Six of the best: Home cinema kit
Actual cinema seats don’t tend to be designed with maximum comfort in mind; you usually have to shift around a few times before the showing’s over. At home however, space isn’t at such a premium, and this snazzy number will keep comfortable enough to watch entire trilogies. The seat features inbuilt massage motors and warmers, to keep you extra snug, while a beverage cooler in the armrest keeps drinks chilled. All you need to do is stock up and recline.
Small screen: Smartphone Projector, £19.95, notonthehighstreet.com
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdIf you’re a fan of recording video clips on your smartphone, this nifty gizmo would make a great addition to your kit — for home movies that are, quite literally, off the wall! It looks like a vintage projector and can display your clips at up to eight times magnification (works for still images too). At this price, it’s a bargain too.
Seeding sounds: Samsung HW-H750 Wireless Multiroom Sound Bar, £499.95, johnlewis.com
You’ll never get true surround sound at home unless you have speakers in situ around the room, but coming in a rather close second, and able to perform near audio magic, is this solution from Samsung. Single box surround sounds aren’t new; these devices have multiple speakers inside which throw noise around in different directions to mimic their multi-box rivals, and this set-up is about the best in its category. Stunning looks and sound delivery to match.
Shake the room: Samsung HT-H5500 5.1 Smart 3D Blu-ray Home Cinema System, £239.99, currys.co.uk
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdThe design of this system does somewhat suggest it is more of a man cave-dweller than a slick piece of kit to sit subtly in a front room, and the booming sound it delivers would back that theory up. A whopping 1000W of power pulsates through this home cinema system. So operate some volume control (or the neighbours might not be too happy), but this will certainly delight movie night fans. When you’re done watching films, you can stream music through it from your mobile and access online content on it too.
Big Screen: Sony VPL HW40 ES, £1,850.00, petertyson.co.uk
This full HD home projector doesn’t come cheap. However, it doesn’t need to make many apologies for its hefty price tag, as it is arguably the best projection system in the sub £2k category — by some distance. It delivers a screen size from a humble 40-inch, all the way up to the whopping side-of-your-house 300-inches with incredible detail — more than the humble telly box could ever deliver cinematically. It is also 3D; everything about the picture is just sublime.
Standard Setter: Panasonic Viera TX-50AX802B Smart 3D 4k Ultra HD 50” LED TV, £1,499.00, currys.co.uk
They’ve just slashed the price of this high-end TV set (it’s currently down from £2,099), so if you’ve been fantasising about installing a 50-inch screen, there couldn’t be a better time to invest. This impressive set boasts four times the resolution of high-definition TV (which does take some getting used to) and is 3D (comes with two pairs of glasses). The detail is immense, and while the content provided in this format is presently on the low side, there is a raft of it being produced right now. Movies at home as you’ve never seen them before.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdApp of the week: Digiduck’s Big Decision, free on iTunes and Google Play
Most parents don’t know where to begin when it comes to teaching kids about internet safety. Internetmatters.org is a new portal hosting all the latest information on this very topic, aimed at helping mums and dads. They’ve teamed up with Childnet to create this animated bedtime story app, narrated by pop star and internet safety campaigner Sophie-Ellis Bextor and her mum Janet.
Top 10 Bestselling Kindle Apps
1) Minecraft - Pocket Edition by Mojang
2) Five Nights at Freddy’s by Scott Cawthon
3) OfficeSuite Professional 7 by Mobile Systems, Inc.
4) Thomas Was Alone by Bossa Studios Ltd
5) Scrabble by Electronic Arts
6) The Chase by Barnstorm Games
7) Terraria by 505 Games
8) Sky Block - Mini Survival Game by Riovox
9) Tipping Point by Barnstorm Games
10) Nav for Google Maps by Voyage Apps
Top 10 Free Kindle Apps
1. London Underground by Visual IT Limited
2. CSI: Hidden Crimes by Ubisoft
3. Batman Arkham Origins by Warner Bros
4. Pictures Word Search by 100 PICS Ltd
5. The Secret Society - Hidden Mystery by G5 Entertainment AB
6. Amazon Prime Instant Video by Amazon.com
7. Despicable Me: Minion Rush by Gameloft
8. BBC iPlayer by Media Applications Technologies Ltd
9. The Sims Freeplay by Electronic Arts
10. Farm Heroes Saga by King
(Both charts courtesy of http://www.amazon.co.uk)