A store in Joplin, MO has had quite a few items go missing, $44,000 worth to be exact.

The burglars were selective about what they took, the assistant manager said, and they shied away from larger appliances such as refrigerators and stoves.

Instead, the thieves went for televisions, digital camcorders, digital video-disc recorders, car stereos and digital cameras. Stolen were 18 television sets in all, according to the police report.

The projection televisions ranged in price from $1,899 to $4,000. The plasma TVs bore price tags from $1,400 to $3,000, and the liquid-crystal display sets ranged in price from $700 to $1,500.

The most expensive of four digital cameras taken was worth $900.

Six camcorders valued from $330 to $1,050, two car stereos worth a combined $920 and two DVD recorders worth $500 and $460 completed the electronics haul.

18 TVs, and only 6 camcorders, 4 cameras and 2 car stereos. Worth per pound means the TVs were probably quite a bit more of a hassle, but choosy thieves choose HDTV.

Is this a new type of HD-crackhead? I wish them luck catching the criminals.

News Source

This media center PC looks like a great choice if you’re in the market for an HTPC, but don’t want to build one yourself.

Base price of $2500 includes:

- Digital Video Recorder (better than TiVo*), including over-the-air HDTV
- Record up to FOUR programs at once (2 SD** & 2 OTA HD)
- Up-Converting DVD player (plays back DVDs at your TV’s resolution)
- Music jukebox
- Internet radio
- 7.1 channel Intel High Definition audio (analog and digital out) including Dolby Digital Live (converts 2 ch source to 5.1 channel in real time and output via S/PDIF)
- Photos slidehows
- High Definition gaming (try doing that with your Xbox or PS2)
- DVD and CD burning (burn your favourite TV shows to DVD)
- Multiple room capable
- Remote record (schedule TV recordings over the Internet from anywhere in the world)
- Stream your content to another PC or handheld anywhere in the world (using Orb Networks)
- Xbox 360 ready (!)
- Microsoft Media Center Keyboard
* In many people’s opinion…
** Requires two set-top boxes

The unit comes in a clean, black case. Options include larger HHDs, up to dual 500 gigs - 1 TB and dual HD tuners for a reasonable $100.

Definitely worth checking out.

Media Center Platinum HDTV Edition from s1Digital

I noticed Crutchfield has a review of Samsung’s DLP 50″ rear projection 1080p HDTV set.

Features include “dynamic iris” which helps with the blacks, OTA and cable HD tuners, 2 HDMI inputes, and 2 firewire ports.

Street prices are currently starting around $2600.

“Samsung hit the nail on the head
The HL-R5078W does so many things so well that it’s hard to come up with even minor complaints. (OK, it would be nice if the remote control was backlit, but that’s about it.) It combines hot technology (1080p resolution, dynamic iris), high-performance HD tuners for over-the-air and cable signals, plus the connections you need to enjoy current (and future) high-definition sources. ”

Full Review

I’ve been wondering what I might want for Christmas, as I know everyone will be asking soon. (I never have an answer, if I want something I just go right out and buy it.)

Need an HTDude gift idea? This type of dvd carousel could be the ticket. We normally don’t buy these static, wooden type of contraptions, as there is no way to tweak it, plug it in or connect it to our other components.

A dual-win for wife-units who are tired of drawers full of piled up DVDs.

Hitachi’s new UltraVision 42 inch 42HDT52 plasma screen conjures up a decent review at cnet. The machine is designed with motorized swivel stand. Now that’s a useful feature, not.

This thing is second from the top of the Hitachi line, but doesn’t quite measure up to the $4400 list price tag. However, it can be found for less than $2800:

“The good: Solid video processing with 2:3 pull-down; separate Day and Night memories per input; comprehensive connectivity; extensive feature package; power swivel stand.

The bad: Expensive; incorrect color decoding; poor black-level performance; visible false-contouring artifacts; no PC input.

The bottom line: While the Hitachi 42HDT52 plasma is full-featured and downright beautiful to look at, its image quality doesn’t quite measure up to that of the tough competition.”

HTdude says keep on looking.

Hitachi 42HDT52 Full Review

I’ve seen a couple more news clips about Sony’s upcoming projector, the VPL-VW100. This thing should be the cat’s pajamas with 3, yes count ‘em - 3 SXRD chips producing a whopping 1920×1020 resolution.

This 1080p bad boy should be nothing but bling! on your screen.

This is the latest and greatest in front projection from Sony, and is expected by end of the year. (Maybe in time to put it on Santa’s list?) Let’s see, if I’m a good boy from here on out, maybe the rest of the year will be forgotten…

Sony VPL-VW100 spec sheet (PDF)

I stumbled across this great writeup for one of Sony’s new SXRD rear projection HDTV models. This is a 50″ job that runs about 4 grand.

This model represents the second line offering SXRD, after Sony’s Qualia offerings which require at least one rich dead uncle or primo lottery ticket to afford.

This review gives an 8/10.

“Overall
I love this TV. It has almost everything that a person could be looking for out a large screen set. Besides having crappy sound, I have no major issues with it. The blacks are not incredible, but they aren’t bad ether. I would like to start seeing front HDMI ports on higher end TVs but that is not something to mark this TV down on. The jacks are spread out but at least there is every kind a person could need.

If you are looking for a great picture from DVDs and HD, consider this TV. Sure it is expensive, but man the picture is amazing.

Overall Score: 8 out of 10”

Full review - HD Beat
Found Via HDBlog

Wired surveyed about 2000 peeps and came up with these top choices for gifts:

Top Three Gifts for Early Adopters:
1. Laptop
2. HDTV
3. Digital camera

Top Choices for the Men on your List:
1. HDTV
2. Home theater system
3. Laptop


Top Three Picks for Her:
1. Household appliance
2. Digital camera
3. MP3 player

Three Best Bets for a Grandparent:
1. Household appliance
2. Digital camera
3. HDTV

Three Hot Choices for Kids:
1. MP3 player
2. Laptop
3. Digital camera

Interesting list, and I think the results are right-on. Why? Each top 3 contains an HDTV or home theater system, except for women and children. Why? Because their husbands and fathers already got it on their list.

Trickle down economics at their best.

Full Writeup

Samsung’s newest dvd player, the DVD-HD950 is one of the latest upconverting DVD players to hit the market.

Of note:

The new Samsung DVD-HD950 has unique features that can kick the butt of other players of its kind. It has an aspect-ratio control that can resize 16:9 and 4:3 content in several ways and can zoom and crop the picture to remove the thin letterbox bars from 2.35:1 movies or expand non-anamorphic wide-screen discs to fill wide-screen TVs. It also includes DVD-Audio and SACD decoding.

Verdict:

“Good points: Plays DVD-Audio and SACD discs; slim design; jog/shuttle control on remote; upconverts to several high resolutions; aspect-ratio control; solid compatibility.

Bad points: Inconsistent image quality on horizontal-resolution tests; lack of smoothness on some difficult images; 768p output inactive.

Conclusion: Samsung’s DVD-HD950, a universal HDMI-upconversion DVD player, though falls a little short of videophile demands is a great and affordable DVD player. Technews gives the HD950 two thumbs up.”

Full Article

Wow, a 1080p DVD player - under 250 bucks!

Well, it’s actually 1080p over component, with a firmware upgrade for 1080p over HDMI. And then there’s the less than stellar review at AVS.

Hmmm.

However, I wonder why I have to buy the player and then upgrade it? Why don’t they just do the upgrade themselves, that makes me wonder a bit.

NeuNeo HVD2085

Spotted at HDBeat