RGPC's staple device is the four outlet 400 Pro, and it stands out in a very densely crowded category as a no BS product that actually works. Inside each RGPC is a large inductor core, or choke, and a fast-blo fuse. Unlike so many of the surge protectors or line conditioners out there the RGPC is wired in parallel with the incoming AC, which means there's no current limiting, and components don't have to be plugged directly into the RGPC units to receive the full effect. The RGPC simply has to be plugged into an outlet on the same circuit as your gear. Several RGPC units can be "star clustered" in groups for improved performance, and the 1200 Custom is in fact two 400 Pro devices in a single box with 12 outlets. Inductive power filtering is becoming very popular in many high-end products, and the results that can be reaped from the RGPC devices with both audio and video systems can be noticeable, if not staggering (especially with power hungry components like CRTs and plasmas screens). RGPC devices are the only PLC devices in SB's reference system.
FULLY ARMED That sweet flat-panel TV you just bought demands to be mounted on a wall. Problem: The spot you've set aside for it has you seeing mostly glare. Don't give up and get a floor stand - get K2's X-Arm mount.
NET WORTHY Can the Internet improve your remote control? Hey, it worked for Harmony. Now Acoustic Research is taking the idea a step further by including Wi-Fi in its ARR2470 Wi-Q remote to keep it constantly connected to the Net.
ROUND SOUND Don't think of the radial as an iPod speaker dock - it's more befitting to call it an iPod stage, encircling the player with curved 60-watt speakers to bust out your tunes, but keeping the iPod front and center to remind everyone who's really the star of the show.
FROM DISK TO DISC It'll be pretty easy to get on the good side of any TV fan if you have Polaroid's DRM-2001G video recorder. Not only will it save TV shows to its 80-GB hard disk (up to 102 hours in the lowest-quality mode), but you can burn your recordings to DVD whenever you please.
So no one has to miss Lost as long as you're in command.
COLOR ME RAD Six primary colors? That can't be right, yet Mitsubishi insists on calling its state-of-the-art TV color control the 6-Primary Color System, since it creates yellow, cyan, and magenta directly, rather than by mixing red, green, and blue. The upshot: a wider range of richer, more vibrant colors.
NO FOOTAGE JVC's Everio camcorders ditch those archaic videotapes in favor of recording to a hard disk. The 30 gigs onboard the flagship model will hold 10.5 hours of DVD-quality material - captured in eye-catching color, thanks to the three CCD image sensors (cheaper cams have just one).
Thanks to their portability, personal navigation devices (PNDs) are finding their way into the hands of more and more drivers of multiple vehicles. PNDs not only assist in getting you from point A to point B - as well as locate every ATM and Starbucks in between - they also offer features such as MP3 compatibility and real-time traffic info.
Watts... uh THE DEAL Promising 75 real-world watts for each of five channels, Rotel's silver giant has the power to justify its heft. And 7.1-channel home theater buffs needn't fear - you can add an extra two channels with an optional upgrade. Bring on those action flicks!
Keep It Real It's kind of a bizarre resolution for a plasma TV - 1,024 x 1,080 pixels - but Hitachi just might know what it's doing here. Those 1 million pixels are driven by a technology called ALiS (Alternate Lighting of Surfaces) to get the most detail out of 1080i signals (the most common HD format) and bestow a smoother, more filmlike picture.
TERABYTE POWER Unless you're Sony BMG, you'll never run out of room for your music in the AudioReQuest S4.2500. Its massive 1.5-terabyte hard disk can hold 2,500 CDs worth of music - and that's uncompressed. If you go the MP3 route, there's enough room for 360,000 songs! Even the most dedicated Deadhead could fit his collection on that.
NO WIRES The Philips Streamium music system takes all the complexity - and cables - out of multiroom audio through the wireless magic of Wi-Fi (802.11g). As soon as you turn on the WACS700 main base (left) and its satellite, they automatically find each other - no pairing, seeking, or inputting required.