Vision - July/August 2008 - (Page 27)

CEAnewsline sbc member profile declines in a traditionally profitable area of the business. As she charts the company’s future course, CEA’s Small Business Council (SBC) provides ideas, inspiration and intelligence. “The SBC has provided an excellent forum for me to learn more about our industry,” says Wagner. She cites programs at CEA’s Washington Forum that addressed the DTV transition, as well as John Miller’s “The Question behind the Question” seminar as providing value. “The programs are a great opportunity to help me with strategic planning and new techniques for interpersonal relationships, whether it is with customers or with sales prospects.” She credits her involvement in CEA over the last 20 years and the SBC in the last few years as key to keeping her family’s company on track and poised for growth. “My perspective had been limited to one city and one aspect of the industry, but CEA has shown me the global reach of the CE industry.” To participate in SBC programs, contact Deb Kassoff, 703.907.7655, dkassoff@ CE.org. • Creating a Niche Kim Wagner, vice president of Tritronics Inc., knows how much the service business is changing. Having grown up in the industry, she now helps her father run the family’s CE parts and accessories business. Wagner knows that in an age of rapidly evolving CE products, small businesses must create a niche to stay relevant. Accelerated life cycles, declining prices and improved reliability of CE products have impacted the role parts suppliers’ play in the industry. “Survival in the parts business means evolving into a value-added supplier,” says Wagner. As an example, Tritronics has created a website for technicians to access repair manuals, check part availability and even place an order, while onsite during service calls. “The future of the service industry is readily available information, not just parts,” she explains. Equally challenging for the service industry is the impending switchover to digital television in February 2009. Citing a drop in orders for older, more repairprone sets, Wagner believes that the DTV transition is prompting consumers to invest in more reliable digital flat-panel televisions rather than repair CRT sets. “They are thinking, ‘I’m not going to get this repaired because I don’t know if it’s even going to work after February 2009’,” says Wagner. As a result, she has seen Highlights from the T&S Forum The 2008 Spring Technology & Standards Forum was held May 19–23 at the Loews Vanderbilt in Nashville, TN. Some highlights include: in the ce spotlight CE Opportunities in Eastern Europe lobal sales of CE products exceeded $600 billion in 2007. The Eastern European CE market, in particular, is on the rise. Karen Chupka, senior vice president of events and conferences at CEA, The Prague Castle recently traveled to Eastern Europe with a trade mission hosted by the Las Vegas Convention Center and Visitors Authority. With stops in Prague and Budapest, the delegation’s goal was to increase business travel to Las Vegas. For Chupka and CEA, it also was an opportunity to increase attendance from Eastern European countries to the International CES. Chupka also met with key media, as well as representatives from the Czech and Hungarian Commercial Services, officials from government agencies and trade organizations related to the CE industry. • TWO NEW DISCOvErY GrOUPS CEA’s T&S Council approved the formation of two Discovery Groups to explore the need for CEA standards work in two new areas: portable and handheld devices, and 3D video. These new Discovery Groups will likely meet at CEA’s Industry Forum. G Approved Standards • The DTV Interface Subcommittee approved CEA-805-D, Data Services on the Component Video Interfaces. • The Television Data Systems Subcommittee approved CEA708-D, Digital Television (DTV) Closed Captioning. • The Home Networks Committee published CEA-2014-A, Web-Based Protocol and Framework for Remote User Interface on UPnP™. New Projects • Audio Voltage and Impedance Values • Cable Channel Numbering • DTV Audio Metadata • XML Schema for Emergency Alert Information For more information, email Megan Hayes at mhayes@CE.org. Source: CEA Market Research • www.ce.org July/August 2008 27 http://www.ce.org

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Vision - July/August 2008

Vision - July/August 2008 Contents Shapiro's Spectrum In This Issue The Economist C4 Trends Visionary Embracing Disrupting Technology Vaulting Ahead with Your Brand International Risk Stop Boomerang Products CEA Newsline Tech Speak Tech Policy Going Global Eye on Business Market Insider Just the Stats

Vision - July/August 2008

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