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HDTV fans rejoice: The magic formula needed to bring high definition video into millions of consumer homes may be near. Nine of the major audio/video consumer electronics companies announced last week that they have jointly established the basic specifications for a next generation large capacity optical disc video recording format called "Blu-ray Disc."

Here's a formula for an experiment pre-determined to prove there's no demand for downloadable movies over the Internet: Offer two films that nobody wants to see, and make them playable for only 24 hours.

The Supreme Court's recent announcement that it will review an extension of copyright terms enacted during the Clinton administration has won praise from the <A HREF="http://www.ce.org">Consumer Electronics Association</A>.

Kenwood's new Sovereign line features three DVD players. The DV-5700, a 5-disc carousel model, is compatible with most consumer-format 5-inch optical discs: DVD-Video, DVD-Audio, CD, and MP3. SACD is the most obvious omission, but not much else is left out. There are onboard Dolby Digital and DTS decoders for that shrinking group of consumers without such decoders in their surround processors or A/V receivers.