The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) has some news for the 33.6 million of you who use your television (TV) to view over-the-air (OTA) TV programming - get a life, or rather, get a new Digital TV.

Sony is the best brand around - or so say the majority of the 2,351 U.S. adults surveyed online by Harris Interactive between June 7 and 13, 2006. This marks the seventh consecutive year that Sony has made it to the top spot beating out other brands such as Dell, Coca-Cola, Ford, Honda, and Apple.

Because CEDIA was close enough to home (9 hours), I was able to drive to Dallas rather than suffer the indignities of flying through DFW—and it was cheaper than flying, too. Since I’m cheap, I stayed at a cheap hotel in Oklahoma last night on my way here. I don’t expect much out of a hotel. A bed. Running water. Maybe a toilet, too. This particular hotel included, of all things, a DVD player and a flat-panel TV! (Bonus, right?) It also included one of the most horrendous installs of electronic equipment I’ve ever run across in a public place...

After filming a brief interview yesterday with Winston Cheng, VP of Development at Aeon Labs, at the Z-Wave Pavilion where the company was showing off its soon-to-be-released DIY LCD window film, I had the chance to stop by the SONTE booth for a brief demo today. Much like the product from Aeon Labs, the 0.7 mm SONTE FILM can be applied to any glass surface and can switch from transparent to opaque in under one second. SONTE FILM, however, is controlled via Wi-Fi, so it can be controlled by a wide variety of IP-based control/automation systems. The flexible film comes in 1 x 1 meter sheets, and they can be daisy chained to cover large windows. They can also be trimmed to fit smaller windows. One potential use on large windows is to incorporate multiple sheets side-by-side on the window, but without daisy chaining them together. Theoretically, you could then control each film-treated section independently – and be able to use your automation system to block out direct sunlight panel-by-panel as the sun moves across the sky. The SONTE FILM improves the window’s insulation rating, although the company did not give any specs on by how much. The SONTE FILM isn’t totally clear – nor does it block 100% of the light. In the transparent state (energized), the film is transparent with a “Haze Coefficient” of 7%. With the power off, the film turns opaque with a Haze Coefficient of 67%.

Another interesting use of the SONTE FILM suggested by SONTE is to use the film to turn any large window or glass partition into a rear-projection screen. (With the projector supplied by the homeowner, of course.)

Pricing hasn’t been determined, but SONTE hopes to have DIY product available in the next three to four months.