Although it's taken longer than expected—copyright protection has become the bane of every new technology these days—IEEE 1394 (aka FireWire) is finally coming to life. Last week, Mitsubishi Digital Electronics announced several new products based on 1394 at its National Product Line Show held in Long Beach.

1999 started off in fine detail for the thousands of early adopters who have picked up a high-definition television. January 1, the 110th Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, California, was broadcast to digital-television viewers for the first time in full 1920x1080 HDTV. Tribune Broadcasting's KTLA-DT transmitted this year's parade in hi-def using a National Mobile Television (NMT) remote broadcast truck, known as the HD-2.

Both Sony Electronics and Panavision say they will soon deliver the first prototype 24-frame-progressive high-definition camera system to Lucasfilm for testing prior to its being used in shooting the next two Star Wars films. The companies say that this announcement signifies the beginning of a new era in high-definition digital cinematography.

The set-top box could eventually become the center of your attention, which is why several turf wars have broken out to win control over this part of the home-theater market. With DTV on the horizon, cable and satellite companies will be upgrading the services that feed your TV with some mix of standard and high-definition digital audio and video. And as movie distribution moves toward a pay-per-view future, the gateway to these services---the set-top box---will have more prominence in most home-theater systems.