Introduction Back in May 2007, Pioneer introduced their first Blu-ray player to the market. The BDP-94FD offered desirable Blu-ray traits like 1080p/24 output and onboard Dolby TrueHD decoding, and it added one distinguishing feature: Pioneer’s Home Media Gallery, which lets you stream music, photos and HD video from a PC or DLNA-compliant server. At $999, the BDP-94FD was priced competitively with many of the other Blu-ray players hitting the market at the time. Just five months later, Pioneer released their second-generation player, the BDP-95FD, which adds one highly desirable feature: the ability to send the native bit stream of a Dolby TrueHD or DTS-HD soundtrack over HDMI. While just about every other Blu-ray manufacturer has lowered prices to stay competitive, Pioneer opted to stick with $999 for the BDP-95FD. The company’s decision to remain positioned in the higher-end luxury market works ...

The Basics: Panasonic is known for its plasma HDTVs, but did you know that the company also offers LCD HDTVs? The company keeps a clear screen-size delineation between the two technologies: LCDs are sized 37 inches and below, while plasmas are sized 42 inches and above. This 32-inch model is part of Panasonic’s 2008 lineup and sports a 1366 x 768 resolution. All new Panasonic TVs include an SD card slot through which you can view JPEG photos; it’s also compatible with the GalleryPlayer system that lets you display professional photographs and works of art. This TV includes three HDMI inputs, including one on the side panel for easy access; these inputs do not accept a 1080p signal. Viera Link (HDMI-CEC) is available for more intuitive control of devices connected via HDMI. There’s only one component video input and no dedicated ...

Introduction When Warner Brothers announced in early January that they are going to release future titles exclusively in the Blu-ray format, most people heralded the end of the high-def format war and all the confusion it has caused. Sure, there are bound to be a few more skirmishes, but realistically, the war is probably over. What does that mean for the consumer? Well, an end to the confusion, of course, and a guarantee that the Blu-ray player you buy now won’t go the route of Beta and become obsolete. Not so fast. Blu-ray may soon be the only high-def disc format, but early adopters are still taking some risk if they buy a Blu-ray player now. Why? Because most of the players currently on the market don’t exploit the format’s full potential. The average consumer probably isn’t even aware that the Blu-ray ...

The Basics: This 47-inch, 1080p model hails from Philips’ high-end 2007 line and includes 120Hz technology, which doubles the TV’s frame rate from 60 to 120Hz to reduce the appearance of judder and render smoother motion. This TV also includes Philips’ Ambilight system, Perfect Pixel HD processing and a USB port through which you can perform firmware updates and play JPEG/MP3 files. Philips’ Settings Assistant automatically makes adjustments to picture controls by showing you a series of split-screen images; as you select which image you prefer, the TV adjusts the picture parameters accordingly. This TV offers a decent amount of image adjustments, including direct access to white-balance controls, but it lacks an adjustable backlight, offering only a light sensor that automatically adjusts image brightness based on your room’s lighting conditions. The connection panel lacks a PC, input but includes three HDMI ...

The Basics: This product hails from Pioneer’s excellent lineup of KURO plasma HDTVs, which includes a standard KURO brand and a higher-end Elite KURO brand. This 60-inch, 1080p TV is the top-of-the-line model under the Elite KURO brand; as such, it boasts all of the line’s best features and technologies. Features includes the use of Pioneer’s ASIC video processing circuitry and two compelling PureCinema film processing modes: The Advance mode converts 24-frames-per-second film to 72 fps to reduce judder, and the Smooth mode appears to interpolate frames (like a 120Hz TV) to render even smoother motion. The TV offers a nice assortment of image adjustments, including an Optimum picture mode that uses the TV’s built-in light sensor to automatically tailor the image to your room’s lighting conditions. There’s also an Energy Saver mode that limits peak brightness to reduce power consumption. Elite KURO ...