2. 2—CONSUMER ELECTRONICS DAILY THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2010
of P.C. Richard & Son to the group. That retailer has 63 stores in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Penn-
sylvania, and continues to open new locations. It and Abt Electronics returned to NATM in 2010, replacing
Bernie’s, which went out of business, and Queen City. Bernie’s and Queen City accounted for fewer stores com-
bined than P.C. Richard alone. Abt still has only one store, in Glenview, Ill.
For a long while, TV revenue was down while unit sales grew. But Trawick said NATM’s members, much
like the rest of the CE industry, are now seeing unit sales also fall and they’re now down from 2009. CE overall is
running about flat with 2009, he said. There was "significant growth" in the first 4-5 months of 2010 and there
were shortages on certain products, including 3D TVs early on, he said. But sales fell and there’s now "plenty of
inventory" on nearly all products, he said. NATM members’ customers still see value in entry-level TVs and don’t
want to spend extra for 1080p now, he said. But, like various NATM retailers, he said large-screen LED-enabled
LCD TVs are selling well and plasma TVs are "having a pretty good year." Unlike last year, Trawick predicted
there will be ample supply on most TV screen sizes in the back half of this year.
Appliance sales are up slightly year to date from 2009 for NATM members, but 2009 was "not a great
year," said Trawick. NATM is "certainly not happy where it is now," he said. The retailers saw good growth in the
category for the first six months of 2010, driven by energy rebates, but sales declined after that, he said.
"Margins continue to decline" on most products, not helped by scan-down deals promoted by manufacturers
in which prices are reduced and dealers have to wait to be only partially reimbursed by vendors for the discount,
Trawick said. The growth of bundle offers only makes matters worse, he said. NATM retailers told Consumer
Electronics Daily that bundled items often tend to be products they would have been able to make strong margins
on if they weren’t being given away.
Scan-downs started in force about four years ago, Edward Maloney, president of Cowboy Maloney’s Elec-
tric City in Mississippi, told us. "I don’t know if it’s gotten any worse," but it’s not getting any better, he said. It
can "take up to two months" for vendors to reimburse dealers for the discount that’s been given, and it’s "not a full
reimbursement" — typically only about 50-60 percent, although it varies by manufacturer, he said. Retailers
"complain all the time" about scan-downs, but all manufacturers do it now and you "can’t break the chain." It’s
"ugly" for retailers, but "it’s good for the consumer" because they’re getting a good deal, he said.
A further problem with scan-downs is that the deals are often offered for only a limited time, Abt Vice
President Billy Abt said. Consumers come into Abt’s store and expect to get a discount that’s no longer being of-
fered, and the retailer often winds up working something out with the customer to make them happy, he said.
NATM is "looking forward to Black Friday" because there will be a lot of promotions although that will
include more bundling, Trawick said. He conceded he wasn’t certain what the results will be. There were stronger
Labor Day promotions than usual this year, but they "didn’t drive the business" very much, he said. Holiday season
promotions will start in early November and there’s more supplier participation in the programs this year, he said.
Some manufacturers are also relaxing their minimum advertised price (MAP) requirements, so retailers "can do
whatever they want" with prices, he said.
The introduction of 3D is posing more challenges, and "I’m not sure it’s being explained" properly to con-
sumers, Trawick said. The lack of 3D broadcasting is likely hurting sales, and some in the industry may have over-
estimated initial 3D TV sales, he said. But he said 3D TV sales are growing and most in the industry remain "very
positive" about 3D opportunity. Consumers aren’t yet seeing "the value" proposition of it, but he suspects that will
change "as the price comes down," he said.
"Two of the real bright spots" for NATM retailers have been iPads and smartphones in 2010, Trawick said.
But he said only certain NATM members are authorized to sell Apple devices. Many consumers have shifted their
spending away from TVs to lower-cost smartphones and other portable devices, as well as computers, said Michael
3. THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2010 CONSUMER ELECTRONICS DAILY—3
Maund, NATM director of operations. Many consumers already bought new TVs recently and aren’t so quick to
buy new models now, so there’s "a softness" in overall TV sales, said Trawick. NATM retailers, meanwhile, are
also "getting a bump" from e-reader sales, he said.
CE sales had "an unbelievable run" for more than 20 years before this year’s slowdown, Trawick said.
There hasn’t been a real turnaround to the economy this year, he said, predicting that might not happen until the
back half of next year. Consumers are saving their money and holding off even on many appliance purchases, he
said. But the economy will "turn around," and there will be a lot of consumer demand for products that NATM
members sell when that happens, Maund said.
NATM members, meanwhile, are turning to more sourcing of products from Chinese manufacturers,
Trawick said. In CE, that likely will include accessories, but not TVs, he said. The group is also looking to start
programs designed to reduce members’ operational costs, he said. Not planned is a group e-commerce solution, he
said. Some NATM members offer it on their own, some keeping shipments to consumers within their own markets
only as a convenience, he said.
More NATM members are also entering the videogame category or, as P.C. Richard did recently, expand-
ing their assortments in it, Trawick said. This week’s conference is NATM’s first that’s been attended by represen-
tatives of all three console makers: Microsoft, Nintendo of America and Sony Computer Entertainment America.
Similarly, there are more computer makers at the conference than in years past, including Dell for the first time,
said Maund.
NATM Notebook
Electronic Express will open a new store in Murfreesboro, Tenn., next month, President Sam Yazdian told
us. The store will replace a much smaller 8,000-square-foot location "almost across the street," keeping its store
count at 17, he said. The retailer bought a building offering about 26,000 square feet that was previously a Goody’s
clothing store, he said. It will add major appliances, as well as three sound rooms that there was no space for in the
older location that’s closing, he said. The new store will also feature a section that’s about 2,500 square feet to
spotlight computers and broadband connectivity, he said. Also planned for the new store is an expanded selection
of videogame products, with an eye on hopefully rolling out that enhanced assortment at other stores also, he said.
It now tends to only sell five or six of the most popular new game releases on each platform, he said. A "soft"
opening of the new store will be in mid-October, with a grand opening to follow "toward the end of October," he
said. The company’s stores average about 20,000 square feet, he said. Last year, it took over the locations of two
small Circuit City stores and one CompUSA store to open three new stores, he said. It plans to replace another
8,000-square-foot store in Q1 next year, in Tullahoma, Tenn., with a nearby store that will have about 20,000
square feet of space, he told us. Other new stores are planned. "We’re looking in a couple of markets," with plans
to open its first locations outside Tennessee in an unspecified neighboring state, he said. The earliest that will hap-
pen is Q2 or Q3 next year, he told us.
——
Twenty-three vendors have small booths at the conference this year, Maund said. That’s up from 17 last
year (CED Sept 17/09 p2). Manufacturers typically schedule appointments in advance with NATM members, but
those without them were given booth spaces for the first time last year. It’s impossible to find enough time to
schedule meetings for each retailer with every supplier attending the conference, Trawick said. The booths give
retailers the opportunity to see products from companies they would otherwise not get to see, he said.
——
The state of NATM address by Bill Trawick that was planned for Tuesday night was delayed until
Wednesday night, he said. Many attendees weren’t able to get to the conference on time Tuesday, some due to
weather-related issues, so it decided to wait an extra day, he said. About 100 attendees were delayed, Trawick
said. — Jeff Berman
4. 4—CONSUMER ELECTRONICS DAILY THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2010
'First Major Enhancement'
ESPN 3D Bringing New Camera Technology to College Football Telecasts
When ESPN 3D televises its fifth college football game Saturday, it will be using a custom rig built by
camera equipment company Chapman Leonard that places a robotic 3D camera on the first-down marker cart to
give viewers a 25-foot-high perspective from the sidelines. Phil Orlins, coordinating producer of ESPN 3D, called
the custom rig "the first major enhancement" in 3D coverage for the network in a constantly evolving effort to bal-
ance the "impactful visual experience" with "solid documentation" of a sports event. The camera moving along the
line of scrimmage is high enough for an overview shot similar to the view from the press box, but with the prox-
imity required for compelling 3D, Orlins told Consumer Electronics Daily in an interview Wednesday.
The balancing act is delicate for sports production teams, Orlins said. "If the 3D presentation isn't a noticea-
bly enhanced visual experience from 2D," he said, "then we can't expect people to invest time and money as view-
ers." Delivering the experience requires providing the best shots in addition to offering the depth of 3D, he said.
"If someone watches for 10 minutes and sees cool stuff but can't tell what's going on in the game, they're going to
change channels," Orlins said. That's especially a concern as the marketing buzz of 3D wears off and people will
have to be motivated enough by content to make the financial and other efforts to buy a 3D TV and wear the
glasses, he said.
Coming up with a way to maintain the depth required for impressive 3D while providing overall perspective
of a sports event has been a challenge, especially for stadium games like soccer and football, Orlins said. "When
you look at something 300 feet away, you lose depth cues coming from your eyes being 2.5 inches apart," he said.
To achieve depth, he said, the camera needs to be within 100 feet of the subject. The robotic camera is controlled
by a technician in the truck, and is set up with a tripod to handle typical pan, tilt, zoom functions, Orlins said. The
system was developed for NASCAR races, where cameras have to capture speed shots from positions too danger-
ous for a manned camera, he said. Now 80 percent of ESPN football shots are handled by the robotic camera on
the sidelines, he said.
ESPN uses eight cameras in a typical football game, Orlins said, six close to the field. Two, placed mid-
level for perspective, are in "safe" locations and provide an alternate way to see the game, he said. They are also
used when the cart with the robotic camera changes position. Robotic cameras mounted behind the crossbar of
each goalpost provide closeup action. At 10-12 feet above the field, the cameras are high enough for players not to
pass in front — which can cause an interruption in the 3D illusion — but low enough to make viewers feel close to
the action, he said.
ESPN is also using small Sony XMOR handheld cameras, which offer a dramatic change from shoulder-
wearying first-gen handhelds. "Everybody in 3D had a huge struggle at the outset with handheld cameras," Orlins
said. The first models weighed 40 pounds and required revolving cameramen to operate cameras in "unmanageable"
unbalanced positions, he said. Beginning with last summer's X Games, ESPN redesigned handhelds, using Sony
XMOR cameras "the size of ice cubes," he said. Power supplies, the Fujinon lens, fiber adapters and other compo-
nents expand the overall package size, but the handhelds are now about 18 pounds, down from 40, he said. The trade-
off is in lens capability, he said. If a cameraman needs to shoot 100 feet away, the camera might not be able to get in
as close as with a 2D lens and couldn't get in as close as 18 inches, either. "As long as you're working at 4 to 5 feet
away," he said, "you're close enough for comfortable 3D." The bottom line, he said, is how close the camera can get
to the right spots "and get there quickly." Orlins watched his first 3D game, between South Carolina and Auburn,
from the ESPN viewing room last weekend. Despite the tradeoffs, he said he was impressed: "I was overwhelmed by
how real the players and coaches looked and by the sense you were on sidelines with them."
Up next is adapting the Spidercam to 3D, Orlins told us. A 2D Spidercam — a camera connected by cables
to fixed points high in a stadium — was used to deliver 360-degree camera coverage at the US Open. Orlins hopes
5. THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2010 CONSUMER ELECTRONICS DAILY—5
a 3D version from Skycam will be in operation for NCAA football in less than a month. He said the Skycam will
deliver all the benefits of a camera that moves up and down the sideline, plus "proximity everywhere on the field."
By being slightly above field level, the camera has enough of an angle to see plays well, and by being able to move
all around the field, it gives a 3D feel even in 2D, he said. Orlins hasn't seen the camera in 3D but believes it will
provide "the most real 3D" by being close to the subject and not requiring a lot of zooms. "That will present the
ultimate feeling of dimension," he said, "and we believe it's crucial to 3D's ultimate success."
The most effective 3D football shots have been those from the end zone when the center, at about 40-50
feet from the camera, snaps the ball to the punter, who's about 10 feet from the camera, he said. Because of the pre-
dictability of ball and player location, it's similar to a fixed-location game like tennis, he said, that "definitely cre-
ates the feeling you're right there and the ball is coming toward you." MLB's Home Run Derby had a similar effect,
he said, where a 3D camera was mounted to a cage just over the pitcher's shoulder. He noted that a player hit two
line drives that almost hit the camera. "The crew said next time they'll have to bring a glove for the truck because
people were ducking for cover," he said.
Viewers' response to 3D football has been about 80-90 percent positive, Orlins said. A few comments have
mentioned motion sickness, he said. A constructive criticism involved something that ESPN has been concerned
about: changing game coverage from what viewers expect. "We got an appropriate reprimand that we weren't do-
ing an adequate job of giving scores of other games," he said, noting that the network doesn't have a bottom line
running across the feed with score updates, or a studio show in 3D. "We were not doing well enough adding that
into our regular game coverage so we took that very seriously and will try to do better," he said. "Some day we
might have those, but not right now."
At least one ESPN 3D fan on Twitter was impressed by last week's game. Green Bay Packers linebacker
Clay Matthews tweeted last week: "Ne1 else watching this S Carolina v Auburn game in 3D. I'm still not over this!
Depth is unreal!" — Rebecca Day
Certification Test Nears Completion
MoCA 2.0 Gateway Boxes Due in Late 2011, Entropic Says
The Multimedia over Coax Alliance (MoCA) 2.0 certification test will be completed in the next few months
with goal of having the first gateway boxes available by late 2011, Francisco Toro, technical lead engineer at En-
tropic, told us.
Having MoCA 2.0 gateway boxes installed will be important, since they will be key to handling data
transfer speeds up to 400 Mbps provided for in the spec, said Toro, whose company is a major supplier of MoCA
ICs to Verizon and others. The MoCA 2.0 spec, originally to be set by mid-2009, was completed in June. Other
products installed along a MoCA network could be based on the 1.1 spec, which has a 175 Mbps maximum data
rate, since they aren’t responsible for delivering content to the home network, he said. "The entry point to the
home is where you want to have a lot of capacity," Toro said. "You have a lot of content entering the home from
that point, which you need to seed with high-capacity through-put boxes. From there, the gateway devices can
feed MoCA 1.1-based products."
MoCA 2.0 includes channel bonding, which combines two lines into a single channel to double transfer
speeds. It also enables the delivery of HD video to multiple rooms. Verizon’s FiOS service has MoCA 1.0 and 1.1
installed in more than 3 million set-top boxes, and DirecTV joined the fray this year with 1.1-equipped receivers.
Comcast has expanded a MoCA test it has run in the Philadelphia area since 2008 to more than 20 markets includ-
ing Charlotte, N.C., Portland, Ore., and Seattle, industry officials said. Time Warner Cable, Charter Communica-
tions and Cox Communications also have deployed MoCA 1.1 set-tops from Cisco, Motorola, Pace, Samsung and
6. 6—CONSUMER ELECTRONICS DAILY THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2010
others, Toro said. Among those yet to launch MoCA set-tops is Dish Network, despite hardware supplier
EchoStar's having been a founder of the alliance. Industry officials speculate that's because Dish relies on smaller
installers, many yet to warm to MoCA.
In contrast, DirecTV moved installation inside the company by buying companies and has trained their em-
ployees in MoCA technology, industry officials said. "DirecTV is strategically looking at MoCA" as a way to sell
its service. Besides starting to deploy MoCA-equipped receivers earlier this year, DirecTV is offering a DirecTV
Ethernet-to-Coax (DECA) adapter, a bridge with an Ethernet port on one side and coax on the other that operates in
the 500-850 MHZ frequencies. DECA adapters are used to both connect legacy DirecTV DVRs to satellite ser-
vice’s whole-home network and to link Blu-ray players, TVs and other products to the Internet. MoCA networks
also operate in the 850-1500 MHz frequencies for MSOs and Verizon’s FiOS, which have deployed ethernet-to-
coax bridges (ECB) supplied by Actiontec, D-Link and others. ESBs can be deployed with any MSO, but DECA is
available only with DirecTV.
Among the MoCA chip suppliers, Entropic has faced increased competition from Broadcom, which has
shipped the BCM7410 and BCM7420 video decoder ICs, the latter integrated with a dual high-definition MoCA
1.1 modem. Entropic this year shipped the EN2510 IC, designed for MoCA 1.1. The EN2510 had a 166 MHz
clock speed, an increase from 150 MHz found in the EN2210 MoCA 1.0-compliant chip. — Mark Seavy
Appliance Labels Upgraded
Europe Proposing Mandatory Energy Use Labels for TVs
The European Commission Tuesday proposed energy use labels for TVs and upgraded the existing labeling
program for refrigerators, dishwashers and washing machines. TV labeling is expected to result in yearly savings
of 15 terawatt hours of electricity by 2020, the Commission said. The environmental impact of TVs in the Euro-
pean Union is significant, and it's interest mainly stems from their electricity consumption in the on mode, the com-
mission said. TV energy use makes up 10 percent of the average household's electricity bill, it said.
TV sales are increasing and their screen size is growing, but there's no "reliable, easy-to-understand" infor-
mation available on their energy use for customers to act on, it said. A Commission study showed the best way to
improve the "environmental performance" of TVs is to make them more efficient in the on-mode. The study also
said "cost-effective" technologies exist to reduce energy use of TVs, but they aren't "penetrating the market" be-
cause there's little awareness of the power consumption of the devices. Also, the energy use of TVs hasn't been a
"decisive factor" in purchasing decisions of consumers because of lack of information about their power consump-
tion, it said. As a consequence, there are few incentives for manufacturers to "optimize" the energy use of TVs, the
Commission said.
The labels would initially rank TVs on an A to G scale with A representing the most efficient sets and G the
least. If a manufacturer achieves a better ranking than A, he could show it on the label as A+, the Commission said.
The mandatory labeling format would be upgraded every three years starting in 2014 and additional energy effi-
ciency classes A+, A++ and A+++ will be added to the label, it said. The proposed labeling program for TVs is
supported by all players and member states, it said.
With 90 percent of refrigerators, dishwashers and washing machines sold in the EU now rated A, there's
need to introduce new classes of A+, A++ and A+++ for better performing products, the Commission said. The
covered appliances represent one third of a household's electricity bill, it said, so use of the new labels will have a
"positive impact" on consumers' household expenses." — Dinesh Kumar
7. THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2010 CONSUMER ELECTRONICS DAILY—7
3D Notes
Optoma Technology introduced a converter box that allows 120Hz 720p 3D DLP projectors to play 1080p
3D Blu-ray discs. The company demoed the $399 box last week at CEDIA with its HD66 720p projector. The 3D-
XL, which requires viewers to use active-shutter glasses, is due in stores this year. Calls to Optoma to find out
which glasses are suggested for use with the projector weren't answered by our deadline. The converter gives cur-
rent DLP projector owners a way to adapt to 3D without replacing their equipment, the company said. The 3D-XL
is said to convert the HDMI 1.4A signal found in 1080p 3D players to an HDMI 1.3 signal that current 720p 3D
DLP projectors operating at 120 Hz can read and display in 3D. Inputs include two HDMI 1.4A, a USB and a RS-
232, the company said. The device can accept common global video inputs and video formats up to 1080p, the
company said, including HDTV, EDTV, SDTV, NTSC, PAL, SECAM. The 2.4-pound device comes with a one-
year parts and labor warranty.
Capitol Hill
Device and Internet accessibility legislation moved to the president’s desk after the House passed S-3304
and associated technical changes approved by the Senate last week. The House passed the legislation by voice vote
Tuesday night. The bill includes provisions requiring manufacturers to make devices more accessible to the handi-
capped and mandating closed captioning in Internet video. “Whether it’s a Braille reader or a broadband connection,
access to technology is not a political issue — it’s a participation issue,” said Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass., who authored
the original House legislation (HR-3101). “Two decades ago, Americans with disabilities couldn’t get around if
buildings weren’t wheelchair accessible; today it’s about being Web accessible.” USTelecom, CTIA, NCTA, CEA
and the Telecommunications Industry Association applauded the measure’s passage. The political climate has made it
difficult to pass any legislation, but the House and Senate worked hard to reach consensus on the disabilities bill, TIA
President Grant Seiffert said in an interview. CEA likes the final bill much better than the original one, said President
Gary Shapiro. “Unlike the introduced bill, the final version reflects a more balanced approach to ensuring that Ameri-
cans with disabilities have access to new and emerging technologies, and that manufacturers have the flexibility to be
innovative without being burdened by restrictive, government-mandated design standards.” USTelecom CEO Walter
McCormick said the bill provides “a sound legal roadmap for ensuring greater accessibility to cutting-edge communi-
cations technologies for people with disabilities.” Andrew Imparato, president of the American Association of People
with Disabilities, called the bill “a victory for civil rights in our increasingly digital world.”
Digital TV
Media General said it began broadcasting mobile DTV signals from its WCHM-TV Columbus, Ohio. “We
look forward to launching Mobile DTV in as many as 5-7 additional TV markets in the coming months,” said CEO
Marshall Morton. The Columbus station said it will soon set up spot ad insertion for the mobile channel.
Industry Notes
Lobbying continued on the FCC’s proposed cable set-top box rules. NCTA attorneys met with aides to
Commissioner Robert McDowell and Media Bureau officials to discuss cable industry proposals, two ex parte no-
tices said. They discussed the types of requirements that might be set for the use of tuning adapters that allow one-
way CableCARD devices to view switched-digital programming, CableLabs’ testing and licensing requirements
and the types of interfaces to be included on one-way HD digital terminal adapters, the notices said. Meanwhile,
CEA lawyers met with aides to Commissioner Mignon Clyburn and Media Bureau officials to discuss how new
Internet-connected TV sets “increase the likelihood that implementation of a robust CableCARD regime” will be
good for consumers, an ex parte notice said.
