Best home entertainment device 2012: 9th Pocket-lint gadget awards nominees

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AirPlay, Spotify and DLNA all made significant changes to the way people listen to music in 2012. The technologies started to appear in pieces of Hi-Fi hardware, reducing the need for laptop connected cables and even the iPhone dock.

There was certainly a lot of audio tech to enjoy and Pocket-lint had to work hard to keep on top of it all. Standing out above the crowd however was the below nominations for the 9th Pocket-lint gadget awards’ home audio category.

Onkyo TX-NR818

Price

?650

Released

March 2012

Onkyo's 818 brought with it just about every possible form of connectivity you could possibly want from a AV receiver. Be it Spotify integration or Simfy apps, this was one feature-packed piece of kit.

The receiver also used?Audyssey MultEQ XT32 to assess and work out exactly the right setup for different room styles. Throw in industry leading upscaling and decoding tech and you the makings of a cracking piece of kit.

READ: Onkyo TX-NR818 review

TalkTalk YouView

Price

Free on contact

Released

September 2012

As much as we mocked YouView for its late arrival, it turned out to be a much better product than we expected when it finally arrived on the market. Talk Talk's Humax made box was particularly good, especially when you consider it was include free on some Talk Talk contract deals.

The clever trick the box managed was that it could offer linear streaming via your internet connection. This meant you could do things like subscribe to Sky 1 via your YouView box.

READ: TalkTalk YouView review

Xbox 360

Price

?160

Released

November 2005

?

The Xbox 360 became centre of the living room in 2012 and not just for games. A steady stream of updates and a new look user interface meant you had access to a whole number of IPTV services.

Apps like BBC iPlayer launched and towards the end of the year, Xbox Music arrived, bringing free music streaming to the Xbox 360. For a piece of tech so long in the tooth, it proved it could still impress.

READ: Xbox 360 news

Sky TV

Price

Contract dependant

Released

May 2006

Sky TV also expanded in a big way in 2012. Applications like Sky Go in particular, brought increasing levels of value to subscribers.

The service also saw an update to Sky Sports News on the iPad, to go inline with the launch of its dedicated F1 channel. This brought an incredible amount of second screen functionality and was a big boost for F1 fans.

READ: Sky TV news

Roku 2 XS

Price

?90

Released

March 2012

The Apple TV alternative was Roku 2 XS in 2012. A powerful video playing box which was incredibly compact, it kept the non-Apple crowd more than satisfied.

Apps like iPlayer and Netflix were also a highlight, as was the price tag, which made the Roku 2 XS a persuasive piece of kit for those serious about movies.?

READ: Roku 2 XS revie
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Tags: Hi-Fi Onkyo Sky Xbox 360 roku YouView TalkTalk Pocket-lint Gadget Awards 2012

 

Best home entertainment device 2012: 9th Pocket-lint gadget awards nominees originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Tue, 13 Nov 2012 17:18:00 +0000

Source : androidtabletblog[dot]com