Wednesday, October 31, 2007

L.A., NYC Are the HD Capitals: Nielsen

Nielsen released some HD penetration data today showing that Los Angeles and New York City lead the nation in the percentage of homes with an HDTV and corresponding high-def tuner. Overall, nearly 14% of U.S. TV households have an HDTV (15.5 million) and over 11% actually receive at least one high-definition channel (12.7 million).

More from Multichannel News.

AT&T Not Worried About HD Over DSL

At the recent VON conference, AT&T U-verse honcho Jeff Weber told attendees that he has no concerns about the scalability of his company's approach to IPTV, specifically as it relates to HD. AT&T plans to soon be able to offer two streams of high-def programming using VDSL2, and Weber says that right now, AT&T has the highest HD penetration of any provider in the industry.

More from Telephony Online.

Comcast Launches New 5 HD Nets in Portland

A reader has alerted me to the fact that Comcast in Portland has added A&E HD, HGTV HD, History Channel HD, NFL Network HD and USA Network HD to its high-def lineup. I didn't see any official announcement from the cable behemoth, but its online channel lineup in Portland confirms the addition. Comcast now offers 24 HD channels in the City of Roses.

DirecTV, DISH Add NBA TV HD

Just in time for the new basketball season that tipped off tonight, NBA TV HD can now be found on both DirecTV (channel 601) and DISH Network (channel 402). The roundball network offers more than 72 games in HD as well as other NBA programming in HD, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

HD Internet Video Gets Boost from Akamai

Online content delivery specialist Akamai has created "The HD Web", a portal that will act as a programming guide to HD video on the Internet, according to the company. Participating content providers include Apple, CBS, the NBA, the NHL, BBC, Adobe and Weather Central.

Akamai says that a minimum of 1.2 Mbps Internet connection is required for HD video. Both MPEG-4 and VC-1 compression are supported, as are high-def resolutions of 720p, 1080i and 1080p.

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

7 More HD Channels for Comcast Houston

Comcast in Houston has added seven new high-def channels, bringing the total number it offers there to 30. The new ones are: A&E HD, CNN HD, Food Network HD, HGTV HD, History Channel HD, National Geographic HD and USA HD.

Fire > Blogging

I've been out of action this week thanks to the wildfires here in San Diego...got evacutated on Monday and just came back home today. Will try to catch up on the HD news now...

Friday, October 19, 2007

ESPN to Launch ESPNews HD in March

ESPN honcho Bryan Burns told attendees at the DisplaySearch HDTV 2007 Conference last week that his company is gearing up to launch ESPNews in high-def next spring. Bryan also provided a demo of the new network, which is set up so that about two-thirds of the widescreen is taken up with video highlights while the left side -- dubbed the HD Sideline -- contains news, scores and other information. More from TVWeek.

Distribution deals are already in place with DirecTV, Comcast and Time Warner Cable.

DISH Adds NHL Network HD

DISH Network yesterday evening announced the launch of NHL Network HD, adding to its growing number of high-def channels. To my knowledge, DISH is the first HD service provider to launch NHL Network HD. According to the company:

NHL Network is the first national network dedicated entirely to hockey giving viewers unprecedented 24-hour access to the most comprehensive hockey coverage, both on and off the ice. NHL Network will broadcast 50 live regular-season games in addition to classic games, documentaries, instructional shows, highlights and more.

Subscribers to America's Top 100 package (or above) with DishHD receive NHL Network HD free on Channel 403. NHL Network HD is also available to NHL Center Ice subscribers on Channel 559.

More HD Ad Lawsuits: DirecTV Goes After Cox

Multichannel News is reporting that DirecTV has sued Cox Communications over an item on the cabler's website that cites a Comcast-sponsored research study showing that two-thirds of consumers surveyed preferred Comcast's HD picture quality to DirecTV's. The satellite giant's argument against Cox is that the study pertained to Comcast, not Cox, and just because those consumers preferred Comcast over DirecTV doesn't mean they also would have preferred any cable company's HD quality over DirecTV's.

DirecTV probably has a point here but I sure am getting sick of these lawsuits. The Comcast-DirecTV spat is still pending in the courts and I'm not sure that these suits and countersuits actually accomplish much of anything. I suppose if nothing else they keep busy the armies of lawyers these companies employ...

Thursday, October 18, 2007

Verizon FiOS TV Adds 2 New HD Channels

This week's been a busy one for new HD channel distribution deals. Following on the heels of DirecTV, DISH, AT&T U-verse and numerous cable companies, Verizon added two new high-def nets to its FiOS TV service on Monday: the newly-launched FOX Business Network HD and A&E HD.

FOX Business Network HD is now available on DirecTV and Verizon FiOS TV.

Sony's Cheaper PS3 to Debut in 2 Weeks

Sony's newly-announced 40GB PlayStation 3 will hit store shelves on Nov. 2 at a price point of $400 in an effort by the electronics giant to better compete with the Nintendo Wii and Microsoft Xbox. More from Reuters. I don't usually spend too much time analyzing video game platform developments, but this one is somewhat significant because the PS3 includes a Blu-ray disc player and at $400, it's basically the cheapest BDR player you can buy. In fact, the bulk of the Blu-ray players that have been sold so far have been PS3's.

The other reason this news interests me is that I'm currently deciding which of these gaming consoles to buy. The Wii is the cheapest of the three at $249 but it isn't high-def. As any of you who have played the Wii know, the attraction with it is the interactivity, particularly with the Wii Sports games (baseball, tennis, bowling, etc.). The graphics clearly aren't as good as those on the PS3 or Xbox but the Wii offers more than just the standard couch-potato gaming experience.

So I'd say at this point I'm leaning towards the Wii since I'm more interested in swinging a virtual baseball bat than I am in the stunning HD graphics of, say, Spider Man 3. I'll let you all know what I end up with...in the meantime, let me know what thoughts you have on the three options.

Monday, October 15, 2007

DirecTV Continues New HD Channel Binge

DirecTV today added a new crop of HD channels to its ever-expanding lineup, bringing its total to somewhere between 52 and 70, depending on how you do the counting. (In its marketing campaigns touting 70 HD channels, DirecTV counts 8 pay-per-view channels along with another 8 Distant Network Signal local channels, both of which are a bit of a stretch to count as real HD channels.)

The new high-def networks are: Bravo, Cartoon Network, Cinemax East, Cinemax West, CNBC, Food Network, Fox Business Network, Fuel TV, FX, HBO West, HGTV, MGM, MHD, Sci-Fi, Speed Channel, Starz West & USA Network.

The full HD lineup is available here.

AT&T U-verse Adds 2 More HD Channels

AT&T U-verse today added History HD and Lifetime Movie Network HD to its high-def lineup, which when counting the recent inclusion of TBS HD, brings to 30 the number of HD channels AT&T now offers.

Thursday, October 11, 2007

Time Warner Cable Customers in SC Get Lucky

I've been up at the DisplaySearch HDTV Conference in L.A., so sorry for the lack of posting this week. Here's an interesting tidbit I just picked up on:

Never would have pegged Columbia, South Carolina as a hotbed of HD activity, but Time Warner Cable there has just launched 9 new high-def channels, bringing the total number available to a very impressive 34. The new ones are:
  • Cinemax HD
  • CNN HD
  • Food Network HD
  • Golf/Versus HD
  • HGTV HD
  • History Channel HD
  • Lifetime Movie Network HD
  • TBS HD
  • TMC HD

Great news for the good folks of Columbia - and I'm jealous. Time Warner here in San Diego only offers 25, which isn't bad but is a far cry from 34. Hopefully we'll be getting some of those newbies here soon...

Monday, October 08, 2007

TBS HD Picks Up Carriage on DISH, AT&T

Securing the rights to telecast the Major League Baseball playoffs was the best thing that could have happened for TBS in rolling out its HD simulcast, as the superstation picked up two more carriage agreements today -- with DISH Network and AT&T U-verse. TBS HD already has distribution on many of the largest cable and systems, including DirecTV, Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Bright House Networks and Cox Communications, although not all of each of those companies' customers can actually watch TBS HD just yet.

In addition to airing all of baseball's opening-round divisional playoffs, TBS will also telecast the National League Championship Series (NLCS) between the Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies.

Thursday, October 04, 2007

Discovery Rebranding HD Theater

Now that Discovery Channel HD has launched, Discovery Networks has answered the question of what it will do with Discovery HD Theater, one of the pioneers of HD broadcasting. The channel is now known as simply "HD Theater" minus the Discovery, and features a new logo:


Today's High-Def Headlines

DirecTV Rolls 11 With HD - MCN
DirecTV’s high-definition channel rollout continued apace today, with the nation’s leading satellite service adding 11 more enhanced services to its lineup. Six of the new adds were national services, three apiece from the NBC Universal and HBO camps, while five were the HD feeds for regional sports networks. Among the former category, DirecTV today launched Bravo HD, Sci Fi Channel HD and USA Network HD, as well as Cinemax HD East, Cinemax HD West and HBO HD West. The distributor now offers 40 national HD services.

L.A. Gets HD Baseball on TBS - MCN
Time Warner Cable engineers in Southern California scrambled to enable the regional system to activate TBS HD, announcing at 3:30 p.m. Oct. 3 that it had managed to add TBS’s high-definition channel in time for the region to watch the Los Angeles Angels in their first play-off game against the Boston Red Sox in the American League divisional play-off. Time Warner, which serves the majority of Los Angeles, Orange and Riverside counties, is offering three ways to watch the local team in the play-offs: in standard definition on TBS’s usual channel placement, in HD on Channel 413, or as a simulcast on CNN en Espanol on Channel 305 with play-by-play commentary by CNN senior sports anchor Diego Bustos.

LCD & Plasma TVs: One Plasma Hits a New High - Consumer Reports
The best sets are better than ever. The Panasonic TH-50PZ700U had the best picture of any flat-panel TV we’ve ever tested. One of the new breed of 1080p plasma sets now hitting stores, it combines “full HD”--1920x1080 native resolution, the highest currently available--with the characteristic strengths of plasma technology. Its ability to reproduce the finest detail, plus its rich, vibrant colors and deep blacks, lend an almost three-dimensional look to images.

JVC Demos 180Hz LCD Technology - TWICE
Victor Company of Japan (JVC) unveiled at CEATEC its new LCD TV technology that offers a 180Hz “panel operation frequency” rate, improving upon current 120Hz models. JVC's 180Hz technology was said to use a proprietary algorithm enabling the panel to “predict, produce and insert” two additional frames of images every second in a standard 60 fps video stream, according to a report in Nikkei Business news.

Sharp Demos Super-Thin LCD - TWICE
As Sony launches onto the Japanese consumer market an 11-inch OLED TV measuring just 0.11 inches thick, Sharp is demonstrating at CEATEC a 12.1-inch LCD panel with just about the same thickness. The new LCD panel was said to be three-times thicker than Sharp’s previous LCD versions.

TV Rivals Muscle Up for a High-Def Duel - Sacramento Bee
If high-definition is the new front in the battle for TV viewers, it appears that DirecTV is seizing the high ground -- at least for now. Fortified by new satellite capacity, DirecTV added 21 high-definition channels to its lineup last week, bringing its total to 30. It expects to double that by the end of October and offer up to 100 channels by year's end, although some of those will be pay-per-view, not new channels.

Cox Communications and Turner Bring High Definition Programming to Customers
Cox Communications and Turner Networks announced an agreement Wednesday that will allow Cox to offer TBS in HD and CNN HD in Cox markets.

HDTV Customers Are Happy With Picture Quality, Less Enthusiastic About Programming Options, Nielsen Finds
High definition (HD) television owners are much more satisfied with the picture quality of HD television than they are with the amount or selection of HD programming, The Nielsen Company reported today. According to Nielsen Media Research's 2007 High Definition Survey, 85 percent of HD owners gave a 4 or 5 rating (with 5 meaning "excellent" and 1 meaning "poor") for picture quality but only 39 percent provided the same rating for programming selection.

Tuesday, October 02, 2007

Today's High-Def Headlines

Baseball Fans and News Junkies Cheer as Comcast Launches TBS and CNN in HD
Comcast, the nation's leading provider of cable, entertainment and communications products and services, today announced the simultaneous launches of TBS and CNN in High-Definition (HD), adding two more of the most popular cable channels to its already extensive HD lineup in Massachusetts and most of New Hampshire. The launch of TBS in HD will deliver Major League Baseball fans a front row seat to all 27 potential games of the American and National League Division Series and National League Championship Series.

Matsushita to Launch Advanced Blu-ray Recorders - Reuters
Panasonic maker Matsushita Electric Industrial said it would launch new Blu-ray optical disc recorders in November that allow more hours of full high-definition recording on a single disc than any others available. Matsushita, along with Sony, promotes the Blu-ray technology, which competes with the HD DVD format backed by Toshiba and Microsoft.

Big Ten Network Inks RCN Deal - MCN
As expected, RCN signed a deal to distribute Big Ten Network in metropolitan Chicago and in Pennsylvania. The deal reached Friday evening enabled RCN customers to watch the network’s lineup of college football action this past weekend.

Hitachi Shows Hybrid LCD Panel/Projector Technology - TWICE
Hitachi is demonstrating at the CEATEC show here a 47-inch hybrid LCD panel/LCD projector display that can produce a dark room contrast ratio of 8,000,000:1. The hybrid monitor technology uses a projector as a back-light system on an LCD panel, the company said.

Monday, October 01, 2007

Today's High-Def Headlines

Sony to Begin Selling OLED TVs - WSJ
Sony Corp. said Monday it will begin selling the world's first ultra-thin flat-screen television based on organic light-emitting diode technology in December, as the race to develop next-generation televisions heats up. The technology, known as OLED, uses organic chemicals that can emit light. That means the new TV set doesn't require a backlight like conventional liquid-crystal display televisions.

TBS HD Plays Subscriber Gains - MCN
Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks Friday joined Cablevision Systems and Comcast in launching TBS’ HD channel in time for the network’s Major League Baseball postseason coverage. A Time Warner Cable spokesman said the operator will offer the HD simulcast of the TBS, beginning Oct. 1. The spokesman, however, would not say how many of the operators systems will actually launch the service in time for TBS’ exclusive coverage of baseball’s Divisional series, which are scheduled to begin Oct. 3.

Speed Readies HD Network - MCN
While many networks have taken their position on the track in recent weeks, Speed plans to enter the high-definition race next February during its coverage from Daytona Speedway.
Speed in HD plans to come out of the gate with more than 100 hours of NASCAR coverage from the Daytona Speedweeks, which begin next year on Feb. 7 and lead up to the 50th anniversary of the Daytona 500 on Feb. 17.

Sharp To Cut Prices On 6 Aquos Models - TWICE Sharp is the first among several manufacturers to make pre-holiday flat-panel price cuts, confirming that it has dropped suggested retail pricing by $300 on three 52-inch Aquos LCD TVs and by $100 on three 37-inch models, effective Oct. 1. Models receiving new lower prices include the 52-inch LC-52D92U (which drops $4,499 to $4,199), LC-52D82U (drops from $4,099 to $3,799); and the LC-52D64U (drops from $3,799 to $3,499).

Big Ten Network, WideOpenWest Strike Carriage Deal - TV Week
The Big Ten Network signed a carriage deal with WideOpenWest, an alternative cable provider that operates in the Midwest. WOW serves markets such as Chicago and Detroit also covered by Comcast, the nation’s biggest cable operator, which does not carry the Big Ten Network.

AT&T Hovers Over EchoStar - Forbes
The universe is rapidly aligning for EchoStar Communications. On Thursday, an Oppenheimer analyst upgraded the satellite television company to "buy" and said it was ripe for an AT&T takeover. EchoStar is undergoing a swift metamorphosis.