Consumer Electronics Daily News

Phoenix Gold Changes Name To 'Rodin'

Newly Branded Corporate Parent of AudioSource & Carver Will Make Its Debut at CEDIA

Phoenix Gold International, the makers of Phoenix Gold, AudioSource and Carver brand audio and electronics equipment, has changed its name to Rodin.

The move comes about a year after the company was purchased by an investment group -- PHX AP Acquisitions -- and will not effect the popular brand names detailed above.

“Since the acquisition last year, we have taken the Phoenix Gold, AudioSource and Carver brands in new and exciting directions, so it was only right that our overall corporate identity change with the times,” says Tom O’Mara, President of Rodin and a member of the investment team that acquired Phoenix Gold Int’l in July 2006. “Our new company is completely focused on our home brands’ efforts in the custom installation business, as well as bringing the Phoenix Gold car audio division back to prosperity. We believe with our product offerings in the speakers, amplifiers, and accessories categories that we now provide complete solutions for dealers, distributors and the CI market.”

According to O’Mara, the first-year restructuring plan has been successful in introducing new products, creating new channel strategies and revamping brand positioning. The new name is an effort to hone those changes and move further into the future as high-level electronics manufacturer.

“Rodin as a corporation will reflect the past successes of our brands, but bring them into the modern business climate where each will be its own entity, and not simply an offshoot of the others whereas each had no clearly defined, individual direction,” O’Mara says. “For example, the Phoenix Gold and AudioSource brand differentiation is just now beginning to be recognized by our distribution and retail channels as we launch more than 100 new products this year.”

For more information, visit www.rodinaudio.com.

JVC Unveils Rewritable, Dual Layer DVD

While its capacity pales in comparison to writable HD DVDs and Blu-ray discs, JVC is touting the creation of the industry's first dual layer, rewritable DVD. The new disc has double the storage of a conventional DVD-RW (which have a 4.7GB capacity), and expands the type of available 8.5 GB DVDs beyond the current one-time writable DVD-R and DVD+R.

JVC reports that the new discs can be successfully rewritten about 1,000 times, while also offering up better scratch resistance than conventional DVD discs. Dubbed DL DVD-RW, the discs are not compatible with other DVD formats, TG Daily reports, JVC has only demonstrated discs with a capability for 2x recording speeds (22.16 Mb/s) at this time.

JVC did not provide any additional information on the when the DL DVD-RW will be available to consumers. For more information, click here.

LG Intros its First DivX Certified Television

DivX, Inc., and LG Electronics Inc., jointly announced today the launch of the DivX Certified Time Machine TV Series both in Plasma and LCD models. Joining over 100 million DivX Certified devices in offering superior visual quality and support for the full range of DivX video content, LG's DivX Certified Time Machine TV Series is now available in Europe, China and throughout the Asia-Pacific region. The company has not yet announced plans to bring the TVs stateside.

The series features a built-in 80 gigabyte hard disc drive for Time Shift function and recording, and a USB 2.0 port for backing up recorded content and for playback of DivX formatted video as well as MP3 and JPEG playback compatibility. The Time Machine TV Series also boasts a simultaneous watch-and-record function.

"We are very excited about the launch of the DivX(R) Certified Time Machine TV Series," says HeeWon Kwon, Executive Vice President of LG Electronics. "At LG, we're very committed to giving users what they want. The ability to transfer media seamlessly from the PC to the living room while preserving the kind of high-quality, cinematic experience that consumers demand is a key product differentiator among televisions."

For more information, visit www.lge.com.

Nintendo's Wii Dubbed 'Greenest' Console

There's a steadily growing consumer demand for more environmentally-friendly electronics that reduce power consumption, curb the use of dangerous materials (such as lead in solder and CRTs) and other "green" initiatives. Combined with the juggernaut that is the video game market, it's no surprise that many environmentalists and industry analysts are now turning their attention to the impact these gaming systems have on the environment.

An in-depth report of the power consumption of each of big three consoles -- Sony's PlayStation 3, Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii -- found that the smallest and least powerful of the consoles, Nintendo's surprise hit of the year, not surprisingly has the smallest carbon footprint, according to the San Jose Mercury .

In their investigation, the newspaper found that the diminutive Wii uses just 17 watts under the testing conditions, compared to a PS3's 171 watts and a 360 Elite's 194 watts. While the two latter were far higher than Nintendo's console, the systems employ vastly Superior CPUs and likewise more intensive cooling systems. Moreover, the systems still came in below the power usage of a 42-inch plasma TV (200 watts) and even a toaster (866 watts) also tested by the paper for comparison.

For more information, click here.

ArcSoft, HD DVD Promotion Group Demonstrate Playback Technology

ArcSoft, Inc. is debuted the ArcSoft Digital Theatre 2 this week at IFA in Germany, in conjunction with the HD DVD Promotion Group. Digital Theatre 2 is a high definition video player that supports playback of HD DVDs, commercial and homemade DVDs, and a variety of high definition multimedia files. The HD DVD Promotion Group is showcasing Digital Theatre as part of its advancement of standards-based implementations of HD DVD playback.

"We are excited to be presenting our high definition solutions at IFA," says Michael Downs, ArcSoft Vice President of Marketing and Business Development. "We have been working closely with the HD DVD Promotion Group, leading graphics chipset companies and the major Hollywood studios to ensure that we can provide complete, high performance, high quality HD DVD functionality."

Digital Theatre's HD DVD playback functionality includes complete support for high definition interactive content such as U-Control. Additionally, Digital Theatre supports next generation audio formats such as Dolby Digital and DTS, as well as a variety of advanced trick play features such as Smart Stretch and Time Stretch. Available for Windows XP and Windows Vista, the program also includes a Windows Media Center Edition plug-in that provides a 10-foot user experience.

Digital Theatre is available as a standalone application or as part of ArcSoft TotalMedia Extreme, a software suite that provides solutions for playback, capture, editing and authoring of standard and high definition content.

For more information, visit www.arcsoft.com/products/digitaltheatre.

Market for Home Installation to Jump to $20 Billion by 2012

The U.S. market for custom integration/installation is expected to grow by about nine percent through 2008, according to research conducted jointly by Parks Associates and EH Publishing. Bolstered primarily by the consumer demand for "no new wires" fueling the retrofit installations market, total channel revenues are expected to grow to more than $11 billion in 2008 and steadily increase to $20 billion in the next five years.

"Overall the home building industry has softened this year, but the market served by custom installers remains solid," says Bill Ablondi, Parks Associates' Director of Home Systems Research. "Manufacturers see the opportunity for retrofit jobs through powerline- and wirelessly-enabled nodes, increasing the number of solutions aimed at this segment of the market in 2007."

According to Parks Associates, historically, dealers have split their business between new construction (50 percent) and remodeling/retrofit (50 percent). However, this division of work for dealers is poised to change for two reasons -- technology advancements (wireless and powerline) make retrofit projects more feasible to a broader market and there is a high likelihood that new owners of homes will upgrade their entertainment, security and other home systems. While on average 1.5 to 2 million new homes are built annually; 6 to 7 million existing homes change ownership every year. 

Parks Associates and EH Publishing conduct ongoing research of the home systems integration/installation channels. This includes custom installers/integrators, security dealers, and other firms serving the residential market with entertainment, security and control systems. The firm is offering a free, recently completed white paper on the home systems market - Home Controls: Trends and Opportunities. To download this paper, visit www.parksassociates.com.

Dubbed Aurea, Philips Shows Off Next-Generation Ambilight TVs at IFA

Philips debuted the latest in its Ambilight-equipped HDTV lineup at IFA this week. Dubbed Aurea, the TVs improve upon the Ambilight technology -- which throws ambient light onto a wall beyond a flat-panel LCD screen to make the image appear larger and better contrasted -- with hundreds of individual LEDs that dramatically improve the color depth and range of current Ambilight sets.

Philips showed off the technology on a 42-inch, 1080p LCD TV (model 42PFL9900D) that also includes three HDMI inputs, 100Hz refresh and a translucent frame that enhances the Ambilight effect even further. A demonstration of the new Aurea technology is available at www.aurea.philips.com.

Mirage Preps 'Prestige 5' for CEDIA Expo

While NANOSAT Prestige speakers are not new to the Mirage brand, the company is putting a new spin on the popular series by introducing a five-pack NANOSAT Prestige bundle -- called the Prestige 5 -- that it says will not only be easier to merchandise, but also allow consumers to make quick and easy purchase decisions.

"We've always packaged and sold our NANOSAT Prestige speakers separately so that users could customize a system unique to their needs," says Martin Tustin-Fuchs, Mirage Product Line Manager. "Some consumers, however, don't want to piece together separate components. They just want a high-performance `grab-and-go' option and the Prestige bundle does just that."

Consisting of four NANOSAT Prestige satellites to serve as front and surround channels and a NANO center channel, this setup incorporates exclusive OMNIPOLAR™ Technology to deliver the company's signature 360-degree sound. The system features a multi-layered, hand-crafted medium density fiberboard cabinet, and each magnetically-shielded Prestige satellite employs a 2.75-inch titanium deposit polypropylene woofer and 0.75-inch Pure Titanium Hybrid™ tweeter mounted in Mirage's patented OMNIGUIDE dispersion system.

Available in a sophisticated high-gloss black piano lacquer finish, the Prestige 5 bundle, priced at an MSRP of $899, will be available for purchase through the specialty retail market this summer, while the optional Prestige subwoofers -- which feature the same finish -- will launch later in the fall.

For more information, visit www.miragespeakers.com.

Sony in Hot Water Again Over Another RootKit Complaint

Sony Corp., is taking flak again for reportedly including a rootkit on a variety of USB memory sticks that security analysts say could compromise a users PC if exploited by a hacker or other malware.

According to Reuters, the consumer electronics giant has been including the rootkit -- a secret software program and hidden directory -- on MicroVault USB memory sticks. The drives employ fingerprint scanning technology for security, and Sony confirmed the rootkit is designed to keep that ID verification software secure and impenetrable to would-be data thieves attempting to bypass the fingerprint scan.

However, security experts at McAfee Inc., have confirmed that the rootkit could theoretically be exploited by hackers because the hidden directory would be overlooked by conventional virus scanning software. Sony announced that it is investigating the issue and said that it has received no reports of malicious use of the MicroVault's rootkit directory.

While the exploit is only present through a relatively small number USB devices sold by Sony, the incident is reminiscent of a similar rootkit incident involving the company in 2005. At the time, Sony BMG, the company's music publishing arm, shipped more than 12 million audio CDs with a rootkit containing DRM software. In addition to opening up a similar exploit on user's PCs, the company initially did not publicly acknowledge that the software was included on the audio discs.

For more information, click here.

Olevia Joins Crestron Integrated Partner Program

HDTV maker Syntax-Brillian has joined the Crestron Integrated Partner Program, paving the way for the availability of a Crestron touch panel user interface to control the company's popular brand of Olevia TVs. The module allows seamless integration of Olevia TVs into a Crestron control system environment.

The new Olevia-specific Crestron module enables dealers to easily integrate the HDTV sets into home and professional environments and provide end-users with an intuitive control interface to access the Olevia's extensive range of on-screen menu items, including input type, volume, brightness, extensive aspect ratio and screen layout options.

Members of Crestron's Integrated Partner Program represent a coalition of manufacturers in the systems integration market. The program supports audio/video, security, HVAC, lighting and other controlled devices that may be incorporated into a commercial or residential system.

The new module is available for download at www.crestron.com.