LATEST ADDITIONS

On September 13, San Francisco-based Dolby Laboratories announced the availability of a new reference multichannel decoder, the <A HREF="http://www.dolby.com/products/DP564/">DP564</A>. The new tool is able to decode every Dolby&#174; consumer format, making it the "perfect solution for monitoring in DVD, digital TV broadcast, and postproduction applications," according to an official announcement. The DP564 debuted at the International Broadcasting Convention held September 13&ndash;17.

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.