February, 2009 | HD TV PROFESSOR

Month: February 2009

Vizio Bails on Plasma

February 13, 2009 | Author: Ibex Marketing

Tack another nail in the coffin for plasma. Vizio has decided to drop plasma from its product lineup. The company didn't show any new plasma models at CES this year, and is going to focus solely on LCD for its TVs. Following so closely on the heels of Pioneer's announced exit from the TV market altogether, this leaves the field primarily to Panasonic. Samsung and LG do have plasma products,...

Can Movies over the Internet Succeed?

February 12, 2009 | Author: Ibex Marketing

If you want to watch a movie at home, you probably put a polycarbonate plastic disc in a player that's connected to your TV. You may own the disc, or you may have rented it from Blockbuster or NetFlix or some other service. But companies are starting to use the Internet to distribute movies for sale or rent. It saves a lot of money; there's no postage, you don't have...

FCC Releases “Early” Transition List

February 11, 2009 | Author: Ibex Marketing

Apples, peaches, pumpkin pie, who's not ready, holler "I"! Well, with the “DTV Delay Act”, it's really those stations that are ready to make the transition on the original February 17, 2009 datethat have to speak up. They had until Monday to file their intention with the FCC to cease analog broadcasts on that date, and the FCC has now published a list of those stations. Go to http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-09-221A5.pdf for...

How You Doin’, Blu-ray?

February 10, 2009 | Author: Ibex Marketing

It's been a year since Blu-ray won the war, and defeated HD DVD to become the high definition DVD format. It's time to take the pulse of the new technology and see how it's doing. According to the Blu-ray Disc Association, more than 10.7 million Blu-ray players have been sold in the United States. That sounds impressive. However, standard DVDs sold twice that many -- more than 23 million players...

Pioneer Plasma is “on the Roof”

February 9, 2009 | Author: Ibex Marketing

First, Pioneer announced their exit from the plasma panel manufacturing business nearly a year ago. Last November, the company announced expectations of a major loss and the elimination of about 2,000 jobs. Now it is widely reported that a story in the Japanese newspaper Nikkei indicates that Pioneer will exit the plasma TV business altogether. The company did issue a statement that did not confirm or deny the article, but...

High-End Home Theater Sales Decline

February 6, 2009 | Author: Ibex Marketing

A lot of U.S. consumers would balk at spending $5,000 for a home entertainment system. There's a segment of the market, however, for whom the game doesn't start until you get up to $50,000. These folks want a home theater system that would rival -- or beat -- anything you'd find at your local cineplex. For years, the Runco brand dominated this market with high-end products that have amazing performance...

DTV Transition Delayed

February 5, 2009 | Author: Ibex Marketing

The deed is done, the die is cast. Yesterday, the House of Representatives approved the delay of the cutoff date for analog television broadcasts. The date was moved out another four months to June 12, 2009. The bill is now headed to the White House, where President Obama's repeated calls for a delay make it likely that it will quickly be signed into law. The delay is ostensibly to give...

Panasonic’s Turn in the Box

February 4, 2009 | Author: Ibex Marketing

Okay, we get it. The economic situation is bad. And there's no safety in being big, as we've seen from Sony and Mitsubishi and others. Today, we get word that Panasonic is taking the hit. The company is forecasting a $4.3 billion loss for their current fiscal year (that's billion with a Big B), and as a result, plans to cut 15,000 jobs worldwide and close 27 plants. Flat panel...

Camel’s Nose under JVC’s HDTV Tent?

February 3, 2009 | Author: Ibex Marketing

JVC Americas announced yesterday that they will be combining the four divisions of its U.S. operations. This includes JVC Company of America, which sells the consumer TV and camera products. The other divisions are Mobile which sells car stereos and navigation products, Professional Products which sells professional grade cameras and displays, and the service division that supports the products of the other three. JVC has struggled to gain market share...

DTV Transition: Remember to Rescan

February 2, 2009 | Author: Ibex Marketing

Full-power analog television broadcasts in the U.S. may or may not end in two weeks, but when they do, there will be some additional changes. If you look at www.antennaweb.org to see which digital channels you can receive, you may see that some are assigned to one frequency now, and will have another frequency after the transition. You'll have to get your digital tuner (television or converter box) to rescan...