Picking the Right Video Game System for Your Home Theater

The latest line of video game systems has caused quite a buzz in the Home Theater industry. Now that we are four months past the holiday shopping season, these systems are more readily available and more adults are finding out that they are a perfect match to their Home Theater.

Let's compare the Big 3:

Sony's Playstation 3

Price: $599.99 (60GB)

*Features: Blu-Ray DVD player, music server, 4 USB ports, ports for digital camera memory cards, really cool slide shows for photos, and internet access.

*Drawbacks: If you want to load music from your i-Pod, earlier versions of the PS3 does not read artist information or album art. It lumps all song titles into one big folder.

*Overall: The PS3 is the cheapest and the best Blu-Ray player on the market. Plus if you have a flat screen mounted over a fireplace, the slide shows with music set to them is a great feature to have at parties.

Microsoft's XBOX 360

Price: Game system = $399.99

HDDVD Player Attachment= $199.99

Features: HDDVD Player, USB ports for downloading music or photos, High Def movie downloads on XBOX Live, and the best selection of games.

Drawbacks: A $200 attachment is a pretty steep price for a format that is only supported by one movie studio (Universal). XBOX Live movie downloads can take between 6-10 hours.

Overall: Universal Studios has a decent selection of movies available for the HDDVD format. However, it's only a matter of time before HDDVD throws in the towel and millions of XBOX 360 owners are stuck with an obsolete HD player.

Nintendo Wii