Multimedia over Coax Alliance (MoCA) technology will be wed to pay TV operators through the first half 2012, before expanding to include Internet-capable high-end HDTVs and a “very robust” dongle market for delivering streaming services, Entropic CEO Patrick Henry said a in conference call.

With lack of content cited as a major bump in the road to consumer adoption of 3D TV, the near-term picture doesn’t offer much relief, according to members of “The TV Story” panel at 3D Media Markets in New York Wednesday. CBS, for one, is looking for help in footing the bill, according to Ken Aagaard, executive vice president of operations and technology for CBS Sports, who said the network is moving “slowly and cautiously” toward 3D.

Harmony remotes were again Logitech’s “fastest-growing retail product category” in Q2 ended Sept. 30, revenue growing 28 percent from a year earlier, CEO Gerald Quindlen said Thursday on an earnings call. Harmony remote unit sales in the category grew even more than revenue, 71 percent, Logitech said.

A handful of films meant to exploit audience interest in 3D, and premium ticket prices, led to consumers’ feeling “ripped off” last summer at 3D theaters, DreamWorks CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg said Wednesday at the 3D Media Markets conference in New York. “The backlash was swift,” he said, saying a line is emerging between high-quality 3D films and those trying to abuse and take advantage of premium pricing for 3D movies.

IBM announced a major European research initiative Wednesday that seeks to drastically increase the energy efficiency of electronics in the active mode and “virtually eliminate power consumption when they are in passive or standby mode.” The company said it’s collaborating with Switzerland’s research body Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL) and a host of corporate research organizations and universities on the research project, called Steeper. It will explore the use of nanotechnology to increase by “ten times” the energy efficiency of electronics, including mobile phones, laptops, TVs and supercomputers, and extend battery life of devices, IBM said.

Comcast said it wouldn’t change NBC Universal’s relationship with Hulu.com. The renewed promise came after a blackout by News Corp. of Fox video on the website was brought up in relation to Comcast’s deal to buy control of NBC Universal. It was Comcast’s first comment to the FCC on the Cablevision-Fox retransmission consent dispute and on News Corp.’s decision to temporarily block Cablevision broadband customers from Fox video on Fox.com and Hulu, which is partly owned by NBC Universal and News Corp. (CED Oct 19 p3).

Nintendo of America and Microsoft were mum Wednesday after getting poor grades in the latest Guide to Greener Electronics from Greenpeace. The companies didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment. Nintendo came in last again among the 18 companies graded, receiving the same 1.8 points out of 10 it received the previous time, in May (CED May 27 p8). Microsoft dropped one to No. 17, falling to 1.9 points from 3.3.

The cable set-top box isn’t going to disappear anytime soon, Comcast executives told investors Wednesday after the company reported Q3 financial results. “I think there will be set-top boxes for a long time,” said Comcast Chairman Brian Roberts. Though certain aspects of the industry are starting to move away from set-top boxes, “the most exciting products we're working on, that allow you to have tremendous functionality right on the TV, do have set-top boxes involved with them,” he said.

AU Optronics’ Q4 LCD TV panel prices will tumble 7 percent from the previous quarter as CE manufacturers burn off 1 to 1 1/2 weeks’ worth of excess inventory across the North American industry, analysts said. The exact size of the oversupply wasn’t immediately available, but strong retail sales during the holiday season could stabilize TV panel prices by year-end, Julie Chan, AU director of investor relations, said Wednesday on an earnings call.

TVs made after May 10, 2011, must display EnergyGuide labels that give consumers information about their energy use, the Federal Trade Commission said Wednesday. Such labels, which are required on appliances such as washing machines and refrigerators, will provide TVs’ estimated yearly energy costs and “cost range” compared with similar models, the commission said in a final rule on energy use labeling for electronics. It was adopted 5-0.