Today's High-Def Headlines

Cox Faces HDTV Set-Top Shortages - MCN
Cox Communications’ stash of high-definition set-tops is running low in at least three markets, a problem the operator characterized as a “brief issue” stemming from recent efforts at boosting its digital-cable penetration rate. A customer-service representative for Cox’s Kansas/Arkansas system said there is a one- to two-week delay in getting an HD set-top or HD DVR, while a sales rep in Orange County, Calif., said there is up to a two-week wait for HD DVRs pending a shipment of new units from Motorola. In New England, which serves Rhode Island and parts of Connecticut, a Cox agent said it will be “weeks” before Motorola HD set-tops are available.

Verizon Runs Short on HD Boxes - MCN
Verizon Communications, which recently signed up its 1 millionth FiOS TV subscriber, has been forced to tell some new customers to sit tight for a few weeks before they can get high-definition service because it has a limited number of HD set-tops and digital video recorders in stock. The phone company has had to “backorder HD and HD DVR set-top boxes for some customers in the short term,” Verizon manager of media relations Heather Wilner said.

North American HDTV Sales Grew About 60% in 4Q - TV Week
North American high-definition television sales grew about 60% to 10 million units in the fourth quarter as Samsung and Sony gained market share at the expense of Sharp and other manufacturers, NPD Group unit DisplaySearch said. The number of flat-panel units, which include liquid-crystal display and plasma display panel televisions, increased 56% last quarter in the U.S. and Canada, as TV makers produced fewer rear-projection TVs, DisplaySearch said.

Cable Providers May Deliver HD Movie Knockout Blow - TV Week
In the war for high-definition movie viewers, Netflix is trying to bust Blockbuster, Blu-ray is bruising HD DVD and Apple’s iTunes is trying to undo Amazon.com’s Unbox and Vudu. They may all want to duck, though, because the cable companies are coming out swinging. Comcast, Cox Communications and Cablevision all said this week that they’ve either developed or are working on methods to deliver high-definition films to as many as 33 million subscribers the same day such titles are available on DVD.

Speed HD Launches With NASCAR Coverage - MCN
The Feb. 7 launch of Fox Cable Networks’ third 24-hour high-definition channel, Speed HD, is part of a much larger investment in new HD facilities that have allowed the programming group to expand its HD offering. As part of that effort, Fox has expanded satellite capacity, inked long-term leases for mobile trucks, revamped its Los Angeles studios for HD production and built a multimillion dollar studio in Chicago for the Big Ten Network. It is currently in the process of building an HD facility in Houston that should come online in March and is planning to build a new facility for Speed.

DIRECTV Now Delivers Local HD Programming In 76 U.S. Cities
DIRECTV, Inc. is now offering local HD programming to customers in 76 markets across the United States with the launch of four new HD markets today. DIRECTV customers in Cedar Rapids-Waterloo, Iowa; Louisville, Ky.; Paducah, Ky., and Wichita, Kan., now have access to local broadcast networks in HD. With the addition of these four new markets, DIRECTV now offers access to local HD broadcast channels to nearly 76 percent of U.S. TV households.

A New Cable for Your Maze - NY Times Circuits
The back of a high-definition television can easily turn into a snake pit of cables. Out of that mess comes yet another cable, but it is supposed to make everything simple. The HDMI, which stands for high-definition multimedia interface, is used to transfer digital sound and video signals from various devices to the TV without degrading those signals.

DTV Players Preview Digital Future At Best Buy Event - TWICE
A Best Buy store in Washington D.C. set the stage today for the kick-off of the DTV converter-box-coupon program in an event that looked for all the world like the Yalta conference. It didn’t quite rise to the level of the allied powers convening to decide the fate of the post-war world, but it did unite the major players involved in the switch from analog to digital in the TV world.

Xbox 360 HD DVD Player Now $129.99 - GameDaily
The HD movie player has come down in price by $50 and still carries an offer for five free movies. It probably isn't a sign of the overall health of the HD DVD market, however...