FTC amends Amplifier Rule.(Brief Article)

The FTC approved a Final Rule and Supplemental Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (SNPR) for the Commission's Rule Relating to Power Output Claims for Amplifiers Utilized in Home Entertainment Products (Amplifier Rule). The SNPR seeks to clarify the testing of self-powered speakers and to modify old testing and disclosure requirements.

The agency is requesting comment on the SNPR's revisions to the original 1974 Amplifier Rule that would require power output ratings for the recent class of "home theater" receivers (audio/video receivers) that can now decode complex digital signals on movie soundtracks and send discrete amplified signals to five or more loudspeakers. The …