While we’re excited by the arrival of the high-capacity Blu-ray disc format, the exorbitant price of dedicated players is a big stumbling block. But there’s a way around it that doesn’t involve breaking the bank, although it will still leave a dent. LG’s latest Blu-ray disc drive, the GBW H10N, is an optical storage device …

It was supposed to be the awakening of a new era in entertainment history, but high-definition video seems to have overslept its alarm clock. HD Ready TV sets have been startlingly popular, but there’s nothing to watch on them. Blu-ray and HD DVD could still be sleeping giants, but sales projections for 2006 have fallen drastically — so why are …

“We’re gonna to need a bigger chimney”, Santa might say, in his best Chief Brody (Jaws) impression, at first sight of my Christmas wish list. But, as far as anyone knows, I’ve been a good boy, so even if it takes a few extra elves to cram my ultimate home-cinema system beneath the tree, I deserve it! The centrepiece of …

Like the fable involving the hare and the tortoise, there are two routes you can take to home-cinema happiness. There’s the long, arduous but ultimately rewarding trek taken by separates, or the quick, convenient shortcut offered by all-in-one systems — but as Aesop will tell you, speed is often undone in the end. Most home-cinema systems give you affordability at …

The technical doctors at Hitachi claim to have found a cure for some of the annoying ailments that have traditionally plagued LCD technology -– poor contrast, restricted peripheral vision and slow response times. The new Picture Master models, available in 32-inch and 37-inch screen sizes, claim to be the first LCD screens to feature the latest generation of In Plane …

Evesham hasn’t just thrown down the gauntlet for competitively priced LCDs, it’s mounted its trusty steed and thrust a lance into the budget screen market with a range of TVs at prices that are, well, medieval… Crave had only just scraped our jaws from the floor following news of the PC company’s cut-price ‘Full HD’ 1080p screens before the latest …

The early price of digital recorders left most people clinging to their VCRs and praying for a pay rise. But, in only a few years, prices have plummeted and now it’s not just DVD recorders that are stocking the budget shelves but hard disk recorders too. The Goodmans GHD8015F is the first hard disk recorder we’ve seen that costs less …

Convenience is the key word when it comes to home-cinema systems. Nothing drives your significant other nearer to mental collapse than yet another horrendous tangle of cabling. The solution? Space-saving designs that are easy to use and, more recently, the introduction of ‘convergence’ features that allow you to access a wider range of media from separate sources. JVC’s latest range …

High definition may be breathing new life into nature documentaries and sports programmes, but it’s films that are really being resuscitated by the new technology, especially now that ‘Full HD’ (ie 1080p) content from next-generation DVD players has arrived. Crave seen an influx of hi-def projectors that bring high-definition performance to the big screen — sending film enthusiasts into a frenzy …

In the latest of a series of delays afflicting next-generation high definition devices, there could be more hope of seeing the Second Coming than Toshiba’s long-awaited HD DVD player this Christmas. Our faith had already been tested when the previously delayed April release was set back to the end of this year. The standard HD-E1 (£470) model was supposed to …