$79.99  Philips DVP2880 Multi Region 1080p HDMI Upscaling DVD Player

Anyone who hasn’t been in a bomb shelter for the last 60 or so years knows that American mystery fans are no longer afraid to read beyond their borders—witness the huge stateside success of everyone from about a zillion Scandinavian’s to Lousie Penny’s Trois Pins series. But due to international regulations and outdated regional restrictions, there are a slew of foreign film and TV shows on DVD still unavailable to American viewers—they just won’t play on standard American DVD players. But multi-region (aka “region-free”) players have never been cheaper to own, or easier to find. Even fancy pants models are now less than a hundred bucks, and even much less expensive models, such as the DVP2880 Multi Region 1080p HDMI Upscaling DVD Player (Phillips, $79.00, but shop around) will do the trick. It’s guaranteed to play any DVD from any country without a special TV, and comes with plenty of upscaling and other software to guarantee a high-def picture that’s sharper than a killer’s blade.

$99.99  Roku 3

And if the plethora of foreign DVDs available online somehow isn’t enough to satisfy your lust for global murder and mayhem, then it’s time to get streaming. All you need is a Wi-Fi connection, a TV and a set-top streaming media box. There are plenty of them out there, but the original is still the king. The Roku 3 (Roku, $99.99) is the latest version, their fastest and most powerful model yet, able to handle up to 1080p HD video. And for your inner geek, it comes with a remote that features one of the coolest additions ever: a headphone jack, so you can listen to every single blood-curdling scream and sphincter-grating woop-woop-woop French police car siren without waking up the whole house. They’re a snap to install, and besides the hundreds of free channels offering cut-rate public domain crime and mystery films, TV and old-time radio shows, there are numerous subscription channels available (Netflix, Hulu Plus, Acorn, Amazon, Warner Archives, MHz, etc.) for far less than you’re probably paying for cable or satellite right now. Now, at last, you don’t need a passport, a Swiss bank account or a time machine to bring the whole world of mystery into your living room. Whether it’s a cheesy rerun of Hawaiian Eye (starring Troy Donahue and his hair) or the latest Scandinavian bleakness fest featuring depressed detective Olaf Olaffsen and his depressed AND suicidal blonde partner Svenson Svenson Svenson, it’s out there somewhere.