Next Generation / IPTV | HD TV PROFESSOR

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Category: Next Generation / IPTV

Display Prices Down; Content Costs Up?

January 3, 2006 | Author: Ibex Marketing

EchoStar announced on New Year's Day that they were dropping Lifetime's channels from its DISH Network satellite service after 10 years. According to the press release from EchoStar, Lifetime "demanded an exorbitant price increase of 76 percent" and Echostar responded by saying "NO to Lifetime's strong-arm tactics." Lifetime's Web site doesn't discuss the contract or the increased fees, stating that EchoStar "unilaterally pulled Lifetime Networks off the air" which they...

Happy HDTV New Year!

January 2, 2006 | Author: Ibex Marketing

Every year, January gives journalists a fat pitch over the plate, and they can't resist swinging at the chance to declare that the coming year will be The Year of The Whatever! This is especially true for technology topics. One year it was networks, then it was WiFi. For some, last year it was the iPod. Maybe someone will claim 2006 as the Year of Television on Tiny Cell Phone...

Look Ma! No Wires HDTV!

December 26, 2005 | Author: Ibex Marketing

Digital television promises to bring crystal clear images to your screen. HDTV promises incredible detail. And IPTV holds out the promise of all sorts of new forms of video entertainment streamed across the Internet. And what's wrong with this picture? All this content is delivered to a single location in most homes: a cable box, or a computer, or an antenna feed. So long as your TV-watching takes place in...

Making HDTV Pieces Play Nice

December 21, 2005 | Author: Ibex Marketing

As I write in Professor Poor's Guide to Buying HDTV, you need three parts in order to get a true HDTV experience: Display + Signal + Content = HDTV. If you don't have all three, you will get nothing better than your old-fashioned Standard Definition television experience, or maybe even worse. One of the big problems, however, is knowing whether all the pieces you assemble will work together. Two new...

Happy Thanksgiving!

November 24, 2005 | Author: Ibex Marketing

Yes, like many of you, I'm off today to work on a good dose of tryptophan, tamped down with some fresh-baked peach pie. So I'm going to share some of my thoughts about what we have to be thankful about in terms of HDTV and digital TV. First on my list is choice. We have a choice of technologies for our displays, and we have a choice of vendors for...

Microsoft Backs HDTV

November 22, 2005 | Author: Ibex Marketing

Microsoft announced last week that the company has an agreement with CableLabs that lets Microsoft and personal computer companies create Media Center PCs that will be digital-cable-ready (DCR). The systems will accept CableCARDs, which is intended to let devices connect directly to digital cable television service and eliminate the need for a separate set-top box. Microsoft wants to let the Media Center PC distribute the video content across a home...

More Networks on Demand

November 17, 2005 | Author: Ibex Marketing

Following on the heels of the successful deal between iTunes and Disney to make episodes froom some of the ABC television network's top shows available for download at $2 a pop, two new agreements were announced last week. NBC has a deal with DirecTV to offer episodes of a number of major shows for download to an interactive video recorder. And CBS has arranged with Comcast to provide on-demand access...

See You in Las Vegas?

November 16, 2005 | Author: Ibex Marketing

What are you doing next year? I'm going to the HDTV Business Conference on January 4th, the day before the big Consumer Electronics Show -- CES -- starts in Las Vegas. It's put together by Insight Media, and will bring together the top executives from major companies in the HDTV industry. There will be presentations on everything from display technologies to IPTV. I'm especially looking forward to hearing about the...

Cell Phone TV?

November 10, 2005 | Author: Ibex Marketing

Have you seen the ads on television where hip young people are sprawled around the city, watching their cell phone screens? The Japanese have already made watching TV content on cell phones a hit, and it looks as though some markets in our country may be ready to go for this feature in a big way. (The cell phone companies have to do something to expand their services and sales!)...

Sony Sends TV Anywhere

November 9, 2005 | Author: Ibex Marketing

Television may be a serious business, but Sony has just made gaming hardware an important player in the next generation of TV. Last week, the company announced that the PlayStation Portable (PSPT) has a new firmware upgrade that will allow it to receive audio and video content through a LocationFree Base Station. Sony's LocationFree lets users access their entertainment content around the house using a wireless network connection. It also...