Rebecca Day

LAS VEGAS -- After the market was teased with reports last month that Sharp would bow two 32- and 42-inch LCD TV/Blu-ray combos, Sharp used its pre-CES news conference Wednesday to take the wraps off a full range of products in that nascent category. Ranging in size from 32 to 52 inches, the TV portions of the combos boast Sharp’s latest 1080p LCD panel superlucent technology, called Advanced Super View (ASV), which is said to reduce screen reflections.

LAS VEGAS -- Netgear is hoping to steal some of TV makers’ Internet thunder with a videocassette-sized set-top box designed to bring Web-based TV to the mainstream market, the company said at a pre-CES news conference Wednesday. Netgear would “love to see” its $199 set top in the TV aisles of the top CE chains when it ships this summer, said Vivek Pathela, vice president and general manager of Netgear’s home and consumer products division.

When the annual Future of TV conference was held seven years ago, talk centered around reality TV, global issues and interactivity. At this year’s event, which opened Tuesday at the Museum of Jewish Heritage in lower Manhattan, the focus is on revenue challenges, Internet video, TiVo, and yes, interactivity.

Sixty-plus members of the Polk Audio Internet Forum from all over trekked last week to the supplier’s home city of Baltimore for the fifth annual Polkfest, a celebration of all things Polk and audio. Polkfest began in 2003 as a Dallas event that 43,000-member online community Club Polk organized without the supplier’s knowledge. Russ Gates, who hosted the first Polkfest at his Dallas home, said the event is about “fellowship and the fun of seeing everybody.” Members bring speakers and electronics for impromptu demos. Sales and swaps often occur, but the event is mainly about face time with kindred spirits, Gates and others said. Bostonian Cathy Frizzel and her brother, Mark Poindexter, of Washington, used Polkfest for a mini-family reunion, though it was love of speakers that drew them to Baltimore for the weekend, they said. Founder Matthew Polk asked members for a show of hands to gauge their love of traditional audio equipment. About 10 said they own high-end turntables, with a few even owning tube preamps. “We're living in interesting times,” Polk said. “We've made it way too complicated as an industry. Our mission is to put good sound in the homes of anyone who loves music.”

DENVER -- Digeo, which underwent a shift in its Moxi set-top box platform earlier this year, will deploy a new HD DVR box through Charter Communications this month, executives said Friday at the CEDIA Expo. A second box is soon to follow, said Digeo CEO Greg Gudorf.

DENVER -- Panasonic will have tru2way TVs on the market before the holiday selling season, said Senior Vice President Robert Perry. Speaking Wednesday to reporters at CEDIA, he said the OCAP-compliant TVs will deliver all cable services without a set-top box. On-demand video, pay-per-view and the ability to order services will be among the offerings.

After technical delays, SE2 Labs is rolling out its ITC One Integrated Theater Console, the company said Thursday at a New York demonstration. Engineered by custom installers, the all-in-one home theater solution is designed to replace a rack of individual components in a high-end custom installation.

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Evoking memories of Walt Disney and his futuristic outlook, executives from Hewlett-Packard, Lifeware, Microsoft and homebuilder Taylor Morrison gathered Monday at Disneyland to unveil the Innoventions Dream Home on which the companies had collaborated.

Sony will expand distribution of its 11W XEL-1 OLED TV to 100 dealers and 150 stores, from 70, in the next 60 days and launch the first Internet sales of the set, Randy Waynick, Sony home products senior vice president of marketing, told us Thursday at a New York news conference. SonyStyle.com and Crutchfield.com will be the first online dealers to sell the product, Waynick said.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- Flat-panel TVs are as hot as the temperatures in this city, which last week hosted the CES-Hometech show, sponsored by CEA. But form factor and aesthetics, not video or audio performance, is winning most consumer converts, we found in a tour of CE stores near the convention center.