LATEST ADDITIONS

<I>William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, James Doohan, Walter Koenig, George Takei, Nichelle Nichols, Bibi Besch, Merritt Butrick, Paul Winfield, Kirstie Allie, Ricardo Montalban. Directed by Nicolas Meyer. Aspect ratio: 2.35:1 (anamorphic). Dolby Digital 5.1, Dolby Surround (English), Stereo (French). Two discs. 116 minutes. 1982. Paramount 09117. PG. $29.99.</I>

Fred Manteghian wires the <A HREF="http://www.guidetohometheater.com/showarchives.cgi?68">Krell DVD Standard DVD player</A> into his HT system, describing it as the first high-end player he's used with the latest Faroudja Laboratories chipset. Is it worth the $8k price tag? FM broadcasts all.

Most people never see hard-disk drives, but their impact on our lives is becoming universal. We take them for granted, remembering how essential they are only when they occasionally fail. While CDs pretty much own the data of the audio world, hard-disk drives are providing exciting new possibilities. Take Yamaha's CDR-HD1300, for example.

RCA has been making commercial televisions longer than anyone, and they can take some credit for having invented the technology. Vladimir Zworykin, the chief engineer on the company's TV project during the 1930s and '40s, created the first workable picture tube, while his competitor, Philo Farnsworth, developed the first workable receiver and other elements. A federal court ruled that Farnsworth was the true inventor of modern-day electronic television, but RCA played a critical role&mdash;and was entirely responsible for its successful commercial introduction.