Focus Enhancements, one of the primary developers of ultra wideband (UWB) wireless networking technology, has successfully demonstrated the transmission of two HDTV datastreams through the walls of its Hillsboro, Oregon, facility. This is an important step toward enabling consumer products to wirelessly transmit multiple HD streams throughout the home using Focus Enhancements' UWB chipsets, which should become available later this year.

I've always been impressed with Sam Runco's familial attitude toward his employees and dealers as well as the consumer-electronics press corps and even the entire industry. This attitude is especially evident during his company's annual spring retreat in Mexico, held this year at the Meliá Cabo Real resort on the Sea of Cortez, halfway between Cabo San Lucas (famous home of Sammy Hagar's Cabo Wabo bar and tequila business) and the lesser-known but much more quaint San Jose del Cabo. Not only does Runco invite his top 10 dealers and a few fortunate journalists, he encourages them to bring their families, stressing the importance of making and maintaining personal connections within the CE community.

It seems that Voom is finally nearing the end of the line, despite Herculean (some would say Machiavellian) efforts to keep it alive by Cablevision founder Charles Dolan. In what can only be described as a real-life soap opera, Dolan's attempts to resurrect the HD satellite service have raised more than a few eyebrows and divided his own family squarely down the middle. (If you haven't been following the saga, you can get up to speed by <A href="http://ultimateavmag.com/news/030105voom/">starting here</A> and following the links.)

According to market research and analysis firm <A href="http://www.in-stat.com">In-Stat</A>, the future of DVD looks bright despite the emergence of new digital delivery services, such as video-on-demand (VOD) and online downloading. The company's latest market-research report predicts that the worldwide value of all published DVD products will increase with a compound annual growth rate of 18.2%, from about $33 billion during 2004 to $76.5 billion by 2009.