Top Christmas Gifts #9 - #10

DVD Recorder

#9 - DVD Recorders

$100-$500

For the casual Home Theater user there is no better time to buy a DVD Recorder because theyre so cheap, but thats really all that can be said for DVD Recorders. For the true techie there would really have to be a specific purpose a DVD Recorder would have for you to even consider one. Ostensibly the DVD Recorder was to be used as the new VCR allowing you to record your favorite TV show and store it on convenient optical media rather than the usual old clunky tapes.

Today the DVD Recorder technology has been all but overshadowed by the PVR as the VCR substitute of choice. Media machines like Windows Media Center are able to distribute your shows in .wmv format, burning to DVD is an afterthought most computers can perform easily. So a dedicated set top box that only burns DVDs is already looking a bit like a dinosaur. But if you dont have a PC, dont care what a router is, even if you like the PVR its a sticky technology that is dedicated to a single TV. A DVD recorder offers the convenience of bringing last nights episode of Deadwood to your friends place that doesnt have HBO. The DVD/R/RW is the perfect format. You get to burn up to 4.7 Gigs, this can amount to hours of programming depending how much compression youre willing to tolerate.

The rule of a/v compression is, the more compression the more record time but at poorer quality. The audio is only going to be two channels. So, despite Deadwood being broadcast in 5.1 your DVD isnt going to offer any better than 2 channels, which means if youre receiver is capable of Pro-Logic youll get some surround effects but not the way the producers intended.

When shopping for DVD Recorders dont be too swayed by those models that offer built in PVR. HDD armed DVD-Recorders arent as valuable as they used to be because any editing conveniences they offer are also available when you simply use a DVD-RW and the DVD-RW discs are very cheap these days and DVD-Rs are so cheap as to be all but disposable.

If youre looking for a PVR anyway and believe this is a good way to get that feature on the cheap, think again. The PVR feature is an afterthought to a DVD Recorder. Dedicated PVRs as part of your cable or satellite receiver are far more stable options, and a dedicated PVR system like TiVo or ReplayTV are the superstars of the PVR world. Someday that DVD-Recorder is going to be a dinosaur but itll be a long time after that we consider tossing aside our PVRs.

As an optical media format the DVD is on life support, the impending release of Blu-Ray and HD DVD are the least of the former king of optical storages problems. The other big format is no format at all but transient data that can be moved freely through the ether. Soon the entertainment community is going to have to approve business models that allow their properties to be distributed through .VOB, .ISO, .WMV or some other format and the whole Blu-Ray, HD DVD format war will seem rather silly to us.

DVD's

#10 - DVDs

$30-$70


Movies on good old fashioned store bought DVD are a perfect gift. Inexpensive, lightweight and relatively portable they require no introduction, no explanation and just about everybody knows where they can stick one. They come in a variety of flavors perfect to fit any taste. Here are some highlights for just about anyone on your list this Christmas season.

For Grandpa and Grandma

Dont forget your old ones this Christmas season. Just in case theyre getting sick of watching re-runs of Matlock you can watch them smile as they unwrap a copy of the recently released Thin Man DVD set. Featuring the complete set of Thin Man movies staring the critically acclaimed chemistry between William Powell and Myrna Loy the Thin Man DVD collection brings a slice of the 30s and 40s cinema to the 21st century.

The King Kong Collection. King Kong is going to be hot property with Peter Jacksons new King Kong in theaters around the Christmas season. So dont monkey around and get hip to this classic franchise of 30s and 40s films presented in their entirety with a bevy of special features for a low, low cost.

For that Anime Geek

Is anyone on your list into Anime? You dont have to be caught slumming in some anime specialty shops to get an anime fan some of the best motion art ever made. Peter Chungs complete Aeon Flux collection is going to be available in big box stores everywhere this holiday season. And Aeon Flux will be a hot commodity, starring an Academy Award winning hot commodity herself Charlize Theron as Aeon, the mysterious secret agent.

You can even brow beat your Anime Geek after he opens his gift and goes huh? Tell him with a sneer that Aeon practically invented the whole badass-chick subgenre that is so big in anime these days. Aeon Flux was first broadcast in the early 90s on MTV when it was still young and innocent. An experimental anime TV show called Liquid Television featured anime of all kinds. MTV now has boardrooms full of suits to ensure nothing interesting like that can happen again to their mind numbing kiddie-infomercial network. Aeon Flux offers anime with a strong dose of in-yo-face-estrogen, and no cute big eyed animals.

For Everyone

Star Wars Epidosde III Revenge of the Sith: Who hasnt waited with baited breath for this final installment of the Star Wars omni-verse? It will be released in time for Christmas this year and we can all suspect it will be used as stocking stuffer the world over.

Merry Christmas from Home Theater Focus!