Thursday, November 30, 2006

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...

Tuesday, November 28, 2006

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.

Monday, November 27, 2006

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.

Wednesday, November 22, 2006

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.

Tuesday, November 21, 2006

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.

Thursday, November 16, 2006

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.

Wednesday, November 15, 2006

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.

Tuesday, November 14, 2006

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.

Monday, November 13, 2006

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.

Friday, November 10, 2006

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.

Wednesday, November 08, 2006

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...

Monday, November 06, 2006

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.