Todays Show:

What were thankful for 09

Thanksgiving is a time to, well, to give thanks. So thats what were going to do; give thanks for everything we have in our lives. The things were most thankful for: our families, our health, our friends, and our wonderful listeners, dont make good topics for a show about HDTV and Home Theater. So as is tradition over the last five Thanksgivings, on todays show we give you our list of consumer electronics things we are thankful for.

Braden:

Netflix First of all, any Blu-ray movie I want to watch in my mailbox within a matter of days, thats awesome. (Well ignore the long wait for new releases stuff for now). But beyond that, Netflix is really pushing the streamed movie technology more than anyone else. You can get Netflix watch it now on almost anything that plugs into the wall. Thats cool.

Insteon Sure, Ive known about home automation, lighting control, the whole shot, for many years. But ever since I started actually putting it in my home, its like a part of me has come to life that i never knew existed. This is the most excited Ive been about a technology or gadget since the PS3

PS3 Ah, the Sony Playstation 3, it truly is the home theater Swiss army knife. First of all, its a Blu-ray player. But not any old Blu-ray player, probably the most capable one out there. and you know when managed copy hits, itll be the first to support it. Its also a DLNA player, so it can stream movies from anywhere on the network. The Netflix integrations is superb. Oh yeah, and it plays some cool games, too.

High Definition Television Every time Im forced to watch anything in standard definition it reminds me of how thankful I am for high definition. This one might be getting old for some, but its still a has a huge impact on my enjoyment of Home Theater. I honestly cant imagine watching NCIS or Flash Forward in standard def. I tried watching football at a restaurant the other day and gave up. Whats the point if you cant watch it in high def?

The DVR While Im not thankful for DVR guilt, and I am still suffering from it (Sorry Numb3rs, you probably wont make it to next season), I love my DVR. It is the absolute best technology since the invention of the refrigerator or the flush toilet. I honestly dont know how Id survive without any of those three. Sliced bread I could live without, but not my DVR.

Ara:

High Speed Internet I know we live in a bubble here in Orange County CA and our Internet access is quite good. But with that said I am very thankful for big fat pipes. It makes things like Netflix Watch it Now enjoyable. High Speed Internet is necessary for the future of digital downloads and the connected living room.

Slingbox I visit my in-laws quite a bit. They do not have DirecTV so I cant watch my Bears on Sunday. Right now that may be a good thing. But with my SlingBox HD I can not only watch on my 15 MacBook Pro but its an enjoyable experience. We have even used it in the car with 3G while driving up CA State Route 99.

Remote DVR Programming How many times have you wished you could set something to be recorded when you are away from home? With this feature you no longer have to miss a special event. Its available on DirecTV, Dish Network, FiOS and some cable companys DVRs.

Netflix I pay $20 a month to have Netflix store just about every DVD made. And for that price then send me any title I request for free and provide return shipping. All this with a one day turn around in most cases.

And of course we have our listeners to be thankful for. You make doing the show fun and, in a lot of cases, easier. Thank you for your news leads, story ideas, email, voicemail, everything you send that we get to turn right around and use as show content. And thank you so much for keeping us going by supporting our sponsors, shopping at our store and feeding our caffeine addiction! You rock!

Download Episode #401