Sharp Boosting LCD Production

Sharp Corp. is planning to boost production of LCD displays by 10% in 2006 in preparation for the Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy and soccer's World Cup.

Here's the full report from Bloomberg News:
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000080&sid=a5p.rUG1K0Es&refer=asia

Mexico Enjoying Fruits of U.S. HDTV Obsession

My hometown San Diego Union-Tribune ran a piece over the weekend about the TV manufacturing plants in the Mexican state of Baja California and the upsurge in activity thanks to American appetites for digital TV sets. 19 million sets have been produced in Baja this year, which accounts for over 70% of all HDTVs sold in the U.S. The plants primarily manufacture sets for Japanese and Korean electronics makers, and are focused on plasma and LCD.

The full story is here:
http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20051224/news_1n24tv.html

Blu-ray, HD-DVD Camps Risk Alienating Consumers

The New York Times ran an interesting piece earlier this week arguing that if the backers of Blu-ray and HD-DVD can't agree on a single format, next-gen DVD adoption could be severly compromised in favor of technology such as Video On Demand (VOD).

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/26/technology/26format.html?th=&emc=th&pagewanted=print

The Times is right -- like every silly technology format war, this has much more to do with engineering egos than what is best for the people who will actually use it. Nobody is going to pay $1,000 for a new DVD player that only supports one format and doesn't have many titles that people can actually watch on it. If this format issue isn't straightened out soon and the next generation of DVDs are poorly adopted, a lot of people at these various technology companies may well be looking for work.

LG Aims for #1 in Display Global Market Share

LG Electronics has a goal: to become the number one seller of displays in the world in 2006. As part of this strategy, the company plans to promote its new LCoS TVs in Korea as well as include built-in DVRs with every display 37 inches or bigger. A 71" LCoS display will be launched initially in Australia later this week and in North America and Korea next year.

The strategy was outlined in the Korean Economics Daily and featured in a release from LCoS microdisplay manufacturer SpatiaLight.

The release disparagingly refers to competing microdisplay technology DLP as an "older, more mature technology" that will soon be replaced by LCoS.

http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/051228/sfw012.html?.v=36

Canon and Toshiba to Launch SED in '06

If the battle for flat-screen supremacy between plasma and LCD wasn't already heated enough, a third entrant is poised to join the fray next year when Canon and Toshiba take the wraps off SED, or surface-conduction election-emitter display. From a technical standpoint, SED is more similar to CRT than either plasma or LCD, and essentially combines the superior picture quality of SED with the flat-panel appeal of LCD and plasma. Its backers say that it offers the strengths of both plasma and LCD without any of their weaknesses, such as poor black levels and high power consumption.

Reuters has the full story:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20051216/tc_nm/column_pluggedin_dc

CNET Reviews Sony's Bravia LCD

CNET has posted a new review of Sony's Bravia XBR LCD flat-panel TV, which it says is the most searched-for HDTV on its site. CNET editors rate it "Very Good" with a 7.7 out of 10.

http://reviews.cnet.com/Sony_Bravia_XBR_KDL_V40XBR1/4505-6482_7-31470102.html?tag=nl.e722

1 in 4 Households to Have HDTV by End of '06

Panasonic this week released the results of a survey showing that 26% of U.S. households either already own or plan to purchase an HDTV by the end of 2006, up from 15% one year ago. Interestingly, nearly half of the women surveyed said that the decision to buy an HDTV was theirs rather than their significant other. Not surprisingly, most men would rather purchase a bigger screen while three-quarters of women prefer a smaller one.

Here's the release from Panasonic:

http://www.broadcastnewsroom.com/articles/viewarticle.jsp?id=36377

Senate Approves 2009 DTV Transition

The U.S. Senate Wednesday approved Feb. 17, 2009 as the transition date from analog to digital TV broadcasting, following the House's vote to do the same earlier in the week. The bill contains a provision for a $1.5 billion digital-to-analog converter subsidy program, which will enable consumers who still own analog TVs to receive two $40 coupons towards the purchase of converters.

The AP has more:

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/computing/20051222-0256-congress-digitaltv.html

U.S. House Passes DTV Legislation

The U.S. House of Representatives today passed a compromise bill that calls for the cutoff of analog TV broadcasting by Feb. 17, 2009. Included in the legislation is $1.5 billion in federal subsidies for digital-to-analog converters who people who won't have purchased digital TVs by then.

Reuters has the full story:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20051219/tc_nm/congress_digitaltv_dc

CNET Reviews 1080p HDTVs

CNET has a useful review of five 1080p HDTVs. The winner? Sony's KDS-R60XBR1, which goes for about $5,000.

http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-6484_7-6390300-1.html?tag=nl.e722

WealthTV Adds Caribbean Distribution Partners

WealthTV announced last week that it has reached an agreement with the Caribbean Cable Co-op to distribute its programming in Jamaica, the Cayman Islands and the Bahamas. Included in the deal are WestarTV in the Cayman Islands, Cable Bahamas in Nassau, Entertainment Systems in Jamaica, Wilson Enterprises in Jamaica, and General Satellite in Jamaica.

Universal HD Plans Holiday Programming

Universal HD is featuring a week of Christmas programming later this month, beginning with the "I'm Dreaming of an HD Christmas" marathon on Christmas weekend. Programming includes the USA Originals '12 Days of Christmas Eve' and 'Stealing Christmas,' along with special Christmas episodes of 'The District' and 'Complete Savages'. The Musical Marathon begins Saturday night at 9pm/ET, featuring 'The Wiz,' followed by 'Jesus Christ Superstar' and 'Xanadu.' Christmas afternoon wraps up with family-friendly fare 'The National Dog Show' Presented by Purina, 'The Incredible Dog Challenge,' and 'The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas,' followed by the blockbuster hit 'Backdraft,' all in brilliant high definition.

Asian LCD Manufacturers Expect Big Growth

DigiTimes reports that major Taiwanese LCD panel manufacturers expect that the market for their products will nearly double next year. The majority of the growth will come from the demand for LCD TVs, which is forecast to be 35-36 million in '06.

http://www.digitimes.com/displays/a20051201A7040.html

More on Samsung and Sony

Here's an interesting piece from the AP on the evolving relationship between Asian electronics giants Sony and Samsung:

http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20051204/news_1b4sony.html

Mitsubishi to be Charter Sponsor of MHD

Mitsubishi Electric announced Monday that it has signed on to become the charter sponsor of MTV's new high-def music channel called MHD. The channel will launch on January 16 and will feature original music-based programming sponsored by Mitsubishi among other content. As part of the arrangement, the MHD studio in Vail, Colorado will use Mitsubishi technology for its production and will also feature the company's HDTVs on-set. Also, "Powered by Mitsubishi Electric" will appear on MHD tune-in promos and Mitsubishi will be the title sponsor of MHD original programming including "MHD Top 10" and "MHD Video Stew." Additionally, Mitsubishi Electric will be branded on MHD programming menus and in television commercials.

http://www.marketwatch.com/tools/quotes/newsarticle.asp?dist=nbk&param=archive&siteid=mktw&guid=%7B3A5F3B57%2DBADC%2D46BD%2D96CC%2D805A57F53A83%7D

16 Million HD Homes by End of '05: Research Firm

Forrester Research estimates that 16 million U.S. homes will have HDTV sets by the end of this year, but only 7 million will subscribe to HD service from their cable or satellite company.

SureWest Adds HDNet to IPTV HD Lineup

SureWest announced yesterday that it has come to terms with HDNet for distribution of both HDNet and HDNet Movies as part of its high-def service that will launch later this month. According to the company, SureWest, which serves the Sacramento area, is finalizing its beta testing as it prepares to roll out the first IP-based HDTV offering in the U.S.

LodgeNet Inks Another Deal for HD Movies

LodgeNet Entertainment has signed a deal with Lions Gate Films for on-demand distribution of first-run HD titles from Lions Gate throughout LodgeNet's network of hotel clients. "Lord of War" will premiere later this month followed by "Saw II" in January.