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HD goes underground in London's Tube

by Steven Kim, posted Jul 4th 2008 at 7:23AM

London Underground
Light control is probably the biggest challenge to a good projection setup. The subterranean nature of London's subway is pretty much ideal in that regard, and now CBS Outdoor has brought its cross-track projection (XTP) system to the Tube. The Piccadilly Circus, Euston, Bank, Liverpool Street and Bond Street stations have been outfitted with a total of 23 14-foot screens that are getting HD video ads beamed onto them, sans audio (thankfully). There are plans to build out to 150 XTP screens and compliment them with 2,000 digital screens Tube-wide, which all fits in with CBS Outdoors' plans to bathe subway riders in advertisement. If ad-targeting tech is brought into the equation, we see some potential for really embarrassing hilarity. Meanwhile, London readers are encouraged to let us all know how the picture XTP quality is holding up!

Concurrent updates Start Over timeshifting service

by Richard Lawler, posted Jul 4th 2008 at 3:20AM


By now, if its available in your area you're probably familiar with Start Over, basically a network DVR letting people see the beginning of a TV show they might have missed. Of course, all of that's only useful if it actually works and captures everything, so Concurrent has announced its latest advance for the backend is the Real Time Pitcher 2000, using reliable multicast to ensure no loss of video capture due to network or component failures and give it the big five nines of reliability. We certainly wouldn't want anything less tha a 99.999% chance of catching the first five minutes of The Closer, would you?

MetroCast tosses 6 new HD channels to Starkville, MS

by Darren Murph, posted Jul 4th 2008 at 12:35AM


While AT&T is mulling the idea of moving into Mississippi, MetroCast is busy boosting its relatively pathetic HD lineup. According to a flyer received by a subscriber in Starkville, the carrier is introducing six new HD channels effective immediately to bring the total to 16. Without further adieu, they are: Science HD (414), TLC HD (415), Animal Planet HD (416), Outdoor HD (417), Discovery HD (418) and HBO HD (506). The outfit is also tossing in a few analog and digital SD stations, but we can pretty much guess how much those will excite you. Oh, and we can't say for sure, but it sounds like customers in Kosciusko and Philadelphia may also see the newcomers.

[Thanks, Reed]

HP's MediaSmart Connect gets reviewed

by Ben Drawbaugh, posted Jul 3rd 2008 at 9:23PM

HP MediaSmart Connect
We didn't get the chance to play with HP's MediaSmart Connect when we were reviewing the various Vista Media Center Extenders, but recently our friend Chris Lanier did and he was impressed. After reading his three part review, we're a little disappointed to read that the HP uses the same chip to do the heavy lifting as the D-Link and Linksys extenders, because this means it still doesn't achieve the graphic bliss that the 360 and a real Media Center can. Ultimately aside from the price, Chris recommends the HP over the rest, but admittedly there still isn't much difference if you think it is silly to leave Media Center to play your media.

Read - Part 1
Read - Part 2
Read - Part 3

Discovery HD goes live in Australia

by Steven Kim, posted Jul 3rd 2008 at 5:59PM

Discovery HD goes live in Australia
Just a few weeks later than the planned June 22nd date, Discovery HD has officially launched in Australia. This is just the officially-official announcement -- we wouldn't be surprised if the rollout actually started up on June 22 -- so we'd like to hear from Aussie readers in the comments below. Discovery certainly has some some great content to offer up, but filling up a 24/7 schedule on the Foxtel HD+ service will be challenging. We're not compaining -- spreading the HD word always gets a thumbs up from us! Add in the Samsung/Foxtel HD+ promo and the Australian TiVos, and we're pretty sure there will be lots of HD grins going around in Oz.

Suddenlink adds 7 new channels for Eureka, Magellan said to be thrilled

by Richard Lawler, posted Jul 3rd 2008 at 5:07PM


In good news for castle dwellers everywhere, Suddenlink is throwing seven new channels into the mix for Eureka, California area customers effective July 16. Say hello to Fox 29 as a clear QAM channel, while TBS HD, USA HD, FX HD, Travel HD and Sci-Fi HD are added to the HD Basic tier, and History HD slots into the HD Plus level. We TV and Chiller are also being added (sure to excite Bogge and Quagmire), but really, SD? We have standards.

HDTV Listings July 3, 2008

by Richard Lawler, posted Jul 3rd 2008 at 4:12PM

What we're watching tonight:
  • TBS (1080i) lines up The Bill Engvall Show at 8 p.m. followed by My Boys
  • NBC (1080i) drops in Fear Itself at 10 p.m.
  • CBS (1080i) has Swingtown at 10 p.m.
  • ABC (1080i) has Hopkins at 10 p.m.
  • TLC (1080i) brings Miami Ink at 10 p.m.
  • ESPN2 HD (720p) throws in MLS with Houston Dynamo/Real Salt Lake at 10 p.m.
  • USA (1080i) features Olympic Trials Swimming at 8 p.m. and Track and Field at 11 p.m.

RCN delivers 10 more HD channels to New York City

by Richard Lawler, posted Jul 3rd 2008 at 4:01PM

Possibly in response to competition from Verizon's FiOS or just as part of its general expansion plans, RCN put ten new stations in its NYC lineup today. Starting with the usual HD VOD expansion, the new channels are Discovery Channel-HD, Animal Planet-HD, The Learning Channel-HD, HGTV-HD, The Science Channel-HD, Lifetime Movie Networks-HD, Food Network-HD, Travel Channel-HD, VERSUS/Golf-HD and NFL Network-HD. RCN's New York City service covers parts of Manhattan, Queens and Brooklyn. Sounds to us like its time to invite Lord Tariq and Peter Gunz over to watch some TV.

ILY Enterprise unveils "world's first" 6x SATA Blu-ray duplicator

by Darren Murph, posted Jul 3rd 2008 at 3:34PM


ILY Enterprise is totally playing word games here with its "world's first" 6x SATA Blu-ray duplicator, but we suspect it actually is a tad quicker than Vinpower Digital's comparable unit. As the company states, this unit boasts a controller that is "specifically designed and built for a SATA connection to reduce the cost and work more reliably than IDE-converted-SATA units," though we can't say if you'll actually notice the difference in speed without a stopwatch. Whatever the case, those interested in firing up their own piracy farm movie production company can acquire one now (from 1 to 11 targets) for a presumably lofty price. Oh, and judging by those logos, we reckon these drives could be used to play back some of your old HD DVDs during off-hours -- talk about a nice perk.

Sony talks future of OLED, Blu-ray's chances against DVD

by Richard Lawler, posted Jul 3rd 2008 at 3:22PM

In case you didn't get the message, Sony's due sooner-rather-than-later 27-inch OLED is going to be priced for the Mark Cubans, Bill Gates' and other people not you of the world, at least for the next couple of years. Even with recent massive investments, U.S. head Stan Glasgow tells CNET OLEDs in the future could be seen as a premium alternative to LCDs, but don't expect Sony to jump on smaller screens while they wait for the technology to catch up, HDTV is the focus. As for the upcoming standard def-streaming Hancock experiment? The first of many, if things go well, while at the same time he acknowledges format war winner Blu-ray may not penetrate to the same level as DVD since "a lot of people may be happy with an upconverting DVD player" -- which would be music to Toshiba's ears.

Panasonic unveils latest UniPhier SoC for worldwide digital TVs

by Richard Lawler, posted Jul 3rd 2008 at 2:15PM


Further capitalizing on its new 45nm process, Panasonic unveiled a version of its UniPhier chip family meant for digital TVs capable of decoding MPEG-4 AVC and h.264 streams, and Dolby digital audio in order to meet European broadcast requirements. This design is apparently compatible with 98% of the world's digital TV standards, including Japan and US cable providers, meaning no matter where you get your next Panasonic, it'll be a MN2WS0052 inside. Sample shipments are starting any day now so we'll wait for the next refresh of Panasonic's HDTVs to see exactly what it's capable of.

[Via AV Watch]

DISH Network adds four more HD local markets

by Richard Lawler, posted Jul 3rd 2008 at 1:45PM

DISH Network just keeps on cranking down the list of its 22 markets slated for an HD upgrade in the summer/fall, with four going on line today: Albany - Shenectady - Troy, NY; Chattanooga, TN; Lansing, MI; and Syracuse NY. Hope the recent thunderstorms didn't knock anyone's power out, becuase now you've got one mroe reason to stay inside. As usual, we don't know what city will be next, but we expect more markets to be added soon.

Charter fails to deliver 65-inch HDTV to contest winner, sends 19-inch box instead

by Darren Murph, posted Jul 3rd 2008 at 1:26PM


We're tempted to chalk this one up to miscommunication, but something just reeks of wrongdoing. As the story goes, one particular winner of a Charter Father's Day contest was promised a 65-inch HDTV as well as free Charter services for an entire year. The only requirement was to pay sales tax on the winnings -- fair enough, right? After receiving a phone call and email confirmation from the carrier, the winning dad sat down with his jubilant daughter and unsuccessfully tried to fax in his W-9. Afterwards, he decided to mail it in, and after a bit of rigmarole, a Charter associate contacted him with news that it couldn't deliver the promised set; instead, it would "try" to get him a 42-incher, though a 19-inch TV was likely in his future. After a few more days of nothing, a box arrived at his door "large enough to hold a 19-inch television," which the "winner" promptly refused. Can't make this stuff up, folks.

[Image courtesy of ZMETravel]

Silicon Image Si9251 debuts InstaPort fast HDMI switching tech

by Richard Lawler, posted Jul 3rd 2008 at 11:48AM


Silicon Image is back and its latest chips aim to offer improved video quality and innovations in connectivity. The SiI9251 and SiI9261 processors are destined for TVs and receivers, respectively, supporting up to 4 HDMI 1.3 inputs with x.v. color, as well as "InstaPort" technology that claims to enable high speed switching between HDMI jacks. Silicon Image's own Mobile High Definition Link (MHL) tech is in there too, as well as ChromaViv to ensure accurate color calibration. These chips may find themselves buried deep within your next consumer electronics purchase, and will quietly go about their business of HDMI input switching and color correcting (hopefully) without a peep.

Pioneer's 60-inch KURO PDP-LX6090 plasma gets unboxed

by Darren Murph, posted Jul 3rd 2008 at 10:16AM


Just in case you didn't get a close enough look at Pioneer's next-gen KUROs earlier this year, the folks over at CNET UK managed to bring home a 60-inch PDP-LX6090 and snap a few pics. As expected, onlookers were thoroughly wowed after ripping it from the box and firing it up, with a tag line dubbing it "big, black and beautiful." See what they mean in the read link below.

[Thanks, John]




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