November, 2005 | HD TV PROFESSOR

Month: November 2005

Holy HDTV Holograph, Batman!

November 30, 2005 | Author: Muneeb Mannan

Okay, we're going to look just over the horizon on this one, but the implications for HD content are huge. Earlier this month, Maxell announced plans to ship a 300 GB disc drive next year. Big deal, you say. Okay, it's going to be a removable disc. Got your attention yet? Here's more; it will be a 5.25-inch disc. That's the equivalent of more than 60 single-layer DVDs. And the...

Reader Question: When to Buy?

November 29, 2005 | Author: Muneeb Mannan

In my visitor HDTV survey on this site, I ask people what their #1 question about HDTV is. A lot of people ask questions similar to these: " When will the price come down?" and " Is now the time to buy?" Okay, if I could predict the future, I wouldn't be writing this Almanac. (Well, maybe I would, but I wouldn't have to try to make a living doing...

Plasma TVs a Hit for Online Shoppers!

November 28, 2005 | Author: Muneeb Mannan

Black Friday. The day after Thanksgiving is more than an event; it's a phenomenon. Shoppers head for the malls in droves, and retailers count on the crowds to get the holiday buying season started. Brick and mortar stores are not the only ones benefiting from the flood of buyers; the rising tide also raises the boats of online retailers as well. PriceGrabber reports that the comparison shopping service referred online...

HDTV Truth Patrol: Plasma Bulbs?

November 25, 2005 | Author: Muneeb Mannan

From the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, by Scott Taves: "Don't know where to begin? Here are tips to sharpen your focus" Online at http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/tv/248038_hdtv12.html. Quote: "Older plasmas were subject to burn-in, meaning a static image, such as a video game icon or stock ticker, left a permanent ghost image. The costly bulbs also would lose luminescence after a few years. Current models have features to defeat burn-in and the bulbs now burn...

Happy Thanksgiving!

November 24, 2005 | Author: Muneeb Mannan

Yes, like many of you, I'm off today to work on a good dose of tryptophan, tamped down with some fresh-baked peach pie. So I'm going to share some of my thoughts about what we have to be thankful about in terms of HDTV and digital TV. First on my list is choice. We have a choice of technologies for our displays, and we have a choice of vendors for...

DRM: Don’t Fence Me In

November 23, 2005 | Author: Muneeb Mannan

One of my least favorite acronyms in the whole home entertainment business is DRM. It reportedly stands for "digital rights management." From my point of view, that's about as direct and honest as using "revenue enhancement" to refer to a tax increase. DRM is copy protection, pure and simple. Now, don't get me wrong. I understand that the content providers want to protect their products. Hey, I've made my living...

Microsoft Backs HDTV

November 22, 2005 | Author: Muneeb Mannan

Microsoft announced last week that the company has an agreement with CableLabs that lets Microsoft and personal computer companies create Media Center PCs that will be digital-cable-ready (DCR). The systems will accept CableCARDs, which is intended to let devices connect directly to digital cable television service and eliminate the need for a separate set-top box. Microsoft wants to let the Media Center PC distribute the video content across a home...

Analog TV to Go Dark!

November 21, 2005 | Author: Muneeb Mannan

Last Friday morning, the US House of Representatives passed a budget bill that included a hard date for the shutdown of analog TV broadcasts in this country: December 31, 2008. The Senate already passed a bill that also set a hard date: April 9, 2009. It's now up to the conference committee to reconcile the two bills, and it's a pretty safe bet that the final date will be somewhere...

Thin and Beautiful HDTV!

November 18, 2005 | Author: Muneeb Mannan

OLEDs -- organic light-emitting diodes -- are emissive devices that are one of the most promising novel technologies that could result in a revolution in television technology. The image is fast and colorful and bright like a regular CRT, but they are as thin as a sheet of thick paper. They produce their own light, so there's no need for the backlight used with LCDs. And some companies are experimenting...

More Networks on Demand

November 17, 2005 | Author: Muneeb Mannan

Following on the heels of the successful deal between iTunes and Disney to make episodes froom some of the ABC television network's top shows available for download at $2 a pop, two new agreements were announced last week. NBC has a deal with DirecTV to offer episodes of a number of major shows for download to an interactive video recorder. And CBS has arranged with Comcast to provide on-demand access...