Rex Stores Wed. posted a 166% increase in 2nd-quarter net income to $8.7 million (70 cents per share) from $3.3 million (26 cents) a year earlier on higher profits from its synthetic fuel business. The jump in earnings came despite a 1% decline in sales to $84.7 million from $85.8 million. Same-store sales also fell 1% but would have been down 5% if not for air conditioners, the chain said.
The Beaumont, Tex.-based Conn’s chain Tues. upgraded its forecast for the year ending Jan. 31, based on strong performance the first 6 months. Conn’s reported net income increases of 37.3% and 31.3% for the 2nd quarter and first half, respectively.
CEA “would like to see the deployment rate higher for CableCARDs” than the 50,000 estimated recently by the cable industry to have been installed (CED Aug 30 p4), CEA Pres. Gary Shapiro told us. But CableCARD is “a new technology and new capability that consumers will need time to grasp,” Shapiro said. Cable operators “have stuck to their promise to support” CableCARD, but they're not actively promoting it, Shapiro said. He recalled the statement of a Cox executive at an HDTV conference last summer who, when asked if the MSO was promoting CableCARD, said its policy was “don’t ask, don’t sell.” Shapiro said “the dearth of information from cable operators certainly doesn’t help the attachment rate” on CableCARDs. Nevertheless, CableCARD-ready DTVs “will remain important for the high percentage of cable customers who don’t want a set-top box,” Shapiro said. “Luckily, there’s a large and growing installed base of digital cable-ready TVs that will prove very useful to consumers as awareness of this latent capability increases.”
There’s much more to adding DTV reception capability to an analog TV set than simply “soldering a single tuner/chip onto a circuit board,” RCA set maker TTE told the FCC last week in an ex parte filing. That’s why a deadline earlier than March 1, 2007, for requiring DTV tuning capability in 13-24” sets “is not achievable without unacceptable risk of quality problems and needlessly high prices for consumers,” TTE said, echoing virtually all other set makers and the CEA that have argued the Commission’s proposal moving up the current deadline on 13-24” sets to Dec. 31, 2006, from July 1, 2007. TTE said there’s “no evidence” Dec. 2006 -- or an even earlier 2006 date that broadcasters have proposed -- “would be achievable for any manufacturer, much less for the general population of manufacturers.” DTV integration “requires a major re-engineering effort -- and in the case of smaller-sized sets, an entirely new chassis -- to accept the digital tuner, demodulator and other essential circuitry and related components,” TTE said. Also needed are cabinet modifications, all new reliability and safety testing, “and, of course, regulatory approvals,” as required for all RF emitters, TTE said. The FCC and Congress long have recognized the importance to set makers of the 18-month manufacturing cycle “in every instance where a new television technology has been mandated,” TTE said. “Truncating” that cycle “would introduce unacceptable levels of complication and risk” to product quality and availability and cause “needlessly steep price increases for consumers,” TTE said. “It also would be arbitrary and capricious as a matter of law.” TTE said it believes Congress “almost certainly will enact legislation this fall” setting a hard analog cutoff date in 2009. A March 2007 deadline for 13-24” sets would afford 22-34 months lead time before the analog cutoff -- “more than sufficient time for consumers to obtain integrated DTV receivers to accommodate the switch to digital broadcasting,” TTE said. The FCC is “erroneous” in speculating there will be only “modest” costs associated with building DTV tuners into 13-24” sets on an accelerated deadline, TTE said: “Integrating DTV tuning and reception capability will result in substantial increases in the costs of smaller-sized sets, as much as doubling the price of many 13” TVs and other products.”
BEVERLY HILLS -- Scarcity of 1080p content seems not to be dissuading major set makers from emphasizing 1080p functionality as the leading competitive step-up feature in their new HDTV lineups, as evinced in presentation after presentation here Wed. at the DisplaySearch HDTV Conference.
BEVERLY HILLS -- Rapid unit growth in HDTV product sales and “hefty” -- though declining -- price premiums HD-enabled units command helped boost such gear to a 72% share of total sellthrough revenue for TV sets at 2005’s midpoint June 30, Ross Rubin, NPD Techworld dir.-industry analysis, told the DisplaySearch HDTV Conference here Tues.
BEVERLY HILLS, Cal. -- TV set makers “are without question, the most abused, beaten up and taken advantage of” industry, and it’s time they stood up to program distributors who would degrade HD picture quality by multicasting, HDNet Chmn. Mark Cuban told the DisplaySearch HDTV Conference here Tues.
CEA Pres. Gary Shapiro took on an old foe in the RIAA Fri., accusing the recording industry trade group of talking out of both sides of its mouth on burning music CDs for personal use.
Factory DTV unit shipments climbed 45% in 2005’s first half to 3.8 million, fueled by price declines averaging $200 during the period, CEA reported Fri. Dollar shipments rose 23% to $4.6 billion, CEA said. Falling prices have meant a sales increase each month in 2005 from the one before, CEA said. CEA said total DTV shipments reached 3.8 million in Jan.-June, suggesting that just under -- or 1.85 million sets -- were flat- panel LCD or plasma TVs. CEA doesn’t publicly release monthly or weekly shipments on flat-panel DTVs, as it does for digital direct-view or projection sets --reported as digital TV shipments in our weekly State of the Industry chart. CEA previously reported that factory unit shipments of direct-view and projection DTVs reached 1,953,194 sets the 26 weeks ended July 1, increasing 13.1% from 1,726,500 a year earlier (CED July 18 p11).
The NRSC-5 standard specifies no audio codec for iBiquity Digital’s in-band on-channel (IBOC) digital HD Radio, but is “sufficiently complete to serve as the basis” for FCC service rules, NAB told the Commission. The NAB’s reply comments again urged adoption of the National Radio System Committee (NRSC) specification.