Posted 03/10/10 at 08:39:03 AM by Paul Lilly

Chrome is fast becoming ubiquitous with bling, and if that's the case, Sceptre's new line of 24-inch HD LCD TVs bring the bling like no other displays you've ever seen before.

Sceptre describes the new line as "chic" and "sleek," but no matter what you call it, the all-chrome bezel is sure to turn heads. That might have been Sceptre's intention all along.

"We design our television monitors to not only perform exceptionally, but to also look exceptional in any home," said Cathy Chou, vice president of operations, Sceptre. "When it comes to form and function, we, at Sceptre, like to push the industry envelope."

Behind the bezel sits a 24-inch 1080p full HD LCD display. Sceptre measures the response time at 2ms (G to G). Other specs include a 4000:1 dynamic contrast ratio (1000:1 static), dual HDMI and USB ports, 300 cd/M2 brightness, built-in speakers, and viewing angles measured at 170 L/R and 160 Up/Down.

In addition to chrome, Sceptre's also offering its new set in black, red, pink, and blue, all of which are available now for $400.

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Posted 02/25/10 at 04:53:13 PM by Pulkit Chandna

Philips has unveiled a new HDTV lineup at its annual Winter Media Event in Barcelona, Spain. The new 7000, 8000 and 9000 series LED  HDTVs boast a smarter version of the company's Ambilight technology and can adjust hues based on the wall behind them.

The company plans to sell a 3D upgrade kit for TVs in the 8000 and 9000 series. The kit will contain a pair of active-shutter glasses and a wireless transmitter. A 3D upgrade pack for its unreleased Cinema 21:9 TV is also on the cards. The company now hopes to begin shipping the 21:9 TV during summer 2010. The prospect of 3D on a HDTV with a 21:9 aspect ratio is worth the wait.

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Posted 02/22/10 at 07:03:52 PM by Ryan Whitwam

The news broke today that troubled movie streaming service Vudu is being acquired by Wal-Mart for a rumored $100 million. Amid interest from Comcast, Amazon, and Best Buy it seems that America’s largest retailer just had the deepest pockets and the apatite to get into the streaming game. The deal is likely to be finalized in a matter of weeks.

Wal-Mart is the largest seller of DVDs, but has never had a platform for delivery of video over the internet. With the purchase of Vudu, they have a mature service with many content deals already in place. The interesting thing about Vudu is that they stopped making a stand-alone hardware box last year, instead focusing on getting their software embedded in various devices like TVs and Blu-Ray players. Guess who sells a lot of TVs. Yep, Wal-Mart.

It would be reasonable to expect Wal-Mart to aggressively push Vudu enabled TV’s and other devices now that they own it. We may also see manufacturers become more receptive to adding the Vudu service to their products now that a behemoth like Wal-mart is involved. Wal-mart effectively drives down prices wherever they go, could that also hold true in the video streaming space? Could we be looking at a cheap streaming future? Let us know what you think in the comments.

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Posted 02/16/10 at 11:08:43 AM by Paul Lilly

If OLED's the future, where does the technology fit into the present? Not anywhere, according to Sony, at least when talking about high definition television sets. Sony announced plans to end sales of OLED sets in Japan until costs come down.

Probably a good idea too, considering the only model Sony released was an 11-inch set that commanded roughly $2,222. That's barely larger than most netbooks, but a whole heck of a lot more expensive, to state the obvious.

This doesn't mean that Sony is turning its back on OLED technology in general, the company just wants no part in selling obscenely overpriced displays. Instead, Sony said it will focus on research and development, and may even dabble in overseas production.

"We will continue to consider new products and applications including OLED TVs," Sony spokesman Shigenori Yoshida said.

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Posted 01/27/10 at 08:05:17 PM by Ryan Whitwam

Netflix spinoff Roku has been doing quite well as of late. Roku has sold over 500,000 of their streaming boxes, which steam content from the likes of Netflix, Pandora, TwiT.tv, and Revision3. With revenue doubling last year to $75 million, Roku is looking to expand, and may be planning an IPO.

If Roku is able to raise the expected $30 million, their next step could be to kill your cable. Roku is currently recruiting content providers to create channels. They hope to be able to offer 100 channels of on-demand programming this year. “We’re not far away from the time when you’ll be able to get the same kinds of channels that any cable operator can offer,” said Roku CEO Anthony Wood.

Would this sort of service get you to drop your cable?

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Posted 01/14/10 at 07:51:39 AM by Paul Lilly

HP is pretty geeked about the upcoming season of "Project Runway" on Lifetime, in which contestants will have the option of using computers to sketch designs. Can you guess which PCs they'll be using?

"Technology is what's next in fashion design. Forward-thinking designers are exploring new ways to use technology in the design process," said Barbara Schneeweiss, vice president of Production and Development for TV and Feature Film at The Weinstein Company.

Throughout the season, you'll see contestants ditch their sketchpads in favor of Intel-equipped HP TouchSmart PCs and TouchSmart tm2 notebooks. Expect to see a lot of the tm2, which can be rotated and converted to slate mode.

Next season's winner will walk away with a $50,000 prize package from HP and intel to create, design, and run their own business. 

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Posted 01/07/10 at 07:54:06 AM by Paul Lilly

Let's put this one in perspective. In 2009, OEM manufacturer Foxconn (otherwise known as Hon Hai Precision Industry) shipped between 1-2 million LCD TVs. But that's a drop in the bucket compared to the company's goal in 2010, which is to ship a minimum of 12 million units on an OEM/ODM basis.

Should Foxconn ultimately meet its goal, it would become the second largest TV contract manufacturer in Taiwan, trailing only TPV Technology.

One of Foxconn's biggest (and newest) customers includes Samsung, who has been buying panels from Chi Mei Optoelectronics (CMO). CMO will soon merge with Innolux Display, a subsidiary of Foxconn, making this new relationship possible.

Other TV clients in 2010 will include Sony, who is expected to purchase 5 million units, LG (2 million), and Vizio (1-2 million).

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Posted 12/30/09 at 12:25:43 PM by Paul Lilly

We always take rumors with a large grain of salt, but as far as pre-release speculation goes, news and rumor site Fudzilla has a knack for being right on the money. And if their latest claim turns out to be true, DirecTV will announce the world's first satellite 3D-HD channel next month during CES.

What isn't known is when the channel will actually go online, though it's likely to coincide with the next DirecTV satellite the company plans to launch into space early next year. If all goes to plan, that satellite will be online and operational by March 2010.

That means new 3D hardware if the fad is to take off, which would be a tough pill to swallow for anyone who just plunked down a wad a cash for a flat-screen LCD TV. But if it's any consolation, Fudzilla says it's been hearing chatter that most of DirecTV's recent HD and HD DVR receivers will support the 3D-HD standard with a simple firmware update.

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