Panasonic’s TC-P50G10 plasma nets a rave review from the HD Guru
Filed under: Reviews, Displays, Panasonic, Plasma
Fans of the Pioneer Kuro plasma TVs that are riding into the sunset needn’t worry — based on the review from none other than the HD Guru, the THX-approved Panasonic TC-P50G10 is a more than worthy successor. Whatever tests the set had to pass to earn that THX badge, it was well deserved, too, with color that was spot-on and performance that ousted even the Pioneer Pro 141FD in brightness uniformity, ultimate brightness and motion resolution. Even fans of apline skiing should find… Continue reading
DISH Network adds seven new Viacom HD channels, cements HD supremacy
Filed under: Satellite, New content
If you want your MTV HD you can get it, and BET HD, CMT HD, Comedy Central HD, Nickelodeon HD, Spike TV HD and VH1 HD on DISH Network. Thanks to a new deal with Viacom, all those HD feeds were announced today as available to all subscribers at no extra cost. Also included? Video on-demand and Internet streaming rights that senior VP Dave Shull had no problem claiming as a testament to DISH’s “continued HD leadership” while also asserting its HD supremacy. BET HD is available on the Classic Silver 200 HD package and up, while all the… Continue reading
Pioneer, Sharp agree to joint Blu-ray venture
Filed under: Blu-ray, Pioneer, Sharp
As mentioned during Pioneer’s reorganization, it’s combining forces in the optical disc biz with Sharp, and have signed a basic agreement to start combined operations October 1. The aim is to strengthen the joint venture’s stance in the Blu-ray market, but what exactly this means for Pioneer’s Elite line of players is unknown. Negotiations are still underway and we should likely hear more by the time a final agreement is reached, anticipated by June 25. [Warning: PDF read link]
Pioneer, Sharp agree to joint Blu-ray venture originally appeared on… Continue reading
HDTV Listings for April 6, 2009
Filed under: ABC, CBS, Discovery-HD, ESPN-HD, Fox, NBC, TNT-HD, Listings
What we’re watching tonight:
- CBS (1080i) has the NCAA Men’s Championship basketball game with Michigan State/North Carolina at 9 p.m.
- NBC (1080i) has Chuck at 8 p.m. followed by Heroes and Medium
- Fox (720p) brings House at 8 p.m. and 24 at 9 p.m.
- ABC (720p) has Dancing With the Stars at 8 p.m., followed by the series premiere of Surviving Suburbia at 9:32 p.m. and Castle at 10:02 p.m.
- ABC Family (720p) has Greek at
Is your cable company of the present your IPTV provider of the future?
It didn’t make waves at the Cable Show, but the New York Times reports further off than the CableCARD and streaming solutions of the present, cable’s future could be in delivering Internet video directly to your PC or other devices. Delivering IPTV would be far more efficient than current video delivery systems, and could offer higher quality than current Internet streaming services. Of course, the glacial speed of current technology rollouts doesn’t engender confidence we’ll see any of these advances very soon.
Is your cable company of the present your IPTV provider of the future?
HDTV Listings for April 7, 2009
Filed under: ABC, CBS, The CW, Discovery-HD, ESPN-HD, Fox, NBC, TNT-HD, Listings
What we’re watching tonight:
- CW (1080i) has Reaper at 8 p.m. and 90210 at 9 p.m.
- Fox (720p) has American Idol at 8 p.m and Fringe at 9:01 p.m.
- TBS (1080i) brings My Boys at 10:30 p.m.
- ABC (720p) has Dancing With the Stars at 9 p.m. and Cupid at 10:02 p.m.
- CBS (1080i) has NCIS at 8 p.m. followed by The Mentalist and Without a Trace
Verizon’s FiOS TV expansions: April 4, 2009
Filed under: Misc, Fiber, Advertising
Light week on FiOS TV expansion news, now that the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network HD is on the air, it’s broadcasting around Virginia, Pennsylvania and Maryland. The lack of expansion news apparently left time for Verizon to congratulate itself on running a successful Community Forums project that’s already borne fruit by pushing forward a software upgrade to dim annoying lights on the company’s set-top boxes. Check ‘em out if you’ve a problem or solution, apparently someone is listening. Read – FiOS TV Adds Mid-Atlantic Sports Network in High-Definition for Virginia Subscribers in Richmond, Hampton Roads… Continue reading
iTunes 8.1.1 update adds support for HD rentals, but where are they?
Filed under: Media PCs
Consider the “where are the HD rentals in iTunes?” question partially answered, now that 8.1.1 has brought the advertised functionality to the desktop according to its own release notes. Some iPod and iPhone sync issues have also been addressed, but we know what the people want. Unfortunately, even after installing the update none of the $5 rentals in high definition are anywhere to be found, only SD. The wait continues.
iTunes 8.1.1 update adds support for HD rentals, but where are they? originally appeared on Engadget HD on Mon, 06 Apr 2009 17:11:00 EST. Please see our terms
HDTV Listings for April 3, 2009
Filed under: CBS, The CW, Discovery-HD, ESPN-HD, Fox, HBO-HD, MyNetworkTV, NBC, Starz, Listings
What we’re watching tonight:
- Fox (720p) has Terminator: SCC at 8 p.m. and Dollhouse at 9:01 p.m.
- CBS (1080i) has Flashpoint at 9 p.m. (Thanks Diran!)
- MyNetworkTV (720p) has WWE Smackdown at 8 p.m.
- CW (1080i) has Everybody Hates Chris at 8 p.m. and The Game at 8:30 p.m.
- Discovery (1080i) has the season finale American Loggers at 10 p.m.
- Sci Fi (1080i) presents Stargate: Continuum
C-SPAN upgrades systems, preps for switch to HD someday
Filed under: Industry, New content
C-SPAN isn’t ready to follow MSNBC, CNBC and the rest into the breach immediately, but that doesn’t mean it can’t start planning for the future. A switch to digital in June means equipment upgrades, and new hardware from Motorola is spec’d to deliver not only that, but also future upgrades to MPEG-4 compression and HD on all three channels later on. The next time we watch a big leaguer or CEO weaseling through a session on Capitol Hill we expect to catch every drop of sweat in great detail.
C-SPAN upgrades systems, preps for switch to HD
ArcSoft’s SimHD plug-in takes SD footage to “near HD”
Filed under: Blu-ray, Other formats
Another month, another upscaling technology. Tapping into NVIDIA’s versatile CUDA architecture, ArcSoft has just announced its SimHD upscaling tech, which scales SD and DVD content to “near high-definition quality.” The app integrates with the company’s heralded TotalMedia Theater, though you’ll need an NVIDIA GPU in order to really take advantage. We’re told that it’s compatible with millions of NVIDIA GPUs from the GeForce 8 Series onwards, including GeForce and Quadro lines. The pain for better looking pixels? $19.95 and a 5MB download, which may or may not end up costing more than the code itself if you use
Sanyo ships Xacti VPC-FH1, VPC-WH1, VPC-TH1 and VPC-CG10 camcorders
Filed under: Others, Camcorders
Sanyo’s line of Dual Cameras — which are described as camcorders at heart with formidable still capture capabilities — is now shipping to select retailers in the United States and Mexico. The crew is comprised of the VPC-FH1, which handles 1080p at 60fps along with 8 megapixel stills, and the VPC-TH1, which shoots at 720p and sports a 30x optical zoom. Also included is the waterproof (up to ten feet, anyway) 720p VPC-WH1 and the otherwise vanilla VPC-CG10. As for pricing? Try $499.99, $299.99, $399.99 and $199.99 in order of mention.
Where are the HD Movie rentals in iTunes?
Filed under: Industry, Internet, Apple
Eizo debuts 56-inch 4k x 2k RadiForce LS560W LCD monitor
Filed under: Displays, Others, LCD
Eizo’s known for doling out less-than-affordable LCD monitors, but this one just takes the crown (for now). Slated to dazzle in operating rooms everywhere this July, the RadiForce LS560W is a 56-inch behemoth of an LCD that boasts a resolution of 3,840 x 2,160 (or darn close to native 4k x 2k). We’re also told that the panel features a 176-degree field of view, a 1,200:1 contrast ratio and 450 nits of brightness. And to think — we were beginning to wonder if all that 4k surgery footage would ever find a dedicated screen… Continue reading
Microsoft clarifies codec position for Windows 7
Filed under: Industry, Media PCs
Last week it was uncovered that the way 3rd party codecs will work in Windows 7 is going to be different. Microsoft wasn’t exactly happy with our interpretation of the events and so we received a nice email today clarifying a few points; like the fact that Windows will “continue to use codecs and other format technologies from third-party companies.” This is great and all, but doesn’t exactly jive with what the developers of some third party companies are saying. The real point of contention seems to be that in Windows 7, if the video you want to watch is naively supported… Continue reading
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