THE HI-FI LIFE

By Daniel Eisenberg

Say all you will about the Internet and the wonders of multimedia. At the end of the day, most people still prefer to leave their brain at the office and morph themselves into couch potatoes--watching Michael Jordan dazzle opponents or Mel Gibson vanquish villains. In the battle for home- entertainment supremacy, the den is no match for the living room.

And thanks to the emergence of home-theater systems, the battle is becoming even more one-sided. Once the exclusive toys of videophiles, home-theater components, which can transform a family room into a personal multiplex, are fast becoming an affordable, mainstream entertainment option. According to the Consumer Electronics Manufacturing Association, more than 15 million U.S. households enjoy the big pictures and booming Surround Sound that come with a wide-screen, 25-to-65-in. TV, an audio-video receiver, a front and rear set of speakers, hi-fi VCR and a LaserDisc or DVD player. Less than a decade ago, entertainment mavens had to shell out tens, even hundreds, of thousands of dollars for that kind of gear. Now newcomers can find complete, easy-to-install packages for $2,000 to $3,000--a price range that has helped the industry generate a record $9 billion in revenues in 1997.

Advances in technology also make the prospect of home theater more attractive. With direct-broadcast satellite TV taking off, millions of Americans (and early adopters in Europe and Asia) are enjoying the first digital television sound and images, including hours of sports and movies. In 3 1/2 years, according to the Carmel Group research firm, U.S. DBS customers have grown from zero to 5.8 million. And as cable and broadcasters start to roll out high-resolution programming in the next few years, more viewers will find a reason to be immersed in a movie-theater environment. "The future of home theater is in digital TV," says Dataquest analyst Jonathan Cassell. At the same time, DVD, the next-generation successor to videotapes and CDs that is hitting the market, promises superior audiovisual quality. The final touch: futuristic flat-panel TVs that hang as elegantly on a wall as a Renoir.

If simple gazing begins to wear thin, home-theater converts can sample a more aggressive brand of entertainment. Set-top boxes like WebTV bring the Net's resources side by side with sitcoms and football, while video games from Nintendo and Sony move computer shoot-'em-ups to the big screen. Seasoned couch potatoes need not be worried about leaving their comfortable perches: new keyboards are now wireless.

--By Daniel Eisenberg