LATEST ADDITIONS

In the past few years, DLP technology has come a long way in terms of both picture quality and affordability. Not long ago, an entry-level one-chip 800-by-600 projector cost about $10,000. With the advent of the higher-resolution (1,024 by 768 and now 1,280 by 720) one-chip projectors, the front-projection world has become accessible to many more people. As the technology is rapidly becoming one of the hottest of the new fixed-pixel-display alternatives for both rear- and front-projection applications, new companies are constantly joining the DLP fold. InFocus—a company that, until now, concentrated solely on the professional business market—has entered the home market. The company's first offering is the ScreenPlay 110, a dual-mode one-chip DLP front projector with a resolution of 800 by 600 in the 4:3 mode and 853 by 480 in the enhanced-widescreen or anamorphic mode.

<A HREF="http://www.echostar.com">EchoStar</A>'s fortunes are looking up. The Littleton, CO&ndash;based direct broadcast satellite (DBS) service has yet to win regulatory approval in its bid to acquire rival DirecTV, but it is enjoying a surge in revenue, the result of massive growth in its subscriber base.

Plans by the entertainment industry to control the distribution of digital programming could have dire consequences for consumers, a <A HREF="http://www.philips.com">Philips Electronics</A> executive told US congressmen in late April.

New Year's Day, 2003 may be a day of special celebration for sports and movie fans. Ten of the nation's biggest cable providers have pledged to begin delivering digital signals by then, according to a May 2 report by Bill McConnell in the trade journal <I>Broadcasting and Cable</I>.