Canada's consumers may have a bigger per-capita appetite for high technology than the US, according to recently released statistics. The northern nation is one of the world's strongest markets for televisions and related technology, representing a $1.1 billion market annually for such products. DVD players, for example, are the hottest consumer-electronics products in Canada. More than 202,000 machines were sold in 1999, a 121% increase over 1998, with approximately 500,000 expected to be sold by the end of this year.

High-Definition Television is getting a big boost this season, thanks to a partnership between <A HREF="http://www.panasonic.com/">Panasonic Consumer Electronics Company</A> and the <A HREF="http://www.cbs.com/">Columbia Broadcasting System</A>. Seventeen of the network's 18 weekly comedy and drama shows will appear in the new format, according to a schedule released Wednesday, September 27. A sponsorship from Panasonic is making possible an almost-complete schedule of primetime HDTV programming from CBS, a unit of media conglomerate <A HREF="http://www.viacom.com/">Viacom, Inc.</A>

The rollout of HDTV may finally get rolling, thanks to an agreement reached the first week of November by consumer electronics manufacturers and representatives of the cable television industry.

According to comments filed by the<A HREF="http://www.ce.org"> Consumer Electronics Association</A> (CEA) last week, if the Federal Communications Commission is serious about developing a robust commercial market for digital cable set-top navigation devices, the agency must immediately revise its rules and the market incentives available to cable operators. The comments were filed in response to the Commission's <I>Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking</I>, regarding the commercial availability of navigation devices.