<A HREF="http://www.tivo.com">TiVo</A>'s stand-alone digital video recorders (DVRs) may not have taken the market by storm, but the core technology&mdash;a hard-disk recorder&mdash;has begun to appear in a range of new products now on the market or to be introduced soon.

<A HREF="http://www.echostar.com">EchoStar Communications Corporation</A> is reeling in the wake of its recent failure to win approval for its proposed acquisition of competitor <A HREF="http://www.directv.com">DirecTV</A>. The Federal Communications Commission and the US Justice Department have both blocked the $18 billion merger. A trial over the issue is expected early next year.

Steven Stone takes on the <A HREF="http://www.guidetohometheater.com/showarchives.cgi?60">Earthquake SuperNova MKIV-15 subwoofer</A>, asking "What would a movie be without low-frequency effects?" SS takes a subterranean tour with the MKIV-15 to see how well it handles the big boom.

EchoStar Communications Corporation and Hughes Electronics Corporation, parent company of DirecTV, are still hopeful of a merger, despite regulatory opposition. The two would-be partners are working on concessions that could win over officials at the Federal Communications Commission and the US Justice Department.