Archive for July 14th, 2009

LG televisions to be wired to the net

Jul 14

Posted by andrew in News | No Comments

hdtvLGhdLG recently announced a partnership with ARM that will allow the new LG web TVs to be fitted with processors as well.

Thus, the television sets will become more useful and faster, so that video streaming buffering waits are a thing of the past on the new sets.

ARM currently works with Apple on the iPhone 3G S, which is one reason why the new model is supposed to allow users to browse the internet much faster.

While internet widgets are not uncommon for new television sets, LG should have the advantage in the market with the ARM processing chips, as they will be well equipped to produce streaming video at speeds of 1080p.

The sets not only will be able to display streaming video from the internet, but are likely to contain many widgets and features that resemble the wide array of applications that are popularly found on SmartPhones such as the iPhone.

In other words, with the addition of a processor, your home TV will be as useful as your home PC, only with a slightly larger monitor and without a keyboard, although the remote could work out well as a mouse!

There is no official date on the release of the new LG television sets but industry experts anticipate seeing the new sets by January 2010.

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HDMI 1.4: data networking is next

Jul 14

Posted by natasha in News | No Comments

HDMI 1.4: data networking is next Image 1

The next step in the High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) world, 1.4, is set to offer Internet connectivity. Specifically, upcoming HDMI devices supporting the new paramters will provide you with the ability to share your set-top box’s Internet connection with other devices in your entertainment center (i.e. TV, DVD player, cable boxes and receivers, etc).

HDMI Licensing’s president and CEO Steve Venuti says this will make for easier access to Web video, e-mail and news. The new tech could debut with small distribution before the holidays, with mainstream availability coming early 2010 — start making room for new cables.

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Won The Battle, Losing The War – Blu-Ray

Jul 14

Posted by michael in News | No Comments

The developers of the Blu-ray high-definition video format may have beat HD DVD on the technology, but both are losing the war for the hearts and minds of video consumers who look to cable, satellite and the Internet for video.

In a new Harris Poll, the results of which were released on Friday, only 11 percent of Americans own a HD DVD player, while only 7 percent own a Blu-ray player.

About 9 percent of Americans own a Sony PlayStation 3 gaming console, which includes the ability to play Blu-ray disks, while 3 percent have an external HD DVD drive for a Microsoft Xbox 360 gaming console.

The slow adoption of both Blu-ray and HD DVD comes despite the growth in the adoption of high-definition televisions. Harris Interactive, which runs the Harris polls, found in its new poll that about 47 percent of Americans now report owning a high-definition TV, up from 35 percent in May of 2008.

The Blu-ray and HD DVD player market faces strong competition from cable, satellite and the Internet as a way to access videos, wrote Milton Ellis, vice president and senior consultant for Harris’ interactive technology, media and telecom practice.

“In the near future, access to high-definition movies may be a download or streaming delivery of one’s favorite movies to a home media server that eliminates the need for a Blu-ray player and Blu-ray disk. One thing is for sure, the market will be highly competitive and consumers will have a wide variety of choices for their entertainment experience,” Ellis wrote.

Sales of both Blu-ray and HD DVD, while still slow, are growing, said Harris Interactive.

Only about 4 percent of Americans had purchased Blu-ray players in 2008, compared to 7 percent who purchased HD DVD players, 5 percent who purchased PlayStation 3s, and 1 percent who purchased HD DVD drives for the Xbox 360, Harris said.

While the typical American consumer plans to purchase four standard DVDs in the next six months, down from six standard DVDs in the last six months, they do plan to purchase an average of 0.7 Blu-ray and 0.6 HD DVD disks in the next six months, compared to 0.5 Blu-ray and 0.7 HD DVD disks in the last six months.

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