Harman Kardon, a division of Harman International Industries, today announced the introduction of its first Blu-ray Disc™ media player, the BDP 1. The player includes BD-Live functionality, giving home theater enthuisiasts access, "to a new world of interactive content, including games, ringtones and other specialized Internet content. With its elegant design, the BDP 1 complements high-definition displays and audio/video receivers, while the unique Harman Kardon user interface simplifies setup and operation," the company said in a statement today.

The player automatically upscales standard DVDs to 1080p (via HDMI) and allows for simultaneous JPEG and MP3 music file playback from discs or USB memory sticks.

“The Harman Kardon brand has a rich history of delivering the right combination of power, performance, flexibility and ease of use in the home,” says Christopher M. Dragon, Director of Consumer and Field Marketing for Harman Consumer. “The introduction of our first Blu-ray Disc player balances our portfolio of home products, which have always featured great sound but, now, thanks to the BDP 1, offer crystal-clear video playback.”

The BDP 1, like all Harman Kardon products, is designed to match the entire Harman home-theater lineup; it will be available later this month at www.harmankardon.com for a suggested retail price of $499.

ABI Research has confirmed through a recent consumer survey that while most owners of home networks find their equipment works reasonably well, they would be willing to upgrade if that resulted in easier troubleshooting. The conclusion: there is an opportunity for home network equipment vendors if they can automate some of the commonest diagnostic and configuration tasks.

According to industry analyst Michael Inouye, “Although nearly 30 percent of the 1007 respondents to the survey reported some initial difficulties in setting up their equipment, only 11 percent actually returned products as being 'too hard' – a figure at the low end of the typical range of consumer electronics returns."

More than half of the respondents indicated that troubleshooting software would be “extremely” or “very” valuable to them. Automating simple tasks such as hardware resets would be even better. At present the overwhelming majority of those surveyed use their home networks to provide Internet access to more than one computer; printer sharing and (in those under 35) online gaming ran distant second and third.

For more information from the survey, Feedback on Home Networking Setup and Connection Issues, visit www.abiresearch.com.

VIZIO announced today that the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California has denied attempts by Funai Electric Company, Ltd. to delay the prompt resolution of VIZIO's claims that Funai is unlawfully restraining trade, misusing its patent rights and monopolizing the marketplace for digital television technology.

In the patent suit, which was filed in February, VIZIO alleges that Funai unlawfully acquired the rights to U.S. patent No. 6,115,074 (the "'074 patent"), which is subject to a standards setting organization overseeing digital television manufacturers, and has since, "unlawfully and unfairly discriminated against VIZIO in the licensing and enforcement." The suit claims an antitrust violation.

The court's ruling this week holds that the antitrust claims should not be stalled, and instead the judge ruled that VIZIO's antitrust claims should move forward without delay.

"VIZIO, as America's HDTV Company, has been at the forefront of making high quality flat panel TVs more affordable for Americans. We are pleased that the court recognized the importance of our antitrust claims and denied Funai's attempt to delay our efforts to prove our case. We cannot allow a foreign competitor to misuse its patent and monopolize the marketplace, or to divert us from our mission to bring affordable, high quality HDTVs to Americans," stated Laynie Newsome, VIZIO co-founder and Vice President of Sales & Marketing Communications.