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Western Digital has expanded its range of streaming boxes with the TV Play, a device that aims to compete with popular products like the Roku 2 XD. The low-cost TV Play offers access to a wide range of streaming services, as well as the user's own media library.  Read More

For optimal sound from a home theater system, a true surround sound set of speakers is the way to go, but for many people they are impractical. That's where soundbars come into play. They offer a simulated surround sound experience, without all the wires and speakers. SONOS, the company best known for its Zoneplayer line, is getting into the soundbar game with its new 9-speaker PLAYBAR.  Read More

Recently, Netflix and YouTube quietly launched a website for a new protocol called Discover and Launch (DIAL), which enables a smartphone or tablet to launch apps on a Smart TV. While the idea of uniting these devices is not new and there’s already some working examples, including DLNA and Apple's AirPlay, there is a growing participant list of big-player names such as Sony, Samsung, Hulu and the BBC ready to support the new DIAL protocol.  Read More

Despite the rise and rise of the LED flat screen TV, the humble Plasma is still a favored choice for home movie fans and color reproduction devotees – often with good reason. Panasonic’s 2013 offerings in this space are headed-up by the flagship ZT60 series, which the company put to task in a completely blacked-out booth alongside its predecessors at the Consumer Electronics Show.  Read More

When Sony showed up to CES 2012 with a Crystal LED prototype TV rather than an OLED TV like its rivals Samsung and LG, it prompted reports that Sony was abandoning OLED TVs aimed at the consumer market. The company might finally have put paid to these reports by displaying a prototype OLED TV at this year’s CES. And in the spirit of one-upsmanship, Sony is touting the prototype TV as the “world’s first and largest 56-inch 4K OLED TV.”  Read More

For those who go in for outdoor television viewing with a big dash of ostentation, Porsche Design Studio of Zell am See, Austria offers the C SEED 201 LED television. This 201-inch (5.11 m) 16:9 LED behemoth isn't just enormous, it also rises out of the ground like something out of a Bond film and unfolds itself in less than 30 seconds.  Read More

I was lucky enough to sample firsthand the incredible viewing experience offered by big screen OLED TVs at the IFA 2012 booth of consumer electronics giants LG and Samsung last year. Both companies have new models scheduled for commercial availability in early 2013 and both, it would appear, are claiming a world first at CES in Las Vegas this week ... each claiming to be first to debut a curved OLED TV.  Read More

LG has demonstrated a new Laser TV at CES which uses an Ultra Short Throw (UST) projector to display an image on a 100-inch screen at a distance of less than two feet. Despite the close distance and large size, the system delivers a full 1080p image with a 10,000,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio and LG hopes the set-up will eliminate some of the issues posed by typical home theater projectors that require a much larger space to function.  Read More

In addition to a 110" Ultra-HD LED TV, Hisense also revealed its latest take on glasses-free 3D technology at CES with the GF60XT980 television concept. The new 60-inch TV uses an Ultra High Definition (UHD) panel to provide a clear, 3D picture from almost any angle, so multiple viewers can enjoy the 3D effect without needing multiple pairs of glasses.  Read More