Product like Pioneer that has come all the way from Tokyo, Japan, deserves the credit for 'pioneering' lot of technological advances over the decades. This includes CD player, DVD gear and Plasma displays. Its DVD players have been around in the market for a while, and perches comfortably in the middle segment.

These high-end machines combine a DVD recorder and a hard disk in one package, allowing one to record TV shows, home videos, non copyrighted DVDs, and sometimes even digital photos to either unit. Dubbing between the two with ease or using the HDD as a DVR, one can watch them as and when required.

Joining the league companies like Samsung, Toshiba, Sony, LG and Videocon have come up with new and elegant design recently. These simple user-friendly models are taking the market steadily. These players have many features - it not only plays DVDs but also SACDs and DVD Audio, which would be music to audiophiles' ears. DivX, JPEG and MP3 are all invited to the party.

Two major players in this segment, Samsung and LG are now eyeing the corporate world for their LCD and Plasma displays. Although seem to be getting all the attention, the is also making an impact. Even the flat panel televisions are quickly becoming quite commonplace on store shelves and in consumers' homes.

In spite of having technological difference both LDC and Plasma are the highest sellers this season. Popular LCD monitors commonly used with computers, LCD TVs have a slim design and a flat viewing surface, but have been fine tuned for video display. Being several times lighter than comparably sized Plasmas, these are even more durable.