Toshiba Picks Up Key HD DVD Support But Pushes Back U.S. Launch

PC giants Microsoft and Intel said this week that they will support Toshiba's HD DVD standard for the next generation of DVD technology, dealing a blow to Sony-backed Blu-ray. However, Toshiba was forced to push back its launch date for product introduction in the U.S. to February or March of next year, meaning that it will miss this year's holiday shopping season.

Bloomberg and Reuters have the full stories:
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000101&sid=a9VI6BLDeCGk&refer=japan
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20050928/tc_nm/japan_toshiba_dc

INHD and CSTV Re-Up College Football Deal

INHD and CSTV: College Sports Television have renewed a deal that has the two networks co-producing live collegiate sporting events for high-definition carriage on INHD. Under the agreement, which marks the third year of this relationship, CSTV will simultaneously carry the standard definition broadcast of each event. Here's the schedule:

Gulf Coast Classic: Alabama St. at Southern 10/1/05 6pm ET
Tulsa at Southern Miss 10/8/05 8pm ET
East Carolina at Memphis 10/22/05 6pm ET
UAB at UTEP 11/19/05 6pm ET
Marshall at Memphis 11/26/05 2pm ET

Universal HD to Broadcast "Tom Cruise-Athon"

Universal HD released its October programming lineup, which includes the debut of "Medical Investigation" and a Tom Cruise-focused showcase of big movies. According to the company:

"On October 16, Universal HD invites you to jump on your couch and get crazy with its Tom Cruise-athon, featuring two highlights from Cruise's early career. Far and Away, a romantic adventure directed by Ron Howard, stars Cruise and Nicole Kidman as two young Irish immigrants who move to America in the 1890s to create a better life for themselves. With Born on the Fourth of July, Cruise earned an Oscar(r) nomination and a Golden Globe(r) Award for his portrayal of an idealistic young American who proudly enlists during the Vietnam War, but returns a quadriplegic and must then struggle to overcome drug-addiction and depression in order to turn his life around."

http://www.universalhd.com/Movies/

Sony Targets Women with HD Ads

Sony is targeting the fairer sex with a new advertising campaign carrying the slogan "The World's First Television for Men and Women." The ads will run both online and on TV, with initial spots for Bravia LCDs appearing on Style.com highlighting the appearance of the displays rather than their technical functionality. Future ads will appear on Yahoo and MSN.

Reuters/CNET has the story:

http://news.com.com/Sony+pitches+flat+TV+to+women/2100-1041_3-5884523.html?tag=fd_nbs_ent&tag=nl.e703

Dell Unveils 50-inch Plasma

Dell today introduced two new HDTVs, a 50-inch plasma (model W5001C) and a 32-inch LCD (W3201C) that are priced at $3,799 and $1,799, respectively. Both displays have built-in TV tuners and complement Dell's existing lineup of plasma and LCD TVs.

http://www.marketwatch.com/tools/quotes/newsarticle.asp?guid=%7bB0CFCAEB-D97F-4D96-BA95-E0593D1D36F5%7d&siteid=mktw&dist=nbk&symb=

The Sea Floor in HD

Science Daily has the story of how scientists will use a high-def camera to shoot live footage of a portion of the sea floor off the coast of Washington state and British Columbia that is known for volcanoes and earthquakes. The broadcasts will be shot Sept. 28 and 29, weather permitting, and are the first live views of the ocean floor in HD. You can watch webcasts of the event on the National Science Foundation's website, www.nsf.gov.

The full story is here:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/09/050926073922.htm

Samsung Shows Off 102" Plasma and 40" OLED

Samsung Electronics used its corporate roadshow this week as the backdrop for showcasing a mammoth 102-inch plasma display as well as the world's largest TFT-LCD TV, measuring 82 inches, and the world's largest OLED display, measuring 40 inches. Here's what the company says about its groundbreaking OLEC:

"Samsung is the first to develop the single-sheet, 40-inch active matrix (AM) OLED (organic light-emitting diode) for emissive flat panel TV applications. The high-definition-compatible OLED prototype has a wide screen pixel format of 1280x800 (WXGA) driven by an amorphous silicon (a-Si) AM backplane to permit faster video response times with low power consumption."

http://www.marketwatch.com/tools/quotes/newsarticle.asp?guid=%7bC69575A4-1DE4-4EDB-A0B1-B531145FE16E%7d&siteid=mktw&dist=nbk&symb=

SNL Goes HD This Sat.

As we've previously reported, "Saturday Night Live," embarking on its 31st season, will make the leap to HD this fall, with the season premiere airing this Saturday at 11:30pm ET/PT. This week's host is comedian Steve Carell of "The Office" and "The 40-Year Old Virgin" with musical guest Kanye West.

http://nbcumv.com/release_detail.nbc/entertainment-20050922000000-saturdaynightlive.html

Super HD Debuts in San Diego-Tokyo Link

Scientists at the iGrid networking summit showed off an impressive 9,000-mile videoconference link between San Diego and Tokyo that was broadcast in what some are calling super high-def -- roughly 4 times greater resolution than today's HDTV. The video feed was shown on a giant two-story tall display of monitors and was part of a 4K digital video exhibit that Hollywood is supporting as the next generation of film-quality movies.

More from the San Diego Union-Tribune:
http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20050927/news_1b27igrid.html

New Verizon TV Service Offers 22 HD Channels

I'm still trying to get my hands on an actual channel lineup, but Multichannel News reports that Verizon's new FiOS fiber-to-the-home video offering features 22 HD channels. The service launched today in Keller, Texas (a Ft. Worth suburb) and will be rolled out to six markets by the end of the year. Based on published reports, here's my stab at what Verizon's HD channels are:

8 local broadcast networks (ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, PBS, etc.)
8 premium channels (HBO East/West HD, Cinemax East/West HD, Showtime East/West HD, Starz East/West HD)
6 variety/sports channels (Discovery HD Theater, ESPN HD, ESPN2 HD, NFL Network HD, TNT HD, Universal HD)

I'm not positive that Showtime is included in that count since Verizon has yet to strike a carriage deal with Viacom for its various channels. So it's possible that instead of Showtime East/West, there are a couple of adult premium channels.

I haven't seen any reports of Verizon inking a deal with Mark Cuban's HDNet, but I'll update this if I've missed something. Apologies for the speculation on my part, but 22 HD channels is more than anyone else offers and is worthy of a writeup here.

Flat Panel Prices Seen Falling Due to Oversupply

According to market research firm iSuppli, this Christmas may be a good time to shop for a LCD flat-panel display. The company says that contrary to what some of the manufacturers are saying publicly, an oversupply of panels currently exists and is bigger than what was initially forecasted. As a result prices for LCDs are expected to fall this quarter and continue to drop well into next year.

Here's the full story:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20050921/tc_nm/flatpanels_oversupply_dc

RCN to Launch WB in HD in Various Markets

Various cable news sources are reporting that RCN has inked a deal with the WB for carriage of the broadcast network's HD feed and will soon launch the simulcast in Boston, New York, Chicago and Washington, D.C.

More Hockey HD News: 10 TB Lightning Games in HD

The Tampa Bay Business Journal reports that Bright House Networks cable customers in the Tampa Bay area and Central Florida will be able to see ten Tampa Bay Lightning games in high-def on Sun Sports HD. The Lightning are the defending Stanley Cup champions as hockey returns this season after a one-year layoff due to labor strife.

The full story is here:

http://biz.yahoo.com/bizj/050914/1164024.html?.v=1

NHL and HDNet Announce HDTV Schedule

The National Hockey League (NHL) and HDNet have announced the first two months of their live, high-definition television (HDTV) schedule for the 2005-06 regular season. From the release:

"The 52-game NHL on HDNet schedule begins Opening Night on Wednesday, Oct. 5th at 10 p.m. (ET) featuring Wayne Gretzky’s debut behind the bench as his Phoenix Coyotes take on the Vancouver Canucks.

The first week of the NHL on HDNet also features the intense Central Division rivalry between the St. Louis Blues and the Detroit Red Wings (Thursday, Oct. 6 at 8 p.m., ET). The NHL on HDNet will then showcase the much-anticipated national television debut of Pittsburgh's teenage hockey phenomenon, Sidney Crosby, as the Penguins battle the Boston Bruins (Saturday, Oct. 8 at 7:30 p.m., ET).

The NHL adopted new rules this season to create more offensive flow, which will provide more excitement for fans and will further enhance the television viewing experience. In particular, the newly adopted shootout will make certain that every game has a winner."

And here's the schedule:

Day Date Visitor Home Time (ET)
Wednesday 5-Oct Coyotes Canucks 10:00PM
Thursday 6-Oct Red Wings Blues 8:00PM
Saturday 8-Oct Bruins Penguins 7:30PM
Thursday 13-Oct Predators Coyotes 10:00PM
Saturday 15-Oct Lightning Penguins 7:30PM
Thursday 20-Oct Rangers Islanders 7:00PM
Saturday 22-Oct Hurricanes Capitals 7:00PM
Thursday 27-Oct Blackhawks Red Wings 7:30PM
Saturday 29-Oct Hurricanes Penguins 7:30PM
Wednesday 5-Oct Coyotes Canucks 10:00PM
Thursday 6-Oct Red Wings Blues 8:00PM
Saturday 8-Oct Bruins Penguins 7:30PM
Thursday 13-Oct Predators Coyotes 10:00PM
Saturday 15-Oct Lightning Penguins 7:30PM
Thursday 20-Oct Rangers Islanders 7:00PM
Saturday 22-Oct Hurricanes Capitals 7:00PM
Thursday 27-Oct Blackhawks Red Wings 7:30PM
Saturday 29-Oct Hurricanes Penguins 7:30PM
Thursday 3-Nov Capitals Flyers 7:00PM
Saturday 5-Nov Stars Avalanche 9:00PM
Thursday 10-Nov Flames Coyotes 9:00PM
Saturday 12-Nov Capitals Devils 1:00PM
Thursday 17-Nov Canucks Kings 10:30PM
Saturday 19-Nov Avalanche Kings 10:30PM
Thursday 24-Nov Kings Predators 8:00PM
Saturday 26-Nov Canucks Coyotes 10:00PM

More NY Yankees in HD

MediaWeek reports that the YES Network, which has been airing New York Yankees' home games in HD all season in addition to select games on the road against the rival Boston Red Sox and NY Mets, will show some more of the team's road games in HD, starting next week in Baltimore. Four road games in HD will be shown the rest of this season, including Sept. 27-29 against the Orioles and Oct. 2 against the Red Sox.

Sharp Shows Off 65-Inch LCD Flat Panel

Sharp used the CEDIA custom installers' tradeshow in Indianapolis to show off its lineup of LCD flat-panel displays, including its 65-inch 1080p model that goes on sale in November and carries a suggested MSRP of $20,999. There are also two new 1080p 45-inch models that will be available in October for an MSRP of about $6,500.

More info here: http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/mmg.cgi?eid=4967032

LG Unveils Its First LCoS HDTV

LG Electronics took the wraps off its initial foray into Liquid Crystal on Silicon (LCoS) technology at the CEDIA EXPO in Indianapolis this past weekend, unveiling a 71-inch behemoth (model number 71SA1D). According to the company:

"This HDTV includes LG's proprietary XD Engine technology that takes low-resolution analog signals to near high-definition levels, providing consumers with better overall picture quality and viewing experience. Advanced connectivity options include HDMI, IEEE-1394 DTV Link. Other advanced features include 9-in-2 memory card slots and the latest Gemstar TV Guide Onscreen interactive program guide.

"Boasting a 3500:1 contrast ratio, the big LG is designed to deliver superior HDTV performance using the latest LCoS chip technology. And, despite its enormous wide screen, the unit is less than 22 inches deep, offering installation flexibility."

Here's the release: http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/050910/cgsa001.html?.v=10

MTV's MHD to Go Live Jan. 16

Following up on a story we told you about a couple of weeks back, MTV Networks officially announced today that it plans to launch MHD on January 16th. Multichannel News reports that the new network will feature content from MTV, VH1 and County Music Television and that it has carriage deals negotiated, although none have yet been made public.

Most music videos are not yet shot in HD, although look for that to change after MHD is launched. MTV Networks has said that shows such as MTV Unplugged, VH1 Storytellers, CMT Crossroads and the MTV Video Music Awards will air in high-def on MHD.

INHD to Show Emmy Coverage in High-Def

Cable HD network INHD said Monday that it will present the only HD telecast of E!’s pre- and post-show red carpet coverage for the 57th Primetime Emmy® Awards. Featuring a new, expanded broadcast that includes 17 live cameras to capture all of the action, coverage of the event will be highlighted by “Live From The Red Carpet©,” hosted for the second year by Star Jones Reynolds, on Sunday, September 18, from 6pm-8pm ET. 2005 marks the second year that INHD has presented the high-definition telecast of the Emmy pre- and post-shows.

Toshiba Unveils Combo HDTVs at CEDIA

Toshiba late last week unveiled its combination TV/DVD players at CEDIA, including two that contain a VCR in addition to the DVD player. Here are the details:
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/050909/nef001.html?.v=24

I'd be curious what others think of combo devices like these. My opinion is that while they're good space-savers, the danger is that if something goes wrong with either the DVD player or the VCR, you'll lose your TV while the other component is getting repaired. And I don't believe it's a theoretical debate, either: about two months ago our Pioneer DVD player went on the fritz and required a trip to the service center for about a week to get fixed (fortunately it was still under warranty). Had this been part of a combo HDTV/DVD player, we would have been without our TV for that week, not exactly an acceptable solution.

I thought the industry had moved away from combo devices such as these, but apparently Toshiba still believes in them.

Samsung: Plasma Prices to Level Off

Samsung SDI Co. believes plasma panel prices will fall 3-5% in Q3 and another 1-2% in Q4, a company exec said at the Reuters Asia Technology and Telecoms Summit in Tokyo. By comparison, plasma panel prices dropped 18% in the first half of this year.

The company expects to sell 2.2 million plasma panels this year, more than double last year's output of 870,000.

Here's the full story:
http://today.reuters.com/business/newsArticle.aspx?type=ousiv&storyID=2005-09-13T072045Z_01_FOR315327_RTRIDST_0_BUSINESSPRO-SUMMIT-ASIA-SDI-DC.XML

Samsung Looks to Single DVD Format

A Samsung spokesman said today that while he hopes that the backers of the competing Blu-ray and HD DVD standards can compromise on a unified standard, his company will introduce a DVD player next year that's capable of utilizing both formats if a single standard is not developed.

Here's the full story:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20050906/tc_nm/samsung_dvd_dc

Research Firm Sees LCD Price Hike

Tight supply and strong demand will contribute to LCD flat panel prices rising in the third quarter, which will drive industry revenues up 35%, industry research firm DisplaySearch said late last week. The top 3 manufacturers in the market are LG.Philips LCD, Samsung and AU Optronics.

The full story is here:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20050902/tc_nm/lcd_price_dc

HDNet to Show Hurricane Devastation in High-Def

HDNet will air its HDNet World Report program from New Orleans this evening, presenting viewers with the first high-def images of the devastation in the Gulf Coast. The report will air in the following time slots:

Tonight (Tuesday) at 8pm and 11pm EDT
Wednesday at 11:30am and 7:30pm
Thursday at 6:00pm
Saturday at 12:30pm
Sunday at 7:30pm