LATEST ADDITIONS

Plasma displays are a hot ticket in today's video market, generating a nearly universal "Wow!" reaction from first-time viewers. Fujitsu's new 61-inch-diagonal PDS-6101 has a picture nearly as big as the largest rear-projection sets, but weighs less than half as much. Even better, like all plasmas, it takes up no floor space when hung on a wall. That feature alone has probably accounted for much of the technology's appeal, despite the still high price of admission. Yes, prices are dropping rapidly, but while some of the smallest sets are getting close to the target sought by most manufacturers—$100 per diagonal inch—larger screens are still a long way from that goal.

In a move that bodes well for the rollout of digital television, if not specifically for manufacturers' bottom lines, discount chain Wal-Mart has announced that it is jumping into the DTV market.

Rupert Murdoch may get another shot at DirecTV. On October 9, the News Corp. CEO won a second chance to acquire the direct broadcast satellite operation from General Motors' Hughes Electronics division when the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) declined to approve a proposed $13 billion acquisition of DirecTV by Littleton, CO–based EchoStar Communications.

Within a year or so, EchoStar and DirecTV may not be the only satellite broadcasters over North America. <A HREF="http://www.cablevision.com">Cablevision Systems</A> may join them.