The Advocates Shades of Blu

Blu-ray is the new standard. Panasonic's DMP-B15 Portable Blu-ray Disc Player is the gold standard.

If you're inclined to watch movies on the go, a portable player is a necessity. The first of its kind, the Panasonic DMP-B15 is a self-contained portable Blu-ray player with a built-in 8.9-inch high-resolution display. The player features a stand and headrest mounting bracket for varied viewing options and also can be connected to your home AV setup so it can act as your only player. The DMP-B15 can also stream content from YouTube, Picasa, Bloomberg, or Amazon Video on Demand and includes a built-in SD card slot for viewing digital photos. $750. Panasonic.PremiumStore.com

Flick Picks
Everything looks and sounds better in Blu-ray, including older, remastered movies.
Here are a few favorites:

Fight Club
Directed by David Fincher (1999);
available November 17
from 20th Century Fox; $34.99

North by Northwest
(50th Anniversary Edition) directed by Alfred Hitchcock (1959);
available November 3
from Warner Home Video; $34.99

South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut
directed by Trey Parker (1999);
now available from
Paramount Home Entertainment; $29.99

Up
directed by Pete Docter and Bob Petersen (2009);
available November 10
from Disney; $45.99

Valentino: the Last Emperor
directed by Matt Tyrnauer (2009);
now available
from Phase 4 Films; $34.99

Holiday Gift Guide: Omron Body Composition Scale

Knowing your weight is key to managing your health, and this multifeature scale provides "full body sensing." By simply grasping the built-in handheld monitor while standing on the scale you can also measure your body mass index (BMI), body fat percentage, skeletal muscle, resting metabolism, and more. The scale even stores data for four people for 90 days, helping chart your progress. $110. OmronHealthcare.com