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In Focus |
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| Couch potato gift guide |
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Saturday, December 29, 2007 |
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Hi-tech presents abound for loved ones who can't get enough of watching TV
TV lovers have never had it better. You don't have to stay glued anymore to the boob tube just to catch a favorite show. You don't even have to be home to watch.
A bumper crop of gadgets and services can grab, deliver and play back television programs and movies anytime or anywhere to give couch potatoes their fix. All you need is a high-speed Internet connection.
Never miss the game or a prime-time drama again. Find a movie to fit your mood of the moment without having to leave home.
The Associated Press and copy editor Brandon Oland offer their takes on the latest high-tech gadgets sure to enthrall your favorite coach potato.
TiVo HD DVR
Why it's a good buy: Satellite and cable TV operators offer digital video recorders, but for those willing to spend a bit extra, TiVo still has the easiest, most intuitive menus. DVRs let users easily record television shows and pause live TV, and now TiVo has added Internet goodies, such as the ability to rent or buy videos directly from Amazon.com's Unbox download service or access to the Rhapsody music subscription service. This newest TiVo model sports two high-definition TV tuners so you can record two programs at once or record one while watching another live.
Brandon says: Everyone in our office who has TiVo raves about it. TiVo is wonderful for those who work on nights and weekends, thereby missing top sitcoms, dramas and reality shows. Unfortunately, my wife refuses to let me ask for one for Christmas. Why? Because she knows that during football season, I would watch one football game after the next. She claims I would never leave my chair. She is right. Attention all male readers: The ladies in our lives are onto us.
Price: $299.99.
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Monthly Service fee: $12.95
Sony PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360
Why it's a good buy: Confused about high-definition DVDs? The battle between the Blu-ray and HD DVD formats hasn't yet yielded a clear winner, so this holiday season, you'll still see "Spider-Man 3" only in Blu-ray or "The Bourne Ultimatum" in HD DVD. If you don't want to end up with a useless piece of equipment but still want a taste of the crisp, clear pictures of HD, perhaps game consoles can be your answer. The PS3 has a built-in Blu-ray drive and is one of the most affordable Blu-ray players on the market, while an HD DVD player can be added onto the Xbox 360. With the Xbox Live online service, you can use the console to buy TV downloads or rent standard- and high-definition movies.
Brandon says: Not so fast. You would be silly to purchase a PlayStation3 or Xbox 360 right now. The prices for both consoles are sky-high and are certain to get cheaper over time. Besides, plenty of video games are still being released for the older PlayStation2 console. Go with the cheaper Nintendo Wii for now if a loved one is begging for a new video game console and wait to see whether Blu-ray or HD DVD wins out.
PlayStation3 suggested retail price: $499 for 80 gigabyte model; $399 for 40 gigabyte model
Xbox 360 suggested retail price: $449 for 120 gigabyte model; $349 for 20 gigabyte model
Sling Media Slingbox SOLO
Why it's a good buy: This trapezoid-shaped video-streaming gizmo lets you watch and control your television - from your cable or satellite box, or your DVR - on any broadband-connected Windows- or Mac-based computer anywhere in the world. The Solo is a step up from the basic Slingbox AV by supporting high-definition content. But like the basic model, it supports only a single video source. The higher-end Slingbox Pro can control up to four video inputs and has its own tuner. For an extra $29, Slingbox users can buy software that streams the video to Windows Mobile-, Palm- or Symbian-based smart phones. If you don't have a wired Ethernet connection near your TV setup, a separate adapter can be used to access the computer network via Wi-Fi or a power line.
Brandon says: The AP warns us that the Slingbox piggybacks on your home system. So if you change the channel from a remote location, someone watching from home will see the channel flip, too. Then they can call you on your state-of-the-art smart phone and tell you how big of a jerk you are. Seems like a high-tech pain in the rear. Besides, why on earth would you want to watch television on a computer? Is "Dancing With The Stars" so captivating that you need to watch it on a computer? I think not. Cool product. But it's not for me.
Suggested retail price: $179.99
iPod Classic
Why it's a good buy: Apple Inc. has been the butt of late night comedy jokes for continually miniaturizing its iPods and expanding their storage space. In real life, iPods remain the best-selling portable media players for their ultra-sleek designs and ease-of-use. Those who want to have their music library and a hefty selection of videos while on-the-go can look to the iPod Classic, which has a 2.5-inch screen and now boasts up to 160 GB of storage, enough for 200 hours of video. The battery can handle 7 hours of video playback. If you prefer a larger wide-screen and Wi-Fi access, consider the iPod Touch with a 3.5-inch touch screen, though it costs more and holds at most 16 GB of data.
Brandon says: Repeat after me: You can never go wrong giving an iPod as a gift. The iPod Touch looks awesome and would be perfect for commuters or frequent travelers. Let's face it: Nothing is more boring than riding on the Washington, D.C. Metro. Perhaps watching a few "Family Guy" video clips would lighten the mood in the dark tunnels. And if the high end models are too pricy, go for the tiny iPod Shuffles. I bought my wife one last year, and she loves it.
iPod Classic suggested retail price: $349 for 160 gigabytes, $249 for 80 gigabytes
iPod Touch: MSRP: $399 for 16 gigabytes, $299 for 8 gigabytes,
Netgear Digital Entertainer HD EVA8000
Why it's a good buy: This set-top box that acts as a bridge between your PC and TV is geared for the tech-savvy multimedia hound. It takes videos, music or photos from your PC and plays them on your TV. It supports many video formats, so it can play YouTube Web videos or even BitTorrent downloads in the comfort of your living room. Video downloads from services that use Windows-based copy protections, such as Movielink or Amazon.com, work but the device won't be able to play shows purchased from the online Apple iTunes Store. This newest model supports high-definition video, and works with both older and newer model TVs.
Brandon says: Let me get this straight: This device takes awful, grainy YouTube videos and allows you to play them on your plasma TV. Guess what? Those grainy videos will still look lousy on a TV screen. While I would never personally pay $349.99 for such a device, I can imagine it being a great gadget for parties. Some YouTube videos are hilarious, and sharing them with everyone in one central location, would be a lot of fun. But not $349.99 worth of fun.
Suggested retail price: $349.99
VUDU
It's like a video store crammed into a small black box. The machine serves as a gateway for the Vudu movie download service, which offers more than 5,000 movie titles to rent or own. That's significantly more than some rival download services though it still pales next to Netflix's DVD mail-rental service. But movie buffs will like the convenience of being able to watch a film right away and directly on their TVs. Vudu also has an intuitive navigation system and smart search features. Narrow your browsing, say, to action films that came out after 2003 and got rated at least three stars. Or preview a movie, then ask Vudu to find similar films. The catalog ranges from old flicks to new releases that are available on DVD. Rentals of high-definition movies will soon join the mix. The video quality is very good, and it'll work with both standard- and high-definition TVs.
Brandon says: Why not go out and purchase a Blockbuster gift card instead? A gift card seems like a much simpler - and a more inexpensive - way to go. That being said, being able to watch a film immediately is an awesome concept. Then again, can't you just TiVo your favorite movies and watch them whenever you want? And haven't most movies lately been so horrendous that they aren't worth watching at all? Maybe we all need to take a walk, watch self-help videos on our smart phones and aspire to return to a simpler existence.
Suggested retail price: $399
A drawback: purchased movies are stored on the built-in 250GB hard drive and can't be transferred anywhere else. (MSRP: $399 for the box. Movie rentals cost 99 cents to $4.99 and purchases, $4.99 to $19.99.)
Sling Media Slingbox SOLO
This trapezoid-shaped video-streaming gizmo lets you watch and control your television - from your cable or satellite box, or your DVR - on any broadband-connected Windows- or Mac-based computer anywhere in the world. The Solo is a step up from the basic Slingbox AV by supporting high-definition content. But like the basic model, it supports only a single video source. The higher-end Slingbox Pro can control up to four video inputs and has its own tuner. For an extra $29, Slingbox users can buy software that streams the video to Windows Mobile-, Palm- or Symbian-based smart phones. If you don't have a wired Ethernet connection near your TV setup, a separate adapter can be used to access the computer network via Wi-Fi or a power line. Beware: the Slingbox piggybacks your home system so if you change the channel from a remote location, someone watching TV at home will see the channel flip, too. (MSRP: $179.99)
Sony PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360
Confused about high-definition DVDs? The battle between the Blu-ray and HD DVD formats hasn't yet yielded a clear winner, so this holiday season, you'll still see "Spider-Man 3" only in Blu-ray or "The Bourne Ultimatum" in HD DVD. If you don't want to end up with a useless piece of equipment but still want a taste of the crisp, clear pictures of HD, perhaps game consoles can be your answer. The PS3 has a built-in Blu-ray drive and is one of the most affordable Blu-ray players on the market, while an HD DVD player can be added onto the Xbox 360. With the Xbox Live online service, you can use the console to buy TV downloads or rent standard- and high-definition movies. The Xbox also can pull multimedia content from a Windows Media Center PC for playback. So if you land on the losing side of the format war, at least you'll be left with a powerful game console. (Sony PS3 MSRP: $499 for 80GB, $399 for 40GB. Xbox 360 MSRP: $349 for 20GB model, $449 for 120GB model, $180 for the HD DVD player. TV shows on Xbox LIVE are $2 to $3, movie rentals, $3 to $6.)
Netgear Digital Entertainer HD EVA8000
This set-top box that acts as a bridge between your PC and TV is geared for the tech-savvy multimedia hound. It takes videos, music or photos from your PC and plays them on your TV. It supports many video formats, so it can play YouTube Web videos or even BitTorrent downloads in the comfort of your living room. Video downloads from services that use Windows-based copy protections, such as Movielink or Amazon.com, work but the device won't be able to play shows purchased from the online Apple iTunes Store. This newest model supports high-definition video, and works with both older and newer model TVs. (MSRP: $349.99)
iPod Classic
Apple Inc. has been the butt of late night comedy jokes for continually miniaturizing its iPods and expanding their storage space. In real life, iPods remain the best-selling portable media players for their ultra-sleek designs and ease-of-use. Those who want to have their music library and a hefty selection of videos while on-the-go can look to the iPod Classic, which has a 2.5-inch screen and now boasts up to 160 GB of storage, enough for 200 hours of video. The battery can handle 7 hours of video playback. If you prefer a larger wide-screen and Wi-Fi access, consider the iPod Touch with a 3.5-inch touch screen, though it costs more and holds at most 16 GB of data. (iPod Classic MSRP: $249 for 80GB, $349 for 160GB. iPod Touch MSRP: $299 for 8GB, $399 for 16 GB)
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Gary wrote on Dec 8, 2007 5:24 PM: " I've bought several copies of DVD Copy Software that enable anyone to easily copy any DVD movie. Check out the top-ranked DVD burning software at: http://www.dvdxcopy.com "
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