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2010 posts

Starz launching 5 new HD channels next year

by Richard Lawler posted Oct 21st 2009 at 9:09AM

Hopefully taking advantage of all that bandwidth saved in the switch to MPEG-4, Starz has announced plans for 5 new HD feeds due mid-2010. New for the '10 are Starz in black HD, Starz Cinema HD, IndiePlex HD, RetroPlex HD and an Encore HD West Coast stream. That brings the number of Starz HD channels up to 9 (plus two west coast feeds), if you've been missing movies on those networks for lack of HD, your suffering is nearly over. The rest of us are just waiting for Party Watch on all the Starz Play titles on Netflix Watch Instantly.

Analyst: Blu-ray can't stop video sales slump, sees modest growth in 2010

by Richard Lawler posted Jun 15th 2009 at 6:06PM


As frequently predicted, Blu-ray hasn't been enough to make up for sagging DVD sales, as a new Screen Digest report indicates a 4.8 percent slide worldwide last year, falling more than $2.6 billion. After plateauing approaching 2007, disc sales have been falling ever since and even Blu-ray's $482 million contribution can't hold up the slack. Still, it's looking at online rentals like Lovefilm and Quickflix to make up for some of the rental losses internationally, but don't expect Blu-ray to help grow the market at all until at least 2010. Of course, the company did also predict the format war would remain stalemated just weeks before Warner ended the whole thing, so we'd keep a grain of salt handy while reading.

[Via Financial Times]

Panasonic and Sumitomo see eye to eye in this OLED game, big screens due in 2010

by Richard Lawler posted May 8th 2009 at 4:21AM


Ready with the proper retort to all those rumors, false starts and misquotations, the Nikkei is reporting that Panasonic and Sumitomo are zeroed in and have the tunnel vision to deliver the 40-inch plus OLED HDTVs we've been waiting for within fiscal 2010. Once organic electroluminescent product is flooding the streets, the plan is apparently to cut the power requirements of the bright, slim displays to less than a third of current LCDs by 2015, right around the time Samsung thinks this tech will be ready for the mainstream, anyone else care to make a prediction? (Registration req'd on read link)

[Via Reuters & OLED-Info]

LG OLED roadmap places 32-inch HDTV in 2010

by Richard Lawler posted Apr 20th 2009 at 7:54AM


Fall back Samsung, LG seems ready to deliver the medium sized OLED HDTV you aren't in 2010, if this road from DigiTimes is followed tightly. 15-inch OLEDs by the end of this year, and 32-inchers next? The battle seems to have taken a swing in one direction, but we'll wait till there are displays available to declare a winner.

[Via OLED-Info]

EHX Fall moving in with CES, fight over top bunk begins in 2010

by Richard Lawler posted Oct 25th 2008 at 3:39PM


While Electronic House Expo Fall 2008 is still scheduled for November 4-7, the custom/high end AV show is skipping the '09 edition for a slight delay before beginning a 10-year run as part of CES. Attendees can look for EHX @ CES inside the Sands Expo and Convention Center (it's where you'll be for the other show that happens every year in Vegas that week.) Upset by all this change? We understand, it could take a moment, keep in mind the CEDIA Expo is shifting from Denver to Atlanta next year, while EHX Spring remains in Orlando. Will this fulfill its intended goals of widening the gap from CEDIA to EHX and bringing back custom installers to check out CES? Hard to say this far out, but it's a safe bet we'll be there.

[Via CEPro]

GestureTek and Xpletive showcase 3D interactive exhibit

by Darren Murph posted Aug 22nd 2008 at 7:31AM

It's hard to say how soon GestureTek and Xpletive's latest concoction will have a real impact on the at-home 3D market, but guests at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing were able to experience flight over Vancouver (the host of the 2010 Winter Olympics) via the B.C. Explorer. The so-called immersive display was used to promote the upcoming Games and stimulate interest in British Columbia, and it enabled onlookers to step into a curved panoramic projection dome and virtually fly over one of Canada's most popular locales. Along the way, users could use gestures to pull back and watch full-screen HD movies of certain points of interest. The two firms are hoping to deploy five kiosks over the next year, though they're being awful quiet about specific applications right now.

Another research firm asserts that BDs will overtake DVDs in 2012

by Darren Murph posted Aug 20th 2008 at 1:59PM


Hey, Futuresource Consulting -- tell us something we didn't already know, why don'tcha? All jesting aside, said firm has become the second this year to find that Blu-ray Disc sales will likely outpace DVD sales in around four years. Granted, the report also asserts that a $250 BD player will be on shelves by the end of this year, so we can't help but drink whatever Kool-Aid it's sippin'. If you're interested in boring yourself with the same assumptions we've already heard, check out the PDF in the read link below.

[Via US News]

Cox first across the line with 2010, 2012 Olympics deals

by Steven Kim posted Aug 5th 2008 at 3:37PM

Cox Communications logoNot content to flood customer eyeballs with some 750-hours in HD from the Beijing Olympics starting in a week, Cox Communications has signed a distribution deal with NBC for the upcoming 2010 Winter and 2012 Summer Olympic Games as well. The move makes Cox the first MSO (multiple system operator) to cough up the dough for NBC's "enhanced" packages for the 2010 and 2012 Olympic Games. These are whole-enchilada digital and TV packages that include VOD, broadband and linear programming. No word on what kind of value proposition the salesfolk at NBC pitched to seal the deal, but it's good to know that us end-users aren't the only ones that have to buy programming in bundles, isn't it?

Shanghai Media Group to launch 2 HD channels by 2010

by Darren Murph posted Jul 7th 2008 at 4:06AM

China is already seeing a phenomenal boost in high-def love thanks to its deep, intimate connection with the 2008 Olympic Games, but it seems the fanfare isn't planning to stop after the spectacle comes and goes. Reportedly, Shanghai Media Group -- the second largest media group in China -- is gearing up to launch a couple of free-to-air HD channels in time for the 2010 Shanghai World Expo, but sadly, that's all the details that have surfaced thus far. On a grander scale, we're thrilled to see the high-definition seeds being planted in China; with a population like it has, a spark is probably all it needs to catch on.

India's Prasar Bharati plans for HDTV in 2010

by Richard Lawler posted Nov 18th 2007 at 2:11PM

The digital broadcasting changeover continues worldwide, this time it's India's national broadcaster, Prasar Bharati planning to introduce HDTV by 2010, and go all-digital by 2015. The target event is the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, while other nations focus on readying themselves for the Olympics or World Cup. The report indicates the country's information & broadcasting ministry is already behind in phase one of its digitization plans, but hopefully they'll have things ready in the next 1050 days.

SABC unveils HD broadcast unit for 2010 World Cup

by Darren Murph posted Nov 28th 2006 at 12:12AM

While the World Cup in Germany led to skyrocketing HDTV sales, additions of channels, and worldwide recognition (South America notwithstanding), things have remained up in the air regarding the HD status of the next go 'round. While we've found that HD would be coming to South Africa at least partly in response to the 2010 FIFA World Cup, we still weren't exactly sure if everything would pan out so smoothly. While Sony's hoping to get into the football madness itself, SABC -- the host broadcaster for the matches -- has officially (and finally) acquired its first "outside HD broadcast unit" featuring "the latest in high definition technology." Moreover, the nearly $15 million unit is said to be "the first of its kind" on the entire continent, and will hopefully deliver the crystal clear picture and sound we HD sports lovers crave. If you're troubled that such a luxurious unit must wait three agonizing years to be put to good use, take heart, as SABC is already broadcasting "international cricket matches" with its newfangled toy.




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