April 8 - 3:15pm EDT   Philips today revealed that it will stop its direct development HDTVs for North America. The Dutch firm now says it will outsource all of the work for both these sets and Magnavox models to Japan-based Funai. The company will handle both manufacturing sets as well as marketing them in the two western countries. The move is cited as necessary to turn around Philips' loss-taking HDTV business, which is successful in Asia and Europe but has struggled in the more competitive North American space through tight profit margins. [full story]

February 7 - 3:15pm EST   Big-box retailer Best Buy will soon join a special discount plan, meant to help push Americans over from analog TV to digital. Beginning February 17th, the company will start selling selling an Insignia-branded digital-to-analog converter box, eligible for a coupon program initiated by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). This will cut the price of the converter by $40, making it a more reasonable $20. [full story]