Consumer Electronics Daily News

LG Adds Netflix to New Blu-ray Player

While many analysts have contended that direct-to-download services like Netflix pose the single greatest threat to the mass adoption of next-generation DVD technologies like Blu-ray, LG Electronics is embracing the "enemy" and adding Netflix capabilities to its newest Blu-ray player, CNET reports.

The LG BD300 Network Blu-ray player will allows customers to combine the Blu-ray playback capabilities with instant access to Netflix movies. The LG device adds set-top box capability to download and stream more than 12,0000 films and TV shows through a Netflix subscription. Current subscribers who purchase the LG Blu-ray player can add the service at no additional charge.

While LG is not the first to add Netflix connectivity to a set-top box -- Microsoft is readying the same services for the XBox 360 and a the Roku Netflix Player, a standalone unit, is also currently on the market -- LG is the first to combine the streaming video service with Blu-ray playback.

The LG BD300 has not yet been officially priced. For more information, visit www.lge.com.

Sanus Begins Shipping Three New Natural Series A/V Stands

Sanus Systems is now shipping three new models of AV Foundations™ Natural series furniture, including the NFV249 three-shelf AV lowboy, the NFAV230 four-shelf AV stand and the NFA245 five-shelf audio stand. All units incorporate stylish new colors and thick, smoked tempered glass shelves.

"These new lowboys and cabinets are great enhancements to our Natural series furniture," says Keith Pribyl, Vice President of Consumer Sales. "These new models offer consumers aesthetically pleasing storage and display options for their home theater."

The new models are designed with solid Grade A hardwood, extra-thick tempered glass and rigid steel hardware, which provide incredible strength. Models also feature open architecture, which offers unrestricted airflow to electronics, allowing them to maintain their optimal operating temperature and maximize performance. The new models are available in black, cherry or mocha finishes. They incorporate new platinum accents and smoked-glass shelves.

For more information, visit www.sanus.com. 

SRS Celebrates 15 Years in Business

SRS Labs, Inc. an industry leader in surround sound, audio and voice technologies, celebrates 15 years of innovation in developing and licensing audio enrichment technologies to the world’s leading consumer electronics manufacturers. The company’s extensive portfolio of patented technologies maximize the audio performance of products such as televisions, mobile phones, PCs, portable media devices and automotive entertainment.

SRS Labs was formed in 1993 with the purchase of the SRS 3D® (Sound Retrieval System) audio technology from Hughes Aircraft. The company’s first licensing partners were Sony and RCA, both implementing SRS 3D in TVs.  Since then, the company’s list of licensees number in the hundreds, including leading consumer electronics manufacturers such as Panasonic, LG, Samsung, Sharp, Sony, VIZIO and many other world renowned brands.  To date, SRS audio technologies have shipped in over 1 billion products and in recent years, SRS Labs has managed to systematically penetrate the home theater category with phenomenal success in televisions with over 33% worldwide market share in flat panel HDTVs. In addition, according to DisplaySearch and SRS royalty reports, nine of the top 10 flat panel TV brands worldwide (30” and larger) feature one or more SRS audio technologies.

To commemorate the company’s 15 years of audio innovation and leadership, SRS Labs is giving away a prize a day for 15 days! The sweepstakes, which includes sponsorship participation from several partners, including Altec Lansing, Bluetrek, Corel, Intellitouch, iLive, iRiver, Logitech, Memorex, Motorola and others, will start at noon on August 1 and runs through August 15. To enter for your chance to win a product featuring SRS sound enrichment technologies, visit www.srslabs.com/anniversary.

Best Buy Unveils Five-Year Corporate Citizenship Plan

Best Buy Co., Inc. announced today that its fiscal 2008 corporate responsibility report is now available for download at www.bestbuyinc.com/corporate_responsibility. The report is one of the company’s first steps toward its newly-established, five-year aspirations for corporate citizenship, and provides a preliminary overview of the programs that it expects will help drive the social and environmental accountability of the retailer while it continues to grow.

The company has focused its plan around several key initiatives:

1. A global champion for human ingenuity and opportunity – Best Buy employees expect to provide leadership for our industry, our customers and our communities worldwide.
2. A global advocate for consumers in the world of technology – Best Buy intends to deliver consumer electronics products and services to more people than any other company in the world.
3. Environmentally and socially accountable for all brands and business operations worldwide

“As we plan growth for our business and market share in the coming years, worldwide, we must take responsibility for our business, and consider our social and environmental impact,” says Paula Prahl, Senior Vice President, Communications, Public Afairs and Corporate Responsibility. “We know these aspirations are very broad, but we are approaching them strategically through our existing customer-centric business model. We believe we have a clear idea of what corporate citizenship means to Best Buy, and we intend to reach these aspirations through the contributions of every function, every operation, and every employee around the world.”

For more information, click here.

Hitachi Announces Executive Changes

Hitachi, Ltd. today announced sweeping executive changes. Taiji Hasegawa has been named Representative Executive Officer, Senior Vice President and Executive Officer, in charge of Automotive Systems Business and Procurement. Hasegawa is currently Chairman of the company's Automotive Products (USA) division.

Kunihiko Ohnuma, the current EVP and EO of the Industrial Infrastructure Business, is now listed as a Representative Executive Officer, Executive Vice President and Executive Officer, in charge of Industrial Infrastructure Business (Automotive Systems Business), Life Infrastructure Business (Urban Planning and Development Business, Consumer Business), President & Chief Executive Officer of Consumer Business Group

Masao Hisada will assume the role of Vice President and Executive Officer, Deputy General Manager of Corporate Marketing Group and General Manager of Global Business Division.

For more information about these other other Hitachi news, visit www.hitachi.com.

Zip Express, Target.com Partner for CE Installation Service

Zip Express Installation, the first next-day installation service for consumer electronics retailers, announces the first of its nationwide retail partnerships with Target.com. Zip Express provides Target.com and its other retail partners with an in-house installation department, without the challenges involved with maintaining an expensive workforce, vehicles, human resources and equipment.

"Many retailers today rely on the additional revenue gained from installation services," says Chris Mauzy, President and CEO of Zip Express Installation. "Our services provide retail partners with the same benefits achieved from an in-house installation service, but without the overhead required to support the in-house program themselves."

As prices for major electronic products continue to go down, Zip Express provides attractive margins for retailers by offering additional sales revenue on top of the product at checkout. Zip Express also offers quick installation for customers, leading to a decrease in return rates - as inability to properly set up a new piece of equipment is a frequent reason for returns.

Through Zip Express, Target.com customers will have the first installation option through the retail chain and can purchase installation packages alongside any major home electronic purchases made on Target.com, with next-day installation available anywhere in the U.S. and Canada. The selected service is rung up with the product at checkout and the customer can then call the toll free number or visit www.zipinstallation.com immediately after purchase to schedule a specific day and hour that is most convenient for installation.

In addition to being the first nationwide installation service to offer next-day installation appointments at a specific hour, Zip Express installers take all trash away from the job and train each customer on how the new setup works in the home. Services include tabletop TV setup, TV wall mounting, home theater setup, computer and digital camera networking, furniture assembly and electronics recycling.

Zip Express Installation can also be purchased separately online by any consumer with installation services starting at $129.95. All installation work done by Zip Installation's more than 16,000 CE certified installers also comes with a one-year warranty.

Pioneer Presents $10,000 for First Annual Community Give Back Award

Pioneer Electronics (USA) Inc. awarded $10,000 to Colorado-based mobile entertainment dealer Drive-In Autosound, the first annual Pioneer Community Give Back Award winner, to present to its charity of choice, the Fort Carson Officer’s Spouses Club (FCOSC) Santa’s Workshop.  The organization provides gifts for children of military families who might otherwise be unable to celebrate the holidays.

In a ceremony held yesterday at Drive-In Autosounds’ Motor Way store, Ed Sachs, President of Pioneer’s Mobile Business Group, recognized local business leaders Kevin and Scott Clark, Drive-In Autosound president/CEO and COO, for their support of the military in Colorado Springs and Pueblo. Kevin Clark presented the check to Martha Ragano, FCOSC president and Tana Caballero, FCOSC Santa’s Workshop chairperson.

Pioneer’s new initiative honors its dealers for outstanding community service. Sachs, who named Drive-In Autosound as the award’s first winner at the company’s annual dealer Road Show held in San Diego, California, on April 19th, stressed the importance of philanthropy to the company.  “As Pioneer works hard to engage the 12-Volt community in raising awareness to the consuming public, one outreach about which we feel strongly is charity.  Pioneer is, of course, directly involved in a number of philanthropic programs.  However, a way to build on that foundation is to recognize the good works of our dealers and the impact they are having on a local level,” said Sachs.

For more information, visit www.pioneerelectronics.com.

TiVo Reportedly Discontinues Series3

TiVo appears to have closed the door on its Series3 DVR, paving the way for the lower-priced TiVo HD recorder to take up the mantle as the company's flagship home video recorder.

While stocks of Series3 recorders are still available at various online outlets, customers can no longer purchase the DVR directly through TiVo.com. The Series3 was the first DVR of its kind to offer customers the ability to record television shows in high definition (including two HD shows at a time), and also marked the company's first foray into a wider type of multimedia distribution such as direct movie downloads and streaming audio from home networks and the Internet.

For more information, click here.

Micronas Launches Digital Terrestrial TV Demodulator

Micronas is now shipping the DRX 398yZ family of digital terrestrial demodulators targeted at the rapidly growing digital television market in China. The DRX 398yZ demodulates high-definition and standard-definition television signals according to China’s GB20600-2006 standard which is also known as DTMB (Digital Television Multimedia Broadcast). The chip is highly integrated and is optimal for applications including set-top boxes, PVRs, IDTVs, Network Interface Modules (NIMs), USB-TV sticks and PC-TV cards.

“DTMB is one of the most complex broadcast transmission standards,” says Zhenning Zhang, Marketing Manager at Micronas Shanghai. “Our experience in developing advanced demodulator systems for ATSC and DVB allowed us to develop a device that exceeds all DTMB requirements and enables robust and reliable reception performance.”

The DRX 398yZ offers a high-level of integration, allowing TV makers to reduce parts cost and simplify their designs. The device requires only a single 8 MHz SAW filter, and includes PWM RF-AGC and IF-AGC outputs. It integrates a high-speed 10-bit A/D converter, a high-quality PLL which allows the use of a simple crystal as clock reference and SDRAM for de-interleaving.

Digital Acoustics, SureView Deliver IP A/V Monitoring Solution

Digital Acoustics today announced that SureView Systems has integrated the Digital Acoustics’ IP intercom and paging solutions with its Immix® video-based alarm automation software. The integration allows ‘remote guards’ to talk, listen and view intruders or visitors over IP, regardless of location.

“For two years we looked for a robust, reliable, two-way IP audio solution, and found exactly that with Digital Acoustics," says Graham Johnson, CEO of SureView Systems. “The inclusion of this feature enables our customers to implement remote access management and interactive security services with industry standard technologies and confidence.”

Combining Digital Acoustics and Sureview technologies enhances critical human interaction during alarm events. The integration also offers a solution for “Verified Response” laws currently on the rise. Command center personnel will have both audio and video input to verify an emergency is taking place before dispatch.

Earlier this year, Digital Acoustics announced the availability of the IP7 Series, the company’s next generation IP/Ethernet audio solution. The five new products offer basic intercom functionality to high-power IP audio amplifiers, and are designed to convert analog call stations and speakers into IP-based two-way communicating devices.

For more information, visit www.digitalacoustics.com.