A girl's best friend? Plasma TV

Next time you want to win your girlfriend over after a lover's tiff, buy her a plasma television instead of a diamond necklace.

According to a new study in the US, three in four women would prefer a new plasma television to a diamond necklace.

The study, conducted by Oxygen Network, a cable TV company owned and operated by women, found that women owned on average 6.6 technology devices as opposed to 6.9 devices by men. The survey, aptly titled Girls Gone Wired, also found that 46 per cent of women did their own computer trouble-shooting.

ABC of DVD players

Compared to televisions and audio systems the DVD player is a relatively humble and inexpensive part of your home theatre. However if you want to get the best possible movie experience it’s important to choose one wisely. Here are a couple of things you should look out for.

Today’s DVD players aren’t just used to play regular DVD’s. You might want to play audio CD’s or your MP3 files or perhaps the home video you burnt on to a CD-ROM. Make sure your player is compatible with as many formats as possible: for instance both MP3 and WMA audio formats, both NTSC and PAL and the multitude of DVD formats: DVD+R, DVD-R, DVD-RW etc.

You should also take a close look at the remote control. You will often be watching movies in the dark and the remote should be easy to handle. The main buttons for stopping and moving forward and backward should be large and well placed and ideally the remote should light up in the dark. Since there are very few controls on the unit itself, the remote also indicates which features are available. Check for features like slow-motion or zoom which aren’t present on all players.

Home theatre receivers

The receiver is like the brain of your audio-system: gathering and processing the audio-signals and sending them to the various speakers. Choosing the right receiver is very important in building a great home theatre system.

Home theatre receivers are often classified according to the number of speakers they support: e.g. 6.1 receiver supports 6 speakers and a subwoofer. Generally receivers range from 5.1 to 7.1. Make sure your receiver supports the number of speakers you wish to use.

It’s also important to ensure that your receiver is compatible with as many audio formats as possible: like Dolby Digital, DTS and Dolby Pro Logic. Though it’s not an audio format, THX certification is also highly desirable. THX is the technology used in top-notch theatre sound systems and THX certification means that your receiver is able to recreate an authentic theatre-like experience in your living room.

Home theatres also come with various special features. For instance the Yamaha RXV-457 comes with a feature for ensuring that image and sound are properly synchronized: e.g. when people are talking. Other special features include Night Listening Enhancer which maintains the quality and range of the sound when the volume is set low.

Gameboy Advance SP

Nintendo’s Gameboy Advance (GBA) has been upstaged by more powerful devices like the Sony PSP and the Nintendo DS but it still remains a fantastic gaming device: affordable, easily available and with an enormous selection of games that stretches back more than a decade.

The SP is a redesign of the earlier GBA which features the same internal hardware but with a new and much improved external design. Immediately noticeable is the clamshell shape which does a better job of protecting the screen. The screen itself is much better lit than before making it easier to play even in poor light. The SP also features a rechargeable lithium-ion battery which can give up to ten hours of play with the light on.

The biggest strength of the GBA is the selection of games; it’s backward compatible with the earlier Gameboy devices and there are many great games released for the GBA as well. Given its Nintendo origin, it’s not surprising that many of these come from the famous Nintendo franchises like Zelda and Mario. But there is also Advance Wars: a surprisingly deep and cerebral strategy game and excellent skating games from the famous Tony Hawk series.

Record the magic: DVD Recorders

For a long time a major disadvantage of DVD compared to VHS has been the absence of recording capabilities on most DVD players. However in recent years DVD recorders with excellent features are increasingly available and getting steadily cheaper.

DVD recorders can play your DVD’s like regular players and also come with DVD burners which allow you to record TV shows on DVD’s for later viewing. Note that there are a variety of DVD formats: DVD+R, DVD-R, DVD-RW etc; make sure you get a DVD recorder compatible with the most number of formats.

Some DVD recorders also come with hard drives which add greatly to their usefulness. For instance the Sony RDR-HX725 comes with a massive 160 GB hard drive which can store more than 200 hours of programming. This allows you to record long programmes at high quality without having to worry about your DVD running out. The player also lets you pause live TV which is handy if you need to take a break. Others players come with a built-in VCR which make it possible to transfer your old VHS tapes to DVD which is a great way of backing up those precious family videos.