It's no secret that computers and components continue to shrink. So too does media, with more efficient compression algorithms for audio, video and data. MP3 players already serve audio to exhibits and installations (in, for example the MiniMSC by BBI Engineering). Now video, too, can reach those hard-to-reach places, thanks to portable DVD players and pocket-sized video players.

Among the myriad DVD players available, most of the big-name electronics companies now offer portables, with tiny screens to match. Some, such as the Panasonic DVD-PV40, shirk the screen in favor of simple AV jacks to link to any television. This one also has an optical output for surround sound, and it plays video CDs and audio CDs as well.

Even smaller, in terms of physical size and video compression, are the new MPEG-4 players now hitting the market. MPEG-4 suffers in comparison to MPEG-2 (the DVD standard), but given that many nonprofits still rely on ancient VHS cassettes, the quality is surprisingly good, and it has become the preferred method for encoding movie-length video to deliver over the web. The pocket-sized player/recorders hold vast amounts of this stuff, and can serve it to external sources. The Panasonic SV-AV30 fits in the palm of a hand, with a tiny screen to match, and claims to serve up to 90 minutes of video (or 3 hours of MP3 audio) to an external display. However, from the horrendous reviews I've read on this product, I would not recommend it. Nonetheless, the situation is bound to improve.

More promising-looking is the Archos AV340, with a massive 40GB drive, which means up to 80 hours of MPEG-4 video. It, too, aims to do it all, acting as video and still camera and MP3 player.

One step further is this hybrid Sony laptop/video camera, which pairs a DV camera with a full-featured notebook.