Developed by Sony and others, DVD is an optical disc storage technology that can put away almost 9GB of digital data on a single disc. At the show here, Sony officials showed off DVD technology with multimedia software. Rival Toshiba will roll out at the show a pair of new DVD players for home theaters.
Aimed at hard-core home-theater addicts, the high-end duo from Toshiba will be on store shelves next fall. The players are designed for use with large-screen or projection TVs, officials said.
For consumers high on TV but tired of commercials, Arista Technologies will begin selling Commercial Brake 500 for use with home VCRs this quarter. Priced at $159.95, the VCR add-on senses commercials and skips over them automatically when recording. For more info, contact the Hauppage, New York, company at 516/435-0011.
For sophisticated high-tech consumers who spend a lot of time on the phone, French company Parrot RCS will begin selling its speech-recognition organizer in the United States next month. The handheld mini-PDA includes a phone directory, memo-pad feature, and a diary utility. Operable in five languages, the $279 device works on four AAA batteries. For more info send email to parrot@worldnet.net.
