Interactive TV (iTV) is about to become a reality, according to a new study released by <A HREF="http://www.StrategisGroup.com">The Strategis Group</A>. The study, "Interactive TV: Platforms, Content, and Services," projects that, by 2005, the majority of US households will be iTV-capable, and that active usage will reach over 41 million&mdash;a dramatic rise from the 1 million households using the service this year.

Home theater fans will enjoy perusing <A HREF="http://www.jvc.com">JVC</A>'s new video products&mdash;especially its combination digital TV decoder and high-def&ndash;capable hard disk recorder, due at dealers this fall.

Last week, JVC Americas announced that it has consolidated its projector operations&mdash;both JVC-branded projection systems and Hughes-JVC-branded systems&mdash;into <A HREF="http://www.jvc.com/pro">JVC Professional Products Company</A>, and will develop and market all future projection systems under the JVC brand. The company says that this consolidation will result in the creation of a new Visual Systems Division, effective next month. JVC says it hopes that the reorganized company will grow its projection-display business by more than 15% in the year 2000.

Power struggles among media companies can erode public and regulatory trust in the cable industry, <A HREF="http://www.fcc.gov/">Federal Communications Commission</A> chairman William Kennard warned attendees at the <A HREF="http://www.ncta.org/">National Cable Television Association</A>'s annual convention in New Orleans last week. Kennard referred specifically to the recent squabble between Disney Corporation and Time Warner, which led to a blackout of Disney's ABC network in key markets earlier this month. Such actions call into question the ability of the industry to police itself, Kennard told cable executives.