My Home Theater Network (HTN) » 2008 » June

Top 10 HTPC Cases (2008)

0x15e — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 23:15:14 +0000

ThermalTake VF7001BNS DH101 Black Home Theater PC
Price Comparison	System Board Style: ATX, Micro ATX (mATX) Front earphone jack, Firewire ports (x1), Microphone Jack, USB ports (x2) LCD system monitoring display System volume adjustment switch knob 3.5″ internal hard drive bays = 3 5.25″ externally accessible ROM bays = 1

Moneual Lab MonCaso 932B Black Home Theater PC
Price Comparison	System Board Style: ATX, Micro ATX (mATX) 7 inch touch screen with 1024 x 768 pixel resolution Remote control included Multimedia memory card reader Front earphone jack, Firewire ports (x1), Microphone Jack, USB ports (x1) 3.5″ internal hard drive bays = 4 5.25″ externally accessible ROM bays = 1

ThermalTake Bach Media Lab Black Home Theater PC
Price Comparison	System Board Style: ATX, Micro ATX (mATX) Front earphone jack, Firewire ports (x1), Microphone Jack, USB ports (x2), memory card reader LCD system monitoring display 3.5″ internal hard drive bays = 5 5.25″ externally accessible ROM bays = 1

Antec Veris Fusion V2 Silver/ Black Home Theater PC
Price Comparison	System Board Style: Micro ATX (mATX) Front earphone jack, Firewire ports (x1), Microphone Jack, USB ports (x2) 3.5″ internal hard drive bays = 2 5.25″ externally accessible ROM bays = 1

ThermalTake DH 102 Home Theater PC
Price Comparison	System Board Style: ATX, Micro ATX (mATX) 7 inch touch screen monitor Remote control included Front earphone jack, Firewire ports (x1), Microphone Jack, USB ports (x2) 3.5″ internal hard drive bays = 3 5.25″ externally accessible ROM bays = 1

SilverStone CW03B-MT Black Home Theater PC
Price Comparison	System Board Style: ATX, Micro ATX (mATX) 7 inch touch screen with 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution Remote control included 3.5″ internal hard drive bays = 6 5.25″ externally accessible ROM bays = 2

SilverStone GD01B-MXR
Price Comparison	System Board Style: ATX, Micro ATX (mATX) Front earphone jack, Firewire ports (x1), Microphone Jack, USB ports (x2) LCD system monitoring display Multimedia memory card reader 3.5″ internal hard drive bays = 6 5.25″ externally accessible ROM bays = 2

Antec Fusion Black 430
Price Comparison	System Board Style: Micro ATX (mATX) Front earphone jack, Firewire ports (x1), Microphone Jack, USB ports (x2) 430W power supply included System volume adjustment switch knob 3.5″ internal hard drive bays = 2 5.25″ externally accessible ROM bays = 1

Kingwin SN-213HTS Supernova Silver Desktop
Price Comparison	System Board Style: Micro ATX (mATX) Front earphone jack, Firewire ports (x1), Microphone Jack, USB ports (x2) LCD system monitoring display System volume adjustment switch knob 3.5″ internal hard drive bays = 3 5.25″ externally accessible ROM bays = 2

ThermalTake Mozart Media Lab Black/White Home Theater PC
Price Comparison	System Board Style: ATX, Micro ATX (mATX) Front earphone jack, Firewire ports (x1), Microphone Jack, USB ports (x2), memory card reader LCD system monitoring display 3.5″ internal hard drive bays = 5 5.25″ externally accessible ROM bays = 1

Top 10 Blu-ray Players

mrHTN — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 01:12:29 +0000

Sony PS3

Price Comparison

Blu-ray Profile: 2.0 (BD-Live) with firmware update 2.20 and higher
Video Connections: HDMI 1.3 (x2), Component, S-Video, Composite
Audio Connections: Coaxial, Optical, Analog Audio
Includes Ethernet port for internet connection and Blu-ray profile upgrades
Can upscale DVDs
Includes a 40GB or 60GB hard drive
Plays PS3 games and PS2 games (60 GB version)
Supports Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Decoding

Samsung BDP-1500
Price Comparison	Blu-ray Profile: 1.1 (BD-Live ready) Video Connections: HDMI 1.3, Component, S-Video Audio Connections: Coaxial, Optical, Analog Audio Can upscale DVDs to 1080p Includes Ethernet port for internet connection and Blu-ray profile upgrades USB port Supports Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Decoding

LG Electronics BH200 High Definition Blu-ray/HD DVD Player
Price Comparison	Blu-ray Profile: 1.1 Video Connections: HDMI 1.3, Component, Composite Audio Connections: Coaxial, Optical, Analog Audio Includes Ethernet port for firmware upgrades Can play HD-DVD movies Can upscale DVDs to 1080p USB port

Sony BDP-S300
Price Comparison	Blu-ray Profile: 1.0 Video Connections: HDMI 1.1, Component, S-Video, Composite Audio Connections: Coaxial, Optical, Analog Audio Can play DVDs and CDs

Samsung BD-P1400
Price Comparison	Blu-ray Profile: 1.0 Video Connections: HDMI 1.3, Component, S-Video Audio Connections: Coaxial, Optical, Analog Audio Includes Ethernet port for firmware upgrades Can upscale DVDs to 1080p Supports Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Decoding

Panasonic DMP-BD30K
Price Comparison	Blu-ray Profile: 1.1 Video Connections: HDMI 1.3b, Component, S-Video Audio Connections: Coaxial, Optical, Analog Audio Can upscale DVDs to 1080p SD card input to view video from cameras Supports Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Bitstreaming

Sony BDP-S500
Price Comparison	Blu-ray Profile: 1.0 Video Connections: HDMI 1.1, Component, S-Video, Composite Audio Connections: Coaxial, Optical, Analog Audio Can play DVDs and CDs Supports Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Decoding

Sharp BD-HP20U
Price Comparison	Blu-ray Profile: 1.0 Video Connections: HDMI 1.3, Component, S-Video, Composite Audio Connections: Coaxial, Optical, Analog Audio Can upscale DVDs to 1080p Supports Dolby TrueHD Decoding

Sony BDP-S2000ES Blu-ray Player
Price Comparison	Blu-ray Profile: 1.1 Video Connections: HDMI 1.3, Component, S-Video, Composite Audio Connections: Coaxial, Optical, Analog Audio Can upscale DVDs to 1080p Supports Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Bitstreaming

Denon DVD-2500B
Price Comparison	Blu-ray Profile: 1.1 Video and Audio Connections: HDMI 1.3 Can upscale DVDs to 1080p Supports Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Bitstreaming

Find more Blu-ray Players
Is it Worth it to Switch From DVD to Blu-ray?
Differences Between Blu-ray 1.0, 1.1 and BD-Live

Stanley Cup TV ratings are way up. Are HDTVs a cause?

mrHTN — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 15:46:22 +0000

The ratings for game 5 of the Stanley Cup final were up 79% from last year. HDTV sales were up 60% over last year. Is this a coincidence? Probably the increase in TV ratings is due to a more interesting match up between Crosby’s Penguins and Hockey Town’s Redwings, but I would speculate that a portion of the increased ratings is due to increased amount of HDTV owners.

HDTVs are perfect for watching hockey games as the wide screen format better fits the size of an ice hockey rink. The increased resolution and details makes the small puck visible and easy to find. The increased frame rates in HDTVs also make it easier to follow the 100+ mph slap-shots.Â

New HDTV owners who stumble upon an ice hockey game are seeing the benefit, which is increasing viewership. Along with watching the Discovery HD channel, watching an ice hockey game in HD should be on every new HDTV owner’s to-do list. As more and more people get HDTVs, maybe the puck is too hard to find comments will finally be put to rest.