the DVD-A1 UD. But that device, which scored 9.2 out of 10 points, was very (very) expensive. The Panasonic DMP-BD 80 is hot on the Denon’s heels with a score of 9.1 out of 10, and costs about 250 GBP. So what does it cost you to get the Denon’s extra 0.1 points? Four and a half thousand pounds – yes, really.

Sony's PlayStation 3 can do most of what the Denon can – but costs only a small fraction of the price.

So maybe it’s no surprise that Denon’s new S-5BD Blu-ray player/receiver costs 2,000 GBP. Granted, it does just about everything you need in the home cinema: It’s a Blu-ray/DVD player, an AV receiver, and a multimedia player all rolled into one. And we’ll also point out, in fairness, that it’ll probably excel at all of those tasks – Denon doesn’t mess about on quality. But surely there’s an alternative? It can’t be that hard to beat the 2,000 pound price tag.

What about the Panasonic Blu-ray player we mentioned, the DMP-BD 80? This player provides some truly excellent Blu-ray and DVD playback, as well as accepting multimedia files via its USB input and accessing the internet via its Ethernet socket. The catch, of course, is that you’d need a separate AV receiver.

The PlayStation 3 also stands up pretty well in comparison – internet access, top-quality Blu-ray and DVD playback, multimedia support – and it also only costs 250 GBP. But again, you’d need a receiver. Still, if you’re willing to work with two boxes instead of an all-in-one, you’ll easily save yourself a thousand pounds…

3D TV has become just about the only thing the industry is talking about these days. The hype of Avatar, combined with the product-pushing antics at the CES, has pushed the third dimension squarely into first priority.

Try it for yourself: Type “3D TV” into a search engine. If you’re interested in the new technology, you could get lost for days in the hundreds of thousands of pages dedicated to the consumer-electronics industry’s latest hot topic.

It might take a few years before we're all wearing these in the living room, but 3D is here to stay.

This week, for example, DisplaySearch published figures predicting big rises in sales of 3D-ready TVs. Admittedly, it doesn’t take a lot of effort to rise above 2009’s pathetic figure of just 200,000 units worldwide. And although the predictions still place 3D TV sales far behind those of other HDTVs, that’s sort of what we’d expect for a new technology – and one that’s likely to wear a very hefty price tag. Flat-panel TVs, for example, still only grace slightly over half of UK households – a good decade after they first hit the market.

But Avatar has kicked off a new trend in the cinema, too. 3D versions of a number of films are now expected, as Televisions.com reported in its Movie News section today. Even George Lucas was impressed with what he saw in Avatar, and he’s hinted at plans to rerelease his epic Star Wars films in 3D. So, even if 3D TV won’t become commonplace in the living room for a few years yet – and mind you, it’ll at least start appearing soon – we can still expect to see a lot more 3D films at the cinema.

It’s a serious question. Apparently, although 3D-ready TVs will hit the mass consumer market this year, many people are unaware that they can’t actually see 3D images properly.

Research by leading optometrists has shown that more than half of people between the ages of 18 and 38 suffer from abnormalities in their binocular vision, or their ability to use both eyes together. This can, in a small number of cases, lead to a lack of depth perception, which is of course crucial to seeing 3D images. The research also found that five percent of the tested population suffered from amblyopia and/or strabismus, both of which render 3D viewing impossible, according to information published by the College of Optometrists in Vision Development (COVD).

But what does this mean for the new wave of 3D content cresting towards us in 2010? The problems caused by these conditions can occur intermittently, allowing the viewer to see 3D only some of the time. As Dr. Bradley Habermehl, president of the COVD, explained: “This can definitely cause headaches or at least make viewing very uncomfortable.”

3D content is making its way into the living room, but not everyone will be able to see it.

The statement suggests that many people are unaware they cannot see fully in 3D, and that 3D content such as current blockbuster “Avatar” might highlight to them that something is wrong. Another condition that might become apparent in this way is known as visual motion hypersensitivity (VMH), which is characterised by feelings of dizziness when watching a film – even just in 2D – at the cinema. According to the COVD, this effect will be stronger for those watching content in 3D, making viewing such content a particularly stressful experience.

Another researcher, Dr. Susan R. Barry, a professor of neurobiology at Mount Holyoke College, Massachusetts, underwent optometric vision therapy at the age of 48 to correct her so-called “stereo blindness” – her inability to see in three dimensions. Now that Barry can see 3D normally, she said of Avatar: “The scenes of the forest receding way into the distance and the seeds from the Tree of Life floating in front of the screen were fantastic.”

A home-cinema purist might call it plain lazy, but integrated solutions are perfect for beginners – and for people with small living rooms.

We all know about soundbars, right? For those that don’t, they’re a surround-sound system in a single box, producing the surround effect either using clever psychoacoustic trickery or by ping-ponging sound waves around the room. It sounds like a whacky idea, but the results can be pretty convincing. Check out our introduction to soundbars for more information.

Now, manufacturers are starting to integrate Blu-ray players into the devices, meaning you need even fewer boxes stacked beneath the TV. In fact, it’s now conceivable to have just a soundbar wall-mounted beneath the screen – plus one extra box if you subscribe to Virgin or Sky. Let’s count the cables you’d need: Well, the soundbar needs power – that’s one – and it’ll output video to the TV via HDMI – that’s two. Then the TV needs power – three – and an antenna connection – four. And that’s it. Stick them through a neat cable duct and presto – you’ve got all the fun of home cinema but none of the clutter.

LG's HLB54S offers BD playback and 4.1-channel sound from a single unit.

Is there a catch? Of course! These devices are new to the market this month, and the cheapest price we can find online so far is 550 GBP. Still, if you compare that to the cost of buying a Blu-ray player, an AV receiver, surround-sound speakers, and a subwoofer separately, it’s really not a lot. Samsung, for example, offers the HTBD8200, an all-in-one home-theatre setup, but this only gives you a 2.1-channel setup – i.e. stereo plus a wireless sub. What about LG’s HLB54S? Here, you get 4.1 channels – front left and right, back left and right, and a wireless sub. It’s better, but it’s still not full surround, and the price (starting at 580 GBP) is already notching up. Even worse: That’s where the list ends – for now at least.

But there’s an alternative. As with all second-best options, you’ll have to accept a compromise, but it’s still possible to achieve an elegant solution. Try Samsung’s BD-P 4610, for example, a slim-line Blu-ray player you can wall-mount. Combine that with JVC’s 4.1-channel TH-BA1 soundbar and you’ve got basically the same setup, albeit with ever-so-slightly more clutter. Still, it’s all wall-mountable, as is the TV, so you’re saving space compared to a traditional setup – it’s ideal for enjoying the full home-cinema experience in a smaller room.

Blu-ray has had a bumper year. Since the format beat HD-DVD to become the world’s HD format of choice back in early 2008, there’s been no stopping the Blu-ray success story.

The price of entry-level players has dropped significantly – to the point where you can easily pick up a big-name player for 100 pounds in the January sales. At the same time, the specifications have improved dramatically. We’ve put together a list of the players that scored highest in our reviews during 2009.

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1. Panasonic DMP-BD 80

Score: 9.1

The winning player for the year 2009 is the Panasonic DMP-BD 80. We loved this player’s all-round capabilities, including excellent 24p playback from Blu-ray Discs, as well as competent DVD playback – two skills once rarely combined in BD players. Decoders for all HD audio formats are also on board, as is YouTube access – an attractive package indeed! Currently selling for about 215 GBP.

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2. Pioneer BDP-320

Score: 8.9

Picture quality impresses again with both Blu-rays and DVDs. Multimedia, however, is less spectacular than on the above Panasonic: The Ethernet socket only supports BD-Live (and not YouTube access), for example, and you can only play back music, photos, and videos from a disc – the USB socket only works for storing downloaded BD-Live content. Impatient users beware: The BDP-320 exhibits some shockingly slow disc-loading times. Currently selling for about 300 GBP.

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3. Samsung BD-P 3600

Score: 8.8

Yet again, both DVDs and Blu-rays play back excellently on this Samsung – of course, this is why these players all made it into the top five. Discs load quicker than with the Pioneer, and the multimedia functions include network playback from a PC, albeit with some awkward operation. The Samsung is also cheaper than the Pioneer at about 230 GBP.

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4. Samsung BD-P 1600

Score: 8.7

Blu-ray and DVD playback are as excellent as ever on this cheaper Samsung, but the BD-P 1600 cuts down on multimedia: There’s no network streaming, for example, and internet access is limited to downloading BD-Live content. You can at least still play back a variety of multimedia files via USB or from a disc. Currently selling for about 145 GBP.

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5. Panasonic DMP-BD 60

Score: 8.7

Surprise, surprise: This Panasonic will also give you excellent Blu-ray and DVD playback. Multimedia functionality is comprehensive – Panasonic’s “Viera Cast” function even gives users something resembling internet access via an online portal, and the network connection also permits BD-Live downloads. On the down side, there’s no network playback. Currently selling for about 170 GBP.

Summary

As you can see, all of the top five players offer excellent playback of both Blu-rays and DVDs. If you’re unsure which one to buy, therefore, you’ll have to look to other distinguishing features. Multimedia playback varies significantly – the Samsung BD-P 3600 offers network playback, but costs about 80 GBP more than the Samsung BD-P 1600. It’s all a question of what you value most. You can check out reviews of other BD players in our player reviews section.