Fetish
Up Your Image
Forget your TV or computer video monitor. Now you can watch it all on your wall with the Sharp XG-E800U LCD projector. Most video projectors are either huge and difficult to set up, or they're easy to use and their image quality is lousy. The Sharp XG-E800U combines the best features of both systems. It's the first single-lens LCD video projector that's good enough to project both high-res TV images - up to 560 lines - and Mac or VGA computer video at a full 640-by-480 pixels. You can use it as a table-top, ceiling-mounted, or rear-projection device, and it can bring your screen image up to an awesome 200 inches (diagonal) - that's more than 16 feet! US$10,995. Sharp Electronics: (800) 237 4277, +1 (201) 529 8731.
Unwiring Your Life
Being wired is fine, up to a point. At my place, you need a machete to cut through the thicket of cables, so now I'm more interested in being wireless. The latest ways to get unplugged are two related products from JBL called Take 2 and Magic 2. JBL has tapped the talents of engineer Larry Schotz, who figured out how to transmit high-fidelity audio using the 900-MHz radio spectrum. The result is Take 2, a receiver that connects to your speakers and a sleek transmitter unit that connects to your stereo. Magic 2 is a bundle that includes Take 2 and the JBL Taxi stand, which adds two Sat 2 speakers and a Power 20 amplifier from JBL's Sound Effects line. US$249- $949. JBL: (800) 336 4525, +1 (516) 496 3400.
Very Smart TV
Apple has done it again - this time with Macintosh TV - introducing the first generation of the next generation. It doesn't work just right yet, but, hey, some-body has to be the pioneer. Macintosh TV is just what it says: a Macintosh and a television. This makes it the perfect brain tool and entertainment device for a student or home user. You get a decent color Mac with CD-ROM and multimedia capabilities in a single, sleek black box that integrates a color television. The credit card-size remote is cool too. Once it's perfected - to the point where you can watch TV in a window while running an application - this type of device will become a major consumer electronics category. US$1,999. Apple Computer: (800) 776 2333, +1 (408) 996 1010.
CD-ROM a la Card
It looks like a credit card, but it works like a record-able CD-ROM. It's the LaserCard optical memory card. Using a technique similar to that used to store information on a CD, each LaserCard can hold up to 2.8 Mbytes of data - that's about 1,200 pages of text. The card officially qualifies as a WORM device - computer slang for write-once, read-many. In other words, you can keep adding information to the LaserCard until you've reached its 2.8-Mbyte limit. Potential uses: ID cards, a health card that contains your entire medical history, a record-keeping device, even a new publishing format. Hmm...WIRED on a card? US$3-$5 per card. LaserCard Systems: +1 (415) 969 4428.
A Remote for Your Remote
You know all those weird long numbers that show up in TV listings? They're the codes for VCR Plus+, a system that allows you to punch in the number of a show you want your VCR to automatically record. But setting up the VCR and cable box to work with VCR Plus+ requires more work than spreadsheet macro programming - a big problem for a device that's supposed to make things easy. Now the folks who created VCR Plus+ have developed the Instant Programmer with CallSet. The CallSet feature lets you call up a toll-free number to select your VCR model and cable box from a menu; then the CallSet system sends audio tones over the phone that configure the Instant Programmer automatically, right down to setting the proper time. US$59.99. Gemstar: (800) 432 1827, +1 (818) 792 5700.
Video Hard Copy
It's a printer for your TV, VCR, and camcorder. Just push a button, and the Sony CVP-M3 color video printer grabs the image you want, then produces a color snapshot (with a title, message, or date). Now you can use your VCR as a camera, grab bites of your favorite shows, or turn your home videos into snapshots to send off to Granny. The truly nerdy can grab up to sixteen images in a video sequence for motion analysis or create a visual story with a sequence of images. US$1,200. Sony: (800) 222 7669, +1 (201) 368 9272.
A New Dimension for Snapshots
Sometimes neat, high-tech stuff isn't even expensive. For only $14.95, you can pick up one of these simple point-and-shoot cameras that lets you take sixteen 3-D pictures. After snap-ping your shots, send the little wonder to Image Tech using the supplied mailer and a $16 processing fee; the company will return sixteen 3-by-5-inch prints developed with a special lenticular printing process to reproduce a 3-D image that can be viewed without special glasses. US$14.95 for camera; US$16 for processing. Image Tech: +1 (404) 416 8848.
Home Video Compression
This is one of those obvious products that makes you wonder why no one thought of it sooner. The Sharp VC-H98U is the first VCR optimized for recording and playing tapes at the really slow EP speed. Typical VHS VCRs work at SP speed, which, on a standard T-120 tape, allows for two hours of recording. You can cram six hours on a standard tape if you record in EP mode - but the picture quality sucks. The VC-H98U contains an extra set of recording and playback heads with nonstandard 19-micron gaps, which provide the maximum picture quality for EP speed tapes. With triple the playtime, this is the perfect box for video surveillance, miniseries archiving, and marathon recording sessions. US$549. Sharp Electronics: (800) 237 4277, +1 (201) 529 8731.
Tiny Tattoos
One of the watchwords of the wired world is "miniaturization." If you've got lots of tiny equipment, labeling it presents a problem. The Trace Mark is an engraving tool that lets you stamp the tiniest type I've ever seen onto your personal property. Originally created for identifying micro-components, it's also great for marking CDs, computer peripherals, and hand- held gadgets - you'll be glad you used it when your roommate starts loading up the U-Haul. For US$69, Microstamp will give you the Engraver with the personalized mark of your choice - up to eighteen characters. Additional characters will cost you US$5 each. Microstamp: +1 (818) 793 9489.
Dishing Up More Channels
Lately, everything you hear and read in the news makes it seem as if media companies are all agog over the tantalizing prospect of hundreds of channels. But true video nerds already have access to hundreds of channels, thanks to the freedom of the public airwaves, which lets anyone set up a satellite dish and tap into the orbiting video mother-lode. Zenith's ZS8000 LE satellite receiver is the easiest way to get connected to all those channels, because it includes a built-in decoder so you can get pay services without additional boxes, and a new Quick Sat feature, which simplifies programming new satellites. Oh, yes, it also picks up satellite radio. US$1,199. Zenith TV: +1 (708) 391 8181.
Desktop Jukebox
It's like having your own jukebox. The Sony CDP-CX100 CD changer comes in a clunky-looking box that lets you stuff up to 100 audio CDs into a rotating carousel - sort of like those Kodak slide projectors. Although the machine's user interface is abysmal, it offers many programming options, such as the ability to name discs, assign them to categories, and search for discs by title or category. Or, you can just load all your favorite discs, set the changer to random play mode, and you've just created your own all-digital music station. With more features than I've ever seen on a CD player, the CDP-CX100 sets a new standard in performance at not too exorbitant a price. All I want to know is when Sony plans to launch a CD-ROM version. US$1,200. Sony: (800) 222 7669, +1 (201) 368 9272.
Mall Organ on Steroids
Shopping-mall music stores do a thriving business in low-grade organs with banks of built-in features. For years, squares have consoled themselves with push-button polkas and instant fox-trots that require only a single-finger melody. Now there's the Korg i3 - an organ with a professional-quality synthesizer and a healthy dose of artificial intelligence, which advances it beyond simple accompaniment into the realm of truly interactive performance. The i3 lets you program your own stuff and provides interactive controls that you can use during a performance. US$3,199. Korg USA: +1 (516) 333 9100.
