Movies, music, magic: Home Theatre Systems

Home theatre systems don’t just deliver great music; they greatly enhance your movie-watching experience: particularly modern movies which make such extensive use of sound effects.

The main parts of a home theatre system are the speakers and the receiver. Systems typically have five to seven speakers and a subwoofer for delivering bass. They are often named by the number of speakers; for instance the Yamaha 6.1 system has 6 speakers (the “.1” stands for the subwoofer). The speakers are placed in specific positions: the centre speaker usually goes on top of your TV with two satellites on either side. The surround speakers go behind your seat while the subwoofer can be placed almost anywhere in the room.

The receiver accepts inputs from devices like your DVD player and TV and transmits the corresponding signal to the speakers. Receivers usually come with an FM tuner and some also have a built-in DVD player.

Before buying a system, try to test it with your favourite music and movies; for instance make sure that the sub-woofer delivers on movie scenes with heavy bass. Obviously you should also check that the system you buy will fit properly in your living room.

Technorati Tags
Home Theatre

All in one printers: HP OfficeJet & Canon Pixma

Space is always at a premium in the Indian home and all-in-one printers are a great way of saving space while satisfying a variety of needs. The basic functions available on all-in-ones are printing, scanning and copying with many models also providing fax capabilities. All-in-ones can save time as well as space: for example you can fax and scan a document on the same machine.

All-in-ones come in a wide range of prices with more expensive models naturally having better features. A good budget model is the HP Officejet 4255. Not only does it have colour fax capabilities, it also features a phone handset which can be used to make regular phone calls.

Higher-end units generally produce better-quality prints at a faster rate. The resolution and overall quality of the scanning and copying is also higher. A good example is the Canon Pixma MP 780 which can print colour pages at 17 pages per minute. It can scan at a resolution of up to 2400X4800 dpi with 48-bit colour. It also has a document feeder which is convenient for scanning or copying a lot of pages. Another useful feature is double-sided printing to save on paper costs.

Technorati Tags
HP OfficeJet | Canon Pixma

EyeToy for Playstation 2 (PS2)

The EyeToy for the PS2 is an amazing gaming accessory which offers a glimpse into the future of gaming: where games are controlled directly through the movements of your body instead of keyboards or gamepads.

The EyeToy is basically a small motion-sensitive digcam that can be plugged into your PS2 and sits on top of your TV. It puts your image on the screen in the middle of the game allowing you to use any part of your body to play. It’s a great example of game immersion where the player becomes the star and of intuitive controls which can be picked up even by a video-game novice.

The EyeToy comes with a play disc with 12 mini-games including a football game called Soccer Craze and a dancing game called Beat Freak. In addition, there are a number of separately sold titles which use EyeToy technology: like Antigrav a hover-boarding game and Sega Superstars which features 12 minigames with classic videogame characters like Sonic.

The EyeToy isn’t just for gaming; it can also be used as a video-messaging device which allows you to record brief video-clips which are stored on a memory card for later viewing.

Technorati Tags
Playstation | Eyetoy | PS2

Play it again: Playstation 2

The Playstation 2 may not have the raw computing power of some of its counterparts but a good case can be made that it is the best value for money among all the gaming consoles out there. Far more games were created for the PS2 than for its competitors: the Nintendo Gamecube and Microsoft’s Xbox. Many of those games were among the best of the last six years: the Gran Turismo series of racing games, the Final Fantasy series of role-playing games and the Grand Theft Auto series. All these games first appeared on the PS2 and several of them are still exclusive to the console. Furthermore the PS2 is capable of playing PS1 games as well giving it another vast library of great games.

In addition the PS2 is probably the most easily available console in the Indian market both in terms of price and selection of games. And the new smaller version is more convenient than ever; it’s half the weight of the original and just a few centimeters thick. Like the old version it can play your DVDs and CDs making it an ideal device for saving space in your living room.

Technorati Tags
Playstation | Xbox | Xbox-360 | Nintendo | Sony | Gaming