Blu-ray Players

The T+A Caruso Blu is described by its German manufacturer as a 'complete multi-source hi-fi system.' As a product, it's delightfully esoteric – a heavyweight, premium-priced one-box solution that works as a Blu-ray player, media player, CD deck, DAB/'net/FM radio and a Bluetooth dock. It's undoubtedly a lifestyle product, but one that promises a high level of performance. 

Toshiba’s BDX1250 is designed to appeal to those making their first timid steps from standard-def DVD to hi-def Blu-ray. No shame in that, except it has to compete with plenty of other decks (including Sony’s BDP-S185 and Panasonic’s DMP-BD75) that are all taking the same approach. And at this end of the market, price is everything – the launch ticket of £130 made it an immediate non-contender, but shop around and you’ll find it for £100 or less.

As stormy iClouds gather over the home entertainment business, threatening to replace physical media with content streamed from a virtual locker, there’s something almost quaint about the idea of a media server system – a physical repository for your movies and music that sits on a home network. But are media servers really an AV cul-de-sac that time is rapidly forgetting, or the most practical multimedia solution of all, combining the benefits of tangible discs with the convenience of Video On Demand? The answer probably lies somewhere in-between.