Rebecca Day

ORLANDO, Fla. -- With HDTV on the downside of the CE product life cycle and average flat-panel selling prices down 30 percent since 2008, Home Entertainment Source leaders Sunday opened their Summit by urging dealers to embrace “the connected world.” Brand Source CEO Bob Lawrence said independent dealers are “stuck between Groundhog Day and Survivor. Every time we come up with great products, all of a sudden the margin goes out of it and it becomes a commodity product.” Between MAP policies and cut-throat pricing, Lawrence said, “we're letting companies like Walmart and Amazon destroy our [flat-panel] business.” Saying dealers were at the Summit because they're “survivors,” Lawrence said they have to diversify to remain successful.

Retailers are flushing out inventories of standard, LED and 3D 2010 flat-panel TVs at steep discounts, our survey of retail sales circulars found last week. For its Presidents’ Day sale through Monday, Hhgregg listed about 15 TV models on sale across a swath of brands. A Sony package combining a 55-inch 3D LED LCD TV with a PS3 player was priced at $2,498, reflecting a $1,300 discount. The retailer chopped $500 off a Samsung 1080p 58-inch plasma TV, bringing it to $1,299, and cut a 50-inch 1080p Samsung plasma 25 percent to $1,079 and a 50-inch 720p model to $719. An LG 720p 50-inch plasma bottomed out at $719, down $80, and a Panasonic 50-inch 720p plasma was offered with $200 savings at $599.

LG will sponsor an after-party for the Independent Spirit Awards show Feb. 26 in Santa Monica, Calif. The party will feature the East Coast broadcast of the program along with demos and presentations from LG surrounding launch of its Cinema 3D lineup, LG said. Attendees will include media, industry members and celebrities from the awards show. No further details of the passive Cinema 3D line are available since its introduction at CES, an LG spokesman said. The awards will be shown on IFC in 2D. The full Independent Spirit Awards are not being shot in 3D, but the LG Cinema 3D units at the ISA party will feature a “very brief segment” of the awards show in 3D to demonstrate the technology, an LG spokesman told us.

Reducing costs is a driving force behind ESPN’s decision to shoot Friday Night Fights all in 3D this Friday, said Phil Orlins, coordinating producer of ESPN 3D, in a conference call Wednesday. Boxing is “well-suited to do that,” he said, saying side-by-side 2D/3D production “is a significant cost hurdle.” Orlins wouldn’t disclose the cost savings of creating an all-3D production and then taking the left eye HD feeds of each camera for the 2D channel. The network will take the same approach next week, Orlins said, when it telecasts an NCAA men’s basketball game between Georgia and Florida on Feb. 24. Looking ahead, each 3D event will be assessed on a “case by case” basis and “we'll do it where it makes sense,” he said, saying not all sports can be shot effectively that way.

Dell’s consumer business operating profit improved 2.1 percent in fiscal Q4, the company said late Tuesday in its quarterly earnings webcast. Overall, the company reported profit of $927 million, more than double the year-ago quarter, with growth driven by the enterprise side. The stock rose 12 percent to $15.56 Wednesday.

Cisco was the lead investor in a recent $15 million round of funding for Control4 as part of a partnership announced this week between the companies that will integrate Control4 technology with Cisco’s Service Delivery Platform in worldwide connected smart community and utility smart grid programs. Under the agreement, Cisco will stamp its brand on Control4 products including lighting devices, remote controls, touchscreens, and thermostats, the companies said.

Barnes & Noble issued an open letter to Amazon affiliates Monday inviting them to “join the Barnes & Noble affiliate family.” Amazon has threatened to end its affiliate program in any state that enacts legislation requiring the company to collect sales tax on residents’ purchases, said the letter, signed by John Foley, BN.com’s president.

Sensio will distribute the NBA All-Star game Feb. 20 in Sensio Hi-Fi 3D to more than 100 cinemas internationally, the company said Monday. Pace will produce the event using eight 3D cameras, including three special shadow cameras put on top of the main broadcast cameras. Exclusive commentary, tailored for 3D, will be provided for viewers in Belgium, Germany, Italy and Mexico, said Sensio and the NBA. The game won’t be shown in 3D in theaters or on TV in the U.S., an NBA spokesman said.

Toshiba and RealD said this week they've worked together to integrate support for RealD’s stereoscopic 3D format in Toshiba’s Regza 3D TVs and accompanying active 3D eyewear. The companies are working together under a marketing agreement for Carmen in 3D, filmed at the Royal Opera House in London. Toshiba has presentation rights for the worldwide theatrical release and will have exclusive rights during an undisclosed promotional period to package the Blu-ray disc with some Toshiba-branded 3D TVs, laptops and Blu-ray players.

IPhone fever appeared fairly low-grade at one of the two largest Verizon Wireless stores in Manhattan early Thursday when doors opened on 34th Street for in-store sales of Apple’s 3G iPhone 4. Verizon had prepared for a much larger crowd, but most of the roughly 18 stanchions perched outside the store for crowd control remained stacked against a post in our 90 minutes at the store. When we arrived about 6:30 a.m., prior to the scheduled opening at 7 a.m., 14 consumers, many sipping hot coffee, stood in line braving 26-degree temperatures. The line was far shorter than we, and apparently Verizon, had anticipated.