Here at SmartHouse, we feel both formats have a lot to offer in quality, content and hardware choices. As such, we have been so bold as to claim a tie between them in the HD player stakes. And HD is not limited to standalone players - with the launch of Sony's PS3 games console, we saw the launch of one of the cheapest Blu-ray players on offer. But for those of us who aren't willing to gamble with one of the new formats just yet, we have not forgotten to award our favourite good old DVD players and media centres or networkable personal video recorders. There's life in those old dogs yet!
BEST OVERALL ENTERTAINMENT PRODUCT:
Winner:
Beyonwiz DP-P1
www.beyonwiz.com.au | RRP: $1099
We've seen networkability become a key feature of home cinema and sound gear alike this year. And this networkable PVR from Beyonwiz is one such stand out. With dual HD tuners to record to its 200GB hard drive, the unit will playback anything you may have stored in your PC via LAN and supports a range of formats including DivX. All this functionality and more is encased in a slick black box that will not look out of place in your living room. Some nice work from Beyonwiz.
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BEST DVD PLAYER UNDER $1000
Winner:
Marantz DV 6001
www.qualifi.com.au | RRP: $699
This universal disc player is a true diamond. Able to upscale video to 1080p and CD to 192kHz/24-bit performance, and also play both SACD and DVD-Audio, this player is one of the best ways to get multichannel AV without spending a fortune.
Highly Commended:
Pioneer DV-400 VS
www.pioneer.com.au | RRP: $199
Well Worth Buying:
Denon DVD-1740
www.audioproducts.co
m.au | RRP: $349
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BEST DVD PLAYER OVER $1000
Winner:
Arcam DV 139
www.absoluteau
diovision.com.au | RRP: $5198
On the cusp of the HD era, why would anyone want to shell out over five grand for a DVD player? It will take some years before Blu-ray and HD DVD content rivals what's on DVD. Hence we have this universal player providing peerless picture and sound and upscaling to 1080p.
Highly Commended:
Marantz DV7001
www.qualifi.com.au | RRP: $1499
Well Worth Buying:
NAD M-55
www.audioproducts.co
m.au | RRP: $2499
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BEST MEDIA CENTRE
Winner:
Claritas CTV 1202LCD
www.claritas.com.au | RRP: $5299
If you love your movies and music, this is the ideal media centre option for you. Designed for the lounge room, there is plenty of grunt and plenty of storage (1.2 terabytes to be exact) for recording TV shows, or music and Intel Core 2 Duo CPU and Viiv technology packed in.
