Jon Iverson

We know that DVD is hot, but few could have predicted that the video format would become the fastest growing in the history of consumer electronics. The latest statistics reveal that, in 2001, consumer spending on DVD purchases and rental combined were $6 billion, 2.4 times more than the previous year. This represents an increase that put DVD purchases ahead of VHS purchases for the first time, despite an installed player base of 25 million DVD households versus a VCR installed player base of 96 million households.

We continue to roam the Alexis Park complex, our antennae tuned for innovative home theater products. Among the most interesting: Legacy Audio's "Harmony" loudspeaker, perhaps the first truly high-performance in-wall we've ever heard. This unique design features a rigid back plate that's screwed into place in a sheetrock cutout between two studs on standard 16" centers. The fully assembled front baffle then slides into place and is secured by two screws. Unlike other in-wall designs that attempt to disappear, the Harmony actually protrudes about two inches from the surface of the wall. Its craftsmanship matched its sonic appeal—it was surprisingly deep and dynamic, but very natural sounding through the midrange and highs.

Samsung is making a major push on several fronts, including DVD, hard disk, and flat screen technologies. One of the more intriguing prototypes on display at the LV Convention Center is the company's DVD player/hard-disk recorder combo, whose 50GB drive can accommodate up to 20 movies. The films can be saved in a compressed video format directly off DVD and watched as often as you like. There is no digital output on the machine (it does have analog component video out) so there is no easy way to make digital copies. Like TiVo's PVR, the Samsung recorder will require deleting some recordings when the disk is full. The fact that the recordings are not transportable helps Samsung skirt copyright issues, according to a representative.

The 2002 Consumer Electronics Show officially opens Tuesday, January 8th, but several major manufacturers took advantage of the relative peace to host press conferences on Monday.