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The Home Entertainment 2005 Show is coming to New York City April 28 to May 1, at the New York Hilton hotel. A ticket to the Show not only gives attendees entrée to previews of the latest in home audio, home theater, and convergence products—it also includes free educational seminars on a variety of subjects, moderated by top industry editors.

When the Windows Media Center (WMC) PC was introduced in 2002, the idea was to create a computer that also recorded TV programs and had a remote control that let you play them - as well as DVDs, slideshows, or ripped CDs - without sitting right in front of it.

Here's a question to wrap your mind around: What's the best home-entertainment deal going? If you answered, "a Windows Media Center PC," you're way off track. If you thought, "a $49 progressive-scan DVD player," you're closer, but still no cigar. But if you blurted out, "an LCD front projector," you're absolutely right.

According to market research and analysis firm <A href="http://www.in-stat.com">In-Stat</A>, the future of DVD looks bright despite the emergence of new digital delivery services, such as video-on-demand (VOD) and online downloading. The company's latest market-research report predicts that the worldwide value of all published DVD products will increase with a compound annual growth rate of 18.2%, from about $33 billion during 2004 to $76.5 billion by 2009.