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Cinemax: All HD On September 1 The channel says it will be the first premium channel to do so. By Swanni HBO has announced that Cinemax's main channel will go all-HD on September 1. The network says Cinemax HD will be the first premium subscription channel to broadcast an all-HD lineup. Other channels, such as HDNet Movies and MGM HD, also broadcast an all-HD lineup. HBO, which owns Cinemax, says the movie channel's on-air promos and short features will also be in high-def. "As the No. 1 movie service, Cinemax subscribers have come to expect a picture of the highest...

Could the price of some Samsung High-Definition TVs be slashed by up to $300 in the next two weeks? That's the conclusion of the web site, HD Guru, which quotes "industry sources" as saying that the big discounts will be part of a Labor Day weekend sale. Some retailers last month cut prices on several brands in an effort to boost sales during the economic downturn. But the HD Guru site says the new discounts will be specific to Samsung LCD sets. However, the lower prices could force other TV makers such as Sony, Panasonic and Mitsubishi to cut their...

Washington, D.C. (August 5, 2008) -- Dish Network is considering merging with rival satcaster DIRECTV, The Wall Street Journal reported today. The newspaper reports that the companies have not discussed a formal proposal, but have had "general discussions" about the idea. The two satcasters attempted to merge several years ago, but the FCC rejected the plan in 2002 on grounds that it would be anti-competitive. However, in the years since, other video competition has emerged, including TV services from telco giants AT&T and Verizon and set-top Net TV services from Apple TV, Amazon, TiVo and Netflix. WSJ reports that Dish...

Will DIRECTV and Dish Network offer real 1080p high-def video, as the satcasters have claimed in recent days? That's the question being asked by high-def enthusiasts and a host of technological experts, according to The New York Times. Both Dish Network and DIRECTV this week announced that they will soon begin displaying movies in 1080p high-def video -- the same resolution now found on the Blu-ray high-def disc. Dish, in fact, will premiere its 1080p lineup today with the showing of I Am Legend on HD PPV. But The Times reports that 1080p programming could not be transmitted over the...

Washington, D.C. (July 28, 2008) -- DIRECTV today said it will offer local high-def channels in 121 cities by year's end with the addition of 44 new markets. The rollout of the 44 new cities will begin in August and continue through the end of the year, the company said. DIRECTV added that the 121 markets will represent 88 percent of U.S. TV households. The satcaster also said it would deliver HD programming from the primary broadcast networks -- ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC -- where available and authorized to customers who subscribe to any Total Choice programming package that...

DIRECTV's advertising campaigns often mock cable TV's claim that it has more 'HD choices" than satellite because of cable's Video on Demand service. The DIRECTV campaign is justified in pointing out that the satcaster actually has far more HD channels than cable -- and that most consumers are not excited about watching high-def programs on demand; they want real channels, not choices. So I would be remiss if I didn't point out that DIRECTV is now trying to play the same 'fool the consumer' game. DIRECTV this month officially launched a Broadband-enabled Video on Demand service, which has more than...

Dish Network today announced that it will add 17 national HDTV channels on August 1, saying the additions will give it 100 national HD channels overall. The satcaster promised in January that it would offer 100 national HD channels by year's end. DIRECTV, Dish's top satellite rival, now offers around 95 national HD channels, but has promised to deliver up to 150 national HD channels by year's end. “In January, we promised our customers that DISH Network would boost our national HD channel lineup to 100 by year’s end. Today, we are proud to say that in less than one...

Mitsubishi has revealed that its Laser LCD HDTVs will come in 65-inch and 73-inch sized models later this year. The company, which is now billing the sets as 'LaserVue,' said they will revolutionize the high-def industry by offering crisper pictures, more vivid colors and 3-D viewing capability. The 65-inch set will ship in the third quarter of this year with the 73-inch model to soon follow. Mitsubishi has not revealed pricing on either set, but considering the screen size, they could run into the thousands of dollars. The new Mitsubishi Laser HDTV. The sets were first unveiled at last January's...

Mitsubishi this month will launch two flat-panel HDTVs that will include 16 integrated sound speakers. The sets will be a 46-inch model (LT-46149) priced at $3,299 and a 52-inch model (LT-52149) priced at $3,699. Both sets are expected to ship this month. Mitsubishi says the 'Ultra Thin Frame' sets will deliver a Home Theater sound experience without the need for additional speakers or extra wires. "Mitsubishi's new Premium Flat Panel TV (creates) a new immersive audio experience with innovative sound technology that exceeds what is currently being offered on the market," says Frank DeMartin, vice president of Mitsubishi Digital Electronics...

David Neal, NBC's executive producer for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, says the event will be a "signature moment" for High-Definition TV. NBC has the rights to broadcast all 17 days of the 2008 Summer Olympics from China, which begin August 8, 2008. In a keynote speech today to the HD World conference in New York, Neal said it will be the first Olympics ever that will be produced "100 percent in HD." He said the extensive high-def coverage will help "get HD out of the niche and fully into the mainstream." Approximately 30 million U.S. homes now have...

In today's world of broadcasting and commercial display technologies, video resolution seems to be the name of the game as we progress from full-HD to 4K (3,840 x 2,160 pixels), and now 8K (7,680 x 4,320 pixels) ultra-high-definition format. Developed by NHK, this Japanese prototype system is capable of displaying 32 megapixels' worth or 16 times more details than any consumer panel. The theater on demonstration at CommunicAsia comprises two LCoS projectors with a combined 8,000 lumens brightness and a towering 6.6m x 3.7m 300-inch projection screen. If you think that is impressive, wait till you have a go at...

Several TV stations and local newspapers are urging caution about signing up with DIRECTV because of the satcaster's controversial early cancellation fees. The FCC has scheduled a hearing tomorrow on early termination fees imposed by cell phone companies. However, consumer advocates are pushing the agency to investigate other companies, including TV providers. The recent media glare on DIRECTV's cancellation policy could help force the FCC to comply with those requests. DIRECTV requires subscribers to extend their service agreements for two years when it issues a replacement receiver, including an HD DVR. However, the agreement's fine print states that if you...

Best show on TV starts tonight...The Ice Road Truckers are back for a new challenge: Killer storms, monster loads, and this year, they're on the Arctic Ocean!!!

Consumers will now be able to watch online videos from YouTube on their Sony Bravia flat-panel HDTV sets. YouTube, the online video provider and Google subsidiary, is the latest content company to provide video for Sony’s Bravia Internet Video Link, a small add-on module that connects to the TV on one end and an Ethernet cable on the other and facilitates the viewing of Internet video on the big screen without requiring the use of a personal computer. Sony first announced the Bravia Internet Video Link, which sells for $300, at the Consumer Electronics Show in January 2007 and has...

Washington, D.C. (June 1, 2008) -- Toshiba will soon launch an upconverting DVD player that purports to offer a picture that will rival Blu-ray's high-def disc. That's according to a report from the Japanese newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun. Toshiba was the chief backer of HD DVD, the high-def disc rival to Blu-ray. But the company pulled the plug on HD DVD at the end of March due to disappointing sales and overwhelming studio support for Blu-ray. At the time of the exit announcement. Toshiba executives hinted that it would soon release a standard-def DVD player that could compete with Blu-ray rather...

HDMI (which stands for High Definition Multimedia Interface) was developed to accommodate the emerging HD digital technologies which have now entered the mainstream of home entertainment. It was planned as a "one wire" digital solution to both audio and video requirements. It is also one of the most confusing connection technologies available to the general public - especially when people are used to more traditional interconnectivity. As HDMI attempts to do what it was designed to do, part of the process involves the pieces of the puzzle communicating with each other (sometimes referred to as "handshaking"). This two way communication...

Toshiba’s SpursEngine Chip to Find Home in Company’s Notebooks Toshiba plans to equip some of its multimedia-oriented mobile computers with its multimedia processor that can accelerate various applications, including graphics, physics, video and so on. Toshiba did not disclose how much its customers should pay for the part. On the 8th of May Toshiba disclosed its growth strategies for investors for the year 2008, one of which was integration of the SpursEngine processor into advanced media center AV Qosmio notebooks. According to Toshiba, the Cell-derivative processor will upscale standard picture quality to high definition resolution. While the manufacturer did not...

Washington, D.C. (May 6, 2008) -- The Discovery Channel next month will air a documentary series featuring restored, high-def video of classic footage from NASA's Mercury, Gemini and Apollo space missions. That's according to an article by MSNBC.com. The documentary series, called When We Left Earth: The NASA Missions, will include video from more than 100 hours of remastered footage of early space missions in the 1960s and 1970s. While the original video was not shot in high-def, today's technology enables Discovery to remaster the footage for an HD production. "No gimmicks, no photoshopping, no CGI," Discovery President John Ford...

The Supreme Court of New York last month denied Voom's request for a preliminary injunction to block Dish Network from terminating its agreement to carry its 15 high-def channels. That's according to court documents obtained by the web site, DBSTalk.com. The decision leaves Voom's fate on Dish Network in doubt. While Dish Network is now offering Voom in its 19-channel Ultimate HD package, court papers show that the satcaster intended to remove Voom from its lineup entirely before the lawsuit was filed. Dish contends that Voom has failed to spend $100 million annually on the 15 high-def channels as stated...

Mid-February was a good time to be a Blu-ray backer. Media moguls who had championed the technology were busy floating on yachts in the Pacific, chomping cigars, and stroking white longhaired cats; the billion-dollar payday was at hand. But numbers out last week indicate that standalone Blu-ray player sales plummeted in the early part of this year, and enthusiasm for the hi-def format appears as lukewarm as the applause at an REO Speedwagon concert. Where did all the buyers go? Last week, both ABI Research and The NPD Group delivered the news: the standalone Blu-ray player market did not suddenly...

To deliver more HDTV channels, cable and satellite services are resorting to new compression algorithms. But some viewers fear that quality is suffering as a result. Do your HDTV programs look as good as they should? If not, you may be seeing the results of overcompression. A growing number of viewers and experts are claiming that increased use of compression--technology that downsizes huge high-definition video streams for eventual reconstitution on your screen--is responsible for a drop in quality.

A planned fourth pay-TV channel could leave CBS' Showtime without movies. Viacom, Lions Gate Entertainment and MGM announced that they will no longer sell their movies to Showtime and instead will launch a new, fourth pay-TV channel. The announcement leaves Showtime, the current owner of rights to films from Viacom, Lions Gate and MGM, without the rights to output from any of the major movie studios. This move would affect many companies in the entertainment industry, including the owners of the current pay-TV services, Time Warner (HBO and Cinemax) and Liberty Entertainment (Starz and Encore). Time Warner would also be...

NetFlix yesterday said it would soon raise monthly subscription fees for Blu-ray high-def disc rentals. And the online DVD rental service couldn't have been clearer as to why it will hike those prices. High-def owners are accustomed to being charged more than the average consumer, the company said. "Consumers are used to paying more for High-Definition content in every other channel, including video rental stores, video-on-demand, and cable channels," explained Netflix CEO Reed Hastings. In other words, Hastings is saying that it's okay to gouge the high-def owner a bit because he/she is used to being gouged a bit. The...

Dish Network today added Sci-Fi Channel HD and USA Network HD to its High-Definition lineup. Rumors have circulated for weeks that the satcaster was about to add the two channels. With today's additions, Dish now has 79 national HD channels. Dish's high-def expansion plans suffered a setback this month when a satellite it planned to use to increase its HD capacity was declared a failure. But Dish said yesterday in a regulatory filing that it's still "on track" to offer 100 national HD channels by year's end, which it promised in January. Dish said there are still two more satellite...

Late last year, I made 15 predictions for High-Definition TV in 2008. And, I am proud -- and not too modest -- to say that several have already come true. For instance, I predicted that: * Warner Bros. would endorse Blu-ray in the high-def format war against HD DVD * The high-def disc format war would end in 2008 with Blu-ray victorious (I first predicted that one in 2006). * Prices of high-def dual format players would fall under $500 -- but that the price drop would not save HD DVD. * TV makers would launch 3-D HDTVs. * DIRECTV...

Washington -- DirecTV and Dish Network have won major concessions from the Federal Communications Commission on the carriage of local TV signals in HD format following completion of broadcasters’ digital transition early next year, FCC and industry officials said Wednesday. DirecTV and Dish Network struck a deal with the FCC that was far better than the HD carriage rules the FCC imposed on all cable operators, regardless of size, last September. The five-member FCC did not announce the vote or release the text of the rules on Wednesday. An FCC official said the vote was unanimous. The National Association of...

Dish Network, DirecTV Will Have Until Feb. 17, 2013, to Carry 100% of Local Stations’ HD Signals. The commission also ruled that DirecTV’s and Dish Network's requirement to carry all TV stations in a market where they carry any extends to DTV signals just as it applies to analog TV stations. Satellite broadcasters will have four years to phase in delivery of local stations' HD signals, the FCC said, explaining that it recognized the "unique" capacity constraints of satellite and accepted their argument that an immediate mandate would slow the rollout of HD service. FCC chairman Kevin Martin said the...

Dish Network's new satellite designed to expand its High-Definition programming capacity failed last night. The AMC-14 satellite, which Dish was leasing from SES Americom, lifted off successfully yesterday morning. But International Launch Services, which was conducting the launch, reports that an "anomaly" occurred during the second burn of the Breeze M upper stage. The satellite then failed to reach its planned orbit. Once operational, the satellite was expected to enable Dish to begin adding high-def channels, increasing its current total to roughly 70 to 100 by year's end. The satcaster has said it would launch three new satellites in 2008...

Everyone is talking about HDMI with the release of the PS3, and it's worth talking about; many people don't know that much about the cables or the connections. Heck, I've talked to people who don't realize that their PS3 will look better if they upgrade their composite cables that come with the system. I'm not going to try to break down the entire issue of cabling because it's a broad one, but if you're looking to buy an HDMI cable, just pay attention to the fact that there are stores that will rob you and others that won't. When I...

I have to ask this question. A lady who I work with likes to listen to her soaps over the TV audio on her radio. She asked me that after NTSC broadcasts are stopped in February 2009, will she still be able to get channels 2 thru 13 audio. I told her no, I'm assuming the analogue TV sound will cease to be broadcast as well but I'm looking for a definite answer. Am I right is assuming her TV audio radio will be no good after 2009?

Washington, D.C. (March 5, 2008) -- Last week, I took some heat from readers for saying here that Toshiba should offer company discounts to HD DVD owners after announcing it was exiting the business. I reasoned that it would be good business for Toshiba to send a signal to its customers that it appreciated their commitment to HD DVD. Now that the format is going out of business, the HD DVD player will be nearly obsolete. So, an offer, let's say, of 20 percent off a Toshiba LCD HDTV would make people feel better about their investment in not only...

Washington, D.C. (February 29, 2008) -- Sony, the leading supporter of Blu-ray, has said the new high-def disc will replace the standard-def DVD in the next several years. Is that possible? After all, standard-def DVD players are in nearly every American home and many people have built up impressive collections of DVD film libraries. However, now that Toshiba has pulled the plug on HD DVD, it's my view that Blu-ray has an opportunity to become the leading home video format. So, how can Blu-ray replace the DVD? Here are five steps: 1. Lower Player Prices to Under $200 Blu-ray players...

Toshiba finally mercy-killed its HD-DVD format last week, ending a drawn-out fight with Sony's Blu-ray for high-definition disc supremacy. The format's demise has brought HD-DVD owners untold humiliation: reams of newspaper stories comparing them to the losers of yore who bought into Betamax and LaserDisc, the sad sight of desperate early adopters peddling brand-new players on Craigslist, and, worst of all, a Web site celebrating the similarities between HD-DVD and Hillary Clinton. I'm sick of the mockery and abuse. You see, I'm one of the morons who bought an HD-DVD player. While I freely admit my moronitude, I still believe...

Washington, D.C. (February 24, 2008) -- A law firm has filed a class action lawsuit against DIRECTV charging the satcaster with failing to tell customers they must eventually return their receivers -- even if they paid hundreds of dollars for them at retail. The lawsuit, which was filed in federal court in Los Angeles by the Chicago-based Wexler Toriseva Wallace LLP, also includes CE retailer Best Buy. The law firm says the companies have not "adequately disclosed" that a customer can not keep his DIRECTV receiver even after paying for it. At BestBuy.com, the satcaster's receivers now range in price...

Washington, D.C. (February 18, 2008) -- Toshiba is likely to hold a board meeting as early as tomorrow to discuss dropping its HD DVD business. That's according to a report by the Associated Press. Various news reports over the weekend said Toshiba, the main backer of HD DVD, was planning to end its high-def disc format battle against Blu-ray. In recent weeks, Blu-ray player and disc sales have far outpaced HD DVD and Warner Bros. and several retailers have decided to endorse Blu-ray in the war. Toshiba publicly said Monday that it has started a review of the HD DVD...

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc (WMT.N) on Friday said it plans to exclusively back the Blu-ray high definition movie format, the latest blow to the rival HD DVD camp backed by Toshiba Corp (6502.T).

DIRECTV left High-Definition viewers breathless last fall when it expanded its HD lineup from nine channels to roughly 90 over a three month period. However, since late December, the satcaster has not added a high-def channel, other than an in-house channel, called The 101. How come? Are there no HDTV channels left to add? Hardly. The satcaster's satellite capacity may simply be maxed out, or getting close to it. DIRECTV's plan to offer 100 HD channels may be slowing. DIRECTV had planned last year to launch two satellites (the D10 and D11) for high-def and other services. Combined, the two...

Washington, D.C. (February 11, 2008) -- NetFlix today drove another nail in HD DVD's coffin by announcing it will support Blu-ray exclusively in the high-def disc format war. The by-mail DVD rental service, which has more than six million subscribers, has offered movies in both HD DVD and Blu-ray. However, the company today said the industry has "picked a winner" in Blu-ray. NetFlix noted that the majority of the major Hollywood studios have decided to support Blu-ray exclusively, with Warner Bros. last month the most recent one to do so. "As of now (NetFlix) will purchase only Blu-ray discs and...

ON Feb. 17, 2009, all broadcast television stations will end their analog transmissions and shift to digital signals. This is a complex process that involves spending billions of dollars to build new towers and antennas and to subsidize converter boxes for consumers who don’t have digital TVs. In all this planning and spending on the transition to digital transmission, however, we have yet to address the question of “white spaces.” White spaces are the intervals between television channel frequencies to ensure that TV reception is not interrupted by other signals. The usefulness of these white spaces is about to be...

If you're a Time Warner Cable subscriber, you can expect more High-Definition in the near future. Lots more. That's according to Time Warner's top executives who commented yesterday on the company's HD plans during an investors call with Wall Street analysts. COO Landel Hobbs told the analysts that the cable service now has carriage agreements with 53 high-def channels -- and deals with an additional 20 channels "pending." Hobbs said some Time Warner systems, such as Albany and San Antonio, are now offering more than 40 HD channels. But more HD channels are expected to be added soon throughout the...

Are you happy with the High-Definition picture on your new LCD HDTV? Well even if you are, you still might wonder if you just tweaked a set ever so slightly whether it would improve the image. CNET.com understands that sentiment. The technology web site has just published seven steps to improving the picture on your LCD set. Step #1: Forget what you've seen in the showroom. The LCD picture is tuned to look great in that environment. So, start thinking about how you can change the settings so it will look great in your living room. Step #2: CNET says...

Designers have begun to apply dynamic image-processing algorithms in FPGAs to convert and map digital-video signals onto display panels. Multiple video-processing techniques and building blocks exist to handle, process, and display clean, smooth pictures on flat-panel HDTVs. TodayÂ’s rapid proliferation of large-screen HDTVs (high-definition televisions) requires the use of highly complex video-processing algorithms to achieve high resolution, which in turn necessitates faster data rates to address the many artifacts that viewers would not typically notice on smaller screens. To overcome these challenges, designers are now beginning to apply dynamic image-processing algorithms in FPGAs to convert and map digital-video signals onto...

Texas Instruments admits that things don't look that bright for the rear projection High-Definition TV. Sales of flat-screen sets have far outpaced rear projection models in the last few years. But TI tells the New York Times that new, slimmer rear projection sets with advanced features such as 3-D will soon boost sales. “Most analysts use a rear view mirror when forecasting results,” says Doug Darrow, a TI products and marketing manager. “They do not think of trends in the technology. We serve a different type of customer: the Home Theater enthusiast.” Texas Instruments, which makes chips for DLP (Digital...

From Microsoft to Apple, companies are launching new services that purport to offer High-Definition movies and TV shows via high-speed Internet downloads. However, ZDNet technical director George Ou says the picture quality on the HD downloads is not as good as the PQ on a DVD 1080p upconverter player. In a column just posted at ZDNet, Ou writes that high-def downloads has become an industry "big lie," meaning they really don't offer HD-quality images. He contends that HD downloads must be compressed so that the bit rate used in the transmission is typically just 1.5 to 4 mbps for 720p...

Millions of older and disabled Americans in nursing and adult-care homes are excluded from a government program that helps people convert their TV sets to receive a new digital signal next year. The reason? A federal program that pays for digital converter boxes for older televisions -- necessary when all TV broadcasting goes digital early next year -- specifically requires recipients to live in a "household" as recognized by the U.S. Census Bureau. Adult-care and nursing homes are considered "group quarters" instead of households by the census bureau, a spokesman for the bureau said. That means those residents might lose...

Look, it will play *something*, just buy it already. After the past week, it seems more and more likely that Blu-ray will be the movie disc format of the future. But with the exception of the Playstation 3, current Blu-ray disc players were built without future-compatibility capabilities, so come this October owners won't be able to take advantage of features like Internet connectivity or enhanced interactivity (whatever that means—details are sketchy). "One key Blu-ray developer told BetaNews that although he builds discs for studios including Fox and Lionsgate, he did not buy a Blu-ray player for personal use." Regarding current...

Mitsubishi Digital Electronics America Introduces New Category of Large-Format Televisions with Groundbreaking Laser Technology Mitsubishi's Revolutionary Laser Television Raises Home Entertainment to a New Level LAS VEGAS--(Business Wire)--Mitsubishi Digital Electronics America, Inc. today announced the world premiere of the laser television category during the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, unveiling a new large-format LaserTV that delivers as much as twice the color of current high-definition televisions. Mitsubishi has harnessed its worldwide leadership in precision laser technology to produce the first-ever laser-powered television, delivering a range of color never before seen in home entertainment. Precise and focused, the purity of...

The Consumer Electronics Show is more than a convention. It's an opportunity for companies to position themselves as leaders in their respective categories. And with the media -- and more than 140,000 attendees -- watching, there's a lot at stake. So, with today's close of this year's CES, here are my winners and losers of the 2008 CES in the category of High-Definition TV: Winner Comcast In a keynote speech on Tuesday, Comcast CEO Brian Roberts outlined his company's plan for High-Definition over the next year. And it's a bold plan indeed. HD movie downloads in four minutes. More than...

Samsung this March will launch two Plasma HDTVs that can display 3-D images. The company made the announcement this week at the Consumer Electronics Show. At a press conference yesterday, Samsung executives said the two sets would be 42-inch and 50-inch models. Charles Park, who heads Samsung's Plasma unit, said the company is still working on the pricing for the 3-D HDTVs. However, he promised that the sets would not carry a "premium" -- meaning they would not be more expensive than a non-3D set. The two Plasma sets will come with special 3-D goggles and software. To get the...

Top execs say it might be tough to provide enough digital converters. Two top CE retail executives yesterday expressed deep concern over the nation's planned switch to Digital TV. On February 17, 2009, all local broadcasters must switch their analog signals to digital which means viewers will need a Digital TV, a digital converter box or a pay TV subscription to watch television. The federal government has begun taking applications for $40 coupons for the digital converters, which will enable analog TVs to display the new digital signals. But Best Buy CEO Brad Anderson said yesterday that he's "very nervous"...