Creative EP-650 Product Unavailable Our suggested alternatives: Editor's Choice Jays v-Jays Reinforced Headband Sennheiser PX 100-II Great Audio Insulation Jays Q-Jays

Our tests today include a pair of Creative headphones from a range that's come back from the dead as well as the latest members of Klipsch's Image range, the S4 and S4i headphones.

The EP-630s from Creative kept the ears of mobile phone and MP3 player owners sweet for a long time, but after months of silence, Creative is back with their replacement, the new EP-650s.

Klipsch, by contrast, doesn't seem to have stopped putting out new models, and its new Image S4, or Image S4i for the iPhone, headphones comfortably fit the bill of a decent pair of headphones for under a hundred pounds.

> Test: Creative EP-650
> Test: Klipsch Image S4 / Klipsch Image S4i

> Product Survey: In-Ear Headphones

After the release of version 1.4 of the HDMI standard in June 2009, a new version has just been lauched which specifies how 3D signals should be sent to televisions.  There might be just one letter of difference, but HDMI 1.4a marks a big change.

Following pressure from TV manufacturers, the HDMI consortium has just published the HDMI 1.4a specification, which makes support for 'side-by-side horizontal' and 'top-and-bottom' encoding of 3D content for broadcast, movies and gaming compulsory.  The names for the two different systems describe how the two separate images, one for each eye, are packed into a single frame.  In the first system, they're side by side, while in the second, they're stacked one top of the other; the TV then cuts the frame in half to extract these signal for each eye.  The only way to send a true Full HD frame to each eye is to use sequential frame packing.

These new modes open new ways of transmitting 3D data, making life easier for manufacturers of 3D TVs.  It also clarifies matters, because the HDMI consortium has provided a full list of the compulsory 3D formats to be supported by HDMI 1.4a:

For movies:

• Frame packing: 1080p at 23.98 Hz and 24 Hz

For games:

• Frame packing: 780p at 50 Hz, 59.95 Hz and 60 Hz

For TV broadcasts:

• Side-by-side horizontal: 1080i at 50 Hz, 59.94 Hz and 60 Hz
• Top-and-bottom: 720p at 50 Hz, 59.94 Hz and 60 Hz as well as 1080p at 23.97 Hz and 24 Hz.

Any television that is HDMI 1.4a compatible should be able to handle all of these formats.  Sources like Blu-ray players, games consoles and TV decoders will need to be able to output at least one of them to get the HDMI 1.4a label.

> Product Survey: 40'' to 49'' TVs

Product Unavailable Our suggested alternatives: Editor's Choice Sony NEX-5N Great for Beginners Panasonic Lumix GF3 + 14 mm Lens Aimed at Experts Olympus Pen E-P3

Panasonic and Olympus were perfectly happy working together to produce the micro four-thirds standard, supported by their GH1, GF1 and Pen cameras, but Samsung has made things more complicated with its own new standard for compact digital cameras with interchangeable lenses.  The NX format, which isn't compatible with micro four-thirds, has a larger APS-C format sensor.  Will that be enough to win us over?

Leaving the world of SLR cameras behind--for the time being at least--Samsung has decided to get involved in the world of smaller camera bodies with interchangeable lenses, and its first attempt, the NX10, looks very good on paper.  To name just a few of its promising features, it includes the same large format APS-C sensor as most enthusiast-level SLRs, a 3'' AMOLED display, an electronic viewfinder and a 720p video mode …

Could micro four-thirds cameras have their first serious rival?  Let's take a look …

> Test: Samsung NX10

> Product Survey: Digital SLRs and Cameras with Interchangeable Lenses

With the Samsung TV range soon up for renewal, the manufacturer has announced the launch of three new Blu-ray players, including one 3D-compatible model.

Samsung BD-C6900 Find the best price

Samsung won an innovation award for the BD-C6900 at the 2010 International Consumer Electronics Show, as this Blu-ray player can play 3D Blu-ray discs with no need for a firmware update. A built-in wireless card means you can view online content and a 1 GB internal memory is on hand for BD-Live. Samsung claims that the ultra-fast BD-C6900 can start playing a DVD or Blu-ray disc in just 30 seconds (15 seconds to start up and 15 seconds to load). Connections include a 7.1 analogue output, an HDMI 1.4 port, an Ethernet port and two USB Host ports with one on the front panel.

Samsung BD-C7500 MARCHANDS €     Amazon mark...  43.90  Amazon.co.uk  64.00  Dixons  64.00  Laskys.com  79.99  Comet  79.99  Pc world  109.99  Compare prices

At just 2.8 cm thick, it’s the sleek and slim design that really makes the BD-C7500 stand out from the two other new releases. In fact, with its smooth, polished surface, it makes a stylish and original choice. This Blu-ray player can be stood flat on a table-top, angled at 25° or even wall-mounted, not unlike the old BD-P4600. Just like the BD-C6900 above, the BD-C7500 features a built-in wireless card and 1 GB of storage for BD-Live, as well as an HDMI port, two USB Host ports and an Ethernet port.

Samsung BD-C8500 Find the best price ]

With its 500 GB internal hard drive and digital TV tuner, the BD-C8500 can be used to record and play back TV shows. Otherwise, it has similar features to the other two new releases with a built-in wireless card, an Ethernet port, an HDMI 1.4 port, two USB Host ports and 30-second start-up.


> Product Survey: Blu-ray Players

If your TV’s starting to look a bit small and you really want to bring the cinema home, then our video projectors buyer’s guide is just what you need.

We’ve picked out the best models from our two product surveys on HD Ready projectors and Full HD projectors. You’ll find fewer and fewer HD Ready projectors on the market as Full HD models become more affordable and more readily available. There are, however, a few veteran HD Ready projectors that are still worth taking a look at. Only five products made it into our exclusive final selection, and when faced with tough competition, manufacturers will have to work hard to keep their products in one of our top spots.

> Buyer’s Guide: Video Projectors