March, 2010 | HD TV PROFESSOR

Month: March 2010

ESPN 3D on DirecTV

March 31, 2010 | Author: Muneeb Mannan

Conventional wisdom says that hardware precedes software. We've seen this over and over again in the personal computer industry; we had USB ports on PCs for years before there were many practical applications for them. Now we have programs that run directly off of USB thumb drives, as well as a host of peripherals and accessories that can use USB connections. So it appeared that hardware would once again precede...

HDTVs: Is that Model Available in Mauve?

March 30, 2010 | Author: Muneeb Mannan

Runco continues to be the high-end home entertainment display company that defies gravity and demonstrates that there is still room for an exclusive home theater company. The company has announced a new program called "ColourPallette", which lets customers order the full line of Runco home theater projectors and flat panel displays in any of 13 different colors. According to Runco VP of Marketing Jennifer Davis, "It is easy to see...

Cable and Satellite Ask FCC for Help

March 29, 2010 | Author: Muneeb Mannan

A group of subscription television providers -- both cable and satellite -- have petitioned the FCC for some protection against networks pulling the plug on their program as part of licensing negotiations. The most recent round of brinkmanship was between Cablevision and Disney leading up to the Academy Awards coverage, but we've also seen other cases where college football and the SuperBowl have been held hostage to get the subscription...

Cisco to Turbocharge the Internet

March 26, 2010 | Author: Muneeb Mannan

Ah, the Law of Unintended Consequences is always hiding around the corner, waiting to bite you in the butt. I've been writing a lot about watching movies and video content over the Internet, and this has prompted some readers to question whether or not the Internet can stand up to the load of all this increased traffic if the majority of people started getting all their entertainment content streamed over...

HDTVs: What Recession?

March 25, 2010 | Author: Muneeb Mannan

According to a press release from DisplaySearch for a new research report, TV unit sales rose 32% in 2009, and are projected to rise another 24% in 2010. LCD TVs are expected to make up 180 million of the total 228 million units forecast for 2010, as it continues to expand its domination of the flat panel market. In contrast, plasma models are only expected to account for 15 million...

190 Million Watch NBC Winter Olympics

March 24, 2010 | Author: Muneeb Mannan

According to a report in Multichannel News, NBC racked up more than 190 million Americans who watched at least some of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. In spite of the nail-biter men's hockey final that pitted the U.S. against host Canada in an overtime gold medal game, the audience count still came up with a silver medal. It trailed the record set back in 1994 for the games in...

Avatar Blu-ray Goes Flat!

March 23, 2010 | Author: Muneeb Mannan

You are likely one of the many who helped push Avatar into the record books, grossing more than $2.6 billion worldwide (and still counting!) So you may be anxiously awaiting the release of the high definition Blu-ray version of the movie so you can enjoy it all over again at home. (It will also be released on DVD, but who wants to watch a low-res version of this blockbuster epic?)...

Netflix Coming to the Tiny Screen

March 22, 2010 | Author: Muneeb Mannan

Netflix has a hit on its hands with its streaming service, which allows anyone with an unlimited Netflix subscription to watch movies and TV episodes for free on the Internet. So it should come as little surprise that the service is looking to expand its coverage. It has been widely reported that Netflix demo'ed streaming on the Windows Phone 7 operating system at Microsoft's MIX10 developer's conference earlier this month....

3DTV: It Starts with Sports

March 19, 2010 | Author: Muneeb Mannan

With some consumers willing to spend hundreds of dollars per seat to attend some sporting events, it should come as little surprise that live 3DTV programming is going to begin with sports coverage. The press is still writing pages about the first 3D-capable sets from Samsung, Sony, and Panasonic -- many of which have not shipped yet -- and already we're hearing about efforts to broadcast 3D programming. For example,...

Universal 3D Glasses

March 18, 2010 | Author: Muneeb Mannan

One of the complaints about 3DTV that is often repeated in the press is that "there are no standards". I may be the only one who does not see that as a major obstacle. After all, there are a lot of different digital image file formats out there, yet programs like Microsoft Word or most browsers seem to be able to handle all that variety without breaking a sweat. Apparently,...