Today's High-Def Headlines

AT&T Revs Up HD Lineup With 30 New Nets - MCN
Trying to outdo cable’s HD offerings, AT&T Monday said it was adding more than 30 new HD channels to its U-verse TV lineup, as well as new international programming packages for Chinese, Polish, Russian, French and European-sports audiences. Beginning Nov. 3, U-verse TV customers will receive up to 30 new HD channels at no additional charge as part of their existing HD service subscription, depending on their programming package. With the additions, U-verse TV offers more than 75 HD channels—exceeding the HD channel lineups offered by the major local cable providers in every U-verse market.

Verizon Adds HD Mass In Boston Market - MCN
Verizon has taken its high-definition lineup in Massachusetts into triple digits, announcing that FiOS TV customers there now have access to more than 100 HD channels compared with Comcast’s lineup of 66 HDs. The telco recently added 16 HD channels to its Massachusetts TV lineup, including Animal Planet, TLC, Science Channel, Smithsonian Channel, FX, The Biography Channel, Superstation WGN HD, Fox Business Network, Fox News Channel, MGM HD, the Hallmark Movie Channel, QVC, the Travel Channel, Planet Green, Disney Channel, Toon Disney and ABC Family. Verizon also launched three new HD sports channels: ESPNews HD, The Tennis Channel and Speed HD.

HDTV Prices May Be As Low As They Can Go - PC Magazine
The price OEMs are paying for the panels used inside LCD TVs is approaching the cash cost the panel makers themselves pay for them, a display industry report said recently. What this means, essentially, is that TV OEMs are paying just about cheapest possible price for the panels, which in turn make up about 70 percent of the cost of a typical LCD TV.

Mitsubishi LaserVue Arrives in Stores - Dealerscope
Mitsubishi's LaserVue 65 laser-powered television, introduced in January at International CES, has arrived in stores, the company announced Tuesday. The product, which the company says boasts a crisper picture while losing less energy, will be available "select speciality stores," with a price tag of $6,999.

TV Pricing Promos To Drive Holiday Sales - TWICE
The stock market and banking industry may be on a roller coaster headed for a crash of 1929 proportions, but the flat-panel television market appears to be entering the holiday season in relatively good shape, vendors and analysts told TWICE. Vendors noted that TV sales have softened somewhat since Labor Day, but not enough to warrant many unplanned price cuts. Yet, display market analysts told TWICE they are still calling for very aggressive holiday price promotions, whether planned in advance or forced by the recent turn of events, starting as soon as early November.

September TV Pricing Down 22% - TWICE
Global TV internet pricing for television sets declined an average 22 percent at the end of September from the year-ago period, according to the new DisplaySearch Monthly Global TV E-Tail Pricing & Specification Database. According to the study, average PDP TV e-tail prices fell 27 percent year over year in September 2008. CRT TV e-tail prices, on the other hand, rose 4 percent year over year.