June, 2007 | HD TV PROFESSOR

Month: June 2007

Movie Rentals without the DVD

June 29, 2007 | Author: Muneeb Mannan

What if you could rent movies to watch at home, and not have to go to the store to pick out the DVD? Or even go to the mailbox to get the DVD that was sent to you by NetFlix or Blockbuster? What if there was no disc at all? What if you didn't have to choose between HD DVD and Blu-ray for high definition movies? If you're like me,...

Hitachi Drops Rear Projection

June 28, 2007 | Author: Muneeb Mannan

Hitachi announced yesterday that they will drop their rear projection product line, so that they can focus more on their flat panel HDTV business. The company will offer 10 plasma models and four 1080p LCD models. The LCDs will come in 42" and 47" sizes, while the plasma models will range from 42" to 60" sizes. The company also announced their new 60" P60X901 ($7,999 list) and 50" P50X901 ($4,299...

Keeping Up with the Jones’s HDTV

June 27, 2007 | Author: Muneeb Mannan

According to a press release from the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), 30% of U.S. households have one or more HDTVs. The group also expects that this will increase to 36% as they forecast that 16 million new HDTVs will be bought in 2007. And more than one third of households with HDTVs have at least two. Still, the CEA reports that more than half of the households that have HDTVs...

Sony’s New Rear Projection HDTVs

June 26, 2007 | Author: Muneeb Mannan

I continue to be a believer in rear projection HDTV, as I think it offers the best value in large screen technology for the average home installation. And these HDTVs can produce some of the best images you'll see from any technology. A lot of people dismiss rear projection out of hand, but it's still a significant portion of the market. According to figures from Pacific Media Associates at the...

Sam’s Club and Costco Start HDTV Install Service

June 25, 2007 | Author: Muneeb Mannan

One reason that everyone seems to want a large flat screen HDTV -- either LCD or plasma -- is that they want to hang it on the wall so it doesn't take up much space in their room. As I've repeatedly pointed out, most people don't actually do this; they typically end up putting the display on a stand and setting that on an existing or new piece of furniture....

SlingBox Makes a Power Connection

June 22, 2007 | Author: Muneeb Mannan

Home networking is becoming more popular, but adding connections to a home can be difficult. New construction often has Cat5 Ethernet cable strung everywhere, but in old homes -- such as our old mill with stone-filled outside walls -- it can be difficult and expensive to run wires. WiFi eliminates the wires, but there can be bandwidth or performance issues; a friend has a home with plaster walls on expanded...

Fighting E-Waste

June 21, 2007 | Author: Muneeb Mannan

As I've mentioned repeatedly, this is going to be the first year where environmentally "green" marketing is going to be essential in the consumer electronics market. One end is the production and use part of the product lifecycle, so "friendly" materials and lower energy consumption will be important. But the other end of the lifecycle is also important; getting rid of the products when they're no longer wanted. A huge...

Satellite Services Lead in Satisfaction

June 20, 2007 | Author: Muneeb Mannan

The 2007 American Customer Satisfaction Index results from the University of Michigan were released last month, according to a report in The Bridge. First, the good news: the two satellite TV services lead the cable companies by a significant margin. DISH Network and DirecTV are tied at the top with a 67 score. (In 2006, DirecTV had a three point lead over DISH at 71 to 68). The bad news...

Westinghouse Adds High End LCD HDTVs

June 19, 2007 | Author: Muneeb Mannan

At InfoComm 2007 in Anaheim, CA, Westinghouse Digital Electronics today announced a new line of high-end LCD HDTVS that are aimed at the custom installation market. The new TX Series models all have 1080p native resolution, digital and analog tuners, and an impressive four HDMI connectors. They come in three sizes: the 42” TX-42F430S, the 47” TX-47F430S, and the 52” TX-52F480S. According to a release by Westinghouse, these models are...

Big News for Blu-ray

June 18, 2007 | Author: Muneeb Mannan

Associated Press reports this morning that Blockbuster will announce that it only will stock Blu-ray high definition DVDs in 1,400 stores later this month. Having tested Blu-ray and rival HD DVD formats in 250 stores for the past year, the company reports that customers requested the Blu-ray titles 70 percent of the time. As a result, the company has chosen Blu-ray as the one that they will carry. On the...