New Products

Cable viewers who also want their HDTV have found their love affair with TiVo becoming strained the past few years. That's because TiVo's Series 2 recorders, unlike the DVRs leased by cable operators, have proved stubbornly incompatible with high-def channels. Hoping to make amends, TiVo has unveiled the Series 3 HD Digital Media Recorder with two CableCARD slots.

CLIMBING THE LADDER Now in its second generation, Toshiba's flagship HD DVD player can finally provide 1080p video output - the top dog among HDTV formats. The HD-XA2's state-of-the-art HDMI 1.3 output can send both video and digital sound, including the new lossless Dolby and DTS formats, straight to your HDTV or receiver over one perfectly convenient cable.

SIZE MATTERS If you went straight to the extra-large aisle when you were at the plasma-TV store, your next stop should be wherever they sell the Totem Tribe II. Made specifically to match flat-panel sets with 50- to 55-inch screens, the Tribe II is 29 inches long and less than 4 inches deep. Your wall's about to become the place to be.

FLAT CAT Other subwoofers may laugh at the SC-IW's unconventional design, but installers will love it, since the slim sub (3.4 inches thick) is made to fit perfectly inside a 2 x 4-foot studded wall. The driver module (that's the small part) can fire up or down, with a scoop aiming the bass into the room.

Good size, good price - what more could you ask for in a TV? Okay, yeah, high-definition would be nice, and Vizio's 37-inch L37 LCD set ($1,500) has that covered, too, sporting a screen with 1,366 x 768-pixel resolution.

As convenient as it is to have music and video on things like iPods and cell phones, there are always times when you want some seriously big sound. That's where the Zvox Mini portable speaker ($200) can help.