Along with DVD's increasingly central role in the entertainment network, several trends are emerging this year: hardware that combines two or more functions for greater convenience, and products that aim to unclutter your home theater setup.
DVD/VHS recorders in one: Units from GoVideo and LG Electronics that let you record onto VHS tape and DVD (and dub one to the other easily) are here; others--from companies like Panasonic, Philips, and Samsung--should follow. Prices range from $399 to $600.
Printer/TV: In its first foray into big-screen TVs, Epson (best known for printers) has combined $3499 47-inch and $3999 57-inch LCD projection TVs with a dye-sublimation printer that prints 4-by-6-inch photos, plus a CD-RW drive (to read and record to photo CDs). You also get a built-in flash media reader (which handles five formats). The TVs should be out around the time you read this.
Home projector/DVD player: Pixa has released the first home theater in a box to combine an 800-by-600-pixel DLP projector with a DVD player. It includes tuners for standard NTSC signals and HDTV, as well as for PAL. The $1999 unit also integrates a flash memory card reader.
Wireless TVs: Several vendors are using integrated Wi-Fi in TVs to keep the unsightly snag of wires out of view; instead, the wires connect to a separate base station that transmits audio and video streams to the TV. Sharp's 15-inch Aquos LC-15L1U-S LCD ($1800) uses 802.11b, while Samsung's 50-inch plasma ($13,000), due this summer, will use 802.11a. Sony's cable-free TVs, dubbed Location-Free, should appear by year's end and will support 802.11a, .11b, and .11g. Expect more home theater setups, like the ones from Sony and Pixa, to offer wireless audio connections between rear speakers and other stereo components.
Skinny DLP TVs: At just 7 inches deep, new 61-inch rear-projection TVs from InFocus and Thomson's RCA will streamline your den. The units are half the depth of today's slimmest DLP TVs, and vendors say they're light enough (about 130 pounds) to hang on a wall. Models ship in the second half of 2004 and should cost about $10,000.
