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ARLINGTON, Va., Aug 31, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) --
The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA)(R) today announces
the formation of the IPv6 Transition Working Group. The working group
will coordinate consumer electronics (CE) manufacturer, service provider
and retailer activities as the Internet transitions from IPv4 addressing
to IPv6 ensuring internet-enabled devices continue to operate without
interruption.

"Anticipating that the limited number of IPv4 addresses would run out, a
replacement address system called IPv6 was created more than 10 years
ago," said Brian Markwalter, senior vice president of Research and
Standards for CEA. "IPv6 has not been uniformly adopted to date, but as
IPv4 addresses are running out -- with the expectation that the U.S. will
exhaust its supply by early- to mid-2012 -- it's time for industry to
work together to ensure a seamless transition for businesses and
consumers alike."

Chaired by John Brzozowski, Chief Architect, IPv6 and Distinguished
Engineer, Comcast, the working group will serve as a forum for
retailers, broadband service providers and CE manufacturers to share
information and work together on the IPv6 transition for consumer
electronics.

"If your company makes Internet products, provides Internet service to
consumers or relies on the Internet for services like streaming content,
you may be impacted by the IPv6 transition, and you should get involved
in this working group," said Brzozowski. "As part of a wider community
of companies working on a successful transition to IPv6, Comcast is
excited to lead this CEA effort involving manufacturers, retailers, and
content providers."

For more information, or to join the IPv6 Transition working group,
please contact Melissa Matalon at mmatalon@CE.org.

CEA leads technology manufacturers in fostering CE industry growth by
developing industry standards and technical specifications that enable
new products to come to market and encourage interoperability with
existing devices. CEA maintains an unmatched reputation as a credible
and flexible standards-making body and has earned ANSI accreditation.
Through more than 70 committees, subcommittees and working groups, the
CEA Technology and Standards program provides a unique and efficient
forum in which technical professionals throughout the industry develop a
unified technology roadmap and address technical issues critical to CE
industry growth. For information about CEA Technology and Standards,
visit
www.CE.org/standards .

About CEA:

The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) is the preeminent trade
association promoting growth in the $190 billion U.S. consumer
electronics industry. More than 2,000 companies enjoy the benefits of
CEA membership, including legislative advocacy, market research,
technical training and education, industry promotion, standards
development and the fostering of business and strategic
relationships. CEA also owns and produces the International CES -- The
Global Stage for Innovation. All profits from CES are reinvested into
CEA's industry services. Find CEA online at
www.CE.org
and
www.Innovation-Movement.com .

UPCOMING EVENTS

--
CEO Summit and Board Retreat October 1-3, 2011, Stresa,
Lake Maggiore, Italy

--
CEA TechHome Mediterraneo 100 Summit October 3-5, 2011,
Stresa, Lake Maggiore, Italy

--
Digital Hollywood Fall October 17-20, 2011, Marina Del
Ray, CA

--
CEA Industry Forum October 23-26, 2011, San Diego, CA

--
CES New York Press Preview featuring CES Unveiled @ NY November
8, 2011, New York, NY

--
Future of Television East November 18, 2011, New York, NY

--
2012 International CES January 10-13, 2012, Las Vegas, NV

SOURCE: Consumer Electronics Association (CEA)

        Consumer Electronics Association (CEA)
        Colleen Lerro, 703-907-7080
        clerro@CE.org 

www.CE.org            or
        Steve Kidera, 703-907-4358
        skidera@CE.org

Copyright Business Wire 2011

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BERLIN, Sept. 1, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- IFA – Rovi Corporation (Nasdaq:ROVI) will be demonstrating its newest technologies and cloud services for consumer electronics manufacturers, content owners, retailers, developers, and service providers this week at IFA 2011, one of the largest tradeshows for consumer electronics. The event marks the beginning of a major European expansion for Rovi and its white-label solutions that are helping power higher quality, more engaging and personalized consumer entertainment experiences across multiple screens.

IFA 2011 will be held at the Messe Berlin fairgrounds from September 2 – 7, 2011. IFA visitors will be able to experience "powered by Rovi" consumer electronics devices throughout the show floor and view demonstrations at the Rovi stand (Hall 25, Stand 146). Show highlights include:

• Unveiled today, DivX Plus® Streaming, a secure adaptive streaming solution for the delivery of a feature-rich, premium digital entertainment experience to connected devices including HDTVs, Blu-ray Disc players, smartphones, game consoles, PCs, Macs, and cable set-top boxes.
   
• Rovi TotalGuide™ for CE, enabling consumer electronics manufacturers to provide intuitive entertainment discovery and access across broadband and broadcast content services. 
   
• Rovi will demonstrate DivX® technology and showcase some of the extensive range of devices supported through the DivX Certification program. DivX Certified devices are available throughout Europe today from leading manufacturers including LG and Samsung.
   
• Rovi will also demonstrate its white-label Rovi Entertainment Store that is planned to power video-on-demand features of a new hybrid-TV offering for digital cable operators by Eutelsat. The solution will enable subscribers to instantly watch a broad range of premium entertainment. This effort is part of a broader European expansion with new retail customers expected to be announced later this year.

In addition, Rovi will be participating in the following events:

• Thursday, September 1, 6:00 – 9:00 pm CEST: Rovi will exhibit in ShowStoppers @ IFA, the official media showcase, held in Hall 15.2 of the Messe Berlin fairgrounds.
   
• Tuesday, September 6, 2:00 – 3:30 pm CEST: Medienwoche@IFA, the International Media Congress held in ICC Berlin, will feature Richard Bullwinkle, Chief Evangelist, Rovi, speaking in Room 6 on the topic of "Your Device – Your Digital Profiler: The Future of Connected Entertainment." 

For more details on Rovi technology solutions showcased at IFA 2011, visit: http://bit.ly/oA5dm1.

About Rovi Corporation

Rovi Corporation is focused on revolutionizing the digital entertainment landscape by delivering solutions that enable consumers to intuitively connect to new entertainment from many sources and locations. The company also provides extensive entertainment discovery solutions for television, movies, music and photos to its customers in the consumer electronics, cable and satellite, entertainment and online distribution markets. These solutions, complemented by industry leading entertainment data, create the connections between people and technology, and enable them to discover and manage entertainment in an enjoyable form.

Rovi holds over 5,100 issued or pending patents worldwide and is headquartered in Santa Clara, California, with numerous offices across the United States and around the world including Japan, Hong Kong, Luxembourg, and the United Kingdom. More information about Rovi can be found at http://www.rovicorp.com/.

The Rovi Corporation logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=6482

Forward Looking Statements

All statements contained herein that are not statements of historical fact, including statements that use the words "will" or "is expected to," or similar words that describe the Company's or its management's future plans, objectives, or goals, are "forward-looking statements" and are made pursuant to the Safe-Harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause the actual results of the Company to be materially different from the historical results and/or from any future results or outcomes expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors are further addressed in the Company's most recent report on Form 10-Q for the period ended June 30, 2011 and such other documents as are filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission from time to time (available at www.sec.gov). The Company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements in order to reflect events or circumstances that may arise after the date of this release, except as required by law.

CONTACT: Linda Quach
         Rovi Corporation
         +1 (408) 562-8504

 This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
 

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ARLINGTON, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA)^® highlighted the
industry’s energy efficiency achievements and initiatives during a
public workshop held today by the California Energy Commission (CEC) to
consider regulation of additional consumer electronics products.
Recently, a CEC staff draft report on energy efficiency and buildings
indicates the CEC is moving forward with new regulations for a variety
of product categories.

“The CEC appears to be following a familiar path toward creating
unnecessary and unjustified regulatory requirements for consumer
products while failing to account for the energy savings of existing
policies and programs,” said Douglas Johnson, CEA vice president of
technology policy. “Particularly in California, which already suffers
from high unemployment and a burdensome regulatory regime that harms job
and economic growth, the focus should be on recognizing and supporting
existing, successful approaches to advancing energy efficiency that
protect innovation, competition and consumer choice.”

Earlier this year, the CEC’s regulation for televisions took effect,
despite the fact that significant energy savings in televisions had
already been achieved as a result of industry innovation, competition
and the ENERGY STAR program at the national level, which the CEC does
not recognize. Research
commissioned by CEA has found that innovation, competition and ENERGY
STAR have reduced the amount of power needed per unit of screen size 63
percent for LCD TVs from 2003 to 2010 and 41 percent for plasma TVs from
2008 to 2010. To put the gains in context, the power consumption of the
average TV sold in 2010 consumes less energy than a 100 watt
incandescent light bulb and less power than what is needed to light a
typical living room.

Recently, a paper
in the California Journal of Politics Policy, authored by
C. Paul Wazzan and Dawn E. Eash of the Berkeley Research Group, found
the CEC made many errors, including wrongly assuming that more TVs being
purchased meant more energy consumption. Due to consumers replacing
older TVs with newer, more efficient TVs, the paper concluded energy
costs would remain constant over time. Moreover, the researchers
questioned the data, math and analysis the CEC used in arriving at its
TV energy efficiency mandate.

“The CEC enacting more onerous and misguided efficiency rules based on
faulty assumptions and data not only harms local businesses and
consumers, it also does not genuinely contribute to the state’s
greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals,” Johnson added. “We urge the
CEC and other policymakers to recognize, account for and support
existing policies and programs that are already in place and working to
deliver ever more energy efficient electronics to consumers.”

About CEA:

The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) is the preeminent trade
association promoting growth in the $190 billion U.S. consumer
electronics industry. More than 2,000 companies enjoy the benefits of
CEA membership, including legislative advocacy, market research,
technical training and education, industry promotion, standards
development and the fostering of business and strategic
relationships. CEA also owns and produces the International CES – The
Global Stage for Innovation. All profits from CES are reinvested into
CEA’s industry services. Find CEA online at www.CE.org
and www.Innovation-Movement.com.

UPCOMING EVENTS

• CEO Summit and Board Retreat
  October 1-3, 2011, Stresa,
  Lake Maggiore, Italy

• CEA TechHome Mediterraneo 100 Summit
  October 3-5, 2011,
  Stresa, Lake Maggiore, Italy

• Digital Hollywood Fall
  October 17-20, 2011, Marina Del
  Ray, CA

• CEA Industry Forum
  October 23-26, 2011, San Diego, CA

• CES New York Press Preview featuring CES Unveiled @ NY
  November
  8, 2011, New York, NY
• Future of Television East
  November 18, 2011, New York, NY

• 2012 International CES
  January 10-13, 2012, Las Vegas, NV

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Keynote Expands Event Attractions Which Include New Digital Health
and Fitness Program

ARLINGTON, Va.--(EON: Enhanced Online News)--The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA)^® announced today
that Aneesh Chopra, United States Chief Technology Officer, will deliver
the luncheon keynote on Tuesday, October 25 at CEA’s 2011 Industry
Forum. The 2011 CEA Industry Forum is scheduled to run October 23-26
at the Manchester Grand Hyatt in San Diego, California.

“We look forward to Aneesh sharing his vision for the
government’s open data initiative and for how the administration is
leveraging technology to keep our country innovative and competitive.”

“We are delighted to have Aneesh keynote our Industry Forum event,
allowing our attendees to hear from the Obama Administration’s top
technology and innovation evangelist,” said Gary Shapiro, president and
CEO of CEA. “We look forward to Aneesh sharing his vision for the
government’s open data initiative and for how the administration is
leveraging technology to keep our country innovative and competitive.”

As Assistant to the President and Associate Director for Technology
within the White House Office of Science Technology Policy, Chopra
works to advance the President’s technology agenda by fostering new
ideas and encouraging government-wide coordination to help the country
meet its goals from job creation, to reducing health care costs, to
ensuring national security. Prior to his appointment in 2009, Chopra
served as Secretary of Technology for the Commonwealth of Virginia from
January 2006 until April 2009. He previously served as Managing Director
with the Advisory Board Company, a publicly-traded healthcare think
tank. Chopra was named to Government Technology magazine’s Top 25
in their Doers, Dreamers, and Drivers issue in 2008.

Chopra’s luncheon keynote address is slated for noon on Tuesday, October
25 at the Manchester Grand Hyatt San Diego. The 2011 CEA Industry Forum
connects and educates consumer technology professionals, analysts and
media on industry trends, emerging technologies, technical standards and
legislation affecting the CE industry.

Event highlights include a major, new digital health and fitness program
and several major research announcements, including Five Technologies to
Watch and the 2011 Holiday Sales and Forecast report, as well as a
Monday lunch keynote from Don Jones, vice president wireless health,
Qualcomm.

To register to attend the 2011 Industry Forum information visit www.CE.org/events.
Registration for media is free.

About CEA:

The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) is the preeminent trade
association promoting growth in the $190 billion U.S. consumer
electronics industry. More than 2,000 companies enjoy the benefits of
CEA membership, including legislative advocacy, market research,
technical training and education, industry promotion, standards
development and the fostering of business and strategic
relationships. CEA also owns and produces the International CES – The
Global Stage for Innovation. All profits from CES are reinvested into
CEA’s industry services. Find CEA online at www.CE.org
and www.Innovation-Movement.com.

UPCOMING EVENTS

• CEO Summit and Board Retreat
  October 1-3, 2011, Stresa,
  Lake Maggiore, Italy

• CEA TechHome Mediterraneo 100 Summit
  October 3-5, 2011,
  Stresa, Lake Maggiore, Italy

• Digital Hollywood Fall
  October 17-20, 2011, Marina Del
  Ray, CA

• CEA Industry Forum
  October 23-28, 2011, San Diego, CA

• CES New York Press Preview featuring CES Unveiled @ NY
  November
  8, 2011, New York, NY
• Digital Hollywood New York City
  November 15-17, 2011, New
  York, NY

• Future of Television East
  November 18, 2011, New York, NY

• 2012 International CES
  January 10-13, 2012, Las Vegas, NV

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Enlarge image

Sony Plays Tablet Catchup

Haruyoshi Yamaguchi/Bloomberg

The Sony Corp. S1, left, and S2 tablet personal computers are displayed at an unveiling in Tokyo, Japan, on Tuesday, April 26, 2011.

The Sony Corp. S1, left, and S2 tablet personal computers are displayed at an unveiling in Tokyo, Japan, on Tuesday, April 26, 2011. Photographer: Haruyoshi Yamaguchi/Bloomberg

Sony Corp. (6758) and LG Electronics Inc. (066570)
will showcase tablets and handsets while Samsung Electronics Co.
tries to steal a march on Apple Inc.’s next iPhone model at
Berlin’s annual consumer electronics fair this week.

Seoul-based LG, the third-biggest maker of mobile phones,
will show its Optimus 3D handset that can connect to televisions
and double as a games controller at IFA. Tokyo-based Sony, the
last electronics giant to bring tablets to the market, may
unveil prices for its first two models, including a compact
foldable tablet that can download PlayStation Suite games.

IFA, previously a showcase of home appliances from TVs to
fridges, has become a battleground for manufacturers to woo
European consumers to wireless gadgets. Sales of smartphones
that allow users to watch live sports events and play games will
rise 56 percent to 468 million units this year, making them one
of the few bright spots of the consumer electronics market,
estimates by Stamford, Connecticut-based Gartner Inc. show.

“Competition is intense, market shares are in flux and
that means companies have to try to make an impression on
consumers,” said Antje Stobbe, head of technology research at
Deutsche Bank AG in Frankfurt. “It’s important to position
yourself in these markets because they are the future.”

Falling demand for games consoles and TVs have forced
Nintendo Co. and Sony to cut prices and slash profit forecasts.
Royal Philips Electronics NV earlier this year ceded control of
its 80-year-old TV unit to Hong Kong-based TPV Technology Ltd.

Fighting IPads

Products introduced at last year’s IFA included Samsung’s
Galaxy Tab and Toshiba Corp.’s Folio 100 tablet computer. While
those products have helped win some customers in a tablet market
that is set to triple in value to $30.6 billion this year, Apple
will dominate with a share of 73 percent by value, compared with
88 percent in 2010, according to Strategy Analytics estimates.

Samsung, Apple Inc. (AAPL)’s biggest competitor in smartphones and
tablets, and HTC Corp. (2498), Asia’s second-largest maker of handset
with computer-like features, will showcase next-generation
handsets in Berlin to grab consumer attention before Apple
unveils its iPhone 5.

A link on Windows Phone’s Facebook page to HTC events in
Berlin and London has fueled expectations that the devices the
Taiwanese company will unveil this week will run on Microsoft
Corp. (MSFT)’s Windows Phone operating system. Susanne Nguyen, an
external spokeswoman for HTC in Munich, declined to comment.

Samsung vs HTC

Apple, whose Chief Executive Officer Steve Jobs announced
his resignation last week, traditionally doesn’t attend the IFA
exhibition. The iPhone, introduced in 2007, has become Apple’s
best-selling product and turned the company into the world’s
largest smartphone maker.

“In the mid-term they are going to defend the position,
but the others are coming up quite fast in terms of quality and
in terms of variation as well,” said Wafa Moussavi-Amin, a
Frankfurt-based managing director of researcher IDC.

The Saturn electronics store in Frankfurt’s main shopping
street Zeil illustrates the stiff competition. Of the 14 Samsung
smartphones on display, six cost less than 200 euros ($288)
without contracts. The store carries 10 HTC smartphones, two
selling for less than that price. Nokia Oyj (NOK1V) and Sony Ericsson
had 12 devices on display, while LG had four.

HTC is targeting consumers such as Tim, a 16-year-old high
school student from Frankfurt, who is considering a replacement
for his iPhone 3GS phone.

Young Customers

“If I look at my iPhone 3GS and compare it with today’s
HTC phones, it’s clear how far ahead the HTCs are, and that in
such a short timeframe,” said Tim, declining to give his last
name, as he browsed for a new device at Saturn. “It helps that
they update their models so frequently. If I had to choose
between the iPhone 4 and a HTC phone, I’d go with HTC.”

Samsung, which is stepping up the creation of applications
for its Bada software used on lower-priced smartphones, last
week introduced phones to target emerging markets and younger
consumers. In the same week, Nokia unveiled three mass-market
smartphones starting at 180 euros.

Huawei Technologies Co. is also taking aim at entry-level
users with a prepaid version of its Ideos X3 smartphone that
will go on sale at German discount store Lidl this week for
99.99 euros.

“Their target is to get a huge market share of the still
growing smartphone market,” Klaus Boehm, director of media at
Deloitte in Dusseldorf, said in an interview. “They need to
position themselves with young consumers that are not interested
in huge mobile contracts.”

Shares Fall

Shares of Samsung have fallen 22 percent this year. HTC has
dropped 11 percent, LG has lost 46 percent of its value, while
Sony has tumbled 42 percent. Apple has risen about 20 percent.

Sony presented its two tablet models, code-named S1 and S2,
in April, a year after the iPad spurred a surge in demand for
the devices. As a latecomer to the tablet market, Chief
Executive Officer Howard Stringer plans to differentiate from
rival devices by adding the ability to download PlayStation
Suite games, movies and music from its subscription services.

Sylvia Shin, a U.K.-based spokeswoman for Sony, didn’t
return calls seeking comment.

Demand for the S1 tablet could be curtailed if it’s priced
too high, Jeff Loff, an analyst at Macquarie Group Ltd., wrote
in a note yesterday, citing a price level of $600. Apple’s iPad
2 costs from $499 on the apple.com store.

To contact the reporters on this story:
Ragnhild Kjetland in Frankfurt at
rkjetland@bloomberg.net;
Cornelius Rahn in Frankfurt at
crahn2@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Kenneth Wong in Berlin at
kwong11@bloomberg.net

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The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) said it wants the cable industry and other sectors to help it develop a standard to support a wider 21:9 aspect ratio for TVs.

Most new TVs from major manufacturers feature a 16:9 aspect ratio. CEA said Tuesday that it wants to add support for 21:9 video in its CEA 861 standard for uncompressed high-speed digital interfaces.

"We hope the proposed modifications to CEA 861 will help manufacturers build products that can signal their ability to display this extra widescreen video and invite input from other organizations involved in the creation and delivery of DTV content," CEA said in a statement Tuesday.

Some cable and satellite subscribers that have purchased 3D TVs have had difficulty configuring 3D programming delivered by their pay TV providers because of a lack of 3D standards. Cable subscribers that purchase new 21:9 TVs being developed by CE manufacturers could see similar problems unless new standards are created.

For more:
- the CEA has this news release

Related articles:
CEA keeps up the AllVid chatter
CEA study finds Americans not rushing to cancel pay TV service

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This beats the view I had at Sound Group Holdings Ltd hands down. I look out over this wonderful lake and think how dam lucky I am having no-one to tell me what I can and can't do.

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