Rockets launched into space move slowly at liftoff, but with thrust continually applied, they gain momentum until they break free of Earth's gravity. The Digital Versatile Disc has done something similar, according to the latest figures from the <A HREF="http://www.cemacity.org/">Consumer Electronics Association</A>: As of November 23, the DVD is the hottest-selling consumer-electronics product in history.

Factory-to-dealer sales of digital television sets exceeded 20,000 units in October, a new one-month record. October's total of 21,432 units shipped was an increase of 42% over September's 15,600, the previous one-month record. More than 88,000 units have been sold since the new format was rolled out in 1998, with 75,000 of those units sold in 1999.

Custom installation is <I>the</I> growth area for the consumer electronics industry. To expand training opportunities for installers, the <A HREF="http://www.cedia.org">Custom Electronics Design and Installation Association</A> (CEDIA) has announced a new partnership with the <A HREF="http://www.ce.org">Consumer Electronics Association</A> (CEA) to bring CEDIA training to the 2002 International Consumer Electronics Show, to be held January 8&#160;11 in Las Vegas. The upcoming CES will be the first one to be held during weekdays rather than over a weekend.

Gary Shapiro is after the US Congress to reconcile House and Senate versions of the Satellite Home Viewer Act (SHVA). Shapiro, president of the <A HREF="http://www.cemacity.org/">Consumer Electronics Manufacturers Association</A> (CEMA), has asked legislators to incorporate provisions of a recent agreement between direct broadcast satellite (DBS) service <A HREF="http://www.directv.com/">DirecTV</A> and the <A HREF="http://www.nab.org/">National Association of Broadcasters</A>, allowing DBS services to transmit local TV signals&mdash;a practice known as local-into-local&mdash;as cable companies have always done.