Digital Home would like to wish all of its reader’s happy holidays. We will be offline enjoying the holiday season until January 3rd and hope you'll visit us then. Of course, the Digital Forum is still open so you can ask questions and discuss all your new Christmas toys!

Microsoft today announced that it will change the Xbox 360 warranty from 90 days to one year from the date of purchase in the United States and Canada. Microsoft says they have extended the warranty in North America to be consistent with the standard one-year Xbox 360 warranty that is available throughout most of the world. Critics claim its a move to deal with angry Xbox 360 owners threatening class action suits because their Xbox 360's failed after just a few months of ownership.

Yamaha Canada provided Digital Home with an interesting speaker system that we think will appeal to anyone with a Music player such as the iPod nano or Sansa e200 series. The NXA01 is an attractive small cube speaker that measures less than 9cm (3.5”) on each side and weighs about as much as a can of pop.

Nearly one in four LCD televisions shipped worldwide in the third quarter of 2006 were not manufactured by the company whose name is on the front of the set according to a recent report by DisplaySearch. The report, which analyzes the relationship between LCD TV module suppliers, LCD TV manufacturers and LCD TV brands, found that 23% of LCD televisions shipped were outsourced to subcontracted manufacturers.

In late November, Panasonic Canada announced the arrival of the PT-AX100 LCD Home Cinema Projector, a sub $3,000 HD projector that has replaced the company’s popular PT-AE900 front projector. Digital Home has spent the last three weeks reviewing the Panasonic PT-AX100 Home Cinema Projector and has come away extremely impressed.

Although we knew it was only a matter of time, it's now official. More U.S. households now own DVD players (81.2%) than VCRs (79.2%) according to a quarterly study by Nielsen Media Research. The research found that, as of third quarter 2006, DVD penetration in the U.S. is up 6% from the previous year and continues to grow, while VCR penetration has finally started to decline.

Epson Canada has unveiled the Epson PowerLite Pro Cinema 810 and Epson's new flagship front projector the PowerLite Pro Cinema 810 HQV. Both models feature Epson’s high definition 3LCD technology, 720p native resolution, a contrast ratio of up to 10,000:1 while the 810HQV model includes the Realta chip based HQV video processor from Silicon Optix.

In search of the next new science series, PBS will premiere three pilots on New Year's Day over the web with the television broadcasts beginning two days later. Audiences will then be invited to weigh in on their favorite, and the ultimate choice will move on to become a new 10-week series projected to debut in fall 2007. This is the first time PBS has introduced full specials online in advance of the television broadcast along with inviting an interactive dialogue with viewers about the programs they are seeking from their public television stations.

HDTV Networks Inc., a subsidiary of CSR Investments, the company that brought Canadians XM Radio, has submitted an application to the CRTC for an eight city over-the-air HD broadcast license. HDTV Networks Inc. says it wants to deliver HD programming to English viewers in eight Canadian cities including: Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Winnipeg, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and Halifax.

Everyday readers ask Digital Home which high definition television they should buy. The reader typically presents us with two or three model numbers and then asks which set is superior. Unfortuntely, there is no definitive answer because so much about the reader’s requirements is unknown. In this article, Digital Home goes beyond specs and model numbers to help readers begin to decide which HDTV is right for them.

Oppo Digital this month announced the DV-981HD, its new flagship universal up-converting DVD player. The DV-981HD follows the company’s successful OPDV971H DVD player which was a top performer in independent DVD player benchmark tests and is well regarded by Digital Home members.

Nintendo is trumpeting the launch of the Wii console in Europe and Japan while North American parents are forced to explain to children why Santa won't be bringing them a console this Christmas. The Wii first launched in North America on November 19th and was sold out within minutes.

Last week Digital Home warned consumers to Beware of the Big Box Computer Bundle (content/view/1660/98/) which found retailers selling packages claiming to save consumers money but which ended up costing them more. This week Digital Home warns consumers of the phantom deal where retailers advertise an excellent package with a high quality product, however when consumers show up at the store, they find out a cheaper product has been substituted.

Canadian Satellite Radio, the company that offers XM Satellite radio service in Canada, announced today the company had 147,000 subscribers as of November 30th. Earlier this month, the company announced that for the fiscal year ending August 31st, XM announced that it had over 120,000 subscribers of which 91,200 were paying customers.

Every week tens of thousands of people visit the Digital Home website looking for answers to their technical questions and many find the answers in the Digital Forum.The Digital forum is what technology pundits now call a social network and what marketers call Consumer generated media. We call it “a place to get answers and discuss the latest technology”. DHC is proud to announce that, as of today, we now have over 26,000 members.