Samsung
The latest DLP big screens from Samsung are led by the HLR5688W, which measures 56 inches (diagonal) and boasts a native resolution of 1,920 x 1,080 pixels. Yep, that's enough for ultra-high 1080p (progressive-scan) resolution, folks. All video signals — whether from the built-in digital and analog tuners, your cable box or satellite receiver, your DVD player, or another extearnal source — are scaled up to 1080p. Despite its hefty specs, the set's only 22 inches deep with the integrated stand. Connections include two HDMI inputs, which guarantee the best possible picture from the new breed of HDMI-equipped DVD players. Price: $4,999. samsung.com, 800-726-7864

JVC
One push of a button is all it takes to transfer your old VHS tapes to DVD with the JVC DR-MV5S. You don't have to worry about disc space since the recorder automatically checks the tape speed and selects the right recording mode to fit the program on the DVD. It'll also insert chapter markers and capture thumbnail images for the disc menu, and it even ignores blank stretches of tape. The double deck records on DVD-R/RW or DVD-RAM discs and — if you want to go retro — VHS. Price: $450. jvc.com, 800-526-5308

Belkin
A road trip can turn into a mobile musical adventure when you have tunes from your iPod mini playing through the car stereo. But if you put the player on the dash, you risk losing it under the seat when you hit the gas, plus you're back to dreary FM when the battery runs out. With Belkin's TuneBase, your iPod mini stays close at hand and powered up for as long as you're in the car. Plug the TuneBase into the cigarette-lighter socket, and the flexible steel neck holds the player within easy reach. You'll need a separate cassette adapter or FM modulator to jack it into the audio system. Or you could go for the TuneBase FM (not shown), which has a built-in modulator, for 30 bucks more. Price: $50. belkin.com, 800-223-5546

NOTE All prices and product information are supplied by the manufacturers. Dealer prices may vary.

Energy
You can't put just any speaker beside a plasma TV. Well, you could, but if it's thicker than the TV itself, what's the point? The new line of Take speakers from Energy will keep your system slim and trim. Despite its sleek profile, the Take SAT (shown, the line's smallest model) still has room for a 3 1/2 -inch woofer mounted in Energy's patented elliptical cone surround, which helps the tiny driver go deeper than it could otherwise. All Take speakers are available in either black or silver, and mounting hardware is included. Price: Take SAT, $175 each; other models, $250 to $500 each. energy-speakers.com, 416-321-1800

Boston Acoustics
For its first digital surround receiver, Boston Acoustics made user-friendliness the top priority. Every video input is converted to component-video format so you can run only one set of video cables to your TV. To set up the receiver, all you have to do is plug in the provided microphone and hold it up — a processor will tweak the settings to make sure all seven 120-watt channels are balanced properly. The AVR7120 can even accept a multimedia input from your PC through its USB port. Price: $2,999. bostonacoustics.com, 978-538-5000

Logitech
Controlling your DVD player, video hard-disk recorder, sound system, and HDTV typically means juggling a bunch of remotes. But the Harmony 880 universal remote lets you watch live or recorded TV, play a DVD, or listen to music with one press of a button. Setup requires an Internet-connected PC or Mac but is quick and easy: you run a USB cable from the remote's docking station (which also recharges its lithium-ion batteries) to your computer and fill out a form online. Logitech then creates customized programming that you download to the remote. Though the 880 is fully backlit, once you get used to the distinctive sizes and shapes of the buttons, your eyes will always be on the show. Price: $249. logitech.com/harmony, 905-273-4571

NOTE All prices and product information are supplied by the manufacturers. Dealer prices may vary.

Richard Gray
Household electricity is subject to dips and surges from breaker boxes and interference from appliances — all of which can degrade the performance of your home-entertainment system, according to Richard Gray's Power Company. The RGPC 400 Pro is a surge protector and power-line filter/enhancer that cleans up your power supply. With four AC outlets hooked up in parallel using 12-gauge wiring, the 30-pound box — about the size of a ream of office paper — has a 6-foot power cord with a 20-ampere fast-blow fuse. The 400 Pro is said to be most effective when used with power amplifiers, preamps, and front projectors. Price: $795. richardgrayspowercompany.com, 800-880-3474

Proview
You can't pick one up at the drug store yet, but high-def-ready plasma TVs are becoming more affordable. Take Proview's 42-inch (diagonal) MH-422HU, which costs $3,500. It's only 3 1/4 inches deep (not counting the stand) and comes with detachable stereo speakers. To watch high-def programs, you'll need to hook up an external digital tuner to the set's component-video, VGA, or DVI input. proview-usa.com, 877-532-8176

Tributaries
The new HDMI digital connector lets you transmit high-definition video and 5.1-channel digital audio through a single cable — extremely convenient if you have HDMI connectors at both ends. But what if your new DVD player has an HDMI output and your two-year-old HDTV has only a DVI input, or vice versa? With a Tributaries DVI-to-HDMI or HDMI-to-DVI adapter, you won't have to settle for an analog video connection, though you will have to hook up your audio separately since DVI is video-only. Price: $50. tributariescable.com, 800-521-1596

Onkyo
How about a complete home theater package to go with that flat-panel TV, sir? Onkyo's HT-L970 system will turn your TV room into a home cinema with a six-disc DVD changer, a 6.1-channel digital surround receiver, a powered subwoofer, and six wall-mountable aluminum satellite speakers — all finished in silver. The heart of the system is the 65-watt-per-channel TX-LR552 receiver, which can process all your audio for surround sound, including stereo music thanks to Dolby Pro Logic IIx and DTS Neo:6. All of the speakers are 3 1/2 inches thick — perfect for mounting alongside a flat-panel TV. The ported subwoofer has an 8-inch driver and a 150-watt amplifier. Price: $1,000. onkyousa.com, 800-229-1687

NOTE All prices and product information are supplied by the manufacturers. Dealer prices may vary.

LG
Whether wall mounted or on a pedestal, a plasma TV exudes slenderness, so who wants to saddle it with a bulky cable box and a photo-card reader? LG's 42PX4D 42-inch plasma HDTV has a CableCARD slot that lets you skip the box, plus a built-in memory-card reader for viewing images stored on removable media from most digital cameras. The set includes LG's fifth-generation HDTV tuner, which receives digital cable as well as off-air broadcasts. The built-in TV Guide On Screen program guide comes in handy when using a CableCARD, since the card's one-way interface prevents you from using your cable company's guide. Screen resolution is 1,024 x 768 pixels. Price: $5,000. www.lgusa.com, 800-243-0000

Toshiba
If you use your Windows XP or 2000 notebook PC to play music, movies, or games, you can enhance the experience by sending the audio to your home theater setup via Toshiba's Multimedia Center Audio/USB Hub. Or you can hook powered computer speakers directly to the Hub, which decodes Dolby Digital 5.1 surround soundtracks. About the size of a VHS cassette, the Hub includes a sound card, four USB ports, an Ethernet jack, and both analog stereo and coaxial digital audio outputs. The supplied remote can do things like select the type of sound processing or shut down your computer. Price: $130. tacp.toshiba.com, 800-867-4422

Griffin Technology
Macintosh computers have always been head turners. Now the sound coming from your Mac will get some attention, too, with Griffin's FireWave. It hooks up to the computer's FireWire port and provides connections for five speakers and a subwoofer as well as an extra FireWire port. Besides decoding surround sound DVDs, FireWave includes Dolby Virtual Surround processing to expand the sound field for any stereo source — including iTunes, QuickTime, and streaming audio. Price: $100. griffintechnology.com, 615-399-7000

Philips
A boombox once had to be balanced on a shoulder to be carried, a real feat if you were on rollerblades. But the Philips Personal Sound System (PSS110) is just 7 inches long. Besides stereo speakers, the PSS110 contains 256 megabytes of flash memory for holding up to 8 hours of music in MP3 format or 16 hours in WMA. It's also an FM/clock radio, and it comes with rechargeable batteries good for 10 hours of play plus a travel case. Price: $150. usa.philips.com, 800-531-0039

NOTE All prices and product information are supplied by the manufacturers. Dealer prices may vary.