Adobe Flash to your TV: Let's get interactive!

Not content to remain tethered to the computer, Adobe’s Flash technology is about to make the jump to televisions and other consumer-electronics devices this fall, promising to deliver high-def video and other web-based content seamlessly to TV viewers. The technology, called Flash for the Digital Home, is an optimized version of Flash Lite—designed for mobile products—that can run on TVs, Blu-ray DVD players, and settop boxes.

As far as we know, Vizio is the only TV brand that's announced support for the specialized version of Flash, which will be available later this summer in XVT-series TVs that feature Vizio Internet Apps (VIA), the company's online TV platform. But Flash for the Digital Home has already garnered the support of some major players, including Atlantic Records, Comcast, Disney Interactive, Intel, Netflix, and The New York Times, among others.

This is part of the Open Screen Project, Adobe's plan to let you access Internet content from almost any kind of device without going through a computer or web browser. Flash for the Digital Home will give users the ability to combine traditional TV viewing with access to new types of Internet-delivered content, including streaming HD video and music, along with interaction with social-networking communities. Flash Lite is currently used to deliver multimedia content to mobile devices, including cell phones.

We'll be looking for additional product announcements from TV and Blu-ray player manufacturers to see how broadly this new technology will be adopted—and of course testing models when they become available to see if the technology lives up to its promise. —Will Dilella

In the CR test labs: New Blu-ray players

The latest batch of Blu-ray players are in our labs now. Check back in a few weeks for updated Ratings.

Things are once again cooking in CR’s DVD test labs, where we’re putting 11 new high-def Blu-ray players through their paces. All the new players we’re testing are BD-Live models that can access extra online content from the movie-studio’s servers, or download firmware updates from the manufacturer when new features are available.

Some of the models also offer access to additional Web-based content, such as movies from Netflix and Amazon Video on Demand, videos from YouTube, or streaming music from services such as Pandora.

These models will be part of the latest Blu-ray player Ratings (available to subscribers), which should be posted in a few weeks.

Here are some comments on the models currently being tested:

JVC XV-BP1: JVC’s first Blu-ray player can play back high-def AVCHD video files shot with a camcorder, and can internally decode DolbyTrueHD and DTS-HD Master lossless audio formats.

Give Dad the gift of entertainment on Father’s Day

[ Photo courtesy of Paula Pandey Chhetri ]

With Father’s Day just 3 days away, here are some last-minute suggestions that don’t include either a Sham-wow or a Snuggie. Instead, get your Dad or husband something he’d actually want—a gadget to make his entertainment more, well, entertaining. Here are a few suggestions for any budget.

$50 or less: Consider a set of decent earbuds (the Sony MDR-ED21LP, $20, is one example), or a DVD or Blu-ray disc of his favorite flick or series. An iTunes gift card, $15 to $50, will let him download music as well as movies and TV shows he can watch on an iPod, iPhone, or computer.

$50 to $100: A pair of noise-canceling headphones can deliver satisfying sound while providing a sonic sanctuary from unwanted outside noises, whether he’s on the go or just hanging out at home. We found several that fall into this price range in our last headphone Ratings (available to subscribers).

If you can spend $60, consider a basic Netflix subscription, which entitles Dad to two DVDs a month for a year. That translates to 24 movies, or a compilation of a TV series he might have missed. (A few critically acclaimed series to consider: Friday Night Lights, 30 Rock, Mad Men, The Wire, The Shield, and Dexter. And allow me one personal recommendation: If he’s into history and mystery, I think he’ll love Foyle’s War, a PBS series about a police inspector dealing with espionage, sabotage, propaganda, and everyday crimes on the English coast during World War II.)

Panasonic to offer first standalone portable Blu-ray player

Panasonic's DMP-B15 Blu-ray player

Although notebook computers with Blu-ray drives have been around for a while, later this month Panasonic will offer the first portable standalone Blu-ray player, the DMP-B15.

The player—which was first seen at the annual Consumer Electronics Show in January—is a BD Live model with a 8.9-inch WSVGA LCD screen and an SD memory-card slot for viewing digital photos and video. It also includes Panasonic’s Viera Cast Internet service, which provides access to online content including Amazon Video on Demand, YouTube, the Picasa photo service, and Bloomberg news, among others.

The list price of the DMP-B15 is $800, but we’ve already seen some retailers offering it on a pre-order basis for $750.

Panasonic will offer an optional headrest mounting bracket for in-car use.--James K. Willcox

Warner Bros. offers “Red2Blu” HD DVD-for-Blu-ray trade-in

If you gambled on HD DVD in the high-def DVD war and came up a loser, Warner Bros. is giving you another chance to break even (well, almost). Its new Red2Blu program lets you exchange old Warner HD DVDs for a Blu-ray version of the same movie.

The swap-out isn’t free—it costs $4.95 per movie, plus a $6.95 shipping and handling charge per order (so it's $6.95 even if you exchange more than one DVD). Just go to the Red2Blu website, choose the HD DVDs you’d like to exchange, and use a credit card to pay the fees. You then print out a pre-paid, pre-addressed shipping label, which is sent via a confirmation email, and mail the original cover-art packaging sleeve from the old titles (you actually get to keep the HD DVD discs themselves!) to a processing center. Within four to five weeks, you should receive the replacement Blu-ray discs.

You're allowed to swap up to 25 HD DVD titles, and there are well over 100 titles from which to choose. The complete list of terms and conditions for the program is on this part of the Red2Blu website. —James K. Willcox

GE storage boost: 100 DVDs on one disc

General Electric today announced a storage technology breakthrough that they say will allow a standard DVD-sized disc to hold 500 gigabytes of data—the equivalent capacity, with current storage technologies, of 20 single-layer Blu-ray discs, 100 DVDs, or the hard drive for a large desktop computer.

The breakthrough, GE says, is based on holographic storage technology that uses the entire volume of the disc material, rather than only its surface, as today's optical storage formats like DVDs and Blu-ray discs do. However, the company says the new storage formats are similar enough to current optical storage technology that drives that can read the new discs will also play CDs, DVDs and other discs encoded with current technology.

The takeaway: A significant development, this promises eventually to replace memories of three-dimensional photos as the main association when people hear the word "hologram." It also promises to add to the already-dropping price of digital storage media—something anyone who's recently bought a memory card for a digital camera, or a new computer, already knows.

However, don't dump your Blu-ray player yet. As analysts quoted by The New York Times, which first reported the story, note, it's as yet unclear when new drives and, say, movie discs that use the technology will reach the consumer market, and at what cost. The first adopters are expected to be commercial, including the entertainment industry and the health-care sector.

Samsung adds new soundbar systems, Blu-ray players

Have you been craving a Blu-ray sound and video system, but can't spare the room for even a compact home theater in a box system? Samsung's new HT-BD8200 packs a Blu-ray player into a sound bar speaker system that includes a separate wireless subwoofer. The system, priced at $800, won't arrive until July. But if you can't wait, and already have a Blu-ray player, the company has a lower-priced option that arrives in just a few weeks: the HT-WS1, a slightly smaller, cheaper ($350) sound bar speaker that also connects to the TV via a single cable. (Click on the image at right for a closer look at the Samsung HT-BD8200, top, and the Samsung HT-WS1.)

Both models have virtual 5.1-channel sound, and can connect to a wireless home network via an optional USB dongle—much like the company's new TVs—to access music, videos and photos stored on a PC. The less expensive model lacks the built-in Blu-ray player, but does include a wireless subwoofer. Both models come with a wall mount, and feature Samsung's red Touch of Color accents to complement its flat-panel TVs.

The company also has three new Blu-ray players: the BD-P1600 ($300), the BD-P3600 ($400) and the stylish BD-P4600 ($500). All include the ability to stream videos from Netflix and music from the Pandora Internet radio service.

The BD-P1600, which is already available, is the company's new entry-level piece, replacing the older BD-P1500 model. The BD-P3600, which replaces the BD-P2500, is a step-up model with 7.1-channel audio outputs, while the BD-P4600 is a stylish, ultra-thin statement piece that can either be be wall mounted or seated (at a 25-degree angle) on its integrated stand. The player, just 1.5-inches thick, has a piano-black design with red Touch of Color accents. (Click on the image at right for a closer look at the Samsung BD-P4600.) All three models claim improved load times, and can connect to a wireless network via an optional USB wireless dongle. — James K. Willcox

Tips on getting movies from the library: Making the most of a free video option

Getting movies from the library can be a great option to trim your entertainment budget, and so a possible cost-saving alternative to paying video-rental services like those we recently rated (Ratings available to subscribers). That’s in spite of libraries’ drawbacks as video sources, which were highlighted in a recent Consumer Reports survey.

Here are tips on making the most of borrowing movies from the library, including suggestions from readers who commented on our original blog—and some more results from that survey:

Temper your selection expectations. In our survey, libraries scored particularly poorly on selection of titles (with 16% highly satisfied) and in-stock availability of titles (with 13% highly satisfied), However, in my experience, albeit with one of the country's biggest library systems, most titles I look for are available, at least eventually. And I'm sometimes pleasantly surprised to find relative obscurities—for example, 1970s titles from a favorite director, Britain’s Mike Leigh.

Commenting on our blog, Michael Spadoni wrote “true, you can't get the newest DVD's at the library. But it's a great resource for classic films, the occasional foreign picture, and TV series. [For example], I've recently checked out sets of short-lived but much-loved shows such as Steven Bochco's "Murder One" (ABC, 1995-97) and "The Comeback" with Lisa Kudrow, which lasted just one season on HBO."

Best DVD rental plans

For renting DVDs, Netflix tops Blockbuster overall when it comes to mail-order movie subscriptions, according to a new survey of 6,700 online subscribers by the Consumer Reports National Research Center.

Both services have $4- or $5-a-month plans that let you have one disc at a time and plans that cost $15 to $20 or more monthly that allow you to keep at least three discs on hand, with some offering all-you-can-watch privileges. You go online to reserve movies, which are mailed to you within a business day or two. When you return the disc in a prepaid mailer, the next movie is shipped out. Netflix supplements mail delivery with the ability to stream movies to a computer or TV with an Ethernet port. Blockbuster also offers streamed videos, but they’re not part of its Total Access rental subscriptions; you pay extra.

Consumers surveyed gave Netflix the edge for price and selection. Blockbuster’s Total Access plan did well, though, and it lets you supplement mail delivery with pickup and exchanges at its 4,600 retail stores. However, one report says Blockbuster is changing its policy so that those in-store movies will be counted toward the total allowed; they haven’t been so far. That makes the plan less generous overall than before, but it still allows you to switch movies immediately, rather than waiting for the mail.

Watch our Netflix vs. Blockbuster video (Click on the embedded video player) for more on your movie rental choices. Subscribers can see our full Ratings of movie rental services, which also includes in-store kiosks, walk-in chains, and independent rental stores. And don’t forget libraries as a source of free DVD loans..

—Eileen McCooey

Internet connectivity, wireless a focus for new Sony TVs, Blu-ray players

At Sony's annual line show this week, Internet connectivity—both wired and wireless—was a major theme, with the introduction of a new W-series line of Bravia LCD TVs with Ethernet ports, plus the company's first Wi-Fi enabled Blu-ray DVD player.

The W-series Bravia LCDs—the 52-inch KDL-52W5100, the 46-inch KDL-46W5100, and the 40-inch KDL-40W5100—offer some of the interactive TV features found in higher-priced lines such as the Z5100 and XBR9 sets at a lower price, Sony says, although it won't release pricing until closer to the TVs' spring release. W-series sets (Click on image above for a closer look), which have Sony's MotionFlow 120Hz anti-blurring technology, include a built-in Ethernet port. When connected to a home network, you can access Bravia Internet Video content, such as Amazon Video on Demand and YouTube, directly from the TV.

Like other new Sony TVs we saw at CES, the new models include Bravia Internet Widgets, the company's take on the Yahoo Widget Engine technology that's also being used by manufacturers such as Samsung, LG, and Vizio. The widgets allow you to receive Internet content, such as news, financial info, and Flickr photos, at the same time you're watching a TV show.