OTHER NEWS - April 6, 1994

VCRs, Remotes to Become Cable-Friendly: Some cable television viewers will soon be able to take full advantage of their videocassette recorders, special TV set features and universal remote controls, thanks to new Federal Communications Commission regulations. The regulations will be phased in between May 31 and Oct. 31. But subscribers will still have to buy or rent additional equipment, at least in the short term. Cable operators have prevented most subscribers from using the remote controls that come with their TV sets by turning off that capability in set-top boxes. For technical reasons, cable subscribers have not been able to record one program while watching another or use the picture-in-picture option on many new TV sets.