In the late 70s and early 80s, TVs had faux wood all over them. They went all matte black in the late 80s, then during the 90s a ghastly silver was all the rage. With the introduction of flat panels matte black made a comeback for a while and later went glossy, known as piano …

Here at Crave you can usually tell when an interesting product turns up, because a little crowd forms, making comments, coming over to have a look and possibly make noises like “ooohh” and sometimes even “aaahh”. So today, when the LG 50PG6000 50-inch plasma TV arrived in a box half the size of a car, a multitude of reviewers, subs …

Sony has always managed to create LCD TVs that everyone wants to own — its Bravia picture processing is some of the best out there for LCD screens, but increasingly other manufacturers are starting to catch up. Sony is hoping its new W4000 range will increase the gap again and persuade customers to give their hard-earned money to the Japanese …

commentary When the ABC announced last month it was stepping up its IPTV endeavours to move from basic streaming and podcasting to providing “catchup TV”, there was a rush to sign up for a limited trial that will run for the next three months. According to the ABC, only 5000 Australians would make the cut-off, and given the rush of …

Foxtel has revealed details of its new HD service to be released next year which will feature four HD channels and a custom-built box. It’s been almost three years since the original Foxtel iQ came out, and by the middle of 2008 the latest iQHD service should be available. According to Patrick Delany of Foxtel’s blog, the new box will …

If you haven’t heard of Loewe you’re missing a treat, because the company specialises in some of the most eye-catching equipment you’ve ever seen. It’s probably fair to say Apple designer Jonathan Ive would be happy to have a Loewe in his living room. The German company’s latest is the innovative Connect 37, a 37-inch LCD TV with built-in media …

Building your own home cinema is never going to be the cheapest decision you make. Once you factor in the cost of a Blu-ray player, an HD TV and a surround-sound system you’re going to be getting some very cross phone calls from your bank manager. One way to reduce the cost is to buy an all-in-one Blu-ray and surround-sound …

We’ve received a lot of feedback recently about our review of the Samsung F8 and our take on the company’s Motion Plus technology. In order to rectify the problems F8 users have been experiencing, Samsung has released a new firmware version. But what does the firmware do, and what does Motion Plus do, anyway? In order to find out, we …

We’re seen a fair few quirky speaker designs in our day, but not since The Flintstones have we seen audio speakers made from stone. Bowers & Wilkins have come up with a design for their Signature Diamond speakers that encases the tweeter in a marble housing. The company says marble works because it’s stable, weighty and rigid. It supposedly provides …

If you long for the auditory joy of surround sound, but don’t want — or aren’t allowed to have — a multi-speaker setup at home, then you’ll relish the opportunity the Yamaha HTY-750 provides: surround sound in one compact box. The HTY-750 scores over some of Yamaha’s larger sound bars in two main ways. Firstly, it’s smaller than some of …

You look over at your TV and you feel a little twinge of joy. It’s beautiful and you’re proud of yourself for choosing (and paying for) such a divine piece of technology. You switch it on and marvel at the glorious high- definition picture and once again, you give thanks for your genius at selecting such a high-quality piece of …

I’d like to direct my right honourable friend to the recent news that MPs are entitled to claim back up to £23,000 a year in expenses to help them furnish their London bolt-holes. That’s right, your local MP is entitled to claim back more every year than the average British salary, just for kitting out a second home. This is …

One of the problems with traditional all-in-one-box home cinema systems is that you’re stuck with the speaker setup the manufacturer decides on. The Jamo DMR 70 lets you customise your system by offering a number of different options, for a wide range of prices — but keeping the convenience of the all-in-one. At the heart of the system is a …

There have been some reports in the press recently that Steve Jobs considers Apple TV to have been something of a failure. I say he’s totally correct. Apple TV, shown here in the middle of an epic, epic fail Despite its current high level of fail, there are many promising aspects to Apple TV that give me some hope for the …

Missy Elliot probably does not watch a lot of English Rugby, but the hip hop artist has one thing in common with the grunt and grime of football: both have recently been involved in raising the profile of 3D TV. Missy’s latest single was recently launched on MTV (US) and can be seen online in a 3D version, although you …