The Genius SP-HF360X HiFi Speakers produce high-quality sound performance with the elegance of a wood-finish. It’s made of solid MDF wood cabinet decorated in a fine light finish, making it a hit among those looking for stylish and HiFi speaker system.

A two-way speaker system with 10-watts RMS output power, SP-HF360X has clear sound and impressive bass and sound balance. It has custom-made 3-inch woofers to enhance the sound output, and 1-inch tweeters that give superior audio with wide dynamic range and greater output capability.

The controls for power, volume and tone are in the front panel. To connect to another audio device, you can use the line-in jack and headphone jack–both built-in.

The Genius SP-HF360X HiFi speaker kit is now available for P1,500.

Genius is exclusively distributed in the Philippines by MSI-ECS. For more product information and other inquiries, contact James Ong at 688-3740, email jong@msi-ecs.com.ph, or visit www.msi-ecs.com.ph.

Key features:
* Total output power 10 watts (RMS)
* Two-way stereo wood speakers
* 5mm high quality Medium Density Fiberboard (MDF) cabinets
* Controls on front panel: Power, Volume and Tone for easy operation
* Extra input jack for other audio devices
* Headphone jack for private listening

Unified Threat Management (UTM) solutions provider Cyberoam today announced the Q1 2009 email threat report, in collaboration with partner Commtouch. While Conficker worm took the limelight, a key highlight is that attackers have reached new levels of sophistication in their social engineering techniques, using fear, emotion and security loopholes to perpetuate attacks.

Spammers tricked users on Facebook, Myspace, Twitter into divulging personal information. Exploiting users’ fear of finding scandalous images of themselves online, spammers sent wall posts proclaiming that such pictures have surfaced on Facebook. Also used on Facebook were desperate messages from friends supposedly in a financial bind. Users clicking on the link were taken to what looked like the Facebook login page, but actually it was an imposter site collecting usernames and passwords of unknowing users.

Spammers sent direct Twitter messages to users of blog posts and funny photos related to them. Security loopholes on Twitter like the use of TinyURL to replace long URLs with short ones to fit into Twitter’s 140 character limit meant that users did not know where the link led before they clicked.

Vice President-Product Management, Cyberoam, Abhilash Sonwane, said, “Attackers have confirmed once more that they work on both sides of the equation – user and the platform. They play on the emotions of users while exploiting loopholes on the platform being used. Used in combination, it is an effective way to propagate malware. While Cyberoam offers protection from evolving threats, we also recommend user education to effectively contain threats,” he added.

Blended threats created near perfect mirror sites and official looking emails from CNN and the US tax departments. While Google Docs was used to compromise ZDNet, spammers used “borrowed” images from legitimate sites like CBS and Pizza Hut in addition to masking their email addresses to bypass spam filters.

Loan spam jumped from 3% of all spam messages in Q4 2008 to first place, with 28% of all spam messages this quarter, reflecting the global economic situation.

Cyberoam uses the Commtouch RPDTM technology to analyse large volumes of Internet traffic in real-time. Unlike traditional spam filters, it relies not on email content, but on message pattern enabling it to detect spam in any language and message format. Its language and content agnostic nature enables it to provide effective spam blocking capabilities. Cyberoam incorporates RPDTM within its unique Identity-based UTM appliances which show who is doing what in the network and enable the creation of policies based on the username rather than just IP addresses.

About Cyberoam
Cyberoam Identity-based UTM appliances offer comprehensive protection against existing and emerging Internet threats, including viruses, worms, Trojans, spyware, phishing, pharming and more. Cyberoam delivers the complete range of security features such as stateful inspection firewall, VPN – SSL & IPSec, gateway anti-virus and anti-spyware, gateway anti-spam, intrusion prevention system, content filtering in addition to bandwidth management and multiple link management over a single platform. Cyberoam is certified by the West Coast Labs with CheckMark UTM Level 5 Certification, ICSA Lab, an independent division of Verizon Business, and the Virtual Private Network Consortium. Cyberoam has received the 2008 Emerging Vendor of the Year award by Frost & Sullivan, ZDNet Asia IT Leader of the Year award for 2008-09, 2007 Global Excellence Awards for Integrated Security Appliance, Security Solution for Education and Unified Security, the 2007 Tomorrow’s Technology Today Award for Unified Security and was rated Positive by Gartner in its Marketscope for SMB multi-function firewalls. Cyberoam has offices in the Woburn, MA, USA and India. For more information, please visit www.cyberoam.com.

About Elitecore Technologies Limited
Elitecore Technologies Limited is the global provider of Cyberoam UTM appliances. Elitecore’s other divisions include Crestel Convergent Billing Solution that meets the voice, data, video billing and customer care requirements of Tier-1 service providers and 24online Billing and Bandwidth Management Solution for hotels, hotspots and Internet service providers. Elitecore has a strong R&D base and support center in India; it has sustained a healthy growth rate of over 75% since inception. For more information, please visit www.elitecore.com

Samsung Preston (S5230) & Samsung Star (S5600)
www.samsungmobile.com

Samsung has unveiled the Samsung Star (S5230) and Samsung Preston (S5600) for the global market. Boasting a compact design and intuitive usability, the products answer today’s customer needs of a full touch phone at affordable prices. Supporting 2.5G networks (Star) and 3G networks (Preston) respectively, Samsung is able to expand its full touch product portfolio and target various consumers.

Prior to their market availability, the Samsung Star and Samsung Preston have attracted tremendous market interest and demands.

“Samsung Star and Samsung Preston are significant additions to our full-touch screen mobile portfolio, featuring all the essential functions in one single device,” said JK Shin, executive vice president and head of Mobile Communications division at Samsung Electronics. “I am pretty confident that the products will be one of our historical best selling mobiles. Focusing on our consumer-oriented strategy, Samsung will deliver various full touch products for every lifestyle,” he added.

In line with product launching, Samsung will conduct various marketing promotion activities. ‘Samsung Mobile Live’, which is the company’s “experiential marketing” program will be held at popular spots in major launching countries from June. At this event, consumers will be able to touch and learn about newest features of Samsung’s full touch products without the pressure of a sales pitch. Throughout the program, Samsung will deliver the core message of ‘Get in Touch’ in a compelling way to solidify its leadership in full touch products.

A new television commercial for the Samsung Star will be aired in Eastern Europe, Latin America, Middle East Africa, South East Asia and South West Asia by the end of May.

Samsung Star (S5230)

Samsung Star comes with the latest multimedia features in a slim and compact body that measures a mere 11.9mm. Adopting a 3.0-inch WQVGA full-touch screen and Samsung’s TouchWiz User Interface with Mobile Widgets, the phone enables its users to enjoy their mobile easily and intuitively. Using “Photo Contact,” users can call a contact by simply touching an appointed image.

The Samsung Star boasts various multimedia features including a 3.2 mega-pixel camera and video recording supporting QVGA@15fps. It supports multi-format and DNSe for ease of use and better sound quality. The phone also features music recognition using Shazam’s “Find Music” service. To enjoy various multimedia content, Samsung Star supports 50MB memory capacity with an external memory slot up to 8GB. The users can enjoy full Internet browsing with an accelerometer sensor for auto-rotation. For convenience, the phone also supports a QWERTY soft keyboard, “Gesture Lock” and handwriting features. The product also comes with various colors including Soft pink and Snow white.

Samsung Star will be available in Europe, Middle East Africa, South East Asia, South West Asia and Latin America from April.

Samsung Preston (S5600)

The Samsung Preston attracts style-conscious users with its slim and compact design. Full Internet browsing support with an accelerometer sensor for auto-rotation also gives users exciting mobile Internet experiences via 7.2Mbps HSDPA connectivity.

Equipped with a 2.8-inch QVGA full-touch screen, Samsung Preston adopted the TouchWiz User Interface and “Gesture Lock” feature, designed to customize and personalize the way you use your phone. Mobile widgets can be placed on the screen for one-click access to your favorite applications. Samsung Preston comes with a 3.2 mega-pixel camera, Music Recognition using Shazam’s “Find Music” service, and Multi-codec support including H.263, MPEG4, and WMV. The handset’s generous memory (80MB and Micro SD slot up to 8GB) ensures ample storage space for multimedia content. Samsung Preston will be available in Sweet pink, Snow white, and Charcoal grey colors.

Samsung Preston will be available in Europe and Asia from May.

Smart Communications Inc., the country’s leading wireless services provider, became the first Philippine customer to receive SAP certification as a Customer Center of Expertise (Customer COE) for SAP Solutions.  SMART’s certification followed a successful completion of SAP’s skills auditing process in December 2008.  This is a significant milestone for SMART and affirms their ERP systems standards organization-wide.  SMART’s certification also means that the Philippines can be included in the list of countries with an SAP-certified Customer COE.

“Given that SMART is a very dynamic organization, having an IT system which can adapt to the changing needs of the various business units is a must.  The system and solutions must also be simple and easy to use by our employees.  As a Certified Customer COE, the company’s IT Group has instilled the discipline and has grown in maturity as a result of using SAP solutions in its operations.  The team has honed its skill to evolve the SAP solution, making it continuously relevant to the business environment, while maintaining the stability of the systems used in daily operations,” said SMART chief wireless advisor Orlando B. Vea.

SMART COE team, called the IT Corporate Systems Department, spearheaded the integration of various stand-alone systems within the company, and delivered enabling solutions. The team handles ERP-related implementation, maintenance and continuous improvements in support of business requirements.

SMART chief information officer and IT Group head Wilma Cruz said “With SAP, the database of ERP-related transactions has been centralized, simplifying the solution landscape not only for SMART, but also for the PLDT (Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co.) Group.”  For instance, the Finance teams of the PLDT Group are now utilizing the SAP business consolidation system quite extensively to support the continuing expansion of the Group, as well as the need for Sarbanes-Oxley compliance.  Furthermore, the Human Resource Management and Development, Logistics, Purchasing and Properties Facilities Equipment departments are benefiting from the system. Aside from SMART, parent company PLDT, ePLDT, Inc. and other subsidiaries also use SAP.

A Customer Center of Expertise can serve as the single source of truth – and hub – for functional collaboration between the business and IT units, and between the organization and SAP, with SAP Solution Manager providing the necessary infrastructure. “The Customer COE can help increase the transparency of business processes, and limit downtime to boost system and process availability,” said Jennifer Ligones, Country Manager, SAP Philippines.

In order to achieve primary certification under the Customer COE, there were five key areas that were reviewed, namely contract management, support desk, information management, coordination of innovation requests and service planning. “Customers should really leverage the Customer Center of Expertise as this ensures business continuity, innovation and protection of investment, business process improvement, and the reduction of total cost of operations,” said Juergen Reinhardt, Vice President of SAP Active Global Support in South East Asia.

“SAP is truly proud to count SMART as the first Customer COE certified customer in the Philippines.  This is a milestone for both SAP and SMART because it affirms our commitment in pursuing excellence in the implementation and ongoing use of SAP. We hope more companies follow this lead moving forward,” Ligones added.

SAN FRANCISCO  – Reliability and Service: Printers

Printers in 2008 were slightly more reliable than desktops or laptops, according to our survey participants. About 3 in 10 respondents reported having one or more significant hardware or software problems with their printers during the preceding year. That figure correlates neatly with customer satisfaction: Two-thirds of users said that they were either very satisfied or extremely satisfied with their printers.

Canon is to printers what Apple is to desktops and laptops: Simply put, our readers love their products. Like last year, the vendor garnered high marks in eight of nine categories, missing only on the “Problem was never resolved” measure.

Meanwhile Hewlett-Packard, which earned five below-average scores, stays on the schneid. Indeed HP’s printer grades in 2008 are worse than they were last year, when it collected subpar marks in just two areas (“Any significant problem” and “Average phone service”). One semibright spot: Our readers deemed HP printers average–up from below average–in usability this year. In any event, despite its poor showing, HP retains a commanding share of the market: Of the 16,000-plus readers who participated in the printer assessment, half use an HP inkjet or laser printer.

Lexmark didn’t fare much better than HP did, though it did improve on last year’s results. Our readers slapped it with it four subpar grades, down from six last year. Specifically, our readers indicate that Lexmark still needs to upgrade its printers’ usability and reliability; its phone support is improving, however, as is its ability to resolve customer problems.

Kodak dropped a bit this year, too, slipping to a below-average score (for three total) in ease of use.

SAN FRANCISCO – Canon’s Pixma MP620 color inkjet multifunction printer offers connectivity and capacity galore. While its design has a few shortcomings, overall the Pixma MP620 offers a good deal, especially for a busy home or school setting.

A few premium features distinguish the silvery Pixma MP620. The control panel replaces a raft of buttons with a scroll wheel that lets you spin through options shown on the adjacent, tiltable, 2.5-inch color LCD. The remaining buttons are clearly labeled and easy to use. Standard connectivity covers USB, ethernet, and Wi-Fi; you need a US$50 extra-cost adapter to enable Bluetooth. It has two media slots that take most kinds of cards, but you’ll need to buy a third-party adapter to use the XD Picture Card format. The PictBridge port accepts only Canon-compatible devices.

The 150-sheet output tray automatically unfolds itself from the front panel when you initiate a print job. You get two 150-sheet input trays: one underneath for letter-size plain paper, and a second in the rear for larger or thicker media. Unfortunately, on my test unit, raising the telescoping guides for the rear vertical input involved a lot of tugging and clattering, and I accidentally collapsed them numerous times. Another drawback: The MP620 lacks an automatic document feeder (ADF) and duplexing capabilities; if you need those features, check out the similarly priced Dell 948 All-in-One or Lexmark X6570.

The MP620 performed fairly well in our tests. It posted average speeds, producing 7.6 pages per minute (ppm) with plain text and 2.2 ppm with graphics. The printer’s pigment black ink produced impressively crisp, dark letters.

On color graphics it uses a dye-based second black, plus cyan, magenta, and yellow. We found a bit too much yellow in some of our color graphics samples; flesh tones, in particular, looked orangey on plain paper and a little jaundiced on Canon’s own photo paper. Despite that and a slight graininess, images otherwise looked vivid and natural. Scan and copy tests yielded good results as well.

At the time of this writing, Canon had yet to publish yields for the five separate ink cartridges. Other Canon printers with a similar design have had reasonable costs.

Canon’s usually solid documentation had one notable problem this time: The printed Setup Guide features a confounding flowchart of installation options that stymie rather than advance the process. Aside from that, Canon’s better-than-average rating in our Reliability and Service survey bodes well for your overall experience.

The Pixma MP620 delivers a wide variety of features in a well-designed package. Its connectivity and generous paper handling make it particularly well suited for families or students.

SAN FRANCISCO – Brother’s US$180 MFC-790CW color inkjet multifunction printer has a tempting array of goodies, but offers lackluster performance. Despite its aspirations, the MFC-790CW can’t compete with other machines in its price range, such as the HP OfficeJet J4680.

Though the MFC-790CW is compact, it still provides some nice features for the price. Wi-Fi connectivity is standard. A 4.2-inch color LCD touch screen replaces many control-panel buttons and is easy to use, with a few exceptions: The on-screen ink-status button, for instance, looks more like an icon, so I didn’t understand that I could press it to access ink-related features. Media slots, a PictBridge port, and a dedicated photo tray encourage you to print your favorite shots.

Although this model has versatile paper handling, the trays hold a minimal amount. The automatic document feeder (ADF) holds just 15 sheets. The main input tray takes only 100 sheets; the piggybacked photo tray, merely 20. The tray lid doubles as the 50-sheet output tray. With these three components crammed into such a small space, loading or adjusting media requires some tricky maneuvers.

The ink cartridges nestle conveniently behind a small door in the machine’s front. The separate cyan, magenta, and yellow cartridges each cost $10 and last 325 pages (per industry-standard ISO measurements), or 3.1 cents per color, per page. That’s pretty good. Black is the exception: At $23.50 for 450 pages, it’s a pricey 5.2 cents per page.

But the real problem is the MFC-790CW’s speed, or lack thereof. It printed plain-text pages at an abysmal rate of 3.9 pages per minute. It did better on graphics, managing 2.4 ppm. The print quality didn’t make up for the long wait. Text samples looked a little light but crisp. Graphics printed on plain paper appeared dull, but on Brother’s own photo paper they improved considerably. Scan samples seemed dark on occasion and sometimes yellowish, but acceptable; copy samples were also decent.

Given its low price and interesting features, the Brother MFC-790CW could have been a contender. But its plodding performance can’t be ignored.

SAN FRANCISCO – LG Electronics this spring will launch a series of broadband-enabled HDTVs that will stream movies, TV shows, and other high-definition content from Netflix, without the need for an external set-top box, the company has announced. LG and Netflix are demonstrating the new products this week at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

The LG plasma and LCD sets will include software that allows users to access the Netflix Web site, where they can stream movies and other shows. After selected by a user, a movie will begin playing in as little as 30 seconds, the companies say. Pricing is fuzzy at this time, but some reports indicate that LG’s Internet-ready TVs will likely cost US$200 to $300 more than comparable sets without Web features. Subscriber fees for Netflix’ DVD rental service currently start at $9 a month.

LG already offers a Blu-ray disc player that streams Netflix movies, but today’s announcement is significant because no external device is required to access Web content. Many questions remain, however.

Will the new LG sets will be Wi-Fi-enabled? Wireless connectivity would be big plus for home users with Wi-Fi routers. And given the variation in broadband speeds and services, what will the Netflix streaming movies look like? Subscribers of low-end DSL services will certainly want to know.

SAN FRANCISCO – A TV can’t do much by itself. To get true movie sound, you need to supplement it with a home theater system: a digitally friendly amplifier, a large subwoofer, and at least five satellite speakers (or something like Yamaha’s YSP-1000 virtual surround sound set). And your setup will need to include a DVD or Blu-ray player, too.

To turn your TV into something special, you can buy a Home Theater in a Box (HTiB)–which includes the amplifier and the speakers, and sometimes the player as well–or you can collect each component separately. HTiBs generally give you more bang for your buck, but separate components give you more bang, period: They’re the higher-end choice.

Here are seven outstanding-for-the-price ways to make your home-movie-viewing experience a whole lot better, categorized by the price of the bundle. Since most of these products have not been reviewed by PC World, I’ve based my recommendations on my own knowledge of the technology, and on professional and user reviews.

Under $500

–Sony Bravia Theater System DAV-HDX576WF HTiB with DVD player: US$400 street (as of November 17, 2008)

Thanks to its its use of wireless technology, the DAV-HDX576WF home-theater starter kit eliminates the need to run wires from the amplifier to the surround speakers.

This kit’s built-in five-disc DVD player can upscale DVD video to 720p or 1080p high definition before sending the video to your HDTV over HDMI. Not sure of the best way to calibrate your sound system? The DAV-HDX576WF can do the whole thing for you. Simply place the bundled microphone where you would normally sit, and the system will adjust itself.

Of course, the DAV-HDX576WF isn’t perfect; In an Amazon review, a user complained that the subwoofer lacked the oomph needed to deliver suitable sound for today’s action movies. And this HTiB can’t perform DTS decoding, so you won’t get the best soundtracks on many DVDs–much less a true Blu-ray audio experience–out of this Sony player. But for its price, this system still has plenty of features to love.

Under $750: Great Picture

–Yamaha YHT-390BL HTiB: $350 (as of November 18, 2008)

–Philips BDP7200 Blu-ray Player: $230 (as of November 18, 2008)

When you’re on a budget, you have to prioritize. So what’s more important to you: a great picture or great sound?

If you voted for great picture, you should spend a bit less on the speakers and amp, and instead spring for a reasonably priced Blu-ray player, such as the Philips BDP7200. This player, which earned high marks when we reviewed it last spring, is especially notable for its standout image quality. The BDP7200 also supports Blu-ray’s Bonus View, which lets you play back the picture-in-picture features available with some movie titles.

How can you buy a Blu-ray player and a surround-sound audio system for less than $750 total? You pick the Yamaha YHT-390BL home theater in a box (bottom). Despite its low price, this 5.1 system sends up to 100 watts to each of its five satellite speakers. And the 8-inch subwoofer should be powerful enough to shake your floor.

Under $750: Great Sound

–Denon DHT-589BA HTiB: $508 (as of November 18, 2008)

–Pioneer DV-410V-K DVD player: $95 (as of November 18, 2008)

If you want your DVDs to sound as good as your budget will allow, and your budget won’t allow all that much, put off purchasing a Blu-ray player and concentrate instead on the audio.

Known primarily for high-end gear, Denon proves with the DHT-589BA home theater in a box (bottom) that it can handle midrange acoustics as well. Dynamic automated volume and equalizer adjustment, 75-watt reduced-baffle-diffraction speakers, and a down-firing 8-inch subwoofer (promising more bass at less expenditure of power) should add up to an exceptional audio experience.

The DHT-589BA supports Dolby Digital and DTS, but not higher-definition standards specific to Blu-ray such as Dolby TrueHD. And in case you get tired of watching TV, the Denon HTiB supports Sirius Satellite radio as well.

If you want a good DVD player to go with the strong audio system, try Pioneer’s DV-410V-K (top). It upscales video to 1080p and has a USB port for watching home videos and photos stored on a flash drive or external hard drive.

Under $1000

–Samsung HTS-BD2ST 7.1 Home Theater System with Blu-ray Player: $984 (as of November 18, 2008)

Samsung sells what may be the only home theater in a box to include a Blu-ray player (built into the amplifier unit), and it’s priced just under our four-digit cut-off.

The HTS-BD2ST doesn’t just play Blu-ray discs; it makes them sound good, too. Unlike the less expensive systems recommended, the HTS-BD2ST supports Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD audio. And rather than being a 5.1 audio system, it’s a 7.1 system, with four surround speakers instead of the usual two. (Few programs take advantage of 7.1 sound yet, but you’ll be ready for when it becomes more common.) The system outputs a total of 1100 watts to those speakers.

What else can it do? Upscale your DVDs, play MP3s, and display JPEG images. Unfortunately, it doesn’t have a USB port, an SD Card slot, or a network connection. Consequently you have to burn your music and photos onto a disc to enjoy them through the HTS-BD2ST.

–Onkyo HT-S9100THX HTiB: $900 (as of November 21, 2008)

–Sony PlayStation 3 (80GB) Blu-ray player and game console: $400 (as of November 11, 2008)

Besides offering convenience and a relatively low price, home theaters in a box have another possible advantage: The entire sound system can be THX-certified to work properly all of a piece. The Onkyo HT-S9100THX (bottom) is, as of Thanksgiving 2008, the only THX-certified HTiB on the market.

Onkyo worked with THX on the HT-S9100THX to ensure that the 7.1 speakers would take full advantage of the amplifier’s enhanced capabilities (such as a THX preamp front end). The speakers include 130-watt satellites and a 12-inch subwoofer capable of 20-Hz performance. The HT-S9100THX supports Blu-ray’s Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD audio formats, as well as Dolby Digital Surround EX and DTS-ES Matrix 6.1–and of course, 7.1 surround sound.

What Blu-ray player should you buy to go with the HT-S9100THX? I recommend the Sony PlayStation 3; a great game console that doubles as a great Blu-ray player. After all, your games–like your movies–deserve to be heard in THX sound.

Under $2000

–Onkyo TX-SR606 7.1 Channel Home Theater Receiver: $350 (as of November 19, 2008)

–KEF KHT2005.2 speakers: $1199 (as of November 19, 2008)

–Samsung BD-2500 Blu-Ray player: $300 (as of November 19, 2008)

With their parabolic, egglike shape and their big, black, eyeball-like cones, KEF’s KHT2005.2 speakers look like something animated by Pixar. You expect one to hop over to you and want to be loved–or maybe mutate into a higher-stage Pokemon. Their odd shape reduces the speakers’ distortion, effectively increasing their dynamic range. The 10-inch subwoofer, surprisingly enough under the circumstances, looks like a normal subwoofer.

I would power the KHT2005 with the Onkyo TX-SR606 7.1 Channel Home Theater Receiver. Churning out 90 watts per channel, it can’t quite push those 100-watt eggs to their power limit, but it comes close enough for full audience enjoyment. The TX-SR606 is ready for Sirius Satellite Radio as well, and it supports Dolby True HD and DTS-HD.

For Blu-ray-playback, go with the Samsung BD-2500. It supports BD-Live 2.0 and Internet connectivity. In fact, it even supports Netflix downloads.

Under $3000

–Yamaha RX-V863 amplifier: $900 (as of November 19, 2008)

–Klipsch RF-10 Home Theater System Speakers: $1450 (as of November 19, 2008)

–Denon DVD-1800BD Blu-ray player: $600 (as of November 19, 2008)

Few speakers can surpass Klipsch’s Reference series, but to keep the total below $3000, I’ll recommend the least expensive entry in this pricey product line: the RF-10 Home Theater System. This is a hefty 5.1 set of speakers. The left and right speakers are tall floor-standing models that list for $518 each when sold separately. Everything else is similarly massive–even the surrounds are more than a foot wide each.

Power these monsters with the Yamaha RX-V863. This 7.2-channel system can send 110 watts to each speaker, it upscales standard definition video to 1080p, and it has three HDMI inputs with one HDMI output. It supports just about everything you’d want it to work with, including Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD, XM Satellite radio, and a feature called Silent Cinema that creates a surround-sound experience through conventional headphones.

A fancy system deserves a fancy Blu-ray player, like Denon’s DVD-1800BD. This $750 player comes with Bonus View support; detailed image controls for brightness, contrast, and other settings; the latest DivX 6 codec for home movie viewing; and an SD Card slot for playing media from your PC.