The living room in most American homes has traditionally served ceremonial purposes. It's the place where your parents entertained visiting dignitaries, like the local minister who came to offer consolation after your grandmother's funeral. It's the place where they took pictures of you and your senior-prom date. As a showcase for stiff, uncomfortable, and rarely used furniture, the traditional living room is an ornamental vestige of a bygone, formal era, like buttons on the sleeve of a dinner jacket.

The <A HREF="http://www.nab.org">National Association of Broadcasters</A> (NAB) show earlier this month featured all manner of professional high-tech toys, from HDTV cameras to the latest video-production devices. But among the broadcast-industry announcements, several products of interest to cutting-edge consumers were also presented.

Last week, <A HREF="http://www.intertainer.com/">Intertainer, Inc.</A> announced that both <A HREF="http://www.uswest.com/">USWest Communications</A> and <A HREF="http://www.sony.com">Sony Corp.</A> have invested in the company, which provides a broadband entertainment-on-demand programming service of the same name. The two investors join <A HREF="http://www.intel.com/">Intel</A>, <A HREF="http://www.comcast.com/">Comcast</A>, and Sterling Ventures in committing capital and technological resources to Intertainer. As part of the agreement, <A HREF="http://www.uswest.com/interprise">USWest !nterprise Networking</A>, the data-integration arm of USWest Communications, will supply the Interprise service to its customers via Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) wire centers in 40 cities starting in June 1998.

On April 13, <A HREF="http://www.warnerbros.com">Warner Bros. Home Video</A> announced a program intended to introduce the DVD to a new generation of movie fans. WB will bundle DVD players and discs for video dealers to rent to their customers. "The rapid growth of DVD now makes rental a viable business opportunity for rental retailers," says Thomas Lesinski, Warner Home Video senior vice president for marketing.