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Remember that whole "broadcast flag" kerfluffle? Well, it ain't over yet—not if the Home Recording Rights Coalition (HRRC) and the Electronic Freedom Foundation (EFF) have anything to say about it. If you don't remember the broadcast flag imbroglio, or if you thought it had been vanquished by the DC Circuit Court in May 2005, here's an update.

It's tough to know which CDs, SACDs, and DVD-Audio discs have been restricted through watermarks or other "copy protection" techniques. This has created a thriving underground community, with websites such as Fat">http://www.fatchucks.com">Fat Chuck's devoted to sussing out the corrupted audio products and posting notification to consumers.

We've learned to pretty much ignore consumer electronics company announcements for their latest CD and DVD players/burners. The usual "breakthrough" turns out to be yet another faster record/playback speed bump, or a longer list of compatible formats (Panasonic's latest recorder, announced last week, can handle—take a deep breath—DVD-R, DVD-RAM, DVD-RW, CD-R, CD-RW, DVD-ROM, DVD-Video, DVD-Audio, and CD-ROM discs).

If I were to tell you that four months into 2007, I already had a nomination for the year's best-sounding record, you might think me daring. If I told you that it features bandoneon—a chromatic accordion—and cello, you'd probably think me barking mad.

Disc piracy is a profitable but increasingly risky business, with bootlegging-related shootings and armed robberies on the rise. Modern pirates have begun to imitate their sea-going ancestors, using force to acquire assets and territory.

On Friday, October 21, Stereophile editor John Atkinson presented the Richard Heyser Memorial Lecture at the 131st Audio Engineering Society Convention, held at the Jacob Javits Center in Manhattan. A couple of days later, JA spoke with Home Theater’s Scott Wilkinson about some of the points he made during the event.

From the safety of your own home or office (without the threat of JA throwing a baseball at you or pouring a glass of water on your laptop), you can tune in to Scott’s podcast and enjoy much of what JA covered in his fascinating lecture, titled “Where Did the Negative Frequencies Go?”

Listen here.

A consortium of media and Internet companies announced a set of guidelines to protect copyrights online on October 19. Among the group, which has been negotiating for nine months, were Walt Disney Co.; Microsoft; NBC Universal; Viacom, Inc.; CBS Corp.; News Corp.'s MySpace and Fox constituents; Veoh Networks, Inc.; and Dailymotion S.A. Noticeable for its absence was Google, including YouTube, which has recently been sued for $1 billion for infringement by Viacom.