Panasonic has long been considered one of the top shelf brands when it comes to consumer electronics, and their new lineup of blu-ray players will prove to greatly evolve the high definition movie environment.

One of the newest models revealed at the CES 2012 show was the Panasonic DMP-BBT01, which is like a shinier and skinnier black Wii. And yes, not only do these bad boys fulfill Netflix, Skype, and Amazon VOD via Wi-Fi but also smart phones, which can be used to function as the system’s remote control (so hunting down that damn remote that the cat, Cosmo, swiped far under the couch won’t be necessary).

Panasonic’s been noted as having the top of the line blu-ray players and since the HD movie experience has come into its own, they’ve done nothing but improve upon their intuitive and efficient designs.

The sound will be better now (and it was already adept at surround formats before, folks), as the new models use the audio codec FLAC, an audio format similar to MP3, but lossless, meaning that audio is compressed in FLAC without any loss in quality, and the new sound environments provide a tube amplifier-like warmth.

Perhaps the greatest innovation for the 2012 blu-ray models – and reason for shelling out somewhere between a hundred and three hundred bucks on an upgrade – is the VOD 24p output. Panasonic’s newest technology syncs the content on the discs and the playback with the original 24 frames per second video format, and this produces unbelievably life-like and film-like quality motion characteristics. The result is that each frame is uniformly converted, and therefore, more natural (and flicker-less) images are reproduced to complete the ultimate in-house theater experience.

Look for the new Panasonic models – the Full HD 3D models: DMP-BBT01 (the small one pictured above), DMP-BDT500, DMP-BDT320, DMP-BDT220, and the two 2D players: DMP-BD87 and the DMP-BD77 – as these will become available as 2012 roars on.

The inventors at Roku have been busy taking their astonishingly tiny and fun Roku 2 XS set top box (yes, the hockey puck-sized one) and they have shrunken the streaming player even further.

This flash drive-sized device will make any TV with an HDMI input a Smart TV capable of streaming Netflix, Amazon Video, and hundreds of other media through the most intuitive interface of Roku, and all of this will not require a single cable.

Why in the world would anyone want to wire up an HDMI, a power adapter, and an Ethernet cable into a hockey puck when they can simply plug a flash drive-sized Roku StickTM directly into the TV’s HDMI port?

One reason, is that I for one already have a Roku 2 XS, and it is not only one of the most entertaining pieces of technology that I own (Angry Birds and Netflix included), but it is streamlined and smooth in its streaming experience.

The Roku Streaming StickTM, however, is an HDMI inclusive, streaming, wireless wonder.

All of the Roku 2 XM’s power will be transferred to its evolved descendant.

Even a top of the line seventy-inch Sharp masterpiece of a television, a 2011 model, does not offer up the kind of smart TV experience that consumers desire most:  an easy to use way to traverse the Internet and movie streamers, like Netflix.

The Roku software is unparalleled in its intrinsic dashboards that allow anyone to easily navigate the myriad shows, movies, and documentaries on Netflix, Crackle, Amazon, and Hulu.

And Roku has packaged its entire platform into a tiny cable-less package that is powered via the same HDMI port that it uses to access the TV and transform it.

The only downside visible is the lack of a high speed Ethernet jack, but the Roku Streaming StickTM uses the fastest wireless means of connecting and its software could possibly allow it to use the TVs internet connection, since most new ones have this option to plug in.

Look for the StickTM to appear in Best Buy around the close of summer. 2012 looks promising already.

Presto!

With a flourish of the wrist, wand in hand, The TV turns off, then on, and then the channel changes.

That’s right Harry Potter, Magicians, and even Lord of the Rings fans, this wand or short staff resembles a magical piece of wood, and by flicking it in a resolute motion it will awaken the TV.

The Kymera Magic Wand Remote Control sells on Amazon for eighty bucks, and aside from working on nearly any electronic device that uses a remote, it also has thirteen programmable wand moves that will do give the said devices thirteen different commands.

Is this magic?

Well, twisting this ornate wand counterclockwise results in the channels scrolling forward, as raising the Kymera dramatically up or down pauses and plays The Beastmaster as he tears apart hordes of barbarians within the Blu-Ray player’s depths.

Conjure up the DVR recordings, the audio receiver’s surround sound system, and the TV’s Netflix with the flick and swish of the Magic Wand.

The dark wood design, the gorgeous handle, and the easy to master controls certainly appear to be an authentic use of the supernatural.

Keep guests and yourself enthralled by the whims of the unparalleled Kymera Magic Wand Remote Control and watch as the Olivander-like box offers up a spell-casting weapon of entertainment!

The Roku 2 XS is the newest TV streaming component to hit the shelves this month, and Roku, the original device company for Netflix, has spared no expense.

When it comes to TVs and you–the consumer’s–system, folks, small and thin is sexy.

Roku has beautifully crafted their newest streaming device to rival the Apple TV, but at a cost of less than ninety-nine dollars. And it is smooth, silky black, and shaped to be roughly the thickness and overall size of a hockey puck.

That’s right, a hockey puck!

But do not let the size fool you, the Roku 2 XS is packed to the gills with all of the streaming capable goodness that one could imagine. The XS unit contains an HDMI, A/V Out, Ethernet, micro-SD (for expanding memory for future games that could come available), and a USB for its connections.

CNET has declared the XS the best streaming box on the market for less than a hundred bucks. And it comes with dozens of video and audio channels that include Amazon Instant Video, Pandora, Hulu Plus, Crackle (though this does not stream in HD yet), sports channels (including MLB, NBA, and the NHL), and of course, Netflix.

The Netflix interface on the XS is superior to all other models (even the great Sony), as the menus are HUGE and easy to maneuver. The XS box has specialized in being intuitive to consumers for years now, and they have perfected a Mac-like interface for half the Mac-price.

Any TV can connect to the Roku 2 XS, and it is wireless as well, if there are no wires to be found for the Internet.

And it comes with a blue-tooth Wii-like remote that plays the “Angry Birds” game that comes with the XS for free! Simply pull back on the gorgeous remote to ease back the birds’ sling and go to town on the Angry Birds’ pigs.

Welcome the Sony Wireless Network Media Player (SMPN100)!

Personally, I was in a pickle:  I had an X-Box 360 but did not have a Gold subscription to their Internet, which is the only way that those penny pinchers allow users access to Netflix; I have an LCD TV but one that was bought a few years back and does not have any Netflix built into it.

If I wanted to stream a Netflix movie, or show, I had to either watch it on my laptop, or play it in a cruder than High Definition contrast on the Wii (at 480p).  What does that mean?  Well Reservoir Dogs was not ear cutting in HD, and did not look nearly as nice.

My savior is the very affordable Sony SMPN100.  The TV box has features that rival Apple TV, and it is currently going for 80 bucks or less at Price Club and Best Buy.

This thing is tiny!  The box is smaller than a hard drive or a Wii, and it either plugs into a modem or accesses via Wi-Fi instantly.  The infinite reaches of YouTube, the addictive access of Netflix and the Steam Boy blasting Crackle are all built into the Sony device beautifully in High Definition (up to 1080p).

The Sony SMPN100 comes with an intuitive remote, a program that is based around the usable PS3 technology (there are so many media programs built in that I have not even played with them all yet) and also contains every connection imaginable; there is an HDMI, a composite, a component, an optical (fiber optic for audio) and USB to plug in keyboards, flash drives or anything else that strikes your fancy.  God, I love connections!

Plug in the Sony Network Media Player and watch as your TV becomes a web based fury of fun entertainment.

The electronics world at large has accepted the High Definition resolutions as a standard amongst computers, cameras and televisions.  Certain cables are required to run a Blu-Ray player or cable box through an HDTV in order to view the startlingly realistic imagery that we’ve come to expect in the Twenty First century.

For anyone who has ever crawled through the trenches (that contain miles of metal end caps and a nearly endless array of TV’s) to finally choose a unit to bring home to be the centerpiece of a modest kick-ass entertainment setup, and then had to face a battle veteran employee who waged a war with you before allowing you to buy what they sold, listen closely.  There is a Web site that sells every cable and electronic accessory known to man and it ships them to your house within a day or two, and this incredible business, Monoprice.com, is far cheaper than anything that could ever be found in a store!

Monoprice.com has become Best Buy’s worst enemy and the consumer’s best friend.  The California based company sells only quality cables and accessories, all of which are under warranty, and they are infinitely cheaper than anywhere else!  Best Buy will come close to threatening your life to get you to buy a THX certified MONSTER CABLE with your purchase of any TV, and the scary thing is that this four foot cable is probably not long enough to reach your unit’s cable box and it is $99…  I’ll say that again:  $99.

Without even straying from the home page for Monoprice a customer can find a six foot HDMI cable for as low as $2.78!  That’s right, with shipping it might be four or five bucks, it will fit your unit and the picture quality will be every bit as crisp, clear and brilliant as any High Definition certified HDMI cable.  I have personally used Monoprice numerous times, and I have always used standard shipping that brought my cables to me within a day or two.  Order the cables before you go to the store to buy a TV, and then laugh at the outrageous demands of the Best Buy-like employee who will not be making gargantuan profits on accessories.

This tiny projector is only 1.5″ tall and 3″ wide which is puny compared to the projectors you see in home theatre setups but for some reason it just looks huge for a portable device.  It uses LED and DLP technology to produce images anywhere you point it and it does that at a screen size of 9″ up to 80″ with a resolution of 854 X 480.

It has inputs for your PC or laptop, digital cameras and a microSD slot which means you can hook up just about anything to it.  The reason I thought it was cool is because with a few adapters you can hook it up to your phone and project movies or Youtube videos anywhere.  That means when the next Antoine Dodson video goes viral and everyone wants to see it you can project it on the wall in your office and have a viewing party.

The uses for something like this are only limited to your imagination.  Take a movie along on a family camping trip and project it on the side of your tent.  Upload pictures of your kids to the 1GB internal memory and you can annoy people at the bus stop, in line at Starbucks or anywhere else you can imagine.

Setting it up is super easy and the touch sensitive controls located on the top of the device are extremely easy to use.  The two biggest downsides to me are the overall look and the fact that it only has 30 Lumens.  The projector is a black square, it looks like they didn’t put any effort at all into making it look nice.  A typical home projector will be anywhere from 1,000 to 3,000 lumens so this isn’t something you’re going to hook up to the blu-ray player.

If you’re looking for something that is very small and portable than this may be a good option for you.

If your spy game needs a little help than let me suggest the Spycam key fob camera from ThinkGeek.  This tiny little camera is disguised as a key fob so you can film anyone anywhere inconspicuously.  You may not need to snap pictures of a nuclear missile silo somewhere in the Middle East but what about the next time you’re at Wal-Mart and you see the perfect candidate for People of Walmart.  It’s rude to pull out your phone and point it at someone but no one would ever suspect a key fob.

Let me add a quick legal disclaimer here, you should look into the legality of secretly filming people without their permission before doing so.  Now let’s look at what this bad boy can do.  It shoots video at a resolution of 640×480 which is not high definition but it’s the same clarity most videos on Youtube are shown.  It has 4GB of storage which will allow you to film roughly 4 hours of video, more than enough for the part time covert agent.

It captures color video with sound and you can see the quality of the video here.  The spycam has a convenient USB plug which allows you to quickly upload videos to your computer in .avi format.  That means you can go from neighborhood secret agent to Youtube sensation in about 3 mouse clicks, no difficult software required.

I just want to reiterate that although this thing is really cool you need to look into your local privacy laws before you set off on any new secret missions.  You may also want to check out this sweet spy watch before you go off to save the world.

While many think the hotel bedspread is a hotbed for germs, the remote control is one of the dirtiest items in any hotel room. In fact, Dr. Charles Gerba, professor of environmental microbiology at the University of Arizona, says the remote is worse than that comforter, the sink handles, and even the toilet.

Instead of changing the channel with your shoe, you could request the Clean Remote. This universal remote control is starting to pop up in hotels and motels throughout the country. Designed to resist germs and bacteria, this remote has been clinically tested to be 99 percent cleaner than most other remotes with the same usage. Basically, it has a nonporous flat surface, which is where most of the funk goes to hide and even incubate. Ew.

The Clean Remote currently works with over 200 different brands of TVs. It can handle the TV, cable or satellite boxes, but does not work with TV/DVD, VCR or DVD/VCR combination units.

Parent company New Remotes, Inc. has actually sealed a deal with Best Western, to outfit the entire chain with the Clean Remote. If it’s good enough for Best Western, it’s probably good enough for your home. The Clean Remote promises funk-free channel flipping for a mere $14.95. Order one for every room in the house; it’s currently an online exclusive.

Now it looks like Iron Man, Captain America, Thor and others can add it to their list of incredible achievements. Roundtable Concepts just announced a new line of officially licensed Marvel Comic LCD and LED HDTVs.

The company has named the new line RTC23. Under that moniker, LCDs come in 22-, 32-, 42- and 55-inch sizes, while LEDs are available in 40 and 46 inches. Each unit comes etched with your favorite superfriend into the bottom two corners of the bezel. Turn on the TV, and you’ll also get an actual image of your favorite character on screen for a full 8 minutes.

There are tons of characters, too, including Ghost Rider, as well as two versions for The Hulk and Wolverine. Some models even combine multiple characters. I did a little digging on the site, and found out that aside from different models, you can choose between 720p and 1080p technology on the LCDs, while the LEDs only come in 1080p. Other specs vary based on screen size. Whatever model you choose, it seems pretty evident that this TV can kick your TV’s ass any day of the week.

If you are looking to completely geek out, the company is offering a buy one, get one free on the Iron Man TV for a limited time. The timing seems perfect, though, since Iron Man 2 is scheduled to hit theaters on May 7, 2010.

For now, the RTC23 line can only be purchased directly through the company’s website. Prices start at $338.88 for the 22-incher, and go all the way up to $1,988.88.