Great Gear Sites
The Net is bursting with stuff for digital entertainment fans--from downloadable content to HDTV advice. We uncover the best sites and services.Seán Captain
Seán Captain is a freelance writer and electronics nerd living in San Francisco.
Illustration by Marc Simon
Quick! Who's offering the lowest prices on 65-inch rear-projection TVs this week? What's the best site for downloading tracks from your favorite musicians (or artists you've never heard of)? Which DVD players can format movies for a 1080p LCD TV?
Becoming an expert on digital entertainment products may not be a cakewalk, but finding expert advice is easy. If you have a question--from "What does it do?" to "Where is the best place to buy it?"--chances are good that the Web has the answers for you.
We scoured the Web to find the top sites on an array of topics. Our discoveries range from sources for professional and user reviews of complex products such as HDTV sets and 7.1-channel surround-sound systems, to sites supplying sage advice on how to set up, use, and troubleshoot many types of products. User group members happily tackle all varieties of topics, be they technical queries like "What is low-level video noise?" or philosophical matters such as whether an LCD TV is really better than a plasma one.
Some of the most useful sites help you unearth buried treasures. Impressed by your neighbor's great audio receiver, which retailers no longer sell? Look for it in Audiogon's classified ads. If you're hoping to be first on your continent with the latest hot gadget, try importers like JapanDirect, which challenge the "available only in Japan" notion. And if you want to check out a DVD movie before you buy it, watch the flick's trailer--or perhaps an in-depth interview with the director--on IFilm.
These are our favorite sites, from mainstream stalwarts to quirky, hidden gems.
In this article:
Shopping Advice, Deals, and Stores
Round up the reviews: With so many reviews available online, you should never have to settle for a salesperson's word on a product. ECoustics links to professional and user reviews from dozens of Web sites. And despite the name, ECoustics goes beyond home audio, providing comprehensive coverage of video products, digital cameras, car audio, and MP3 players. However, a new Computers section, which includes cell phones, is rather sparsely populated so far.
Check store sales: Even Web addicts sometimes venture out to "real" stores. Before you go, check Sales Circular for listings of current specials on electronics at major retailers, including Best Buy, Circuit City, CompUSA, and even Kmart. Listings are organized by state and product category.
Japan Direct sells gadgets you may never see in U.S. stores.
Buy Japan's finest: As any gadgethead knows, some of the coolest devices from Japan never reach U.S. stores. If you can't go to Tokyo, try Japan Direct. The site presents a selection of products such as laptops and PDAs comparable to what's available from its better-known rival, Dynamism.com. Japan Direct's offerings are even broader in some other categories, including digital cameras. Don't worry about learning Kanji; nearly every product comes with English-language software and documentation. And if you're jonesing for a gizmo that isn't listed on the site, you can special-order any gadget priced over $100.
Browse audio imports: But if you're looking for Japan-only sound gear, start with Audio Cubes. Need an Audio-Technica AT-LH15 OCC head shell for your turntable? This site has it. The selection is especially good for headphones, earphones, and portable audio, home audio, and car audio items. The site also sells (though not always at the best prices) some products you can find at other retailers. Companion site Audio Cubes II carries very high-end Japanese audio equipment.
Hit the classifieds: You'll find upscale audio gear from all over the world at Audiogon. This Web site is like the ultimate EBay for audiophiles: It features both new and used products for sale from individual members, small-time commercial sellers, and full-size dealers. You can browse, bid, and place a want ad for free. Individuals selling items pay $4 for a 30-day classified ad or a 3-to-14-day auction. For $50 per year (or $20 for 30 days), users can access the site's excellent "blue book" listing of recommended prices for used audio equipment.
Find online deals: Shopaholics unite at Tech Bargains, a PC World partner site that provides daily blurbs about online electronics deals and discounts as well as coupons and rebate offers. Are you certain you don't need a 6.1-channel receiver? Even if it's on sale right now for $239.99? Purposeful buyers can search for current specials in product categories including audio and video equipment, digital cameras, and computer gear.
Audiophile and Videophile Havens
Geek out on TV: If you're feeling alone in your single-minded obsession with TV and video, you'll find plenty of company on the AV Science Forum, where at any time you are likely to find at least a thousand other fanatics browsing and posting to more than 40 discussion groups. You say that you're interested in projectors? Great, but can you be more specific? The site has 4 groups on the topic--1 dedicated just to screens. It also has groups for flat-panel, rear-projection, and tube televisions. Don't be surprised if your post garners a response from a professional installer or an engineer. Despite many members' high level of expertise, they are generally happy to answer basic questions. RSS feeds should be available by the time you read this.
Blab about audio: If you're especially crazy about sound, check yourself into the Audio Asylum. This wildly active community, operated by a self-proclaimed "small volunteer group of audio lunatics," offers more than 50 discussion groups. One downside: The site's 1990s-style interface looks as retro as a vacuum tube amplifier. Or you can 12-step over to Audioholics, a support group that delivers plentiful product reviews (many of them written by engineers), news articles, and editorials, as well as excellent background articles on such topics as room acoustics and the meaning (or lack thereof) of product specifications. Also extremely handy, especially for newbies, are the buying guides that describe and recommend the best components for building sound systems in the $1000, $3000, $5000, or $12,000 range.
Pitchfork delivers music news and no-holds-barred reviews.
Get the dish on music: Once you've set up your system and are ready to play some tunes, read news and reviews at Pitchfork. The site provides daily updates on album release dates and concert tour schedules. And it's bursting with lively, opinionated reviews--like the one about Moby's latest album, Hotel, that states, "Songs tip off impending choruses like a bad poker player leaning back in his chair when he's got a big hand."
Explore high-def audio: More polite, but just as passionate, are the reviews of DVD-Audio and Super Audio CD discs offered at High Fidelity Review. The site's lengthy articles are replete with such gems of information as the history of the artist's original recording, or the technical merits of the new disc in question. The site also posts news about new recordings, technical issues, and insider talk on the high-definition-audio industry. When you are ready to buy, head over to CD Universe to discover good deals on DVD-A and SACD discs, plus a wide selection of DVD video, CD audio, and computer game titles.
Places for Propellerheads
How Stuff Works gets you up close and personal with your gear.
Learn the techie backstory: If you're a science geek, or just curious about what the thousands of dollars you're considering spending on, say, a plasma TV will buy you, browse through the Electronics section of How Stuff Works. Reading it, you would quickly learn that plasma is an electrically excited gas, that it releases photons, and that many other highly sophisticated processes go into making The Ashlee Simpson Show appear on your screen.
Decipher the specs: For practical advice on choosing and using your gear, check out the plentiful background articles at Crutchfield Advisor. You should take the reviews with a grain of salt, though; Crutchfield is an online store, and tends to like all of the products it sells.
Hack your gear: Once you know how things work, you may get ideas about how to make them work better, or just differently. The Hack a Day blog and the Mods section of the Web site Digg cover topics such as adding recording capabilities to your IPod and building a homemade LCD projector. Xbox Hackz deals only with the Xbox, which has spawned an entire modification industry, including companies that sell upgrade chips to expand the console's capabilities. Likewise, IPod Hackz focuses on Apple's audio player; the site has downloads for functions such as changing screen graphics and loading PowerPoint presentations onto the IPod Photo.
Movie and Music Collections
Ifilm's videos range from trailers and interviews to shorts and TV clips.
Preview movies online: If you're looking for DVDs to rent or buy, start with Ifilm. You can search for a movie and pull up, at a minimum, a synopsis and credits. Most entries also include video trailers and often special features such as interviews with the actors and directors. In addition, Ifilm has a staggering collection of small-screen videos for your computer, with brilliant short films, music videos, game previews, sports, and TV clips in the Windows Media Video, QuickTime, and Real Video formats. (Caution to parents: The site's Uncensored tab leads to explicit videos.)
Get the most music options: A cross between a radio station and record store, Rhapsody provides nearly 100 streaming music stations with various themes such as sixties pop, alt country, baroque, new wave, and underground hip-hop. Users can create their own stations, or stream most of a performer's songs or CDs on demand. They can also download songs, either as RealAudio 10 files for 89 cents a tune (99 cents for nonsubscribers) or as free "tethered" Windows Media Audio downloads that play as long as the user's membership is current (similar to offerings from services such as Napster to Go). Unlike other stores, Rhapsody offers some file format leeway: Its software converts Real Audio 10 songs to copy-protected WMA or Apple's FairPlay format. Rhapsody is also supported by a number of network streaming devices--such as the D-Link MediaLounge, Omnifi DMS1, or Roku Soundbridge--which pipe Internet radio to your stereo system, provided one PC on your network is running Rhapsody's software. Fees are $5 a month for basic radio service; $10 if you want to stream music and download tethered songs to your PC; or $15 to transfer tethered songs to a portable player.
EMusic charges $10 a month for 40 no-strings MP3s from its eclectic library.
Explore indie music--for cheap: Music download services are now abundant, providing similar collections, prices, and restrictions. But EMusic offers a different, and thrifty, model for music fans. The basic $10 subscription allows up to 40 copy protection-free downloads per month in MP3 format, which plays on nearly any device. If you later regret taking a download, you'll be out only a quarter. You won't find many Top 40 hits on EMusic, but you will discover an impressive collection of lesser-known acts and exclusive live albums, such as Taj Mahal Live at Fox Theatre.
Download DVDs? If only we had a similar glut of sites selling movie downloads. The few currently in operation, such as MovieLink and CinemaNow, have small collections that play only on PCs or handhelds that support Windows Media 10 and Microsoft's digital rights management technology. Around the time you read this, however, EZTakes plans to let you download the real deal--MPEG2-encoded movies complete with menus, subtitles, and surround sound--to burn to disc and watch on TV using any standard DVD player. EZTakes expects to have a few thousand movies available by the end of the year, at prices lower than those of store-bought DVDs. But don't expect Hollywood blockbusters: As of press time no major studio had signed on.
Quick Hits
Five Sites for TV Junkies
Home Theater Forum: Huge collection of audio and video discussion groups.
Projector Central: Reviews and discussions about home theater projectors.
Home Theater Info: Complete listing of current DVD titles and scheduled release dates.
TitanTV: Customizable listings for broadcast, cable, and satellite TV offerings.
High Def Forum: HDTV discussion forums spanning a range of topics, from hardware to content.
Five Sites for Tivo Fanatics
PVRblog: News and discussions about TiVo and other brands of digital video recorders.
TiVo Community: Enthusiastic discussion forums focused on all things TiVo.
TiVo Techies: Good source for information about übergeek hacks and modifications.
WeaKnees: Sells TiVo upgrade kits and services for increasing disk storage capacity.
Interactive TiVo Upgrade Instructions: Questionnaire that generates a custom guide.
Five Sites for Cell Phone Phreaks
PhoneScoop: News, specs, reviews, and discussions on all manner of cell phones.
HowardChui.com: News and frequent reviews of products and services, and insanely active forums.
Phone Mag: Mobile phone news blog.
Zingy: Sells ring tones, graphics, and games.
Treonauts: Blog dedicated to the beloved smart phone from PalmOne; offers news and reviews.