Barry Willis

The American transition to digital television may be bogged down, but eventually it will reach critical mass. That's the view of NHK president Katsuji Ebisawa.

<A HREF="http://www.runco.com">Runco International</A> has introduced two new widescreen flat-panel plasma monitors. Both are 16:9 units offering true high-definition performance, supporting 720p in its native resolution.

Soon, <A HREF="http://www.dolby.com">Dolby</A> won't be the only option for surround-sound processing in digital television broadcasting. <A HREF="http://www.dtsonline.com">Digital Theater Systems</A> (DTS) will also have a place in the format, thanks to a recent agreement with the <A HREF="http://www.dvb.org">Digital Video Broadcasting project</A>. The DVB is a technical consortium of more than 300 companies, established to create common international specifications for the transition from analog to digital broadcasting.

Everything seems to be roses and lollipops for <A HREF="http://www.tivo.com">TiVo</A> and <A HREF="http://www.sonicblue.com">SonicBlue</A>, maker of ReplayTV devices. The Silicon Valley rivals are allies now that they've decided to put their time and money into promoting digital video recorders (DVRs) rather than fighting each other.