The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) starting on Thursday in Las Vegas will set the agenda of what?s in store in 2005 for the digital home-owner ? from ultra-high-definition television screens to music and video recorders and other networked appliances.

Samsung, Toshiba and RCA will be among those showing the first true, 1086-pixel high-definition flat-panel TV screens.

Rival camps of manufacturers will square off at the show over the next-generation DVD video standard ? a replay of the Betamax vs. VHS videocassette wars of the 1970s. At stake is the future of the home video industry, increasingly crucial to Hollywood?s bottom line.

While the focus remains in the living room, also on display will be hot mobile gadgets aimed at the car, air travel and pretty much anywhere a plug is not readily available.