The best TV and home theater gear at CES

David Friedman / msnbc.com

By Gary Merson
HD Guru

The 2012 International Consumer Electronics Show was packed with new and innovative home theater products as?the major home entertainment manufacturers debuted their latest ?product lines. HD Guru and Geoff Morrison spent the week scouring news events and company booths seeking out the best new HDTV, 3-D TV, Blu-ray player, streaming media player, sound bar and the HD Guru Best In Show.

This year?s HDTV products are ?the most innovative we?ve seen in years, with much larger screen sizes, new big screen display technology, new remote controls and much more. On to the winners ...

Gary Merson / HD Guru

Best HDTV
Picture improvements came from almost every major TV maker, and that?gave us a long lists of finalists to consider. However, the improvements in the 2012 Panasonic top-of-the-line VT50 plasma series are significant. Last year?s VT30 series took top honors for picture performance. In 2012 Panasonic raised the bar with a new way to drive the pixels that lowers the black level to the deepest ever, and better motion clarity using its new 2500 focused field drive circuit, according to a Panasonic spokesperson.

In a side-by-side comparison of the VT30 and VT 50 plasmas on the show floor, the improvements were clear. The VT50 had the best image quality of any 2012 plasma or LED LCD we saw at the show.

Best media player
LG?s SP820 Smart Upgrader turns any HDTV into a Smart TV providing instant streaming from Vudu, Amazon Instant, Cinema Now, Internet browser and more. In addition there are many apps available from LG?s app shop. This 2012 version adds Flash, HTML5 content viewing capability and LG?s Magic Motion remote that allows control by buttons, moving and tilting or with a wheel. The SP820 will ship this spring.

Best sound bar
Sharp is no stranger to the audio business, making audio components for decades. This year it is introducing the innovative HT-SL77 2.1 system. The midrange and tweeter sections can be placed horizontally below the screen and come with extensions to match the width of 46-, 52-, 60- or 70-inch HDTVs. The HT-SL77 can also be separated into?sections as left and right vertical towers and includes an attachable base for each speaker. The height can be set to match 60- or 70-inch flat panels.

The HT-SL77 also includes a wireless subwoofer. The HDMI output supports the Audio Return Channel feature found within 2011 and 2012 Sharp and many other major brand HDTVs to direct the audio from multiple HDMI sources such as HD cable box, game console and Blu-ray player to the sound bar seamlessly. The H-SL77 ships in April with a retail price of $449.99.

Gary Merson / HD Guru

Best Blu-ray player
The Panasonic DMP-BBT01 is like no other Blu-ray player Panasonic has ever produced. It is heavily featured with Panasonic?s latest video processor, offers Smartphone remote control capability, a new touchpad remote control, 3-D disc play, 2-D-to-3-D up-conversion, and Internet streaming through Panasonic?s VieraConnect system. The player comes wrapped in a new, small, slim design with a slot-in drive that allows you to insert a disc without the need for a tray. The DMP-BBT01 player comes with a stand and can be operated vertically or horizontally.

Best 3-D TV
The LG 84LM9600 is loaded with industry firsts. It is the largest consumer flat panel HDTV?for sale. It is the first to offer a screen with four times the resolution of HDTV (3840?2160). LG calls it UHD. The cherry on top is the 84LM9600 is the first 3-D TV using inexpensive, lightweight passive 3-D glasses to maintain full HD vertical resolution (1080 as half of 2160), overcoming our biggest objection regarding passive 3-D technology.

The 3-D image is not only big, but bright and beautiful because?it doesn?t have the visible lines when viewing 3-D that to date has been associated with all other passive 3-D TVs. As the top series in LG?s 2012 LED LCD HDTV line, this giant screen set includes Internet streaming and apps, and LG?s best new Magic Motion remote with voice and gesture control. It all comes wrapped in a slim, brushed aluminum bezel. The 84 converts all content to its 4K resolution and will accept future 4K sources through its HDMI input. Scheduled for release in spring, LG has not yet revealed pricing.

Gary Merson / HD Guru

Best In Show
OLED (organic light emitting diodes) is the first new big screen flat panel tech since 1997. The 55EM9600 delivers everything big screen OLED promises ? vivid color, fantastic contrast, 180-degree viewing angle and pitch black blacks. Coming from a 4mm-thick design, the OLED image beat out everything else at CES.

The 55-Inch 55EM9600 has two configurations. One is a table stand version with the speakers and electronics built into the base. The other is a wall mount version with the electronics and downward firing speakers housed within a backpack that sits between the wall and the screen. This OLED is a full-featured HDTV with 1080p resolution, Smart TV with voice and gesture remote and 3-D. Expect to see it yourself in Q3, at a priced to be announced.

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