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Denon threw away convention in the 1990s when they partnered their electronics with Mission loudspeakers to produce a series of two-channel mini-systems. Other than maybe David Crosby and Melissa Etheridge, was there a more-stunning collaboration in the decade?

He may not have known all the chords . . . but he knew "a lot more than we knew," as John Lennon said, remembering the day in 1957 when Paul McCartney introduced him to George Harrison. And that was enough for John to agree with Paul that George should join them in the band that would eventually become, with Ringo Starr, the Beatles.

Just a week after a consortium of electronics companies announced its commitment to a new <A HREF="http://www.guidetohometheater.com/shownews.cgi?1228">high-capacity DVD</A>, the DVD Forum voted to approve the use of low-bit-rate compression for high-definition DVD. The vote was approved by 11 of the Forum's 17 members, with Matsushita, JVC, and Philips abstaining.

Can direct broadcast satellite services make good on their promises? Representatives of EchoStar and Hughes Electronics Corporation (owner of DirecTV) have promised federal lawmakers that if their merger is approved, they will roll out broadband digital services, retransmit local television signals, and generally saturate the nation with satellite television&mdash;all within three years.