When Marshall McLuhan famously observed that the medium is the message, he wasn't thinking about iPhones or Wiis. But in the 21st century, the gadgets and gizmos we use to access various forms of entertainment are upstaging the music, TV, movies and games we play on them.

While new gadgets always have been popular among consumers, they've become a lifestyle choice.

Technology introduced, improved or advanced in 2007 is changing the face of entertainment media across the board and reshaping popular culture.

New and improved 3-D technology gave Hollywood a new way to reel in audiences.

The number of theaters with 3-D capabilities is growing. Earlier this month, Imax and theater chain AMC Entertainment announced that they will open 100 new Imax theaters, doubling the number of large-format 3-D screens.

Advances have made the 3-D movie experience a very different breed from the early experiments in the 1950s. While those were cinematic novelties that faded decades ago, Hollywood sees the potential of cutting-edge, immersing 3-D as a way for movies to compete with the way gaming and virtual worlds are engaging audiences.

There are several competing 3-D technologies contributing to more widespread use of 3-D in theaters, including Real D, Dolby 3-D and Imax 3-D.

This year, "Beowulf" was released in three formats -- standard, Imax and digital 3-D on 1,000 screens -- making it the largest 3-D release to date.

More major releases are in the works, including a "Tintin" trilogy from Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson, and James Cameron's "Avatar."

3-D offers another bonus for the studios: It has a built-in anti-piracy feature. 3-D movies can't be recorded with a camcorder and bootlegged.

The arrival of Apple's iPhone was probably the most-hyped and anticipated product launch of 2007.

The all-in-one device -- mobile phone, iPod music player, Web browser and digital camera -- freed a lot of pocket space for gadget geeks by combining everything into a small, sleekly designed package.

The crisp display and easy to use touch screen interface were a hit among early adopters. People waited in line to buy it the day it launched in June -- and weren't too happy two months later, when Apple dropped the price by $200 to $399. And local Web-video celebrity Justine Ezarik made a splash on YouTube with a video about her 300-page iPhone bill.

Apple was busy with its other products, too. In September, the company introduced two enhancements to the iPod music player: It added a 2-inch video screen and launched the iPod Touch, a touch-screen version similar to iPhone, which also has Wi-Fi capabilities.

The Metropolitan Opera extended its reach during the 2006-07 season by transmitting six live performances to movie theaters equipped with high-definition projection systems in the United States, Canada and Europe.

The Met is increasing the number of "Metropolitan Opera: Live in HD" performances from six to eight for the 2007-08 season.

The "Live in HD" broadcasts screen here at the Cinemark 18 at the Galleria at Pittsburgh Mills. Next up is the Met's production of "Hansel and Gretel" on Jan. 1, followed by "Macbeth" on Jan. 12. For a complete schedule: www.metoperafamily.org.

The company is also using Internet and satellite radio to broadcast live performances, in addition to its weekly syndicated live broadcasts.

Classic performances can be heard on demand through the online music service Rhapsody. Live and archived performances can be heard on Sirius Satellite Radio's Met Opera Radio channel.

For those who remember the old VHS vs. Betamax videotape player wars, the ongoing HD DVD vs. Blu-Ray battle seems like deja vu.

The two rival high-definition DVD formats are engaged in a war that so far doesn't have a clear winner. They're evenly matched competitors that deliver high-quality video and audio.

The big problem for consumers is that in choosing one player over the other, they're limiting what movies they'll be able to watch. Buena Vista, Sony and 20th Century Fox titles are on Blu-Ray, while DreamWorks, Universal Studios and Paramount are in the HD DVD camp. Warner Bros. and New Line releases use both formats for releases.

There are a few DVD players that support both, but they're more expensive.

Blu-Ray outpaces HD DVD in sales, with Blu-Ray getting 62 percent of the U.S. market since its introduction, according to Nielsen VideoScan.

Video Business magazine reports that on the Friday after Thanksgiving, HD DVD and Blu-Ray players accounted for 57,000 sales, while 600,000 standard definition players were sold. For now, it's still a waiting game for many buyers, who don't want to be fenced in by the limitations of one or the other.

Parents who are scouring store shelves trying to get their hands on the elusive Wii this holiday season won't argue that Nintendo's popular game console is one of the most successful products of the year.

Gaming fanatics debate the virtues of the Wii vs. Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 endlessly in blogs and online forums. Wii advocates say its wireless controller added a new dimension to gameplay for players of all levels, and cheerfully welcomed "Super Mario Galaxy," a 3-D action-platform game released for the holiday season.

Elsewhere in the console wars: The PSP is a mobile device, giving it an edge for people who want to use it away from home. Xbox 360's sharp graphics are a draw for gamers. The Playstation 3 includes a Blu-Ray drive.

It's a scenario straight out of "The Jetsons." You're sitting in your Ford-manufactured car and telling it what song you want to hear, or to call your office.

Ford's Sync is a hands-free, voice-activated mobile phone and entertainment system. Ford introduced Sync this year as an option on selected 2008 Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles.

It's compatible with many of the major media players, including Zune and iPod, and with most Bluetooth-enabled phones.

Commands for the music player let you request specific songs or genres. It can even create a playlist of songs similar to the one being played.

For a guided tour and a frequently asked questions roundup, go to syncmyride.com.

The growing applications of wireless technologies have created what tech geeks call the "untethered" online experience -- the ability to listen to or watch online content without a computer connection.

A growing number of media players and mobile phones let one connect wirelessly to music services. The Sansa Connect for Yahoo and the Ibiza Rhapsody for Rhapsody enable subscribers to download songs or listen to live streams when in Wi-Fi range.

Other wireless connections:

• Bluetooth technology un-wired headphones and is becoming a standard feature in MP3 players and mobile phones.

• Nokia launched the N95, a mobile phone that plays digital music files and also features an FM radio tuner.

• Apple TV wirelessly transmits iTunes video downloads to the home TV screen and is compatible with both PC and Mac systems.

With the majority of U.S. households now equipped with high-speed Internet, the increase in streaming video has forever changed the face of TV. People equipped with high quality monitors basically have the equivalent of a DVR or TiVo and digital TV on their desktops.

Hulu, a new online video service that launched in beta version this year, will offer new and classic TV shows for online, on-demand viewing. Joost also debuted this year, streaming selected online video and TV content. Viewers can chat with each other while watching.

User-generated content continues to grow, and big names in TV who recognized the potential launched Web projects: "thirtysomething" and "My So-Called Life" creators Marshall Herskovitz and Ed Zwick with the Web series "Quarterlife," which NBC is adding to its midseason lineup in February; Drew Carey with a series of documentary videos; and comedian Will Ferrell with a comedy video site.

Virtual reality has come to everyone's desktop. In Second Life, There and other virtual worlds, people create an avatar and interact with others in semi-realistic 3-D online environments. Virtual worlds have been around for a while but started drawing mainstream attention in 2007.

Entertainment and businesses are tapping into the potential for reaching people through this platform, including a "CSI: NY" episode set in Second Life and live concerts. HBO bought the rights to a documentary shot in the Second Life environment.

On the horizon is Sony Playstation's Home, which will bring a Second Life-like universe to the PS3 console and the gaming world.

It isn't new, but 2007 saw the nationwide launch of new formats, giving the limited radio a dial more diverse than ever, and terrestrial radio a way to compete with satellite and Internet radio.

HD Radio enables a station to broadcast different channels in digital sound on the same frequency, although the listener needs an HD Radio receiver to pick up the second and third channels. Receivers have become more widely available, and some stations stream their HD channels online.

Local stations with HD channels include those owned by Clear Channel and CBS Radio, Steel City Media's WRRK-FM and WLTJ-FM, along with public stations WDUQ-FM and WQED-FM.