Sherwood
With built-in bass management for its multichannel analog inputs, the Sherwood
Newcastle R-963 may be the first digital surround receiver that’s truly ready
for the DVD-Audio and Super Audio CD formats. It can decode 6.1-channel Dolby
Digital Surround EX and DTS-ES Matrix and Discrete soundtracks as well as regular
5.1-channel soundtracks, and with Dolby Pro Logic II, it can derive 5.1 channels
from two-channel material. The R-963 is rated to deliver up to 120 watts each
into 8 ohms to seven speakers. The two wideband component-video inputs can handle
high-definition TV (HDTV) signals, and there are five composite/S-video inputs.
You can feed digital audio through four optical and two coaxial inputs. A universal
remote control with an LCD screen is supplied. Price: $2,000. www.sherwoodusa.com,
800-962-3203
Zenith
The next time you have a delayed flight, try escaping to your own world with
a portable DVD player like Zenith’s DVP7771. Its 7-inch (diagonal) widescreen
LCD will look big in a cramped seat, and virtual surround sound in your headphones
will immerse you in the movie. It can also play CDs, CD-Rs, CD-RWs, and discs
with MP3 files. There’s a 20-track program memory and 16x zoom. Composite- and
S-video outputs as well as coaxial and optical digital audio outputs let you
use the player in your home theater with the help of its card-size remote control.
The DVP7771 measures 17 x 3 3/4 x 14 inches and weighs 4 3/4 pounds. Price:
$900. www.zenith.com, 847-391-7000
Boston
Acoustics
Leading Boston Acoustics’ VR-M Reference speaker line is the VR-M90, which stands
371/4 inches tall. The ported speaker, with dual 6 1/2-inch woofers and a 1-inch
aluminum-dome tweeter, is rated for a frequency response of 37 Hz to 20 kHz
±3 dB and sensitivity of 90 dB. The port is flared on both ends to reduce noise,
a vertical brace helps minimize cabinet resonances, and magnetic shielding prevents
interference with TVs. Finished in cherry veneer, the VR-M90 has a footprint
of 91/4 x 14 inches and weighs 65 pounds. Price: $2,700 a pair. www.bostonacoustics.com,
978-538-5000
Panasonic
Though it looks like a widescreen computer monitor, Panasonic’s 7-inch-thick
TC-11LV1 is really a desktop television with a built-in progressive-scan DVD
player. The 16:9 aspect ratio LCD screen measures 11 inches (diagonal) and has
an 854 x 480-pixel resolution. The display automatically adjusts its brightness
according to the ambient light. The set can accept signals fed to its component-video
input from an external digital TV tuner, and standard 480i (interlaced) video
from its built-in tuner is line doubled for display in 480p (progressive) format.
The player has a built-in Dolby Digital decoder and an optical digital audio
output. A full-function remote control is supplied. Price: $1,600.
www.panasonic.com, 800-211-7262
Canon
So small it can fit inside a pocket, Canon’s 14-ounce Elura 20MC camcorder can
record video or still photos on MiniDV tapes. Still pictures can also be captured
in flash memory in the MultiMediaCard (MMC) and Secure Digital (SD) formats.
You can transfer stills from tape to flash or vice versa. In addition to normal
video and VGA-resolution photos, the camera’s image sensor can capture stills
in a progressive-scan mode at a rate of 30 frames per second. Seven preprogrammed
auto-exposure modes let you quickly adapt to ambient light, and 10x optical/40x
digital zoom helps you zero in on your subject. There’s also an extended recording
mode that can store up to 4 hours of video on one 80-minute MiniDV tape. Price:
$1,499. www.usa.canon.com,
800-652-2666
Plus
Lightweight and compact, the Plus HE-3100 is a video projector that won’t break
your back . . . or your bank account. The 4 1/2-pound front projector uses a
single chip for Digital Light Processing (DLP), a technology developed by Texas
Instruments that creates images by reflecting light off a Digital Micromirror
Device. Widescreen images with a resolution of 848 x 480 pixels are said to
have a contrast ratio of 700:1, and there’s a built-in line doubler with 2:3
pulldown to compensate for frame-rate differences between film- and video-based
material. The projector can create an 82-inch (diagonal) image at a distance
of 8 1/2 feet. Component-, composite-, and S-video inputs provide hookup options.
Price: $2,999. www.plus-america.com,
800-289-7587
Revox
End the madness of overstuffed CD shelves, fragile jewel boxes, and lost discs
— get yourself a digital audio server. Revox’s M57 has a capacity of 75 gigabytes
(GB), and additional 75-GB hard-disk drives are available. The server rips CDs
in its built-in player at up to 4x speed and stores the data in either standard
(PCM) format or as MP3 files with varying levels of compression. A built-in
modem and Ethernet port give you quick access to Gracenote.com for track titles.
Four analog stereo outputs can serve independent zones, and there are two USB
ports and an RS-232 port for connecting a computer or PDA. An infrared remote
is supplied, wireless keyboard optional. The M57 weighs 44 pounds and measures
18 1/8 x 6 1/2 x 17 1/2 inches. Price: $8,500. www.revox.ch,
866-738-6987
JVC
JVC’s 36-inch “I’Art” TV, a direct-view, 4:3 aspect ratio HDTV monitor, can
display high-definition signals from an outboard tuner in the 1080i (interlaced)
format. Besides its wideband component-video input for an HDTV tuner or a progressive-
scan DVD player, there are four composite- and three S-video inputs, plus a
DVI input for compatibility with future set-top tuners. To get the best possible
picture, the set has a 16:9 display mode and a 3-D digital comb filter, and
its Natural Cinema 2:3 pulldown function compensates for frame-rate differences
between film- and video-based material. All this plus dual-tuner picture-in-picture.
Price: $2,600. www.jvc.com, 800-526-5308
Go
Video
If you’ve got no room for a DVD player and are reluctant to junk your old videotapes,
Go-Video’s space-saving DVR4000 combines a DVD player and a VCR in a single
17 x 4 x 14-inch chassis. You can watch a DVD while taping a show on the VCR,
and Complete Program Record automatically adjusts the recording speed so you
won’t miss the end of a show because the tape ran out. Internal hookups let
you record from a DVD at the touch of a button, but only if the disc is not
copy-protected. Outputs include component-, composite-, and S-video and both
optical and coaxial digital audio. Price: $349. www.govideo.com,
480-998-3400
Cambridge
Soundwords
The MegaWorks 210D from Cambridge SoundWorks is a powered three-piece speaker
system designed to enhance the sound from a computer, an MP3 portable, or any
device with a minijack stereo audio output. There are two minijack inputs as
well as a coaxial digital input. The amplifier in the subwoofer is rated to
deliver 150 watts to the 8-inch driver and 60 watts to the 3 1/2-inch driver
in each satellite speaker. A wired remote volume control is included. Frequency
response is rated as 32 Hz to 15 kHz ±3 dB. Price: $300. www.hifi.com,
800-367-4434
Yamaha
An extra surround channel has snuck up behind us in some DVD soundtracks, but
to hear it you need a receiver that can decode the 6.1-channel Dolby Digital
Surround EX and DTS-ES formats. Yamaha’s RX-V2200 can do just that, and it’s
rated to deliver 100 watts each to six channels into 8 ohms. It also has Dolby
Pro Logic II decoding for multichannel playback from stereo sources, and its
23 digital signal processing modes can simulate a wide variety of performing
spaces. A six-channel analog input lets you connect a DVD-Audio or SACD player.
Wideband component-video connectors can handle HDTV signals, and there are five
optical and two coaxial digital audio inputs as well as two optical outputs.
A learning remote control with an LCD screen is supplied. Price: $1,199. www.yamaha.com,
714-522-9105
Toshiba
A picture may be worth a thousand words, but each one taken by the Toshiba PDR-M71
digital camera in Fine mode has 3.2 megapixels, with a resolution of 2,048 x
1,536 pixels. You can also set the resolution to Normal (1,024 x 768 pixels)
or Basic (640 x 480 pixels). The camera has 2.8x optical/2.2x digital zoom plus
a Macro mode for closeups. There’s a flash with red-eye reduction and an 8-megabyte
SmartMedia card. You can also capture up to 3 minutes of low-res video along
with audio from the built-in mike. The 9-ounce camera has a USB port and comes
with photo-editing software. Price: $499. www.toshiba.com,
800-631-3811
Wood
Technology
Most center speakers are designed to be placed on top of the TV in a home theater.
Problem: where do you put it if you use a front-projection system, with no cabinet
around the screen? Solution: Wood Technology’s CT-12 stand for center speakers,
in three heights — 12, 18, and 28 inches. All have a tilting platform so you
can aim the speaker at the listening position. The solid hardwood stand includes
a path to hide speaker cable, and it comes with floor spikes and anti-resonant
isolation pads. Price: $70, $75, or $80 depending on height. www.wood-tech.com,
888-445-5520
Canton
The Movie 10-MX home theater speaker system from Canton reproduces 5.1-channel
soundtracks through five identical satellite minispeakers and a 100-watt subwoofer.
The magnetically shielded satellites each have a 1/2-inch dome tweeter and a
3-inch cone driver. They roll off at 100 Hz, while the 91/2 x 141/4 x 17-inch
sub, with an 8-inch driver in a bandpass enclosure, is rated down to 33 Hz;
the crossover can be set anywhere from 80 to 140 Hz. Wall brackets for the satellites
are supplied. Price: $899. www.cantonusa.com,
612-706-9250