Computer trade shows have gotten smaller over the years, but not CES. The Consumer Electronics Show is bigger than ever. With everything from the biggest (102 inches, anyone?) flat-screen TVs to IPod accessories everywhere you look, CES offers plenty of gadgets for work and play. Here are some of the highlights--and lowlights--that PC World editors found at this year's show.
Aha, oho, Ojo: The latest take on video phones is Motorola's Ojo (pronounced Oh-Joe) Personal Video Phone. This compact gizmo features a 5.6-inch rectangular portrait-oriented LCD screen perched on an upright arm (for eye-to-eye access) with a built-in keypad, which in turn sits on a small pedestal. The Ojo plugs into both a standard phone jack and your broadband modem or network; it can be used for regular nonvideo calls or video calls from other Ojos or Internet phones. Motorola says the phone delivers full-motion, 30-frames-per-second video. You don't need any special setup--you can continue to use your preexisting telephone number--but you do need to subscribe to Motorola's service for an as-yet-undisclosed monthly fee. And the Ojo itself isn't cheap: Motorola expects to ship it in early spring for $799. --Yardena Arar
All charged up: From the all-in-one department comes a nifty battery charger--yes, I said battery charger. No kidding, in March Lenmar will ship a $139.95 device that will "speed charge" all your batteries including camera, camcorder, and AA/AAA batteries. It also has adapters to charge cell phones, PDAs, or anything else that can be recharged through a USB port. --Andrew Eisner
When size does matter: You can never be too thin, too rich, or too storage-endowed. So Buffalo Technology is introducing an obscenely huge network storage device, the TeraStation. As the name implies, it has a terabyte of space for documents, photos, videos, MP3s--you name it. Just hook it up to your network (it supports gigabit ethernet) and start loading up the data. Best of all, the cost for the TeraStation, which should appear next month, is a remarkably reasonable $999. --Yardena Arar
On Display
Home theater for the masses: Optoma's MovieTime Player was a huge buzz-generator at CES. This Instant Home Theatre projector has an integrated DVD player, built-in 5-watt speakers, and 840-by-480-pixel resolution, perfect for 16-by-9 movie viewing. But what sets it apart from competitors in this new product category is its "short throw" lens, which allows owners to enjoy a 64-inch-wide screen from just 5 feet away. This one looks like a real winner for people just beginning to get into the digital projector version of home theatre. Expected to ship in the next six months, the MovieTime Player should retail for under $1500. --Ramon G. McLeod
Big things in very small packages: Not all the great displays were showing up on HDTV sets. In fact, LG Philips-LCD featured some of its small high-resolution LCD panels displaying stunning detailed images in cell phone settings. The maker supplied a magnifying glass to let viewers appreciate a very readable subway map, the front page of a newspaper, and other high-res images on a 2.4-inch panel with a resolution of 480 by 640--a very impressive 332 pixels per inch. --Andrew Eisner
TV to go: Sharp's 15- and 20-inch Open Aquos LCD TVs feature two built-in PC Card slots. One slot hosts the included 5GB hard-drive card, which lets you do time-shifting and record a few of your favorite shows. You can then transfer the card to your laptop to watch stuff when you're traveling or commuting (but not if you're driving, please. That could be bad.). You can use the other slot for a memory or wireless card for viewing photos or streaming pictures and music to the TV. Definitely a great TV for the bedroom or kitchen. Just don't put it next to the deep fryer. That, too, could be bad. --Cathy Lu
You really can watch a movie anywhere: One of the cutest products at CES was Mitsubishi's Pocket Projector. This incredibly tiny digital projector, no bigger than a paperback novel, uses DLP technology and light from three LEDs to project movies up to 42 inches wide. It has 800-by-600 resolution and can be used with any device that has video output, including game machines and DVD players. Image quality is so-so, but acceptable. We heard a rumor that beta testers found an interesting application that probably doesn't require supersharp imaging: showing movies on the ceiling of their bedrooms. No word on what kind of movies they were watching. The product is expected to ship later this winter and will sell for about $1000. --Ramon G. McLeod
No Lack of Entertainment
Most unexpectedly lively product category: As much as TiVo and ReplayTV are beloved by their users, digital video recorders have struggled to catch on with the masses. But there was an array of DVR-related developments at the show, from TiVo's announcement of a Microsoft partnership, to demonstrations of an impressive Motorola DVR based on Digeo's Moxi platform, to DirecTV's preview of a next-generation DVR that will be available later this year. --Harry McCracken
Flat-Screen DVR Goodness: Behind closed doors, Humax USA was showing off a preproduction version of its upcoming LT2650, a 26-inch LCD television with built-in DVD recorder plus Tivo. How do I explain this elegantly? Damn, that's cool! The $2499 unit, due by midyear, includes all the features of the company's excellent DRT800, including a hard drive that will hold up to 80 hours of content. No, it's not perfect (it doesn't look like it's going to support the cable card standard, so you're still stuck with a digital cable box), but overall, it's a pretty slick-looking TV/Tivo, and one that I'd gladly find space for in my bedroom. --Tom Mainelli
That's (cheap) entertainment: Pioneer has two inexpensive DVD players that look like great buys if you're on a budget. A $69 model sounds like it'd be the premium pick at Wal-Mart, but it has a 108-MHz, 12-bit digital-to-analog video converter--not too shabby. A $129 universal player plays not only DVD videos, but also DVD-Audio and SACD discs, and decodes DivX-encoded files. That's a deal. --Alan Stafford
Now this is a real remote control: Sling Media may have had just a popcorn-stand-size booth in a tent, but it definitely made an impact. The Slingbox Personal Broadcaster is one of those products I'll actually buy with my own money if it ends up working as advertised. You plug the Slingbox into your home entertainment system, install the software on your laptop or mobile device, and then, using the Internet, you have complete control over your home setup from wherever you are. That means I can use my laptop to watch the stuff I've recorded on my TiVo in Seattle, even when I'm, um, supposed to be meeting with someone at a trade show in Las Vegas. I even get access to my own TiVo interface, so if I really want to be a jerk, I can delete all of my husband's stupid SciFi channel recordings. --Cathy Lu
All digital, all the time: That's part of the promise of DVD and PVR recorders that integrate HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface). Two of the more interesting prospects on the horizon: Sony's RDR-HX715 DVD recorder with a 160GB hard drive, coming in September; and Kiss's DP-678, a DVD recorder with hard drive, electronic programming guide, and 802.11 g/a/b wireless. Humax says it will offer a TiVo-enabled DVD recorder with HDMI later this year, and LG had a few slick recording units on display, as well--although those will be available only in Korea. --Melissa Perenson
Prettier pictures: Have a high-def display, but don't have the content to really show what it can do? Samsung's DVD-HD850 and DVD-HD950 players up-sample standard DVD resolution (480p) to high-definition 1080i, 720p, and 768p signals on the fly. The up-conversion all takes place in the digital domain, which eliminates artifacts and data loss. While there have been add-on up-scalers that can accomplish the same thing, these new products do the trick at extremely low prices. The HD850 will arrive in stores this month for $150, while the HD950, which will also play SACD and DVD-Audio multichannel recordings, is expected to cost about $200 when it reaches stores late this spring. --Ramon G. McLeod
Tune in to IPTV: Cable and satellite just not offering you enough TV? Well, SBC--with some help from Microsoft--wants to offer you a third choice: TV through your Internet connection. The technology seems promising, offering you everything you get with cable or satellite, plus more video-on-demand choices, more channels tailored to your likes, hooks into the Internet, telephone calling and management features, plus networked access to digital media you have stored on your PC, distributed digital video recording, high-def capability, and more. Once it becomes reality (the first customers will get their hands on version 1 around the fourth quarter of 2005), you'll be very close to truly getting TV your way. --Anush Yegyazarian
A higher-def HD: Just when you thought it was safe to invest in an HDTV, the industry springs a new development on you. This show marked the arrival of the first 1080p HDTVs--sets with 1080 lines of horizontal resolution. It seems most of the HDTVs out there only have 720 (or 768) lines, and so can only natively support 720p transmissions (they down-convert anything with 1080 lines). Today's 720p sets are most definitely HDTVs (and there are no 1080p broadcasts), but you kind of wish you'd known the higher-resolution capability was coming. --Yardena Arar
Gadgets That Will Look Great in Your Living Room
Shaken, not stirred: I have to admit I was dubious about D-Box's new Quest Motion Simulation chair. But the Quest is no rumble pack for your butt. This is an honest-to-goodness comfy chair, which looks and feels like a great recliner that would be a welcome addition to any den or family room. And it's made for simulating motion from movies shown in a home theater, not for games--in other words, it's for grownups. The action in the movie and the action in the chair are synced up by motion codes produced by D-Box. These codes are input into a box along with input from the DVD, and the motion signal is then sent to the chair. Chairs start at $5300. --Ramon G. McLeod
Bachelors' Dream Couch: The bachelors and bachelorettes of America have a lot to look forward to--or perhaps be afraid of. Pyramat is coming out with the $699 PMX Rocker: a white leather couch that vibrates thanks to its built-in sound system. The PMX Rocker uses WARX (Wireless Audio Response Technology) and the 2.4-GHz space, so the only wire coming from your couch is the power cord. When I flopped onto the couch to test it out, I must admit that it was like getting a massage along with a pleasant surround-sound-type experience. The vibrations weren't overly annoying and actually felt quite soothing on my poor, aching back. --Cathy Lu
A bang-up job: Panasonic's new KX-TG5428R cordless phone is a parent's dream and had one of the coolest demos at CES. Touting it as virtually unbreakable and water resistant, the Panasonic folks repeatedly dropped the phone down a twisty 5-foot Plexiglas chute with cascading water. It came out barely nicked and still working. Anyone who's had a kid drop a phone down a toilet or onto a hardwood floor can appreciate such resilience. It retails for $79.95. --Ramon G. McLeod
Let the Music and Video Play
Is That an IPod (accessory) in your pocket? I think there may actually be enough IPod extras here in Vegas to start a whole separate trade show. Among the sea of white-clad goodies: Nyko's new IBoost product that attaches to your IPod and extends the battery life by up to 16 hours. Pricing isn't yet set; the company expects to begin shipping by March and will also offer a version for the IPod Mini. Nyko's also planning to offer a speaker dock and a $199 device that turns your IPod into a movie player. Belkin's upcoming Bluetooth-based TuneStage also sounds interesting. So top-secret they were only talking about it at a midweek media event, the device will reportedly let you more easily play music through your stereo. It's due in March, but Belkin hasn't set pricing yet. --Tom Mainelli
Two in one: Dolby Laboratories showed new DualDisc audio titles at the show. DualDiscs have a regular CD layer on one side and a high-resolution, DVD-Audio layer with 5.1-channel surround sound on the other side. I love DVD-Audio discs--even if I can't play them in a surround-sound setup, they still sound much better than standard CDs. The downside is that you can't rip them to a file that you can take on a portable MP3 player. But you can rip a DualDisc's CD side, and they'll play in standard CD players (albeit with CD-quality sound). Plus, if you put a DualDisc in your computer's optical drive, you can download fresh content--for example, extra tracks released after the disc came out, or tour highlights. The only thing I don't like: the $20 price for each disc. Some 40 DualDisc titles are available now, and a rep from Silverline Records says 90 titles will be out by April. --Alan Stafford
Media-to-go is going everywhere: By the look of the sheer number of products being shown at CES, portable media players that can handle video and music will be everywhere in 2005. I saw lots of designs; two of the more interesting were from Archos and PoGo. Archos offers the Pocket Video Recorder AV 400, a handheld device that includes a dock so you can capture up to 400 hours of televised content to a portable hard drive. The unit also plays video and music, displays photos, and stores data. PoGo's unit, the MediaNow Portable Media Player, has a slew of capabilities, including everything the Archos does, plus it comes enabled for TiVoToGo. --Melissa Perenson
Truly sweet sounds: NHT's long-anticipated Xd DEQX Calibrated DSP speaker-corrected system will finally ship this month. The wait was well worth it--and seems likely to have a large impact on audio from the highest of the high end down to the mass market. Basically, the engineers at NHT, working with DEQX on DSP technology, and Power Physics on amplification, have produced an audio system that virtually eliminates speaker distortion.
The technology that makes this happen is too complex for this short item, but the end result is expansive, clean sound that doesn't require you to sit in a "sweet spot" to hear incredible stereo or, if you choose, multichannel audio. I've listened to many, many high-end stereo and multichannel systems in recent years, and this one produces sound unequalled in products four or five times the cost. Normally, when I'm in an audio demo, I'll hang around for a song or two. I didn't want to leave the NHT room.
The system, which includes an amplifier, two speakers, and a subwoofer will retail at about $5000 for two-channel stereo. Multichannel versions will cost substantially more. --Ramon G. McLeod
Music to go--and an alarm, too: Philips' $150 Personal Sound System is sleek, white, and comes with a hard case designed for the rigors of travel. More important, this device pumps out impressive sound, either from its integrated 256MB of flash memory, or via its line-in port in the back (which means you can add your IPod to the mix with ease). --Melissa Perenson
Least-anticipated brand comeback: For a while now, consumer-electronics companies have been slapping well-known names such as Polaroid and Westinghouse on a bevy of products. At this year's show, I wandered by a booth touting portable CD players under the name...Studebaker. Wonder if CES 2006 will see Hupmobile HDTV sets or Duesenberg DVRs? -- Harry McCracken
Highest-profile product that wasn't actually at the show: As usual, Apple skipped CES--not a startling decision given that the Apple-centric Macworld Expo is being held this week in San Francisco. But the IPod seemed to be everywhere--both as the subject of an array of accessory products manufactured by third parties, and as an obvious influence on the design of new audio players from Apple rivals such as Creative and IRiver. --Harry McCracken
Now Get Some Work Done
Most aptly named product: BenQ's Crazy Arm monitor sports tentacles that hold a Webcam, a memory card reader, a fan, a light, and a mirror. I don't think I'd actually buy one, but you have to admire the imagination at work there--and the willingness to use the word crazy in its name. Also inventive, and probably more practical: the company's FP785 monitor, which has a base that can be converted into a handle or a wall mount. --Harry McCracken
Slick RAID: Silicon Image's SteelVine SV2000 houses up to five drives in a storage appliance designed for office or home. This self-contained, black unit can come configured with up to 2 terabytes of SATA hard drive storage; or you can bring your own disk drive to the party. The best part: It can be configured in multiple ways, including striping and RAID 0+1, for an added layer of storage redundancy--and peace of mind. --Melissa Perenson
Is it a TV or a PC? The Sony VAIO VGC-V520G TV-PC combines a high-end computer (3.2-GHz Pentium 4 CPU) with a terrific-looking 20-inch LCD TV, which sparkles with Sony's XBRITE display. The back of the monitor contains the computer, with appropriate ports for audio and visual connections--including a DVD+R double layer/DVD±RW drive mounted on the edge--and a sliding panel to collect and hide cables. The wireless keyboard and remote control will keep you in touch from your couch. Sony improves on Microsoft's Media Center software with its similar VAIO Zone, which offers easy navigation and lets you continue to watch TV, for example, while you use the menus to find your next diversion. --Dan Sommer
Where's Clippy when you need him? Setting up a home network can be daunting even for experienced PC users. It doesn't help that Windows scatters the menus and wizards you need for networking seemingly at random all over the operating system. Software called Network Magic from Pure Networks looks like it might really help. It creates a map of your network, showing the connections between your router, PCs, printers, and other devices. If you suddenly lose the Internet connection on your notebook, the software can tell you whether your ISP is down, your router isn't working, or your laptop simply got knocked off the network. And it appears to make configuring your network--sharing printers, folders, and the like--considerably simpler. You can download a beta of the software at NetworkMagic.com. --Ed Albro
The un-wireless network: When it comes to moving video around the home, there's a limit to what Wi-Fi can do--even the fastest flavors (802.11a and g) run into issues of range and interference. So I'm gratified to see that vendors are starting to look seriously at other, more robust networking technologies, particularly powerline-based ones that using existing electrical wiring. At CES, Sharp demoed a setup for streaming video from a digital video recorder to several Aquos LCD TVs using the soon-to-be-finalized 200-megabits-per-second HomePlug AV powerline standard, which can't come soon enough for me. --Yardena Arar
Scene and Heard
Snow show: Who'd have thought you'd need a snowboard at CES? Motorola, that's who. Motorola set up a huge ramp, imported some snow, and got several snowboarders (all less than half the average age of CES attendees) to board down, flip, and twist up near the PC World Innovations Awards pavilion at the show. Why? Motorola will be adding Bluetooth connectivity to partner Burton Snowboards' jackets, helmets, and beanies in time for the 2005/2006 winter season. Stunt, most definitely; cool, ditto. However, Motorola got upstaged by Mother Nature on Friday when some real snow came down. --Anush Yegyazarian
Operation desert storm: When you think of Las Vegas weather, you probably think of, well, a dry heat. But it was wet and chilly for much of the week, and it briefly snowed on Friday morning--something this attendee had never seen in a decade and a half of trade-show visits to Vegas. --Harry McCracken
You can't get there from here: I realize that no city is perfect, but in Las Vegas it seems you have to walk a mile to get anywhere, even if it's to the next hotel that's technically only 50 feet in front of you. Doesn't anyone remember their 8th grade math anymore--as in "the shortest distance between two points is a straight line"? --Cathy Lu
Excuse me, but could you get the £¤©&! out of my way? With Comdex and every other once-venerable computer trade show dead and gone, CES is clearly picking up the slack, and while I haven't seen any early numbers, I'd guess the show has easily surpassed early estimates of 120,000 attendees. I'm happy to see a busy trade show--maybe the economy is picking up--but people, please, do you have to drag your luggage along for the whole show? I realize that for many folks the briefcase on wheels is the greatest invention ever, but it's really not appropriate for a convention show floor packed tighter than a Japanese subway. For all those left stumbling in your oblivious wake I ask politely: Please park the bag at the hotel next year. --Tom Mainelli
Best deal for attendees: CES is mostly about exhibiting products, not selling them. But the "CES Store" booth was offering Delphi's cool new MyFi satellite radio for $199, which was a $150 discount off the gadget's list price. --Harry McCracken
Best comment overheard on the show floor: An executive musing on the dynamics of the technology business mused that each company "is like a promiscuous bisexual--everyone's a potential lover or a potential rival." --Harry McCracken
Clearest sign that Windows has a long way to go as an entertainment platform: Bill Gates' keynote demonstration of Microsoft products was bedeviled by technical glitches. The problems provided fodder for cohost Conan O'Brien; betcha Microsoft thinks twice before it invites a comedian to participate in next year's presentation. --Harry McCracken
What Left Us Less Than Impressed
In need of some work: They looked cool and seemed like a good idea: an 800-by-600 resolution, LCOS-based pair of goggles, also known as a "personal display." With a month to go before launch, Ultmost Technology Group of China has their work cut out for them to make these rather heavy, quite uncomfortable goggles with an unimpressive display worth the $200 they expect to charge for them. --Andrew Eisner
Big, bigger, biggest--who cares? I like a big screen as much as the next guy, but not when it's going to cost more than my next three cars (I should live that long). So when I see an LG plasma TV that's expected to cost $75,000, I just can't get too excited. Samsung wisely didn't put a price tag on the 102-incher in its booth, in part because it has no plans to sell the thing anytime soon. Even at CES, conspicuous consumption apparently has its limits. --Yardena Arar
Is it really that boring to ride in a car? Several companies showed satellite television kits for your vehicle. Some are designed for motor homes--which I can see--but quite a few are supposed to go on top of your SUV, and wire to screens in the back of the front seats' headrests (so you can mesmerize the kiddies on long drives to the grocery store). One company expects you to put a standard full-size satellite receiver just like the ones on top of your TV in your vehicle. Whatever happened to counting Volkswagen Beetles and motorcycles, or reading a book? --Alan Stafford
Does this really clear up the confusion? I can understand why Epson, Fujitsu, Hitachi Panasonic, Sanyo, and Sony feel like LCD projection technology ain't getting the respect they obviously feel it deserves. Texas Instruments DLP technology for digital projectors and rear-projection TVs was hyped everywhere at CES. So the six companies have formed a group to tout the benefits of "3LCD" projection and launched the organization to clear up the "confusion" faced by consumers when they're trying to decide on a product. Fine. Now in 30 seconds or less, explain to the poor soul shopping for a TV at Best Buy what 3LCD actually means. --Ramon G. McLeod
Hold the fabric softener: In the U.K. zone at CES, Eleksen was showing an application using their conductive fabric. A cool concept, this should produce many useful products, just not keyboards. The company was showing a BlueTooth-enabled fabric keyboard. Unfortunately, if you hold the starch, it's a challenge to type faster than several words per minute. Okay, maybe a few more than that, but this keyboard gives hunting and pecking new meaning. --Andrew Eisner
Yup, there's still nothing good to watch: Lots of products at CES, from Akimbo to DAVE TV to Lafayette's Linux-based MediaReady 5000, promise help you find and download "niche" television programming, the kind of stuff that you can't get on regular cable or satellite networks. But come on, with digital cable these days you get upwards of 500 channels. Is there really that much more great programming out there? After seeing the demos, I'm not so sure. Maybe I'm just pathetically mainstream, but I'm not sure I want to jump through a lot of hoops to get some of the examples of niche programming I saw: Veg TV (television for vegetarians) or grainy video of three drunk guys "boxing" three others drunkards in a makeshift ring in the middle of a bar. --Ed Albro
With a song in my PC: I'm not sure whether to applaud or throw tomatoes at the folks at Carry-A-Tune, creators of Singing Coach. This software promises to teach even tone-deaf people to sing on pitch and in tempo. Singing Coach, used in conjunction with a microphone, generates visual feedback showing how well your efforts track with the desired results. While I admire the good intentions, I don't think you can teach people to be musical, and I fear the product might hold out false encouragement that could lead to hours of caterwauling. --Yardena Arar
I've heard of multitasking, but... If your desk is a pigpen, consider putting your keyboard to work. The top of the Keyboard Organizer lifts up to reveal an empty cavity divided into small storage compartments. The basic version costs $25, though there's also a $50 wireless model and a $60 backlit version. The keys depress too far and feel too cheap for heavy typing. This novelty is best left to the kids. --Eric Butterfield
Someone call the fashion police: If you're the NBA's Shaq, and you've got giant-size limbs, perhaps it's okay to wear a huge Palm PDA on your wrist. But for the rest of us, Fossil's Palm OS watch is simply too large and too clunky, even if it does mean you can access your datebook and contacts on your wrist. Get a Treo--it may not be as convenient, but at least it doesn't scream "giant geek!" --Cathy Lu
Someone call the fashion police, part two: The company name escaped my notice. Rather, I was blinded by the sight of a tiger-print cell phone case, designed to strap onto a thong. Accessories targeted at women were in this year, but this seems a bit extreme. --Melissa Perenson
In-flight movie and snacks not included: Targus introduced Active Noise Cancellation Headphones that cost only $50. That's a lot cheaper than many other models out there. But don't expect to turn a sawmill into a serene cathedral: With the noise-canceling feature turned on, I could still hear the cacophony of the Las Vegas Convention Center, only now it sounded like we were all cruising at 30,000 feet. The included two-prong adapter allows you to plug in while on an airplane. --Eric Butterfield
I just don't have enough room in my pockets: While other companies are trying to whittle down the number of devices you have to carry around, DataWind is trying to convince us that we need a dedicated mobile Internet surfing device. Pocket Surfer is a thin device with a keyboard and screen that lets you connect to the Internet using your Bluetooth-equipped cell phone as a modem. We didn't test it, but it supposedly speeds up your surfing experience by more than ten times. Perhaps some Web heads will find this compelling, but personally, I'm just not addicted enough to EBay to justify it. --Cathy Lu
Big Brother for your car: Davis Instruments was showing CarChip, a $139 device that plugs into the On-board Diagnostics plug that most late-model cars have. Davis was promoting this as a way to record the driving habits of your teen-age children. Just plug it in, and when they return the car, plug the CarChip into your PC through a USB port. It will tell you how fast they drove, how hard they braked, and other telling information. Some parents will think this is great. I tend to want to give my teenager a bit of trust. The more useful feature of the CarChip in my mind is running a diagnostic on my car before I take it to the shop for service. I trust mechanics less than I do teenagers. --Tracey Capen
Star Trek redux: Wearing Icuiti's V920 video eyewear, you'll look like Jordie LaForge from Star Trek: The Next Generation. The eyewear has two 640-by-480 backlit LCDs that play 2D or 3D video, a pair of earbud headphones, and a small battery-powered controller. If bulky video goggles haven't lured the masses into portable virtual worlds, it's doubtful a slimmer design--and a $499 price tag--will make it so. --Eric Butterfield
What about the last mile? Gemstar's TV Guide On Screen electronic programming guide is going to be a ubiquitous feature on DVD recorders in the coming year. But, sadly, neither Gemstar nor the DVD recorder manufacturers are going the last mile to ensure that the TV Guide On Screen is able to provide metadata to the disc. TiVo-enabled DVD recorders, such as those from Toshiba and Humax, build the DVD's menus using the TiVo interface and all of the useful metadata that interface shows (such as, program name, title, airdate, and so on). TV Guide On Screen's version 8 can transfer some info to disc, but that info will only be visible in a TV Guide On Screen-enabled recorder. --Melissa Perenson
Ad Choices