New Products

With a big 65-inch HD screen, the Brillian 6580iFB HDTV ($7,999) already has a lot going on, but there's more in the box to justify its hefty price tag. First of all, it's one of the new high-rez 1080p TVs. LCoS (liquid crystal on silicon) technology keeps the pixels small and the space between them smaller, so images always look sharp and clear.

SOUND COUNTS It's tough to pick the perfect home theater gear: You want something that'll impress your A/V-junkie friends but still be easy enough for your girlfriend to use. Cambridge Audio's Azur 640R receiver comes at you with serious audiophile cred - seven discrete 100-watt amps, all well-isolated from the digital processor and input stages.

CLEAR SHOT You'll be able to capture detail that most other camcorders never see when you shoot footage with Canon's HV10. Everything is recorded in the 1080i high-def format thanks to a 1,920 x 1,080-pixel CMOS image sensor, said to be quicker on the draw and more power-efficient than typical CCD sensors. It probably gets more dates, too.

SAY WATT Canton's CD 3200 is textbook modern speaker design: a slim aluminum cabinet, sexy styling, and ... an amplifier? Well, that's different. Once you've plugged this tower in, it'll deliver a nominal 200 watts to, uh, itself.

Yes, it's two, two radios in one: the style is retro, but the technology is Space Age. Debuting at the Consumer Electronics Show and set for a spring launch, this tabletop model from Crosley offers AM and FM, but it's the company's first product equipped for XM satellite radio - hence its name, Explorer 1 ($250).

TRICKS FOR THE TRADE Denon threw that conspicuous "CI" into this receiver's product number to let you know it has some special tricks for custom installers. Trick 1: Source renaming, so your front panel doesn't just have to say "DVD" - call your player "Philips 721" or even "Ralph" if you want.