Other Tech

Lost in the rush of attention being lavished on sleeker and sexier flat-panel HDTVs is the fact that there's still a lot of innovation going on in rear-projection microdisplay sets. In the past year, we've seen developments ranging from the prosaic - bigger screens, more models with 1080p resolution, and slimmed-down cabinets - to the exotic, such as 3-D video.

The job would have to be done at midnight. That's when Mission: Impossible III was debuting at Manhattan's Ziegfeld theater. The six bootleggers didn't always have to wait until a movie opened to the public. Sometimes they'd get into private screenings, courtesy of a scalper who'd sell them tickets for a few hundred dollars.

I've come to Electric Lady Studios in New York City for - what? Yet another remastering of the Jimi Hendrix catalog? Actually, that's coming next year (I kid you not). But the subject at hand, after a 22-year wait, is the Beatles making only their second appearance on CD. And it's time for a first listen to a handful of songs and a chat with some members of the remastering team.

Home theater or place to party? These days, folks are opting for both when renovating a basement or a media room, says Scott Jordan, systems consultant for Piscataway, New Jersey-based Electronics Design Group (edgonline.com; 732-650-9800).