Rebecca Day

Kaleidescape, having settled its longstanding court case with the DVD CCA (DVD Copy Control Association) over copyright infringement, is energetically positioning itself as a streaming content provider, Angelika Stalman, vice president-marketing, told us at a gathering of home theater industry professionals in Brooklyn Thursday. “Suddenly people have access to an unlimited amount of movies” that are accessible from tablets, smartphones and PCs, but the experience is being compromised in exchange for convenience, Stalman said. “What’s getting lost is the immersive, cinematic experience."

Chinese e-commerce company DHgate is aggressively stepping up its efforts to boost consumer-direct and factory-to-dealer sales in the U.S., Chief Operating Officer Noah Herschman told Consumer Electronics Daily on a press tour through New York Wednesday. Herschman, whose resume includes stints at the former AV specialty retail chain Tweeter, as well as at Amazon, eBay and Groupon, is part of a new management team at DHgate that wants to bypass traditional distribution channels and connect Chinese factories that want a bigger share of the revenue stream to U.S consumers and retailers, Herschman said.

A group of semiconductor and product companies representing a disparate connected devices alliance -- from Freescale Semiconductor, Samsung Electronics and Silicon Labs on the semiconductor side to Big Ass Fans and Nest Labs in the product camp -- announced the formation of the Thread Group Tuesday. The Thread Group’s charter is to steer adoption of Thread, an IP-based wireless networking protocol that promises to improve security, reliability and ease of set-up of connected devices in the home. Other founding members of the Thread Group are ARM and lock company Yale Security.

As Dolby Atmos-compatible products roll out over the rest of Q3, the biggest challenge for receiver and speaker makers hoping to capitalize on the next-gen surround-sound format will be “giving people an opportunity to experience it,” Paul Wasek, national marketing and product planning manager at Onkyo, told Consumer Electronics Daily. Onkyo announced a menu of Atmos-compatible products Monday that will ship to dealers over the next three months at a variety of price points, Wasek said. Atmos is a “very compelling format when you're able to listen to it,” he said.

The onetime brain trust of SpeakerCraft, whose founders lay claim to having invented the in-wall speaker, is together again. Former SpeakerCraft CEO Jeremy Burkhardt and SpeakerCraft co-founders Ken Humphreys and Ed Haase reunited to form Origin Acoustics, with plans to “reinvent” the residential architectural speaker market beginning with an October product launch, Burkhardt, CEO of the new company, told Consumer Electronics Daily.

An unexpectedly low 1.7 percent decline in worldwide PC shipments in Q2 is the smallest drop for the category since Q2 2012, when declining shipments of mini notebook PCs and a surge in tablet sales hit the PC market with a one-two punch, said a report by International Data Corp. (http://bit.ly/1q22a1L).

Amazon highlighted 4K Ultra HD TV, soundbars, Bluetooth audio gear and wearables in the electronics section of its 2014 Holiday Preview event in New York Wednesday. The display -- one of several sections devoted to categories including home improvement, kitchen and sports -- showed a Samsung TV atop a Samsung $399 Sound Stand and next to Samsung’s 320-watt wireless soundbar.

Mobile accessories maker Brandmotion is hoping to build off of limited but growing momentum in the factory vehicle wireless charging market with the release of aftermarket vehicle charging kits Tuesday to mobile electronics retailers. Brandmotion’s wireless FreedomCharge kits are based on the Qi wireless charging standard from the Wireless Power Consortium and connect directly to a vehicle’s electrical system, the company said. Its universal kit is priced at $169 and custom-fit charging trays for specific vehicles have a list price of $199, a company spokesman told us. The aftermarket kits “will make custom-fit wireless charging a reality for just about every other vehicle on the road today,” he said, referring to models including the Toyota Avalon and Jeep Cherokee that come from the factory with wireless charging built in. The Brandmotion charging pads, installable between the front seats, have liquid-resistant pad surfaces designed to stand up to a vehicle’s internal temperatures, the company said. The pad can be cleaned with a damp cloth and won’t harm or be damaged by devices or objects placed on its surface, including devices that aren’t Qi-enabled, the company said. A home charging kit is also available for $49, the spokesman said. A sleeve for the iPhone, which isn’t Qi-enabled, is $29, he said. Brandmotion is also bundling home and car charging kits. A universal kit with a home charger retails for $199 and a custom-fit vehicle charger with home charger bundle is $239, the spokesman said. Custom-fit chargers are available for 2014 vehicles including the Ford Fusion and Toyota Camry and 2009-2014 Ram trucks with bucket seats, Brandmotion said.

The imminent arrival of Dolby Atmos-enabled AV receivers (AVRs) is eliciting cautious interest from speaker makers who could benefit from a bump in speaker sales if the technology spurs consumers to upgrade their home theater systems. At the same time, speaker makers have seen a dramatic shift away from standard 5.1 surround-sound system sales in recent years as consumers have opted for a simpler single-enclosure soundbar to replace thin sound from flat-panel TVs.

Wink, which previewed its home control platform in New York last week (CED July 2 p1), began selling the devices in Home Depot stores and online Monday. In a news release, Home Depot said the Wink products were its “signature platform.”