As the EPA set new qualification rules for Energy Star (CED April 15 p2), the agency clarified that manufacturers need not remove labels from products or product literature for products made on or after March 30. But device makers must produce lab reports with “qualification information” to the EPA for approval, the agency said in a communication to Energy Star stakeholders Wednesday.

Sony confirmed for the first time publicly that its coming 3D Bravia LCD TVs will contain 2D-to-3D conversion chips. Sony Europe spilled the beans in a news release early Thursday that trumpeted the company’s HX800 series 3D TVs as ready to ship there in time for live 3D broadcasts of FIFA World Cup matches in June (CED April 9 p1).

Hammacher Schlemmer in July will be the first retailer to carry a 3D camcorder that DXG unveiled in New York Tuesday, Paul Goldberg, the manufacturer’s senior vice president of sales and marketing, told Consumer Electronics Daily. The DXG-321V -- believed to be the first consumer model in the U.S. from a major manufacturer to shoot 3D images -- will cost $599.99 and come bundled with a separate, 7-inch LCD “media player” monitor that uses parallax barrier autostereoscopic technology for viewing images in 3D without special glasses being required, DXG said. It didn’t identify the company supplying the display.

The EPA and the Department of Energy Wednesday formalized changes to qualification rules for the Energy Star program to ensure that “only products meeting the program requirements can receive an Energy Star label.” The EPA had informed stakeholders in a March 31 memo of the proposed changes (CED April 2 p6). It said it decided to “accelerate” efforts to strengthen qualification and verification rules following a GAO investigation that found the program vulnerable to fraud and abuse (CED March 29 p3).

Mitsubishi’s LaserVue TV will make another run at the rear projection market, this time with a 3D-ready 75-inch model priced at $5,999, said dealers briefed on the plans. The set, part of the A91 series, will feature StreamTV that provides access to 100 streaming applications including Flickr, Facebook, Pandora and Twitter.

Verizon is building a new Long-Term Evolution R&D center that will focus largely on CE devices, Chief Technology Officer Dick Lynch said in an interview. The carrier also has started looking beyond LTE trials, targeting year-end for some actual commercial launches, he said.

The EPA released draft Energy Star specifications for data center storage systems and computer servers. Many aspects remained unaddressed in the first draft of version 1.0 of the data center storage specification, the agency said, and the document reflects the agency’s “latest thinking” based on stakeholder input. The first draft of version 2.0 of the specification for computer servers represents EPA “intended” tier 2 requirements in version 1.0 of the specification. The deadline for comments on both the documents is May 21.

An investment by Wistron in light-guide supplier Global Lighting Technology (GLT) secures a key component for LED-based displays as the company expands LCD TV assembly, GLT Sales Director Brett Shriver told us. Wistron, which forecast its LCD TV shipments’ passing 10 million units by 2011, said it will pay up to $20 million for 17-19 percent of privately held GLT. GLT is building a light-guide assembly facility near a new Wistron manufacturing base in Guangdong, China, that’s scheduled to start production in 2011. The new factory will double Wistron’s capacity for LCD TVs, officials of the company have said. Wistron assembles LCD TVs for Sony and other CE manufacturers and will use GLT’s light guides for TVs 20 inches and larger, Wistron officials said.

LAS VEGAS -- Another, smaller standards battle is shaping up at the Advanced TV Systems Committee between Samsung and LG. Each has helped develop technology that lets TV broadcasters devote their entire DTV channel to mobile service. ATSC is working to standardize the technology in an update to its mobile DTV standard, which caps the amount of bandwidth a station can devote to mobile service. Not all broadcasters are interested in devoting their entire channel to mobile, but some of the 700 MHz spectrum auction winners are, said Ion Media CEO Brandon Burgess. “We would not go anywhere near full channel, HD is important,” he said. “Qualcomm won’t admit it but they're studying it, and Dish is doing more than studying it."

A trial of “eco-friendly” FiOS set-top boxes is among green initiatives Verizon unfolded Monday as part of the company’s 2010 sustainability program aimed at reducing the carbon footprint of its operations. Verizon said it teamed up with Motorola for the pilot in select FiOS markets. Verizon hasn’t joined the Energy Star set-top box program for service providers. Only four providers, including AT&T and DirecTV, have offered to buy or deploy enough Energy Star boxes to qualify for certification for the set-top box program that started in January 2009.