The living room, once the most technologically simple part of the average home, is a high-tech battleground today as the consumer electronics industry seeks to digitize home entertainment and make it available anywhere, anytime.

The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) starting on Thursday in Las Vegas will set the agenda of what's in store in 2005 for the digital home-owner -- from ultra-high-definition television screens to music and video recorders and other networked appliances.

The four-day conference, the high-tech industry's largest annual gathering in the United States, will draw 120,000 technologists and retailers for a vast display of devices, from 102-inch-wide flat-panel TVs -- the world's biggest -- to postage-stamp-size hard-disks for music players or phones.

"The big trends are home improvement, in-your-pocket-entertainment and personal video choice," said Richard Dougherty of Envisioneering Group in Seaford, New York.

Home improvement refers to the increasingly affordable home-theater systems that combine flat panel displays, surround-sound audio and personal video recorders.

"Home theaters have gone from luxury status to, 'Hey, I can afford this in my apartment!' status," Dougherty said.
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Source : Reuters