Given the CE industry’s “excellent track record” of compliance, the EPA should exempt CE products from proposed changes to Energy Star’s qualification testing and verification requirements, CEA said in comments. The EPA has found 100 percent compliance by CE, the association said. A proposal by the agency for testing by independent third-party labs “ignores this marketplace success as well as industry’s underlying system of self-certification,” said Douglas Johnson, CEA’s vice president of technology policy.

China’s policy of promoting its own homegrown intellectual-property industries at the expense of those trying to make inroads in the country drew the top concern in the U.S. Trade Representative’s Special 301 report on IP protection, released Friday. Also earning criticism were Spain and Canada for lax policies on punishing Internet piracy.

Redbox will offer a second DVD rental kiosk at a growing number of its “high-volume locations,” and expand its Blu-ray and videogame offerings this year, Paul Davis, CEO of parent company Coinstar, said in an earnings call. Strong results in the Redbox business helped the company report stronger revenue and earnings for Q1 ended March 31. Revenue increased 46.6 percent from Q1 last year to $350.1 million, while profit widened to $6.4 million, 21 cents per share, from $2 million, 7 cents.

Texas Instruments is developing a consumer version of a DLP chip with 2,560x1,600 resolution for home theater projectors, with the first products expected to debut at CEDIA in September, sources said. Some of the chip’s specs, including its size, weren’t immediately available. Projectiondesign is expected to ship a commercial projector, the F35, containing the chip in Q3, sources said. Projectiondesign demonstrated the F35 last November for command and control and simulation and training applications. In addition to the 2,560x1,600 native resolution, the F35 features 6,500 lumens, 8,000:1 contrast ratio, 300-watt UHP lamp, two HDMI connectors, a color management suite and four optional lens, topping out at 2.5-4.5:1. TI’s current high-end for home theater projectors is a 1080p-capable 0.95-inch chip.

Lutron Electronics last week became an official contributor to the Smithsonian American History Museum collection. According to Harold Wallace, associate curator of the Smithsonian’s electricity collection, the 11 Lutron artifacts on display are “raw materials of history” in a collection that represents “what people 100-150 years from now will need to know about our culture when they study us."

Analysts were split over Hewlett-Packard’s agreement to buy struggling smartphone maker Palm for $1.2 billion (CED April 29 p7). The acquisition will make HP a more significant player in the growing smartphone market. But analysts said Thursday that Palm’s devices have been relatively weak sellers.

Democratic lawmakers at a hearing Thursday questioned DirecTV’s opposition to the FCC’s proposal for universal video gateway devices. House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Rick Boucher, D-Va., wanted to know what it would take to assuage DirecTV’s concerns about the FCC’s plans. DirecTV is worried the FCC’s proposal would put it at a disadvantage against cable operators, because satellite TV services can’t rely on a two-way network to offer new services, testified Eric Shanks, the company’s executive vice president of entertainment. All its on-screen features must be built into the box, he said. DirecTV is also concerned that third-party devices could strip away the distributor’s services, he said.

Best Buy will launch a new video download service by early summer, with plans to add it to private label Insignia flat-panel TVs and Blu-ray players, senior executives with the chain told us Thursday at the Barclays investor conference in New York.

TVs used in hotels, restaurants and other “hospitality” settings will be not able to qualify for the Energy Star version 4.1 specification that takes effect Saturday unless the EPA modifies its test procedure requirement for the “download acquisition mode” (DAM), CEA said. The EPA’s “last minute” decision to adopt Rovi Corp.’s DAM test procedure for all TVs would deprive “hospitality” TVs of the ability to qualify for Energy Star, Douglas Johnson, CEA vice president of technology policy, told us.

Harmony remotes again represented “the fastest growing retail product category” for Logitech, helping to drive improved overall revenue and profit for its Q4 ended March 31, CEO Gerald Quindlen said on a Thursday earnings call. But the company also saw strong demand for its mouse devices, audio, video and keyboards, while even its OEM business saw a “return to growth” following several “challenging” quarters, he said.