July, 2011 | HD TV PROFESSOR

Month: July 2011

Westinghouse Lowers LED LCD HDTV Prices

July 29, 2011 | Author: Muneeb Mannan

You can scratch off another "premium" feature that no longer carries a premium price. According to the company's press release, Westinghouse Digital has announced that it is shipping LCD HDTVs with LED backlights at prices that challenge the traditionally less-expensive cold-cathode fluorescent lamp (CCFL) backlight designs. Its 40" LD-4070Z is on sale online now at Walmart for $439.99; that's at least 40% less than LED-backlit models from the major manufacturers....

DisplaySearch Lowers Expectations

July 28, 2011 | Author: Muneeb Mannan

"Demand in many developed countries continues to be very soft" so analysts at DisplaySearch have lowered their forecasts for the total worldwide television shipments for this year. The new figure is 252 million units, which is down 3% from the previous estimate. Three percent doesn't sound like much until you realize that represents more than 7 million sets with a total value that is probably more than a few billion...

Connected TVs Getting Used

July 27, 2011 | Author: Muneeb Mannan

In-Stat has released results of a new survey that indicates connected TVs are being put to use. The company estimates that about 60% of households with a connected TV use a TV app at least once per week. Netflix and YouTube are the leading choices and Keith Nissen, Research Director, says "TV apps will become part of the mainstream TV viewing experience." The survey also estimates that 22% of U.S....

Pressure for Retrans Reform Builds

July 26, 2011 | Author: Muneeb Mannan

According to a press release from the American Television Alliance, the FCC approved the sale of the ABC affiliate in Topeka, Kansas, to Parkin Broadcasting Company. The problem is that two other major network stations in that market -- NBC and Fox affiliates -- are owned by a single company, New Vision Television. And New Vision has shared service agreements already in place with Parkin in two other markets: Youngstown,...

CEA Reports TVs Weigh Less

July 25, 2011 | Author: Muneeb Mannan

From the Who Ever Would Have Guessed It Department, the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) has come out with a report detailing the "materials footprint" of televisions and computer monitors from 2004 through 2011. In comparing televisions in the 13" to 36" size range, the group determined that flat panel LCD TVs weigh 82% less than CRT (picture tube) models, and take up 75% less space. That's hardly surprising. The fact...

Making a Case for a la Carte

July 22, 2011 | Author: Muneeb Mannan

Earlier this year, the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court threw out a class action antitrust lawsuit (Brantley v. NBC Universal) that held that bundling of cable channels unfairly forces consumers to pay for programming that they don't want. The ruling stated that while consumers may be damaged by the practice, there is not evidence that competition suffers (which is the basis for an antitrust suit). Now a bunch of groups --...

Zediva: Rent-a-DVD-Player Service under Fire

July 21, 2011 | Author: Muneeb Mannan

If you haven't heard about Zediva yet, you may want to check it out quickly. Like iviTV and FilmOn, this company thinks that it has figured out a way to game the system to provide video content over the Internet. Where iviTV and FilmOn provided broadcast television programming, however, Zediva is renting DVD movies. The wrinkle on the service is that you actually rent the physical DVD, just as if...

CBS Picks Amazon

July 21, 2011 | Author: Muneeb Mannan

If you're a Hulu fan, you have probably noticed the conspicuous absence of any current CBS shows. It's not too surprising, given that the owners of major rivals ABC (Walt Disney Co.), NBC (Comcast), and FOX (News Corp.) are Hulu's owners. Now comes word that CBS has signed a deal with Amazon to offer about 2,000 full-length episodes to subscribers of Amazon's Prime service. Amazon Prime is primarily a VIP...

Dyle-ing Mobile TV with a New Brand

July 20, 2011 | Author: Muneeb Mannan

New wine in a new bottle, already. Mobile DTV was the name for the broadcast television for mobile devices that has started to roll out in markets across the country. There aren't many devices available yet that can receive these signals, but the industry hopes that it will be supported by a wide range of devices from smartphones to tablets. And now to make it easier for consumers to recognize...

DisplaySearch: LED Costs Less Overall

July 19, 2011 | Author: Muneeb Mannan

The display market research firm DisplaySearch has released its latest "Quarterly TV Design and Features Report" for Q2'11, in which the company points out the energy-savings advantages of LED backlights for LCD HDTVs. An analysis of 40" LCD TVs shows that consumers will save money over the life of the television set in spite of paying more for a model with an LED backlight. For the average U.S. consumer, the...