ATON™ announced today it will be launching the industry’s first pre-programmed Whole House “Music & More” System at CEDIA 2010, the AH66T KT. The new kit features the AH66T Multi-Source Multi-Zone Controller plus six (6) OLED2 touchpads that offer full-color graphic control and feedback. With built-in programming to run market leading sources like the iPort® and Lutron™ RadioRA®2, the affordable multi-room audio solution allows dealers to rapidly deploy a first-time or add-on audio system with iPod® & lighting control capability ready to go. Bob Williams, ATON’s General Manager, made the announcement. “The AH66T KT offers an unsurpassed out-of-box experience that delivers beyond expectations,” said Williams. “ATON is all about bending traditional categories and this is no exception. Why have just music when you can get so much more? Plus you can complete the system with our musician-voiced Storm Series speakers.”

Here what Apples Steve Jobs had to say about Apple TV at Apples Fall 2010 event.

“So what have we learned from our users? They want hollywood movies and TV shows whenever they want. It's not complicated. They don't want amateur hour. They want HD -- everyone wants HD. They want to pay lower prices for content. They don't want a computer on their TV -- they have computers. They go to their TVs for entertainment.  They don't want to manage storage. They don't want to think about -- they just want to watch movies and TV shows. And they don't want to sync to a computer. And they want whatever hardware we have to be silent, cool, and small.  So this is what we've learned. It's different than what a lot of companies think...  So we made something new.  This is the new Apple TV."

"It's small -- a 4th of the size of the current ATV. It looks like a small hockey puck."

"Matte black. Around back it's got HDMI, USB, optical audio and Ethernet."

"Wifi 802.11n"

"It's got a great remote. It's about movies and TV shows -- it's all HD when the content is available. We've gone to the rental model for this -- you rent everything.  It's all rentals and you don't store anything on it -- you just rent them.  You stream content from your computer if you want to. There's no syncing required. Stunning photo slideshows. And, it's silent cool and tiny."

"So what about content? iTunes has the largest online library of movies and hd movies iin the world. You can rent them for $4.99 the day they come out on DVD. Now, to buy TV shows it used to be $2.99 -- people said that was too expensive. Now they're going to be $.99."

"Remember, these are commercial free. Now this is a big step for some of the studios to make. So we have ABC and Fox. We think the rest of the studios will see the light.  In addition to renting, you can also stream Netflix.  You can also watch anything you want on YouTube. You can get photos from Flickr and MobileMe. And you can stream content from your computer."

"So that gives you an overview of Apple TV. Now let me show you something else that's really cool. We talked about AirPlay before. One of the things we can do with AirPlay is stream content from an iPad to an Apple TV. You're going to be able to be watching a movie, push it to your TV, and finish watching it there. You're going to be able to push photos from your iPad to your TV... it's going to be pretty cool. The price of Apple TV was $229... users said they'd like to see it more affordable. So we're gonna lower the price, from $299... to just $99. The Apple TV will be available in 4 weeks."

NETGEAR®, Inc. today announced the NeoTV 350 HD and NeoTV 550 Ultimate HD Media Players as the flagship products in the NETGEAR AV Series. The NeoTV HD Media Players enable users to play their digital videos, photos, or music directly on their HDTVs whether the media is stored locally, on the home network, or the Internet. The AV Series is made up of easy-to-use products that help consumers easily connect their Internet-ready devices such as HDTVs, Blu-ray™ players, IPTV set-top boxes, media players and game consoles to the Internet and the home network. Other NeoTV features include a built-in memory card slot for instant photo slideshows on the TV, DLNA/UPnP compatibility for access to media servers, network share connectivity and an optional wireless connection with the AV Series NETGEAR Universal Wi-Fi Internet Adapter (WNCE2001). The NeoTV 350 HD Media Player and NeoTV 550 Ultimate HD Media Player will be available in the fall 2010. The NeoTV 350 will be available in Europe with an MSRP of Euro 129.99 and Australia with an MSRP of AUD $189.99. The NeoTV 550 will be available in North America with an MSRP of $219.99, Europe for Euro 199.99 and Australia for AUD $299.99.

Internet-connected TVs are proving bigger this year for manufacturers than the much vaunted 3D technology.Nearly 28m TV sets with built-in internet connectivity are expected to ship over 2010, according to the iSuppli research firm, compared with just 4m 3D TVs. This would be a rise of 125 per cent on the 12m units shipped in 2009. TV makers are rushing to offer web services and content such as movies, music and photos, with iSuppli expecting that by 2014, 54 per cent of flat-panel TVs shipped – about 148m units – will have internet connectivity and services. The figures imply that TV makers will hold a majority share of the smart TV market in the coming years, with their relationship with consumers altering as they move to provide content as well as services. That would require new partnerships with content providers and perhaps a radical change in business model. Source: Financial Times, Chris Nuttall

The Consumer Electronics Association, ESPN and the top cable and satellite providers are looking to demystify some of consumers' questions about 3D television via a special weekend of "National 3D Demo Days" at electronics retailers around the country. "A lot of our members came to us looking for help promoting 3D TV," Megan Pollock, a representative of the CEA, tells Marketing Daily. "It's new. It's exciting. But consumers still have a lot of questions." During the weekend of Sept. 10-12, ESPN will provide continuous 3D programming in several stores, while knowledgeable sales staff will be on hand to answer the questions. The programming will include the live telecast of the Ohio State vs. Miami college football game on Sept. 11, as well as packages from the 2010 FIFA World Cup, X Games, U.S. Open and other collegiate sporting events. Source: Mediapost.com

Over-the-top video player Boxee could soon add live TV channels and Hollywood hits to its content roster after striking a deal to use Widevine Technologies Inc. 's digital rights management (DRM) and adaptive streaming technology. The companies said they've reached an agreement with a “large content service” that will allow Boxee to deliver “major motion pictures” to viewers watching TVs wired to broadband Internet devices such as Boxee’s upcoming broadband-fueled set-top. Boxee will be able to use Widevine’s DRM technology, adaptive streaming, and virtual DVD controls to deliver linear TV channels directly to viewers via the Internet, Widevine CEO Brian Baker tells Light Reading Cable. While Boxee’s agreement with Widevine gives it the technology to add live TV channels to the mix, the company has yet to announce any network deals. Cable networks that rely on license fees from cable MSOs, satellite TV providers, and telcos may hesitate to sell content to a firm that could threaten their core business. Source: Lightreading.com.

A report by Peter Burrows, a veteran BusinessWeek reporter now writing for Bloomberg Businessweek, lays out the details of what sounds like a credible scenario. According to Burrows:

Apple is set to begin a new service that would let iPad, iPhone and iPod owners rent current TV programs for 48 hours at 99-cents apiece. Currently movies can be rented from iTunes, but TV shows must be purchased for $1.99 to $2.99 each.

Apple is said to be in "advanced talks" with News Corp. and "talks" with CBS and Disney to get access to their content. [According to the Wall Street Journal, Disney is "close to an agreement."] That would cover three of the four major networks (Fox, CBS and ABC). Time Warner might also make its older programs available. General Electric's NBC, which is in the process of being acquired by Comcast, was conspicuously absent from the Bloomberg report.

Apple is also planning to unveil a $99 version of its three-year-old Apple TV set-top box. Earlier reports suggested that the new device would run the same operating system as the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch and be optimized for streaming, rather than downloading, video content.

This is all supposed to happen at a special event on Sept. 7, at which time Steve Jobs will also unveil a new version of the iPod touch with a higher-resolution screen.

Jobs has apparently abandoned its efforts to convince the TV networks to let him repackage their programming into a $30-per-month "best of TV" subscription service. Such a service would have jeopardized the networks' chances of getting higher retransmission fees from TV-system operators, according to RBC Capital's David Bank, the only source named in Burrows' piece.

From Breitbart - Japanese electronics giant Toshiba plans to market the world's first 3D television that does not need special glasses later this year, a report said on Tuesday. Toshiba will unveil three models of the television, which will cost several thousand dollars, before Christmas, the Yomiuri Shimbun said. The company has developed a new system that emits a number of rays of light with various angles from the screen so that viewers can see stereoscopic images without glasses, the daily said. "People can enjoy images in three dimensions from various positions and suffer less stress," it said. Japan's major electronics makers launched 3D television this year, but sales have not been as strong as expected while many customers have complained of being irritated by the glasses. However, a Toshiba spokeswoman said: "We are not in a position to make any announcement."

Beginning Tuesday, satellite TV provider Dish Network will stream TV shows to its subscribers on a website called DishOnline.com and through set-top boxes and mobile devices.  That differentiates Dish’s online offering from some other cable or satellite TV Internet channels like Time Warner and Comcast’s TV Everywhere strategies, which are primarily focused on web streaming.  According to The New York Times, the first wave of content will include shows from the Discovery Channel, HGTV and MTV. Dish plans to serve both TV shows and movies, but most of the content will only be available to subscribers. Some clips or trailers might stream to you even if you’re not a subscriber, but full-length programs and movies will generally be restricted.  Subscribers will be able to watch the online content on certain set-top boxes, in addition to the traditionally distributed shows they record with their DVRs. NewTeeVee reports that iOS, Android and BlackBerry apps are coming too. Source: Mashables