Eleven Chinese disc manufacturers, including TCL, Malata and Desay, have been authorized by Blu-ray Disc Association to produce Blue-Ray discs, CDs, and disc players next year.
High Definition TV News
TV screens sized 32 inches or smaller and high-definition TV-viewing PC monitors are proving to be a popular option for many price-conscious consumers in emerging markets, such as China, India and Russia.
This goes against the forecasts of LCD screen-makers who had expected premium 40-inch sets to be the biggest sellers and spent heavily in a race to build larger factories suited for larger panels.
Research by Motorola shows that young adults have a huge influence on their parents’ buying decisions for HDTV sets and programming packages.
The “always-on” generation are hungry for more control over when and where they access rich content such as high-definition (HD) programming and cable TV, the study found.
The ability to time-shift with DVRs and have access to HD programming were both highly desirable features.
Samsung has unveiled the first ultra HD 82-inch LCD panel at the Society for Information Display (SID) 2008 International Symposium in the US.
The company rolled out the monster with an ultra definition (UD) resolution of 3840 x 2160 pixels with a 120Hz refresh rate – double the pixel count of Full HD, which stands at 1920 x 1080 pixels.
Video is refreshed at 120Hz – currently the highest refresh rate on LCD TVs – which makes fast-moving video less blurry.
Kim Sang-soo, executive vice president of Samsung’s LCD Technology Center, said: “I personally hope the next-generation ultra-high definition level in the LCD panel market will open soon, with increasing consumer demand for clear viewing in households and public spaces, he said.
Samsung also exhibited an 82-inch LCD e-Board using Ultra-HD technology.
WealthTV, the luxury lifestyle and entertainment network, has signed a long-term extension of its transponder service agreement with Intelsat, Ltd., the world’s leading provider of commercial satellite services.
Under the terms of the agreement, Intelsat’s Galaxy 13 satellite will continue to deliver WealthTV’s digital and high definition feeds to US cable, telco, and direct broadcast satellite (DBS) providers across North America.
18 May 2008
Innovation and focusing on the customer is ensuring the US cable network leads the digital and high-definition revolution, according to the president and CEO of the National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA).
Speaking on the eve of the 2008 Cable Show in New Orleans, Kyle McSlarrow said that in the space of a few years US viewers had gone from having just nine HD networks to more than 75 today.
“Our entire industry is leading the digital and high definition revolution,” he said.
Sony’s Play Station 3 outsold Microsoft’s XBox 360 in the US during the first quarter, the first time that has ever happened.
The PS3 sold 806,000 units to the Xbox’s 746,000, according to the NPD Group, as reported by The Wall Street Journal.
The newspaper credits the rise in PS3 sales to a 20% decrease (it now starts at $399) and the end of the Blu-ray/HD DVD high-def disc format war.
The PS3 has a Blu-ray player inside while the XBox offered an HD DVD player attachment. (Toshiba pulled the plug on HD DVD in the first quarter.)
15 May 2008
Play Station 3 outsells Xbox in the US for first time
Sony’s Play Station 3 outsold Microsoft’s XBox 360 in the US during the first quarter, the first time that has ever happened.
The PS3 sold 806,000 units to the Xbox’s 746,000, according to the NPD Group, as reported by The Wall Street Journal.
The newspaper credits the rise in PS3 sales to a 20% decrease (it now starts at $399) and the end of the Blu-ray/HD DVD high-def disc format war.
The PS3 has a Blu-ray player inside while the XBox offered an HD DVD player attachment. (Toshiba pulled the plug on HD DVD in the first quarter.)
Blue Ray Technologies is planning to open multiple Blu-Ray disc production facilities across the U.S, starting with a facility near Hollywood to be close to the indie and major studios that have now all adopted Blu-ray.
The new facilities are designed to be capable of handling the next generation of movie and game discs, Blue-ray 2.0, which gives an interactive web dimension to the consumer, and offer up to “five layers of entertainment”, according to BRT founder Erick Hansen.
DISH Network’s first-quarter net income rose 65% even though new subscriber growth of its satellite television service plunged on the languishing economy and stiffer competition.
In a Securities and Exchange Commission filing, the US company also cited satellite launch delays and problems within its operations as factors that dampened growth.
The results came as DISH, the US’s second-largest satellite television provider, said it was bolstering its HDTV service with an extra 22 national HD channels.
On making the announcement, the satcaster said the additions had boosted its total HD line-up to over 95 channels.
But almost immediately it moved to axe 10 of its 15 Voom High-definition programming package, taking the actual figure to around the mid-80s.