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The television broadcasting picture could change substantially if a bill drafted by US House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee chairman Billy Tauzin (R-LA) becomes law. Among the bill's most drastic requirements is one forcing broadcasters to return their analog TV channels by 2006, for probable auction to wireless services. The <A HREF="http://www.nab.org">National Association of Broadcasters</A> (NAB) is expected to campaign strongly against any such legislation. The Commerce Committee's ranking Democrat, John Dingell of Michigan, helped draft the bill.

What makes one of today's complex A/V receivers friendly, and another model with identical features off-putting? I didn't ask that question when I began setting up and using Pioneer's latest, the Elite VSX-49TX , but the answer appeared as I explored this superbly-thought-out receiver, and was confirmed when, returning after a week out of town, I was able to easily take advantage of its many functions without getting lost or even needing the instruction manual.

DVD has taken off like no other format in consumer-electronics history. At the end of these first five years of stellar growth for DVD, <I>SGHT</I>'s editors rate the good, the bad, and the ugly in "<A HREF="http://www.guidetohometheater.com/showarchives.cgi?37">DVD: Five Years and Still Sizzling</A>." More than 55 DVD reviews in one place, with ratings for sound, picture, and content.

Although most consumers think ultra-flat-panel TVs and monitors have a high "cool factor," rear-projection televisions (RPTVs) continue to be very popular. The trend could determine the future for microdisplay makers, as big-screen RPTVs move away from CRTs and toward microdisplay image sources such as LCDs and DLP chips.