Recent Comments:
Baltimore, MD gets local HD news courtesy of FOX 45 {Engadget HD}
Jun 3rd 2008 10:42AM Tim: so much for the tolerance of the left. Stalin, too, was on the left; very tolerant man, right? And BTW - Fox45 has won the most awards of any news station in MD for thier CONTENT. They do a good job, generally more complete than the others, because their newcast is 50 minutes, not including sports. But I digress...
The Fox45 broadcast looks awesome. I'm watching it through Comcast, so even with whatever downcompression they use to mangle it, the broadcast looks good. And audio calrity is noticeaby superior to what they had before, which wasn't bad.
As for the appearance of on-air talent - check out Candace Dold. Rrrrrr.....
Lack of competition sends Blu-ray player prices upward {Engadget}
Mar 13th 2008 1:29AM @ Benjesuit:
Intro class in Econ? This is more complex than that. Broader consumer demand issues in a recession aside, Sony owns the patents on Blu-Ray, so they get whatever they negotiate for each player. Essentially, Sony now controls all aspects of all production through licensure of their intellectual property. They've already said they won't license it to the Chinese, which means you shouldn't look for cheap players, since they come from China.
Also complicating the matter: The studios all shot themselves badly here, because the higher player prices caused by Sony's policy on licensure means fewer people will buy them, which means that fewer Blu_ray discs will sell. That makes the studios decision to move Blu a moot one; HDDVD or Blu-Ray, if it doesn't sell, it's worthless.
Sony's usual greed will translate to the failure of Blu-Ray (no matter who makes the hardware) and a loss to the studios (unless they get on the downloadable bandwagon soon).
It's not just supply and demand, as Sony is controlling the market in different ways.
Sony's done this before, and nearly went bankrupt. You'd think they'd learn.
Anyway, this is hardly Econ 101, but is straightforward when the pieces are put together.
Win an LCD HDTV, Xbox 360, and plenty of Old Spice {Engadget HD}
Feb 4th 2008 9:21AM I'm probably the only one here who actually wears Old Spice!
Swedish Valei Computer intros ZC-HV0105 media streamer {Engadget HD}
Jan 23rd 2008 5:10PM If only the Popcorn Hour A100 play dvr-ms files.
Philips pondering what to do with low-margin TV business {Engadget HD}
Jan 23rd 2008 11:52AM I just bought a 42" ambilight - that replaced an HP MediaSmart that didn't look so good (very poor black detail). I usually don't care for Philips products, but this is a good TV for a good price. I don't use Ambilight, so they could delete that (you can turn it off). I paid $400 less than the HP for the Philips, and honestly could have paid a bit more for it.
I also have one of the bargain Olevia TVs, and while it looks good, it takes *forever* for the channels to change. Higher end TVs seem to put their money into processing, among other things, so you get what you pay for.
Philips makes a nice TV. I'm very pleased. I'd hate to see them leave the market.
Poll: Should HD DVD throw in the towel? {Engadget HD}
Jan 17th 2008 10:34AM I much prefer HD-DVD because the format specs are finished and stable (The BluRay specs are still not final). Also, regular (old) DVDs play fine in an HD-DVD player, and to manufacture HD-DVD requires no special retooling by the disc replicators. However, things to consider:
1. Whichever one of these gets an HD recorder out at a good price point will definitely have a huge edge.
2. Regular SD DVDs, properly made, look fantastic on a good HD television. So what's the point?
3. I'm not sure it's relevant. Downloadable movies are definitely the future. I'm using that now through Netflix. It works great, even broadcast through my home on wireless G. Anytime I don't have to mess with a disc I'm happy. We're still a year or two away from that, and it doesn't work well for people without broadband, but downloadable is the future, not disc.
PS: Apple's model of renting movies online one at a time is a loser prospect; too expensive. But the new Apple TV 2 that Jobs just talked about is an interesting idea if used with the Netflix approach. Personally, I'm using Windows Media Center with an extender box for my TV, which is phenomenal.
Oprah Winfrey gets her own channel, will simulcast in HD {Engadget HD}
Jan 16th 2008 9:56AM @ BobS: Yup. That's right.
Too bad; I like Discovery Health and think it serves an educational purpose. Oprah is nothing but a cleaned-up version of Springer - same salacious content, but without the boob-flashing. Oh, and they have that moron Dr. Phil.
A shame.
Hands-on with Imagion AG's dynamicHD HD DVD & Blu-ray technology {Engadget}
Jan 13th 2008 10:26AM why is no one talking about HD-VME?
Hey FCC, force big cable to clear our QAM! {Engadget HD}
Dec 16th 2007 2:24PM I agree, this should happen. I just sent an e-mail to all the FCC commissioners, and urge others to do so as well. It would be nice to receive all my purchased programming via clear QAM, whether HD or not.
Researchers create printed solar cells {Engadget}
Dec 11th 2007 8:17AM Interesting. This was exactly the same path as penicillin took in the 1920-30s.
~1925: Fleming discovers the mold spore and names it "penicillin." Lets it drop.
~1935: Florey, Chain and Heatley (at Cambridge) work to develop it for use as an antibiotic.
Sure glad they did that.
