Panasonic and Sony in Advertising Battle

They've been rivals for as long as anyone can remember. Now Panasonic and Sony are taking the fight to Madison Ave. with competing ads trying to convince consumers that their products are superior to the other's, specifically in the ongoing battle royale between plasma and LCD. It started with Sony ran an ad in which it asked consumers to take the "HD Challenge," with the conclusion of course being that they should buy Sony LCD displays. Panasonic fired back with its own ads that list all the reasons why its plasmas are the only way to go.

Keep in mind that Panasonic also sells LCDs, although it seems to do so with about as much enthusiasm as Sony did with its plasmas prior to ditching them a couple years back.

More from the NY Times.

New HDTV for Christmas? Buy More Insurance

When you add an expensive item to your house, it's always a good idea to update your homeowner's insurance, and a new HDTV is no exception. Imagine if the new plasma, LCD or DLP you just bought went up in flames and you didn't have enough personal property insurance (generally a rider on your homeowner's policy) to cover its replacement.

So remember, after you call your cable or satellite guy, make sure to call your insurance guy (or gal).

Thanks to WLWT.com for the tip.

FSN HD: Where You At?

From the "should this really be necessary?" file comes word that Fox Sports Net is planning a multimedia consumer education campaign to help people figure out how to find it. Literally. As in, "Here in San Francisco, FSN HD can be found on Comcast cable channel 720." (Which is where it really is.)

Apparently FSN is fed up with cable companies that keep shuffling their channel lineups, leaving viewers befuddled as to how to find certain HD programming. Consolidation in the cable industry certainly hasn't helped matters.

Thanks to TV Week for the story.

No SED at CES

For those of you looking forward to getting a peak at the new SED display jointly produced by a Toshiba-Canon venture at next month's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, the companies have this to say: No dice. Without revealing why, Toshiba sent a note of cancellation to people who had appointments to see the 55-inch surface conduction electron emitter display that the manufacturers tell us will blow the doors off of plasma and LCD in terms of both price and performance.

This project has been fraught with delays since its beginning in 1999, leaving me to wonder if it will ever really get off the ground. Maybe SED will prove to be better than plasma and LCD, but by the time it's available for purchase, will everyone already have bought something else?

More from CNET.

Sony, Panasonic Still #1 in LCD, Plasma

My old employer Current Analysis reports that Sony kept its position as the leading LCD manufacturer by retail shelf-share, while rival Panasonic is still tops among plasma makers. In November, Sony boasted nearly 16 percent of available retail shelf-share for LCD TV, up 23 percent from October. Panasonic's share of the plasma shelf space was over 23 percent, up 3 percent from the prior month. Philips and Samsung are the #2 and #3 plasma manufacturers by this measure, respectively, while Magnavox and Samsung hold those positions in LCD. Magnavox leapfrogged Sharp, which dropped 4 percent from October.

More from TWICE.

Sony (Finally) Shipping Blu-ray Disc Player

TWICE reports that Sony is now shipping its much-anticipated $999 Blu-ray disc player (model BDP-S1). As part of a PR push, NFL stars Peyton Manning and Donnie Edwards will be among the first to receive the new Blu-ray machines.

MHD Plans 'Gorillaz: Live in Harlem' Concert

MTV announced today that its high-def channel MHD will celebrate the New Year with the exclusive premiere of "Gorillaz: Live in Harlem," shot at Harlem's Apollo Theater in high-definition. The concert will premiere on Sunday, December 31st at 9pm ET/PT and re-air at midnight. According to MTV, Gorillaz is considered the first virtual hip-hop act and the group's "Feel Good Inc." was the first high-definition music video to ever play on MHD.

HDTV Review for '06

It's the time of year when everyone starts thinking about the significance of 2006 and CNET has published a year-end retrospective of the developments in the world of HD. It's a good compiliation and worth a read.

Sports Coverage in HD Somewhat Lacking

The Wall Street Journal ran a piece last week that was picked up by other papers regarding the lack of regional sporting events in high-def. I've heard this complaint from others, particularly when it comes to CBS. The network's NFL broadcasts that are in HD look amazing (typically better than FOX, NBC or ESPN) but there are only a few games each week actually shown in high-def. We live in San Diego, home to the AFC's Chargers, which are almost always shown on CBS unless they're a part of the national game of the week as they were this week on Sunday Night Football. I haven't kept track each week, but it does seem like there have been almost as many weeks when the Chargers haven't been in HD as when they have.

I spoke with the head of ESPN HD about this issue awhile back and he told me that it all comes down to truck availability. The networks simply have not made the investment to upgrade all of their production trucks to HD yet -- not even close -- and trucks obviously have to drive between various venues. So if FOX shows a football game in Dallas on Thanksgiving in HD, it probably won't have enough time to make it to Philadelphia for a Sunday early afternoon game. The bottom line here is that once enough consumers have made the switch to HDTV, the networks will be forced to upgrade their entire infrastructures to support the superior technology. The question is, when will that be?

Vizio Plans Sub-$2,000 47" 1080p LCD

Vizio, a Southern California flat-panel display maker, plans to introduce a 47-inch LCD flat panel HDTV with 1080p resolution for under $2,000. It initially planned to make it available in time for the Super Bowl but now is hoping for a quicker year-end unveiling. The company is already known for its cut-rate prices on 42- and 50-inch plasma displays, which are available at retailers such as Costco, Sam's Club and Circuit City.

More from CNET.

DivX Looks to HDTV

Video compression software maker DivX has its sights set on HD technology, a CNET article reports. The company plans to display some of its HD solutions at this January's Consumer Electronics Show and is in talks with movie studios and producers in places like India and Eastern Europe to persuade them to incorporate DivX HD technology. The company has never been popular with U.S. studios, who resent its origins as a tool for video piracy.

This is a pretty cool San Diego-based company that just went public and is doing well right now. Worth keeping an eye on.

Comcast, Circuit City Hook Up for HD

Cable giant Comcast is in a deal with #2 retailer Circuit City to open a new electronics boutique called Connect that will showcase Comcast's HDTV offerings and help educate consumers about high-def technology. The idea seems to be that satellite TV companies have been well integrated into retail for years and while the cable industry often talks about partnering with retailers, little seems to ever actually happen. In this case, they're just opening one store for now, but it can only benefit consumers to have more ways to experience HD before buying.

However, it does seem a bit odd that Circuit would open a brand new store rather than figuring out a way to make Comcast a bigger part of its existing retail locations. And if consumers have to go to a legacy Circuit City to see what satellite offers and then to the new Connect to see Comcast cable HD, that doesn't seem very convenient or conducive for comparison shopping.

Best Buy Seeing Lower Profits from HDTVs

Best Buy said in its third quarter earnings report this week that average selling prices for LCD flat-panel displays were down 25 percent year-over-year and plasma ASPs were down 30 percent from last year, both of which combined with aggressive promotional pricing led to lower profits for the retail giant. TWICE has the full story, which is an interesting read if you're at all interested in the business of retail consumer electronics.

Sony Worried HDTV Prices Are Falling Too Quickly

Sony executives said last week that LCD TV prices will drop 25 to 30 percent this year, much more than they expected, a trend that could leave the LCD manufacturers with little incentive to invest in new technology. According to some estimates, there are more than 90 companies making LCD TVs today, causing price pressures that may bankrupt many of them. While consumers will benefit in the short term, the long-term outlook for technological advances may suffer. More from CNET.

Let's not panic too quickly here, fellas. If the market really is that competitive, then constant pressure from smaller upstarts will force the big guys to keep innovating to stay ahead, regardless of any price wars. While Sony may be forced to lower prices from time to time to keep pace with cut-rate manufacturers, it can continue to maintain its price premiums due to its technological and brand-name advantages.

And for those of us who spent $4,000 on an HDTV three years ago that now sells for less than half that amount, you'll have to forgive us if our eyes don't well with tears for companies like Sony. I hope that my $4K was well-spent...

LCD Price-Fixing Probe Gathers Steam in Japan

Samsung, LG.Philips LCD and Sharp are all under investigation by the Japanese Fair Trading Commission into whether they conspired to fix LCD prices during 2003-2004. CNET has the story.

Sony's Secret Sale

CNET has the story of Sony offering substantial discounts on some of its HDTVs during the Black Friday weekend after Thanksgiving. What's that, you say? How is an HDTV sale newsworthy when all the retailers and manufacturers have been slashing prices? Well in this case, Sony for whatever reason didn't advertise the sale; rather, they just discounted prices in both retail stores and online for consumers who happened to be shopping for the particular models that Sony wanted to move quickly. A strange strategy to be sure, as price discounts are typically intended to spur interest in products rather than simply to reward customers who happened to stumble upon them...

Don't Forget the Audio

So you just plunked down $2,500 on a new HDTV. I bet you're feeling pretty proud of yourself -- and you should. What's your next move? If you plan on using either the TV's built-in speakers or a cheapo $250 home-theater-in-a-box (HTIB) for audio, you're insulting the new TV you plan to make the centerpiece of your living room.

Don't get me wrong, there are decent HTIB systems. But as with most things in life, there is a strong correlation between price and performance. The New York Times today offers some audio buying tips.

And don't forget the HD programming service either...

Small LCD Maker Marketing Style, Not Technology

In a great example of just how hyper-competitive the LCD flat-panel display market has become, a small Taiwanese manufacturer called Hannspree has decided to focus on style rather than technology to outpace its larger rivals, offering displays that look like fruit, baseballs or animals, among others. And it's setting up shop in pricey areas like Beverly Hills and San Francisco to show off its wares. More from the San Jose Mercury-News.

Panasonic Takes the Lead in Removing Lead

Panasonic officials are trumpeting engineering advances that have led to the elimination of lead oxide glass in the company's plasma displays. A 37-inch plasma that previously contained about 70 grams of lead now contains zero, an environmental victory that Panasonic says will save about 300 metric tons of lead from winding up in global landfills.

According to a company exec, "with this achievement, we believe that Panasonic plasma displays have outpaced our flat panel TV competitors in an important area of environmental performance: the elimination of hazardous heavy metals such as lead, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, mercury — commonly used in backlit LCD TVs and in projection TV lamps.”

TWICE has the full story.

AT&T Intros HD in San Antonio

AT&T formally announced the launch of high-definition TV over its U-verse IPTV service in San Antonio this morning, boasting of more than 25 HD channels at a price of $10 per month (first two months are free). In addition to four local broadcast networks and standard high-def fare like Discovery HD Theater, ESPN HD, HBO HD and Showtime HD, other less-carried networks such as WealthTV HD, Food Network HD, HGTV HD, A&E HD and two regional Fox Sports Nets in HD are also offered.

DIRECTV Turns On Local HD in 4 More Markets

Green Bay, Wisc., Greensboro, N.C., Grand Rapids, Mich. and Providence, R.I. are the newest areas to be given the capability to subscribe to high-def local broadcast channels through DIRECTV, bringing the total number nationwide to 49, representing 65% of U.S. TV households. Eight more markets will get HD locals by the end of this year.

Customers can receive local HD channels by purchasing an H20 HD receiver or the new HR20 DIRECTV Plus HD DVR and satellite dish. Existing HD customers can upgrade their HD receiver and dish for $99 per receiver. New customers can take advantage of a $100 mail-in rebate on all DIRECTV HD and HD-DVR receivers.

Plasma Market Ripe for Consolidation?

A number of signs point to LCD flat-panel TVs overtaking plasmas in sizes over 40 inches in the coming years, Reuters reports today, citing a number of industry analysts who believe that global investment in LCD will enable functionality to improve relative to plasma while the large number of LCD manufacturers will slash prices to stay competitive. One expert believes that this is the last year that buying a 42" plasma instead of a comparably sized LCD will make sense, given that prices for the two should be similar next year while LCD will offer "true" 1080p HD, something that cannot yet be matched in a sub-50 inch plasma display. Plasma makers may be forced to merge to stay competitive, according to some analysts.

This seems a little doom-and-gloom to me, particularly since plasma manufacturers are already adept at producing displays of 58-, 60- and 65-inches. Much as 37-inch plasmas are difficult to find today, 42-inch models will also fall out of favor fairly soon, with 50-inch units becoming the de facto standard. Prices will fall on newly released 50+ inch plasma displays that do boast 1080p resolution and then LCD makers will be forced to figure out how to cut 60-inch panels in an efficient manner. But I don't see plasmas going away anytime soon.

HD Programming Failing to Excite Consumers

Frank N. Magid Associates released a study showing that just 47 percent of people who bought an HDTV in the last year did so in anticipation of the HD programming they'd be able to watch on their new purchase. That's a pretty large decline from the 63 percent who looked forward to the HD television content two years ago. USA Today has the full story.

The drop in interest for high-def TV programming seems to have come as more consumers are saying they plan to use their HDTVs for gaming and DVD watching. Magid also did a survey in September of HD consumers showing that on a scale of 1 to 10, a majority rated the HD programming available as 7 or worse. Reasons cited included having to find the HD channels that are often in the 700s or 800s and confusion over having to lease an HD cable or satellite receiver box.

I've said for years that the CE and cable industries do a horendously poor job of educating consumers about HD. Despite a number of industry-backed HD/DTV educational initiatives, many people still don't realize they need to procure a source of high-def programming after they get their beautiful new HDTV home from the store. Look, you can't buy a cell phone without cell service (for the most part). You can't buy a satellite radio without service from Sirius or XM. Why haven't cable/satellite and CE done a better job of promoting -- or even pushing -- HD service offerings in retail? Mostly it's because they don't like each other. But that's not really a good enough reason.

Someone needs to start incentivizing retail sales people to teach consumers about the HD service options available and what makes the most sense for them. Until then, we'll continue to see studies like this one that prove that too many folks in the HD industry are dropping the ball.

CompUSA Releases HDTV Deals for Black Friday

CompUSA released its Black Friday HDTV shopping specials:

-- Olevia 26" LCD Flat-panel 720p HD-Ready TV for $429.99, a $270 savings
-- Sony 32" LCD Flat-panel 720p HDTV for $999.99, a $300 savings
-- LG 42" LCD Flat-panel 720p HDTV for $1,699.99, a $300 savings
-- LG 42" Plasma Flat-panel 720p HDTV for $1,599.99, a $200 savings
-- Zenith 50" Plasma Flat-panel 720p HDTV, $1,799.99, a $400 savings

CompUSA stores are open on Friday from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m., with a special 7-hour sale from 5 a.m. to noon.

Disney, Comcast Reach Deal to Include HD VOD

Comcast and The Walt Disney Co. reached an agreement yesterday that included an extension of the cable provider's carriage of ESPN HD and ESPN2 HD as well as HD video on demand (VOD). Beginning with the Fall 2007 season, on-demand episodes of Desperate Housewives and Lost will be available in HD for Comcast customers with HD service in the markets where Disney owns the local ABC affiliate, including New York (WABC), Philadelphia (WPVI), Chicago (WLS), San Francisco (KGO), Houston (KTRK), Fresno, CA (KFSN), and Flint, MI (WJRT).

It remains to be seen whether the deal will be expanded to include markets in which Disney does not own the local ABC station. Also up in the air is whether anyone will actually be watching Lost by then, as this season -- which just inexplicably concluded for the next couple of months -- has been far less interesting and watchable than the previous two.

Philips Intros 2 New Flat Panel Displays

Philips has introduced two new flat panel displays for the holiday season: a 47-inch 1080p LCD that retails for $2,999 and a 63-inch 768p plasma retailing for $5,999. According to TWICE, "Both sets include Philips’ PixelPlus 3HD video processing circuitry that enhances signals, including high-definition and DVDs. Pixels of an incoming picture are altered to match surrounding pixels in a scene. The effect is said to deliver natural looking skin tones, colors and details."

LCD Makers Looking to Cut Down on Blur

LCD manufacturers led by Samsung Electronics are beginning to employ a technology called motion-compensated frame interpolation (MCFI) to increase the refresh rates of the picture to decrease the amount of blur that shows up on screen. MCFI doubles the refresh rate from 60 hertz (times per second) to 100-120 hertz, creating composites of the images that came before and after in an effort to help the human eye predict what the missing image would have looked like had it actually been inserted in the film.

JVC has already begun selling LCD flat panel displays with the interpolation, while Samsung and Sharp plan to next year.

More from CNET.

Telcos Getting Closer to MPEG-4 HDTV over IPTV

Telephony Online has the story of how delays in the production of HD-capable MPEG-4 set-top boxes have complicated HDTV over IPTV rollouts for telcos including AT&T. It now appears that these new boxes will be ready for mass deployment by the end of the year, or the first quarter of next year at the latest.

AT&T is planning to launch its HD service in Houston sometime this month and has said it will roll out its U-verse IPTV service in 15 markets by the end of this year. Dozens of smaller telcos are deploying IPTV utilizing similar network architecture, while Verizon is using a RF overlay network offering fiber to the home rather than fiber to the curb.

Qwest Providing Network Services for DIRECTV HD

Qwest said today that DIRECTV has selected it to provide networking services supporting the delivery of the satellite provider's local HD content. This agreement stems from Qwest's recent acquisition of OnFiber.

According to the companies, Qwest will provide its state-of-the-art metro optical wavelength services, or QWave, to upgrade DIRECTV's network infrastructure. With this upgrade, DIRECTV will be able to distribute and transport HDTV content to millions of its customers. Qwest will be a major network services provider for DIRECTV, offering the company access to Qwest's network to transfer television and movie content.

Comcast to Debut New HD Channel in January

Comcast said today that it will launch a sports HD channel in January that will combine programming from Versus (formerly Outdoor Life Network) from noon to 7:00 pm and the Golf Channel from 7:00 pm to noon. Comcast will make the new channel available free to cable companies that currently carry both Versus and the Golf Channel. When it debuts in January, the new channel (Versus HD?) will be available on all Comcast systems nationwide as well as DIRECTV and will show National Hockey League games, PGA Tour events and the Lance Armstrong-less Tour de France in high-def.

Vizio Announces Sub-$1,000 42" Plasma

Flat-panel HDTV maker Vizio today released price cuts on its line of plasma and LCD displays, including a 42" plasma and a 37" LCD that each retail for $999.99. The new pricing is for "Black Friday," the day after Thanksgiving which is the official beginning of the holiday shopping season. Vizio also sells a 50" plasma for $1,699.99 and a 46" LCD for $1,649.99. Most of Vizio's models are available at Costco, Sam's and BJ's, while the 50" plasma is also sold at Circuit City, although that retailer has not yet released its pricing.

MHD to Premier a New Concert Each Week

MTV's MHD announced yesterday that it will show a new concert each week through the end of the year, with performances by Snow Patrol, Snoop Dogg, Reba McEntire, Jet, Lindsey Buckingham, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Little Big Town. According to the company, MHD is already in half of the U.S. homes that have high-definition capability and is distributed through deals with Comcast, Cox Cable, Charter, Insight and Verizon FiOS.

The Big Game in HD -- Or Not

Imagine that you're a huge Ohio State Buckeyes fan living in Columbus (there are a few of them). The Game against rival Michigan is this Saturday and is the first time the storied programs have ever met when they were the two top ranked teams in college football. It's the game of the year, possibly the game of the century, and the entire sports world can't wait until kickoff at 3:30 pm EST.

Except that you can't see the game in HD because your local cable company, Time Warner Cable, and the local ABC network affiliate, owned by Sinclair Broadcasting, are locked in a fight over payment for transmission carriage.

TV critic Molly Willow of the Columbus Dispatch has the full story. She places the blame squarely on the shoulders of Sinclair, as she believes corporate greed is depriving Buckeye fans in Columbus (my hometown) of the ability to see their beloved team in high-def. Meanwhile, out here in San Diego, I'll be enjoying every minute of the game in glorious HD (as long as the cable doesn't go out).

I'm inclined to agree with her to a point. However, it's worth noting that Time Warner Cable picks fights like this literally every year...right now, it's also in a battle with the NFL Network over how much it should pay The League to carry the 8 live games that start on Thanksgiving Day that will likely mean Time Warner customers around the country won't get those games at all. It also engages in a perennial skirmish with ESPN, the latest iteration of which concerns the sports network giant's newest offering, ESPNU (a college sports channel). Time Warner was the last major cable company to reach a carriage agreement for ESPN HD a couple of years ago and still does not offer ESPN2 HD in many of its markets. All of these disputes are due to disagreements over how much Time Warner should pay to carry these channels.

So Molly is right that Sinclair is greedy. No question. But Time Warner shares some culpability as well given that it seems to relish these frequent battles over carriage terms, all of which end with it ultimately carrying these channels anyway. The real loser, as always, is Joe Consumer, in this case represented by dozens of my own family and friends who won't be able to watch Ohio State and Michigan battle in HD thanks to a far less interesting fight between a couple of corporations who can't find a way to put their customers first.

Comcast Teams with GalleryPlayer for HD Art

Comcast is in a partnership with GalleryPlayer to offer digital HD cable customers a variety of artwork paired with music to create what the company calls "a digital canvas." Pieces from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Philadelphia Museum of Art, The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco and National Geographic are among those you can display on your HDTV, which is sure to impress your dinner guests.

Extended Warranty: To Buy Or Not To Buy?

That is the question you will hear when buying your new HDTV. Consumer Reports, for one, thinks the answer you should give is a firm "no thanks," with a few exceptions. Their main rationale centers around the fact that flat-panel TVs in particular have a fairly low repair rate, although they single out microdisplay HDTVs as products that warrant a longer warranty. Apparently DLP and LCOS models have a fairly high repair rate and the repairs tend to be pretty pricey. And according to the experts at CR, even when your LCD or plasma does need fixed, the repair tends to be cheaper than what the warranty would have cost you.

Normally I'd agree with these guys. Nothing's more annoying than when you're buying some piece of electronics gear in a big box retailer and the sales guy tries to sell you an extended warranty because he says this particular product tends to have problems after the manufacturer's warranty runs out. This after he just got done selling you on how great this product is to begin with.

My personal experience, however, led me to spring for the extended warranty on my Panasonic plasma three months ago. I previously had an LG plasma that came with a two-year manufacturer's warranty and on which I did not add the extended version at my expense. The thing needed major repairs twice in those two years, both of which were fortunately covered under the original warranty but the second of which required the repair shop to put in an entirely new plasma panel (the lousy thing was in the shop for six weeks). But since it was under manufacturer's warranty, why should I have bought the extended? Simple - nobody offers a standard two-year warranty anymore. At least no manufacturer I know of. Had that been a standard one-year warranty, I would have had to pay out of pocket for the brand new panel, which would have cost at least twice what an extended warranty would have.

Decide for yourself - it's largely a piece of mind issue. I sleep better at night knowing that I'm covered for the next few years no matter what happens. But CR did have a really good piece of advice: check to see if your credit card company will extend the original manufacturer's warranty at no additional charge to you. Many do - and that's the best deal of all.

Whither 1080p?

Many pundits, myself included, have debated what the coming of 1080p actually means for consumers. Should you hold out for the new 1080p models, hoping that they come down in price enough to justify the extra cash over a 768p or 1080i display? Or is going with a 1080p the best way to future-proof your purchase? I've seen solid arguments both ways, but the latest from CNET Reviews is among the best. They took five flat-panel displays, three of which offer 1080p resolution, and hooked them up to a Blu-ray disc player showing Mission Impossible III, which the CNET guys say is perhaps the best-looking Blu-ray title they've seen. Then they switched the movie to 1080i output to compare.

The bottom line? The differences in picture quality between the 1080p displays and the 768p Panasonic and Philips plasmas were tiny to the point of being barely discernable. CNET agrees with the Imaging Science Foundation, a standards group for the video industry that says screen resolution is only the fourth most important characteristic in a display. The three most crucial, in order, are contrast ratio, color saturation and color accuracy. Keep this in mind when shopping for your next HDTV.

LCD TV Shipments Double Year-Over-Year

Global LCD TV unit shipments increased 99% from Q3 '05 to Q3 of this year to a record high 10.8 million units, according to market research firm DisplaySearch. That figure represents just under one-quarter of the worldwide TV market and is a 15% jump from Q2 of this year. By comparison, plasma shipments increased 4% from last quarter. China led the way in LCD growth, up 66%, followed by North America at 35%. 1080p share of LCD TV shipments doubled from 2% in Q2 to 4% in Q3.

Samsung is the LCD market leader, with just over a 13% market share. Sharp is next at just under 13%, followed by Philips, Sony and LG Electronics. The top 5 LCD manufacturers account for 66% of the worldwide LCD market, compared to the top 5 plasma makers comprising 80% of the plasma market.

In perhaps the most interesting statistic DS released, Sony comes in fourth in LCD TV unit market share, at 11.1%. However, Sony is second in revenue share, with 15.2%. Apparently Sony is doing an impressive job convincing consumers that its LCD TVs are worth a price premium over its competitors.

Panasonic Still the Leading Plasma Brand

Research firm DisplaySearch released its quarterly TV report last week showing that Panasonic remains the industry leader in plasma displays with a 33% market share in Q3, up from 28% in Q2, a gain of 20%. LG Electronics is second followed by Samsung, Philips and Hitachi. Overall, worldwide plasma shipments rose 4% from Q2 and 45% from Q3 of last year, with most of the growth occurring in North America, which accounted for 70% of all plasmas 50 inches and above that were sold.

DisplaySearch expects plasma prices to reach record low levels for the coming holiday season, with sub-$1,000 42" and sub-$2,000 50" displays available from major brands.

Next-Gen DVDs Offer Space for Advertising

The New York Times ran a somewhat interesting piece last week describing how Blu-ray and HD DVD offer so much storage that Hollywood studios will be able to sell advertising to companies in a way that goes beyond mere product placement. In one example, the movie "The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift" was exhibited at a recent industry trade show in HD DVD format featuring a promotional stunt by Progressive auto insurance showing damage estimates for the various wreckage caused in the movie.

Is this useful or even desirable? It seems somewhat analagous to the attempts by advertisers that partner with "The Daily Show" on Comedy Central to create what I'll call "news-vertisements" by coming up with a trivia question or some other kind of spoof on the day's news in a manner that tries to be similar to the show. However, it is nearly never even half as funny or clever as what Jon Stewart and his writers have come up with and often just leaves the advertising company appear to be pandering to the show's famously young audience. It would seem that companies attempting to tie in with movies in this fashion would do so at a similar peril.

FSN to Double HD Coverage in '07

Executives at Fox Sports Net said last week that the programmer will double its coverage of live HD events in the next year by offering nearly 1,000 HD game telecasts and 2,500 hours of HD coverage. FSN broadcasts games from Major League Baseball, NBA basketball, NCAA football and basketball, and NHL hockey in high-def through its network of regional FSN networks around the country.

FSN also is building a new technical operations center in Houston that will open sometime next year and will make the wider HD coverage of live sporting events possible.

NASA to Broadcast Live in HD from Space

NASA, in cooperation with Discovery HD Theater and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, will broadcast for the first time from space live in high-definition next Wednesday, November 15. Two live HDTV broadcasts will feature Expedition 14 Commander Michael Lopez-Alegria on the International Space Station, with Flight Engineer Thomas Reiter serving as camera operator aboard the 220-mile-high laboratory. The broadcasts will be carried by Discovery HD Theater and NHK. Discovery HD Theater will carry the special broadcast live at 10:30 a.m. CST and will be shown at Discovery Channel stores.

I imagine that this could be some of the most spectacular footage you have ever seen in high-def. The shuttle launches that have been carried on HDNet recently have been absolutely outstanding.

Matsushita Unveils 1080i HD Camcorder

Beginning in January, Matsushita (parent of Panasonic) will begin selling a 1080i HD camera, the HDC-SD1, bundled with a 4GB SD flash card for about $1,500. Rival Sony began selling its own version in September using a hard disc and 3-inch DVD, and Sanyo also intro'd one earlier this summer. More from EETimes.com.

Understanding HDTV Connections

MSNBC today offers a useful primer on the various connections you need behind your HDTV, explaining the difference between HDMI, DVI, component, RCA, coax and a few others. If you've ever found yourself confused by the maze of wires, this is a good read.

Watching Something Just Because It's in High-Def

The Consumer Electronics Association did a study earlier this year showing that 22% of HD sports fans often watch sporting events they otherwise would not have just because it was in high-def. I'm actually surprised this number isn't higher, as most people I know would confess to this kind of behavior. I'm guessing that if you surveyed consumers of all kinds of TV programming, not just sports, that percentage would be well over half, probably approaching three-quarters of HDTV owners. Who among us hasn't turned on Discovery HD Theater or PBS HD or an NHL hockey game as we're flipping through the channels and begun watching a program we never would have pre-HD just because it was in high-def? Heck, I do this on a weekly basis...

INHD, INHD2 to be Merged and Renamed

In Demand has decided to merge INHD and INHD2 into one network beginning January 1 that will likely be rebranded as Mojo. INHD2 had shown some exclusive programming such as IMAX movies and concerts, content that will now shift to the main network, according to Multichannel News. As this blog has reported, certain cable companies such as Comcast have already begun dropping INHD2 from their high-def lineups.

The question now is whether INHD/Mojo will be made available to satellite and telco TV offerings or whether it will remain the exclusive province of cable...

Xbox, 1080p Style

Microsoft has added 1080p capabilities to its Xbox 360 via a free software update to its add-on HD DVD player for the game console that will become available later this month. For $199, consumers will also get support for 50hz HDTV display modes, providing viewers greater choice in how they watch DVD and HD DVD content, as well as a free "King Kong" HD DVD.

Wal-Mart Cuts HDTV Prices

Wal-Mart is slashing prices on many consumer electronics products in time for the holiday shopping season, HDTVs among them. Cited as a significant price drop were a 42" Panasonic HD plasma from $1,794 to $1,294 (a 28% cut) and a 37" Polaroid LCD from $1,297 to $997 (a 23% drop). More from CNN Money.

Comcast Adds to HD Lineup in Seattle

Comcast said late last week that it has added MHD and Universal HD to its high-def lineup in Seattle and western Washington state and will also show at least 35 Seattle Sonics NBA basketball games in high-def via FSN Northwest HD.

Comcast has already added MHD and Universal HD in many of its markets and in the process has been eliminating INHD2 from many of those same systems to make bandwidth available for other networks.

A&E to Show "The Sopranos" in HD

A&E Network will begin showing episodes of "The Sopranos" in syndication on its new A&E HD channel starting next January, Multichannel News reports. The first two seasons will run in 16x9 widescreen since they were not originally shot in high-def, while the other seasons will be shown in 1080i HD. A&E paid $2.5 million an episode for the hit mafia series, so it plans to syndicate them as much as possible through HD and video on demand platforms, according to the company.

A&E HD has just become available on select cable systems around the country, with more widespread carriage expected next year.

Group Forms to Develop Wireless HDTV

A group called WirelessHD has formed to develop and promote the transmission of HDTV signals wirelessly, hoping to eliminate the rat's nest of cords, cables and other wires that lurk behind most of today's home theater systems. WirelessHD is comprised of six leading HDTV manufacturers -- LG Electronics, Matsushita (parent of Panasonic), NEC, Samsung Electronics, Sony and Toshiba -- as well as SiBEAM, a start-up whose technology the group will use. The consortium has been operating informally until today and intends to standardize wireless HD signals sometime next year before bringing to market products that will be part of HDTVs and other CE components.

According to the companies, "WirelessHD, which intends to specify the unlicensed, globally available 60 GHz frequency band, will enable wireless uncompressed high-definition, high-quality video and data transmission and is first targeted to be built into HDTV's as well as a wide range of audio video (A/V) devices, both fixed location and portable."

AT&T to Roll Out HDTV over IPTV in 15 Markets This Year

AT&T said today in its third-quarter earnings report that it is testing HDTV over IPTV (Internet Protocol Television) in Houston and that it plans to introduce the new high-def offering in 15 markets by the end of this year. AT&T U-verse has been available in parts of San Antonio since June and now has 3,000 customers but so far has lacked an HD component. The U-verse website says that the HD package will cost $10 a month, which is pretty much in line with competing offerings from cable and satellite.

The Traditional CRT Continues to Fade from View

The AP ran a piece today picked up in numerous newspapers regarding the impending death of the cathode-ray tube TV in favor of flat-panel LCD and plasma. There are some interesting data in the article from research firms DisplaySearch and iSuppli, but the one thing that stuck out at me was the complete lack of any mention of rear-projection technologies such as DLP and LCoS. I get some heat from time to time from readers who bemoan my focus on flat-panel displays, but the truth is that the industry seems much more focused in that direction. It’s not that microdisplay technologies don’t provide a quality picture at a good price, because they do. There just doesn’t seem to be that much buzz surrounding them recently.

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/products/gear/2006-10-22-crt-demise_x.htm?csp=34

BusinessWeek Compares HDTVs, Names Favorite

BusinessWeek has joined the list of publications reviewing HDTVs and goes so far as to name Sharp's new 52-inch Aquos LC-52D62U its “favorite set.” This week’s edition has a whole slew of HD related articles, so it's worth checking out.

Cisco: HD Video Conferencing Will Be Big Business

Cisco Systems yesterday took the wraps off its new high-definition video conferencing system dubbed TelePresence. Available in December, the base model for one-on-one meetings is priced at $79,000 per station while the advanced unit for larger meetings goes for $299,000 per station. Cisco is hoping that it can both simplify and improve the quality of video conferencing, which has long been touted as a way for companies to make their meetings more efficient but has consistently failed to live up to the hype. The company says that TelePresence could be a billion-dollar business within 5 to 7 years.

Samsung to Focus on LCD Profits Rather Than Growth

Samsung Electronics is shifting its LCD focus to profitability from capital investment as a means of growth, a sign that the competitive market for LCDs will soon take a toll on manufacturers' profit margins. Until very recently, competitive pressures have forced an arms race among the likes of Samsung, Sony and Sharp to invest in new production facilities while also slashing prices. It doesn't take an economist to figure out that that is a recipe for long-term failure, so Samsung is adopting the viewpoint that its eighth-generation plant soon to come online will be sufficient to grow its capacity, particularly for large panels 50-inches and up. Stable growth and increasing profits will be the mantra from now on, especially as demand for LCDs slows in the first half of '07.

The Wall Street Journal, which is free today courtesy of Philips, has the full story.

Start-up Enables HDTV on Your Laptop

Pennsylvania-based start-up AutumnWave yesterday announced the release of an over-the-air antenna that enables users to receive HD and other digital broadcast TV signals on their laptop computers. The OnAir GT, which retails for $179, uses essentially the same technology as a standard over-the-air TV antenna, with the primary difference being its more compact form factor suitable for travel. CNET has a review.

This is a pretty cool idea whose ultimate success hinges on the reliability of the over-the-air signals it attempts to capture. As anyone who's attempted to hook an OTA antenna up to their HDTV at home knows, such broadcasts can be fairly unreliable, especially if you live in an area where there are hills, mountains, tall buildings or fog. But if you can get it to receive the signals, you should be able to watch local HD and digital broadcasts of your favorite sports and other TV programs, all without being confined to your living room.

RadioShack Offering Online HDTV Course

RadioShack said today that it is offering a series of online courses for consumers, one of which will help them understand HDTV. The course began on Oct. 9 and ends on Nov. 10, and consists of four primary lessons. More here.

Hitachi Plans Blu-ray Camcorder for Next Year

Hitachi is planning two camcorders for '07 that will record in 1080i, one a Blu-ray Disc model and the other supporting AVCHD. The Blu-ray camcorder will be priced around $1,500 and the AVCHD one slightly more. TWICE has the full story.

HP MediaSmart HDTV Wins DigitalLife Best of Show

HP's MediaSmart 37" LCD HDTV was named the Best Home Theater Product at this week's DigitalLife show in New York City, the conference organizers announced today. In addition to the standard LCD features, the 1366 x 768 SLC3760N boasts wired/wireless streaming of audio, video files from PC to TV as well as a TV/PC connection to Web music, photos, videos. The LCD retails for $2,199 and there's also a 10 percent off coupon available.

Dell Takes the Wraps Off New LCD TVs

Dell yesterday unveiled two new LCD HDTVs at the DigitalLife show in New York City. From the company:

Dell’s new W3207C and W3707C high-definition LCD televisions, sized 32- and 37-inches respectively, feature optimal combinations of resolution, contrast ratio and brightness that deliver vivid images and motion video with razor-sharp picture clarity even in well-lit rooms or near windows. Both the W3207C and W3707C include built-in high-definition television tuners that allow users to enjoy HD content over-the-air as well as an array of digital and analog A/V connectors that make it easy to connect to a wide range of devices such as cable set-top boxes, Blu-ray and HD-DVD players, and personal computers. All Dell televisions feature a flexible design that personalizes to meet user space preferences via either wall-mounting or TV stand.

The W3207C is available immediately in the U.S. with a starting price of $1,199. Features include:

--High-definition resolution of 1,366x768 (WXGA)
--1,200:1 contrast ratio produces detailed and vibrant colors at every image and frame when watching HD programs
--Fast 8-millisecond response time
--Integrated speakers with 30 watts of audio power enable dynamic surround sound capability.

The W3707C is available immediately in the U.S. with a starting price of $1,699. Features include:

--Large 37-inch display fits well in most family or home theater rooms
--Detachable 30-watt speakers with SRS® TruSurround XTTM feature transforms the television audio into a stunning surround sound-like experience
--Picture-in-picture mode for dual-source viewing
--Dual HDMI connectivity for connecting to DVD, Blu-ray and HD-DVD players
--Connect to a PC via the VGA connector for multimedia monitor functionality
--Extensive analog A/V connectivity including composite, component and s-video connectors enables connection to a VCR, cable set-top box, DVD player-recorder or camcorder.

Discovery's Stinchcomb Gets Promotion

The Discovery Channel's Clint Stinchcomb, widely regarded as one of the brightest minds in the media industry, has been promoted to executive VP/general manager for HDTV and New Media. He has been the head of Discovery HD Theater and is primarily responsible for the Discovery Atlas HD series that premiered earlier this month and is among the finest programming you will see this year.

Congratulations to Clint!

Update: Home Depot Now Selling HDTVs in Stores

A loyal 1080eye reader has informed me that not only is Home Depot selling HDTVs online, as I reported two weeks ago, but is now featuring them in its actual warehouse stores as well. Everyone wants a piece of the HD action!

DIRECTV to Add 25 More Local HD Markets

DIRECTV said yesterday that it will add high-def local channels in 25 additional markets by the end of the year, bringing its total local HD coverage to 74 percent of households in the U.S. The new markets will be:

-- Albuquerque, N.M.
-- Buffalo, N.Y.
-- Des Moines, Iowa
-- Flint, Mich.
-- Ft. Meyers, Fla.
-- Grand Rapids, Mich.
-- Green Bay, Wisc.
-- Greensboro, N.C.
-- Greenville, S.C.
-- Harrisburg, Pa.
-- Springfield, Mo.
-- Jacksonville, Fla.
-- Little Rock, Ark.
-- Madison, Wisc.
-- Mobile, Ala.
-- New Orleans
-- Norfolk, Va.
-- Oklahoma City, Okla.
-- Portland, Me.
-- Providence, R.I.
-- Reno, Nev.
-- Santa Barbara, Calif.
-- Spokane, Wa.
-- Toledo, Ohio
-- Tulsa, Okla.

Flat-Panel vs. RPTV: Which News to Choose

I've gotten a handful of comments over the last several weeks from people who say I focus this blog too heavily on plasma and LCD flat-panel at the expense of DLP (primarily). It's a fair criticism and as way of response, the first thing I'll say is that going forward I will try to cover other technologies such as DLP and LCoS a little more in depth. However, to a large extent I'm limited by the news and product developments coming from the manufacturing community, which lately seems to have centered around the sexier flat-panels.

It brings up a good point, though: am I missing other areas of the industry that you'd like to see covered? I try to touch on a number of different aspects of HDTV, including content and programming, TV technology and buying tips, but am of course always open to suggestions for improvements.

Thanks for your continued support!

-Mark

CEA: Consumers Remain Interested and Confused

The Consumer Electronics Association has released results of a survey it performed in July that shows 47 percent of consumers plan to upgrade to a new TV in the next year, a big reason why the overall U.S. TV market this year will approach $20 billion. CEA categorized 77 percent of consumers as "entry-level," meaning that they will spend less than $2,500 to upgrade their home theater system, 22 percent as "move-up" households who will spend $2,500 to $25,000 on upgrades, and 0.3 percent as "custom consumers" who will plunk down more than $25K.

More from Video Business Online.

Sony Offering Customizable LCD Bezels

Sony Electronics, looking to move HDTV sales beyond early adopters who trend male, is offering consumers the option of buying kits that allow them to change the color of the bezel frame that surrounds the LCD flat-panel screen. Color options for the kits, which run $299, include scarlet red, pacific blue, chocolate brown, pearlescent white, and matte black. More from the Chicago Tribune.

This isn't a bad idea at all, as plenty of consumers would likely appreciate the ability to add some color to the otherwise staid gray or silver that flat-panel displays usually offer. And at $299, the price is about right for a several-thousand-dollar purchase. My main concern would be that a bright red bezel would detract from the actual picture.

Affluent Folks Want Flat Panel TVs (Duh!)

In perhaps the most obvious survey results I've seen in awhile, TWICE reports that a company called Thomas, Townsend & Kent (TTK) has released a survey showing that wealthy Americans rank flat-panel TVs at the top of their consumer electronics wish lists. 14.5 percent of those surveyed plan to buy a flat-panel TV in the next six months, followed by 13.7 percent who will buy a home theater system and 10.4 percent who plan a video game console purchase.

I have to say that 15 percent doesn't seem like that big of a number to me. The more interesting data point is that 77 percent plan to buy their flat-panel display at Best Buy, compared to 54 percent at Circuit City and 41 percent at Wal-Mart.

Do wealthy people really shop at Wal-Mart?

Perhaps some of these folks should also consider their local home theater specialty store...

Canon-Toshiba Venture Set for '08 SED Production

Canon and Toshiba announced today that they will enter the flat-panel display market by jointly manufacturing surface-conduction electron-emitter display (SED) TVs starting late next year and into 2008. The companies are touting SED's thinner profile and energy saving characteristics as competitive advantages over plasma and LCD. However, it would seem that with flat panel display prices falling as dramatically as they have in the last two years -- and with continued price pressures from lower-cost manufacturers in Korea and China -- SED will face a significant challenge in dethroning plasma and LCD from their current positions. To wit, I have never heard anyone say of their new flat panel display, "it's nice, but how great would it be if it were even thinner..."

Sony Blu-ray Player to Debut in December

Sony announced at the CEATEC show that its first Blu-ray Disc player will go on sale in Japan on Dec. 8 at a price of about $2,500 for a model with a 500 GB hard drive. No word on U.S. availability. Reuters has more.

Sharp Looks to Increase LCD Production

Sharp, having just opened its eighth-generation LCD production plant in Japan last month two months quicker than it planned, is now considering increasing the capacity at that plant to accommodate demand for larger screen LCDs. The company has its eye on 52-inch glass substrates that can be cut more efficiently in the new plant than in the older factories.

Home Depot Now Selling HDTVs

I got an email the other day advertising HDTVs now available online at HomeDepot.com. Here's the link from the email. I don't know if they'll start selling electronics in the stores or if it's just confined to the website, but I'll post more info as I get it.

In related news, Wal-Mart has been running a national ad campaign during football games promoting its HDTVs.

These are just two more examples of retailers not traditionally known for strength in the consumer electronics arena hopping on the HD bandwagon...

More Help in Choosing an HDTV

The New York Times ran a piece last week comparing plasma and LCD. This passage in particular is worth noting:

"The ultimate choice depends largely on where the TV resides and what it displays. Movies in dark rooms will probably look better on plasmas; games in bright rooms should look better on L.C.D.’s. But even the differences that do remain are smaller than they used to be. So screen technology is only one factor in choosing a set, along with price, style, brand and the particular level of quality in the particular model."

DIRECTV Adds Local HD Nets in 3 More Markets

DIRECTV said last week that it has rolled out local high-def channels in three new markets: Memphis, Portland and San Antonio. The satcaster now offers HD locals in 39 markets and is closing in on its year-end goal of 50.

Comcast to Offer More HD On Demand

Comcast last week announced that it will beef up its HD VOD offerings to the tune of about 100 hours of programming, at least 20 titles of which will be delivered by Starz. The initial offering, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, premiered last week.

Finally, a Standalone HD TiVo

TiVo today finally took the wraps off its stand-along HD DVR, a much-anticipated move that took much longer than the company ever planned. It'll set you back $800, but for TiVo fanatics who have been craving the ability to record and play back in high-def, it's likely worth every penny. The new Series 3 has two tuners, meaning that users can record two programs while watching one they have already recorded. There is enough hard-drive space to record 32 hours of HD programming and THX has certified the device, the first time it has done so for a DVR.

To give a brief history lesson, TiVo initially rolled out its first HD DVR about two years ago but it was only available if you subscribed to DIRECTV satellite service. Reviews were favorable; however, as with the new Series 3 announced today, pricing was much higher than anything else on the market. It was never clear to me why TiVo shortly thereafter didn't release an HD DVR that didn't require a DIRECTV subscription, although the most likely scenario seems to be that the satellite giant had some sort of exclusive rights to the technology.

Now, of course, DIRECTV has replaced TiVo with DVR products from one of its sister News Corp. companies, NDS. TiVo needs new innovative products to survive as a standalone business and the Series 3 HD DVR should help fill that void left by the breakup with DIRECTV. But the real question is how many people will pony up $800 for the high-def TiVo when they can get one from their cable company for $10-15 a month with no upfront purchase required? I for one love TiVo's interface and other innovations that have yet to be duplicated by cable DVR offerings. But $800 is a lot to spend after coughing up a few grand on an HDTV, receiver, speakers and DVD player.

Is TiVo's Emmy-winning technology worth the price premium? Consumers will soon decide, as the HD version hits stores next week.

Manufacturers Expect 20-30% LCD Price Drops

LG and Sharp executives told attendees at the IFA conference that increased production will lead to 20-30% declines in LCD prices next year. Don't expect to see those kind of drops on the new 1080p LCD displays, though, as supply of the highest-resolution models still remain tight.

Sharp Intros Six New LCD TVs

Sharp last week introduced six new LCD TV models that will make their debut on October 1st, thanks to an increase in capacity from its new plant in Kameyama, Japan. The screen sizes of the new models are 52-, 46- and 42-inches. According to the company:

"These models also offer an advanced interface with the AQUOS Familink*5 that enables viewers to comfortably use the push of a single button on the accessory remote control to operate the AQUOS HD Recorder*5 and the AQUOS Surround*5 sound system connected to the AQUOS TV via an HDMI cable. These new AQUOS models will also provide whole new styles of viewing with the simultaneous release of an optional Flush-to-Wall Stand*6 that allows these large-screen LCD TVs to be set up conveniently and stylishly in the family room or living room. "

LCD, Plasma Makers: Bigger is Better

BusinessWeek online has a piece this week on the size battle between plasma and LCD following Samsung's announcement last week of the impending intro of its 70-inch LCD flat panel display. The company has plans for an 82-incher next, both of which come on the heels on Matsushita's 103-inch plasma that will be available for ordering in September.

So how big is too big? I never say never, but the odds would seem to be against the average family purchasing a 7- or 8-foot TV anytime soon. Price is obviously the main obstacle, but space is nearly as challenging. We just had a 50-inch plasma installed in our family room and based on the positioning of our sofa and recliners, even a 60-inch would have probably been too big considering where we sit. There's only so much information the human eye can process...

Plasma Sales Nearly Double from ’05 Level

Research firm DisplaySearch said this week that global plasma display sales were up 95 percent in the quarter ending June 30th compared to the same quarter last year. In all, 2.2 million plasmas were sold in the three-month period from April to June, accounting for about 5 percent of the entire TV market. Panasonic parent company Matsushita remains the industry leader with 28.3 percent of total market share, up from 21.5 percent in the first quarter. LG, Samsung and Philips followed Matsushita.

Interestingly, although plasmas accounted for just 5 percent of global TV sales, they represented 20 percent of sales revenue.

LCD sales, by comparison, made up 22 percent of all TVs sold worldwide in the second quarter. 9.4 million LCD TVs were sold in the period, an increase of 135 percent from the same quarter last year.

HDNet to Broadcast Space Shuttle Launch Sunday

HDNet will offer viewers live coverage of the Space Shuttle Atlantis launch this Sunday at 4:30 ET, with pre-launch coverage beginning at noon ET. Former astronaut Sam Gemar will be a co-commentator for the event, which looks absolutely spectacular in 1080i HD.

DISH Adds Food Network HD

DISH Network said today that Food Network HD is now available to DISH satellite high-def customers, bringing its total number of national HD channels to 30 (including 15 VOOM channels).

DISH is the first major national cable or satellite provider to carry Food HD.

Comcast HD Update

Some quick checking on the Internet reveals that someone at Comcast HQ may have taken my May 31st post to heart. In late May, a Comcast exec was quoted as saying that a lack of HD content was hindering consumer high-def adoption. That notion seemed silly to me considering the vast number of HD channels in existence that Comcast didn't even carry. Since then, Comcast has stepped up to the plate by adding ESPN2 HD, MHD, TNT HD and Universal HD in many of its markets.

So kudos to Comcast -- I won't pretend that this blog had anything to do with it, but it's nice to see the world's largest cable company become a strong proponent of HD service.

Conference Attendees Debate Blu-ray vs. HD DVD

CNET writes today about the ongoing debate over the battle between Blu-ray and HDTV at the DisplaySearch HDTV conference in Beverly Hills. Some panelists believe that the war will end in a stalemate, although that seems unlikely to me. The only way both formats survive in the long run is if one of two events occur:

1. Manufacturers begin producing dual-format players and recorders
2. Consumers don't naturally gravitate towards one format over the other

I'll take some heat from the HD DVD folks over this next comment, but I don't think there's much question that Blu-ray is the technologically superior format. With almost twice as much disc space as HD DVD, in addition to more support from the various industry players in Hollywood and in CE, the game is Blu-ray's to lose.

As far as I can tell, however, the primary reason HD DVD exists is because it costs about half of what Blu-ray does. For consumers who are used to spending $100 or $200 on a DVD player, spending $1,000 on a Blu-ray is a tough pill to swallow. Spending half that on HD DVD is much more palatable.

The bottom line seems to be that if the Blu-ray manufacturers would price their players and recorders at a premium to HD DVD, but well short of a 100% premium, they would blow HD DVD out of the water. But as long as HD DVD remains more more attractive from a price perspective, it will continue to sell well with consumers.

Maxent Intros $2,499 50" Plasma

Maxent USA today announced the release of its value-oriented 50" plasma display with a suggested list price of $2,499. The company touted the Japanese heritage of the plasma panel, playing up the high-performance of the panel with its relative low price.

The Maxent plasma will take on, among others, Vizio's PDP of the same size that retails for $1,999.

CRTs Going Down the Tubes

The New York Times has a piece today that chronicles the rapid decline of the CRT picture-tube television, demand for which has fallen so quickly that many manufacturers won't even make them next year. To wit:

• Panasonic marketed 30 different CRT models a year ago. Now, it offers just one.
• Retail giant Costco won't sell CRTs after the holidays this year.
• Sony, which established consumer electronics dominance due in large measure to its fabled line of Trinitron tube TVs, will only make two different CRT models next year, down from 10 two years ago. And both of those will be widescreen digital models.

The culprit in the precipitous demise of the CRT? You guessed it: flat-panel LCD and plasma displays, which are rapidly coming down in price as additional production facilities in Asia are meeting consumer demand for the new technologies. Think about it this way: do you know anyone who has actually purchased a CRT at all, let alone one to be used as their primary television, in, say, the last two years?

European HDTV Continues to Stall

BusinessWeek Online has an interesting piece today about the challenges facing HDTV adoption in Europe. The recently concluded World Cup in Germany was supposed to have been the catalyst for HD sales and programming, but like the ’04 Athens Olympics before it, the big bounce never materialized. These numbers from German researcher GfK are simply astounding:

HD-Ready TV Sets in Use
U.S. – 19 million
Japan – 11 million
Europe – 2 million

Wow. So what’s the problem? There are several, but the lack of content is the biggest and in that area Europe faces a vexing issue that the U.S. and Japan largely do not – the large number of European languages prevent the mass distribution of programming. Read the BW article for more insight.

China HDTV Set to Boom

3.2 million HDTVs will be sold in China this year, up from just under one million in 2005, according to Sino Market Research. Shanghai Daily reports that a problem with HDTV adoption is the lack of high-def content available, with just four HD channels currently being broadcast in China. Nonetheless, the Chinese government plans to show the 2008 Beijing Olympics in HD.

DIRECTV HD DVR Delayed Yet Again

Various news outlets are reporting that DIRECTV has delayed shipments of its new HD DVR until sometime this fall. Originally scheduled to launch early this year, the switch from TiVo to DIRECTV sister company NDS apparently isn’t going well. Wall Street is predicting that the delay will mean customer losses for the satellite giant as people buying flat-screen HDTVs go with either cable or DISH for HD DVR.

Does anyone make a service provider choice based on HD DVR availability? It’s possible but it seems more likely that factors such as local broadcast HD channels, total number of HD channels and the NFL Sunday Ticket would make a bigger difference. This would be especially true if you thought that DIRECTV would only make you wait another couple of months to get the HD DVR and you could make due with the regular DVR until then.

Panasonic Parent to Sell 103-inch Plasmas Sept. 1

Matsushita, parent company of Panasonic, said today that it will begin taking orders for the world's largest plasma display on September 1st in Japan. The 103-inch monster will retail for about $50,000. The company also plans to sell 1080p models in three other sizes: 50 inches, 58 inches and 65 inches.

Pioneer Intros World's First 1080p Plasma

Pioneer announced yesterday that it has begun shipping a 1080p plasma, the world's first. Announced back in January at the Consumer Electronics Show, the 50-inch Pioneer Elite PureVision PRO-FHD1 carries a steep MSRP of $10,000. According to the company, the challenge in creating a 50-inch plasma display with a 1080p signal was to reduce the pixel size by half in order to fit more than 2 million pixels in the screen.

Although there really isn't much in the way of true 1080p content available yet, both Blu-ray and HD DVD should get there in the second or third product generations. It will take substantially longer than that for the broadcasting, cable and satellite communities to convert to what some consider the "full" HD standard. However, there is some benefit to the 1080p upconverting that the high-end video scaler performs on lower-resolution content.

So here's a question: If for the same money you could buy a 60-inch 768p plasma or a 50-inch 1080p, which would you buy? Or if you could buy two or three 50-inch 768p plasmas for that same price (one each for the family room, living room and bedroom), would you? Then again, people who are spending $10K on a TV might not be all that concerned with value.

Dan Rather Moves to HDNet

HDNet said this week that longtime CBS newsman Dan Rather will debut his new show "Dan Rather Reports" beginning this October. According to the company, the weekly program "will feature hard-edged field reports, interviews and investigative pieces. It will be one-hour in length and will be completely uncensored. It will reflect the signature qualities of its host with a focus on accuracy, fairness and guts."

DIRECTV Now Offering Regional Baseball in HD

DIRECTV announced today that it will now be offering Major League Baseball games in HD courtesy of the regional sports networks that broadcast them. From the release:

"DIRECTV is now broadcasting all MLB games produced in HD from the following RSNs: FSN Prime Ticket (Los Angeles Dodgers), FSN West (Los Angeles Angels), FSN Bay Area (San Francisco Giants, Oakland A's), FSN South (Atlanta Braves), FSN Houston (Astros), FSN Detroit (Tigers), FSN Florida (Marlins, Devil Rays), SportsTime Ohio (Cleveland Indians), FSN North (Minnesota Twins), FSN Northwest (Seattle Mariners), FSN Arizona (Diamondbacks), FSN Rocky Mountain (Colorado Rockies) and Turner South (Atlanta Braves).

"On July 18, HD MLB games from YES Network (Yankees) and FSN Southwest (Rangers HD games will be seen only in the Dallas DMA) will be available, as well as a continuous 24/7 HD feed from NESN HD (Red Sox). In August DIRECTV will deliver HD MLB games from SportsNet New York (Mets), as well as continuous 24/7 HD feeds from Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic HD (Orioles) and Comcast SportsNet Chicago HDTV (Cubs, White Sox)."

Notably absent from this carriage deal are my San Diego Padres...

However, lest you get too excited, here's a caveat: "The RSNs' HD games will be broadcast by DIRECTV via a local market spot beam, and as a result, the RSN programming will be available only to those customers who live within the local DMA (designated market area) spot beam and the RSN team territory. The games will be available at no extra charge."

So you'll be able to watch your home team's games in HD but not any of the others around the country. For that, you'd have to subscribe to the MLB Extra Innings package, but it's unclear exactly how many baseball games in HD you would receive. Another caveat is that you'll need DIRECTV's new MPEG4 receiver with the five-line LNB dish to get these HD channels.

In addition to the MLB games, DIRECTV will also carry NHL and NBA games that are televised on the RSNs when their seasons start in the fall.

This announcement is a big deal because the cable companies often use the fact that they offer the regional sports networks in HD as justification for choosing cable over satellite. Many analysts, myself included, have confirmed that rationale. But as with local broadcast networks, which are becoming more and more available in high-def over satellite around the country every week after having been available only via cable or an antenna for a couple of years, the regional sports networks will no longer be the exclusive provence of the cable providers. For fans of baseball and competition in the marketplace, that can only be seen as a home run.

DISH Rolls Out HD Locals in Detroit

DISH Network last week began offering local high-def broadcasts of the ABC, CBS and FOX affiliates in the greater Detroit metro area. No word on when NBC will be added.

TVs Keep Getting Bigger

It's no secret that Americans are demanding bigger and bigger screen sizes from their TVs. The New York Times ran a piece this week detailing the trend, with experts predicting that the average new purchase of an HDTV will soon increase from today's 50 inches to 60 inches or larger in the not-too-distant future.

JVC Intros New, Faster LCDs

JVC this week took the wraps off of two new LCD TVs that boast twice the refresh rate typical in the industry. At 120 frames per second with 120Hz refresh rate, fast motion sequences should be more clear with less ghosting. More from TWICE.

Pioneer Opens First Retail Store

Pioneer last week opened its first retail store in the U.S., joining the likes of Apple, Sony and Dell. The company's initial foray into retail is located at the South Coast Plaza shopping center in Costa Mesa, Calif., which happens to be the nation's top grossing shopping mall with $1.7 billion in sales last year. Pioneer plans to use the store to test concepts and gauge customer reaction before opening additional locations around the country.

CNET Reviews New Toshiba HD Line

Highlights include three 40+ inch LCD flat-panels, all of which boast 1080p resolution. Read about it here.

Samsung Blu-ray Player Now Available

Samsung's Blu-ray disc player, the BD-P1000, launched last week in retail and became of its kind to go on sale in the U.S. Its list price is a penny under $1,000. More here.

Randy Walker, Rest in Peace

I'm still shocked by the news that Randy Walker, the head football coach at my alma mater Northwestern, passed away last night from a heart attack. He was a gifted coach and classy all-around individual, and will be sorely missed. Please keep his family in your prayers this holiday weekend.

More Local HD for DIRECTV

DIRECTV has added local HD broadcast channels in nine more markets: Baltimore; Cleveland; Charlotte and Raleigh, N.C.; Denver; Hartford, Conn.; and Miami, Orlando and West Palm Beach, Fla. That brings the total to 36 with another 13 slated by the end of the year.

Food Network HD Launches This Week

Scripps Networks announced today that Food Network HD will launch this Saturday, June 30. Carriage agreements have been signed with DISH Network, Midwestern cable operators WideOpenWest and Buckeye Cable, and Kansas City cable upstarts Everest Connections and Sunflower Broadband.

HGTV HD, also owned by Scripps Networks, recently launched on DISH Network.

Here's the full release.

Less Than One Percent of TV Ads are in HD

Despite the fact that roughly 20 percent of American households have at least one high-def TV at home, less than one percent of ads shown on TV are in HD. The issue, according to some ad execs, is the increased cost of producing commercials in high-def, which they say can be as much as 20 percent higher than regular ads. However, the American Association of Advertising Agencies did a study that showed that the incremental cost increase is only $10,000 per ad. More from Mediaweek.

The ad agencies are making a big mistake by not filming more commercials in HD, even if the extra cost is as high as 20 percent. When I see an ad in high-def, I'm much more likely to watch it, particularly if it comes in the midst of a high-def program. If getting people like me to actually watch an ad instead of flipping the channel isn't worth a premium, then I don't know what is.

TDEL Looks to Dethrone Plasma and LCD

A Canadian company called iFire has developed a new flat-panel technology it refers to as TDEL (thick film dielectric electroluminescent) that produce ultra-lightweight and thin HDTVs that are also quite a bit less expensive than LCD or plasma.

Sound too good to be true? The company is currently searching for a manufacturing partner to actually commercialize the TDEL technology, although some in the industry are skeptical that companies that have invested billions in plasma or LCD plants would be receptive to TDEL.

The New York Post has more.

Europe's Largest TV Manufacturer

You're probably thinking it's Philips. But surprise, it's a little-known Turkish company called Vestel that supplies many of the major manufacturers like Hitachi and Sanyo with TVs they sell in Britain, Russia and other countries.

Business Week has the story.

Our Interview with Plasma Display Coalition Head Jim Palumbo

1080eye recently sat down with Jim Palumbo, the president of the Plasma Display Coalition, to talk about his new job, the organization he heads and his favorite technology.

Why was the Plasma Display Coalition formed, and who formed it?
The Coalition was formed by Hitachi, LG Electronics, Panasonic, Pioneer and Samsung because they felt that the plasma manufacturers needed a voice and that plasma's story needed to be told. Our objective is to educate, inform and dispel the myths about plasma technology.

What is your background?
I used to be the CEO of Aiwa as well as an executive at Sony and was also the chairman of the video board at CEA.

What kinds of strategies are you employing to tell the plasma story?
We have a Technical Advisory Group that has conducted a performance evaluation of 50-55 inch plasma displays to underscore the advantages of plasma technology as a display for the home. There's also a Marketing Committee that is working on dispelling some of the plasma myths and extolling plasma's advantages through brochures that will be distributed to retailers and the media.

What are some of the advantages of plasma?
Plasma offers an average 157.5 degree horizontal viewing angle with less than 50% brightness loss and no black level loss. The average vertical viewing angle is 22.5 degrees -- neither of these can be matched by any other display technology. Additionally, there are no brightness hotspots like with rear-projection TVs and plasma also offers a peak contrast ratio of 3000:1. Plasma provides color gamut performance equivalent to CRT and does a near-perfect job with motion. There's essentially no pixelization like with other technologies.

And the myths you're working to dispel?
First and foremost, the issue of image retention (burn-in). Of the five plasma displays we tested, there was zero image retention on three of them. One had slight ghosting and one did retain an image - but it self-corrected after 12 hours and there was no significant phosphor degradation or image sticking.

What about power consumption?
Plasma is the only display technology that offers variable power consumption and all five of the tested models are Energy Star compliant. The average 50-inch plasma consumes $4.20 to $7.27 a month worth of energy, which is less than two gallons of gas or a movie ticket.

Since most of your members also sell LCD TVs, how do you handle the LCD vs. Plasma debate?
Our objective is not to balance any debate between plasma and LCD. Our objective is simply to dispel plasma myths and tell the plasma story with accuracy.

Hitachi Rolls Out First 1080 Line 42" Plasma

Hitachi last week introduced a 1024 x 1080 resolution 42" plasma, the first of its kind to offer 1080 vertical lines of resolution. At 1.1 megapixels, it's not a 1080p model, but it should provide a picture quality improvement to viewers watching 1080i HD content on networks such as CBS or HBO.

The new 42HDS69 will retail for $2,499 while its big brother 55HDS69 will list for $4,299.

PC Magazine has more.

Sharp Displays 2006 LCD and DLP Lines

Here's Sharp's description of its LCD flat-panel displays that it showed off at this week's InfoComm 2006:

AQUOS LC-TVs
Sharp is showcasing several AQUOS TVs, including the LC-65D90U 65-inch AQUOS TV, the industry's largest available LC-TV and the state-of-the-art LC-57D90U, a new screen size in Sharp's extensive line. Sharp's AQUOS Liquid Crystal televisions range from 13 to 65 inches. The full line of Sharp LCD monitors and AQUOS LC-TVs have high image quality and ultra-reliability, making them ideal for digital signage and display applications in practically any setting. These Sharp LCD monitors and AQUOS TVs, with their high-resolution image quality and full complement of computer and video inputs, are compatible with almost any source, including HDTV and hi-resolution computer graphics. All of the Sharp direct-view TVs on display at InfoComm incorporate backlight systems with lamp life estimated at 60,000 hours. "

HDTV Presenting Problems for Cable Industry

I've noted before that one challenge facing the cable industry is the increasing bandwidth required to carry a full lineup of HD programming. USA Today's David Lieberman, a longtime cable and tech journalist, seems to agree.

Radio Shack to Begin Selling Flat Panel HDTVs

In an effort to get more traffic into its stores, Radio Shack said this week that it will begin selling flat-screen HDTVs this month. The retailer had shied away from HDTVs in the past because of lower margins than other products but has since decided that it's fallen too far behind rivals such as Best Buy and Circuit City by not carrying them.

More LCD TVs than CRTs Sold in '09: Study

Research firm iSuppli says that in 2009 LCD TVs will surpass traditional CRT tube TVs in units sold, accounting for 48% of all TVs shipped that year compared to 42% for CRT. Plasmas will account for 7% and rear-projection models 3%, according to iSuppli's analysts.

CNET has the full story.

Sony Shows Off '06 HDTVs

EETimes has a nice report on Sony's line show at last week's Home Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles. The focus was on Bravia LCDs, SXRD rear-projection and Blu-ray.

Panasonic Intros Plasma TV Support Program

Panasonic said this week that it is launching the Panasonic Plasma Concierge program -- an expanded customer support program for current and new owners of Panasonic Plasma televisions. According to the company, "the Panasonic Plasma Concierge program will provide advice and answers to users to help them get on with the experience of enjoying HDTV's benefits."

Comcast Launches ESPN2 HD for World Cup Fans

Comcast announced that ESPN2 HD is now available in several markets in time for the 2006 FIFA World Cup coverage offered on the network. The cable operator did not say which markets will get the new high-def channel, which is bound to leave unlucky fans in the other markets scrambling for DISH or DIRECTV (or their local bar) to get their World Cup fix.

ESPN HD, ABC HD and ESPN2 HD will combine to present live coverage of all 64 matches of the World Cup in high definition from Friday, June 9 through Sunday, July 9 from 12 cities in Germany. In addition, the high- definition services will feature the 2006 World Cup studio programs including the pre-match, halftime and post-match segments.

I'm happy to see Comcast rolling out a new high-def network after one of their execs complained of the lack of high-def channels in existence today.

LCD Makers Encounter Changing Market

Business Week has an interesting piece this week about how LCD producers are feeling the effects of slowing demand for LCD displays. It's not that consumer demand isn't growing -- it is -- but rather that it isn't growing fast enough to keep up with a rising supplies and declining prices.

DISH Adds Four New HD Networks

DISH Network announced today that it has added four new high-def channels, including one that is making its national debut: HGTV HD. The other three are NFL Network HD, National Geographic Channel HD and Starz HDTV.

NatGeo HD is currently only available on Verizon FiOS TV, so the DISH deal represents its first major distribution deal on a nationwide basis. My guess is that the NatGeo's programming will be very well received in high-def, similar to Discovery HD Theater or certain shows on PBS HD.

Customers who subscribe to DishHD Bronze or higher will now have access to both HGTV HD and NFL Network HD. National Geographic Channel HD is available to subscribers of DishHD Gold or higher and will be available to all DishHD customers in a free preview on Ch. 9429 until July 7, 2006. DishHD customers who subscribe to the Starz Movie Pack or DishHD Platinum will now get Starz HDTV.

DISH Network is now offering a free equipment upgrade to customers leasing its standard HD receiver. In addition, the up-front lease fee for DISH Network's HD digital video recorder satellite TV receiver has been reduced to $199.99, down from $299.99.

New customers can also save $200 if they subscribe to DishHD Bronze or higher through DISH Network's HD Bonus promotion combined with its current $100 Back offer. To take advantage of the HD Bonus promotion, new customers must submit a redemption form with their first bill to receive the benefits, which in turn provides a $20 credit on each subsequent bill for 10 months. Both the discounted lease upgrade fees and the HD Bonus will run through Jan. 31, 2007.

Falling Behind on the News...

It's been a busy election week here in San Diego, so I've fallen behind on the blogging. Time to catch up!

DIRECTV Adds Local HD Nets in Indy, Seattle

DIRECTV said today that it is now offering certain local broadcast networks in high-def in Seattle and Indianapolis, bringing to 26 the number of markets in which it offers HD locals. In Seattle, the local CBS and NBC affiliates are now available in high-def, with negotiations still in progress for ABC and FOX. The reverse is true in Indianapolis: ABC and FOX are now available, with CBS and NBC to come later.

Comcast: We Want More HD Networks

Comcast executive Steve Burke says that its HD subscriber base could double in the next 18 months, although according to Multichannel News, "he cautioned that growth will depend on more networks delivering programs in HD."

Steve, are you kidding? I understand that the entire cable industry faces bandwidth constraints that prevent more HD channels from being offered. But to say that your HD subscriber growth might not be what you want because of a lack of programming just doesn't make sense.

Here's a partial list of HD networks in existence today that Comcast does NOT offer:

• ESPN2 HD
• HDNet
• HDNet Movies
• MHD (MTV)
• The Movie Channel HD
• Universal HD (some markets)
• VOOM 15 HD
• WealthTV HD
• Many regional sports networks in HD, including MSG, SportsNet NY, YES

CEA: HDTV Sales Up 101% Over '05

The Consumer Electronics Association said last week that HDTV sales rose to 3.4 million in the first quarter of '06, a 101% increase from the same quarter last year. In all, consumers spent about $3.6 billion on HDTVs in Q1 '06. The CEA also released survey data showing that 49% of consumers plan to make their next TV purchase some kind of flat-panel display (plasma and LCD would seem to be the likely candidates).

Market research firm Current Analysis, my old employer, reports that the average plasma display street price fell 9% from March to April, coming in at just over $3,300.

For what it's worth, the CEA data refers to DTVs, or digital TVs, which was a much more relevant term two or three years ago when EDTVs were a popular way of getting near-HD quality at a discounted price. Nowadays you'd be hard pressed to find more than a couple of EDTVs for sale at your local electronics retailer.

Panasonic and Sony in Cahoots on New HD Camcorder Format

PC Magazine has the story on Panasonic and Sony's announcement last week of a new high-def camcorder format called AVCHD that will allow for 1080i and 720p recording and playback onto 8-centimeter DVDs. Standard DVDs are 12 cm and are considered too big given the trend of increasingly smaller camcorders and digital cameras.

No word yet on when any AVCHD products will be available or at what price.

HP Now the Biggest Consumer Electronics Maker

I don't really understand how this happened so quickly, but the Wall Street Journal reports today that HP became the largest consumer electronics manufacturer in 2005, taking 13% of the $80 billion CE pie. HP jumped Sony and Panasonic for the top slot. And to think that just a few years ago, HP was known primarily for its printers and not much else...

DISH HD Locals Available in 11 New Markets

DISH Network today launched high-def local broadcast channels in 11 new markets, bringing the total of markets with DISH HD locals available to 24. The new markets are: Dallas; Houston; Miami; Phoenix; Portland, Ore.; Sacramento; San Antonio; San Diego; San Francisco; Seattle; and Spokane.

DISH plans to reach more than 50 percent of U.S. TV households with local HD channels by year end.

DIRECTV Adds Local HD Channels in 4 New Areas

DIRECTV said today that it has launched high-def local channels in Milwaukee, Phoenix, Salt Lake City and St. Louis. That brings to 24 the number of markets in which the nation's largest satellite provider offers HD locals. 26 more are planned by the end of this year.

Amazon Subsidiary to Offer HDNet Titles Online

CustomFlix, a subsidiary of Amazon.com, announced last week that it has reached an agreement with HDNet to offer hundreds of high-def programs for sale online at Amazon. The company also said that it will support all of the high-definition DVD formats, including Blu-ray, HD DVD and WMA-HD DVD.

Amazon.com currently offers a broad and growing selection of high definition televisions, players, and DVDs with an HD-DVD store at www.amazon.com/hddvd, a Blu-ray store at www.amazon.com/bluray, and sells numerous WMV-HD DVDs.

Sharp in LCD Production Deal with Corning

Corning announced this morning that it has inked an agreement with Sharp to manufacture 8th generation LCD glass substrates at its facility in Shizuoka, Japan. In addition, Corning said that it recently signed a supply agreement making Corning the majority glass substrate supplier for Sharp Corporation's Gen 8 fab in Mie Prefecture, which is currently under construction and expected to open later this year. Sharp's new Gen 8 factory will be focused on LCD TVs that are 40 inches and larger and according to the company, Corning's new investment will add Gen 8 glass capacity to meet Sharp's future supply requirements.

DIRECTV Announces New Markets for HD Locals

DIRECTV today named 14 new markets in which it will launch high-def local channels beginning in the third quarter of this year. They are:

   --  Cincinnati                               --  Madison, Wis.
 --  Austin, Texas                        --  Memphis, Tenn.
 --  Albuquerque, N.M.            --  Portland, Maine
 --  Grand Rapids, Mich.          --  Portland, Ore.
 --  Green Bay, Wis.                    --  Providence, R.I.
 --  Greensboro, N.C.                 --  Reno, Nev.
 --  Las Vegas                                --  San Antonio

DIRECTV currently offers 20 HD local channel markets including: Atlanta,
Birmingham, Boston, Chicago, Columbus, Dallas-Fort Worth, Detroit,
Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Nashville, New York,
Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco, Tampa
and Washington, D.C. By June of this year, DIRECTV will have activated
local HD programming in 16 more previously announced markets for a
total of 36 markets, representing 58 percent of U.S. TV households.

HD DVD Reviews High on Picture, Low on Titles

From the Washington Post comes an article about early user reviews of Toshiba's HD DVD players that debuted last week for $500 and $800. The most positive comments surround the picture quality, particularly with standard-def DVDs. The negative feedback revolves around the lack of movie titles released in HD DVD alongside the Toshiba players.

Sony Expecting TV Profits by Fall Thanks to LCDs

Business Week has an interesting piece this week on the rebound of Sony's electronics division thanks in large measure to increasing demand for its Bravia line of LCD TVs. Much of the company's ability to meet demand for Bravia LCDs is due to its S-LCD joint production venture with Korean rival/partner Samsung Electronics, a venture that will be expanded by an additional $2.2 billion investment from the two companies. Sony is expecting its TV division to turn a profit by this fall, which will be just in time to offset heavy losses brought on by the introduction of the new PlayStation 3 and its large start-up costs.

National Geographic HD Debuts on Verizon FiOS

Without much fanfare, National Geographic HD has made its carriage debut, showing up on Verizon FiOS TV channel lineups in various markets throughout the U.S. Programming includes Naked Science, MegaStructures, Seconds From Disaster and Explorer. No word from Nat Geo on other carriage deals, but for those keeping track, FiOS TV now boasts a total of 24 HD channels.

Also bowing on FiOS TV is MTV's MHD, which the folks at Verizon somewhat inaccurately refer to as MTV HD. MHD's only cable carriage deal is with Cox, although it hasn't yet been added across all the Cox cable systems.

VOD vs. HD-DVR

One of the hot topics at the cable industry's annual confab in Atlanta last week was video on demand (VOD), which frankly, has been the case for at least the last three years. It got me thinking, though, about VOD's biggest problem: the vast majority of such programming is unavailable in high-def. If you believe the CEA that 2006 will be the first year that digital TVs outsell analog models - they project that a total of nearly 16 million HDTVs will be sold this year -- then you might assume that the cable industry would do more to get HD programming into VOD. Not so.

The issue, as it always seems to be with the cable industry, is bandwidth. Most of the cable providers have largely ceased adding new HD channels over the past year due to bandwidth constraints, and the same problem is hindering any significant amount of HD VOD. So as an HD aficionado, my cable company's VOD is pretty unappealing. In theory, VOD should enable me to not care when this week's episode of a program like The Sopranos airs because I can always go to the On Demand menu and pull it up whenever I want. In theory. However, because I want to watch it in high-def, you better believe that I care when it's on and that I make sure to set the HD-DVR to record it.

Some backers of VOD have made the argument that there is no competition between that technology and DVR because of the vast library of programming that can be offered via VOD. While to some extent that may be true, that argument only holds if the programming is offered in the format that viewers want. And this much I know: we use our HD-DVR literally every day and I can't remember the last time we watched a program live (other than sports). But we've only used our cable company's VOD offering a couple of times and each time were fairly underwhelmed. The vast majority of programming we watch here at home is in HD and until more of it is available in high-def via VOD, we'll stick with our HD-DVR.