Jon Iverson

Back in September, <A HREF="http://www.dtsonline.com">DTS</A> announced that Pioneer and Denon were planning to be the first companies to incorporating the new 96kHz/24-bit high resolution surround sound technology in their flagship A/V receivers. It would appear the companies have made good on that promise, with some help from integrated circuit manufacturer <A HREF="http://www.analog.com/">Analog Devices</A>.

If you've been steadfastly waiting for the perfect reason to buy a new HDTV set, here it is: <A HREF="http://NBCOlympics.com">NBC</A> and <A HREF="http://www.hd.net">HDNet</A> announced last week they will broadcast selected events at the upcoming 2002 Olympic Winter Games from Salt Lake City in 1080i high definition video with Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround audio.

Last week, <A HREF="http://www.magisnetworks.com">Magis Networks</A>, which develops <A HREF="http://www.80211-planet.com/">802.11a</A> wireless chipsets, announced it will offer what it is calling the world's first live demonstration of a wireless 5GHz network capable of transmitting HDTV. The company says that its chipsets enable wireless communications of TCP/IP data, high-quality video, and audio throughout the home and office. Magis adds the demonstration will be featured at the upcoming Western Cable Show, November 28&#150:30, in Anaheim, CA.

There are a variety of reasons you might want to watch a DVD while listening through a pair of headphones: You're on a plane, you need to be quiet while others sleep/work, or you've got a portable DVD player and no decent sound system to hook it up to. But there's also one big reason you wouldn't want to use headphones: no surround sound.