LATEST ADDITIONS

Having left the DAC market alone for the best part of twenty years, Arcam is making up for lost time with an increasingly extensive range. The latest arrival is the irDAC that replaces the earlier iDAC. While it looks similar, the irDAC boasts more inputs (which are now 192kHz capable) and is completely revised internally to include a new DAC chip, improved jitter reduction measures and extensive power supply arrangements. 

James Dean only completed three movies before his untimely death, but what films they were. Biblical allegory East of Eden (1953) ranks among director Elia Kazan's best work, Rebel Without a Cause (1955) is a subversive masterpiece, and Giant (1956) is every bit as epic as its title indicates.

It's hard to imagine that 2013 will ever be thought of as a vintage year for Pixar. Where once the studio offered breathtakingly original flights of animated fancy, this year saw it release the merchandise-led Cars spin-off Planes and this laboured prequel to 2001's Monsters, Inc.

Samsung is famous for its high-end TVs (anyone for a curved OLED?) but, as the PS51F5500 shows, isn't afraid to get its hands dirty at the budget end of the market. For a good chunk less than £1,000, this plasma gives you a helluva lot – 51 inches of screen real estate, Full HD resolution, active 3D support, onboard media player and Samsung's 'Smart Hub' technology, easily accessed by built-in Wi-Fi or Ethernet.