2009 is just a few days away and New Year Resolutions are being made left, right and centre So instead of making the usual boring Resolutions like losing weight, stop smoking and drinking less. How about trying to relate your New Year Resolutions to your home entertainment system. Think about it, you will have more chance of keeping the Resolution if you enjoy what your trying to do, I can’t think of one person I know that enjoys dieting. So how about trying things like; I will only buy Blu-Ray discs in 2009, just to bulk out the collection a bit more, that would also be a great excuse to buy a Blu-Ray player if you don’t already have one, apparently there is going to be a considerable drop in the price of Blu-Ray players early next year.

If Blu-Ray isn’t really hi up on your priority list then how about something like, I will update all of my entertainment system by the end of 2009, that’s not an unrealistic goal. Think about all the bargains you will see over the next year, with shops going bust due to the recession, your bound to be able to pick up some massive saving throughout the year. That maybe a bit of a pessimistic outlook, but any excuse to pick up a bargain, right?

2009 will be the year of the high street wars, as shops battle it out to see who will survive, so bargain hunting is a must for your New Year Resolutions.

Panasonic has recently reveled one of the company’s most eagerly awaited home cinema system the SC-PT460EB- iPod Dock Home Cinema System – Black. The system has many impressive features inscribed in it, and it is fitting that each feature complements the other almost seamlessly making for an excellent home cinema experience.

High on the product list is the innovative Bamboo Diaphragm Speaker technology which makes use of a rigid, low density bamboo in the woofer and tweeter cones of the centre and front speakers that facilitates the system to deliver of a more comprehensive and responsive sound. The Panasonic SC-PT460EB’s centre speaker, in particular, deserves special mention for its pure and clear vocals, while the dialogue is also crisp and easy to follow. The whisper surround sound technology is another value addition and ensures that you can enjoy the experience of surround sound even at low volumes. It effectively for the surround pressure level of the low frequency component, so that you are enveloped in a rich surround sound irrespective of the volume.

The system which comes with an HDMI cable has also been inscribed with the novel 1080p Up-Conversion functionality which competently upscales average DVD contents to high-definition levels. An integrated Universal Dock is there as well and helps you to connect your iPod to the system via it. Moreover, iPod Video playback capability of the system is another of its versatile features.

Home cinema buffs will also feel excited by the fact that the system has been incorporated with an all new seamless GUI system. This innovative technology makes operating the unit a real delight, and adds convenience for the user. Take for e.g. you can display a menu with a list of the music stored on your iPod, and make use of the technology to avail the same with the minimum of fuss.

Do you remember that it was Fujitsu that first gave the world its first 21-inch, full color plasma TV? It is a different matter that despite being the inspiration and brain behind this versatile technology, other brands stole their thunder by immediately following suite and taking the technology and subsequently taking the innovative concept to the next level. Nevertheless, Fujitsu still continues to be a reputed name in the field of plasma TV and has recently come up with the P50XHA58EB model.

Looking smart in a typical piano-black finish, it has an unusual black glass stand to go with it. The unit is also rather heavy contributed in no small way by the glass stand. Moreover, you will face some troubles with its setup as the screws are not properly inclined. There is however, no looking back once you are done with its setup and delivers quite an inspiring performance.

Connectivity wise you will notice the absence of a side-mounted AV inputs which are typical of TVs at its range. To counter this weakness you will discover that the manufacturers have cleverly included the controls on the front which means you can operate the unit in a hassle free manner.

The P50XHA58EB has a reasonable image resolution of 1366 x 768 which enables it to perform HD images with a good deal of clarity and authenticity. Moreover, it comes with two HDMI ports. Despite all these, the P50XHA58EB posses no viable threat to the latest crop of plasmas as they have far too many modern feathers inscribed in them. Further, unlike the P50XHA58EB they usually have a much improved image resolution of 1080p.

The much awaited LCD TV, the Aura II from Philips, is finally out on the market. If a TV’s aesthetic is an important factor in making a buying decision, then you must go for the Philips Aurea II.

This one is like a rising star and completely supports 1080p. It has been beautifully designed and the contours are crafted with the utmost precision. The best part of this TV is that instead of tweaking the display inside the frame, the frame itself looks like a part of the whole picture using the Philips Ambilight technology.

The Aurea II is one of a kind. It possesses a new design, with an impressively thin frame and curved corners. The Aurea II is also capable of handling 500 million pixels per second. Thanks to its Perfect Pixel HD engine which renders an awesome dynamic contrast ratio of 30,000:1. Aurea II has been blessed with the title of ‘World’s Fastest LCD’, since its response time is just two milliseconds, which is only a quarter of the Sony KDL-40L4000’s response time. The 42 inches Aurea II is not a complete remodeling of its predecessor. Instead, it is a slight enhancement of the original Aurea which was launched by Philips sometime back. The differences can be clearly spotted by looking at the whole new glossy finish, slimmer body, thinner frame and more curvaceous corners. That’s why the company has called it the ’slim-line silhouette’.

Deciding on a Home Cinema System is not an easy task, and if the question is about selecting something that will match your swanky new flat-panel TV, then the complications only multiply. There is virtually no dearth of home cinema systems, whatever range you go for, but the big thing is deciding upon a particular one. It is quite common that if one set impresses you with its looks, then its features and performance will fail you, and vice versa. Then, the system also has to complement your TV!

It is therefore heartening, especially for those who own Pioneer’s delectable Kuro plasma sets, that the company has recently come up with the LX01. This home cinema system is designed to complement the company’s latest plasma range, both aesthetically and technologically.

Apart from the stunning looks, the unit is packed with an astonishing array of features that make it a real contender for the hot seat. The Pioneer LX01 is a wonderful amalgamation of a DVD/HDD recorder, a large 400W subwoofer and receiver unit, and four omni-directional speakers. The speakers, each of them, are designed in a distinctive ‘3D’ shape that allows them to dispatch sound in every direction.

It offers you an amazing 250 GB hard-disk capable of holding up to 711 hours of TV as well. Then, there is also a built-in DVB-T tuner. The great thing about the hard-disk is that it gives you the luxury of recording live programmes that you can tune into later whenever you like to. To add to this versatile feature, the unit is competent enough to record onto every format conceivable.

Another significant aspect is that you can transfer MP3, WMA and JPEG files to the hard-disk and use the LX01 as a media jukebox. Furthermore, you can copy the contents from the disk, and even transfer content from a flash memory or PC running WMP10 connected to the front-mounted USB port. Moreover, the unit is proficient in playing back DivX files from CD or USB, but unfortunately and, even more surprisingly, there is no support DVD-Audio or SACD.

As a part of today’s global village it is important that we have a reliable companion whom we can trust and which can give us a good deal of entertainment. This is because, otherwise you will feel lost and frustrated by the various challenges and constraints that are a part and parcel of contemporary times. Concepts like high-stress levels, increased blood pressure, and the like can be attributed to the hectic schedule that we follow today, in order to keep pace with changing times and meet our absurdly high expectations.

The PET707/05 Portable LCD DVD Player from Philips is in every sense the perfect choice to be your companion, as a portable entertainer with its many innate advantages. The most significant aspect of the unit is that it features two LCD display screens! Moreover, the Philips PET 707 is designed in an unobtrusive manner and you can set things into motion with a few simple plug ins. Proper care has also been taken to ensure that the unit fits to even the most uncomfortable of places with the minimum of fuss. Then there is also an anti-shock device which negates the disturbances that otherwise would have occurred on the screen, while riding on uneven and bumpy roads.

It supports both the Dolby Digital and MP3 compression format, and the media playback formats, including CD, CD-R, CD-RW and MP3-Cd with MP3 Bit rates of 32-320 kbps. The contrast ratio is put at 250:1, which typical of portable players. Moreover, the unit comes with a host of other accessories that include an AC/DC adapter, Battery Pack AY 4389, Car kit with cigarette Outlet adaptor, amongst the most prominent.

The video play back media of the unit, on the other hand, includes DVD, Picture CD, SVCD, Video CD, DVD-R/RW, MP3-CD, CD-R/CD-RW, DVD+R/+RW and CD to give the clarity par excellence. Furthermore, it also includes the user friendly disc playback modes like A-B Repeat, Angle, disc Menu, Fast backward, and the like.

Philips has really come up with a gem of an innovation with the launch of their latest Portable DVD Player, the DCP951. The company has incorporated an iPod dock into the device! This wonderful innovation has opened the door to new possibilities and taken the concept of entertainment to an entirely different level. You will no longer feel handicapped as you can now have an unrestricted access to the in-built iPod, the source for an unprecedented collection of video clips and movies, and not to forget music.

The unit has some structural differences from your average portable players, as it resembles a tablet form compared to the conventional clamshell design, which is basically the norm. It is covered in a glossy black outfit and has a trendy feel to it.

The unit’s screen measures a reasonable nine inches diagonally, big enough to comfortably watch a movie. This factor is, however, nullified by the Philips DCP951’s not so impressive resolution capability, which at 640×220 pixels is just not good enough. Philips, it seems, in its haste to include the unique iPod feature forgot to go through the gadget’s various specifications! Then the screen is of also of poor quality, which tends to make movie watching a tad disappointing.

The unit fails to deliver in the visual respect, as the quality of images lacks the desired punch and on many occasions are unclear with minimum level of detail. The colours looks pale and drab and the brightness levels are pretty poor as well. You will feel the utmost frustration, especially when watching dark moody films like ‘The Bourne Identity’ where you will find it a terribly difficult task to make head and tail of most of the frames!

The Panasonic DMP-BD10 is one more addition to the burgeoning breed of Blu-ray players that deliver a somewhat shaky performance. The unit does a great job as far as upconverting of standard DVDs are concerned, but in all likelihood you will dislike its ill-conceived remote. Then it also lacks the customary HDMI 1.3 compatibility which turns out to be a major disappointment. This aspect really defies logic as most of the other brands are jostling to incorporate it with their models to give them an up-market look and feel. Moreover, by being priced on the higher end of the spectrum, the unit becomes an unrealistic option, as you can virtually get a lot more at that price to really brush up your home cinema.

The unit, however, scores fairly as far as looks are concerned and bears a sleek design and the buttons are also securely hidden. You have to practically flip down the front panel to reveal the drawer and several additional front-panel buttons! A good thing about the unit is that you can view the displays through the front panel, which are impressively displayed via its surprisingly large LCD screen. The Panasonic DMP-BD10’s primary feature, however, is its ability to play Blu-ray discs. Moreover, its compatibility prowess will put many of its contemporaries, like the Samsung BD-P1000, to shame, by including support for the high-resolution audio format, DVD-Audio.

You will also have few frustrating times when it comes to soundtrack support, as the DMP-BD10 handles standard Dolby Digital and DTS, and can send both of them over HDMI in either bitstream, which is ultimately decoded by an AV receiver or linear PCM formats. Furthermore, the unit is also game for new higher-resolution sound track formats, such as Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, and DTS-HD High Resolution which add to its versatility.

The Philips BDP7200, as most of us know of late, has been grabbing the headlines for all the wrong reasons. First, Philips promised to retail the player at a price which it could not fulfill, and then you have to bear with a number of compromises it has made as far as features are concerned. Available at precisely the same price as the least-expensive PS3, it flatters to deceive. I am sure that anyone who had the good fortune of buying this junk set will be kicking themselves! After all this is not what you expect from a standalone player such as the BDP7200. The list of misses is endless, beginning with the lack of an onboard decoding feature for high-resolution audio soundtracks and how the device is limited to Blu-ray Profile 1.1. Though the unit delivers quite a solid playback performance it is no match when compared with other top performers like the PS3 and Panasonic DMP-BD30K.

The look of the BDP7200 can be described as the unit’s saving grace, as it looks quite stunning. Moving away from the conventional, its dark gray plastic casing has rounded corners, rather than boxy edges, with the Philips logo conspicuously protruding from the centre of the unit.

The unit’s connectivity is rather solid as well, with the most important connection being the HDMI port, which can output Blu-ray Discs in 1080p, plus carry high-resolution multichannel audio. Then there is also a component video output, which is capable of playing Blu-ray Discs in 1080i and DVDs in 480p, apart from an inherited composite video output. The Philips BDP7200’s audio component on the other hand, is supported by both the optical and coaxial digital audio outputs, in addition to 5.1 analogue outputs. On the brighter side the unit is also compatible with Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio in bit-stream format.

Samsung has recently launched what its claims to be the highest-definition playback in the world: the BD-P1000 Blu-ray Disc Player. The system has managed to withstand these claims and has many amazing features included within it, that are sure to overwhelm you. What will really stump you is the unit’s astonishing level of clarity and the existence of a full-colour spectrum in every scene. The impressive sound quality is easily accounted for when you take into notice the unit’s multi-channel sound system. Another useful feature is the backward compatibility feature for current DVDs and CD. This means you can still use your entire DVD and CD collection with the player. Moreover, it also gives you full the 1080p native output and up-conversion for your current catalogue.

The Combo Player included in the player lets you to play movie clips, view digital photos or listen to MP3 music files using any type of memory card. It is simply great that the two slots on the Samsung BD-P1000 blu-ray player virtually accept every popular memory card format on the market today, including Multi Media cards, Secure Digital cards, Compact Flash, and the like. The manufacturers have also laid great emphasis on the convenience factor and have therefore adorned the unit with various interface and subtitles functions to make it easier to manage, and ensure customer satisfaction.