KALEID-O-SET In the modern TV world of huge screens and off-the-scale resolution, color matters more than ever. The palette in Mitsubishi's 57-inch 1080p set is run by a 6-Primary Color System, which creates the "subtractive" colors (cyan, magenta, and yellow) directly instead of mixing red, green, and blue.
HDTV FEAST If you give your TV a workout every time you turn it on - throwing everything from HD shows to discs to games at it - has Olevia got the TV for you. The 742i 42-inch LCD panel is equipped with a slew of high-def inputs, including a pair of HDMI ports, as well as two (count 'em!) HDTV tuners. The Olevia showcases it all in 1080p, the Rolls-Royce of HD formats.
SIZE MATTERS If you went straight to the extra-large aisle when you were at the plasma-TV store, your next stop should be wherever they sell the Totem Tribe II. Made specifically to match flat-panel sets with 50- to 55-inch screens, the Tribe II is 29 inches long and less than 4 inches deep. Your wall's about to become the place to be.
NEVER COMPROMISE Going with an HTiB system generally means settling for convenience over performance, but Onkyo's HT-S990THX bites off a chunk of both. Not only is the included receiver rated to deliver an impressive 110 watts to each channel, but the speakers have big enough woofers (5-inchers) to actually do something with that power.
CLASS SYSTEM With budget receivers packing state-of-the-art features such as 7.1-channel sound and HDMI switching, any manufacturer that has the stones to charge two grand for one had better include some really shiny bells and whistles.
MULTITASKER Although described as a "multimedia" projector, Canon's REALiS SX60 has a Home Cinema mode for when you want images to pop. Its rated 2,000:1 contrast ratio means nice, deep blacks, and the 1,400 x 1,050-pixel resolution is more than enough for 720p HDTV.
May the flash be with you! For daily data transport, Star Wars fanatics can now stay on target with USB flash drives that are both practical and whimsical. Mimoco's Star Wars mimobots include a storm trooper as well as Darth Vader, Chewbacca, and R2-D2 & all designed to the exacting standards of Lucas Licensing.
CLEAR CENTER Nothing that special about supermodel-thin speakers (3.5 inches) made to match flat TVs . . . unless they're designed to give you three channels of sound from just two speakers.
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.
Microsoft makes it easy to morph your Xbox 360 into a high-def movie machine, thanks to its HD DVD add-on. Just plug it into your console, and you're ready to go. And at $200, it's less than half the price of the cheapest standalone HD DVD player.