A High-Tech Wonderland

Among the myriad blessings of the video revolution, not the least is the glut of new gift ideas it affords the harried holiday shopper. An entirely new world of video gadgetry has evolved at a breathtaking pace, and every year the glut of potential gifts gets bigger and more diverse.

The evolution has been so fast and so pervasive, it’s jarring to recall that the now-omnipresent VCR was considered a rich-man’s novelty only a decade ago. Back then, TV was pretty one-dimensional; today, the variety of creative video gizmos is only exceeded by the number of programming choices available. Video can be as big as a theater, or as personal as a Walkman. You can make it interactive, control it with spoken commands, add enough surrounding sound to blow your pants off or star in your own music videos, to name a smattering of possibilities.

Anyway, the point is this: Just about everybody loves video in some form, right? So anybody, presumably, would love to see some form of video gear or accessories under the tree--not necessarily the big ticket home-entertainment staples but the fun stuff, the nonessential electronic toys, the kind of kinky components people usually think are a bit too indulgent or extravagant to buy for themselves.

So maybe Santa goes high-tech this year. If you’re stuck for gift ideas, stay tuned for a look at some of the sexiest and most original new video stuff of the season:

Sega CD ($299): This multimedia system takes the concept of video games into an entirely new realm called “interactive cinema,” a dazzling format that lets you manipulate live actors, film-quality animation and digitized footage from real films within sophisticated CD programs such as “Batman Returns,” “The Terminator,” “Night Trap” and “Cobra Command,” to name a few.

Also accessible with Sega CD is a promising, hands-on art form called MIX: Interactive Music Video Games. It lets aspiring directors and casual dabblers mix and assemble their own music videos using clips, concert footage and never-before-seen backstage action featuring INXS, Kriss Kross, C+C Music Factory, Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch, and many others. The finished programs can be transferred onto a videocassette for permanent storage.

Thanks to the magic of CD technology, Sega CD offers unprecedented video quality for a game system and has stereo sound that’s every bit as dynamic as any audio-only compact disc; in fact, Sega CD can play standard audio CDs. A selection of audio discs, including CD + Graphics titles that display liner-note information on-screen, comes with the system, along with four Sega CD games.

Sony GV-S50 Video Walkman ($999): Billed as the world’s first personal home theater, the Video Walkman is the ultimate electronic toy for mobile video buffs. This combination 4-inch color TV and mini-8mm VCR--roughly the size of a fat paperback dictionary--lets you watch TV programs or prerecorded 8mm films-on-cassette, including “Hook” and “Bugsy,” during long trips, or maybe under the sheets at night, with hi-fi stereo sound that plays through a pair of tiny turbo headphones.

The portable GV-S50 doubles as a versatile secondary home system. Its full-featured VCR, sporting an outboard TV tuner and six-event/one-month timer, can be easily hooked up to your main TV.

Hitachi VM-SP1A Surf & Snow 8mm camcorder ($1,500): This rugged camcorder, specifically intended for outdoor use, isn’t for sissies, OK? Surely, Tim Allen would grunt with approval over the VM-SP1A.

Made for the schussboomer or ice kayaker on your list, the Surf & Snow is well-protected by a tough outer shell that mocks hard knocks, and it sports tight rubber seals that blow off moisture and dirt--two scourges that normally cause extensive damage to those other delicate, overly sensitive camcorders. Although it’s resistant to water, it’s not quite waterproof; you can’t shoot underwater videos with the VM-SP1A, but it does float harmlessly if it’s accidentally dropped from a boat or canoe.

Toughness aside, the Surf & Snow has a host of flashy features such as dramatic digital zooms, with magnification up to 64 times, and a compact remote control. Also, built-in captioning lets you create graphics and titles that underscore the active, outdoorsy action on your videos (“Marge’s First Compound Fracture,” “Junior Being Devoured by Yeti”).

Sharp XV-P1OU Video Projector ($2,795): Sharp has shrunk big-screen TV into an extremely portable unit, so even cramped apartment dwellers can enjoy humongous home theater-size video. This nine-pound projector--barely as big as a breadbox-- casts crisp color LCD images, ranging from 30-inches to 60-inches, onto any flat surface or projection screen. It even has built-in audio. Just hook the XV-P1OU to a TV, VCR, camcorder, laser-disc player or videogame system.

“LCD projection offers unprecedented possibilities,” says Sherman Langer, general manager for Sharp’s LCD products. “In addition to moving it from room to room, families can even take the XV-P1OU along on a camping trip and project videos on a portable screen.” Nothing like roughing it in the Great Outdoors, eh?

Bose Acoustimass-7 Home Theater Speaker System ($999): Powerful, spacious sound is absolutely requisite for a true home-theater experience, and that’s exactly what the unobtrusive Acoustimass system was designed for. It has three small speaker modules--each with a pair of 2.5-inch cube speakers that can be individually rotated to give customized audio imaging--along with a booming, multi-directional bass module that’s easily hidden under a table or behind a couch.

Don’t be fooled by the diminutive size of the speakers; Bose is noted for squeezing big sounds into small packages. The Acoustimass-7 system magically fills a room with high-fidelity surround sound, a wraparound ambience that lets you literally feel, not just hear, the sound of movies and TV shows. Simply place the modules around the TV in a right, left, center configuration facing the viewing spot. Then, add a pair of optional Bose VS-100 speakers ($129 each) in the rear corners of the room and sit back. The dialogue will stay centered near the screen, where it should be, while sound effects swirl around the room--footsteps creep up from behind, car engines race past and helicopters chop through the air.

However, to truly enjoy the Acoustimass-7 system, a surround-sound decoder is essential. Here’s one of the best ...

Yamaha DSP-E1000 ($999): Not only does this five-channel Digital Sound-Field Processor pump out Dolby Pro Logic Surround--the same type of system that brings movies to life in high-tech theaters--it offers a choice between 12 Digital Sound Field programs that synthesize various acoustic environments. For example, in a “Cinema DSP” mode, this component expands the scope of Dolby Surround to give a living room the ambience of a cavernous 70mm movie theater, and the “Concert Video” setting enhances the realism of concerts on video--in fact, it actually re-creates the acoustic nature of three real-life European concert halls.

The Yamaha DSP-E1000, by the way, is perfectly compatible with top-line stereo systems.

Pioneer CLD-V720 Laser Karaoke Player ($850): A terrific choice for the closet Sinatra or Madonna wannabe in your life, this feature-packed laser karaoke deck spins discs that combine music videos, lyric captions and CD-quality backing music tracks. All that’s missing are the vocals.

A number of features are included to maximize living-room performances: The CLD-V720 has Digital Signal Processing surround-sound that replicates the acoustic effects of a handful of concert venues, and a nine-step key controller contours the music to match the key of the singer’s voice. Be advised that Pioneer offers a line of Laser Karaoke discs ($20 each) with four songs each--that’s more than 1,000 songs altogether.

Not incidentally, this deck can eliminate vocals from most CDs and music videos, and it even plays movies and other programs on laser disc.

Panasonic PV-VP1 Video Printer ($1,300): Want to add video snapshots to your photo album? Have an urge to preserve that perfect moment from your grandchild’s birthday video? Send along this VCR-size video printer, with a dollop or two of heavy guilt, and you’ll soon be inundated with high-quality 4- by 5-inch pictures from your favorite home videos.

The PV-VP1 features a host of flashy effects including zoom-print, which enlarges segments of a video frame by a 4-to-1 ratio, and stroboscopic freeze-frame that prints still-photo sequences that span three seconds of video action.

VCR Plus VCR Programmer ($60): Most people believe that setting a VCR timer for unattended recording requires something akin to a degree in quantum physics. VCR Plus radically simplifies the process--when you want to tape a program, just punch-in its PlusCode, the series of numbers next to the show’s title that can be found in most program listings, including The Times’, and that’s that. Simple as placing a phone call.

With a single entry, it can be programmed to automatically record the same show at the same time every weekday--a handy wrinkle for soap addicts and “Wheel of Fortune” buffs who might occasionally forget to set the timer on a daily basis. Moreover, this remote-controlled unit will store up to 14 programs in memory for future taping--many more than most VCRs can handle--and VCR Plus will even indicate how much tape is needed for the job.

It works with virtually any remote-controlled VCR, and there’s no hook-up or installation necessary. (Anyone in the market for a new VCR should keep in mind that Sony and other major manufacturers are now building VCR Plus into the VCR.)

VCR Voice Programmer from Voice-Powered Technology ($170): Also for videophones intimidated by a technology overload, is the more expensive Voice Programmer, a unified remote that literally lets you boss around your TV, VCR and cable box--just bark out orders and the remote will carry them out like an obedient robot.

Tell it to “play” and it plays. Tell it to change channels or fast-forward through an annoying commercial and it’s your humble servant. The Voice Programmer can be trained to recognize up to four voices.

Monster Video-2 Cables (from $17.95 to $34.95): You don’t need deep pockets to dazzle your favorite videophile with these designer, gold-plated video cables. Monster Video-2 cables connect TVs and VCRs and cable boxes and stereo systems in high style, with optimum fidelity and video quality; by most measurements, they do make a noticeable difference. Double-shielding prevents extraneous interference, and heavy copper wiring and tight 24K gold-plated plugs are specially designed to pamper your video system with super-clean performance.

Why gold-plated plugs? Gold is one of the most efficient conductors of electricity known to man--plus, well, it looks really cool and the recipient should be plenty impressed.