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A Cost-Conscious Renters Guide For Building Your High-Def Home Theater

Tue Jun 30, 2009 at 04:30 PM ET
Tags: HD Gear, High-Def Retailing (all tags)

High-Def Digest walks you through a series of tips and tricks for putting together an impressive high-def home theater setup that won't break the bank or cost you your deposit!

By Michael S. Palmer

“I live in apartments. Two story town homes. Condos. Even houses. I live alone. I have roommates. I am single. I am married. I live in the top floor. I live in the basement. I have neighbors above, below, and next-door.

Hello, my name is Renter. And I am an HD-junkie.”

Hello Renter,

It starts so innocently. I know. You see an HDTV for the first time -- maybe in a store, maybe at a friend’s home -- and you know you want it. No… you can’t possibly live without it. Bright and clear and seemingly perfect.

So you pick up a new HDTV, bring in an HD-DVR from your cable or satellite provider, and bam, you’re up and running. Only not. The truth of the matter is that TV speakers are lifeless, and high-def from your cable company isn't always as top notch as you might like it to be (think 720p). Oh, and now that you have a big screen you notice that DVDs aren’t quite as sharp as they used to be. Yep. It’s time for Blu-ray. And dynamic speakers.

In a utopian paradise, this is where you would draw up blueprints, rip out walls, build a soundproof, acoustically magnificent, room-within-a-room, and come home every night to a dedicated home theatre. A 1080p projector shines on a 150-inch screen. Audio and video cables hide in your walls. And your seats are those D-Box Motion Code recliners where you literally sit ON the subwoofer.

But sadly, Renters, you don’t have free reign. You live in an apartment directly over the building managers (an aging couple who need to shout their conversations because they’re both deaf, yet somehow, you tip-toeing across your floor they can hear). You put down expensive deposits and you hope to get most of it back. And you’re not even ready for the ultimate system, because who has many thousands of extra dollars sitting around, collecting dust?

Hello, real world.

But Renter, this shouldn’t stop you from having an amazing home theatre. When you’re ready to dip your toe in the HD waters, try these steps and cost-saving tips. Done right, and with a wee bit of luck, you’ll do this under budget and without forfeiting your deposit.

STEP 1: PREP

RESEARCH: Scour the internet. There are tons of forums, blogs, and audio/visual recources to help you out. All online. Available for free. Peak around, find the ones you like, then read product reviews, ratings, and recommendations. Learn prices, technical specs, and what you might want (Satellite, bookshelf, or floor-standing speakers? How many HDMI inputs do you need? What about audio? 5.1 or 7.1 surround sound?).

SET AN ACHIEVABLE GOAL FOR YOUR BUDGET: As an example, let’s say we want to watch 1080p HD video on Blu-ray, play video games, and experience the sonic firepower of uncompressed digital audio in surround sound. But shopping for HD home theatre gear can be like house hunting -- never fall in love with something you can’t afford. And the great news is there’s a system for just about every budget. So, find a comfortable number, and stick to it. That’s your ceiling. End of discussion.

TV TIP: To truly enjoy 1080p video, you need two things: a capable TV, and a screen large enough for your viewing distance. The home theatre gods over at THX have some great advice. For a cinema feel, avoid smaller than 50 or 60 inches, if possible.

A/V RECEIVER TIP: Research receivers’ THD (Total Harmonic Distortion), which is noise/static caused as volume increases. You want a rating between .01% - .08%.

DEMO BEFORE YOU BUY: Speakers aren’t universally appealing to everyone’s ears. Certain receivers are more for music reproduction, others are more geared towards cinephiles. You need to test everything in person. Decide for yourself what sounds best to you. This is a big purchase. And you need to live with it and hopefully love it for a very long time.

DEMO TIP: Bring your own media, both music and movies that you know and love, which have wide dynamic ranges (low, midrange, and high notes), and active surround sound effects. And don’t be disappointed if you can’t get a multi-channel surround test of every system. If you find a front pair that you love, you’ll probably enjoy the center and surrounds from that same brand/model line.

WHERE TO DEMO: You have THREE options. Harass friends who already have gear in your price range, walk into a Big Box Store (Best Buy etc.), or find a home theatre specialist/custom installer.

BIG BOX STORES vs. HOME THEATRE SPECIALIST: Renter, can you walk into Best Buy, find a sales associate, give him or her a budget, and walk out with a middle to high end surround sound set up? Definitely. I’ve met many Best Buy/Magnolia employees who are passionate and knowledgeable (also, they do not work for commission), but you still need to walk in knowing your stuff.

For my hard-earned dollar, after one great experience with a smaller, boutique, professional installer, you’ll never go back. Not only can they match and beat prices in the big box stores, but you’re often dealing directly with the owner who can actually make deals. And, in our troubling times, it feels pretty damned good helping out Main Street over a mega-corporation.

Specialists and installers live for home theatre. They have to, or they go out of business. They’ll introduce you to brands you didn’t see in your research, and they often know more about what you actually need, than what you think you need, which saves you money. Big box stores seem driven to push you up into better more expensive models, where a specialist wants to give you exactly what you need for the money and space you have.

HOW TO FIND A REPUTABLE HOME THEATRE SPECIALIST: Fire up one or more of those audio/visual forum you found during research. Reach out to enthusiasts in your community for personal recommendations. Remember to always search for any question you have before posting a new one. And don’t worry if some specialty places are snobby when you’re not spending mega-bucks. You’ll just leave. The smart ones know a young renter purchasing his first system will want to come back to buy the bigger system someday if he’s satisfied.

STEP 2: SAVING GREEN

RECYCLE GEAR: What do you have that can be used in the new system? Maybe you have a receiver that’s a couple years old, or some leftover bookshelf speakers suitable for your rear surround sounds.

KNOW YOUR COSTS: Find the cheapest price online, and use that as your starting line for haggling. If a retailer won’t beat the price, walk away.

BUY THE WHOLE SYSTEM AT ONCE: The more you buy, the more a retailer can toss in free accessories, or overall discounts. When you’re ready to have a complete surround sound system. Take the plunge.

CASH: Credit Cards charge companies for their services. If you pay by cash or check, some retailers are willing to pass the savings onto you.

LAST YEAR’S GEAR: Retailers are always getting in newer models. If you play it right, or just happen to be lucky, a retailer will give you a discount on last year’s gear to clear out their storerooms.

FLOOR MODELS: Wouldn’t recommend this for HDTVs, given the amount of in-store abusage, but definitely check out available demo speakers. They’re probably the exact system you just evaluated and loved. The trick here is to see how the store maintains and cares for its equipment. If everything looks up to par, take them home (they usually come with a full manufacturers warranty).

WHERE NOT TO CHEAP OUT: Put money into your center channel. In movies especially, so much information is delivered from that one speaker.

NECESSARY POWER WATTAGE: Do you really need 130 or 140watts per channel? Speaking from a personal experience, a home theatre specialist recommended a receiver with 100watts/channel for my apartment. So I dropped down to a less powerful unit, and saved hundreds of dollars. And believe me, I haven’t even begun to turn my system up to full strength, yet it’s deafeningly loud and showing no signs of strain or distortion.

SUBWOOFER OPTIONAL?: This one goes out to my cousin, Apartment Building Renter. If you live above someone, they probably won’t enjoy thundering bass exploding over their heads and shaking their walls. Save a few hundred bucks by finding floor-standing front speakers that have BUILT-IN subwoofers (Definitive Technology is one company that does this). They won’t be quite as powerful as a stand-alone sub, but they come pretty close.

5.1 IS STILL AWESOME: 7.1 is all the rage in Blu-ray capabilities, but let’s be clear here. Stay at a very immersive 5.1 set up, and you just saved on the cost of two speakers, and the hassle of running two more speaker lines. Further, 7.1 is not a consistent feature on Blu-rays, and if you run a 5.1-mixed movie on your 7.1 system, no sound will come out of the two rear speakers (unless you activate you’re a/v receiver’s artificial signal processing to do so. But why would you want to alter a professional, uncompressed mix? An amazing team of artists worked long hours to make the 5.1 perfect.).

ACCESSORY MARK UP: Do not buy Monster Cables, or any brand for that matter in a big box store (even Radio Shack). It’s literally like burning money. Truck on over to Monoprice.com. They have everything from HDTV wall mounts, speaker wire, HDMI cables, and surge protectors, at wholesale prices.

MORE INTERNET SHOPPING: Renters, we need to share our love for Amazon.com. Nine times out of ten, their prices are significantly lower than brick and mortar big box stores (Blu-rays especially). If you can’t find a deal for the gear that you loved, order it online. Many items have free shipping, and (in California at least) it’s TAX FREE. The only trouble is being able to hold back that “I want it now” temptation of going to a store.

PS3: Want Blu-ray (with every HD Audio codec supported including DTS-MA, Dolby TrueHD, and Linear PCM), DVD playback, media server / internet capabilities, and access to truly life-like games? It’s all in one system. The PS3. Hands down the fastest, most capable Blu-ray player on the market for its price. One drawback, however, is that it doesn’t have streaming capabilities for things like Hulu or Netflix (without 3rd party software), but hopefully this is only temporary.

HD AUDIO TIP: If you do get a PS3, to experience uncompressed audio, you need an a/v receiver that has at the very least 1 HDMI input, and 1 HDMI output. But you’ll probably want more inputs for other/future devices.

STEP 3: FAMILY FRIENDLY & CALIBRATE, CALIBRATE, CALIBRATE

FAMILY FRIENDLY (AKA, GIRLFRIEND PROOF): Sorry ladies, but let’s be honest, pure terror ran across my mother’s or girlfriend’s faces when they saw 8 remotes on a coffee table. Take a bit of that money you saved, and get a computer programmable universal remote. The Logitech Harmony series is cheap for beginners, and easy to program/use on a daily basis. Problem solved (marriage saved).

PS3 REMOTE TIP: Logitech now has an accessory to run the PS3 with their Harmony remotes. You’ll need this because the PS3 game controllers and remote (sold separately) use Bluetooth.

CALIBRATION: It’s running. It looks and sounds good, but Renter, time to make your system hit peak performance, for which you have two options. Hire a professional (best results, but expensive), or do it yourself (cheap, but might not be perfect). If you can live with ‘good enough’, you can pick up a calibration disc like DVE HD Basics for under $20, or if you happen to have a Blu-ray with the THX logo, one of the menu options will be a calibration process called the “THX Optimizer.” Another good choice is Spears & Munsil High Definition Benchmark. Simple and easy to achieve great picture and perfect sound.

SPEAKER PLACEMENT TIP: Thanks again, THX.

SPEAKER WIRE TIP: Since you can’t run wires through walls, your best bet is to hide audio wires under a rug, along the floorboard, or behind bookshelves/furniture. Another (more expensive) option is to get wireless system for the surrounds, so there aren’t any rear wires. There are drilling and other installation options as well, but again the costs are high, and you have to fix it all before you leave. You can always have whatever you want. It’s just never free.

SETTING THE CROSSOVER TIP: It’s important when you have a subwoofer to tell the receiver, even if you have floor-standing speakers, that you have small speakers. This ensures that the subwoofer will handle the lower frequencies (usually below 80Hz).

NEIGHBOR FRIENDLY: There are certainly an infinite number of tiny tweaks you can make, but we’re renting, and living in the real world. This is just about getting you started. But, it’s very important as you are testing out and enjoying your cinematic wunderkind (side tangent: in addition to rolling out the red carpet for Blu-rays, try watching sports or playing your favorite video game in surround sound. You’ve been missing half the experience) to turn it up and talk to your neighbors. Is the sound or the bass bleeding through a little or a lot? Learn your limitations and be respectful, because some day you could live next to someone who never sleeps, and spent more money than you on speakers.

Good luck, and enjoy. I never knew how much of the music or movies I was missing until I purchased my first surround system that included floor-standing front speakers. And as for the best review my system ever received? My girlfriend lost 50% of the hearing in her right ear a few years ago, but these speakers are so clear she can actually hear in both ears.

Remember, Renter, you are not alone in your addictions, and this is only the first step in your home theatre journey.

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Michael Jackson Dead at 50

Thu Jun 25, 2009 at 06:50 PM ET

The Associated Press, CNN, and the Los Angeles Times are reporting that Michael Jackson has died after being taken to the hospital following cardiac arrest.

The winner of 13 Grammy Awards, Jackson is perhaps best known for the album 'Thriller,' which remains the best-selling album of all time.

Information is still coming in regarding the exact cause of the singer's death. He was set to launch a three year comeback tour beginning next month.

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Farrah Fawcett Dead at 62

Thu Jun 25, 2009 at 04:00 PM ET
Tags: Death Announcements (all tags)

After a long fight with cancer, Farrah Fawcett has passed away.

The five-time Golden Globe-nominated actress is best known for her brief stint on the original 'Charlie's Angels' and her famous pin-up poster that sold millions of copies.

The actress passed away Thursday morning at St. John's Hospital in Santa Monica, California with partner Ryan O'Neal and best friend Alana Stewart by her bedside. She was 62.

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More 'Torchwood' Hitting Blu-ray this September

Fri May 08, 2009 at 01:00 PM ET
Tags: Disc Announcements, TV on High-Def, BBC (all tags)

BBC Video has announced its latest round of 'Torchwood' on Blu-ray, setting a mid-September arrival for 'Children of Earth.'

The latest series in the popular sci-fi saga, 'Torchwood: Children of Earth' will feature the complete 300-minute episode arc as a two-disc set, due to hit stores on Blu-ray (day-and-date with the standard DVD) on September 15.

The release follows 'Torchwood: The Complete First Season' (which hit Blu-ray last year) and 'Torchwood: The Complete Second Season,' due this July.

Tech specs will see 1080p/VC-1 video (1.78:1) and Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround audio.

There's no word yet on supplements, but we'll keep you posted.

Suggested retail price for the Blu-ray has been set at $39.99.

You'll find the latest specs for 'Torchwood: Children of Earth' linked from our Blu-ray Release Schedule, where it's indexed under September 15.

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Discs mentioned in this article: (Click for specs and reviews)
Torchwood: Children of Earth (Blu-ray)
Torchwood: The Complete First Season (Blu-ray)
Torchwood: The Complete Second Season (Blu-ray)

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Warner Unveils Red2Blue Program: Trade Eligible HD-DVDs for Blu-rays!

Wed Apr 22, 2009 at 02:15 PM ET
Tags: Warner, High-def Deals (all tags)

Warner Home Video has announced a trade-in program to convert your WB HD DVD titles to Blu-rays.

For a small fee ($4.95 per disc) plus shipping and handling, HD DVD owners can trade-in their Warner titles and receive Blu-ray versions of them in 4-6 weeks.

Complete details on this offer are available at http://www.red2blu.com/.

Kudos to Warner for offering this program, and hopefully the other studios will follow with a similar deal.

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Review of the Harmony 720

Mon Apr 20, 2009 at 03:35 PM ET
Tags: HD Gear (all tags)

Tom Landy give's us a detailed review of the Harmony 720.

Reviewed By Tom Landy

Up until a couple of years ago, I had one hell of a time trying to find a decent universal remote to control my home theatre system. I must have gone through three or four different brands and without fail there’d always be at least one device in my setup that those remote codes just couldn’t recognize. I suppose having a remote that controls most devices isn’t entirely bad, but it kind of defeats the purpose of being universal then, doesn’t it?

I had nearly given up on my quest to find the ideal universal remote control that suited my needs when I came across Logitech’s family of Harmony remotes. Logitech has quite a few different models available ranging from about $60 to several hundred, and each one looks and functions a little differently depending on what kind of features you’re looking for. The best part about them, though, is that they are all so easy to use they’re virtually foolproof.

The first Harmony remote I ended up purchasing was the Harmony 890. It’s one of the more expensive models, because it doesn’t just have infrared (or IR) functionality like most remotes, it also has the ability to use radio frequencies (RF). This enables the remote to control devices hidden from view, perhaps tucked away inside a cabinet or closet. This was perfect for me, since at the time I had an awkward setup with my stereo (and receiver) in a different area than my TV.

However, shortly afterwards I ended up buying a new flat screen LCD with a multi-level stand, which completely changed the entire layout of my system. Now I was able to put all of my components together in one place so I didn’t really need the RF ability any longer. I was a bit bummed that I spent so much money on a remote for a feature I was never going to use, but at the same time I still loved that remote. It was easy to program and use, it controlled every single one of my devices, and most importantly, made life much simpler.

Anyway, to make a long story short, tragedy struck one day and my beloved Harmony 890 passed away. Luckily for me, it was still under extended warranty, and instead of the store fixing it or giving me a new one, they just gave me a gift card for the full value of the remote. Rather than upgrading to a higher model, I actually decided to downgrade to one with less features since I wouldn’t require RF anymore. I even saved myself a ton of cash, as for about ¼ of the cost I paid for the 890, I purchased the Harmony 720 – and it was one of the best decisions I’ve made in a long time.

First, as you’ll notice (in the image above) the Harmony 720 has a sleek black design. It also comes with a full color LCD screen for the buttons owners can customize to their liking. Like most of the Harmony remotes, the 720 has a rechargeable battery and is packaged with its own cradle for charging. The battery lasts approximately a week or so before needing recharging, and the screen displays when the battery is running low.

Set-up:

Most of the Harmony remotes include software for programming and customizing them on a PC. First install the CD program onto a computer and follow the instructions. One thing that does get a little bit tricky with the program is that an account must be created first, and a separate account should be created for each remote and/or setup. For example, if you have a home theatre upstairs and another downstairs made up of different devices, you should create an account for each one. The screen should look like this:


After creating an account, the very first thing to do is to add all of the necessary devices you wish to control with the remote. The Harmony database already has thousands of brand names and model numbers, and it’s continuously growing all the time. Simply click the DEVICES tab, then ADD DEVICE, and follow the instructions. Once you have all of your devices added to your account, it should look something like this:


This is just a screenshot from my account. As you can see, I’ve added a TV, DVD Player, Blu-ray Player, PVR (satellite receiver), and my receiver. A little below is my cable box, radio, and CD player for my stereo, but those aren’t really important for the purpose this review.

The next step is to create activities for your devices. This is what makes the Harmony remotes so great, because you can set the remote up to turn multiple devices on and/or off simultaneously with a simple click of one button. For example, if I wanted to watch a Blu-ray movie, I can create an activity called WATCH A BLU-RAY, and all that is required is to add the devices for this activity (Blu-ray player, TV, and AV receiver). Then, when I press that button on the remote, the 720 will turn on my Blu-ray player, the TV as well as the receiver, and even put them on the appropriate inputs (if any). Once you’ve created all of the activities you want, the screen should look something similar to mine below:


Each activity is very clear listing what the activity is for, what devices are used, and there are a few different buttons to modify settings, troubleshooting, and even customizing buttons. This allows the remote to be tweaked just the way you want it.

The final tab is for REMOTE SETTINGS. This area is pretty straightforward, and allows a user to change remote settings such as the clock and screen glow time, upload wallpaper for the screen background, and modify button themes.

Once all the devices are added, activities have been created, and settings have been customized, the final step is to update the remote. All that is required is to plug the remote to the provided USB cable and hook it up to the PC, and then click UPDATE REMOTE (in yellow). This takes a few minutes, and once it’s done the screen will ask that the user test out the remote to see if everything is working properly. If it is, you don’t need to do anything else. If not, just simply go into the program and change whatever is off and then try updating again.

Ease of Use:

The entire purpose of the Harmony 720 (and other models) is to do away with all of the remotes for every device and just have one remote that does everything. As previously mentioned in the setup area, the activities a user can set up have the convenience of one-push access and it just doesn’t get any simpler than that.

Users can also go into remote settings and change what the buttons do, and even make new buttons that are displayed on the screen. This is great for original remotes that may have a certain button on them that the Harmony doesn’t (such as PVR for personal video recorders). It can learn from the old remote itself if you have it handy, and if that doesn’t work there’s always the option to call tech-support. Just to show how good their customer service is, I had to call about that PVR button I mentioned since I have a Canadian satellite service provider and couldn’t get the Harmony to learn it, but the representative had it working for me within a couple of minutes. That was the only real hiccup I encountered.

Another cool thing is that when my 890 died, I just changed my account status from 890 to 720 within the program. All of my devices and all of my activities remained the same, and all I had to do was update my new remote. I didn’t have to do anything else, and it worked like a charm.

The Downsides:

Even though I truly love virtually everything about my Harmony 720, there are a few minor downsides to these kinds of universal remotes. The big one is if you own a PlayStation 3, the 720 won’t be able to control it since the PlayStation 3 is Bluetooth. I don’t believe any Harmony models currently have this capability, but this is more of an issue with the PlayStation 3 than Logitech as most remotes are IR anyways.

Another issue some may experience is that when using activity buttons, the devices are turned on in sequence so it takes 2-3 seconds for everything to activate. Impatient people who press the button and set the remote down quickly may find that not every device is turned on properly. Again, this really shouldn’t be much of a problem since it still does it much faster than if you had to control each device separately.

The Bottom Line:

While I wholeheartedly recommend the Harmony 720 and even the 890, I still strongly suggest doing a little bit of research to find the right model number for you. If you don’t have very many devices or a PVR, you might opt for the cheaper 510 model. Likewise, if you want a really spiffy high-end remote, you could always spring for the Harmony 1100 with a touch screen display that looks like something out of Star Trek. But as someone who has owned two different models from their line-up, I can tell you that Logitech delivers quality products and you’ll be easily be ecstatic with whatever model you choose.

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New Twitter Feature: Editor's Pick of the Day

Tue Mar 17, 2009 at 12:25 PM ET

Starting today on Twitter, High-Def Digest's Managing Editor, Mike Attebery, selects the Editor's Pick of the Day.

The guidelines will be pretty informal on this as I get things up and running. I'll mostly be selecting these titles on a whim, or based on current events. If anything big happens in the entertainment industry, or if a new title comes out that makes me think of an older release I want to make sure everyone has checked out, I'll highlight it on the HDD Twitter page.

Anyway, nothing too serious, just for fun. Hope you guys enjoy the daily picks.

~Mike

Check out the HDD Editor's Pick of the Day on the HDD Twitter page.

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HDD Twitter Announcement Results in Twitter Post Leading Back to Twitter Announcement Story - 'Back to the Future'-Style Craziness Continues Indefinitely

Mon Mar 16, 2009 at 06:10 PM ET
Tags: High-Def Digest Announcements (all tags)

High-Def Digest is now on Twitter. It's what all the cool kids are doing these days!

For those of you out there busy Twittering to your aching thumbs' content, please add HDD to your list of must-read Twitterers!

You can check us out here! Click "Follow" to be the first in the know when it comes to all things high-def!

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Related links:
High-Def Digest: Now on Twitter [twitter.com]

Have Any High-Def Questions You Need Answered?

Fri Jan 30, 2009 at 04:00 PM ET

Have any technical questions about your HD home theater gear? Send em our way! Starting next week our HD Guru will be answering your questions in a new weekly feature.

To submit a question for consideration, send an email to HDanswers@gmail.com and we'll see if we can help you out.

Be sure to watch for our new HD Q&A feature starting next week.


Frys and Blockbuster Offer HD DVD Bargains

Tue Dec 30, 2008 at 01:30 PM ET
Tags: High-Def Retailing (all tags)

Reminiscent of the Ghost of Christmas Past, HD DVD deals continue to materialize almost a year after the end of the format war.

In what looks to be a one day sale, Frys is offering a special on the XBOX 360 HD DVD player, that comes bundled with HD DVD box sets of Heroes: Season One and Battlestar Galactica: Season One.

Meanwhile, Blockbuster is offering its collection of previously viewed HD DVD titles for $7.99 a piece. With over 350 titles to choose from, this offer could prove tempting for many high-def fans (Editor's Note - I for one am tempted! Then again, I still rummage through LaserDiscs at second hand stores and garage sales).

If you're looking for a backup HD DVD add-on for your XBOX, or interested in nabbing some high-def titles that have yet to hit Blu-ray, these offers could be right up your alley.

See what people are saying about this story in our forums area, or check out other recent discussions.

Related links:
Frys offering XBOX 360 HD DVD Player and 'Heroes'/'Battlstar Galactica' Bundle [Frys.com]
Blockbuster Selling HD DVDs for $7.99 [Blockbuster.com]