Today's High-Def Headlines

Comcast Adds 9 HD Channels in Sacramento - Sac Bee
Comcast announced Thursday the addition of nine high-definition channels to its cable lineup. For Sacramento cable customers, the additions to the HD lineup are Discovery Channel, HGTV, USA, Food Network, Sci-Fi, TLC, ABC Family, Disney Channel and Discovery Science.

Verizon Lines Up MavTV In HD - MCN
As part of a new long-term carriage agreement, Verizon FiOS TV will add the high-definition feed of MavTV to its lineup this year, officials said Thursday. MavTV HD will feature a strong lineup of native high-definition programming for FiOS TV subscribers. MavTV targets the male demographic with a wide array of content, featuring sports, comedy, women, gadgets, lifestyles and gaming.

Cuban Says Web as Entertainment is Over - San Antonio Express-News
Dallas Mavericks owner and high-definition television network co-founder Mark Cuban was at his outspoken best last week, telling a gathering of cable operators and programmers that the Internet was dying as an entertainment medium. He bolstered his claim by saying the Internet and popular sites such as YouTube can't provide high-definition programming like cable and can't offer the interactivity that cable programmers can. High-definition television screens are large enough to give viewers more options that will allow them to use the television like a personal computer desktop, the maverick billionaire said during a panel discussion on the future of high-definition programming.

Runco Shows 70-Inch LCD TV - TWICE
Dealers attending Runco’s Mexican Getaway were shown the company’s first 70-inch 1080p LCD TV, among a lineup of flagship items coming to market this year. The 70-inch model addresses one of the company’s product goals under Planar leadership, which is to expand and upgrade the flat-panel LCD offerings with larger screen sizes and 1080p resolution. The CX-70DHD is expected to be available in the next three months and will ship with Runco’s DHD video processor. It is likely to be priced at between $25,000 and $30,000, subject to change, the company said.

FCC Allows Satellite-TV Providers to Phase in HD - B&C
Satellite companies gained a victory Thursday when the Federal Communications Commission voted to allow them to phase in a requirement that they carry all HD signals in any market where they carry any after the Feb. 17, 2009, switch to digital TV by all full-power TV stations. The commission also ruled that DirecTV’s and Dish Network's requirement to carry all TV stations in a market where they carry any extends to DTV signals just as it applies to analog TV stations.

Pantel Introduces ‘Weatherproof’ HDTVs - TWICE
Pantel announced it had added two weatherproof LCD HDTVs to its offerings: a 32-inch and a 42-inch model. Previous high-definition TVs used outdoors had to be used under canopies or other types of overhangs, said the company, but were still often unprotected. The company’s new models feature proprietary dual-flow ventilation system that’s meant to keep the TVs cool when it’s hot, and its “state-of-the-art heating system creates heat to keep Pantel TVs working in colder climates,” said the company.