Ever since I began working in pro sound (1973) and ever since then with (not only pro sound but also with) hi-fi, all components were built to the width of 17 inches to conform to the general rack standards, whether they were put in a rack, or not.

So I get this really nice new DVD player (Harmon-Kardon DVD 31) for Christmas that is 17.5 inches -- what idiot engineer thought that this was a good idea ?

Have I missed something that changed the component world here ?