August, 2010 | HD TV PROFESSOR

Month: August 2010

Monitor vs. TV: What’s in a Name?

August 31, 2010 | Author: Muneeb Mannan

I long for the old days, when things were simpler. Back when a computer monitor was a computer monitor, and a TV was a TV. It's not that way anymore. Almost all TVs now have a way that lets you connect it to a laptop or desktop computer: either a VGA connector, or an HDMI connector that can hook up to a DVI port. But we still have computer monitors...

Netflix in Your Pocket

August 30, 2010 | Author: Muneeb Mannan

Last spring, I wrote about Netflix demo'ing its streaming service on a Windows Phone 7 operating system. Now comes word that Netflix is releasing free applications for the Apple iPhone and iPod Touch that will let subscribers access streaming content on these portable devices. The free apps can access the streaming service across either a WiFi or 3G data connection. You can even stop in the middle of a movie...

No-Glasses 3DTV This Year?

August 27, 2010 | Author: Muneeb Mannan

There's been a buzz caused by a news item from the Japanese newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun. According to the story, Toshiba has plans to release 3DTV models later this year that will not require the special glasses used with other 3D displays such as those from Panasonic or Samsung. Here's the key section from the story: Toshiba has developed an integral imaging system that emits rays of light at different angles,...

Get Connected at Your Outlet

August 26, 2010 | Author: Muneeb Mannan

According to a press release from Western Digital, research by Parks Associates indicates that 42% of the consumers unwilling to connect their TVs to the Internet felt that either the router connection is too far away, or that it would be too complicated to set up, or both. WiFi does help solve the connection problem, but unless you get an 802.11n system, you'll be limited to a theoretical 54 Mb...

Survey: Most Have Seen 3D Movies

August 25, 2010 | Author: Muneeb Mannan

TWICE commissioned a survey about consumer opinion about 3DTV, and the results have some interesting highlights. A good place to start is the fact that about 78% of the respondents have seen at least one 3D movie in a cinema. This is interesting because nearly the identical 78% have never seen a 3DTV. Now, nearly the same 78% of those who had seen a 3D movie were positive about the...

Gefen Levels the Audio Field

August 24, 2010 | Author: Muneeb Mannan

I know I'm not the only one who gets peeved about this; you're watching a show, then a commercial comes on and blasts you out of your seat with a high volume setting. It's not just broadcast video; I've also noticed this (with dismay) on streaming sites such as Hulu. I've written about this problem before, including a mention of a product from SRS Labs that uses the company's technology...

Broadcom Helps HDTV Lose Wait

August 23, 2010 | Author: Muneeb Mannan

Did you ever notice that with technology, it often seems to be two steps forward but one step back? Before digital TV, our analog tuners could change channels at the speed of a thumb-press. (This was even true in the early days of the remote controls. My grandmother had a Zenith Space Command, and when my uncle's black lab came in the room and shook its dog tags, the jangling...

R.I.P. SED — Canon Kills Flat Screen Technology

August 20, 2010 | Author: Muneeb Mannan

It was 2008 when I last wrote about Canon's SED technology, after they won a lawsuit over a technology license agreement and their decision to abandon efforts to make a consumer product and focus instead on a high-end monitor for commercial video production facilities. According to a report in Network World this week, Canon has finally thrown in the towel and pulled the plug on the project. After 15 years...

Weekend in 3D

August 19, 2010 | Author: Muneeb Mannan

Rather than spend it at Bernie's, how about spending the weekend of September 10 through 12 at your local electronics store? The Consumer Electronics Association (hosts of the mammoth CES show in Las Vegas every January) and ESPN are joining forces to create "National 3D Demo Days". ESPN will provide continuous 3D programming for those three days from 10 AM to 11 PM Eastern. The content will include live college...

LCD Makers in Court: Piling On

August 18, 2010 | Author: Muneeb Mannan

Many of the major LCD panel manufacturers have already pleaded guilty to price fixing charges in U.S. federal courts -- paying close to $1 billion in fines -- and now the states are lining up to get a piece of the action in the form of defending their citizens who were ripped off by the price fixing. New York and Florida were first to step up to take their swings...