Canon

“Point and click” may be the World Wide Web’s catch phrase, but it could just as well apply to Canon’s ES8200V Hi8 camcorder. Thanks to its six programmed auto-exposure modes, capturing the action isn’t much harder than aiming and pushing a button. Image stabilization compensates for shaky hands, and FlexiZone auto focus keeps moving images sharp on the cam’s 2 1/2-inch color viewscreen. The nine digital special effects — including a 16:9 widescreen mode — can be applied during recording or playback. Optical and digital zooms max out at 22x and 700x, respectively. Price: $449. 800-652-2666, www.usa.canon.com

Nakamichi

As portable as you want it to be, Nakamichi’s SoundSpace 2 looks like a laptop computer but is really a digital audio boombox. The 9 x 6 5/8 x 2-inch mother ship includes stereo minispeakers, a 3 1/4-inch woofer mounted on its back, and an AM/FM tuner, while the pocket-size MP3/Windows Media Audio player docks alongside. A removable 64-megabyte SmartMedia card holds the music for the 3-ounce player, which can also decode highly compressed voice recordings made with the built-in microphone. File information is displayed on an LCD screen. The player runs on two alkaline or rechargeable Ni-MH AAA batteries (supplied) and comes with headphones and a remote control. Price: $750. 310-631-2122, www.nakamichi.com

Proton

Proton’s SRC-2000 universal remote control has a 128 x 64-pixel touchscreen LCD and a backlit rubber keypad, but what you’ll probably like most is its “simplify” function — it can control up to ten devices, theoretically eliminating as many as nine remotes from your coffee table. Got big fingers? You can customize the menus with larger icons and labels. The learning remote can store 12 user-programmed macros to execute up to 25 commands with one button push. It weighs 7 1/2 ounces, is 8 1/4 inches tall, and runs on three AAA batteries. Price: $170. The optional SDS-2000 docking station shown ($90) can recharge the batteries and, with PC-Link software ($40, including serial cable), connect the remote to a computer for even easier setup.
562-404-2222, www.proton-usa.com