HD Deal: Panasonic 42-inch 720p Plasma HDTV

If you are looking for a deal on a Plasma HDTV check out this one we found on a 42-inch Panasonic. More HD and gadget deals* after the jump.

HD Deals: PS3 Slim For $274.99

For all those Sony fans who saw the deal we found on the Xbox 360 this week, here's the new PS3 slim for $274.99. More HD and gadget deals* after the jump.

$200 Blu-ray players from JVC and Toshiba

If you've been holding off on getting a Blu-ray Disc player until the prices go down, you might want to start shopping. JVC has just announced a new budget-priced BD player, and Toshiba's long-awaited player has been spotted at Best Buy with a price tag of $50 less than previously announced.

JVC's XV-BP11 is a bare-bones Blu-ray player with a $199 retail price. On one hand, it supports several different media codecs, including AVCHD and WMV videos. On the other hand, it only has Profile 1.1 (Bonus View). The player lacks an Internet connection, and as such it can't access BD-Live features. That's a pretty big feature to not include in a late 2009 Blu-ray Disc player. Still, if you don't want to go online with your discs, the XV-BP11 is available now for just two bills.

Radical Sheik: Artcoustic’s Crystal Range speaker grille

I haven’t traveled to Dubai, so I have to trust Artcoustic’s assertion that the residents of the sheikdom demand crystal encrusting on all their luxury products. For this elite clientele, Artcoustic has created the Crystal Range speaker grille. The edge of each grille is covered in tiny Swarovski crystals, creating a look sure to appeal to fabuously wealthy oil magnates, flamboyant interior designers, and Hannah Montana.

The grilles start at $1,400 each, and they’re available for most of the speakers in Artcoustic’s line. The company is best known for slim on-wall speakers with grilles that carry artwork or the images of your choice.—Brent Butterworth

HD Deals: Video Game Credit Deal

We all can agree that video games aren't the cheapest things to buy during the Holidays, so hopefully today's deal will help early shoppers slash their expense a little: Amazon.com is offering a $40 game credit when you spend $80 on a variety of games. More HD and gadget deals* after the jump.

How To Prevent "The Pause" When Switching HD Channels

Question: My high-def DirecTV receiver connects to my Pioneer Pro-111FD plasma HDTV through a Pioneer SC-07 A/V receiver. When I’m changing channels, there can be a significant pause before the new channel is displayed. It seems that the TV is always searching for the best way to display the picture, and a message bar will appear across the top of the screen telling me the resolution of the new channel.

I don’t mind the pause, but is the data displayed accurate? For example, HBO and other premium movie channels are often preceded by a banner stating “1080i,” while ESPN and ABC often are preceded by “720p.” Is DirecTV really delivering HD in different formats? Am I really receiving certain channels in 720p? BRIAN MCINTOSH / VIA E-MAIL

HD Deals: Poltergeist on Blu-ray

If you want to get a good scare out of your party guests on Halloween then there's no better movie to do that than Poltergeist. And we just happened to find a deal on the Blu-ray just before the holiday. More HD and gadget deals* after the jump.

Roku rocks out with two new players

Roku is making a nice sandwich out of its line-up, with new offerings priced above and below its popular Roku HD streaming media player.

On the high end, Roku has announced the HD-XR player, an updated Roku HD player with 802.11n wireless support on top of the original's built-in 802.11b/g wireless. Besides the speedier wireless protocol (of which users can only take advantage if they also have an 802.11n wireless router), the device is essentially identical to the Roku HD. At $129, the HD-XR retails for $30 more than the original HD.

HD Deals: Xbox 360 For Under $200

Get your hands on an Xbox 360 for under $200 with this deal. More HD and gadget deals* after the jump.

PS3 finally getting official Netflix streaming

It's almost time to rejoice, Sony fanboys. Sony has officially announced that Netflix content will be coming to the PS3 later this year. Unfortunately, it looks like you're going to have to jump through a few hoops to get at big red's content. You'll need an "instant streaming Blu-ray disc," which uses BD-Live in order to enable the service. That means you'll have to put that disc in every time you want to stream something. It's not an ideal solution, but all signs point to it being done up right with the next major software overhaul. On the plus side, this method does offer a few advantages, like the ability to add content to your queue right from the interface.

If you want to get in on the program, you'll have to go to the Netflix.com/ps3 and request one of the free Blu-ray discs. We suggest doing so as soon as possible if you don't want to see the dreaded "long delay."

Press release