5 hot electronics gifts flagged by Consumer Reports Holiday Shopping Poll

Electronics are again at the top of a lot of gift lists for the coming holiday season, according to the results of a Consumer Reports Holiday Shopping Poll released this week.

Here, are the five hottest electronics gifts, listed in order of respondents’ intentions to give them. I’ve added some reasons why they’re hot at the moment and, for some, details on the kind of people who are buying them:

• Video games and accessories. Planned as gifts by 28 percent of respondents. In a year where many people plan to cut back, as other survey data underlines, these are gifts that cost a lot less than most hardware. Nearly half of households with kids under 12 are planning such purchases, but so are nearly a quarter of homes with no such youngsters—underlining that games and extra Wii nunchucks aren’t just being bought for kids anymore. It helps that some of the hottest game titles of the year appeal equally to young and old players—notably Beatles Rock Band.

• Video-game consoles. Planned as gifts by 14 percent of respondents, including 25 percent of homes with kids under 12. With no new versions of consoles out this year, and the economy softening, prices have dropped for most brands. Also, after two seasons in which getting a Nintendo Wii consoles required military-level planning, the promise of its wider availability may be prompting some Wii holdouts to plan a purchase. (See our video buying guide for game consoles.)

Holiday Headstart: Why wait for Black Friday? Get a $100 Blu-ray player now

If you’ve been eagerly anticipating the three-day Black Friday shopping period to get a great deal on a new Blu-ray player, you may not have to wait: Best Buy is now selling a BD-Live model with access to streaming movies from Netflix for just $99.99.

The player, NS-BRDVD3, is the same one we wrote about recently when it was priced at $180. Apparently the everyday price is now $150, but the model is currently on sale for $100.

Though we haven’t tested this specific player, we do have another Insignia model in our labs that has excellent HD picture quality. It didn’t do as well with standard DVDs, however.

Insignia NS-BRDVD3 Blu-ray player, on sale for $100 at Best Buy. (Click to enlarge.)

The real question is whether prices will fall below $100 during the Black Friday holiday shopping spree. Based on the first major Black Friday ad we’ve seen, from Sears, the answer is no. Sears will reportedly have special $150 price tags on two Blu-ray players: Samsung’s BD-P1600, and Sony’s BDP-S360. Both are BD-Live-ready models, which require optional memory for the BD-Live feature to work, that currently sell for about $200.

We’ll continue monitoring Black Friday websites such as BlackFridayInfo and GottaDeal to see what new entry-level Blu-ray price points emerge as we get closer to Thanksgiving. And look for similar blogs on other CE products, such as TVs. —James K. Willcox

Use your SLR camera to shoot a Halloween time-lapse video

Carved your pumpkin yet? If not, here's some inspiration in the form of a time-lapse video, an amalgam of sequential images condensing a longer period of time into a few minutes—in this case, the time it takes to play one verse of Michael Jackson's "Thriller."

You can make one yourself, MacGyver-like, with a digital SLR camera and a graphing calculator. Darren Rouse at Digital Photography School has posted a tutorial explaining how:

Got an Internet TV? Buy it a new widget

Rallycast, a widget for Internet-connected TVs, keeps you connected to your fantasy leagues.
[Image courtesy of Rallycast]

TVs are getting more computer-like every day, with new models that let you connect to the Internet using applications bundled in by the TV maker. Now you can buy an add-on widget, much like you buy a software app for a computer, to give your Internet-enabled TV new capabilities—in this case, fantasy sports entertainment, plus real-time sports scores and access to social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook.

The widget, called Rallycast, is available for download online and is being sold at Best Buy. The download is free, but you pay $59.99 for the Fantasy TV application, a “single-season pass” to the fantasy sports game, and 15 cents per text message.

You can import your teams from major sports-fantasy websites, including Yahoo, ESPN, and CBS. Once the software is downloaded, a Rallycast toolbar appears at the top of the TV screen, where you can choose from different TV applications (some are free, others require a subscription).

The app is based on Yahoo’s TV widget platform, as are most of the apps that come with Internet-enabled TVs. The widget currently works only with Samsung sets that connect to the Internet, but it’s expected to be compatible with other major brands, including some LG and Vizio sets, within the next few months. Other capabilities and more apps are promised soon. (For more on individual models, see our latest TV Ratings, available to subscribers.)

While a fantasy sports app might not be up your alley (or mine, frankly), this illustrates how TVs are evolving—and how they’re increasingly vying with computers for your eyeballs. So now you can choose to watch TV programs on your computer (at Hulu and similar sites) or check out Twitter or YouTube on your TV. It's certainly an interesting trend. Where do you see this heading? —Eileen McCooey

U2 concert to stream live on YouTube

I recently attended a U2 show at Giants Stadium, and was excited to learn that this Sunday, October 25th, U2 plans to stream their final tour stop, live on YouTube for free. With 96,000 tickets sold to the Pasadena Rose Bowl show in California, this is expected to be largest concert ever streamed online.

This will be another first for U2 who produced the first concert performance to be shot in 3D for a theatrically released film.

Paul McGuinness, U2's manager tells of U2's desire to share their music across the Internet:

'The band has wanted to do something like this for a long time. As we're filming the LA show, it's the perfect opportunity to extend the party beyond the stadium. Fans often travel long distances to come to see U2—this time U2 can go to them, globally.'

The show starts at 8:30 Pacific time and can be found at: http://youtube/u2official

So fire up your computers, Internet connected televisions or Apple TVs and enjoy the free show. —Dirk Klingner

Is a new, cheaper Sony LCD TV line in the works?

Could a cheaper Sony “B-series” line, priced below this L-series model, be in the works?
[Image courtesy of Sony]

According to a report on the DigiTimes website, Sony is developing an inexpensive "B-series" LCD TV line designed to compete with lower-cost competitors, such as Vizio.

The website says the new B-series line will include lower-priced 40- and 32-inch sets, which could spur price cuts by Sony's competitors. The line—which, if true, would likely consist of 720p sets—is reportedly being made for Sony by Taiwanese manufacturers to help reduce costs, enabling lower retail prices. For example, the 32-inch set is said to sell for $460, or perhaps even less.

The DigiTimes article incorrectly states that Sony's current entry-level TV line is the S series; actually, the company sells an even lower-priced L-series lineup of 720p sets, which range in price from $400 for a 22-inch set to $700 for a 37-inch model. The S series is Sony's entry-level 1080p line, which starts at $700 for a 32-inch set.

However, a Sony spokesman said he was unfamiliar with any 2010 TV models that resemble the claims. Guess we'll just have to wait for the 2010 Consumer Electronics Show this January to see whether the reports are fact or fiction. —James K. Willcox

2 new Best Buy Insignia Blu-ray players get Netflix streaming

The ability to stream instant movies from a Blu-ray player, once relegated to higher-end models, is moving to the masses with two new Insignia-brand Netflix enabled Blu-ray players from Best Buy.

The two models with Netflix access are the Insignia NS-WBRDVD player, sale priced at $200, and the $180 NS-BRDVD3. Both are currently available at stores and on BestBuy.com. The key differentiating feature is that the higher-priced model has built-in Wi-Fi, so you can wirelessly access a home network to connect to the Internet.

In addition, the step-up model can decode both Dolby TrueHD [PDF] and DTS-HD Master Audio internally; the entry-level model only decodes Dolby TrueHD internally, though each can output both formats as bitstream if you have an A/V receiver that can decode them. —James K. Willcox

New LCD, plasma TV Ratings: Lower prices, more models with Internet access

Panasonic’s Z1-series TV, just over an inch thick, is the skinniest plasma we’ve seen.(Click to enlarge.)

We just posted our latest LCD and plasma HDTV Ratings, which contain more than 100 tested models, among the most ever. We continue to see many models with excellent picture quality, and a growing number with the ability to directly access online content, including streaming movies services from providers such as Amazon Video On Demand, Blockbuster On Demand, Netflix and Vudu.

Here are some other key trends we found among the models listed in our latest Ratings:

Prices continue to fall. While a few flagship models, loaded with bells and whistles, from the major brands still command significantly higher prices—take, for example, Panasonic’s $5,500 ultra-thin 54-inch plasma set—prices on mainstream models continued to decline. Our "Best Buy" models now include a 55-inch Toshiba LCD for $1,800, 42-inch LCDs from Insignia and LG for just $700, and 50- and 42-inch plasma sets from Panasonic at $900 and $700, respectively. And we expect prices to fall even further as we approach the all-important Black Friday kick-off to the holiday selling season.

More TVs can stream content, especially movies. While access to Internet content, especially streaming movies, was once limited to flagship models, most of the major brands have rolled out mainstream sets with this capability, and several companies now offer a choice of more than one streaming-movie provider. More than a third of the sets 37 inches and larger in our Ratings are Internet-capable models.

Extra Extra: Consumer Reports Electronics Buying Guide is on sale

(Click to enlarge.)

It may be a tad early to start your holiday shopping, but there’s a good chance you’ve at least been thinking about it. Maybe you’ve had a big-ticket gift—like a new TV or home theater—in mind for a while now, but are putting off the purchase till November or December. If it’s sales you’re waiting for, you probably know what you want and how much you’re willing to pay. On the other hand, you might just a teeny bit leery of throwing so much cash at something you know very little about. Which is better: a plasma or LCD TV? Should you upgrade to a Blu-ray player or stick with standard-def DVDs?

If you find yourself in need of expert advice, consider the newest edition of the Consumer Reports Electronics Buying Guide. Inside you’ll find a wealth of information on everything from televisions and computers to smart phones, GPS units, and much more. For each product, the Consumer Reports editors walk you through the basics, explaining what’s available, which features matter, brand profiles, and offering tried-and-true shopping tips.

In addition to product information, the guide offers advice on how to shop smarter, including:

• Netting the best deals online, and protecting yourself when you shop on the Web


• When to repair and when to replace a broken item


• How to haggle effectively


• Finding the best electronics retailer based on our comprehensive annual survey


• How to save—and what to be wary of—with refurbished or open-box products on store shelves


• Where to get free office software, free computer security programs, and more useful freeware

Samsung adds Blockbuster, Amazon on-demand video services

Samsung Series 7 7000 LED-backlit LCD TV. (Click to enlarge.)
[ PHOTO: Courtesy of Samsung ]

Tired of playing wallflower while other TV brands did the streaming-movie tango, Samsung today hit the dance floor with deals with both Blockbuster and Amazon to bring their respective on-demand movie services to select Samsung TVs, and in the case of Blockbuster, Blu-ray players and home-theater-in-a-box systems (HTIBs).

We've been waiting several months for Blockbuster On Demand, the video giant's streaming movie service, to appear on Samsung TVs, but weren't aware the service would be rolled out to other Internet-enabled devices. The deal with Amazon was also a surprise, as the company offers Netflix's instant-movie service on some Blu-ray players.

The Blockbuster On Demand service, which requires a firmware update, will be available on all Internet-enabled Series 650 and above LCD and plasma TVs, plus Series 7000 and above LCD models with LED backlights. In addition to the TVs, the service can be added to three Samsung Blu-ray players—models BD-P1600, BD-P3600 and BD-P4600—and Samsung’s HT-BD1250, HT-BD3252, HT-BD7200 and HT-BD8200 HTIB systems.