Scott Wilkinson

Runco wasn't the only brand with a new in-wall rear-pro. Digital Projection was showing its Titan RP97, which mounts a Titan 1080p-500 projector behind a 97-inch-diagonal "optical black screen" with 0.85 gain that completely rejects ambient light. Touting this system as an alternative to large-screen plasmas (think Panasonic's 103-inch monster), it's fully self-contained and supports its own weight so the wall doesn't have to. You'll shell out $100,000 for it, but the Panasonic 103 is even more than that, making the Titan RP97 a bargain.

For the second year, Microsoft held a contest to find the best custom installation based on Windows Media Center technology. This year, the winner was cyberManor for its extensive whole-house installation in Silicon Valley. Pictured (L to R) are Microsoft's Kevin Collins, Cybermanor's Gordon van Zuiden, and Microsoft's Todd Rutherford.

Fred already posted a photo of SpeakerCraft's Pod City booth, but he didn't tell you about the amazing performance presented therein thrice daily. Resembling Cirque du Soleil, this LA-based troupe is called Lucent Dossier, and the story they told was one of dark dreams, zombie tap-dancing gone awry, and evil flying monkey men seduced by a beautiful belly dancer. You really had to be there…

In a strong design departure from its previous projectors, Mitsubishi is introducing the Diamond Series, which dovetails nicely with the company's rear-pro and LCD top-of-the-line series of the same name. The HD6500 (pictured, $2500) claims a dynamic contrast ratio of 15,000:1, while the HC7000 ($4000) boasts an incredible 72,000:1 thanks to a new iris. Of course, I'll believe it when I see it for myself, but the demo in a semi-dark environment looked pretty good, and from past experience, I expect it to look great in a more controlled environment.