We can't count the number of times we've gotten to work and remembered we forgot to schedule that night's American Idol football game to record on DirecTV, and wished we could do it using just our cell phone. Well, the satellite provider is adding the capability to do just that: with the DVR Scheduler (previously known as Remote Booking), you can log onto the mobile site at m.directv.com, and bounce a record signal from DirecTV's satellite down to your DVR in minutes. The soft launch has HR20-700 DVR models going live right about now, with more models and an official rollout scheduled for February. Even the venerable TiVo HR10-250 is scheduled to get this feature, and it's sure to be a big hit with commuters, travelers -- and the rest of us who don't properly set up our season pass recordings.

Belkin must need to score some points with Al Gore, because they announced an energy-reducing power strip that you can... turn off. The aptly-named Conserve has eight power outlets, six of which can be toggled on or off using a wireless remote. While the strip will shut down stores worldwide in the summer and fall for $49.99, you should know you can get the same effect right now just by flipping the "off" switch on your existing power strip.

Not to be outdone by what's shaping up to be the theme of the show when it comes to display technology this year, Hitachi launched their line of thin displays in 32-, 37-, and 42-inch sizes. Hitachi's 1.5-inch LCD displays may not match Pioneer or Panasonic in the sheer (lack of) depth column, but you will actually be able to buy these sets when they launch in the first part of 2008. And that's something impressive all by itself.

After attending the kickoff Panasonic keynote earlier today at CES 2008, Engadget headed over to the Panasonic booth to check out the Wireless HD, 150-inch behemoth, and ultra-thin plasmas. The Wireless HD setup was, of course, a befuddling open space between a set-top box of some sort and a TV. A loop video played demonstrating the signal using "beam steering" to bounce around obstructions, much like our cameras trying to get around the gaggle of people huddled around Panny's products.

Engadget had the chance to get up close and personal with the recently-announced 9mm-thick Kuro plasma concept at CES, with Paul Meyhoefer, VP of Marketing and Product Planning, and Tony Ueda, Worldwide Manager of Display Technology, demoing at the Pioneer booth the night before the show floor opens. Pioneer gave the grand tour of two new technology concepts, with "advanced design" and "extreme contrast" displays. Pioneer has always claimed to target the high-end home theater enthusiast, and this 50-inch Kuro concept plasma shows that off in spades, being 9mm (0.35 inches) thick at the glass and only 24mm (0.94 inches) thick at its widest point. As seen in our gallery below, there is not even a hint of input ports or other distractions from its 40 pounds of sexy svelteness. We held up a BlackBerry Curve 8320 next to the plasma's glass, and dwarfed it with a whopping 15.5mm (0.6 inches) of depth.

Pioneer put on an evening pre-CES demo for Engadget, showing off two concepts focusing on advanced design (the 9mm-thick Kuro) and extreme contrast. Bringing everyone into a darkened room, Pioneer VP of Marketing and Product Planning Paul Meyhoefer reiterated Pioneer's target audience of the high-end home theater enthusiast, and what better place could there be to demo a home theater display than in a darkened room? Once the lights went down, we were treated to a short film on contrast, and the challenges of producing a wide range of values. As anyone who has watched a display in a dark room knows, you can see the edges of the display from the faint glow of the backlight that always seems to be present, even in the darkest of scenes.

That's when another image appeared literally out of the blackness, with a second plasma display turned on and showing a pitch-black background for the duration of the demo. Pioneer demoed their concept set directly next to the current 8th-generation PDP-5010FD 1080p plasma Kuro plasma, and utterly destroyed even its vaunted performance. The Kuro line dropped idle luminance by over 80% compared to the 7th gen plasmas, and this demo was intended to show just how far the technology can continue to go under Pioneer's guidance. Color us very impressed, and saddened by the realization that this concept could go a generation or more before it becomes fully integrated into the Pioneer plasma lineup.

Sony's PR blitz continues with the announcement of two HD Radio products, a tuner and a radio-iPod dock combo. The XDR-F1HD Tuner and the XDR-S10HDiP HD Radio can both tune in the estimated 1,500 digital stations nationwide. The XDR-F1HD is an add-on tuner with LCD display and a wireless remote, set to launch in March for $100. The XDR-S10HDiP docking station sports an iPod interface and iTunes Tagging, the ability to tag songs while listening for later purchase using the iTunes Music Store. It will be available in the summer for $180.

As expected, Sony has released the first OLED display in the US, with the 11-inch XEL-1 available now at select Sony Style locations for $2,500. Japanese customers have been able to purchase the 3mm-thick XEL-1 since late last year for ¥200,000, but the US has had to wait until now to get its organically 1,000,000:1-contrasted fix. The XEL-1 also offers support for DMeX so consumers can download content via the BRAVIA Internet Video Link service. If you're hankering for something even thinner than a 9mm plasma and looking to spend a whopping $227 per inch, head on over to a Sony store today.

Philips has announced the second generation in its line of Blu-ray players with the BDP7200, sporting 1080p/24 and Deep Color support, and BonusView (aka Profile 1.1) picture-in-picture capability. The player can also upscale DVDs to 1080p, and control connected devices using the EasyLink HDMI Consumer Electronics Control (CEC) protocols. Philips will release the BDP7200 in April for a $349 price, putting it towards the low end on the Blu-ray player price list, but the one thing we wish Philips had let us know was the level of audio codec support, with no mention at all of DTS or Dolby's high-end audio formats.

[Update: Also see our hands-on with the BDP7200.]

Click on for a couple more photos

Pioneer is expanding its CES lineup with four new audio-video receivers, one of which supports the new high-definition audio codecs found in Blu-ray and HD DVD. The VSX-518-K, VSX-818V-K, VSX-918V-K, and VSX-1018TXH-K A/V receivers all feature Multi-Channel Acoustic Calibration with an included microphone for tweaking acoustics in the room, three 1080p-capable component inputs, and Auto Level Control for equalizing volume between sources. The VSX-518-K, 818V, and 918V all feature P.H.A.T (Pioneer Hybrid Amplifier Technology) power sources and support for WMA9 Pro over 5.1 channels, with the 518 dropping support for XM and Sirius satellite, iPod, and HDMI inputs. The big news is the VSX-1018TXH-K, with its support for 130 watts over 7.1 channels using a Direct Energy power supply, HDMI upscaling to 1080p, six digital inputs, and support for the lossy Dolby Digital Plus and DTS-HD High Resolution, and lossless Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio codecs. The VSX-518-K is priced at $199, the VSX-818V-K at $249, the VSX-918V-K at $349, all releasing in April, and the VSX-1018TXH-K will come to market in June for $599.

LG's 2008 lineup continues with the 42-inch LGX Super Slim 1.7-inch LCD, combining that ultra-thin form factor that's so in vogue with high-tech features like 120Hz, 24p playback capability and ISFccc calibration. LED backlighting and a 15,000:1 contrast ratio bump up the visuals for viewers, while the red-colored back gives your living room wall a show too. The set sports four HDMI 1.3 ports and a USB jack for photos and music, and LG's SimpLink control protocol enables compatible equipment to chain together. Pricing and availability were not announced.

Budget shoppers flocked to Wal-mart this past year to pick up Vizio sets, helping them to become the top-seller of LCDs in the US. Vizio is expanding the VW series to include 19- and 22-inch compact models, as well as upgrading the 42- and 46-inch models with 1080p. The 19-inch VW19L and 22-inch VW22L will launch in May and July for $399.99 and $449.99, and are intended for gaming and computing. The top end is bolstered with the 42-inch VW42LF, retailing for $1,349 starting in May, and the 46-inch VW46LF, priced at $1,749 with a launch date in June. The two 1080p sets offer many of the same features found in Vizio's other series, such as three HDMI 1.3 ports, ATSC and QAM tuners, 178-degree viewing angles, and a detachable base.

Of all the things still lacking an iPod dock -- La-Z-Boys, parkas, and the Foleo -- you can cross off your flat-panel, as JVC has added an iPod dock to their P-Series line of LCD televisions. The iPod TeleDock sits at the bottom of the set, ready to accept your player for charging even when the set is turned off. Video and audio playback can be controlled with the clickwheel-esque TV remote and on-screen menus. The P-Series features 720p on the 32-inch LT-32P679, while the 42-inch LT-42P789, 47-inch LT-47P789, and 52-inch LT-52P789 sets bump the resolution up to 1080p, with availability starting in March.

While the corporate IT world has long had access to remotely-controlled power for servers and data centers, it's pretty cutting-edge stuff for home theater, with PS Audio releasing the first line of Internet-connected power management devices. Ranging in price from $600 to $1,995 and scheduled to release in Spring 2008, the four products in the PowerPlay line differ in number of switchable and isolated plugs, but all offer a web interface to toggle power, schedule reboots, and monitor power quality. There is an RS-232 port for hardwired power control as well as IR blasters for turning devices back on after a reboot. Now you can reboot your TiVo without ever stepping foot in the house.

Marantz is jumping back into the display pool for 2008, announcing the new VP-11S2 model 1080p DLP projector. Compared to last year's VP-11S1H, this model adds a second HDMI 1.3 input, and Texas Instrument's DarkChip4 chipset, boosting it up to 800 lumens of brightness and a 12,000:1 contrast ratio. No price was released, but considering the previous models hover in the $15,000 price range, we expect no less quality -- or cost -- from this one either.