DIRECTV Adds Local HD Nets in Indy, Seattle

DIRECTV said today that it is now offering certain local broadcast networks in high-def in Seattle and Indianapolis, bringing to 26 the number of markets in which it offers HD locals. In Seattle, the local CBS and NBC affiliates are now available in high-def, with negotiations still in progress for ABC and FOX. The reverse is true in Indianapolis: ABC and FOX are now available, with CBS and NBC to come later.

Comcast: We Want More HD Networks

Comcast executive Steve Burke says that its HD subscriber base could double in the next 18 months, although according to Multichannel News, "he cautioned that growth will depend on more networks delivering programs in HD."

Steve, are you kidding? I understand that the entire cable industry faces bandwidth constraints that prevent more HD channels from being offered. But to say that your HD subscriber growth might not be what you want because of a lack of programming just doesn't make sense.

Here's a partial list of HD networks in existence today that Comcast does NOT offer:

• ESPN2 HD
• HDNet
• HDNet Movies
• MHD (MTV)
• The Movie Channel HD
• Universal HD (some markets)
• VOOM 15 HD
• WealthTV HD
• Many regional sports networks in HD, including MSG, SportsNet NY, YES

CEA: HDTV Sales Up 101% Over '05

The Consumer Electronics Association said last week that HDTV sales rose to 3.4 million in the first quarter of '06, a 101% increase from the same quarter last year. In all, consumers spent about $3.6 billion on HDTVs in Q1 '06. The CEA also released survey data showing that 49% of consumers plan to make their next TV purchase some kind of flat-panel display (plasma and LCD would seem to be the likely candidates).

Market research firm Current Analysis, my old employer, reports that the average plasma display street price fell 9% from March to April, coming in at just over $3,300.

For what it's worth, the CEA data refers to DTVs, or digital TVs, which was a much more relevant term two or three years ago when EDTVs were a popular way of getting near-HD quality at a discounted price. Nowadays you'd be hard pressed to find more than a couple of EDTVs for sale at your local electronics retailer.

Panasonic and Sony in Cahoots on New HD Camcorder Format

PC Magazine has the story on Panasonic and Sony's announcement last week of a new high-def camcorder format called AVCHD that will allow for 1080i and 720p recording and playback onto 8-centimeter DVDs. Standard DVDs are 12 cm and are considered too big given the trend of increasingly smaller camcorders and digital cameras.

No word yet on when any AVCHD products will be available or at what price.

HP Now the Biggest Consumer Electronics Maker

I don't really understand how this happened so quickly, but the Wall Street Journal reports today that HP became the largest consumer electronics manufacturer in 2005, taking 13% of the $80 billion CE pie. HP jumped Sony and Panasonic for the top slot. And to think that just a few years ago, HP was known primarily for its printers and not much else...

DISH HD Locals Available in 11 New Markets

DISH Network today launched high-def local broadcast channels in 11 new markets, bringing the total of markets with DISH HD locals available to 24. The new markets are: Dallas; Houston; Miami; Phoenix; Portland, Ore.; Sacramento; San Antonio; San Diego; San Francisco; Seattle; and Spokane.

DISH plans to reach more than 50 percent of U.S. TV households with local HD channels by year end.

DIRECTV Adds Local HD Channels in 4 New Areas

DIRECTV said today that it has launched high-def local channels in Milwaukee, Phoenix, Salt Lake City and St. Louis. That brings to 24 the number of markets in which the nation's largest satellite provider offers HD locals. 26 more are planned by the end of this year.

Amazon Subsidiary to Offer HDNet Titles Online

CustomFlix, a subsidiary of Amazon.com, announced last week that it has reached an agreement with HDNet to offer hundreds of high-def programs for sale online at Amazon. The company also said that it will support all of the high-definition DVD formats, including Blu-ray, HD DVD and WMA-HD DVD.

Amazon.com currently offers a broad and growing selection of high definition televisions, players, and DVDs with an HD-DVD store at www.amazon.com/hddvd, a Blu-ray store at www.amazon.com/bluray, and sells numerous WMV-HD DVDs.

Sharp in LCD Production Deal with Corning

Corning announced this morning that it has inked an agreement with Sharp to manufacture 8th generation LCD glass substrates at its facility in Shizuoka, Japan. In addition, Corning said that it recently signed a supply agreement making Corning the majority glass substrate supplier for Sharp Corporation's Gen 8 fab in Mie Prefecture, which is currently under construction and expected to open later this year. Sharp's new Gen 8 factory will be focused on LCD TVs that are 40 inches and larger and according to the company, Corning's new investment will add Gen 8 glass capacity to meet Sharp's future supply requirements.

DIRECTV Announces New Markets for HD Locals

DIRECTV today named 14 new markets in which it will launch high-def local channels beginning in the third quarter of this year. They are:

   --  Cincinnati                               --  Madison, Wis.
 --  Austin, Texas                        --  Memphis, Tenn.
 --  Albuquerque, N.M.            --  Portland, Maine
 --  Grand Rapids, Mich.          --  Portland, Ore.
 --  Green Bay, Wis.                    --  Providence, R.I.
 --  Greensboro, N.C.                 --  Reno, Nev.
 --  Las Vegas                                --  San Antonio

DIRECTV currently offers 20 HD local channel markets including: Atlanta,
Birmingham, Boston, Chicago, Columbus, Dallas-Fort Worth, Detroit,
Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Nashville, New York,
Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco, Tampa
and Washington, D.C. By June of this year, DIRECTV will have activated
local HD programming in 16 more previously announced markets for a
total of 36 markets, representing 58 percent of U.S. TV households.

HD DVD Reviews High on Picture, Low on Titles

From the Washington Post comes an article about early user reviews of Toshiba's HD DVD players that debuted last week for $500 and $800. The most positive comments surround the picture quality, particularly with standard-def DVDs. The negative feedback revolves around the lack of movie titles released in HD DVD alongside the Toshiba players.

Sony Expecting TV Profits by Fall Thanks to LCDs

Business Week has an interesting piece this week on the rebound of Sony's electronics division thanks in large measure to increasing demand for its Bravia line of LCD TVs. Much of the company's ability to meet demand for Bravia LCDs is due to its S-LCD joint production venture with Korean rival/partner Samsung Electronics, a venture that will be expanded by an additional $2.2 billion investment from the two companies. Sony is expecting its TV division to turn a profit by this fall, which will be just in time to offset heavy losses brought on by the introduction of the new PlayStation 3 and its large start-up costs.

National Geographic HD Debuts on Verizon FiOS

Without much fanfare, National Geographic HD has made its carriage debut, showing up on Verizon FiOS TV channel lineups in various markets throughout the U.S. Programming includes Naked Science, MegaStructures, Seconds From Disaster and Explorer. No word from Nat Geo on other carriage deals, but for those keeping track, FiOS TV now boasts a total of 24 HD channels.

Also bowing on FiOS TV is MTV's MHD, which the folks at Verizon somewhat inaccurately refer to as MTV HD. MHD's only cable carriage deal is with Cox, although it hasn't yet been added across all the Cox cable systems.

VOD vs. HD-DVR

One of the hot topics at the cable industry's annual confab in Atlanta last week was video on demand (VOD), which frankly, has been the case for at least the last three years. It got me thinking, though, about VOD's biggest problem: the vast majority of such programming is unavailable in high-def. If you believe the CEA that 2006 will be the first year that digital TVs outsell analog models - they project that a total of nearly 16 million HDTVs will be sold this year -- then you might assume that the cable industry would do more to get HD programming into VOD. Not so.

The issue, as it always seems to be with the cable industry, is bandwidth. Most of the cable providers have largely ceased adding new HD channels over the past year due to bandwidth constraints, and the same problem is hindering any significant amount of HD VOD. So as an HD aficionado, my cable company's VOD is pretty unappealing. In theory, VOD should enable me to not care when this week's episode of a program like The Sopranos airs because I can always go to the On Demand menu and pull it up whenever I want. In theory. However, because I want to watch it in high-def, you better believe that I care when it's on and that I make sure to set the HD-DVR to record it.

Some backers of VOD have made the argument that there is no competition between that technology and DVR because of the vast library of programming that can be offered via VOD. While to some extent that may be true, that argument only holds if the programming is offered in the format that viewers want. And this much I know: we use our HD-DVR literally every day and I can't remember the last time we watched a program live (other than sports). But we've only used our cable company's VOD offering a couple of times and each time were fairly underwhelmed. The vast majority of programming we watch here at home is in HD and until more of it is available in high-def via VOD, we'll stick with our HD-DVR.

HD DVD Players Finally Available

Toshiba has fired the opening salvo in the battle for next-generation DVD players, officially launching two HD DVD models today. The HD-A1 retails for $500 while the HD-XA1 goes for $800. Manufacturers of the competing Blu-ray plan to debut a player early this summer.

HDNet Teams with NASA for Space in High-Def

HDNet, in a partnership with NASA, will broadcast future manned spacecraft launches in high-def beginning this July. According to Broadcast & Cable magazine, HDNet won't have an exclusive right to the high-def space coverage but will be the only high-def broadcaster with cameras on the launchpad and in other pre-staging areas. HDNet will utilize a dozen cameras for the coverage and expects to be on hand for 15 shuttle launches and pre-launch events.

A&E to Bow HD Network This Fall

Multichannel News has the story on the A&E Network's push into high-def that will culminate Labor Day weekend with the launch of A&E HD. The new channel will simulcast the regular A&E programming and will include approximately 65% of A&E's primetime lineup. Among the series to be showcased in high-def are CSI: Miami, Cold Case Files, The First 48 and in 2007, The Sopranos.

The History Channel, which is owned by the same parent company, will make its HD debut sometime in 2007, according to Multichannel News.

Sony and Samsung Up LCD Investment by $2 Billion

Samsung and Sony announced last week a plan to increase their LCD plant capacity via an additional $2 billion investment in their joint production facility. According to Reuters, the new plant expansion will go online next fall (2007) and will be capable of producing 50,000 LCD panels a month.

Circuit City to Focus More on Home Theater Installation

TWICE reports that Circuit City is planning a new strategy for more affordable custom home theater installations and will roll it out sometime in the second half. Complete with a new brand name, the installation service will utilize both company and third-party installers.

Mitsubishi Unveils New DLP and LCDs at Dealer Line Show

Mitsubishi has intro'd a slew of new HDTVs, including a pair of 73-inch DLP models as well as one with a 6-primary 1080p DLP color system. Here are the releases:

http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Story/Story.aspx?guid=%7B264B6C60%2DAC26%2D497E%2D886D%2DB4A3809F0BFE%7D&siteid=mktw&dist=nbk&symb=

http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Story/Story.aspx?guid=%7B6F64DBD2%2DF962%2D4D4C%2DA72F%2D877A2707CE67%7D&siteid=mktw&dist=nbk&symb=

http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Story/Story.aspx?guid=%7BA936A689%2D203B%2D46DC%2D9E2B%2D40270C17558F%7D&siteid=mktw&dist=nbk&symb=

http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Story/Story.aspx?guid=%7B48334C15%2DFEE2%2D44CC%2D8E31%2DB3046FC8720E%7D&siteid=mktw&dist=nbk&symb=

LG’s 71-Inch Plasma Now Available in Retail

LG Electronics announced last week that its 71-inch plasma - the world's largest production model - is now available in select retail stores. Unveiled at Ken Cranes in West L.A. and Sixth Avenue Electronics just outside New York City, the MW-71PY10 boasts 1920x1080p display resolution and LG's proprietary XD Engine technology, which takes the low resolution of analog signals to what the company says are near high-definition levels.

More here:
http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Story/Story.aspx?guid=%7BAD2C3D55%2DDCD0%2D4DC6%2DA15F%2D739182C3831E%7D&siteid=mktw&dist=nbk&symb=

Samsung Blu-ray Shipments On Hold Until June

Samsung Electronics said today that it has delayed its Blu-ray player introduction until June so that it can complete testing. Reuters reports that the BD-P1000 launch will now be June 25 instead of May 23, although the company still anticipates being the first to market with a Blu-ray player.

It's funny how we all get caught up in the race to introduce a product like Blu-ray or HD DVD (which began shipping in Japan last week). The reality is that there probably won't be a ton of people lining up to buy one of these things like it's an Xbox 360 or PS3. Until the interoperability issues are ironed out, the initial buyers of Blu-ray and HD DVD will be the extreme early adopters -- people who either can afford to buy both or have a strong preference out of the gate as to which will be the long-term survivor.

Here's the Reuters/CNET piece:
http://news.com.com/Samsung+delays+U.S.+Blu-ray+player+launch/2100-1041_3-6057321.html?tag=fd_nbs_ent&tag=nl.e703

Mitsubishi to Unveil Laser-Powered DLP

The New York Times is reporting that Mitsubishi will debut a new DLP HDTV later this week that employs separate red, green and blue colored lasers instead of lamps to produce the image on the screen. The company says its new laser DLPs are unique and will go on sale in late 2007. Instead of a glass panel, advanced plastics will be used, which will make the display much lighter and require less room to mount. Pricing for the initial 52-inch display is expected to be roughly in line with that of 50-inch plasmas.

Mitsubishi claims that its laser DLPs will be able to better produce black levels than plasmas -- simply by shutting off the lasers -- and that they will last much longer than traditional lamp-based DLPs.

More here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/03/business/03hdtv.html?ex=1144209600&en=572d69d69059a120&ei=5087

Panasonic to Debut 58-Inch Plasma in June

Panasonic announced plans today to release a pair of 58-inch plasma displays early this summer, both of which offer 1366x768 resolution and 10,000:1 contrast ratio. The company says that the 58-inchers are designed to complement Panasonic's previously announced 65-inch 1080p model that will be released soon and its already-available 50-inch display.

These two plasmas feature a technology Panasonic is calling EZ-Sync that will allow for single remote and one-button control of the entire home theater system. The company says that it differs from a universal remote in that one button will turn on the entire system and select the right inputs and settings for the DVD player. (Note to the PR guys at Panasonic: my Orion universal remote already does this.)

The new TH-58PX600U and TH-58PX60U models also offer an SD Memory Card slot, which is a useful feature.

To meet rising demand for plasmas, Panasonic is adding a fourth panel factory that will go online in 2007 in Amagasaki, Japan.

The TH-58PX600U, which includes a digital tuner and CableCARD slot, will retail for $5,999.95 while the TH-58PX60U will list for $5,499.95 when they are both released this summer.

Specialty A/V Shops Trying to Get Around Flat-Panel Shortages

This Week in Consumer Electronics (TWICE) has an interesting piece that directly relates to my most recent post about the Panasonic plasma inventory shortages. Apparently flat-panel displays from the major manufacturers are in short supply almost across the board, which is leading custom home theater shops to consider expanding the range of brands that they carry to include second-tier brands like Vizio and the new ProScan. Some are also looking at private-labeling displays manufacturered in Korea and China.

Here's the link:
http://www.twice.com/article/CA6318862.html?display=breaking+news

Panasonic Plasma Inventories Running Short

I've been getting a lot of feedback on the lack of Panasonic plasmas available from a number of retailers. In particular, the commercial-grade TH-50PHD8UK (see CNET review link below) seems to be in short supply. A friend of mine who owns a high-end custom home theater shop in Southern California says that the interval between ordering and delivery of these well-regarded models is currently averaging 3-4 weeks. A reader emailed me that a Panasonic rep told him that it's because this year's models are being rolled out, meaning that they quit making the previous generation several months ago. This may be true for the consumer line, but the pro line was just released on Sept. 1st of last year, so I don't think it's been replaced just yet.

If you know anything, please post a comment here or email me.

http://reviews.cnet.com/Panasonic_TH_50PHD8UK/4505-6482_7-31511908.html?tag=upidmlp

VOOM Adds Gameplay HD to Lineup

VOOM has added a new gaming channel to its high-def programming lineup, Gameplay HD. Broadcasting & Cable reports that "the new network is geared to the video game market and has three tiers of programming, including gaming news, original series, and coverage of global gaming communities."

Sony Planning Major HDTV Ad Push

Sony Electronics is planning to boost its 2006 advertising budget by hundreds of millions of dollars, the bulk of which will go towards promoting HDTVs, Blu-ray players and digital cameras and camcorders. Reuters reports that Sony the increased ad budget will be used for TV ads, sponsorship of NASCAR races and film-related merchandising. Sony's goal is to boost HDTV market share, which the Consumer Electronics Association predicts will reach 15.9 million in '06.

More here: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060325/tc_nm/sony_marketing_dc

Dell Says Consumers Prefer Its Plasma to Panasonic

Dell released results of a four-city, head-to-head competition between its 50-inch plasma and the industry-leading Panasonic model in which Dell says consumers preferred the Dell. The consumer preference study of 50-inch plasma HDTVs was conducted from November 2005 through February 2006 in Baltimore, Chicago, New York and San Francisco. Following viewings of each TV, 308 consumers were asked their preference if the Panasonic and Dell TVs were priced $500 and $100 apart. According to Guideline Research, which conducted the taste-test on Dell's behalf, the Dell won at only a $100 discount to the Panasonic.

www.dell.com/HDTVchallenge
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/060321/20060321005546.html?.v=1

Dell did one of these "double-blind" studies last year showing that consumers prefer Dell HDTVs over competing models from the leading consumer electronics manufacturers. They seem to be trying to dispel the common perception in the industry that while Dell offers a great value, its products are not of the highest quality. I'd be curious as to what opinions are out there from people who have purchased Dell plasma or LCD TVs -- would you buy one again?

CBS Coverage of March Madness is Just Terrible

This year's coverage of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament on CBS has been the absolute worst I can remember. In what is just the most recent example, the Connecticut-Kentucky game is on now, and it's a decent game -- UConn is up by 6 with about 7 1/2 minutes left. But there's a major upset in the works with 11th-seeded George Mason up by 3 over North Carolina with about 10 seconds left. CBS keeps saying they'll switch us over to that game but are unable to actually do so for whatever reason. Now there are 6 seconds left and they still haven't switched over.

This has happened at least three different times in the four days I've been watching the tournament, in addition to viewers being randomly shown commercials without warning in the middle of a game and the games switching back and forth between SD and HD for no reason.

All of this might be excusable if CBS had just picked up the NCAA rights this year, but this is the 25th year they've been televising the tournament! Surely they should have figured out to how do this right by now.

Incidentally, North Carolina did indeed get beat by George Mason. Not that we got to see any of it...

LG was World's Top TV Manufacturer in '05

According to research firm iSuppli, LG Electronics recaptured its title as the world market share leader in TVs shipped, leaping ahead of rivals TCL-Thomson (parent company of RCA) and Samsung. LG's global market share was 10.2% while the latter two had 9.2% each. The vast majority of all TVs sold last year were CRTs - 82%.

Sharp was the leading LCD TV manufacturer, while Panasonic dominated plasma displays and Sony led in rear-projection TVs.

http://news.com.com/LG+regains+worldwide+TV+crown/2100-1041-6050080.html?part=dht&tag=nl.e433

It is interesting to compare iSuppli's report with a competing one issued by rival research firm DisplaySearch last week. That one ranked global TV market share by revenue (check out our 3/9 post below) and had LG in 5th place behind Sony, Samsung, Philips and Panasonic.

Sony PS3 Shipments Pushed Back to November

Delays in Blu-ray production have caused shipments of Sony's much-anticipated PlayStation 3 to be pushed back to November, CNET writes. The hold-up appears to be negotiations over copy protection development between the movie studios and the electronics giant.

http://news.com.com/Sony%27s+PlayStation+3+delayed+until+November/2100-1043_3-6049479.html?tag=fd_nbs_ent&tag=nl.e703

LG to Debut Dual HD DVD/Blu-ray Player in Fall

LG Electronics is developing a dual HD DVD/Blu-ray player that will be ready in the fall, according to a Reuters report. Read more here:

http://go.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=technologyNews&storyID=11532770&src=rss/technologyNews

Adelphia Adds HD Channels in SoCal

Adelphia has recently added ESPN2 HD, HDNet, HDNet Movies, INHD and INHD2 to its high-def programming lineup in Southern California. To receive those channels along with the NFL Network in HD, customers have to subscribe to the $5 a month HDTV Plus tier.

DISH Launches HD Locals in Kansas City

DISH Network announced Monday that Kansas City is the latest market in which the company has launched local broadcast channels in high-definition. The following local TV channels are available: ABC Ch. 9 (KMBC), CBS Ch. 5 (KCTV), NBC Ch. 41 (KSHB) and FOX Ch. 4 (WDAF).

KC joins Albuquerque, Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, New York City, Philadelphia, Salt Lake City and Washington, D.C. as markets in which DISH offers HD locals.

DISH Launches HD Locals in Seven Additional Cities

DISH Network this week continued its expansion of local broadcast stations in high-def, adding Albuquerque, Atlanta, Boston, Minneapolis, Philadelphia, Salt Lake City and Washington, D.C. to the mix. They previously announced New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Denver and Nashville.

Customers will need the new MPEG4 HD receivers to get the local HD channels.

DisplaySearch Releases Global TV Market Share Report

There are some interesting stats in here, among them that Sony accounted for one out of every two microdisplay rear-projection TVs sold in ’05 and that LCD TV revenue outpaced CRT revenue worldwide for the first time. On a revenue basis, the top five manufacturers in global TV market share are Sony, Samsung, Philips, Panasonic and LG Electronics.

The full release:
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/060307/20060307005429.html?.v=1

Another New Display Technology Gets Delayed

Toshiba and Canon announced this week that their joint efforts to produce SED (surface-conduction electron-emitter display) TVs have been delayed until the summer of 2007 and that they won’t really heavily begin marketing them until the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing, China. It’s merely the latest production delay for the new flat-panel technology, which was supposed to have been initially rolled out last fall and then was pushed back to this spring. According to CNET News, the issue has been that the two manufacturers didn’t expect plasma and LCD prices to drop so quickly, so they have been forced to try to determine how to manufacture SED TVs less expensively.

The full story is here:
http://news.com.com/Toshiba%2C+Canon+delay+SED+TV+launch+to+2007/2100-1041_3-6047405.html?tag=fd_nbs_ent&tag=nl.e433

VIZIO Launches Plasma Price War

V, Inc. announced this week that has cut the prices of its VIZIO plasma displays by $200-300 in time for the March Madness NCAA men’s basketball tournament. The 42” VIZIO HD plasma now sells for $1,499 while the 50” version goes for $2,299. Additionally, the company’s 32” LCD flat-panel display with integrated tuner is priced at $999.99.

VIZIO products are available at Costco, Sam’s Club, BJ’s Wholesale and selected Wal-Mart stores.

LG Apparently Dropping LCoS Line

TWICE is reporting on LG Electronics’ decision not to ship two LCoS HDTVs that were shown off at CES – the 71SA1D and 62SA1D. In a letter that went out to LG dealers, the company expressed concerns about the growth prospects of the microdisplay market in light of heavy consumer demand for flat-panel LCD and plasma displays. While LG did not indicate that it would abandon the LCoS market entirely, the letter to dealers didn’t demonstrate much optimism in the technology as a viable option going forward.

LG currently sells plasma and LCD HDTVs along with a couple of DLP models in both the LG and Zenith brands.

More here:
http://www.twice.com/article/CA6312249.html

Seinfeld in HD

Reruns of Seinfeld episodes could soon be coming your way in HD, as the series' third cycle of syndication will be available in high-def on March 27. Broadcasting & Cable magazine reports that Sony Pictures will also be bringing game shows Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy! to the world of HD this fall. There are some technical reasons why syndicating HD programming has proven difficult, primarily due to the network of stations receiving the broadcasts along with satellite and server space capacity issues.

Read more here:

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6308571.html

DISH Launches HD Locals in More Markets

DISH has announced the availability of high-def local channels in Denver and Nashville, to go along with initial deployments in New York City, Los Angeles and Chicago.

DISH's basic HD package costs $49.99 a month, which includes its America's Top 60 package along with a variety of HD channels (listed below) and the local HD broadcast nets in the select markets. To get the HD locals as well as ESPN2 HD, customers need to buy or upgrade to the new MPEG-4 satellite HD system and receiver. HBO HD and Showtime HD are also available to customers of those premium channels.

• Discovery HD Theater
• ESPN HD
• ESPN2 HD
• HDNet
• HDNet Movies
• NBA TV HD
• TNT HD
• Universal HD
• The VOOM 15

Blu-ray, HD DVD Players Getting Set for Release

Sony announced this week that the first Blu-ray players and discs will be released to stores on May 23, while its HD DVD competitor Toshiba told CNET Japan that it will be ready with a player and titles on about 8 weeks earlier, on March 28. The latter is also planning an HD DVD PC drive for April and an HD DVD recorder for May.

I hate to be a pessimist, but the upcoming launch of both Blu-ray and HD DVD will probably be among the most hyped but least purchased technological developments of the last decade. To be sure, there will be some early adopters with money to blow who might even buy both players to hedge their bets. But for the vast majority of consumers, this will be a non-event until the format battle is settled. The first generation of these players won't even support 1080p, lest you think that new 1080p DLP or LCD you're planning to buy might have some native content to showcase its full HD resolution glory.

So we in the media (both traditional and non) will continue to report on this story, because that's what we do. I might even buy one or both (it's a tax write-off for me, after all). But Joe and Jane Consumer won't, and maybe that's what it will ultimately take for the competing camps to finally realize that dueling technologies are only hurting both of their causes.

http://news.com.com/Toshiba+to+release+HD-DVD+player/2100-1041_3-6044262.html?tag=fd_nbs_ent&tag=nl.e703

http://news.com.com/Sony+sets+Blu-ray+rollout+date/2100-1026_3-6043954.html?tag=fd_nbs_ent&tag=nl.e703

LCD and Plasma Prices Dropped by a Third in '05

Reuters runs a story today on how the decline in LCD and plasma display prices is impacting manufacturers' production plans for the competing technologies. According to research firm DisplaySearch, 40-inch LCD panel prices declined by 36% in 2005, compared to a 31% drop for similar sized 42-inch plasma displays. DisplaySearch is forecasting 25% declines in '06 for both LCD and plasma. The research firm predicts that by 2009 LCD will have grabbed 50% market share in the key 40-44 inch segment - up from 6% last year - while plasma's will have dropped from 71% to 49%.

In my mind, DisplaySearch's market share numbers are pretty aggressive in favor of LCD. Plasma has such a head-start in the over 40-inch category that it will take some pretty big momentum shifts for LCD to catch up. While the LCD makers are investing heavily in new production facilities that will enable economies of scale to lower LCD panel prices, plasma manufacturers are doing the same thing. And while LCD backers are spending their time on 40-inch displays, 50-inch plasmas are increasingly becoming the norm...case in point, Panasonic's 50-incher goes for under $3,000 now, which is less than most good 40-inch LCDs.

Here's the Reuters story link:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060302/tc_nm/summit_displays_dc;_
ylt=AvGMiovzgIqliPKxajibVRtT.3QA;_ylu=X3oDMTA5aHJvMDdwBHNlYwN5bmNhdA

Comcast Offering Universal HD

I'm a little late on this one, but Comcast is offering Universal HD in many of its markets throughout the country. It was rolled out in time for the Winter Olympic coverage that began last week but I never saw an actual announcement from either company.

Cox, Time Warner, DIRECTV and DISH also offer Universal HD in at least some parts of the U.S.

DISH Launches HD Locals in Chicago

DISH Network said today that local broadcast channels are now available in high-definition over its satellite network to subscribers in Chicago. This announcement comes on the heels of HD locals being rolled out in New York City and Los Angeles last week. The following Chicago local TV channels will be available: ABC Ch. 7 (WLS), CBS Ch. 2 (WBBM), NBC Ch. 5 (WMAQ) and FOX Ch. 32 (WFLD).

DISH says it will reach more than 50 percent of U.S. TV households with local HD channels by year's end.

MovieBeam to Launch HD Movies Online

Disney spinoff MovieBeam today is launching an online movie rental service that will be the first to feature HD films. The offering requires a special set-top box from Cisco division Linksys that will cost about $200 after rebate. High-def movies will cost $4.99 to view, compared to $3.99 for first-run standard format movies. Older HD titles will cost $2.99 each.

MovieBeam, which uses datacasting technology over the Public Broadcasting System network, will initially be available in 29 U.S. cities.

Reuters has the full story:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060214/tc_nm/media_moviebeam_dc

Sony Reports Bravia LCD Malfunction

Sony has discovered a malfunction in 400,000 Bravia flat-panel and rear-projection LCD displays that it sold beginning late last year that causes them to stay turned on or not be switched out of stand-by mode after 1,200 hours of viewing. In addition to being sold in U.S., the malfunctioning units were also sold in Japan, China, other Asian countries and South America.

Reuters reports that customers who own a Bravia LCD and have it connected to a digital cable set-top box can have their HDTV upgraded automatically. However, if you've only got analog cable, Sony must send a technician to your house to fix it manually.

More here:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060214/tc_nm/japan_sony_dc

18 Million DTV Sets to be Sold in '06: CEA

The Consumer Electronics Association projects that more than 18 million digital TV sets will be sold this year, up 50% from 2005. CEA president Gary Shapiro made the comments in a statement praising President Bush for signing legislation establishing Feb. 17, 2009 as the cutoff date for analog TV broadcasts.

TNT HD Launches on DIRECTV

DIRECTV announced last week that it has reached an agreement to offer TNT HD as part of its $10.99 a month HD package, beginning on Feb. 17. The deal was consummated in time for TNT's high-def broadcast of the NBA All-Star Game on Feb. 19 in Houston.

DIRECTV's HD package now consists of Discovery HD Theater, ESPN HD, ESPN2 HD, HDNet, HDNet Movies, TNT HD and Universal HD. HBO HD and Showtime HD are also available to subscribers of those premium channels, as are HD local channels in select markets.

Bright House, Comcast, DISH Network and Time Warner Cable also offer TNT HD.

DISH Launches HD Locals in NYC, L.A.

DISH Network announced today that it has launched local channels in high-def in both New York City and Los Angeles, just in time for its customers to watch Super Bowl XL on FOX this Sunday. ABC, CBS, NBC and FOX are included in the package, and the local channels in both standard-definition and HD are available for $5 a month. DISH's stated goal is to offer HD locals reaching more than 50% of U.S. TV households by the end of this year.

DISH's launch of HD locals, as well as already-reported launches of ESPN2 HD and Universal HD, utilizes MPEG4 technology that requires a new compatible HD receiver. The ViP211 model, which is the first that supports both MPEG2 and MPEG4, carries a $49.99 upgrade charge for new lease customers.

The company also announced a promotion through RadioShack that offers new customers next-day installation if they sign up before Feb. 28th.

Congress Finally Approves 2009 DTV Transition

After months of negotiations and competing bills, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a budget bill that sets Feb. 17, 2009 as the cutoff date for analog TV broadcasts. Since the Senate already passed a bill with the same DTV language, the measure now goes to President Bush for his signature.

Included in the bill is a provision for a nearly $1 billion subsidy to help consumers purchase digital-to-analog converter boxes by giving each household up to two $40 vouchers.

http://news.com.com/Early+2009+set+for+end+of+analog+TV/2100-1028_3-6034105.html?tag=fd_nbs_ent&tag=nl.e703

Sharp Reports Strong LCD Demand

Sharp said this week that demand for its industry-leading LCD flat-panel displays was strong in the last quarter of 2005, which helped generate a 20% increase in its quarterly profit. The company netted $371 million in the period, which essentially matched Wall Street's expectations.

More from Reuters:
http://news.com.com/Sharp+profit+up+20+percent/2100-1047_3-6033831.html?tag=nl

Forbes Highlights HDTV

Forbes.com has a slideshow of what it terms the "coolest" HDTVs and HDTV-related products. Among them are HP's 1080p DLP that uses wobulation and Samsung's 82-inch LCD flat-panel.

Here's the link:
http://www.forbes.com/lifestyle/2006/01/23/hdtv-plasma-lcd-cx_gd_0124feat_ls.html?partner=rss

It's Official: Sony to Stop Making Plasmas

The AP reports this morning that Sony has officially announced that it will halt plasma display production. As part of an earnings report that was rosier than anyone expected, Sony said that it will focus on its Bravia line of LCD displays and quit the plasma business altogether, at which it was never particularly good anyway (my opinion, not part of the official statement). Sony claimed the number one market share for its Bravia LCDs during the recent Christmas shopping season and rightfully will focus its ongoing efforts on LCD and its SXRD version of LCoS.

Here's the full story:
http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20060127/news_1b27sony.html

Another Take on New DISH HD Networks

The Rocky Mountain News ran a piece today regarding EchoStar's claims of DISH Network offering the most HD channels in the market today. While it's true to an extent, there's a caveat or two.

Read more here:

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/tech/article/0,2777,DRMN_23910_4407868,00.html

DIRECTV Offering Free HD System After Rebate

Leafing through the Sunday circulars this week, I saw that both Best Buy and Circuit City are offering a free DIRECTV HD system after a $200 mail-in rebate. The satellite provider's HD-DVR from TiVo is $399.99 after the same $200 rebate. This comes on the heels of recent reports that the company will begin offering an equipment lease option sometime in the next few months -- something it has never done before. Although if it is essentially giving away the equipment now, why the need for a lease?

As a side note, the Sony SXRD LCoS-variant are being heavily promoted at both BB and CC. The 50-incher is advertised at $3,499.99 at both stores, although CC has an additional $350 in undefined "savings" on top of that price. BB lists the 60" for $1,000 more than the 50".

HDNet to Air U2 "Vertigo" Tour

HDNet announced this week that it will debut the HD premiere of U2's "Vertigo" Tour this Sunday, Jan. 29th at 9pm EST. The company says that "the electric performance features songs such as "New Year's Day" and "Where The Streets Have No Name," right up to date with "Vertigo," the smash hit from their the number one studio album "How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb."

More info is at http://www.hd.net/U2.html

MTV's MHD Launches, But Only on Cox Cable

With great fanfare, MTV took the wraps off of its first public foray into high-def broadcasting with the launch of MHD on Monday. According to the company, it has been filming in HD for the last year and a half to build up a library of content that the new network will use. Until mid-April it will broadcast from the ski hamlet of Vail, Colorado; after ski season is over, various outlets report that it will move to a more tropical venue for the summer.

MHD so far is only available on Cox Communications, which is the dominant cable company in areas such as New Orleans, Phoenix, Orange County and San Diego. MTV says that it is in negotiations with the other cable and satellite providers for distribution throughout the U.S. My guess is that at least a few more deals will be announced very soon, with the satellite and telcoTV guys perhaps beating the cable companies to the punch.

Panasonic Chief: Plasma is Company's Focus

In an interview with CNET at this year's Consumer Electronics Show, Panasonic USA CEO Yoshi Yamada said that his company's product focus is "very simple: plasma, plasma, plasma." Since reallocating marketing and HR resources to the plasma TV division in August 2004, the company has been the market leader in plasma sales every month since. According to Yamada, the company's market share climbed to 40-50% over the holiday season.

The Panasonic CEO also has some interesting things to say about LCD, SED and the future of the business. The full story is here:

http://news.com.com/Panasonics+plasma+pusher/2008-1041_3-6027524.html?tag=st.prev

I'm inclined to agree with Yamada's points about plasma's manufacturing and technological advantages over competing technologies, most specifically LCD. Many of the questions I get from readers of this blog and visitors to my BuyingHDTV.com site have to do with perceptions of plasma that are several years old. Many of the previous disadvantages to plasma, such as burn-in and high power consumption, while not totally mitigated have at least been softened enough so that they do not represent reason enough not to buy a plasma TV. I always encourage people to see as many of both technologies as they can with their own eyes and make a decision as to which they prefer. For me, although LCD is catching up in terms of both quality and size, plasma still wins out every time.

Pioneer Intros 50-inch 1080p Plasma

Pioneer at CES unveiled a 50-inch 1080p plasma that will carry an MSRP of about $10,000. The Pioneer Elite PureVision PRO-FHD1 plasma with 1920 X 1080 resolution can up convert all other video sources for improved HD image detail, color accuracy and fast moving image clarity. It will accept sources from 720p and 1080i to DVD and Blu-ray Disc, and will automatically convert it to deliver the highest resolution picture possible.

Also notable is the Pure Crystal Emissive Layer sandwiched between the plasma glass and the individual light cells, which conducts energy more efficiently so each cell is charged and discharged at a faster rate, improving contrast and brightness while using less energy. Swift charge and discharge of individual pixels results in a smoother transition from color to black for blacker blacks and increased detail in dark scenes.

The full release:
http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/pna/press/release/detail/0,,2076_4313_291805820,00.html

Update: New DISH HD Nets Only Available via MPEG4

As part of its announcement that it is adding ESPN2 HD, Universal HD, 5 VOOM HD networks and HD local channels in 50 markets this year, DISH Network also stated that these new high-def programming options will only be available to customers who upgrade to DISH's new MPEG4 receivers.

DISH said that The ViP211 HD satellite receiver, the first model in the ViP series that supports both MPEG4 and MPEG2, is available for $49.99 for new lease customers. Also included in the ViP series is the ViP622 DVR, the world's first MPEG4 multi-room high definition and digital video recorder satellite TV receiver with the ability to view independent programs -- one in high definition and one in standard definition programming -- on two televisions at once. It features a large hard drive with a recording capacity of up to 25 hours of high-definition and up to 180 hours of standard-definition content. The ViP622 DVR will be available in the first quarter of 2006 for a one-time upgrade price of $299 for new lease customers, which includes a dish antenna and free standard professional installation (monthly DVR fee applies).

DISH Adds ESPN2 HD, Universal HD to Lineup

DISH Network announced at CES that it has added ESPN2 HD and Universal HD to its high-def programming lineup, along with five new VOOM channels to its high-def programming lineup. The satellite provider also said that it will be adding local HD channels in up to 50 markets this year, starting with Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles and New York in February, and reaching more than 50 percent of U.S. TV households with HD locals.

The new VOOM networks are:

-- Worldsport HD -- Live sports coverage from premier arenas around the globe.
-- Family Room HD -- Movies and entertainment for the whole family.
-- Gameplay HD - Enter the virtual worlds of video gaming for the first time in HD.
-- Treasure HD -- Live auctions and original series for and about people with a passion for collecting.
-- World Cinema HD -- Award-winning and top-performing movies without borders.

http://www.marketwatch.com/tools/quotes/newsarticle.asp?dist=nbk&param=archive&siteid=mktw&guid=%7BED28D03D%2D85CF%2D4EC1%2DA4AB%2DED448614F293%7D

http://www.marketwatch.com/tools/quotes/newsarticle.asp?dist=nbk&param=archive&siteid=mktw&guid=%7BDDC552EA%2D61EB%2D4162%2D8E01%2DAB70DABDA87B%7D

Panasonic Displays 103-inch Plasma at CES

Panasonic parent Matsushita today unveiled a 103-inch plasma display prototype that is the world's largest, one inch bigger than a prototype Samsung rolled out at last year's CES. While great for show, neither of these behemoths is actually available for sale and it is unclear when -- if ever -- they actually will be. The largest production plasma is an 80-inch monster from Samsung currently available in Korea for about $130,000.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060105/tc_nm/japan_matsushita_dc

Group Unveils $500 HD DVD Player

The HD DVD Promotion Group announced at CES today that HD DVD players will be available this March, with prices starting at $499.99. Online retailers, including Amazon.com, Best Buy.com, Crutchfield.com and Tweeter.com, have started accepting pre-orders.

Warner Home Video, Paramount Pictures Home Entertainment, Universal Pictures, HBO Video and New Line Home Entertainment also announced that nearly 50 HD DVD titles, including "Aeon Flux," "Batman Begins," "The Bourne Supremacy," "Jarhead," "The Matrix "and "U2: Rattle & Hum," will be available this Spring to coincide with the launch of the players. The studios also outlined plans to release additional titles throughout the year. More than 150 titles are expected to be available in time for the 2006 holiday season.
http://www.marketwatch.com/tools/quotes/newsarticle.asp?guid=%7bF9F7FEF6-A079-4493-8627-0C6B4112127F%7d&siteid=mktw&dist=nbk&symb=

Hitachi Shows Off 55-Inch 1080p Plasma at CES

Hitachi is providing demonstrations of what it says is the industry's first 55-inch full-specification HD 1080p plasma display at the Consumer Electronics Show, which according to the company "combines the best advantages of plasma, including incredible color reproduction, rich black levels, rapid motion response and wide-viewing angles, with a full high-definition pixel resolution of 1920 x 1080 with progressive scanning in the most popular 55-inch screen size for today's home theater installations."

Hitachi is also using CES to unveil new plasma and LCD TVs that feature an internal hard-disk recorder offering built-in HD recording functionality. Separate HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc recorders are also on display.

HDMI Update Detailed

The founding companies of the High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) announced at CES that the next version of the technology will include higher speed, deeper color, greater PC/CE convergence, a new mini-connector and new compressed audio formats. More details are here:

http://www.marketwatch.com/tools/quotes/newsarticle.asp?dist=nbk&param=archive&siteid=mktw&guid=%7BD5749F87%2DC0E0%2D46CF%2DA155%2DF15D78C18A83%7D

More than 17 million devices featuring HDMI were shipped in 2005.

New Blu-ray Titles Announced

Despite a format war that so far shows no signs of abating, several Hollywood studios have announced film titles at the Consumer Electronics Show that will arrive later this year in HD DVD or Blu-ray. 20th Century Fox has named "Fantastic Four" and "Ice Age" among the 20 titles to come later this year in the Blu-ray format, while Sony Pictures will release "The Fifth Element" and "Hitch" in Blu-ray.

Warner Bros. plans to name titles that it will release in both Blu-ray and HD DVD later this week at CES.

http://news.com.com/Studios+announce+next-generation+DVD+titles/2100-1026_3-6017037.html

Cable Downconverting Not Allowed Under New DTV Bill

Multichannel News reports that the new Digital TV bill nearing final stages of approval in Congress won't allow the cable industry to downconvert digital signals to analog, meaning that potentially millions of analog customers might have to rent set-top boxes to receive local broadcast signals. The change to the legislation in the conference committee is a victory for the National Association of Broadcasters, who successfully lobbied Senator Judd Gregg (chairman of the Budget Committee) to include the provision in the Senate's version of the bill.

The final bill should be voted on later this month or early next month.

DIRECTV Launches HD Locals in NY, L.A.

DIRECTV announced Friday that it has begun offering high-def local channels via MPEG 4 technology in New York City and Los Angeles. DIRECTV will carry each of the four primary broadcast networks that offer an HD feed in the market. Customers who subscribe to a programming package that includes local channels will receive both the standard and HD signals at no extra monthly charge.

DIRECTV now offers HD locals in 12 markets, with another 24 scheduled to get them sometime this year.

http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=127160&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=799206&highlight=

Sharp Boosting LCD Production

Sharp Corp. is planning to boost production of LCD displays by 10% in 2006 in preparation for the Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy and soccer's World Cup.

Here's the full report from Bloomberg News:
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000080&sid=a5p.rUG1K0Es&refer=asia

Mexico Enjoying Fruits of U.S. HDTV Obsession

My hometown San Diego Union-Tribune ran a piece over the weekend about the TV manufacturing plants in the Mexican state of Baja California and the upsurge in activity thanks to American appetites for digital TV sets. 19 million sets have been produced in Baja this year, which accounts for over 70% of all HDTVs sold in the U.S. The plants primarily manufacture sets for Japanese and Korean electronics makers, and are focused on plasma and LCD.

The full story is here:
http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20051224/news_1n24tv.html

Blu-ray, HD-DVD Camps Risk Alienating Consumers

The New York Times ran an interesting piece earlier this week arguing that if the backers of Blu-ray and HD-DVD can't agree on a single format, next-gen DVD adoption could be severly compromised in favor of technology such as Video On Demand (VOD).

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/26/technology/26format.html?th=&emc=th&pagewanted=print

The Times is right -- like every silly technology format war, this has much more to do with engineering egos than what is best for the people who will actually use it. Nobody is going to pay $1,000 for a new DVD player that only supports one format and doesn't have many titles that people can actually watch on it. If this format issue isn't straightened out soon and the next generation of DVDs are poorly adopted, a lot of people at these various technology companies may well be looking for work.

LG Aims for #1 in Display Global Market Share

LG Electronics has a goal: to become the number one seller of displays in the world in 2006. As part of this strategy, the company plans to promote its new LCoS TVs in Korea as well as include built-in DVRs with every display 37 inches or bigger. A 71" LCoS display will be launched initially in Australia later this week and in North America and Korea next year.

The strategy was outlined in the Korean Economics Daily and featured in a release from LCoS microdisplay manufacturer SpatiaLight.

The release disparagingly refers to competing microdisplay technology DLP as an "older, more mature technology" that will soon be replaced by LCoS.

http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/051228/sfw012.html?.v=36

Canon and Toshiba to Launch SED in '06

If the battle for flat-screen supremacy between plasma and LCD wasn't already heated enough, a third entrant is poised to join the fray next year when Canon and Toshiba take the wraps off SED, or surface-conduction election-emitter display. From a technical standpoint, SED is more similar to CRT than either plasma or LCD, and essentially combines the superior picture quality of SED with the flat-panel appeal of LCD and plasma. Its backers say that it offers the strengths of both plasma and LCD without any of their weaknesses, such as poor black levels and high power consumption.

Reuters has the full story:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20051216/tc_nm/column_pluggedin_dc

CNET Reviews Sony's Bravia LCD

CNET has posted a new review of Sony's Bravia XBR LCD flat-panel TV, which it says is the most searched-for HDTV on its site. CNET editors rate it "Very Good" with a 7.7 out of 10.

http://reviews.cnet.com/Sony_Bravia_XBR_KDL_V40XBR1/4505-6482_7-31470102.html?tag=nl.e722

1 in 4 Households to Have HDTV by End of '06

Panasonic this week released the results of a survey showing that 26% of U.S. households either already own or plan to purchase an HDTV by the end of 2006, up from 15% one year ago. Interestingly, nearly half of the women surveyed said that the decision to buy an HDTV was theirs rather than their significant other. Not surprisingly, most men would rather purchase a bigger screen while three-quarters of women prefer a smaller one.

Here's the release from Panasonic:

http://www.broadcastnewsroom.com/articles/viewarticle.jsp?id=36377

Senate Approves 2009 DTV Transition

The U.S. Senate Wednesday approved Feb. 17, 2009 as the transition date from analog to digital TV broadcasting, following the House's vote to do the same earlier in the week. The bill contains a provision for a $1.5 billion digital-to-analog converter subsidy program, which will enable consumers who still own analog TVs to receive two $40 coupons towards the purchase of converters.

The AP has more:

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/computing/20051222-0256-congress-digitaltv.html

U.S. House Passes DTV Legislation

The U.S. House of Representatives today passed a compromise bill that calls for the cutoff of analog TV broadcasting by Feb. 17, 2009. Included in the legislation is $1.5 billion in federal subsidies for digital-to-analog converters who people who won't have purchased digital TVs by then.

Reuters has the full story:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20051219/tc_nm/congress_digitaltv_dc

CNET Reviews 1080p HDTVs

CNET has a useful review of five 1080p HDTVs. The winner? Sony's KDS-R60XBR1, which goes for about $5,000.

http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-6484_7-6390300-1.html?tag=nl.e722

WealthTV Adds Caribbean Distribution Partners

WealthTV announced last week that it has reached an agreement with the Caribbean Cable Co-op to distribute its programming in Jamaica, the Cayman Islands and the Bahamas. Included in the deal are WestarTV in the Cayman Islands, Cable Bahamas in Nassau, Entertainment Systems in Jamaica, Wilson Enterprises in Jamaica, and General Satellite in Jamaica.

Universal HD Plans Holiday Programming

Universal HD is featuring a week of Christmas programming later this month, beginning with the "I'm Dreaming of an HD Christmas" marathon on Christmas weekend. Programming includes the USA Originals '12 Days of Christmas Eve' and 'Stealing Christmas,' along with special Christmas episodes of 'The District' and 'Complete Savages'. The Musical Marathon begins Saturday night at 9pm/ET, featuring 'The Wiz,' followed by 'Jesus Christ Superstar' and 'Xanadu.' Christmas afternoon wraps up with family-friendly fare 'The National Dog Show' Presented by Purina, 'The Incredible Dog Challenge,' and 'The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas,' followed by the blockbuster hit 'Backdraft,' all in brilliant high definition.

Asian LCD Manufacturers Expect Big Growth

DigiTimes reports that major Taiwanese LCD panel manufacturers expect that the market for their products will nearly double next year. The majority of the growth will come from the demand for LCD TVs, which is forecast to be 35-36 million in '06.

http://www.digitimes.com/displays/a20051201A7040.html

More on Samsung and Sony

Here's an interesting piece from the AP on the evolving relationship between Asian electronics giants Sony and Samsung:

http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20051204/news_1b4sony.html

Mitsubishi to be Charter Sponsor of MHD

Mitsubishi Electric announced Monday that it has signed on to become the charter sponsor of MTV's new high-def music channel called MHD. The channel will launch on January 16 and will feature original music-based programming sponsored by Mitsubishi among other content. As part of the arrangement, the MHD studio in Vail, Colorado will use Mitsubishi technology for its production and will also feature the company's HDTVs on-set. Also, "Powered by Mitsubishi Electric" will appear on MHD tune-in promos and Mitsubishi will be the title sponsor of MHD original programming including "MHD Top 10" and "MHD Video Stew." Additionally, Mitsubishi Electric will be branded on MHD programming menus and in television commercials.

http://www.marketwatch.com/tools/quotes/newsarticle.asp?dist=nbk&param=archive&siteid=mktw&guid=%7B3A5F3B57%2DBADC%2D46BD%2D96CC%2D805A57F53A83%7D

16 Million HD Homes by End of '05: Research Firm

Forrester Research estimates that 16 million U.S. homes will have HDTV sets by the end of this year, but only 7 million will subscribe to HD service from their cable or satellite company.

SureWest Adds HDNet to IPTV HD Lineup

SureWest announced yesterday that it has come to terms with HDNet for distribution of both HDNet and HDNet Movies as part of its high-def service that will launch later this month. According to the company, SureWest, which serves the Sacramento area, is finalizing its beta testing as it prepares to roll out the first IP-based HDTV offering in the U.S.

LodgeNet Inks Another Deal for HD Movies

LodgeNet Entertainment has signed a deal with Lions Gate Films for on-demand distribution of first-run HD titles from Lions Gate throughout LodgeNet's network of hotel clients. "Lord of War" will premiere later this month followed by "Saw II" in January.

DIRECTV Offering MPEG-4 HD in Detroit

Multichannel News is reporting that DIRECTV has launched its first high-def MPEG-4 transmissions, rolling them out initially in Detroit. It is part of the company's much-ballyhooed plan to offer HD local channels in the nation's 12 biggest markets by the end of the year and in 150 markets in '07. More details as I get them...

Panasonic Picks Up CNET Editors' Choice Award

CNET says Panasonic's 37- and 50-inch "minimalist plasmas score big" and bestows upon them its Editors' Choice awards.

Here's the full review:
http://reviews.cnet.com/Panasonic_TH-37PHD8UK/4505-6482_7-31528077.html?tag=nl.e722

LG Raising Plasma Production by 50% or More

I'm WAY behind on the news since our baby was born, but in an effort to catch up...

LG Electronics, which is already the world's second leading manufacturer of plasma display panels, said this past weekend that it will increase capacity in the plants where the panels are produced by 50% next year and may add another production line in '07. Reuters reports that LG aims to become the biggest PDP manufacturer in '06, surpassing Korean rival Samsung SDI, while also fending off challenges from Japan's Matsushita, parent of Panasonic. LG expects the plasma display market to increase to 25 million panels by 2010, up from about 8 million this year.

Here's the full story:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20051120/tc_nm/korea_lg_dc

McCain '08 DTV Plan Defeated

The Senate today defeated John McCain's amendment that would have pushed up the deadline for the cutoff of analog TV broadcasting from 2009 to 2008. The vote was 69-30 in favor of keeping the April 7, 2009 deadline for the switch to digital television.

Sen. McCain Wants 2008 DTV Transition

Sen. John McCain has introduced an amendment on the Senate floor that would cut off analog TV broadcasting on April 7, 2008 -- one year sooner than the 2009 deadline recently passed by the Senate Commerce Committee. McCain tried to get a 2007 deadline passed by the committee but it failed by a wide margin, so he is hoping that pushing it back a year might garner more support.

Samsung Now the Official HDTV of the NFL

Samsung has signed a deal with the National Football League to become "The Official HDTV of the NFL." The two-year, multi-million dollar marketing campaign will feature football greats Dan Marino, Troy Aikman, Steve Young and Boomer Esiason. The national ad blitz will include TV commercials, print, online and in-store exposure.

This is a smart move by Samsung, as there are few genres of content that look better in high-def than football. Additionally, the NFL is by far the most popular U.S. professional sports league, meaning that Samsung's ad dollars should be put to good use in reaching millions of football fans who haven't yet made the leap to HD.

Catching Up...

I've been out the last week in the hospital with my wife and newborn son, so I'm a little behind on the news. Please be patient as I try to catch up on everything...

Senate Committee Shoots Down McCain Deadline

The Senate Commerce Committee voted 17-5 against a proposal from Sen. John McCain to move the cutoff date for analog broadcasting from 2009 to 2007. The April 7, 2009 deadline passed 19-3.

McCain Wants Quicker DTV Transition

U.S. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) told the New America Foundation today that he believes the transition to all-digital TV broadcasting should be done sooner than 2009, the deadline set forth in legislation introduced by Commerce Committee chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska). Citing a need for emergency responders to have access to some of the analog spectrum currently used by TV broadcasters, McCain said that he will work to move the deadline up to either late 2006 or early 2007.

Reuters has the full story:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20051018/tc_nm/congress_digitaltv_dc

CNET Reviews HP Plasma

CNET has posted a review of HP's 42-inch plasma (model PL4200N) and they seem to be pleasantly surprised by the results, particularly black-level performance.

http://reviews.cnet.com/HP_PL4200N/4505-6482_7-31484731.html?tag=nl.e722

Dell Intros Its Largest LCD

Dell said today that it has added a 37-inch display to its TV lineup that is the largest LCD flat panel it has offered to date. The company also announced that it is taking orders for its 50-inch plasma announced last month.

The 37-inch LCD is priced at $2,299 while the 50-inch plasma is going for $3,799.

More details here:
http://www.marketwatch.com/tools/quotes/newsarticle.asp?guid=%7b0144BB9C-9562-45DD-97C4-CF67AA5B1E17%7d&siteid=mktw&dist=nbk&symb=

Senate Proposes 2009 Analog Cutoff

U.S. Senator Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), chairman of the chamber's Commerce Committee, has introduced a bill that sets an April 7, 2009 hard date for the transition from analog broadcasting to digital. As part of the legislation, the FCC would be forced to begin auctioning the analog spectrum it gets back from the nation's broadcasters in January 2008, which according to some estimates would generate about $10 billion -- half of which would actually go into the federal government's coffers. Part of the remainder would help subsidize the purchase of digital-to-analog converter boxes for people who can't afford them, although those details have yet to be worked out.

The bill is scheduled to be voted upon by the Commerce Committee on Wednesday.

More from Multichannel News:
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6272985.html?display=Breaking+News&referral=SUPP

Universal HD to Show USC-Notre Dame Encore

Universal HD will air an encore presentation of Saturday's game between top-ranked USC and #9 Notre Dame tonight at 8pm EDT and again at midnight. The game, which I saw most of live, was probably the most exciting of this season and one of the best in the long rivalry between the two hallowed college football programs. The original broadcast on NBC earned the best overnight rating for a Notre Dame game in more than a decade. The 7.9 overnight rating and 17 share was the highest since Notre Dame-Michigan earned a 8.4/21 overnight on Sept. 10, 1994.

Verizon Hooks Up With HDNet

Verizon announced today that it has reached a carriage agreement to offer HDNet over its new FiOS fiber-to-the-home video service that debuted in Keller, Texas about three weeks ago. The deal was signed prior to the FiOS launch on Sept. 22 but is just now being formally announced. Verizon FiOS offers 22 high-def channels and competes with incumbent cable provider Charter Communications in Keller, a Ft. Worth suburb.

Sony vs. Samsung

Knowledge@ Wharton has an interesting piece on Samsung's desire to become the next Sony, and how Sony's movie and music distribution businesses have gotten in the way of the technological innovations upon which it built its stellar reputation.

Among many salient points, the article offers market share data for LCD and plasma displays, data which shows that Samsung is the only manufacturer in the top 3 of both the LCD and plasma categories. Sony is number 4 in LCD and does not appear in the top 5 for plasma.

Here's the link:
http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/index.cfm?fa=viewArticle&id=1293

80-Inch Samsung Plasma Goes on Sale in Korea

Would you spend $125,000 on a plasma? Samsung thinks someone will, as it recently began selling its 80-inch PDP for 130 million Korean won, or just under $125K. That model, which is the largest available for sale in the world, will be released in the U.S. in December, just in time for the holiday shopping season...yeah, right.

More from the Korea Times:
http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/tech/200510/kt2005101119392211810.htm

The natural follow-up question is how many 50-inch plasmas you could buy for the price of one 80-incher. Answer? 33.
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=7135913&type=product&id=1110265593804

Thanks to www.i4u.com for the Korea Times link.

Paramount, LodgeNet Ink HD VOD Deal

Paramount Pictures and LodgeNet announced this week that they have signed an agreement to distribute Paramount titles in high-definition to hotel rooms on demand. The first two movies to be released as part of the distribution deal are the summer blockbusters "War of the Worlds" and "The Longest Yard." The initial hotel to offer the new technology is the Hard Rock Hotel in Chicago.

CNET Blog 100

A reader alerted me to this blog's inclusion in the CNET Blog 100 rating of the top tech blogs out there. This is a huge honor that came as a total shock to me but for which I am quite grateful. If you want to check it out, here's the link:

http://news.com.com/2311-10784_3-120031.html

Influential Senator Sees 2009 DTV Transition

Sen. Ted Stevens, chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, said at an industry conference Wednesday that he would like to see 2009 as the hard date for the transition to digital television. He went on to say that his committee would consider a bill to do just that on Oct. 19 and that it would include a provision to subsidize analog-to-digital tuners for those who can't afford to upgrade to digital TVs.

More from Reuters:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20051006/tc_nm/digital_dc

CBS Looking to 2nd Digital Channel

CBS is planning a second digital network that would show general entertainment and plans to launch the channel sometime next year. CBS has the rights to distribute the new net, dubbed CBS.2, to 25 million households.

Mediaweek has more:
http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/news/recent_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1001261209

HDNet Announced Oct. Programming

HDNet released its October programming lineup:

Mondays are Family Night - "Summerland," "Smallville" and "Higher Definition"
Tuesdays - "HDNet World Report," "Debate" and "Face 2 Face with Roy Firestone"
Wednesdays - "Blind Justice," "Boomtown" and "The Agency"
Thursdays - National Hockey League
Fridays are Guys Night In - "Get Out!" and "Art Mann Presents..."
Saturdays - NHL and "MLS on HDNet"
Sundays are Music Night - "Sound Off with Matt Pinfield" and "Gilley's -- Behind the Bull"

Verizon TV Service to Carry Scripps HD Nets

Verizon said this week that its FiOS television service will carry HGTV-HD and Food Network-HD when Scripps Networks launches them in early 2006. In Keller, Texas -- the market where Verizon intro'd FiOS last week -- 22 HD channels are available.

Paramount to Support Both Blu-ray and HD DVD

In what came as something of a shock to the industry, Paramount said Monday that it will back Blu-ray after already having announced support for HD DVD. Reuters has that story:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20051003/tc_nm/dvd_paramount_dc

Toshiba promptly released the following statement:

"Our understanding is that Paramount Home Entertainment also continues to support HD DVD, a position established in comments from Paramount officials in press reports. We see Paramount's continued commitment to releasing HD DVD titles as proof that the studio still recognizes HD DVD's advantages: accelerated time to market, greater proven capacity, lower expected price, and enhanced consumer features. We look forward to continuing to collaborate with the studio in this important product area.

We understand that studios want to see precisely what will happen in the CE and IT industries, and that they will want to support all potential markets for their products.

However, once HD DVD comes to market at the end of 2005 in Japan, and early next year in the United States as planned, it will not take long to know which format really delivers the benefits of high definition to the consumer.

In terms of development, HD DVD is far in advance of Blu-ray. Volume production of discs will see decisive cost and productivity advantages in favor of HD DVD. On the strength of these facts, we are convinced that Hollywood studios and other content holders will eventually opt for commercialization in the HD DVD format.

The HD DVD format is the only next-generation DVD format defined by the DVD Forum, the international organization that determines DVD specifications. The Forum has approximately 240 member companies around the world, including major Hollywood studios and leaders in the CE and IT industries. The HD DVD format was arrived at only after extensive, open discussions and technical evaluations among the membership. Moreover, development of HD DVD is in the final phase, and we are proceeding with necessary preparations for commercialization.

HD DVD features compatibility with current DVD, and to this adds advanced characteristics, including efficient manufacturing of discs and hardware, cost efficiency, superior connectivity with PCs through iHD software. As HDTV and large-sized flat panel TVs continue their market penetration, HD DVD alone offers the ability to meet rapidly increasing consumer demand for high definition DVD content in a timely manner. Last but not least, HD DVD will adopt AACS, created by major IT and CE companies, and so realize Hollywood's most pressing concern: robust content protection -- a great benefit to content holders."

Is anyone else getting a little tired of this "war" between HD DVD and Blu-ray?

Toshiba Picks Up Key HD DVD Support But Pushes Back U.S. Launch

PC giants Microsoft and Intel said this week that they will support Toshiba's HD DVD standard for the next generation of DVD technology, dealing a blow to Sony-backed Blu-ray. However, Toshiba was forced to push back its launch date for product introduction in the U.S. to February or March of next year, meaning that it will miss this year's holiday shopping season.

Bloomberg and Reuters have the full stories:
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000101&sid=a9VI6BLDeCGk&refer=japan
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20050928/tc_nm/japan_toshiba_dc

INHD and CSTV Re-Up College Football Deal

INHD and CSTV: College Sports Television have renewed a deal that has the two networks co-producing live collegiate sporting events for high-definition carriage on INHD. Under the agreement, which marks the third year of this relationship, CSTV will simultaneously carry the standard definition broadcast of each event. Here's the schedule:

Gulf Coast Classic: Alabama St. at Southern 10/1/05 6pm ET
Tulsa at Southern Miss 10/8/05 8pm ET
East Carolina at Memphis 10/22/05 6pm ET
UAB at UTEP 11/19/05 6pm ET
Marshall at Memphis 11/26/05 2pm ET

Universal HD to Broadcast "Tom Cruise-Athon"

Universal HD released its October programming lineup, which includes the debut of "Medical Investigation" and a Tom Cruise-focused showcase of big movies. According to the company:

"On October 16, Universal HD invites you to jump on your couch and get crazy with its Tom Cruise-athon, featuring two highlights from Cruise's early career. Far and Away, a romantic adventure directed by Ron Howard, stars Cruise and Nicole Kidman as two young Irish immigrants who move to America in the 1890s to create a better life for themselves. With Born on the Fourth of July, Cruise earned an Oscar(r) nomination and a Golden Globe(r) Award for his portrayal of an idealistic young American who proudly enlists during the Vietnam War, but returns a quadriplegic and must then struggle to overcome drug-addiction and depression in order to turn his life around."

http://www.universalhd.com/Movies/

Sony Targets Women with HD Ads

Sony is targeting the fairer sex with a new advertising campaign carrying the slogan "The World's First Television for Men and Women." The ads will run both online and on TV, with initial spots for Bravia LCDs appearing on Style.com highlighting the appearance of the displays rather than their technical functionality. Future ads will appear on Yahoo and MSN.

Reuters/CNET has the story:

http://news.com.com/Sony+pitches+flat+TV+to+women/2100-1041_3-5884523.html?tag=fd_nbs_ent&tag=nl.e703

Dell Unveils 50-inch Plasma

Dell today introduced two new HDTVs, a 50-inch plasma (model W5001C) and a 32-inch LCD (W3201C) that are priced at $3,799 and $1,799, respectively. Both displays have built-in TV tuners and complement Dell's existing lineup of plasma and LCD TVs.

http://www.marketwatch.com/tools/quotes/newsarticle.asp?guid=%7bB0CFCAEB-D97F-4D96-BA95-E0593D1D36F5%7d&siteid=mktw&dist=nbk&symb=

The Sea Floor in HD

Science Daily has the story of how scientists will use a high-def camera to shoot live footage of a portion of the sea floor off the coast of Washington state and British Columbia that is known for volcanoes and earthquakes. The broadcasts will be shot Sept. 28 and 29, weather permitting, and are the first live views of the ocean floor in HD. You can watch webcasts of the event on the National Science Foundation's website, www.nsf.gov.

The full story is here:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/09/050926073922.htm

Samsung Shows Off 102" Plasma and 40" OLED

Samsung Electronics used its corporate roadshow this week as the backdrop for showcasing a mammoth 102-inch plasma display as well as the world's largest TFT-LCD TV, measuring 82 inches, and the world's largest OLED display, measuring 40 inches. Here's what the company says about its groundbreaking OLEC:

"Samsung is the first to develop the single-sheet, 40-inch active matrix (AM) OLED (organic light-emitting diode) for emissive flat panel TV applications. The high-definition-compatible OLED prototype has a wide screen pixel format of 1280x800 (WXGA) driven by an amorphous silicon (a-Si) AM backplane to permit faster video response times with low power consumption."

http://www.marketwatch.com/tools/quotes/newsarticle.asp?guid=%7bC69575A4-1DE4-4EDB-A0B1-B531145FE16E%7d&siteid=mktw&dist=nbk&symb=

SNL Goes HD This Sat.

As we've previously reported, "Saturday Night Live," embarking on its 31st season, will make the leap to HD this fall, with the season premiere airing this Saturday at 11:30pm ET/PT. This week's host is comedian Steve Carell of "The Office" and "The 40-Year Old Virgin" with musical guest Kanye West.

http://nbcumv.com/release_detail.nbc/entertainment-20050922000000-saturdaynightlive.html

Super HD Debuts in San Diego-Tokyo Link

Scientists at the iGrid networking summit showed off an impressive 9,000-mile videoconference link between San Diego and Tokyo that was broadcast in what some are calling super high-def -- roughly 4 times greater resolution than today's HDTV. The video feed was shown on a giant two-story tall display of monitors and was part of a 4K digital video exhibit that Hollywood is supporting as the next generation of film-quality movies.

More from the San Diego Union-Tribune:
http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20050927/news_1b27igrid.html

New Verizon TV Service Offers 22 HD Channels

I'm still trying to get my hands on an actual channel lineup, but Multichannel News reports that Verizon's new FiOS fiber-to-the-home video offering features 22 HD channels. The service launched today in Keller, Texas (a Ft. Worth suburb) and will be rolled out to six markets by the end of the year. Based on published reports, here's my stab at what Verizon's HD channels are:

8 local broadcast networks (ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, PBS, etc.)
8 premium channels (HBO East/West HD, Cinemax East/West HD, Showtime East/West HD, Starz East/West HD)
6 variety/sports channels (Discovery HD Theater, ESPN HD, ESPN2 HD, NFL Network HD, TNT HD, Universal HD)

I'm not positive that Showtime is included in that count since Verizon has yet to strike a carriage deal with Viacom for its various channels. So it's possible that instead of Showtime East/West, there are a couple of adult premium channels.

I haven't seen any reports of Verizon inking a deal with Mark Cuban's HDNet, but I'll update this if I've missed something. Apologies for the speculation on my part, but 22 HD channels is more than anyone else offers and is worthy of a writeup here.

Flat Panel Prices Seen Falling Due to Oversupply

According to market research firm iSuppli, this Christmas may be a good time to shop for a LCD flat-panel display. The company says that contrary to what some of the manufacturers are saying publicly, an oversupply of panels currently exists and is bigger than what was initially forecasted. As a result prices for LCDs are expected to fall this quarter and continue to drop well into next year.

Here's the full story:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20050921/tc_nm/flatpanels_oversupply_dc

RCN to Launch WB in HD in Various Markets

Various cable news sources are reporting that RCN has inked a deal with the WB for carriage of the broadcast network's HD feed and will soon launch the simulcast in Boston, New York, Chicago and Washington, D.C.

More Hockey HD News: 10 TB Lightning Games in HD

The Tampa Bay Business Journal reports that Bright House Networks cable customers in the Tampa Bay area and Central Florida will be able to see ten Tampa Bay Lightning games in high-def on Sun Sports HD. The Lightning are the defending Stanley Cup champions as hockey returns this season after a one-year layoff due to labor strife.

The full story is here:

http://biz.yahoo.com/bizj/050914/1164024.html?.v=1

NHL and HDNet Announce HDTV Schedule

The National Hockey League (NHL) and HDNet have announced the first two months of their live, high-definition television (HDTV) schedule for the 2005-06 regular season. From the release:

"The 52-game NHL on HDNet schedule begins Opening Night on Wednesday, Oct. 5th at 10 p.m. (ET) featuring Wayne Gretzky’s debut behind the bench as his Phoenix Coyotes take on the Vancouver Canucks.

The first week of the NHL on HDNet also features the intense Central Division rivalry between the St. Louis Blues and the Detroit Red Wings (Thursday, Oct. 6 at 8 p.m., ET). The NHL on HDNet will then showcase the much-anticipated national television debut of Pittsburgh's teenage hockey phenomenon, Sidney Crosby, as the Penguins battle the Boston Bruins (Saturday, Oct. 8 at 7:30 p.m., ET).

The NHL adopted new rules this season to create more offensive flow, which will provide more excitement for fans and will further enhance the television viewing experience. In particular, the newly adopted shootout will make certain that every game has a winner."

And here's the schedule:

Day Date Visitor Home Time (ET)
Wednesday 5-Oct Coyotes Canucks 10:00PM
Thursday 6-Oct Red Wings Blues 8:00PM
Saturday 8-Oct Bruins Penguins 7:30PM
Thursday 13-Oct Predators Coyotes 10:00PM
Saturday 15-Oct Lightning Penguins 7:30PM
Thursday 20-Oct Rangers Islanders 7:00PM
Saturday 22-Oct Hurricanes Capitals 7:00PM
Thursday 27-Oct Blackhawks Red Wings 7:30PM
Saturday 29-Oct Hurricanes Penguins 7:30PM
Wednesday 5-Oct Coyotes Canucks 10:00PM
Thursday 6-Oct Red Wings Blues 8:00PM
Saturday 8-Oct Bruins Penguins 7:30PM
Thursday 13-Oct Predators Coyotes 10:00PM
Saturday 15-Oct Lightning Penguins 7:30PM
Thursday 20-Oct Rangers Islanders 7:00PM
Saturday 22-Oct Hurricanes Capitals 7:00PM
Thursday 27-Oct Blackhawks Red Wings 7:30PM
Saturday 29-Oct Hurricanes Penguins 7:30PM
Thursday 3-Nov Capitals Flyers 7:00PM
Saturday 5-Nov Stars Avalanche 9:00PM
Thursday 10-Nov Flames Coyotes 9:00PM
Saturday 12-Nov Capitals Devils 1:00PM
Thursday 17-Nov Canucks Kings 10:30PM
Saturday 19-Nov Avalanche Kings 10:30PM
Thursday 24-Nov Kings Predators 8:00PM
Saturday 26-Nov Canucks Coyotes 10:00PM

More NY Yankees in HD

MediaWeek reports that the YES Network, which has been airing New York Yankees' home games in HD all season in addition to select games on the road against the rival Boston Red Sox and NY Mets, will show some more of the team's road games in HD, starting next week in Baltimore. Four road games in HD will be shown the rest of this season, including Sept. 27-29 against the Orioles and Oct. 2 against the Red Sox.

Sharp Shows Off 65-Inch LCD Flat Panel

Sharp used the CEDIA custom installers' tradeshow in Indianapolis to show off its lineup of LCD flat-panel displays, including its 65-inch 1080p model that goes on sale in November and carries a suggested MSRP of $20,999. There are also two new 1080p 45-inch models that will be available in October for an MSRP of about $6,500.

More info here: http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/mmg.cgi?eid=4967032

LG Unveils Its First LCoS HDTV

LG Electronics took the wraps off its initial foray into Liquid Crystal on Silicon (LCoS) technology at the CEDIA EXPO in Indianapolis this past weekend, unveiling a 71-inch behemoth (model number 71SA1D). According to the company:

"This HDTV includes LG's proprietary XD Engine technology that takes low-resolution analog signals to near high-definition levels, providing consumers with better overall picture quality and viewing experience. Advanced connectivity options include HDMI, IEEE-1394 DTV Link. Other advanced features include 9-in-2 memory card slots and the latest Gemstar TV Guide Onscreen interactive program guide.

"Boasting a 3500:1 contrast ratio, the big LG is designed to deliver superior HDTV performance using the latest LCoS chip technology. And, despite its enormous wide screen, the unit is less than 22 inches deep, offering installation flexibility."

Here's the release: http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/050910/cgsa001.html?.v=10

MTV's MHD to Go Live Jan. 16

Following up on a story we told you about a couple of weeks back, MTV Networks officially announced today that it plans to launch MHD on January 16th. Multichannel News reports that the new network will feature content from MTV, VH1 and County Music Television and that it has carriage deals negotiated, although none have yet been made public.

Most music videos are not yet shot in HD, although look for that to change after MHD is launched. MTV Networks has said that shows such as MTV Unplugged, VH1 Storytellers, CMT Crossroads and the MTV Video Music Awards will air in high-def on MHD.

INHD to Show Emmy Coverage in High-Def

Cable HD network INHD said Monday that it will present the only HD telecast of E!’s pre- and post-show red carpet coverage for the 57th Primetime Emmy® Awards. Featuring a new, expanded broadcast that includes 17 live cameras to capture all of the action, coverage of the event will be highlighted by “Live From The Red Carpet©,” hosted for the second year by Star Jones Reynolds, on Sunday, September 18, from 6pm-8pm ET. 2005 marks the second year that INHD has presented the high-definition telecast of the Emmy pre- and post-shows.

Toshiba Unveils Combo HDTVs at CEDIA

Toshiba late last week unveiled its combination TV/DVD players at CEDIA, including two that contain a VCR in addition to the DVD player. Here are the details:
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/050909/nef001.html?.v=24

I'd be curious what others think of combo devices like these. My opinion is that while they're good space-savers, the danger is that if something goes wrong with either the DVD player or the VCR, you'll lose your TV while the other component is getting repaired. And I don't believe it's a theoretical debate, either: about two months ago our Pioneer DVD player went on the fritz and required a trip to the service center for about a week to get fixed (fortunately it was still under warranty). Had this been part of a combo HDTV/DVD player, we would have been without our TV for that week, not exactly an acceptable solution.

I thought the industry had moved away from combo devices such as these, but apparently Toshiba still believes in them.

Samsung: Plasma Prices to Level Off

Samsung SDI Co. believes plasma panel prices will fall 3-5% in Q3 and another 1-2% in Q4, a company exec said at the Reuters Asia Technology and Telecoms Summit in Tokyo. By comparison, plasma panel prices dropped 18% in the first half of this year.

The company expects to sell 2.2 million plasma panels this year, more than double last year's output of 870,000.

Here's the full story:
http://today.reuters.com/business/newsArticle.aspx?type=ousiv&storyID=2005-09-13T072045Z_01_FOR315327_RTRIDST_0_BUSINESSPRO-SUMMIT-ASIA-SDI-DC.XML

Samsung Looks to Single DVD Format

A Samsung spokesman said today that while he hopes that the backers of the competing Blu-ray and HD DVD standards can compromise on a unified standard, his company will introduce a DVD player next year that's capable of utilizing both formats if a single standard is not developed.

Here's the full story:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20050906/tc_nm/samsung_dvd_dc