LATEST ADDITIONS

Inception is that rare commodity: an overblown blockbuster that glowers into the face of its audience and dares them to keep up. It’s worth making the effort. Chris Nolan’s cerebral heist movie delivers more digital wow than (nearly) every other film released in 2010. That you should add it to your BD collection goes without saying. The only question is should you opt for the Triple Play release (two Blu-ray discs, one DVD and the keys to a Digital Copy download), or geek out with the stainless steel Briefcase Edition? This includes a replica of Cobb’s spinning top token, a PASIV (Portable Automated Somnacin IntraVenous) Device User Manual and Movie art-cards. If you go for the latter, we suggest you don’t broadcast the fact to your friends.

The VMP74 is Viewsonic’s second so-called ‘full HD Network Media Player’, and as the name suggests, it offers full 1080p output for video. The device itself is a small, lightweight and glossy plastic box that fits discreetly into a TV stand. It’s pretty unassuming with just a power indicator LED on the top. Around the back you’ll find an HDMI port for rigging the streamer to your HDTV or projector. This is the only option for hi-def video, although a 3.5mm AV port enables you to use fuzzy, old school composite video (alongside stereo audio). There’s also an optical digital output. On the non-audio/visual front, there’s an Ethernet socket for networking duties (no wi-fi option here), plus USB and eSATA ports for connecting external hard disks and other USB storage devices.

Pioneer’s pricey player offers none of the niceties that brands use to lure us to the next price point. Instead of 3D, wi-fi, universal playback or even a set of multichannel outputs, this step-up player trades purely on performance. It’s a high-risk strategy, given the impressive quality of this year’s budget offerings. Lucky then, that the picture quality is spanking.

Panasonic is currently the king of plasma TV. So much so, that its LCD screens often get overlooked. Now, though, it’s joined the LED market, with a range of TVs from 19-42in. This set, the TX-L42D25B, is the biggest in its arsenal. Is it good enough to challenge the LED lineups of Samsung, Sony et al?