Today's High-Def Headlines

GE, Taiwan Firm Plan HDTV Venture - WSJ
General Electric Co. is getting back into the television-set business by forming a partnership with a Taiwan company to launch GE-branded high-definition TV sets. GE and Tatung Co. of Taiwan said they had formed a joint venture, General Displays & Technologies LLC, that plans to make two million HDTV sets annually, or 1% of the 200 million units sold world-wide, when it begins production in 2009. The companies hope eventually to capture 5% to 10% of the roughly $200 billion global TV-set market.

New Suite Of HD Nets Will Premiere on Verizon’s FiOS - MCN
Six start-up HD networks—with original programming about cars, comedy, pets, travel, food and entertainment—will debut later this year with launches on Verizon’s FiOS video service, according to officials. The new HD channels Cars.TV, Pets.TV, Comedy.TV, MyDestination.TV, ES.TV and Recipe.TV have been created by Entertainment Studios, which bills itself as the largest independent producer and distributor of first-run syndicated shows for TV stations.

Verizon Adds 56 HD Channels in Philly Area - MCN

Verizon Communications nearly tripled its high-definition lineup in the Philadelphia area, adding 56 HD channels to offer a total of 86 to FiOS TV customers in Comcast's backyard. The telco on Monday launched 76 new channels -- including the 56 high-def channels, which are mostly premium services -- for customers in parts of southeastern Pennsylvania and Delaware. Verizon noted that its HD offerings, which include more than 500 HD video-on-demand titles per month, are more than either Comcast or RCN.

Circuit City's Chief Executive Is Ousted - WSJ

The head of Circuit City Stores Inc. was forced out by the company's board Monday after months of lackluster sales and an aborted takeover effort by Blockbuster Inc. that cast doubts on the future of the nation's second-largest electronics retailer. Philip J. Schoonover, who served as chairman, president and chief executive officer, was brought in from industry leader Best Buy Co. four years ago to turn around Circuit City.

WiHD Products Expected At CES - TWICE
The chairman of the WirelessHD (WiHD) consortium expects suppliers to announce plans for products incorporating WiHD at International CES in January. WiHD technology is an in-room wireless technology that replaces wired HDMI connections among audio and video components. The technology, which delivers uncompressed copy-protected high-definition video at resolutions up to 1080p, would enable HD streaming among different-brand components within a room up to 10 meters away. The technology isn’t designed to penetrate walls to deliver multiroom video.