Western Digital WD TV Live Hub

Best Buy’s exclusive is over. You can now purchase the WD TV Live Hub at Amazon. We have also found it available at Fry’s. You can read our take of the WD TV Live Hub here.

Amazon – I’ll Take One!

OPPO BDP-93

With Pioneer, Denon and most of the other high-end AV companies virtually giving up on Blu-ray players luckily OPPO Digital is around to offer something more than a plastic player. Luckily for us it offers audiophile and videophile performance which makes it extremely easy to justify the additional cost ($499). The OPPO BDP-93 also offers the latest features including 3D, HMDI 1.4a (dual output) and the required Internet streaming services like Netflix. Need a few more reasons to step up to the OPPO BDP-93?

• It’s not 100% plastic
• Stellar DVD, Internet and local playback upscaling
• DVD-Audio and SACD
• Source direct mode
• 7.1 channel analog output
• Backlit remote

With unsurpassed product and customer support you can’t go wrong. Just ask anyone who owns the OPPO BDP-83. By the way there are no plans to offer a lower priced model. Only a higher-end model aimed towards the analog audio crowd. Which is scheduled for later than sooner.

Amazon – I’ll Take One!

WNHDB3004 3DHD by Netgear

HD streamers are finally hitting and many bleeding-edge enthusiasts need to stream wirelessly. Luckily for them the new WNHD3004 can stream HD files wirelessly without any bandwidth restrictions. It offers more than enough bandwidth for 1080p peaks and performs consistently from relatively far distances to provide a real alternative to running wire.

Purchase Points

• Reliably streams 1080p over relatively far distances
• Each unit features four Ethernet ports

Pass Points

• Costs over $200

If you are determined not to go the wired route the WNHDB3004 is your best bet for streaming HD content and its multiple Ethernet ports makes the price much easier to justify. It’s more expensive than the current generation of powerline devices but you’ll gain real time 1080p streaming.

Amazon – I’ll Take One!

Netgear NeoTV (NTV550)

If you passed on the Boxee Box or even returned it and are still looking for a high-end streamer the Netgear NeoTV ($169) is your natural choice. Amazon has just released it for pre-order.

Highlights include being the only mainstream player with full Blu-ray menu support. Online services such as Netflix haven’t been announced yet but we are guessing they along with numerous other services will make their way to the Netgear NeoTV at release or shortly afterwards. You can catch our initial take of the player here.

Amazon – I’ll Take One!

OPPO BDP-93

With Pioneer, Denon and most of the other high-end AV companies virtually giving up on Blu-ray players luckily OPPO Digital is around to offer something more than a plastic player. Luckily for us it offers audiophile and videophile performance which makes it extremely easy to justify the additional cost ($499). The OPPO BDP-93 also offers the latest features including 3D, HMDI 1.4a (dual output) and the required Internet streaming services like Netflix. Need a few more reasons to step up to the OPPO BDP-93?

• It’s not 100% plastic
• Stellar DVD, Internet and local playback upscaling
• DVD-Audio and SACD
• Source direct mode
• 7.1 channel analog output
• Backlit remote

With unsurpassed product and customer support you can’t go wrong. Just ask anyone who owns the OPPO BDP-83. By the way there are no plans to offer a lower priced model. Only a higher-end model aimed towards the analog audio crowd. Which is scheduled for later than sooner.

Amazon – I’ll Take One!

Overall AirPlay appears to work rather nicely. However there has been a few bumps including:

• Not being able to stream videos created on the iPhone
• Image quality appears to be degraded slightly
• Various Apps are not supported include Netflix
• AirPlay is not supported on 3G devices

It’s too early to tell how it will eventually pan out as currently it works well enough to make it more than worthwhile but there are just enough issues to keep it from being a non-stop winner.

OPPO Digital has made the BDP-93 available for pre-release purchase. We can’t share the link for ordering but we can tell you they must be getting close to releasing the player to the general public.

Currently there are a limited number of players available to those who registered their interest in the new model. We’ll be sure to share our initial impressions as soon as our order arrives! You can read our take covering the official announcement including the player’s specifications here.

Amazon – Get In Line For Your OPPO BDP-93!

TiVo Premiere

Would you like a free TiVo? Well it’s possible until the end of the year. The catch is you’ll be paying more for the monthly TiVo service.

To be exact $19.99 a month versus the previous plans which were $12.99 a month, $129 for a year or $399 for lifetime. The new plans include:

• $0 – TiVo Premiere $19.99 for 24 months
• $99 – TiVo Premiere $19.99 for 12 months
• $299 – TiVo Premiere XL $19.99 for 12 months

If you are thinking of cord-cutting (dropping cable/satellite) this promotion just might get you to pull the plug. With Netflix, Pandora and numerous other online services you’ll probably have more content than time available for watching. Sports enthusiasts might still be interested as you can use TiVo with your cable provider.

The Premiere XL is over priced so we would pass on it. The two TiVo Premiere plans are basically a wash after two years presuming TiVo goes back to $129 for a year of service after the current promotion. Our take is if you are willing to commit to two years of TiVo service ($480) getting a free TiVo is a good deal whether you’ll be using it for OTA and or with your cable service. It has enough features to justify the little additional cost over leasing a DVR from your cable provider.

Amazon – Get Your TiVo Premiere!

The first take apparently isn’t a wrap for the D-Link Boxee Box. It still might turn out to a star although right now the crowd is definitely undecided. Some users even feel the released 1.0 firmware is a step back from the Beta. Here are a few of our thoughts after a couple of performances.

• The interface is a step backwards – not as slick as before and missing a few previous features
• Various audio and video playback issues including stuttering HD video
• As expected a lot of Internet content is being blocked (Google TV all over again)
• Occasional lockups or crashes
• Netflix and Hulu Plus announced but not supported at this time

To our thinking the Boxee Box needed a couple of months to work out these issues as they certainly appear to be fixable. By then the streaming services hopefully would be available and we would be just as enthused with the Boxee Box as we were with its specs. However overall we like the box and if you can live without Netflix for a while it should be a fun ride with each new firmware release.

Amazon – I’ll Take One!

OPPO Digital has officially announced the $499 BDP-93. As expected features include (among others) the following:

• Blu-ray 3D
• Netflix and Blockbuster on Demand
• Wireless-N
• DVD-Audio and SACD
• Qdeo by Marvell video processing
• Source Direct Mode
• Dual HDMI 1.4a outputs
• 7.1 channel analog output
• Back-lit remote control
• RS232 control

Outside of the first three its features aren’t found on virtually all the other Blu-ray players. So your decision should be an easy one. If you want one of the many features listed you just found your next Blu-ray player!

The BDP-93 looks to be the perfect successor to the BDP-83 as it adds the needed streaming services (although we would love Pandora) and offers enough high-end features not available on the latest round of plastic players to justify its premium cost.

Can wait to get yours? If so, you can register to be notified when it’s available for purchase.