LONDON -- Free, over-air HDTV service begins in the U.K. Tuesday, with half the country to be covered by June when World Cup telecasts begin in HD. In an exclusive interview, Freeview Managing Director Ilse Howling told us she’s “very encouraged” by market research that shows “striking interest in Freeview HD across the board” and points to 18 percent of the 18 million Freeview SDTV homes “likely” switching to HD on their main TV within six months.
The EPA on Monday released an “action plan” to probe the possible environmental harms of bisphenol A (BPA), a chemical used in manufacturing a wide range of consumer products. BPA is a key component of the polycarbonate plastics used in CDs, DVDs and Blu-ray discs as well as for many CE products. It’s also used in the polyvinyl chlorides (PVCs) that Greenpeace has campaigned actively to get CE makers to eliminate from their products.
Nintendo of America (NOA) didn’t say how many $189.99 DSi XLs it shipped for the handheld system’s Sunday U.S. launch or how many it has sold through. But the XL wasn’t hard to find from major retailers Monday, at least when we checked online. The DSi XL shipped late last year in Japan, where it’s called the DSi LL, and in Europe early this month.
The EPA on Friday unveiled new qualification and quality assurance testing requirements for Energy Star products, as the voluntary program encounters increased scrutiny and censure. A GAO investigation of Energy Star found the program vulnerable to fraud and abuse (CED March 29 p3). The IGs at EPA and the Department of Energy also have found that the program doesn’t have the “controls” to ensure that qualified products meet required efficiency standards.
The Government Accountability Office got Energy Star certification for 15 bogus products, including a gas-powered alarm clock, in an investigation using four bogus manufacturing firms and fictitious people. The investigation showed that “Energy Star is for the most part a self-certification program vulnerable to fraud and abuse,” the agency said in a report released Friday.
RadioShack’s stock hit a 52-week high Friday amid reports it was weighing a possible sale or leveraged buy out. Best Buy was said to be among the potential buyers. But analysts dismissed the possibility, arguing that such an acquisition would provide few benefits for Best Buy. RadioShack’s shares hit a 52-week high of $23.71 Friday morning before closing up 8.4 percent at $23.65.
Analysts played down the significance of a suit filed against GameStop in a Northern California U.S. District Court last week by a customer who accused it of “unfair, unlawful, deceptive and misleading practices.” The issue involved a used Electronic Arts (EA) game the customer was unable to download certain extra downloadable content for. GameStop was accused of violating California’s Unfair Business Practices Act and Consumers Legal Remedies Act. “We do not comment on current or pending legal actions,” GameStop spokesman Chris Olivera said Friday.
Cablevision’s live 3D hockey telecast March 24 (CED March 25 p7) went off without a glitch because of intense preparation and attention to detail among all parties for the March 24 debut, executives involved in the production told us Friday. More important, valuable lessons were learned for future live 3D sports telecasts, they said.
Best Buy this year will continue scaling back expansion of its full-size U.S. stores as it adds 75 to 100 Best Buy Mobile locations, senior executives at the chain said Thursday on a quarterly earnings call.
LONDON -- The battle to ram-rod a standard for 3D theater projection in Europe is heating up, with Sony aggressively promoting its 4K projector with RealD polarizers. Sony also is taking pot shots at Dolby’s color-filtering 3D system, going so far at a private screening here Wednesday night as to slogan its projection method as “easier.on.the.eye” than rival Dolby’s.