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A <A HREF="http://www.ce.org">Consumer Electronics Association</A> (CEA) technical subcommittee has announced that it is adopting a standard method for measuring the performance of DVD-Video players. The new standard will make it easier for manufacturers, reviewers, and consumers to compare the functionality of DVD players, the trade group believes.

Last year, during <A HREF="http://www.echostar.com">EchoStar Communications</A>&rsquo; prolonged and unsuccessful campaign to acquire Hughes Electronics&rsquo; DirecTV, EchoStar CEO Charlie Ergen promised that if the merger weren&rsquo;t approved, subscription fees would almost certainly increase.

As you read this, winter has set in and indoor diversions, including home theater, have taken center stage. Is it really that time of year again? The time <I>Stereophile Guide to Home Theater</I> announces its annual Editors' Choice awards from among the dozens of products we've reviewed in the past year? The time we agonize over our choices? The time the editor makes his first-cut nominations and discusses them with the other writers, carefully factoring in their opinions?

Epson's entrance into the home-theater projector arena has long been anticipated. For years, Epson has had the best color-management system of any maker of LCD projectors, and their ability to tame the uneven spectral output of short-arc metal-halide lamps has been impressive.