July 23, 2007
Broadcasting & Cable magazine is reporting that Samsung is expected to soon sell a $75 digital TV converter box that will display digital signals on analog TVs.
As you very well may already be aware, these converter boxes will be an absolute necessity come February 17, 2009 (when the nation switches from analog to Digital TV) if you still have an analog sets that is not connected to subscription TV services. Without these converters, analog TVs will not be able to display the new digital signals.
The federal government, which is sponsoring the analog-to-digital switch, is scheduled to begin issuing two $40 coupons for converter boxes in January to help consumers prepare for the transition.
LG Electronics has said it will likely sell a $60 converter early next year, but Samsung apparently believes there’s already a market for the new converter boxes among early adopters who want to prepare for the digital transition. In addition, Samsung says the converter’s price ($75) will evolve over time.
“There will be three different price points through the life of the product,” Rich Long, a Samsung senior manager, tells B&C. Long also said that the Samsung box price will likely fall $10 in the summer of 2008 and another $10 in the fall.
July 20, 2007
A London Guardian article states that 3-dimension HDTV’s, which are being developed by Philips and other companies, are on the way and could be ready as early as a year or so.
According to the article, the 3-D images will not require the use of special 3-D glasses/goggles and will appear to be surrounding the viewer.
A Guardian reporter wrote the following after viewing a 3-D HDTV demonstration in Paris: “I’m sitting in Paris and some butterflies are fluttering towards me. Loads of them, perfectly clearly. I could allow one to land on my hand, or catch one of the rose petals being blown towards me - except I can’t, because they’re not real. They’re images on a TV in high definition - and in perfect 3D. They look life-sized and real, and I’m not wearing any silly spectacles other than the ones I wear all the time.”
The company Orange, which is also working on 3-D, tells the Guardian that the technology works by sending different images to each eye so one eye receives one while the other gets one. The result is to create a 3-dimensional appearance.
The newspaper reports that while the technology is advancing rapidly, there are only two 3-D films in production — one by James Cameron and the other by Steven Spielberg, both of which are expected to be released in 2009.
The Guardian reports that, because of the complexity of the 3-D set, a prototype Philips 3-D HDTV would now cost $20,500, a price tag that is expected to fall sharply before it actually reaches market.
July 18, 2007
Inside sources say that a 52” full-HD LCD HDTV from Vizio is expected to be available in North America next month August for $2,200.
LG.Philips LCD will provide the panels for the new Vizio 52” full-HD LCD HDTV, which will first be available in Costco, sources have said.
Taiwan-based Amtran Technology, the major manufacturer of Vizio-brand LCD TVs, said the company plans to launch a 40” full HD LCD TV by the end of the year using panels adopting from S-LCD, a joint venture between Sony and Samsung Electronics, added the sources.
Vizio began shipping full HD 42” and 47” LCD TVs in the market during the first half of 2007, so with the introduction of 40” TVs, Vizio aims to increase its market share in the 40/42” LCD TV combined segments.
Amtram shipped 990,000 flat panel TVs in the first half of this year and the company expects shipments will continue growing to 1.5 million units in the second half, said the company. Revenues from the company will peak in the fourth quarter with overall sales to hit $60 billion for the full year of 2007, Amtran estimates. Amtran is the second largest shareholder of US-based Vizio, holding about 24% of the company.
July 17, 2007
Last week, Sony lowered the price of it’s 60GB PlayStation 3 model from $599 to $499. Great news! Not so fast.
Yesterday, Sony confirmed that the $499 60GB PlayStation 3 will no longer be manufactured! Instead, Sony will offer only the 80GB PS3 model.
According to Reuters, a Sony spokesman said yesterday that the company would sell the $499 60 GB PS3 model until “supplies of that unit are depleted.” The spokesman added, “We have ample inventory to meet the immediate needs of consumers in this territory for several months to come.”
The 80GB PS3 will be released next month and will include the capacity to download high-def movies. There has so far been no word yet as to whether Sony might lower prices on the model.
Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter said yesterday that Sony might lower the price of the $599 80GB model once the inventory of 2-3 million 60GB consoles was gone: “Although we think that Sony’s public relations gaffe was unfortunate, we do not believe that the company has ill intent, and we expect the $499 price point to be maintained until early next year, when the 80GB model will likely by cut again to $399.”
July 12, 2007
Reuters is reporting that HD DVD players are outselling Blu-ray players by a 3-1 margin in Europe, according to The European HD DVD Promotional Group says.
The promotional group says it has a 74% market share for standalone HDTV players in Britain, Germany, France, Italy, Spain and Switzerland, the Reuters article states.
HD DVD backers, which include Toshiba and Microsoft, made a similar claim in the U.S. recently, saying it had a 60 percent market share here. According to Blu-ray supporters, the PS3 gives the Blu-ray format a 5-1 advantage over HD DVD in the U.S., and the European HD DVD group’s sales totals, which have not been revealed, do not include the PS3 console sales.
Both Blu-ray and HD DVD have lowered prices in recent weeks with Toshiba’s entry-level player now at $299 and Sony’s Blu-ray player at $499, but due to high prices and consumer confusion over the format war, sales have been disappointing for both high-def DVD formats.
A spokesman for the HD DVD group told Reuters that surveys indicate that 70 percent of consumers would buy a high-def disc player if the price was under $200. He refused, however, to say when prices would hit that level. Nonetheless, he assured Reuters that prices will drop into that range.
July 10, 2007
Starting today, TiVo owners will be able to order movies and TV shows directly from Amazon.com by using their remote. Unfortunately, no HD programming is available.
Previously, customers using the download service known as “Unbox” had to order the programs on a computer using Amazon.com, and the shows would then be sent via a high-speed Internet connection to the TiVo Digital Video Recorder so the viewer could watch it on TV.
The Associated Press reported this morning that TiVo and Amazon are now making thousands of movies and shows available on TiVo’s DVR menu, bypassing the computer. The TiVo owner can search through Amazon’s inventory on screen and order a film or TV show there.
High-def programming, however, is not part of the selection programs. Amazon says at its web site that the movies and TV shows are of “DVD quality.” Additionally, the download service is only available for owners of TiVo Series2 DVR or Series3 HD DVR, both of which have a Broadband connection.
TiVo and Amazon may be holding off on adding a HD feature because of the bandwidth required to store and download high-def programs. Microsoft rents high-def movies on its XBox 360 Live Marketplace, but users have complained of long download times. (The programs are downloaded via the XBox 360 game console.) Amazon’s Unbox service costs anywhere from $1.99 to $3.99 for rentals.
July 9, 2007
Sony will announce today its plans to lower the price of its PlayStation 3 video game console from $599 to $499. Sony saus that the new $499 price will be effective Thursday.
Sony President Ryoji Chubachi denied reports of a PS3 price cut in an interview with Reuters last Friday, but he later qualified his statement, saying there were no “immediate” plans to lower the price.
To date, the PS3 has experienced disappointing sales, due in large part to the $599 price tag, which was roughly $200-$300 more than XBox 360 (Microsoft) and Wii (Nintendo). The PS3 features a built-in Blu-ray player, so the newly-priced PS3 could boost Blu-ray HD disc sales, as well as those of the game console. Blu-ray supporters immediately said it would give the format an edge over its rival, Toshiba-backed HD DVD.
Sony will also announce a new 80-gigabyte PS3 for $600, which will eventually offer high-def movies and shows via downloads. The now $499 PS3 is 60-gigabyte. Sony last year offered a 20-gigabyte PS3 for $499, but discontinued it early this year.
The new entry-level $499 price is the same as Sony’s new standalone Blu-ray player (BDP-S300), which was introduced last month at $499.
The PS3 price drop has been rumored for the past week. Several Internet posters and TVPredictions.com readers have reported seeing the PS3 priced at $499 at Target stores across the country.
July 5, 2007
The Associated Press is reporting that cable television operators will soon charge customers more to lease set-top boxes, including HD, in response to a FCC mandate to offer more expensive receivers.
Starting July 1, a new FCC rule requires cable TV operators to use the same technology in their boxes as cable set-tops sold at retail by non-cable companies. The rule, however, only applies to digital cable TV boxes deployed on July 1 and beyond. Federal officials say this will give consumers the choice of purchasing their cable box from a non-cable company at the store or leasing it from their cable operators.
Consequently, cable viewers will be able to plug a “CableCard” into the back of either box to receive their digital cable signals, including High-Definition. A CableCard can be obtained from one’s cable operator.
Cable operators say the boxes are more expensive and they will have to pass the costs along to their customers, including those who do not get the new CableCard set-tops.
According to the AP, cable services will not say how much they will raise the rates on leasing the boxes. But trade groups representing the industry suggested the increase could be $2 to $3 more per month if the hike is restricted to customers who get the new boxes.
However, Comcast has said it will spread out the cost to all subscribers who rent cable boxes. The cable operator says the FCC CableCard rule “amounts to an FCC tax of hundreds of millions of dollars on consumers.”
July 3, 2007
Hitachi recently introduced four new LCD HDTVs and six new plasma display panel TVs with sizes ranging from 42 to 60 inches, expanding its flat-panel TV screen sizes.
Hitachi said in a press release that it will begin offering four new LCD TVs, two 42” and two 47” models, in September while the new plasmas will be available no earlier than July.
Hitachi now is putting its eggs in the larger-size TV basket, with the 60” plasma a new segment for the Japan-based company’s plasma line up, which covers sizes from 42”, 50- 55” inches. Hitachi’s existing LCD TV products are 26”, 32”, and 37”.
In April, Hitachi announced its aims to increase its global market share for large-size plasmas with the addition of an 85” model to its line, according to an EETimes report. Last month, Hitachi and Matsushita Electric Industrial announced they have agreed to strengthen their partnership in the plasma business with an agreement under which Matsushita will start to supply Hitachi with 103” plasma panels in fiscal year 2007, while Hitachi will supply Matsushita with 85” plasma panels in fiscal year 2008.
At an investor conference in May, Hitachi announced the forecast of its flat-panel TV shipments for the fiscal year of 2007. The Japan-based company aims to ship 1.4 million units plasma TV and monitor panels and 800,000 LCD TVs for the year, up from 770,000 units and 510,000 units, respectively, for the fiscal year of 2006.
June 28, 2007
Yesterday at an entertainment conference, Warner Home Video said that it’s delaying the launch of a dual-format HDTV DVD until next year, a Video Business article says.
Warner initially said the ‘Total HD’ dual-format disc, which would include a Blu-ray version on one side and a HD DVD edition on the other, would be introduced in the second half of this year.
Warner has said that the two-sided disc was designed to appeal to HD owners who were unsure about choosing the wrong format.
However, in recent weeks, Blockbuster announced that it would carry Blu-ray titles exclusively in 1,450 stores and Blu-ray title sales have outpaced HD DVD by more than 2-1.
Dan Miron, Warner Home Video sales VP, said yesterday that the Total HD disc would still be offered in early 2008, and another Warner exec, according to Video Business, said no launch date had been set for the disc.
“There is no expiration date on the viability of this concept, so we’re not in a rush to do it,” said Steve Nickerson, a Warner senior vice president. “We’ll do it when it makes sense and when it’s right.”
Printable Version
