Industry and FCC attention has turned to the AllVid rulemaking for all pay-TV providers’ services to be accessible from consumer electronics devices, now that commissioners have approved an order making fixes in the interval until the gateway devices become available (CED Oct 15 p1). A rulemaking that could be voted on this year now becomes the focus of lobbying at the FCC concerning video devices, agency and industry officials said. No AllVid item is ready for a commission vote, and it’s unclear when such a rulemaking notice will circulate, commission officials said.

Tablet computers have been creating “disruption in the notebook market” over the last quarter or two, Advanced Micro Devices CEO Dirk Meyer said in an earnings call Thursday. Meyer said he thinks there has been “cannibalization by tablets” of netbooks and notebooks, and “given the pretty high price points of the iPad there’s probably some cannibalization even of mainstream notebooks."

Apple’s recently announced AirPlay streaming media protocol could have a significant impact on the connected home in a way that DLNA hasn’t, said a report from ABI Research. Apple’s opening of the AirPlay software development kit to third-party vendors should result in a “significant increase” in the development of networked audio and video devices in the home, said Jason Blackwell, practice director of digital home at ABI. DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance) technology is found in more than 200 million products from more than 200 partner companies, according to ABI, and its primary shortcoming has been lack of consumer awareness. “We would be hard-pressed to find an average consumer who knows what DLNA is or how to use it,” the report said.

A legislator in Long Island’s Suffolk County expressed concern over notices that Cablevision sent recently to subscribers warning that all their TVs will soon “require a digital cable box.” Cablevision already completed similar transitions in New York City and Connecticut, and rival cable, satellite and fiber optic companies in the region already require that subscribers have digital set-top boxes. The warnings irked at least some Long Island Cablevision subscribers who were told they need to get digital cable boxes for every TV not equipped with a CableCARD or QAM tuner.

After changes of ownership and a move to an online business model, speaker company NHT is back to market with a second-generation SuperZero speaker as part of streamlined, direct online distribution model. The speakers have been retooled and re-priced at a “value-oriented” $99 each, Chris Byrne, co-owner of NHT told Consumer Electronics Daily.

Revisions to CableCARD rules will take effect over the next two years, FCC officials said Thursday as the commission approved an order making changes to the rules that largely were as expected. On one point of last-minute discussion at the regulator (CED Oct 7 p5), commissioners decided not to require cable operators to put information in monthly customer bills on how much CableCARDs would cost if leased separately. The mandate remained largely unchanged in the final order from the original draft circulated by Chairman Julius Genachowski, which he and colleagues said will help promote broadband by paving the way for people without computers to access online content from their TVs.

The Mobile500 Alliance and the Mobile Content Venture group need to combine to help foster a national mobile DTV service in the U.S., broadcasters and equipment suppliers told us at the SatCon 2010 conference in New York this week.

Sony’s Google TV and Bravia Internet Video will coexist as connectivity platforms in the Sony line as part of a two-prong strategy targeting separate price segments, Mike Abary, senior vice president of home entertainment Americas, said following a news conference late Tuesday in New York.

Audiovox was “disappointed” with Qualcomm’s recent decision to suspend direct-to-consumer sales of FLO TV devices (CED Oct 5 p8), but doesn’t expect much of an impact to Audiovox’s business from it, CEO Pat Lavelle said on a Wednesday earnings call. The manufacturer reported mixed results for Q2 of fiscal 2011 ended Aug. 31.

The European Commission, in the final version of guidelines for standards-setting activity, due by year-end, may loosen requirements for safe-harbor protection from competition laws and make clearer that it isn’t the only way to avoid legal trouble, a commission official said Wednesday. The changes will respond to criticisms of the commission’s draft guidelines on standard-setting, issued in May, said the official, Per Hellstrom, the head of the EC’s antitrust unit on information technology, the Internet and consumer electronics. A large number of comments were filed before a June 25 deadline, Hellstrom said.