Asus Adopts Amimon's WHDI Chip for Wireless PC to TV Streaming

PC Mag

Asus will use Amimon's Wireless Home Digital Interface (WHDI) chip in its WiCast EW2000 PC to TV wireless connection kit, Amimon announced Tuesday.

WHDI is an emerging technology that allows a user to wirelessly display PC content on an HDTV. According to Amimon, Asus's WiCast can display a wide array of media, including Internet video, Flash media, digital photos, and PC games.

Amimon promised latency of less than one millisecond, so users can use all PC applications on their TV, including gaming. Specifically, the Asus WiCast will feature Amimon's second generation chipset, known as AMN2120/2220, which will enable wireless 1080p 60Hz in the 5-GHz unlicensed band, Amimon said.

The product will be available in September for $199.

Amimon's product is part of a kit that will include an HD video transmitter and receiver for connection to devices with an HDMI port, like set-top-boxes and gaming consoles. The adapters are powered by the PC's USB ports, Amimon said.

"Asus is the first to offer consumers wireless PC to TV products based on Amimon's WHDI technology. Several other PC to TV connectivity products will be launched later this year, including notebooks and tablet PCs with embedded WHDI modules," David Shefler, vice president of sales and business development for Amimon, said in a statement. "WHDI, with its high quality, low latency and low power consumption, is the only solution that will enable all portable computing, gaming and HD source devices to wirelessly connect to TVs."

Asus also joined the WHDI consortium.

"Amimon's WHDI is an ideal technology for wireless PC to TV connectivity; it offers a high-quality, robust link enabling wireless HD video and graphics with practically zero latency giving PC users seamless interaction," said James Lai, director of product marketing at Asus. "Joining the WHDI consortium will enable us to develop WHDI standard based products like PCs embedded with WHDI that interface directly to WHDI TVs."

Sony, Panasonic TVs Star in Price Battle in China Showrooms

Bloomberg

 

Sony Corp.’s and Panasonic Corp.’s ambitions for higher earnings this year depend on convincing Yin Weiguang, a retired construction worker in Beijing, that he chose the wrong television.

“I don’t really care about fancy features,” said Yin, 55, who paid 2,799 yuan ($413) for a 32-inch set made by Skyworth Digital Holdings Ltd. “I just use it for basic entertainment: watching news, weather forecast and TV series.”

Sony and Panasonic, the world’s two largest makers of consumer electronics and Sony camera batteries, are slashing some TV prices by a third in China after being outsold six-to-one by Shenzhen-based Skyworth. Sony aims to double TV shipments in China this fiscal year, and Panasonic expects 50 percent growth in the world’s second- largest market for flat-panel TVs.

“The price battle in China will likely intensify as local manufacturers, South Korean makers and Japanese companies all fight for market share,” said Yoji Takeda, who heads the Asian equity management team at RBC Investment (Asia) Ltd., which oversees $1.1 billion. “Prices will probably continue falling with increased market supply during the second half.”

In December, Sony offered a 32-inch set for 3,000 yuan, or 33 percent off the previous price for that size, targeting customers in regional cities and rural districts, said Yuki Shima, a spokeswoman for the Tokyo-based company. To help cut costs, Sony has increased outsourcing of TV production to Foxconn Technology Group, the world’s largest contract manufacturer of electronics.

50 Percent Cut

Panasonic, the world’s biggest maker of plasma TVs, may cut prices of some models in China as much as 50 percent this year, Hitoshi Otsuki, senior managing director of the Osaka-based company’s overseas operations, said in an interview last week.

“The market is totally different from the U.S. and others,” Otsuki said. “In China, domestic manufacturers are very powerful, especially in low-end products. The smaller sets are the fastest-growing area and the most difficult for us.”

Sony slipped 0.7 percent to close at 2,681 yen in Tokyo, narrowing its gain this year to 0.4 percent. Panasonic fell 1.2 percent, extending its loss in 2010 to 17 percent. Skyworth Digital dropped 0.4 percent at the midday break on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

Biggest Flat-Panel Market

Sales of liquid-crystal-display TVs in China will rise 15 percent to 45.5 million next year and overtake North America shipments, according to DisplaySearch estimates. China will become the biggest flat-panel TV market, including plasma sets, in 2012, according to the Austin, Texas-based researcher.

Skyworth is the market leader in China with a 15 percent share, followed by domestic rivals Hisense Electric Co. and TCL Corp., according to AVC Consulting in Beijing.

Japan’s Sharp Corp. was the top non-Chinese vendor with 4.9 percent, followed by Samsung Electronics Co. and LG Electronics Inc. of Seoul. Sony and Panasonic, the maker of Viera-brand TVs, each had 2.4 percent.

“Sony has started to take more serious action in China,” Shima said, citing the introduction of the lower-priced model in December. “We need to become sensitive about changes on products and business models for China.”

A price war may reverse the optimism sparked last month after the Japanese companies increased profit forecasts, said Yuuki Sakurai, chief executive officer of Tokyo-based Fukoku Capital Management Inc. Sony and Panasonic on July 29 cited better-than-expected sales of flat-panel TVs for raising their full-year projections, sending shares of both companies higher in Tokyo trading the following day.

Sony estimates 60 percent growth in worldwide TV sales by volume and Panasonic 35 percent.

“There’s no way Sony and Panasonic can compete with Chinese producers in terms of prices,” Sakurai said. “Even the South Koreans are struggling. Chinese consumers aren’t very keen on top-quality products.”

Samsung, the world’s largest TV maker, said last month that falling set prices may erode profitability this quarter. The company intends to keep prices above those of Chinese producers.

“We will stick to a strategy that will make people aware of our premium image,” said Chenny Kim, a spokeswoman at Suwon, South Korea-based Samsung. “We won’t compete with local companies in pricing.”

Skyworth’s annual shipments in China rose 12 percent to 7 million units in the fiscal year ended March 31 from a year earlier, the company said April 19. Revenue from the business increased 55 percent.

Competition, What Competition?

Skyworth, whose shares trade in Hong Kong and Frankfurt, isn’t concerned about international competitors, said Shen Jian, a spokesman. Brands from abroad account for about a quarter of the TVs sold in China, according to DisplaySearch.

“Domestic branded TVs are cheap and durable,” said Yin, who receives a monthly pension of about 4,000 yuan.

A 40-inch, international-brand TV sold for an average of about $902 in the second quarter, or about 33 percent more than Chinese marques, according to DisplaySearch.

“Our advantage is we are a local brand,” Shen said. “We don’t worry about the competition at all.”

Still, the price cuts may be helping overseas companies make inroads. Chinese producers’ combined market share fell to 76 percent in the first quarter from 83 percent the previous three-month period, according to Hisakazu Torii, a Tokyo-based analyst at DisplaySearch.

Value For Money

Liu Lin, 29, said non-Chinese TVs are worth the extra cost.

“The quality of Sony’s picture is really good,” said Liu, who bought a Sony 46-inch Bravia set for 5,999 yuan, or more than half her monthly pay. “Quality and price are of the same importance in buying a TV set.”

Japanese TV makers also face the hurdle of a stronger currency that’s giving them less room to cut prices than South Korean rivals. The yen has gained about 7.4 percent against the yuan this year, while the Korean won has weakened 1.2 percent.

They may get a boost from the falling prices of flat panels and used monitors, typically the costliest TV component. LG Display Co., the world’s second-largest LCD maker, last month forecast that panel prices would decline an unspecified amount through August.

“Price is my top concern given I’m not that well-paid,” said Pan Ying, who earns about 5,000 yuan monthly at a Beijing health-care company. “I’ll consider a foreign brand if the price is good.”

Sam's Club to Use Wi-Fi to Push TV's

The Wall Street Journal

Customers to Get Unfettered Internet Access to Test Devices—and Check Up on Competitors' Prices

This holiday season, Sam's Club is making a big bet on Internet-connected television sets—and hopes that providing free Wi-Fi in its stores will help draw customers to the new technology.

The Wal-Mart Stores Inc. membership warehouse chain's more than 500 clubs will be outfitted with Wi-Fi by November. The move is testament to Sam's Club's high hopes for Internet TV sets and other Web-enabled devices this holiday shopping season.

By providing Wi-Fi, Sam's Club says it hopes to help customers better understand such products, which are still relatively new to the market. "This will allow a member to walk up to a Samsung LCD Internet-enabled TV and see how to find his Facebook page or stream video from Vudu," said Sam's Club Chief Executive Brian Cornell in an interview. "It is an intimidating category with lots of complexity."

But Wi-Fi also will allow Sam's Club shoppers more reliable Internet access on their smartphones in the warehouse, where they can find additional information about what they are buying or check competitors' prices. AT&T Inc. is providing the network, accessible to any Sam's Club member through a few key strokes, according to Michael Chaney, Sam's senior director of technology services.

Mr. Cornell said Sam's Club is "very comfortable" with its members' checking competitors' prices.

Consumer-electronics experts said they expect in coming months to see more retailers set up Wi-Fi in their stores to better demonstrate how products work. Wi-Fi is available at Apple Inc. stores, at Best Buy Co., and at stores owned by the consumer electronics chain TigerDirect Inc., which purchased the CompUSA brand in 2008.

"There's clearly a lot of need for Internet access in retail stores," said Stephen Baker, consumer electronics analyst at NPD Group, a market research firm. Retailers spend "all that money to put information online, so they want to make sure customers get the benefit of that, regardless of where they are shopping," he added.

Internet-connected sets accounted for 11% of all TV sales in the first six months of the year, and that figure is expected to grow, according to NPD.

Shoppers have been able to access the Internet via smartphones in stores without the aid of Wi-Fi, but adding the service—which provides wireless high-speed Internet service within a relatively small radius, or hot spot—removes dead zones and increases the reliability for Internet access throughout the store.

Retail analysts said Wi-Fi will be an important addition at a retail chain such as Sam's Club, known for low prices but a limited amount of sales help. Mr. Cornell said Sam's Club has beefed up consumer-electronics training and also began offering a 24-hour phone service where members can access information and assistance from tech experts.

Best Buy, the largest seller of consumer electronics, said it isn't worried about stepped up competition.

For the holidays, "we will offer a superlative experience for consumers who want to understand how Internet TV options connect to their lifestyles and their other gear," said Best Buy spokesman Scott Morris. "Certainly you can expect an unparalleled breadth of selection and highly competitive pricing."

Sam's also is launching an app for all smartphones that will eventually let shoppers scan products at home and create shopping lists. They can access Sam's Club discounts with their phone app that will be deducted automatically at checkout.

Best Buy is testing a similar phone app called Shopkick in its San Francisco stores that will allow customers to redeem rewards points and personalized discounts at checkout by providing their cellphone number.

An increasing number of high-end television sets offered for sale in stores will have Internet connectivity this year, as streaming movie services available as part of the sets have proven popular with consumers. Internet connectivity helped increase sales of Blu-ray players last year, after sales languished for several years.

This year's television models will have Internet connectivity built in, instead of accessed through a wire that needed to be plugged in—a consumer turn-off, according to NPD's Mr. Baker.

With the advent of more store Wi-Fi networks, retailers said they aren't concerned about shoppers increasingly using their smartphones to check competitors' prices in their stores. "They know they are not going to lose customers over a few dollars, and many retailers have price-match programs," said Mr. Baker.

Philips Q2 Profits up on Strong Sales

Associated Press

 

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) - Football fans buying new flat screen televisions to watch the World Cup helped Dutch electronics maker Royal Philips Electronics NV post a strong rise in second quarter profit on Monday.

Net profit was euro262 million ($340 million), up from euro45 million in the same period a year ago. Revenues rose to euro6.19 billion from euro5.23 billion a year ago, when the company was hit hard by the global economic crisis.

"It is encouraging to see that our performance continues to improve, despite ongoing weakness in many global markets and economic uncertainty," said CEO Gerard Kleisterlee.

The company said it expects sales growth to ease off for the remainder of 2010, in part because many consumers - particularly in football-mad Latin America - bought new televisions ahead of the World Cup that finished earlier this month in South Africa.

"After the strong rebound in the first half of the year, we expect comparable sales growth in the remainder of the year to moderate towards mid-single-digit level," the company said in a statement. "This reflects continued but slow recovery in the U.S. and Europe, different seasonality for our television business following soccer's World Cup, and the improved sales performance in the second half of 2009."

Chief Financial Officer Pierre-Jean Sivignon said the company saw "slightly more robust activity than expected in the USA, post-health care reform" for its medical equipment division. However, he said many in the United States were "still digesting" the implications of the Obama Administration's health care overhaul.

Philips shares sank on disappointment at the level of sales growth. By midday (1000 GMT), Philips was down 3.1 percent at euro24.13 in Amsterdam.

"Sales growth of 12 percent was not quite what the market was looking for," said Peter Olofsen, an analyst with Kepler Capital Markets in Amsterdam.

Sivignon defended the revenue figures, saying, "In absolute value, sales for the first half of the year are now approaching the pre-crisis level of 2008."

Consumer electronics led the way for Philips, with revenues in that division rising 20 percent to euro2.18 billion from a year earlier on strong sales of flat screen televisions.

The company's lighting division saw revenues rise 13 percent to euro1.86 billion.

Growth was strongest in emerging markets and particularly the so-called BRIC nations - Brazil, Russia, India and China. Revenues in emerging markets rose 29 percent to euro2.1 billion - 34 percent of the company's total revenues. In the same period last year, emerging markets revenues made up 29 percent of worldwide revenue.

Philips has aggressively cut costs to remain competitive in the economic downturn, including slashing some 5,000 jobs last year,

However, the company's staff level rose slightly to 116,590 in the second quarter from 116,023 a year earlier. Reductions in Philips' group management and services and health care divisions were offset by gains at lighting and consumer electronics, thanks largely to the takeover last year of espresso machine maker Saeco.

Samsung, Panasonic Start Selling 3-D TVs this Week

NEW YORK (AP) - Want to be the first one on your block with a 3-D television? It will cost you about $3,000.

Samsung and Panasonic will start selling 3-D TVs in U.S. stores this week, inaugurating what manufacturers hope is the era of 3-D viewing in the living room. But because the sets require bulky glasses, and there is for now little to watch in the enhanced format, it will take at least a few years for the technology to become mainstream, if that happens at all.

Samsung Electronics Co. announced Tuesday that it is selling two 3-D sets this week. For $3,000, buyers get a 46-inch set, two pairs of glasses and a 3-D Blu-ray player.

Panasonic Corp. has said it will start selling 3-D sets Wednesday.

The sales debut comes as moviegoers have shown considerable enthusiasm for the latest wave of 3-D titles in the theater. Last weekend, "Alice in Wonderland" grossed an estimated $116.2 million at the box office, beating the first-weekend receipts of "Avatar," the winter's 3-D blockbuster.

Although it's clear that 3-D sets for the home will appeal to technology and home-theater enthusiasts, it remains to be seen whether other consumers will be enticed to spend at least $500 above the price of a comparably sized standard TV and Blu-ray player.

TV makers hope so, because sets with the last big technological improvement - high definition - have come way down in price, below $500.

One challenge will be that the 3-D effect requires viewers to wear relatively bulky battery-operated glasses that need to be recharged occasionally. They are not like the cheap throwaways that have been used in theaters since the 1950s.

When you're wearing these 3-D TV glasses, room lights and computer screens may look like they're flickering, making it difficult to combine 3-D viewing with other household activities. Anyone who's not wearing the glasses when the set is in 3-D mode will see a blurry screen. (The sets can be used in 2-D mode as well, with no glasses required.)

To give buyers something to watch, Samsung is including a 3-D copy of "Monsters vs. Aliens" on Blu-ray disc with its packages, in a deal with the studio, DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc. Its CEO, Jeffrey Katzenberg, said it will convert its "Shrek" movies to 3-D for Samsung TV buyers later this year.

"We continue to see this amazing level of enthusiasm and excitement for 3-D. The rate of adoption for this into the cinema has been a rocket ship these last couple of months," Katzenberg said in an interview.

Sets with 3-D-capability have been available for a few years from Mitsubishi Corp. But 3-D for the home is now coming together as a complete package with the arrival of more 3-D television models, as well as 3-D video players that run on battery and 3-D movies.

But there's still a notable lack of 3-D material to watch.

Eventually, sports and other programming that will benefit from a more immersive experience should be offered in 3-D. ESPN has said it will start a channel that will broadcast live events using the technology, starting with FIFA World Cup soccer in June. The sets could also be used for 3-D video games, when game consoles catch up to the new technology.

Samsung, the world's largest maker of TVs, has high hopes for 3-D. Tim Baxter, head of the company's U.S. electronics division, said he expects 3-D systems to be in 3 million to 4 million of the 35 million TV sets sold in the U.S. this year by all manufacturers.

Research firm iSuppli Corp. puts the figure at 4.2 million units globally this year. It expects the numbers to ramp quickly, to 12.9 million next year and 27 million in 2012. For comparison, there were more than 210 million TVs sold worldwide year.

Sony Corp. said Tuesday it will start selling 3-D televisions in June. U.S. prices were not revealed, but the sets will cost $3,200 and up in Japan. The company hopes that 10 percent of the TVs it sells in the next fiscal year will be 3-D units.

Sony also plans to issue software upgrades for its PlayStation 3 game consoles and some of its Blu-ray players so they will be able to play 3-D discs.

Panasonic has not revealed what its sets will cost. It's taking a slightly different tack than Samsung, by introducing 3-D only on plasma screens, for maximum image quality. And rather than selling 3-D sets broadly, it's going only through Best Buy Inc.'s Magnolia Home Theater stores.

Samsung's two new sets will be followed by another 13 3-D-capable models in the next two months. Soon, 3-D packages with plasma sets will be available for about $2,000, Baxter said.

ISuppli analyst Randy Lawson said it's a fairly simple, inexpensive move for manufacturers to modify their high-end sets to be 3-D-capable. That's part of the reason iSuppli expects a quick increase in sales of such 3-D TVs. Whether people will use the feature is another matter, he said.

Consumers should be more interested in the ability to connect the TV to the Internet, Lawson said. That feature, which started showing up last year and requires little more technology on a daily basis than a good TV remote control battery, is more immediately useful, because it gives access to a vast array of online movies and TV shows.

"I don't believe that everyone will be watching 3-D all the time in two to three years," he said. "I don't think it will be a predominant" concern among average consumers.

U.S. Television Manufacturer Expects Big Growth In Next Year

Wall Street Journal

Vizio Inc., a supplier of low-cost flat-panel display TVs in the U.S., expects shipments of its LCD televisions to rise more than 70% to more than six million units this year and to remain profitable even as set prices fall at least 30%, the company's chief executive said.

Such steep declines in LCD television selling prices suggest more challenges ahead for major television manufacturers. Sony Corp., Panasonic Corp. and other major Japanese television manufacturers have struggled to reverse losses at their television businesses, unable to slash costs faster than falling prices, even though demand for new sets remains strong.

Vizio, a closely held company based in Irvine, Calif., is the U.S. market leader for LCD televisions with a 21.7% share in the second quarter, edging out Samsung Electronics for the top spot, according to research firm iSuppli. Vizio's shipments would be growing at more than triple the rate of the global market for LCD televisions, based on iSuppli's forecasts for 20.5% global shipments growth in 2009.

Its televisions are available at discount retailers and can sometimes cost several hundred dollars less than competitors.

The shift to flat-panel televisions opened the door to companies like Vizio, which focuses on design and marketing while leaving the production mainly to contract manufacturers. William Wang, Vizio's CEO and founder, said in an interview Monday that Vizio is now expanding to sell Blu-ray video players and speakers, again turning to contract manufacturers in Asia.

"There are plenty of factories these days," said Mr. Wang, who says his company made money last year and will again be profitable this year. He didn't give specific details.

Japanese companies are also increasingly turning to contract manufacturers to reduce costs. Sony agreed to sell a 90% stake in an LCD television assembly factory in Mexico to Taiwan's Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. and then outsource production to Hon Hai. Hitachi also started to turn to outside manufacturers for some of its less expensive TVs for the U.S. market.

Mr. Wang was in Tokyo Monday to meet with retailers. Japan is a difficult market for discount brands, due to a loyalty to brand names and the abundance of domestic competitors. Vizio already sells televisions in Japan at stores run by Costco Wholesale Corp. but it has no immediate plans to expand in the Japanese market.

The company doesn't need capital right now, according to Mr. Wang, but it will likely raise capital in the future as it expands into other products and new markets. He also said a listing will happen eventually, saying a public offering will be good for brand building.

Upstart American Television Maker Leads The Industry

NPR

Americans will buy about 35 million televisions this year, and Japan's Sony and Korea's Samsung are two of the biggest brand names.

But there's a California company sharing the top of the list with those industry leaders: Vizio.

Like many other American brands, the Orange County-based upstart doesn't manufacture anything in the U.S. Vizio made its mark as the low-priced value brand. It was at the right place at the right time, with the right idea.

Back in 2001, Vizio's three founders had a company that was making computer monitors, but co-founder Ken Lowe says the trio was looking for the next big thing,

"We thought that flat panel TVs looked really nice," says Lowe, who heads the company's engineering department. "But a really nice plasma TV cost about $8,000, and we thought, 'That's too rich for us.' "

However, Lowe and his partners thought, "We know how these things are made; they shouldn't cost that much."

A Disruptive Company

The three worked their connections in the manufacturing world in Asia and created a 42-inch plasma TV that retailed for less than half the going price.

"At that time, we called ourselves a 'disruptive company,' because our price was so much lower than the competition," Lowe says.

Vizio's TVs sold briskly, and the company was soon producing well-priced products under its own name. Today it's among the top three sellers of TVs to U.S. consumers.

Industry analyst Paul Gagnon, of the market research firm Display Search, calls Vizio's rise very surprising: "They've managed to kind of catch lightning in a bottle — quick moving, aggressive, highly focused company."

Vizio had the foresight to jump into the market just as the industry was converting from old technology to digital TVs. That meant that all the manufacturers were, to some degree at least, starting from square one. But while the established firms had large legacy costs, Vizio did not.

"We're like outsourcing on steroids, right," Lowe says. "It's myself here and a few other engineers. That's it for Vizio."

New Pressure From Competitors

Lowe says only about 130 people work at the company headquarters, and a couple of dozen more work in another U.S. facility. All the manufacturing, along with the detailed design work, is done primarily in Asia.

"I specify exactly what picture performance I require, what inputs I require. I get these teams of engineers to sit down and work out all the circuitry to make that happen," Lowe says. "I like to say I've got a thousand engineers working for me, but they're all paid by another company ... in Asia."

He chuckles a bit as he says this, but he adds that building TVs in the U.S. would require a huge capital investment — and right now, at least, Vizio isn't about to make it.

The company buys the flat panels — the major component in TVs — directly from the suppliers, sometimes the very same suppliers that make panels for more expensive brands. Because Vizio sells so many TVs, it has the clout to negotiate good prices on the parts it buys.

There's yet another factor in the value price equation.

From the very beginning, Vizio sold its TVs through Costco and at Sam's Club, Walmart and, more recently, Target. Those retailers generally work on smaller profit margins, and that's helped to keep Vizio's prices low.

Industry analyst Gagnon says there's no question that Vizio has been instrumental in driving down the cost of digital TVs.

"Vizio made a lot of big companies blink," he says.

At first, the well-established leaders didn't pay that much attention to the new company. But Gagnon says that as Vizio began selling lots of TVs with premium features and low prices, the industry giants had to respond. They did, cutting their prices and putting new pressure on Vizio.