Some consumer-electronics manufacturers are plunging ahead with increased production and new models of digital television sets, despite continuing controversy about broadcasting standards and a scarcity of high-definition programming.

Now there are two companies in the D-VHS D-Theater camp.

Predicting a sharp increase in demand for plasma display panels (PDPs), <A HREF="http://www.panasonic.co.jp/global/">Matsushita Electrical Industrial Co. Ltd</A>. has entered a partnership with Tokay Industries, Inc. to build another PDP plant in Osaka, Japan, according to a May 21 announcement.

Last week, <A HREF="http://www.variety.com/"><I>Variety</I></A> reported that, in celebration of its 75th anniversary, MGM intends to re-release several James Bond classics spanning the last 37 years. The company says it will release 19 of its Bond films as special editions on DVD and VHS in three installments beginning on October 19 of this year, culminating with the DVD release of the newest Bond film, <I>The World is Not Enough</I>, by the end of 2000. The new film, staring Pierce Brosnan as Bond once again, is slated to hit theaters November 19, 1999, in time for the holiday season.