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Toshiba amps up marketing of HDTV, HD DVD in Australia

by Darren Murph posted Jul 28th 2007 at 6:07AM


The marketing campaigns that numerous companies are now embarking on will have an additional member, as Toshiba is reportedly buckling down and getting the message out about its HDTVs and HD DVD players, particularly Down Under. Reportedly, the company is aiming to sneak into the "top five of the flat-panel TV market," and it also began to increase its promotion efforts of HD DVD in Australia. Regardless of the recent Blu-ray "victories," Tosh apparently still feels confident that HD DVD will survive, and noted that it would "increase the number of HD DVD players from one to three models by Christmas" in select local markets, all while while hoping to ship bundles of HD DVD-equipped Qosimo laptops. Granted, Mark Whittard -- general manager of Toshiba's Information Systems Division -- wasn't oblivious to the market trends going on around him, and duly noted that Toshiba "had its work cut out" to achieve such numbers.

Aussies criticizing Seven Network for compressing HD feeds

by Darren Murph posted Jul 4th 2007 at 9:59PM

Same story, different continent. The compression bug has seemingly struck again, and this time its aggravating those Down Under who'd like to enjoy Seven Network's 1080i programming in all of its high-definition glory. After just recently flipping the switch to broadcast content in HD, a sect of Australians have already begun to grumble over the "relatively low amount of bandwidth the network has allocated to the high-definition channel." Of course, it should be noted that "most" viewers have seen no reason to get bent out of shape, but for those relaxing in Oz, what say ye on the Seven situation?

Australian LG plasma / LCD TV owners forced to "reboot" frozen sets

by Darren Murph posted Mar 22nd 2007 at 1:05PM


It's not exactly unheard of for DVR, PC, and PPC-6700 owners to have legitimate complaints about "freezing" issues with their gizmos, but we can't say the average television was on our list of devices we look forward to "rebooting" every day hour or so. Apparently, a horde of Aussies are facing such a quandary, as the digital TV tuner in a myriad of LG LCD HDTVs and plasmas (hit the read link for the full list) is going on the fritz whilst tuned in to broadcasts on the Nine Network. Currently, the only answers irate owners are getting revolve around "reception issues with digital transmissions in Sydney and Melbourne," but LG has also stated that it expects to rollout a "way forward" for customers quite soon. Currently, the only way to solve the seizures is to unplug the set from the wall, give it "two to three minutes to reboot," and flip the power back on, which can quickly erode any meaning found in your average half-hour drama. Regardless of how irritating we're sure this is, at least a (promised) fix is supposedly on the way, and trust us, things could be much, much worse.

Update: Oh man, what a disaster this is turning out to be. LG has now admitted that the problem affects 17 different models sold nationwide and stems from certain "digital TV processors and decoders had difficulty dealing with the way that the data signal is packaged." Even worse, the company is going to have to deploy hundreds of technicians to make tens of thousands of house calls, as an in-home repair is the only way to upgrade the components. Sorry, Aussies, until you can make an appointment, it seems like you're gonna be stuck with this annoyance for awhile -- and not only on Nine, as LG claims the bug could affect other OTA channels as well.


[Via Core77]




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