OTHER TECH

Totally Flat Kodak offered a glimpse of TV's future with its prototype 15-inch organic light-emitting-diode (OLED) display. At only 1 1/2 millimeters thick, the display made nearby flat-panel models look obese by comparison. Kodak claims its technology delivers brighter images than LCD, with a wider color range and lower power consumption. These cutting-edge screens started out in car stereo heads and are just now starting to show up in digital cameras and cellphones, but there's a good chance that one day you'll have an OLED hanging on your wall.

Panel Envy LG's 76-inch plasma HDTV monitor wasn't the largest flat TV on display at CES - Samsung's 80-inch plasma prototype took that prize - but the company did confirm that it expects to ship the 1,080 x 1,920-pixel panel sometime over the next year at a price to be determined. There were also a number of large LCD TVs at the show, including LG's 55- and 52-inch models, Samsung's 46-incher, and Sharp's 45-inch LC-45GD4U (available this summer).

The Sky's the Limit Voom's showy booth and Playboy Playmate guests helped draw attention to the company's arrival at CES, but its high-def video hard-disk recorder with networking capabilities was pretty exciting, too. The Voom HD Home Media Network, which is slated to become available this summer, lets you record high-def programs and access them from compact "client" receivers located throughout your home. You can even pause a program, move to another room, and then pick up from where you left off. (For a first look at the Voom service, click here.)

Rear Projection Slims Down A projection set that thinks it's a flat-panel TV, Thomson's RCA Scenium DLP has a cabinet that's a mere 6 7/8 inches deep. You can even mount it on the wall! Each of the TVs in the new Profiles line comes with a built-in cable-ready HDTV tuner and both HDMI and FireWire connections. Initially available in 50- and 61-inch screen sizes ($9,000 and $10,000, respectively), the TVs are expected to hit stores late this year.

TV Unbound A plasma TV should blend in with its environment - so what about those ugly wires hanging from the bottom? Samsung appears to have solved this problem with its HPP5091 50-inch plasma HDTV ($13,000; available this summer), which uses an 802.11a Wi-Fi connection to take in high-def signals from an outboard media box. The box includes analog and HDTV tuners plus component-video, DVI, and HDMI inputs, and it can be hidden on a shelf or in a closet up to 30 feet from the TV.

Über Recorder DVD recorders were a common sight at the show (click to read "DVD Recorders Break Out"), but JVC's DR-MH30SL ($1,000) definitely deserved a second look. With a built-in 160-MB hard drive, DVD-R/RW and DVD-RAM recording, the ability to play almost any disc format - including the rival DVD+R/RW formats - and a two-pass encoding system that's intended to improve image quality on long-play recordings, this deck is sure to turn heads when it goes on sale in March.

Video Versatility Component-size hard-disk video recorders are cool, but pocket-size recorders are even cooler. With GoVideo's HH8040 digital video recorder featuring the removable ShowPort mini drive you get both. Programs can be recorded to either the built-in or removable drive, and you can transfer video between them. And when you want to hit the road, just load the ShowPort module up with Curb Your Enthusiasm episodes (with a 20-hour capacity, it can easily hold a whole season's worth) and plug it into a spare A/V input on any TV. The HH8040 is expected to be available in mid year.

DVD Recorders Break Out >>