During CES, Sherwood America Inc. announced the appointment of Montreal-based Erikson Consumer as its exclusive Canadian distributor. Sherwood Newcastle (the company's premium sub-brand) A/V receivers have acquired a following among home-theatre enthusiasts; but the company also makes a wide variety of mainstream and mass-market products.

"We haven't had products for large retail distribution until this year," said Gary Graning, Vice-President Sales for Sherwood America. "We now have a broader product line, and we needed different distribution."

The broadened product line includes five mainstream A/V receivers that will ship in the second quarter. One of these, the RD6504, has built-in Bluetooth so users can stream music from a Bluetooth-equipped phone or digital music player. Other mainstream products include compact home-theatre systems and a soundbar.

Sherwood is also preparing to launch a series of digital products, including the iNet 2.0, a tabletop system integrates an 8" photo frame, iPod dock and Internet radio. The NetBoxx is a 7.1-channel A/V receiver with built-in Ethernet connectivity (a Wi-Fi dongle is also included), and clients for Shoutcast, YouTube, Hulu, Netflix and CNN, as well as PC streaming functionality.

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