Holiday Gift Guide 2009: Ultimate Home Theater Gifts

This post is older than six months. You may find a more recent article pertaining to your topic by visiting our homepage or using the search box in the upper right.

• Tweet
• Email

If you know someone in your life who is always listening to the latest pop album, watching the latest blockbuster, or watching the latest episode of “Curb of Enthusiasm”, we’ve got the gifts for them. From the best in home theater systems to the biggest DVR available, these are the ultimate gifts for anyone’s home theater, big or small.

Best Home Theater System
Samsung HT-BD1250
The HT-BD1250 from Samsung is probably the best home theater system we’ve seen in a while, and in addition to playing Blu-Ray discs and upconverting standard-def DVDs, it also conects to Netflix and Pandora via an Ethernet or Wi-Fi connection. The system has 1000W of output power, 5.1 channel surround sound and is compatible with an iPod or iPhone. The Samsung HT-BD1250 sells for $399.99 with free shipping at Amazon.com.

Standalone Internet Set-Top Box
Roku Digital Video Player
The best standalone internet set-top box to date is the Roku Digital Video Player. With the recent “Channel Store” update, the Roku player has plenty of content for you to enjoy. You can play Netflix Instant Play movies, Amazon Video On Demand, and even IPTV content like Revision3 and TWiT (This Week in Tech). The Roku player starts at $79.99 for the SD model, but we recommend the middle-of-the-road HD model which sells for $99.99.

Best Multi-Room Music System
Sonos
Music lovers, rejoice, the Sonos multi-room music system allows you to play music in multiple rooms throughout your home. It offers one of the best user experiences we’ve ever seen, especially with the new Sonos Controller 200. The Controller 200 has an interface similar to the iPod touch and works wirelessly throughout any room in your house. It is fairly expensive, with the BU250 bundle coming in at $999, so as a cheaper alternative, we recommend the Logitech Squeezebox Boom.

Best Universal Remote
Logitech Harmony 1100
Universal remotes come in handy when you start building up your home theater, with remotes for Blu-Ray players, DVRs, and set-top boxes. The Logitech Harmony 1100 is our current favorite, offering a 3.5″ touch screen and RF compatibility. RF technology means you can control your remote control blinds, lighting, and even fireplaces. The Harmony 1100 sells for around $499 but you can find it at Amazon.com for just $330 as we’re writing this. Our second alternative is the Logitech Harmony One which is more like a regular remote (and prices like one at $149), but obviously not as cool looking.

Best DVR (Digital Video Recorder)
TiVo HD XL
TiVo made recording TV shows popular and essentially created the class of DVRs. The TiVo HD XL can store a whopping 150 hours of HD programming and has two tuners for recording two shows at once. The HD XL is also THX certified for those who want the maximum in sound quality. If you don’t have cable, this particular model is compatible with ATSC tuning, which comes in handy. One of my favorite features is that the TiVo automatically records shows I might like, based on which shows I press “thumbs up” or “thumbs down” on. The TiVo HD XL is available for $392 on Amazon.com. If you don’t need to record 150 hours of programming, a cheaper HD version is available.