Barry Willis

As most home-theater fans know, DVD, the format, arrived ahead of digital television. Despite the fact that video is encoded on a DVD as 480 lines of progressive-scan MPEG-2, the first generations of DVD players put out signals in 525 interlaced lines, otherwise known as NTSC "legacy video." Converter circuitry inside the players makes MPEG-2 video back-compatible with existing TVs. Until recently, it was primarily consumers with DVD-ROM drives in their computers who could enjoy the full benefits of progressive-scan video.

Personal video recorders(PVRs)—or digital video recorders (DVRs), as they are sometimes called—may not be as inevitable in most consumers' homes as some experts are predicting. The reasons? Try invasion of privacy and deletion of desirable features.

Digital Satellite System dish owners could soon be enjoying Dolby Digital surround sound. Next month, DSS dealers will start taking delivery on RCA's new DS5451 receiver. The new receiver will incorporate an optical Sony/Philips Digital Interface Format (S/PDIF) jack that sends a Dolby Digital signal to an appropriate surround decoder or A/V receiver.

At present, high-definition video is available two ways: via broadcasters or on HD digital VHS tape cassettes. There are no high-def DVDs, despite the hype from the promoters of Blu-ray and HD-DVD, both of which will require disc transports using short-wavelength blue lasers.