The Review & Release SPoT

RIP Hometheaterspot

Wed, 26 Oct 2011 19:17:46 GMT

Received the email today for HomeTheaterEquipment.com, as I am sure most of you have as well, stating the following:

In the coming weeks, Luxury Publishing Group Inc. will be making our current AV forum site, HomeTheaterSpot.com, a READ-ONLY site at HomeTheaterSpotArchive.com. HomeTheaterSpot.com in its day was a once-powerful AV forum but today a fresh voice on an error-free site is needed – thus HomeTheaterEquipment.com.

Universal Backs Down From Tower Heist Video On Demand Plans

Fri, 14 Oct 2011 17:33:38 GMT

What a bunch of wussies.

Faced with the threat of boycotting movies theaters, Universal backs down from plans to offer Tower Heist as a Video On Demand service. Previously Universal announced they would test a Video On Demand service that would allow Comcast subscribers in Atlanta, Georgia and Portland Oregon to watch Tower Heist just three weeks after it appeared in theaters.

As you can imagine theater owners and management were not happy and threatened to boycott the film if Universal went ahead with their planned test. Well, yesterday, Universal caved and released the following statement:

[QUOTE]"Universal Pictures today announced that in response to a request from theater owners, it has decided to delay its planned premium home video on demand (PVOD) experiment in which Comcast digital subscribers in Portland and Atlanta would have had the opportunity to rent Tower Heist on demand just three weeks after its theatrical release on November 4, 2011.

"Universal continues to believe that the theater experience and a PVOD window are business models that can coincide and thrive and we look forward to working with our partners in exhibition to find a way to experiment in this area in the future," the studio said in a statement."

Shortly after this announcement, National Association of Theater Owners president CEO John Fithian stated:

[QUOTE]"NATO would like to thank Universal for responding to various theater owners' concerns and cancelling the PVOD test it was contemplating. They have been engaged with individual exhibitors on this test, and while it was something that many theater owners could not ultimately support, the open and collaborative nature of the dialogue is appreciated. NATO recognizes that studios need to find new models and opportunities in the home market, and looks forward to distributors and exhibitors working together for their mutual benefit," Fithian said.

Cinemark Threatens to Yank 'Tower Heist' If Universal Goes Early VOD

Sun, 09 Oct 2011 17:26:20 GMT

The first grumblings have begun with the Universal/Comcast Video On Demand plans.

Reuters reports, Cinemark told Universal on Thursday that it will not show "Tower Heist" if the studio releases the action comedy on video-on-demand three weeks after it debuts.

That could shave a significant chunk off the big-budget film's profits by preventing it from screening on any of Cinemark's nearly 300 theaters nationwide.

"Cinemark has urged Universal Pictures to reconsider its market test of this product," Cinemark said in a statement. "If Universal Pictures moves forward with its 'Tower Heist' premium video-on-demand offering, as announced, Cinemark has determined, in its best business interests, that it will decline to exhibit this film in its theatres."

A spokesperson for Universal declined to comment.

On Wednesday, however, the studio confirmed that it was moving forward on the early home entertainment debut, labeling it a "first of its kind" experiment." Though the the studio has remained mum, seeing the Eddie Murphy and Ben Stiller film will set customers back nearly $60.

Over the past year, studios and exhibitors have locked horns over efforts to move up the VOD and home entertainment debuts of major releases. So far, however, exhibitors have limited their reprisals to warnings that they may not show trailers or post signs for films that don't respect the traditional 90 day release windows.

Cinemark's announcement significantly raises the stakes for studios looking to mine extra riches from the thriving VOD business. It is a clear threat that other major players follow Universal's lead at their own peril.

Even though Universal is limiting its early VOD trial to Comcast subscribers in Atlanta and Portland, Ore., the country's third largest theater chain still sees the move as a danger to the exhibition business.

"Movies are designed to be exhibited in today’s state of the art digital theatres which enhances awareness of the film and maximizes downstream distribution," Cinemark added.

The decibel level may have lifted with Cinemark's warning, but the outrage is nothing new.

After news broke last spring that four major studios including Universal would debut over a dozen films a mere two months after they hit theaters on DirecTV, theater owners threatened to hit back at studios, but for the most part failed to make good on their ultimatums.

At the time, they claimed that early VOD debuts of movies like “Just Go With It” and “Unknown” would cannibalize ticket sales.

The National Association of Theater Owners and its members have shown a greater tolerance for VOD experiments by the likes of Summit and Lionsgate that move the home entertainment debuts of films such as "Source Code" and "Abduction" up, but respect a 90-day window that theater owners say is necessary.

Directed by Brett Ratner, "Tower Heist" hits theaters on Nov. 4.

Would You Pay $60 To See A First Run Movie? (Comcast Thinks So)

Thu, 06 Oct 2011 19:02:18 GMT

DirecTV stirred up a hornet's nest when it announced it would start offering movies for streaming, just eight weeks after their theatrical release. The reception has been lukewarm on the consumer side, but that decision sent many theater owners and DVD rental companies into an uproar.

Now, Universal Pictures and its new parent, cable TV giant Comcast says it will begin testing a new concept. They will offer movie goers the chance to watch a first run film, while it's still showing in theaters. The test will start November 23rd, with "Tower Heist," a PG-13 rated comedy starring Eddie Murphy and Ben Stiller. The cost you ask, $60.

The $60 premium will allow Comcast subscribers in Atlanta, Georgia and Portland, Oregon, to rent the movie and watch it unlimited times in a 48-hour window. If all goes well, I assume the service will be available nationwide but I didn't see a timetable for future markets.

Steve Jobs RIP

Thu, 06 Oct 2011 00:01:56 GMT

http://www.apple.com/

Is the Netflix - Dreamworks Deal More Hype Than Hope?

Tue, 27 Sep 2011 01:11:36 GMT

Nifty title huh? I thought it was appropriate considering the details that I have just read about the Netflix and Dreamworks deal.

To quote an article from CNET,

Quote:

Netflix won't start distributing DreamsWorks titles until 2013. That's more than a year away, and even then it's unclear how many films and TV shows Netflix will receive.

This is a very interesting bit of information, as Netflix is in big trouble with many of its subscribers. It seems to me that they are desperate to come up with ANY positive news to spread around the Internet.

I will let you make of it, what you will, but it's not the big news that it appears to be at first glance.

Read the entire article on CNET.

Netflix and Dreamworks Ink Streaming Deal

Mon, 26 Sep 2011 22:26:38 GMT

Huffington Post is making this seem like a huge deal.

I am not so sure.

Dreamworks has some nice titles but Netflix streaming is LIGHT YEARS behind other places like CinemaNow and Blockbuster. I go to Netflix for Blu-ray rentals but they aren't getting the top titles very fast.

Does this help you keep your subscription?

----- From Huffington Post and wire reports -----

Netflix Inc has won a deal to pipe Dreamworks Animation movies starting in 2013, the first time a major Hollywood studio has chosen Internet streaming over traditional pay TV, The New York Times reported on Sunday.

Dreamworks CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg told the newspaper the deal, worth $30 million per picture to Dreamworks over a number of years, was "game-changing" and represented a bet that viewers would soon no longer make distinctions between content streamed on the Internet or through cable.

The Netflix deal means Dreamworks -- the studio behind family friendly fare from "Shrek" to "Kung Fu Panda" -- is eschewing premium pay-TV operator HBO in favor of online streaming, the Times reported. HBO is a unit of Time Warner Inc. "We are really starting to see a long-term road map of where the industry is headed," Katzenberg was cited as saying to the newspaper in an interview.

The content agreement comes days after Netflix, which has seen its share price decline sharply after a series of missteps, sealed an agreement to broadcast TV shows from Discovery Communications Inc.

Netflix needs to add more content to its streaming service to keep drawing in new customers and fend off competition from the likes of Amazon.com, Google Inc and Apple Inc.

Shares of the one-time Wall Street darling have fallen 50 percent in two months. Netflix CEO Reed Hastings has apologized for failing to explain moves adequately, from a surprise price hike in July to a separation of its DVD-mail from streaming services, and the company is trying to win customers back.

Read more...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/26/netflix-d...

Dish + Blockbuster = A 'Stream Come True'?

Fri, 23 Sep 2011 18:15:17 GMT

A very interesting story from Multichannel.com. Is this yet another nail in Netflix's coffin?

Here comes Dishbuster’s online-streaming service — just in time to cause another headache for Netflix, which has badly fumbled its decision to split up DVD and video-streaming services.

This Friday, Dish Network CEO Joe Clayton and Blockbuster president Michael Kelly will host a press conference at San Francisco’s Clift Hotel.

From all appearances, the event will mark the launch of their widely rumored Netflix-like streaming service. The not-so-coy title of the event: “A Stream Come True,” touting the companies’ introduction of “the most comprehensive home entertainment package ever.”
Dish initially will offer the Internet-video service exclusively to its satellite TV customers, a strategy designed to shore up its pay-TV base, Bloomberg reported. Eventually non-Dish subs will be able to sign up for Blockbuster service.

Dish bought Blockbuster’s assets for $230 million in a bankruptcy auction. The move puzzled analysts but immediately prompted speculation that Charlie Ergen would tee up a Netflix killer.
Note that Dish launched a counter-marketing effort following Netflix’s announcement in July that it would discontinue the bundled DVD-plus-streaming plans. However, Blockbuster’s DVD-by-mail service is still more expensive than Netflix’s non-Blu-ray DVD plans.

DirecTV CES Says $30 For Premium Movies is TOO HIGH - Bloomberg

Fri, 23 Sep 2011 17:45:01 GMT

I guess the mainstream consumers aren't willing to pay more for premium movies early on DirecTV.

$30 doesn't seem that much when you compare the cost of going to a movie for a family of 4 is easily double that.

What will this mean for music at $35 a disc on SACD (like the Pink Floyd disc that I just pre-ordered) yesterday? Dark Side on SACD sold over 1,000,000 units.

NHL football gets people to spend $500 for the Super Fan Package on DirecTV but movies don't motivate? I spend $200-ish on the NHL package which still to this day doesn't come with ALL of the games in HD. But people won't spend on new movies? I guess waiting to save $10 is somehow worth it?

Where do you stand on this matter?

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-09-22/direc tv-s...

DirecTV (DTV) Chief Executive Officer Michael White said demand for films offered for rental just eight weeks after their theatrical release has been “small” because the price of $29.99 per movie is “awfully high.”
DirecTV, the largest U.S. satellite-TV provider, began offering some Hollywood studio films on demand in April for $29.99 after 60 days. Historically, pay-TV providers had waited 90 to 120 days before airing movies on television.
The service is part of an attempt by studios to harness pay-TV as they seek new ways to sell movies and counter shrinking DVD sales. Few customers will purchase the premium rentals unless the quality of the movies improves and the price comes down, White said in an interview.
“They’re priced too high for consumers,” White said. “We didn’t choose that price, but that’s where the studios forced us to be.”
DirecTV Executive Vice President Derek Chang said in April the El Segundo, California-based company would consider renegotiating with studios on price if customers didn’t embrace the service. The early offerings, which have included “Just Go With It” and “The Adjustment Bureau,” have sparked criticism from theater owners, who are concerned they will lose revenue to home-viewers.
Sony Corp. (6758), Universal Pictures, Warner Bros. and Twentieth Century Fox have agreed to release certain films in the early window. Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. will offer the Taylor Lautner film “Abduction” on pay TV three months after its release for $6.99.
DirecTV hasn’t released sales figures for the $29.99 titles. Comcast Corp. (CMCSA) and Dish Network Corp. (DISH) have also said they’ve negotiated with studios for on-demand movies with a shortened window.
DirecTV fell 59 cents, or 1.4 percent, to $41.02 at 4 p.m. New York time on the Nasdaq Stock Market. The shares have risen 2.7 percent this year.

Discovery Reups With Netflix For Two Years

Wed, 21 Sep 2011 21:08:09 GMT

Now for a little good news concerning Netflix....

New Deal Covers Expanded Selection of Series from Discovery, TLC, Animal Planet, Other Nets

Mulitchannel.com reports, Netflix, reeling from a marketing gaffe that could cost it millions of customers, continues to expand its streaming library, announcing Wednesday a two-year renewal with Discovery Communications for several prior-season series and specials from the nonfiction programmer's portfolio.

Under the non-exclusive licensing agreement, Netflix's streaming-only members can watch older TV shows and specials, including an expanded selection of additional seasons of series from Discovery, TLC, Animal Planet, Investigation Discovery, Science and Military Channel.

New shows under the pact are to include Discovery Channel's Man vs. Wild, TLC's Say Yes to the Dress and Animal Planet's River Monsters.

"Netflix is pleased to announce the renewal and expansion of our relationship with Discovery," Netflix chief content officer Ted Sarandos said in announcing the renewal. "With television shows playing an ever more important role for Netflix, Discovery is one our finest suppliers of top quality programming. We look forward to bringing our members the wide range of the additional episodes and series covered in this deal."

Discovery "has always been platform-agnostic and committed to satisfying curiosity on all consumer distribution platforms supported by a strong economic model," senior vice president of digital distribution Rebecca Glashow said in a statement. "We are pleased to renew this agreement with Netflix, which provides us with programming flexibility and lets loyal and potential fans catch up and discover content."

Added Glashow, "It is a terrific complement to our multichannel video services and creates additional ways to earn value for our 25-year programming library."

Netflix in recent weeks has experienced a major backlash -- from both customers and investors -- with its decision this summer to eliminate bundled DVD-and-streaming service.

This week Netflix said it will completely separate the DVD-by-mail service and market it under a different brand, Qwikster. The company said on Sept. 15 that it expects to lose about 600,000 U.S. customers for the third quarter of 2011 because of the change, which went into effect Sept. 1.

The poor outlook has driven Netflix shares down more than 37% from the closing price last Wednesday, Sept. 14, representing a loss of more than $4 billion of market capitalization.

A survey conducted last month by Frank N. Magid Associates found that upwards of 16% of current Netflix customers said they expect to cancel service, with 9% citing the pricing change and 7% expressing dissatisfaction with the service.

Netflix To Split Off DVD-By-Mail Service As 'Qwikster'

Tue, 20 Sep 2011 15:05:47 GMT

The official announcement from MulitChannel.com:

Netflix swung into full damage-control mode, with CEO Reed Hastings telling customers "I messed up" in communicating the company's decision to split off the DVD and streaming service -- while also announcing Netflix will completely separate the DVD-by-mail service under a new brand, Qwikster.

"It is clear from the feedback over the past two months that many members felt we lacked respect and humility in the way we announced the separation of DVD and streaming, and the price changes," Hastings wrote in a blog post Sunday and in an e-mail sent to customers.

Last week, Netflix said it expects to lose about 600,000 U.S. customers for the third quarter of 2011 -- which would be only its second-ever subscriber decline -- following a pricing-plan change that went into effect Sept. 1. That sent Netflix's stock plummeting 26% in two days.

On Monday, Netflix stock rose 5% in morning trading but closed down 7.4% to $143.75 per share amid a broader market decline.

In July, Netflix made many customers furious after eliminating the combined DVDs-by-mail and streaming plans. Netflix now offers U.S. customers the streaming-only plan for $7.99 per month, as well as DVD plans starting at $7.99 per month for one disc out at a time.

According to Hastings, for the past five years, "my greatest fear at Netflix has been that we wouldn't make the leap from success in DVDs to success in streaming. Most companies that are great at something -- like AOL dialup or Borders bookstores -- do not become great at new things people want (streaming for us) because they are afraid to hurt their initial business."

He continued, "In hindsight, I slid into arrogance based upon past success.... given the huge changes we have been recently making, I should have personally given a full justification to our members of why we are separating DVD and streaming, and charging for both."

Netflix "realized that streaming and DVD by mail are becoming two quite different businesses, with very different cost structures, different benefits that need to be marketed differently, and we need to let each grow and operate independently," Hastings said.

As such, the company in the next few weeks will rename the DVD service Qwikster, operating as an independent subsidiary, with Netflix remaining as the brand for the streaming-only service. The Qwikster service will offer the same selection of DVD titles, as well as an option to rent video games for an additional fee, Hastings said.

Hastings acknowledged that, "A negative of the renaming and separation is that the Qwikster.com and Netflix.com websites will not be integrated" -- so customers who subscribe to both services will have to maintain separate queues. User ratings on Qwikster and Netflix will similarly not be integrated.

Customers who subscribe to both services will have two entries on their credit card statements, one for Qwikster and one for Netflix. The total will be the same as the current charges.

"Some members will likely feel that we shouldn't split the businesses, and that we shouldn't rename our DVD by mail service," Hastings wrote. "Our view is with this split of the businesses, we will be better at streaming, and we will be better at DVD by mail."

Hastings said Andy Rendich, currently chief service and operations officer overseeing the DVD business, will become the CEO of Qwikster.

Netflix Stock Plunges on Subscriber Loss Estimates (Netflix Stands by It's Price Increase.)

Fri, 16 Sep 2011 04:03:05 GMT

Fierce Cable.com reports, Wall Street pummeled Netflix (Nasdaq: NFLX) stock Thursday morning, after the company said it expects it will count 24 million total subscribers at the end of the third quarter, down from previous estimates of 25 million customers. Netflix ended the second quarter with 25.6 million subscribers.

Netflix stock had dropped nearly 13 percent to $181.75 by 11:10 a.m. ET, down $26.91 per share. Netflix CEO Reed Hastings and CFO David Wells acknowledged that its recent price hike, and its decision to split DVD rentals into a different division, is impacting subscriber growth. But the Netflix execs said they stand by the move.

"We know our decision to split our services has upset many of our subscribers, which we don't take lightly, but we believe this split will help us make our services better for subscribers and shareholders for years to come," they said in a letter to shareholders.

When Netflix reported second-quarter earnings on July 25, the company said it expected to count 22 million streaming video subscribers and 15 million DVD rental customers. In its new estimates, Netflix said it expects it will count 21.2 million streaming video customers and 14.2 million DVD customers at the end of the third quarter.

While Netflix may not grow as fast as some industry observers has expected the company remains a big threat to cable and satellite distributors that could lose customers that could cut the cord on pay TV to rely on streaming video from Netflix for home entertainment. Even if Netflix counts 24 million customers at the end of the third quarter, it will have more subscribers that Comcast (Nasdaq: CMCSA) , which counted 23 million video customers at the end of Q2, and DirecTV (Nasdaq: DTV), which has 19.4 subscribers.

D&M Outlines Global Reorganization Strategy

Wed, 14 Sep 2011 14:06:13 GMT

http://www.twice.com/article/473766-D_M_Ou tlines_G...

Denon Plans Online Direct Sales To Consumers

BY JOSEPH PALENCHAR
Mahwah, N.J. - Although D&M Holdings said it has no plans for big shifts in distribution for its consumer brands, chairman/CEO Jim Caudill did say Denon would begin selling all of its products direct to consumers over its own web site but at suggested retail prices.
Denon products are already sold through authorized online retailers.
The intent is to promote the brand and share web content with retailers who can use the content on their own web sites, the company said.
Details of the plans, including timing, will be announced next month.
Denon will join other major audio suppliers that also sell some or all of their products direct to consumers.

D&M Outlines Global Reorganization Strategy
By Joseph Palenchar -- TWICE, 9/13/2011
Mahwah, N.J. - D&M Holdings has reorganized its global operations to move marketing and product-development decisions closer to local markets, bring retailers more aggressively into the product-planning process, and stimulate technology collaboration among its consumer and professional audio brands and OEM speaker business, chairman and CEO Jim Caudill said.

D&M's management team includes(from left) chairman and CEO Jim Caudill, global consumer division president Tim Bailey, and Kevin Zarow, North American senior sales VP for the Denon, Marantz and Boston Acoustics consumer brands.
Other changes will improve supply-chain management, bring efficiencies to procurement, and move the company into new audio-related product categories -- including a more aggressive headphone lineup -- while maintaining the premium positions of the Denon, Marantz and Boston Acoustics brands, he said.

The changes will "re-energize the company for growth" in its "relatively mature" product categories, said Caudill, who came to D&M only a year ago from Stanley Black & Decker.

During a presentation to the trade press at the company's headquarters here, Caudill said he has also reorganized the company's eight business units into three divisions -- consumer, professional and OEM speakers, mainly automotive OEM speakers. Each division now has its own global president to provide dedicated leadership resources to those businesses, he said. Previously the eight business units reported to Caudill.

The consumer division president is Tim Bailey, who took the reins six months ago and whose business experience also includes time at Stanley Black & Decker. His division includes Denon, Marantz, Boston Acoustics and McIntosh, while the pro division consists of D&M Professional, Allen and Heath, and Calrec.

th these and other changes, such as the appointment of the company's first global operations senior VP, Caudill said he is transitioning the company from a holding company of aggregated brands and business units that operated "almost in silos" to a global operating company with all brands operating as part of the same team.

Collaboration among brands will enable the brands to capitalize on their scale with vendors and, in a "big shift," improve technical collaboration "to better capitalize" on "some of the best technology assets" in the audio industry, Caudill said.

The new global operations senior VP will oversee all three business units to improve supply-chain management, share best practices and deliver global cost leverage in procurement, Caudill said. In the past, D&M didn't have a "disciplined global approach" to improve fill rates and on-time shipments, he noted.

In moving marketing and product development closer to geographic regions around the globe, D&M brands will be able to develop products that are "consumer relevant" and meet local-market needs, Caudill said. The strategy will also help D&M brands work with local dealers to develop go-to-market strategies.

"Product planning and marketing have historically occurred in Japan," said Caudill, and the company's regions have been treated as "sales and distribution arms."

D&M had "no marketing infrastructure in North America," he said, pointing out that as D&M bought up brands, local marketing infrastructure and product planning withered.

For that reason, the company is looking to hire a North American VP who will take charge of product planning and marketing for the Denon and Marantz home audio brands in the region. For Boston Acoustics, those tasks are handled by recently hired VP/GM Mitch Nollman, formerly with Bose.

Similar positions have been established for the company's Asia-Pacific and European regions.

The company is also looking to hire a new North American president for its consumer division.

Getting closer to local markets will give D&M brands "real-time feedback from the market" and enable them to use that knowledge to "build out adjacent categories," Caudill said. "Our brands have earned the right to be broader than just the categories they are in...while maintaining their premium audio position."

Besides getting closer to local markets, D&M will improve "transparency" to "reach out to distribution partners and collaborate and share ideas on new products," he said. D&M will "be much more collaborative in the planning process with [retail] partners."

He promised "a much higher level of engagement with our retail partners" as well as improved marketing communications "to do a better job positioning the brands" and new packaging that will better communicate product benefits and brand positioning.

The company will also put "a lot more rigor" in consumer research in a "quantitative or informal way," Caudill said.

In developing plans to enter new product markets, the company has already identified "growth areas" in its consumer, professional audio, and OEM speaker businesses "to leverage technologies in adjacent [product] markets," Caudill said.

Headphones will be one of the first categories into which D&M consumer will expand aggressively in North America, where it currently offers headphones only under the Denon brand. Digital media management is another potential area to enter, he said.

To facilitate expansion into new categories, management is letting employees know that "change is OK," particularly in thinking about new types of products, he said.

As part of that effort, the company must retain audio-industry talent but balance that with "individuals from outside who will bring a fresh way of thinking," Caudill said. For its new North American president, for example, Caudill is looking for an industry veteran with industry insights and knowledge, but the new North American marketing VP need not be from within the industry because disciplined marketing processes can be applied to multiple industries, he said.

As the company rolls out its new strategies, it does not plan big shifts in the distribution channels for the Denon, Marantz and Boston Acoustics brands, whose products are available through big-box retailers, the specialty and custom channel, and authorized Internet retailers, Caudill said

The benefits of the changes will take a little while to take hold, he admitted. It will take 12 to 18 months to see the first new products resulting from the new product-development strategy and 12 or more months for dealers to begin enjoying some of the benefits of supply-chain management improvements, he said.

In the next 12 months, he added, the company will announce new product categories, and "headphones will be among them."

The Bain Capital-owned company, incorporated in Japan, employs 2,500 people around the world. As a privately held company, it does not divulge sales statistics.

Best Buy's Q2 Sales Off 30% Says Twice.com

Tue, 13 Sep 2011 16:29:59 GMT

Maybe its time to hire some commissioned sales people and learn the lesson of Circuit City before its too late?

Blue Shirts aren't motivated to sell. They are mostly clerks and the ones who are good don't get rewarded for BEING GOOD at what they do.

Notice the difference between the sales skill at the Apple Store and or Pacific Sales vs. normal best buy. Its night and day. Note: Jobs wouldn't have his people wearing blue shirts. Same with Best Buy.

----

Best Buy reported a 30.3 percent decline in second-quarter profits, to $177 million, and flat sales of $11.3 billion for the three months, ended Aug. 27.

U.S. sales slipped 1.5 percent to $8.3 billion, while comp-store sales declined 2.7 percent and online sales rose 13 percent.

Broken out by category, major appliances saw a 12 percent spike in comp sales, while the mobile computing comps (including tablets) increased 12 percent, which were offset by declines in TV, gaming, digital imaging and physical media. Best Buy also reported a 4 percent increase in subscription services for the quarter.

Comp sales of mobile phones fell 5 percent during the quarter, reflecting what the company described as "industry softness due to a lack of significant new phone launches during the quarter compared to the year-ago period."

Domestic gross profit declined 3 percent to $2.1 billion due to lower sales, continued promotions within select categories, and higher sales of services that include deferred revenue.

Total operating income declined 30 percent to $287 million due to the decline in gross profit dollars and higher costs related to the net addition of 113 Best Buy Mobile stand-alone stores and 14 big-box locations, as well as increased advertising.

In a statement, CEO Brian Dunn said the company "made good progress on our key strategic focus areas" despite lower CE industry sales and continued macro-economic challenges to overall consumer spending.

He added that the company is "well positioned to bring the benefits of our multichannel model to our customers and shareholders."

Looking ahead, the company has lowered its full-year earnings outlook and is projecting comp-store sales in the range of flat to negative 3 percent for the current fiscal year.

http://www.twice.com/article/473731-Best_B uy_Q2_Ea...

Aaudio Imports Introduces Innovative Monos Audio Cables by B.M.C. Audio of Germany

Mon, 12 Sep 2011 21:09:59 GMT

Advanced Mono-Crystalline Silver Uniquely Blends Material, Purity and Process for RCA and XLR Wires with Exceptional Performance Qualities

PARKER, CO, Sept. 12, 2011 — Aaudio Imports, a leading supplier of world class high-end audio products, introduces into the U.S. market Monos Cables, a new series of advanced audio cables made by Balanced Music Concept (B.M.C.) Audio of Germany with ultra-pure Mono-Crystalline Silver Wire. The cables include Single-Ended RCA Interconnects, Balanced XLR Interconnects, and various RCA and XLR Phono Cables.

The new Monos Cables are the result of a unique trifecta of material, purity and production process to create wires whose performance, accuracy and naturalness are second to none. The cables are made using mono-crystalline silver wire, developed by the Chiba Institute of Technology, the oldest private technical university in Japan. The Institute developed a special casting process that permits exceptionally long extrusions of single-crystal silver wire.

Formerly, silver wire was only available in lengths of about 10mm. For practical cable lengths the 10-mm segments had to be patched together. Thus, a one-meter silver-wire cable would be made of about 100 connected sections of 10-mm strands. Silver cables were known, as a result, not only for their airy openness, but for their slightly bright character and sensitive connections. The connection points where the 10-mm segments joined together were susceptible, also, to corrosion and aging, causing gradual sound quality degradation.

The much longer extrusion lengths of mono crystalline silver wire eliminates this vulnerability. Cables made by a single piece of wire end the earlier version’s internal connection impedance by doing away with the internal connections, resulting in a positive sonic impact. The Monos Cables’ enormous transparency combines with perfect balance to help make music breathe.

Monos Single Ended Interconnects are unbalanced RCA cables that use one wire for the hot pin and two wires for the ground, with all three made of mono-crystalline silver. The shield is single-side connected, and should be plugged into the receiving unit’s input.

Monos Balanced Interconnects are XLR cables that use three internal mono-crystalline silver wires for the balanced signal plus ground. The shield is single-side connected to the male XLR plug.

Monos’ Phono Cables include a balanced PHONO-XLR-Cable that uses two twisted internal mono-crystalline silver wires for the signal transport. The tonearm ground is wired by another internal mono-crystalline silver wire. The shield is single-side connected at pin 1 of the XLR connector.

Monos Single-Ended and Balanced Interconnects are available in 1-meter pairs with additional half-meter lengths. The Phono Cables are available in 1.2-meter RCA or XLR pairs with 5-Pin DIN straight or right-angle tonearm connectors. All are available now from authorized Aaudio Imports dealers.

About Audio Imports
Based in Parker, Colorado, Aaudio Imports is a leading supplier of truly world-class high-end audio products to top quality dealers. Its high-end manufacturers, selected from companies around the world, also stand out from the crowd, and include Acapella in Germany, Audiotop in Switzerland, Bergmann Audio in Denmark, Einstein Audio Components in Germany, Isoclean Power in Hong Kong, Lansche Audio and Millennium Audio in Germany, Stage III Concepts in the U.S., Thomas Labusga of Germany, Weizhi Precision in Taiwan, and Ypsilon Electronics in Greece. Aaudio Imports dealers are true music lovers, selected for their product knowledge, listening skills, and desire to seek out only the best for their customers.

About B.M.C. Audio
B.M.C. Audio, based in Germany, is a developer and manufacturer of innovative audiophile components that combine a radically different approach with unconventional technologies, modular designs and affordable prices for music lovers with the highest expectations.

For further technical information, visit Aaudio Imports’ website at www.aaudioimports.com or B.M.C. Audio’s website at www.BMC-audio/de/en.

For further press information and high-resolution images, please visit www.JBStantonPressRoom.com.

Importer of Wharfedale and Quad Merge To Start New Company

Sat, 10 Sep 2011 17:48:25 GMT
Our good friends are getting married (is it legal in Mass?:) Quad and Wharfedale are once again going to be run as one company in the US.

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Sound Import, LLC, U.S. importer of the Wharfedale brand of dynamic loudspeakers, and Taiga, LLC, North American importer of Quad Electroacoustics electronic and electrostatic loudspeakers, formally announced their merger effective October 1st, and will henceforth be known as Taiga Sound Import, LLC (TSI).

This merger brings together two of the world's oldest, most established and respected audio brands, creating an unparalleled portfolio of products and marketing services for their key dealer partners and customers. The extensive range of Wharfedale loudspeakers and Quad Electroacoustics products are both manufactured by International Audio Group, Ltd. (IAG).

Walter Schofield, VP of Sales and Marketing of TSI, stated, “Wharfedale and Quad are often imported and distributed by the same entities worldwide for good reason, as the product differentiation between the brands makes good sense for our dealer partners. We will make sure, however, that their unique identities remain intact. This merger is well positioned to deliver attainable profitability and sustainable, long-term value for our customers. TSI will work to align distribution and marketing activities, expose the brands to new audiences, and bring new, exciting market-driven products to the North American market.”

Jeff Sigmund, General Manager of TSI, added, “It is with great pleasure that we are in a position to once again see these brands imported and distributed from the same entity. Quad and Wharfedale helped shape the audio industry for over 75 years, both offering unique, proprietary technology that adds significantly to their superior value in the marketplace. In addition to the brand complements, our management team brings together outstanding skill sets regarding logistics, sales & marketing and perhaps most importantly, superior before- and after-the-sale customer service.”

Wharfedale and Quad Loudspeakers and electronics are built in the only completely vertically integrated speaker and CE electronics factory in the world. IAG manufactures every component, right down to the screws and components within the crossovers, resulting in total control from design to finish. This attention to detail and dedicated process provides a new level of consistency and performance, ensuring that each model will perform exactly the way it was designed for an unrivaled sound quality and value.
For more information in the U.S. on the complete range of Wharfedale and Quad loudspeakers and electronics, contact:

Walter Schofield, Taiga Sound Import, LLC
Press Contact:
+1-508-422-9788 Office

Email: walter@soundimport.com

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The Great Commission

Matthew 28. 19 & 20

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age

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Sharp to resurrect "Elite" Brand/Technology ... but with LCDs

Fri, 09 Sep 2011 18:23:11 GMT

http://www.soundandvisionmag.com/article/sharp-res...

Sharp Resurrects the Elite Brand

The new Elites, which will be available initially in 70" (shown here) and 60" sizes, mark the return of the brand to the high-end TV marketplace.

There's little question that Pioneer's Elite-branded Kuro plasmas were among the best — if not the best — televisions ever produced, with black levels still unmatched, in the opinion of most. Pioneer's exit from the TV market in 2009 was met with much wailing and gnashing of teeth in videophile circles. Panasonic scooped up Pioneer's plasma technology, with some notable results, but the Pioneer Elite home theater marque has since lived on without TV representation. Now that's all changed.

In partnership with Pioneer's engineers, Sharp (who became the majority shareholder in Pioneer four years back) has now released the long-in-the-works LCD successor to the Kuro. Taking advantage of the Pioneer team's image-processing expertise and Sharp's LCD panel production capabilities, the new Elite series promises "the finest picture quality ever seen on an LCD-TV."

We got a look at new the 60" and 70" Elite sets (the 60" should be available next week; the 70" by late August, through the existing network of Pioneer Elite dealers), and the units did indeed put out some very impressive blacks. It was a bit difficult to judge overall performance or to compare it with the Elite sets of the past given the demo footage used — clips from Tron and Pirates of the Carribbean, and some nighttime fairground and fireworks imagery — but we hope to learn more once we get a unit in the S+V offices for formal review.

Under the hood, the two models are identically spec'd: 1080p, based around full-array LED-backlit RGB+Y panels. The four-color system here is a "tweaked" version of Sharp's existing yellow-subpixel-added Quattron system found in the Aquos line; Sharp's Tony Favia claims it contributes to better reproduction of yellows and gold tones than otherwise possible. The panel itself boasts extremely high transmissivity, which, according to Favia, boosts brightness while easing power requirements. A proprietary chip runs an "Intelligent Variable Contrast" system, which monitors the video stream on its way to the panel, and in concert with local dimming maintains control over black levels.

Viewing modes are many and varied, and include an "Elite Pure Mode" — used for the demos — which, interestingly is said to "replicate the settings of previous Elite TVs." Favia tells me there's no modeling of the Kuro's response here, but the Pioneer engineers were deeply involved in the software design. That doesn't make it a plasma, of course, but there's something of — as the Sharp brass on hand put it this morning — the old "DNA" on hand.

While we didn't get to check out any 3D material (these use an IR-coupled active shutter system, like their Sharp cousins, and will ship with two pairs of glasses), local dimming works even under 3D on the Elites, which should make for better contrast at the expense of some overall brightness.

The new Elites introduce a routine called "FluidMotion," which makes use of 120 Hz frame quadrupling with a scanning backlight to achieve "240Hz plus" performance — the practical equivalent, in Favia's words, of a set running in the neighborhood of 720Hz. Motion was quite smooth, but again we'd have to take a closer look to make any kind of authoritative pronouncement on the effectiveness of the system.

THX certification is in place for 2D and 3D; in the preproduction unit we looked at a significant amount of adjustment was still user-accessible when running in THX mode; for those who would like professional calibration (given the pricing and target market for these sets, that's likely to be a significant number of purchasers), the sets are also ISF certified.

Beyond the picture-quality tech, Sharp's packed in the expected range of modern convenience features — the sets are DLNA compliant and IP Control compatible, offer built in Wi-Fi, access to a range of streaming videoservices, including Netflix, VUDU, CinemaNow, and Blockbuster, and network conveniences like app-based support for Facebook, Twitter, and Skype (which requires a camera kit, available separately). There's also an online concierge service, similar to that offered by Sharp for their Aquos sets, but staffed separately and here known as Elite Advantage Live, which lets a Sharp technician adjust the set remotely, based on viewer input.

We're looking forward to getting a closer look soon, and if you're in the market for a high-end LCD, you'll probably want to do so yourself.

Elite series 3D LED-backlit LCD TVs

Elite PRO-60X5FD 60” (60 1/32” diagonal) $5,499.99
Elite PRO-70X5FD 70” (69 1/2” diagonal) $7,999.99

Seeking chance to sell chinese antique furniture

Fri, 09 Sep 2011 06:42:13 GMT
Royal's Chinese Antique Furniture in Shanghai China

WEB: http://www.easterncurio.com

--- occupy 500m2 square meter warehouse, focusing Chinese antique furniture, Make to Order Reproduction furnitures, 1930 Shanghai Art Deco Furniture
--- is an antique restoration & wood finishing company based in Shanghai City. Specializing in Chinese Traditional furniture Polishing, Color Matching, Piece Replacement, Re-gluing , Repairing.and Re-canning.,Wood carving, Mechanical repairing, Gold/Silver galvanizing, Anodizing, sofa upholstery
--- run business Chinese antique furniture business 15 years in Shanghai, export to 60 countries and regions in the World, fluent in English. Of course, in Chinese
--- Free Delivery within Shanghai, or Pick up Freely by clients.
--- Resident outside of Shanghai city, Wooden Package/Truck Carrier way to ship to your door house Address, such as Chongqing, Beijing and other cities.
--- 40 minutes driving time from downtown Shanghai, close by Hongqiao Airport. Send SMS to 13901685220 for the directions. OR taking subway No.2, get off at XuJing Dong Station, will be collected by our team and then go to our warehouse for visiting.
--- export personal belongings for abroad residents lived in Shanghai
--- Chinese Furniture Hardware in Brass material, ship worldwide basis, online Ordering.Custom made Chinese furniture hardware

Mobile Phone :0086 13901685220
Opening Time: 24 hours all day all time if appointment firstly（the reason, we born for furnitures and live on furniture）.
EMAIL: Shanghaifurniture@hotmail .com
ATTN: Mr. Royal Hsu
Address : NO.4849 Beiqing Road,QingPu Region Shanghai China
（BY APPOINTMENT ONLY. Please send SMS for the directions how to get here)
地址：中国上海市青浦区北青公路4849号（靠嘉松公路）