He conceded that coaxing the mammal downstream may require the help of a sonic device called a scrammer.

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Kellner's ire was directed especially at a device called the Replay TV 4000, marketed in the US by a company called Sonic Blue, which incorporates a button allowing you to leap forward exactly 30 seconds.

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The sonic lasso is quite a bit more complex and less portable than its rope-based cousin, involving a circular device with 16 sources of acoustic waves.

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