Happily hands-on with the hottest gifts for the holidays
By Marc Saltzman
Once again, the gift-giving season is heading our way and millions of Canadians are crossing their fingers for gadgets, games and gear, instead of granny’s hand-knitted sweaters, bath soaps and kitschy knickknacks for the home.
Let’s get up-front and personal with my take on the worthy tech toys of 2014. It’s not a one-size-fits-all scenario, so we’ve curated my favourites into convenient categories.
Screen dream
When it comes to new televisions, the latest trends can be summed up in a few words: Big, curved and ultra high-definition (UHD).
The cream of the crop is Samsung’s new 78-inch HU9000 ($8,999.99), a jaw-droppingly gorgeous, LED-backlit television that delivers equal parts substance and style. Like a movie-theatre screen, the curve offers a more immersive picture than a flat-panel television. Toss in UHD resolution—with four times the quality of a 1080p HD television—and you just might not leave that favourite chair.
Also referred to as a 4K television, these new UHD machines display more than eight million pixels (dots), instead of about the two million you get with normal high-def, resulting in a much clearer and more lifelike picture. UHD content is still a bit scarce, mind you (and is mostly delivered through streaming services such as Netflix and YouTube), but these beauties can also up-convert a 1080p signal to near-UHD quality.
The HU9000 is also 3D-capable, working with compatible Blu-ray players (four pairs of glasses included), and a Wi-Fi-enabled smart television, too, with many hundreds of apps to populate your screen. A “Multi-Link” feature lets you (or the kids) split the display into four separate screens. Perfect for multi-tasking.
Another UHD television worth the investment is Sony’s 65-inch X950B ($7,999.99), the flagship of the Sony television line.
Built into this television are a handful of proprietary technologies: Sony’s X-tended Dynamic Range (resulting in unprecedented brightness and deeper blacks), a 4K X Reality PRO picture engine (which can upscale a variety of content to 4K resolution), Triluminos display (for more lifelike colours and shading) and ClearAudio+ digital signal processing (for improved high-quality audio). An optional wireless subwoofer (model SWF-BR100) is also available. If the budget permits, a massive 85-inch X950B is also yours for the giving at a cent under $25,000.
One other technology gaining a lot of buzz is OLED (pronounced “oh-led”). Televisions packed with organic light-emitting diodes are incredibly thin. This is because each pixel is its own light source, meaning that backlighting isn’t required. Along with sharp colour and unprecedented contrast ratios (with super-dark blacks), OLED televisions are more energy efficient than those with other panel types.
The 55-inch LG EA8800 ($6,999.99), for example, is a stunning 1080p 3D OLED smart television crammed into an elegant, minimal frame. Features include four-colour pixel technology—which adds an unfiltered, white subpixel to the traditional red, green and blue, for a brighter picture and wider range of colours—and “infinite” contrast for deep blacks and bright whites.
LG has also upped its audio quality, too, with an integrated 2.2-channel system (stereo speakers plus two low-frequency subwoofers), totalling 100 W of total power.
If a projector is on your wishlist, one of the highest-rated in 2014 was JVC’s DLA-X700R ($7,999), a UHD-enabled projector with deliciously dark black levels (120,000:1 native contrast ratio), accurate colour reproduction, quiet operation (in low-lamp mode) and a host of other features. Like all JVC Procision projectors, the DLA-X700R uses three D-ILA devices to produce a stable image with no flicker. In addition, the DLA-X700R is certified by THX and licensed by ISF, and has met or exceeded all of their high standards.
Marc Saltzman is a recognized expert in computers, consumer electronics, video gaming and Internet trends. You can see him on CNN, CTV’s Canada AM, and on Cineplex movie-theatre screens across Canada.
Follow him on Twitter @marc_saltzman.
Photos: Samsung, Sony, JVC
