Samsung Adds 4th Blu-ray HTiB

Joseph Palenchar -- TWICE, 7/21/2009

Ridgefield Park, N.J. - Samsung Electronics America is expanding its selection of Blu-ray-equipped home theater in a box (HTiB) systems with the launch of its first Blu-ray HTiB equipped with wireless surround speakers.
The $799 5.1-speaker HT-BD3252 will be available next month.
Like the company's current three BD-equipped HTiBs, the new model connects to a home network and networked

The $799-MAP HT-BD3252 HTiB features Blu-ray player, Internet streaming, and wireless surround speakers.

broadband modem to stream BD Live content, standard- and high-definition movies from NetFlix, music from Internet music service Pandora, and movies from Blockbuster's streaming service. Blockbuster's service will be available through the four HTiBs in the fall after a firmware upgrade.
The new model joins the 5.1-speaker $549 HT-BD1250, the $799 HT-BD8100 surround bar with virtual surround technology and wireless subwoofer, and the $799 HT-BD7200, which is the company's first BD-equipped HTiB with 2.1-speaker system and virtual surround.
Like the current three systems, the new system also features PC networking to stream music and photos from a networked PC. All four also come with wired Ethernet, but the new model adds an included wireless 802.11b/g/n/ dongle to wirelessly access the PC and Internet services. For the current three models, the wireless USB dongle is a $79 option.
All four models also feature iPod/iPhone dock, Smart Volume to maintain consistent volume levels when switching sources, and USB host port, which accesses content from connected USB devices, including USB drives, digital cameras and portable media players. All four also decode Dolby Digital, Dolby Pro-Logic II, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby Digital True HD and DTS-HD Master Audio.
Through the systems' included remote and onscreen display, consumers can control their docked iPod or iPhone.
The new 1,000-watt system also features left-right floorstanding speakers, Auto Sound Calibration (ASC) to automatically adjusts speaker levels, two HDMI-CEC inputs, one HDMI-CEC output, a composite-video output and an optical input.