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| MagicJack to Provide Unlimited Mobile Service at Home By: Brian Osborne Posted January 10, 2010  Have you heard of the magicJack? If you haven’t then you must not be watching a lot of television these days. This is a small USB device that allows computer owners with a broadband connection to take advantage of a low-cost VoIP phone service.
When the magicJack came on the scene it was a game changer. While competing VoIP phone services like Vonage cost around $25 a month the magicJack service only charges $20 a year. Now to the chagrin of cellular operators the magicJack service is going to make wireless service less expensive as well by providing free, unlimited mobile calls in the home. The latest version of the magicJack device utilizes femtocell technology. This is technology that is equivalent to placing a small cell tower in the home. What makes magicJack’s implementation of the technology unique, besides its small form factor, is that it is not limited to a specific mobile phone service. To use your mobile phone with the latest version of magicJack, mobile phone users will simply need to walk within eight feet of the device one time to register the connection. After that, a mobile phone user can walk within a range of a 3000 square foot house. Existing magicJack users will first be offered the new femtocell technology beginning this year. Read more at the magicJack press release. back to top
LG Has World's Thinnest LCD By Mark Fleischmann Posted December 31, 2009 LG has announced a prototype LCD panel just 2.6mm thick. That's slightly more than one-tenth of an inch. 
The panel uses a variety of slimming technologies including edge-lit LED backlighting and a proprietary optical film. It's got all the trimmings, including 1080p resolution and a 120Hz refresh rate, yet weighs less than four kilograms (or less than nine pounds). This follows LG's May announcement of 42- and 47-inch prototypes that were 5.9mm thick. The company has cut this record in half in seven months. The newly slimmed down LCD panel will be on display at the forthcoming Consumer Electronics Show in January.
Comcast Streaming Makes Debut By Mark Fleischman Posted December 17, 2009 Comcast has introduced a streaming service called Fancast Xfinity TV. It will feature shows previously unavailable online. The operation was originally named Comcast On Demand Online. Beta testing began over the summer. Initially only Concast video and internet subscribers will be to access Xfinity TV through the fancast.com and comcast.com sites. However, Comcast says it plans eventually to offer the service through other ISPs. Though other major cable operators have similar plans for subscriber-only online video services, Comcast is the first to launch one. Xfinity TV will feature 27 networks including A&E, AMC, Discovery Channel, History, TLC, and TNT, some of which are not available on rival Hulu. Comcast cable TV customers who subscribe to premium channels will be able to access that material with both new and old shows. The news comes just as Comcast, the largest cable operator in the U.S., has swallowed up NBC Universal. Critics of the deal have suggested that Comcast might use NBC Universal's network and cable TV channels for exclusives or charge exorbitant rates to rivals for carrying them.
Disney Has Another Way To Blu By Mark Fleischman Posted December 14, 2009 Remember Warner's DVD2Blu program, which lets DVD owners trade in their old standard-def discs for brand-new high-def Blu-ray discs? Disney is going one better by offering factory-fresh BDs to DVD owners while allowing them to keep their old discs. 
Disney's program is called UpgradeToBlu. Here's the deal: Pick your titles from the site, print and mail the form with DVD proof of purchase, and you'll get a coupon that'll take $8 off the purchase of the equivalent Blu-ray title. The offer is good only to U.S. and Canadian residents (excluding Quebec). You can use the credit for a different edition if you like, so if you regretted not buying a title's Special Edition, regret no more. Only brick-and-mortar retailers can work with you on this. The coupons expire 30 days after you print them. Allow 8 to 10 weeks for delivery. All in-print Disney BD titles are eligible.
Blu Ascendant By Mark Fleischman Posted December 15, 2009 After a slow start, sales of Blu-ray players have passed a couple of significant milestones. They're selling better than DVD players and VCRs did at equivalent moments in their histories. A recent New York Times story is loaded with good news. Three years after the format's debut, Blu-ray players are in seven percent of American homes, and that excludes sales of Blu-compatible Sony PlayStation3 game consoles. Over on Amazon, eight of the top ten bestselling disc players are Blu-ray, and five of the top ten bestselling discs are BDs. Pricing seems to have done the trick, with entry-level players falling below $50 (try plugging "magnavox blu-ray player" into the Google Shopping engine). It probably doesn't hurt that 40 percent of TVs sold are 1080p, playing to Blu's high-def strength. Networked features, such as streaming from Netflix and other program suppliers, may be helping too. Some might argue that streaming is a Trojan horse at the gates, but given the sorry state of broadband in the U.S., that threat may be overstated. Anyway, if you haven't yet bought a Blu-ray player, now's the time to go for it. Make sure you get Profile 2.0 (BD-Live) and decoding for both DolbyTrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio—even a brand-new model like the Magnavox NB530MGX, pictured, may still be Profile 1.1, which would omit increasingly desirable interactive features. You'll also need 5.1- or 7.1-channel analog outputs if your old receiver isn't HDMI 1.3 compliant.
Swap Warner DVDs for BDs By Mark Fleischmann Posted November 20, 2009 How would you like to swap your old DVDs for brand-new Blu-ray discs at fairly low cost? 
That's the offer Warner is making to videophiles. Mail your DVDs to the studio with prepaid postage and you'll get BDs in return. The cost is $7.95 per disc. Shipping is extra, unless your order totals more than $25, which would mean four discs or more. Then shipping is free. Your old discs will be recycled. The program will initially include 50 titles including Body of Lies, A Christmas Story, Training Day, Deliverance, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, and Michael Clayton. For more information, see the DVD2Blu website and press release. For more information about the Warner recycling program see Warner Bros. Studios Environmental Initiatives.
Sony Bravia Owners Get Free Movie By Mark Fleischmann Posted November 10, 2009 Were you planning to buy a Sony Bravia TV or Blu-ray player in the near future? If so, the company will throw in a free streaming movie, and you'll get to see it a month before it's released on disc. 
Buy the product between November 9, 2009 and January 4, 2010 and you'll get to see Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. The movie will also be streamed to owners of current networked Bravias, plus the BDP-N460 networked BD player, for a cost of $24.95 between December 8, 2009 to January 4, 2010. We've been seeing a lot of streaming deals lately, some involving strange bedfellows. But two things make this Sony news special: (1) Free stuff! And (2) the precedent of streaming to Sony hardware owners before disc release. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs is an animated movie based on a children's book of the same name. The voices are provided by SNL's Bill Hader and Andy Samberg, Anna Faris, James Caan, Mr. T, and Neil Patrick Harris
LG Reveals Longterm Plans for OLED By Mark Fleischmann Posted November 10, 2009 LG has unveiled an ambitious longterm plan for OLED production that will have models of more than 40 inches available by 2012. By 2016, they'll even cost less than conventional LCD sets. OLED, as you probably know by now, stands for organic light emitting diode. It is potentially the wave of the future in flat-panel TV, producing a picture with better black level than existing LCD technology. At a Japanese trade show, LG revealed plans to hit the market with a 15-inch, 1366 x 768 model by the end of 2009. Models of 20 inches and up will arrive in 2010, 30-inch-plus models in 2011, and 40-inch-plus models in 2012. The larger sets wil initially be costly, so the next phase will concentrate on lowering the price. LG thinks it can produce OLED models of 40 inches and up for less than the cost of conventional LCDs.
Will XBox get Blu-Ray? Posted November 3, 2009 By Mark Fleischmann  One of the key distinctions between PlayStation and Xbox is that Sony's game console has Blu-ray support and Microsoft's game console is Blu-less. However, change may—may—be in the wind. In a series of interviews with Gizmodo, Microsoft's Steve Ballmer was asked whether Xbox would join PlayStation in the Blu-ray universe. His response was equivocal but left room for a glimmer of hope: "Well I don't know if we need to put Blu-ray in there—you'll be able to get Blu-ray drives as accessories." So it appears that Microsoft has no plans for built-in Blu-ray support but might allow add-ons. Might. Asked for comment, Xbox PR people responded: "Our immediate solution for Blu-ray-quality video on an Xbox 360 is coming this fall with Zune Video and 1080p instant-on HD streaming." In other words, don't hold your breath for Blu-ray—we're on the streaming bandwagon.
CEA Expects More Holiday Cheer Posted November 2, 2009 By Mark Fleischmann Holiday gift sales of consumer electronics are expected to rise by eight percent in the fourth quarter of this year, according to figures from the Consumer Electronics Association. This means CE sales will be stronger than overall holiday spending, at just four percent. 
CEA's 16th Annual CE Holiday Sales Forecast says four out of five adults will buy a gizmo, the largest percentage in the survey's history. They will spend an average of $222. CE stuff comprises four of the top ten wish-list items, including computers, video games, TVs, and digital cameras. Other desirables include Blu-ray players, ebook readers, and netbook PCs. Promotions are expected to swell the number of consumers in stores, though on the whole, consumers have spent less time in CE stores recently. Mass merchants will get the most business at 67 percent, CE stores will get 60 percent, and online merchants will get 41 percent. This certainly indicates some overlap.
Wii Is Latest Platform for Netflix Posted October 29, 2009 By Mark Fleischmann  Nintendo's Wii video game console has become the latest platform to get video streaming service from Netflix. An announcement on the company website announced the new feature. As in the Sony PlayStation, it must be implemented by feeding the console with a Netflix Instant Streaming Disc, for which Wii is charging $9.99. Netflix membership is extra and starts at $8.99/month. Of course a broadband connection is necessary. An undisclosed source quoted by StreamingMedia (via Engadget HD) confirms that Nintendo is testing Netflix and will officially begin service soon, possibly before the year-end holidays. This follows on the heels of previous announcements about Netflix streaming penetrating Sony PlayStation and Best Buy's Blu-ray players, not to mention Blockbuster hooking up with TiVo and Samsung.
3D Years Away, Says Panasonic By Mark Fleischmann Posted October 15, 2009 Are you hankering to add 3D to your home theater system? Though 3D sets are available now, it would be wise to wait longer for the technology to mature, says an executive at Panasonic. 
In an interview at CEATEC, the Japanese trade show, Panasonic President Fumio Ohtsubo said the effort to establish 3D in television is "very ambitious" and that he expected "three or four years" to pass before it bears fruit. When that happens, he expects it to spread to both big and small sets, and may operate without glasses. At the same trade show, several other manufacturers showed 3D HDTVs including Mitsubishi, Sharp, Sony, and Toshiba. LG and Samsung are also preparing 3D. Mitsubishi has already offered 3D in DLP rear-projection sets for some time. Sony has announced plans to sell 3D sets in 2010. One thing holding them all back is a lack of standards. CEA and SMPTE are among the groups trying to work out an industry-wide standard for 3D television.
1080p Wasted on Most Viewers By Mark Fleischmann Posted June 15, 2009 Many viewers are sitting too far from their HDTVs to enjoy the full resolution of a 1080p display. 60 percent of viewers were sitting more than six feet from 1080p/1080i screens under 40 inches. In the 40- to 52-inch category, 43 percent were sitting more than eight feet from the screen. And for sets of more than 52 inches, 35 percent were sitting from 8 to 10 feet away, and another 30 percent more than 10 feet away. In all these cases, that would not be enough to get the full benefit of the set's resolution. However, when owners of 720p sets (still considered HD) were surveyed, a greater proportion were sitting at the optimum distance. Of course, seating distance is not always decided upon technical merits. Even if you're sitting too far from your display, that's probably better than sitting too close, which would make video artifacts and pixel structure more noticeable But when you're shopping for a set, it certainly helps to know what the viewing distance will be, so you can choose the size that will give you the optimum resolution and best overall impact at that distance.
Analog TV Dies: Good Riddance By Mark Fleischmann Posted June 12, 2009 The nation's analog broadcast television standard, known as NTSC, died today after a long illness. It was 68 years old and should have died years ago. 
NTSC, which stood for National Television System Committee, had been depressed in recent years. It was originally designed for the 5- to 12-inch black & white portholes that passed for television sets in 1941. Despite having undergone a life-saving operation to add color in 1953, and further surgery to add analog stereo sound in 1984, NTSC was looking a bit peaked. NTSC was known to be breathing hard in a world of flat-panel HDTVs with large screens that magnified its considerable flaws. Friends say this only exacerbated NTSC's inferiority complex. "It really was kind of embarrassing that people were watching TV using a standard designed in the 1940s," one noted. Remarkably, there are approximately 2.8 million American households, or 2.5 percent of the total TV audience, who think NTSC is still alive, despite relentless reports of its failing health. In fact, it fell into a coma and nearly died on February 17, but was revived by a team of doctors sent from the White House. However, all 1760 TV stations in the U.S. finally agreed to shut off life support today. NTSC is now as dead as the 78 rpm record. Open yourself a bottle of champagne and settle down with the new Conan tonight, unless of course you prefer Dave. They're both in HD. NTSC is survived by ATSC, or Advanced Television Systems Committee, a younger broadcast standard outfitted with a high-definition picture and surround sound. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you buy a DTV. By the way, be sure run a fresh channel scan on your DTV or set-top box tomorrow, on Saturday. A lot of stations will be doing their final frequency hop as late as midnight tonight.
LCD Tops Plasma in Large Screen Sizes By Mark Fleischmann Posted June 2, 2009 In the LCD vs. plasma competition, LCD has sold more sets overall, while plasma has dominated in some larger screen sizes. But plasma has given up that advantageous position in the latest numbers from Quixel Research, which show LCD selling more in the 40 inches and up categories for the first time. The "USA Large Area Display Report" covers the final quarter of 2008 and the first quarter of 2009. LCD shipments grew 137 percent quarter-over-quarter and almost 500 percent year-over-year in the 55-inch-plus category, while plasma was flat, allowing LCD to overtake plasma.
Wireless HD Coming By Mark Fleischmann Posted April 4, 2009  Wireless HD has been a slow train coming. But a new chipset may finally bring it to HDTVs, Blu-ray players, transmitter/receiver kits, and other products.
Israel-based Amimon has finalized the chipset for WHDI (Wireless Home Digital Interface) 2.0, a standard supported by Hitachi, Motorola, Samsung, Sharp, Sony, and LG. It can transmit 1080p/60 video at data rates up to 3Gps with latency of less than a millisecond via the unlicensed 5GHz band. HDCP 2.0 digital rights management is part of the package, so presumably Hollywood will have no objections to HD winging around your home, with range of more than 100 feet, and the ability to penetrate walls. Demos reportedly have been impressive. Look for the chipset in HDTVs, projectors, a/v receivers, Blu-ray players, set top boxes, game consoles, computers, DVRs, and video dongles that can serve as wireless bridges between your display and various signal sources.
HDMI Mechanically Improved By Mark Fleischmann Posted April 4, 2009 The HDMI interface is great for video and audio signal transfer, at least now that it's grown up a bit. But in a mechanical sense, it's no better today than it was at the outset. That's about to change.  Torrent Inc. has become the first company to offer an HDMI cable with a latching connector. The cable has been tested and certified for compliance with the HDMI standard by HDMI Licensing LLC. A small magnet in the connector binds the plug more firmly to the port. Other features include a sliding mechanism that adapts to HDMI jacks of varying depth, and an integrated diagnostic function that confirms signal passage with an LED indicator. Other HDMI cable makers are preparing latching cables of their own, some using pronged mechanisms.
LCD TV Recall Posted April 4, 2009 
Best Buy is voluntarily recalling one model of its house-brand Insignia LCD TV, the 26-inch IS-LCDTV26, 13,300 of which were sold from August 2005 through June 2006. The power supply of that model has been shown to fail and pose a fire and burn hazard to consumers. Best Buy has received two reports of fires with damage to the wall and television, and one consumer reported minor burns to the hands. Owners of this model should discontinue using the set immediately. Also included in the recall is a portable power source, the RF-INV80, 1400 of which were sold under the store's Rocketfish brand from July 13, 2008 to February 18, 2009. Best Buy has three reports of spontaneous fires during charging, resulting in minor property damage but no injuries. Owners of these products should call the Best Buy recall hotline at (800) 233-0462 to receive a gift card for the value of the items. back to top
2008 CEDIA Show Posted November 4, 2008 Velodyne In-wall subwooofer Velodyne’s new in-wall subwoofer uses two active forward-firing drivers and two rectangular passive drivers. One passive driver fires upward at a 45-degree angle while the other fires downward at a 45-degree angle. Velodyne says this helps to cancel out vibrations that might transfer to the wall. It fits in a standard 2” x 4” wall and comes with an external 400-watt amplifier that includes a 5-band EQ, built-in test generator, microphone, and remote control. Boston Vistas The newest member of the Boston Acoustics family is the Vista 336 ($3400/pair), available in a wide variety of standard and optional finishes. Boston Acoustics, Hot and humid I don’t know how humid it gets in Boston, but I do know how humid it gets in my bathroom after one of my children takes a luxuriously long shower (the kind that sucks every last drop of even lukewarm water out of the hot water heater). Boston Acoustics’ new HH 460T2 is a “high-humidity and weather-resistant” single-point stereo in-ceiling speaker that includes a foam collar around the center post that protects the voice coil from dampness and a crossover that is covered with a special type of varnish to protect it from the elements. The speaker also uses the same type of binding posts found on Boston’s Voyager outdoor speakers, so they’re easy to seal with silicone after the wires have been connected. Two models are available. The HH460T2 is $275 each. The higher-end VH470 T2 is $450 each. KEF Muon At somewhere north of $100,000 a pair (if you have to ask...), the striking looks of the KEF Muon speakers likely caught the eye of more than a few custom installers. But even the best sounding speakers are overmatched in the open confines of a big convention center, and the Muons were no exception. 12V HDMI UltraLink has a solution for those long HDMI cable connections with this powered HDMI cable. It's equipped with an in-line transmitter at the source end and a receiver at the reception end. $1000 for a 100-foot run. Panasonic goes BIG! Panasonic had a wide range of new LCD and plasma displays on showcase. They have all your size needs covered including their new 103” plasma for those that really want to see what their power grid is made of! Speaker Sconses Triad’s new InWall Silver/4 Omni Sconce brings together two things that like watts – a speaker and an LED light. Although you can’t color the sound, the speaker does come with color gel options of amber, orange, green, red, blue, and yellow. Atlantic Technology Atlantic Technology surprised me in its demo with the high quality sound coming from its IWTS-30, THX certified in-wall speakers. Three of them were used across the front, along with four surrounds and two subwoofers. The IWTS-30 ($1375 each) is a three-way system, and the midrange-tweeter array can rotate 90-degrees when horizontal placement is desired or necessary. The same module also tilts to angle the sound slightly to the left and right, when necessary.
1080P...Thats so 2008 By Mathew West Posted October 16, 2008 If you bought an HDTV in the past two years, there’s one term you probably heard over and over again: 1080p. This term, indicating a TV with a screen resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels scanned progressively, is considered the pinnacle of modern HDTV goodness. Add in a 120Hz refresh rate, and you’ve surely reached nirvana. Well, maybe not. Get ready to learn a new term: 4K. So…why is this better?
A 4K display comes in at 4096 x 2160 pixels, almost four times the resolution of a 1080p display. When people first started talking about HDTV, they often used the visual of a basketball court. With a standard-definition set, you could see the basketball and the wooden court floor. An HDTV, proponents said, would allow you to see the grain of the wood and the texture on the basketball. Imagine what you’ll see on a display with four times the resolution: molecules, atoms, quarks… OK, so maybe that’s an overstatement. For now, 4K action is largely confined to the realm of high-end digital projectors. You’ll find these used in museums and movie theaters, or in medical applications where the extra resolution can mean the difference between catching a problem and missing one. Only a handful of companies are even manufacturing cameras capable of capturing video at that resolution, so don’t go looking for 4K broadcasts from TV networks any time soon. But there’s some evidence that TV manufacturers are already thinking about 4K in the consumer market.
Pioneer Goes LCD By Mark Fleischmann Posted October 4, 2008 Pioneer, best known as a maker of plasma TVs, is also planting a foot in the LCD camp. The company already sells 32- and 37-inch LCD sets in Europe. Soon it will launch them in North America and Japan. Though recent generations of Pioneer's Kuro plasmas have consistently attracted rave reviews, sales of plasmas in general have lagged behind those of LCDs. Just a few months ago Pioneer announced it would outsource the making of glass plasma panels to Panasonic, while still supervising the R&D and design. Look for the Pioneer LCDs in the first half of 2009.
Recordable Blu-ray Coming from Pioneer By Mark Fleischmann Posted July 10, 2008 Pioneer will unveil its first BD recorders before March 2009. Before you get excited, the introduction is currently for Japan only, and Sony has been selling BD recorders in Japan since 2006. The product is a joint effort of Pioneer and Sharp and will satisfy what Pioneer says is a strong Japanese demand. The recorder will be sold under the Pioneer brand, presumably giving the company a leg up in the Japanese BD market, 98 percent of which is controlled by Sony and Sharp.
Whether Pioneer will be more willing than Sony to bring recordable Blu-ray Stateside remains to be seen, and the wishes of the motion picture studios may be a factor. But with HD DVD format dead and DVD sales starting to decline, Blu-ray may move in directions that were previously unexplored. Let's hope recordable BD is one of them. It is a better recordable alternative than clunky D-VHS tapes and hard drives with nonremovable storage.
Most Returned Products Work By Mark Fleischmann Posted July 10, 2008 Two-thirds of consumer electronic products returned to retailers are in working order. Another 27 percent are returned due to buyer's remorse. Only five percent are actually defective. This giant disconnect between expectation and reality emerged in a report by the research firm Accenture. The study makes suggestions on how to prevent returns and how to process them more cost effectively. On the prevention side, it recommends "improvement in design, packaging and documentation," "setting customer expectations and providing proper consumer education," and "providing important after-sales support as well as important accessories which are frequently overlooked." On the returns processing side, Accenture recommends that manufacturers "decouple return and repair processes" to trim waste and redundancies, concentrating on "greater needs-based segmentation."
Sony Goes Green, Lowest Power Consumption LCD TV By Mark Fleischmann Posted June 23, 2008 The Bravia KDL-32JE1 was shown at a Tokyo press conference on Tuesday. It will sell in Japan for the U.S. equivalent of $1400, and will later reach world markets, though when was not disclosed. The set consumes 89 watts, or 86kWh per year, earning it a five-star Energy Saving Label, the highest rating in Japan. Sony did it by "enhancing the efficiency of the backlight tube light emission and the light transmission of optical film." Backlighting is the standard fluorescent type, not the newer and trendier LED type. Native resolution is 768p. The set also uses recycled materials.
Sony LED's the way By Mark Fleischmann Posted June 23, 2008  Sony introduced seven new Bravia LCD LED (Light Emitting Diode) HDTVs in sizes from 40 to 70 inches. The Sony set with LED backlighting and local dimming displayed a black level that would make me pretty darned happy in my own home even without something else to compare it to. In absolute terms, it looked great. Sony is calling it Triluminos, perhaps to evoke the past grandeur of the Trinitron moniker. It will be available in 55- and 46-inch Bravia XBR8 models. Some smaller Bravias (52, 46, and 40 inches) featured a floating-glass industrial design with speaker grilles available in tomato red, silver, brown, or gold. Sony also made a big deal of its wireless connectivity moves, previously unveiled at CES, with DLNA distribution products tossing 1080p images. These products will ship in the fall at prices not yet available.
 Sony XEL-1, The first OLED (Organic Light Emmitting Diode)TV to hit the stores is stunning but expensiveBy ConsumerReports.Org Posted April 22, 2008 This 11-inch widescreen television is wafer-thin, just 1/8th of an inch deep, a fraction of the depth of even the slimmest LCD or plasma sets. The XEL-1 uses a new panel technology called OLED (Organic Light-Emitting Diode), which offers stunning picture quality. The catch is the steep price: $2,500 for this small screen, which is half the size of some computer displays.  If the slim, stylish display panel, which comes mounted to a sleek-looking stand, isn't enough to get your attention, its picture quality surely will. This TV gets high marks on all fronts, with picture quality that is simply amazing. It displays the deepest blacks we've seen, better than even the best plasma or CRT sets we've tested. At the same time, images are bright, with high contrast, yielding a picture that looks great in both a bright or darkened room. On dark scenes containing black areas, no light is visible from this panel, even when viewed in a dark room. Colors look accurate and are richly saturated
This TV can accept image format resolutions from 480i up to 1080p. The less-than-HD resolution will not leave you wanting for detail in this screen size, and if you have a high-quality HD video source, this little TV will deliver.
Comcast Cable unveils same-day DVD movie schemes By Mark Fleischmann Posted February 18, 2008 Comcast will release hit movies via video-on-demand on the same day they hit DVD. Affected titles include Shoot Em Up, Mr. Woodcock, Invasion, The Brave One, Rendition, No Reservations, and Michael Clayton. All will be available in HD.
For TV series, Comcast will go one better. Some series will make their debuts on VOD a week before they air on conventional networks. They will include The Tudors, Flavor of Love, and The Wire. The first two will also be available in HD.
CES 2008 Posted January 12, 2008 Wireless HDMI  This summer, look for Belkin’s FlyWire system to wirelessly connect HDMI source components to your HDMI-enabled TV. The two-box bundle is prematched, so installation and configuration of the sending and receiving units shouldn’t be difficult. Smallest Satelite Speaker  The best truly tiny satellite we've ever heard is the One|Sound Model 2.2 from CDT Audio. Mounted to the wall, the two-inch mid-tweeter handled everything above 200Hz with confidence and ease World's Thinnest TV Hitachi is very excited about their new statement product, the Ultra Thin LCD. "1.5" is both the brand and the depth (in inches) of these new LCDs, available in screen sizes of 32, 37, and 42 inches. The 37- and 42-inch models have a 1920 x 1080 resolution, while the 32-inch model has a 1366 x 768 resolution.  This JVC LCD measures just 1.5 inches deep. As the company puts it, "across most of its width [the cabinet] measures a mere 1.5 inches deep, with a maximum depth of just 2.9 inches at the panel's center." Why is it deeper at the center? One reason is because, unlike the Hitachi LCDs, these new models have integrated tuners. The new line will include two models, the 42-inch LT-42SL89 and 46-inch LT-46SL89, both of which are 1080p. The estimated release date is early this summer, with no pricing announced. World's Largest Flat Panel TV  By Adrienne Maxwell How weird is this? Just the other day, I was staring at this huge empty wall in my house, thinking, "What this wall really needs is a 150-inch plasma. It would really tie the whole room together." And then I see this at the Panasonic booth. Pricing and availability have yet to be announced, but our PR rep assures us that this is a real product that will actually come to market. So start collecting your loose change.
Say Goodbye to Rear Projector TV's Posted December 10, 2007 Toshiba and Hitachi have announced they're dumping their rear-projecction TVs. A study claims that RPTV sales have peaked at 3.5 million units in 2004, and will drop to 30,000 by 2011. That probably means that current sale prices may go even lower as manufacturers blow out existing inventory. But given the ever-increasing quality and ever-lower pricing of flat panels, is a cheap RPTV really such a great deal? No.
90k HD DVD Players Sold in 72 Hours Posted November 12, 2007 Dueling store clearances sold an estimated 90,000 Toshiba players, according to sources close to retailers on the weekend of Nov. 2. That’s roughly as many Sony blue-ray players that have sold since they launched the player back in July. Toshiba has to maintain this momentum and in the minds of many consumers, the price of a HD DVD player remains $99 whether Toshiba wants to go that route again or not.
Wireless HDMI? Posted November 10, 2007  The Wireless HDMI Extender delivers a plug and play method of extending audio/video wirelessly up to 10 meters (33 feet) in distance, with a perfect replication of high definition visuals up to 1080p, or 1080i, and full digital and analog audio support for connecting HDTV sources, such as satellite or cable set top boxes, HD DVD players and gaming systems. All IR signals are also transmitted from the receiver back to the sender for total control. This model is by Gefen and retails for $700.
Sharp 22"1080p LCD By Mark Fleischmann Posted November 10, 2007 Who's got the world's smallest Full HD LCD set? That would be Sharp, which unveiled a 22-inch 1080p model recently at a trade show in Japan. Also shown were similarly equipped 26- and 32-inch models. With prices that will run $1,540, $1,700, and $2,050, its recomended to by a big screen which will cost about the same.
Flat Means More Reliable By Mark Fleischmann Posted November 10, 2007 Here's one more reason to buy a flat-panel TV. Whether you opt for plasma or LCD, either type is more reliable than a rear-projector set. The most reliable LCD brands were found to be JVC, Samsung, Sony, and Toshiba. Most reliable plasmas: Pioneer, Samsung, and especially Panasonic, whose 50-inch TH-50PZ700U had a mere two percent repair rate. With flat panels performing so well in their early years of use, most people are against paying extra for an extended warranty. On the other hand, if you've bought a rear-projector, and plan to use it for more than 5000 hours within the warranty period, a warranty that covers bulb replacement might be worth the money.
2007 CEIDA Show Posted November 8, 2007 Flaming Speaker When there are one million and one speaker companies, everyone has to find a niche... Light One Up Soundolier is finally shipping their wireless torchiere omnidirectional speaker and will soon be shipping a matching wireless subwoofer, too. But remember, it is wireless even though you still have to plug it into an AC outlet. It's not meant as a replacement for a full-blown wired-speaker system, but it will bring sound to some rooms where sound wouldn't have gone before. Ear Horn Klipsch has decided they want to horn in on the earphone business with models starting at around $99, one of which is supposed to be the smallest in-ear model on the market. 3-D is back Every five years or so it always looks like 3D TV is ready to take the big leap from cheese to prime time. This time, though, it really does look like truly watchable, enjoyable 3D TV is just around the corner. Not more than 100 yards from one another, TI and Mitsubishi showed demonstrations of 3D TV technology using shutter-style glasses synched by infrared emitters. Both demos including original 3D material as well as 2D video that had been "upconverted" to 3D. The calibre of the 3D images varied depending on the subject material and the company doing the conversion. Mitsubishi and Samsung are going to be offering 3D-upgradeable DLP rear-pro sets now or in the very near future. Velodyne Reveals See-Through Sub The transparent Velodyne DD-10 ($1999). Velodyne also has in-wall and in-ceiling models. Flat-Panel Sound Boost 
Boston Acoustics' TVee Model Two isn't a one-box surround system. Instead, it's a two-channel add-on to improve the sound of any flat-panel TV. The powered speaker bar goes above or below a flat-panel TV. It can also be mounted on the wall. It learns IR commands from your current TV remote, so it changes volume without needing to have a second remote on the coffee table. The included subwoofer is wireless (except for the power cord, of course) and can be placed up to approximately 75 feet away from the sound bar. MSRP is $399.95. Pioneer Unwraps New Monster Receiver 
Pioneer's new top-line receiver is the SC-09TX with 200 times seven watts of energy-efficient Class D ICEpower amplification and cool front-panel color LCD display ($7000). Of course it has on-board decoding for Dolby TrueHD, DTS-HD, etc. Also new are three other models: VSX-94TXH ($1600), VSX-92TXH ($1300), and VSX-91TXH ($1000). And then there's the X-Z9 system ($1799), with SACD drive, PC streaming via Cat5, and specially designed speakers. Yamaha sound bar 
Five new sound-bar products from Yamaha include the YSP-4000 (MSRP $1800), with 5.1 channels in one convenient box. The new YSP-4000 Digital Sound Projector offers versatile new features such as, 1080p-compatible HDMI, analog video to HDMI digital video up-conversion, and component / composite inputs. It does XM, FM, and iPod with optional dock. And it offers a greater range of surround adjustments from the remote than previous products.
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