LONDON -- Colorful details of Rovi’s running technical battle to thwart movie rippers emerged from the Rovi road show last week as the former Macrovision rolled through London, after its stop in New York (CED July 21 p2). “It’s punch and counterpunch,” Gerald Hensley, Rovi vice president of entertainment, said of the battle against unauthorized copying. “Currently there is an upswing in Blu-ray ripping,” and indications are studios are falling behind the hackers in attempting to stop it, he said.

The Department of Energy and other federal agencies should ensure that smart grid data access, privacy and security policies are consistent as smart grid deployments happen in the states, the CEA said. While protecting their privacy will be important to consumer adoption of smart grid technologies, the CEA is concerned that the creation of multiple, state-by-state smart grid privacy policies could “hinder innovation and smart grid deployments,” it said in comments to the DOE on the implementation of the national broadband plan.

Panasonic will round out its 3D TV offerings for “general distribution” in calendar 2010 with a GT25 series of lower-priced 1080p plasma 3D TVs, Henry Hauser, vice president of the company’s display group, confirmed in an interview Thursday. Shipping by late August will be 42- and 50-inch sets planned for “broader distribution” than the retailers that sold Panasonic’s first VT series of plasma 3D TVs when they were introduced in March, he told Consumer Electronics Daily.

Netflix expects before its next quarterly earnings call, in October, to launch “a major new version” of its Sony PS3 streaming user interface that won’t require a disc “and is dynamically updated continuously with the latest Netflix UI improvements,” CEO Reed Hastings said Wednesday.

Tight LCD panel inventory earlier this year has given way to a slight oversupply fueled by sluggish U.S. and European TV sales in May and June, LG Display executives said on a quarterly earnings call Thursday. LCD retail TV inventories were “less than a week” above “normalized” levels at the end of Q2, moving panel manufacturers to slow production heading into the fall, LG officials said. Precise inventory levels weren’t available, but 45 days supply is normal, LG Display executives said. LG Display operated its plants at full capacity in Q2 but likely take output down slightly in Q3 based largely on customer demand, the company said. It hasn’t reduced production yet, said Anthony Moon, vice president of investor relations.

SEATTLE -- Prospects for independent game developers on the Facebook platform may be less bright than a year ago, but the social network is still a very attractive place to direct efforts, game industry executives told the Casual Connect conference Wednesday. They rated several business models and platforms in a rollicking “hype versus real deal” discussion, agreeing that so-called farm games and location-based games were one-trick ponies that won’t go much farther. The only things keeping Google from being completely written off in the game space are its massive resources and multi-platform strategy, speakers said.

SEATTLE -- The games business is highly idiosyncratic and success with one game is no guarantee of another blockbuster, executives told the Casual Connect conference late Wednesday. The leaders behind big franchises, including Princess Isabella and Virtual Villagers, disagreed on the path to success and how companies should steward their resources. Executives also differed on whether social games were stealing their audience or helping them fine-tune their intellectual property.

The EPA said it’s shutting down the Energy Star program for external power supplies and end-use products that use power supplies. The agency had sought comments on its proposal to terminate the program in June. Some stakeholders wanted to continue using the Energy Star label but they didn’t provide “compelling information contradicting the rationale to sunset” the program, said Ann Bailey, chief of the Energy Star labeling branch.

Internet accessibility legislation cleared the House Commerce Committee by a unanimous voice vote Wednesday. The committee reported the bill (HR-3101) to the full House with amendments addressing industry concerns, expanding video description requirements, and establishing an annual $10 million fund to subsidize equipment for the deaf-blind. Committee Chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif., reaffirmed he wants to see the bills on the House and Senate floors next week in time for the 20th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The Senate Commerce Committee passed its own version of the bill (S-3304) last week (CED July 16 p5).

Apple doesn’t know when there'll be enough iPads to satisfy demand, and “it’s too early to tell” if iPad will cannibalize sales of other Apple products, Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook said on a Tuesday earnings call. Strong sales of those devices, as well as Macintosh computers, allowed the company to report strong results for Q3 ended June 26, it said.