DVRs/PVRs are becoming so popular that cable and satellite TV providers have begun including them as add-ons to their receivers, either at no extra cost or for a small additional monthly fee. About the only shortcoming of DVRs/PVRs is the fact that they can't play pre-recorded DVDs or tapes, so you would still need your DVD player or VCR if you rent or purchase movies. However, hybrid devices which combine DVRs/PVRs with a DVD player/recorder and/or VCR are now hitting the market. Those devices would not only get rid of that problem but would also give you the option of permanently transferring a recorded show/movie from a hard drive to a recordable DVD.

Flat screen and flat panel TV technology is also starting to boom. Many people are confused about the difference between flat screen TVs and flat panel TVs. Flat screen TVs use the old cathode ray tube (CRT) technology for their picture tubes and are therefore bulky like traditional TV sets. However, they are different from traditional TV sets in that they have a flat screen. They deliver a picture that doesn't have as much glare as traditional, more round screens. Also, the picture will look the same to everyone in the room, no matter where they are sitting. The picture on a traditional screen looks distorted when viewing it from an angle.

Flat panel TVs, on the other hand, utilize either liquid crystal display (LCD) or plasma technology instead of the old CRT technology and are generally just a few inches thick. Many of them can be hung on a wall. In fact, flat panel TVs that are flatter than a credit card will be coming soon! What's the difference between LCD and plasma? LCD is generally used for flat panel TVs with a display of less than 30 inches and usually has a brighter picture and better contrast than plasma. LCD is used for flat panel computer monitors as well. Plasma is generally used for flat panel TVs with a display of more than 30 inches and has a better color range than LCD. Plasma is becoming more common as TVs get bigger and flatter.

Although I'm not so sure about this one, I will include "entertainment PCs" because of their tremendous potential to revolutionize home entertainment. The concept of "entertainment PCs" is being hailed right now by both Microsoft and Intel. In fact, Microsoft has developed a special operating system for them. They could be used as the hub for all home entertainment and could enhance a family's experience of television, radio/music, and internet and actually help to combine all of these into one. They could be used to download content from the internet and play it on a TV. They could provide such sophisticated TV recording interfaces that VCRs, DVDs, and DVRs/PVRs could all eventually become obsolete. In addition, they could be a better source for photograph and home video editing and processing than regular PCs. With that being said, I'm not so sure that people will be willing to accept PCs as a source of home entertainment. Bill Gates begs to differ and is willing to put his money where his mouth is.

Obviously, not all of the cutting edge electronics technologies mentioned above will meet with great success. Some of them might actually go the way of Betamax, digital audio tape (DAT), and DIVX. However, many of them are sure to catch fire and become such an intricate part of our everyday lives that we'll wonder how we ever got along without them. Which ones will they be? Only time will tell.

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