Home video

It was almost three years ago that "Avatar" debuted in cinemas, and today eager fans can finally do what they wanted to do when it first came out on Blu-ray: watch it in 3D at home.

The reason you couldn't buy it on 3D Blu-ray until now? Panasonic bought the exclusive rights for the 3D version for 18 months, and this expired in February of this year. Up until today, if you wanted a copy of "Avatar" in 3D, you either bought a Panasonic plasma, or shelled out up to $100 for a copy from … Read more

With 120Hz, 240Hz, and even 600Hz, refresh rate gets a lot of attention in the marketing of new HDTVs.

What it is and how it works is interesting, but why it exists is even more so. And it can have a profound effect on the picture quality of your HDTV.

Curious?

… Read more

There still seems to be some confusion about the difference between 1080i and 1080p. Both are 1,920x1,080-pixel resolution. Both have 2,073,600 pixels. From one perspective, 1080i is actually greater than Blu-ray. And, you can't even get a full 1080p/60 source other than a PC, camcorder, or some still cameras that shoot video.

True, 1080i and 1080p aren't the same thing, but they are the same resolution. Let the argument commence... … Read more

It might not be easy to use an iPhone to record and edit a Hollywood-style short, but it's possible.

Anna Elizabeth James and Michael Koerbel, the duo behind Majek Pictures, have a history of seeing how well the latest Apple devices handle cinema production values, not just point-and-shoot video, and this time around they've used an iPhone 5 to create "All Up To You," an amusing 96-second mini-musical about running out of gas in the desert with only Siri to help.

Creating the short was a scramble to find dancers, to print app icons on boxes, … Read more

Simple.TV started as a darling of CES 2012, but recently it's been faced with the more pedestrian realities of launching a new product, such as raising money via Kickstarter and meeting its release dates.… Read more

Cleaning a TV screen seems easy. Windex, right? Wrong. Most modern HDTVs have special coatings on their surface that can be ruined by strong cleansers.

But at some point, every HDTV screen needs a good cleaning.

Here's how.… Read more

Last year when it launched its Nook Tablet, Barnes & Noble strongly hinted that it was looking to add a video service to the device that would allow users to buy and rent movies and television shows.

Well, it took a little longer than expected, but today the company has announced that it's launching Nook Video this fall in the U.S. and the U.K. this "holiday season" with content from major studios, including HBO, Sony, Starz, and Warner Bros, and Disney.

That Barnes & Noble would build its video offering in house is a bit … Read more

Rewind the clock back five years and Oppo was the "go-to" brand for DVD players, with the Oppo DV-981HD one of the best models available at the time. Then Blu-ray happened, and Oppo saw little initial competition for its first Blu-ray player. But since 2009, the Blu-ray player market has shrunk: titans like Sony and Panasonic no longer make premium players and instead opt for cookie-cutter "wedges" with plastic build quality, yet good performance and cheap prices.

Oppo has stuck to its design and philosophical guns, and has now released its third set of players, the … Read more

Roku's Streaming Stick was one of the most interesting home theater products at CES 2012, packing an entire streaming-video box into what looks like an oversized USB dongle.

There hasn't been much news about the device since then, but Roku finally announced today that the Streaming Stick will be released in October for $99. That's the same price as its flagship Roku 2 XS and, in fact, Roku says the Streaming Stick is largely a Roku 2 XS in a smaller enclosure.

The Streaming Stick is launching with 15 "Roku Ready" TVs, including models from … Read more