Historically the brand has applied to all of Pioneer's higher-end products, including plasma TVs, audio/video receivers, Blu-ray players, and speakers. For instance, Pioneer maintains two receiver lines, called Pioneer and Pioneer Elite. The deal with Sharp covers only TVs, and will allow Sharp to introduce a line of high-end Elite-brand LCD TVs this year in North America.

"If you don't want instant gratification, then there should be an option -- call it the slow lane, if you like," said a blogger quoted in Home Media Magazine. In the wake of recent Netflix disc-rental price increases, an online poll showed 10 percent threatening to ax their membership. That probably won't cut much ice with Netflix, which sees its future in streaming, even to the point of removing "Add to DVD Queue" from its streaming interface.

The announcement came in a company blog. Here is the blog post in its entirety:

As we've previously reported, this is a big deal. UltraViolet will let you access content you've paid for once across multiple platforms including TVs, PCs, gaming consoles, smart phones, and any kind of computer.

On the heels of the FCC announcement, the Justice Department announced its own approval of the merger.

However, the approval didn't come without plenty of conditions. And one commissioner, Michael J. Copps (left of chair Julius Genachowski in picture), gave a piece of his mind to the others who voted for approval.

It's just about time for CES, the annual consumer electronics show in Las Vegas. While mobile devices are expected to dominate, as manufacturer's vie for recognition in the tablet and smartphone categories, there will still be an abundance of announcements from top AV companies with newer, thinner, HDTVs offering 3D capability, Internet-connected Blu-ray players providing a range of options and services, and AV receivers that connect to your home network. With an increased number of components offering Internet connectivity, wired and wirelessly, the living room space is changing dramatically. So catch all the news and the latest product announcements from the show floor with daily updates from our correspondents at sister publications
Home Theater and UltimateAV.