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Toshiba selects Norio Sasaki as next President and CEO

by Darren Murph posted Mar 18th 2009 at 2:21PM

We needn't tell you that things haven't been going awesome for Toshiba ever since HD DVD hit the skids and slid right into its coffin, but the company has yet to lose hope in its future. As a sign of impending change, Tosh's board of directors has just selected Mr. Norio Sasaki -- who is currently a senior executive VP in the company -- to become the next CEO and President this June. Sasaki will replace Atsutoshi Nishida following an ordinary general meeting of the shareholders, and he'll also succeed Tadashi Okamura in becoming the next chairman of the board at Toshiba Corporation. If you're curious as to whether or not this chap has what it takes, check this: the man is into mountain biking, smooth jazz and golf, and his personal motto is "perseverance will open the way." How dare you doubt that?

Blockbuster CEO talks up 2Wire MediaPoint, says rentals coming to BD decks in Q1 2009

by Darren Murph posted Nov 30th 2008 at 2:51PM


Many may still be scratching their heads at why exactly Blockbuster decided to delve head first into the world of digital downloads this late in the game with such a weak (on paper, anyway) offering. CEO Jim Keyes recently sat down with E-Commerce News to clarify a few things, and here's the skinny. For starters, it's not using a pure "streaming" method on the MediaPoint; instead, it's using a "progressive download" in hopes of improving the quality of the experience for those without a pure, continuous connection. Next, it's solely relying on an à la carte way of delivering films in order to bring new releases to the home faster, and if you've taken a look at Netflix's online availability of those very titles, you'll start to see the difference. Potentially most revealing were his quotes on future endeavors, where he candidly admits that its download services will be coming to undisclosed Blu-ray players "by the first quarter of next year." Whether or not the public will actually view that as a selling point, however, remains to be seen.

[Image courtesy of CEOSmack, thanks Anthony]

Silicon Mountain CEO interviewed, Allio Extreme outed

by Darren Murph posted Nov 27th 2008 at 4:13AM

Believe it or not, Silicon Mountain has been around for some 14 years now, but it just recently splashed onto the consumer scene with its HTPC-infused Allio HDTV. Hailed as the first HDTV to offer an inbuilt Blu-ray drive, the set is likely just the beginning of what the company has to offer, or at least that's the vibe we get when reading through a recent interview with CEO Tré Cates. For starters, he mentioned a soon-to-come "Allio Effect," which sounds to be a customized internet TV portal to get you in front of interesting content quicker. The biggest news, however, was the Allio Extreme -- an upcoming (Q1 2009) version of the existing Allio that will boast an NVIDIA GPU and "be able to play Crysis." Furthermore, a cheaper Allio with Ubuntu is just around the bend, and if you're looking to buy in bulk, you could probably pick up a few sans an OS at all. Tap the read link for the full writeup should you please.

Netflix CFO doesn't anticipate Blu-ray to greatly impact sales

by Darren Murph posted Sep 16th 2008 at 10:02PM


We've already heard Netflix CEO Reed Hastings say that the firm's DVD business was still good for the next decade, but CFO Barry McCarthy clarified its position on the sector by touching on Blu-ray adoption and online streaming. When asked about the significance of BD on its business, the exec casually replied that he "didn't anticipate a big impact," noting that thus far "consumer adoption has been slow." His sentiments match pretty well with sales figures, and until player prices dip into the sub-$200 realm, we don't see the situation changing much. Regarding online streaming, he asserted that its service would "outpace competing services such as Amazon.com's video-on-demand offering despite a smaller inventory of titles," and in fact, it would be used as a key ingredient for hooking new subscribers. Read the whole spill in the link below.

[Image courtesy of P2P-Weblog]

Netflix CEO says Blu-ray premiums coming "very soon"

by Darren Murph posted Jul 26th 2008 at 4:56PM

Netflix taketh away, and Netflix giveth. Netflix is about to taketh once more (this time from your wallet), with CEO Reed Hastings noting on a recent conference call that the promised Blu-ray premium would be instituted "very shortly." Specifics weren't mentioned, but we are hearing that the new pricing will be applied across its entire subscriber base "based on how the tests go." Hastings did note that BD rentals still make up a "very low" percentage of rentals, but of course, that will obviously change as time progresses. Any guesses as to how much said "premium" will be?

[Image courtesy of WorkItMom, thanks Dan]

New head of BBC HD aims to get serious about high-def programming

by Darren Murph posted Jul 20th 2008 at 8:46PM


Those feeling a little let down by what BBC HD offers have renewed hope for the future, as Seetha Kumar has "been replaced as the head of BBC HD by Danielle Nagler, who most recently worked as head of the director general's office." Reportedly, the new boss' main priorities are to "focus on growing the channel by driving consumer take-up, working with in-house and independent producers to increase HD programming, and leading preparations for BBC HD's launch on Freeview." Better still, Nagler understands that the potential for high-def uptake in the UK and elsewhere is huge, and he's hoping to make BBC HD "a mainstream choice" for its audiences. From here, we're hoping that a big push in high-definition from Auntie Beeb will encourage other channels to make the requisite investments and follow suit. After all, you can expect consumers to shell out for HD content when there isn't any to buy.

DISH Network's CEO admits to "missing the HD window" last year

by Darren Murph posted May 14th 2008 at 5:26PM

It's no secret that DISH Network has seen better quarters than Q1 2008, but CEO Charlie Ergen is already outlining ways to improve things in the future. On a recent conference call with analysts, Mr. Ergen reportedly acknowledged that DirecTV and telephone outfits "had garnered the lion's share of new customers in the first quarter." The infamous AMC-14 failure and a (relative) dearth of HD expansion options were both blamed. After realizing that operations and customer service were slipping in February, the exec became more involved with day-to-day procedures in an attempt to right the ship; however, he still felt that DISH "probably missed the HD window last year." Curiously enough, the satcaster has just recently felt the need to giveth and taketh away, but if it really can stay on track and deliver close to a hundred HD channels before 2009 dawns, we can certainly see things turning around.

[Image courtesy of Reference For Business]

Samsung exec hints at 4000 x 2000 resolution LCD panels

by Darren Murph posted Dec 18th 2007 at 6:21AM

It's not like we haven't seen 4k x 2k displays hung around on fancy show floors before, but catching one in the average home isn't something you'd expect anytime soon. That could soon be changing, however, so long as Samsung has a say in things. Reportedly, the firm's vice president for LCD sales in the Americas, Scott Birnbaum, was quoted as saying that "LCD sets are getting bigger, and increasing in resolution and quality, leading to a market similar to computers." He continued by stating that "the next wave of resolution will be 8-times the resolution of HD," suggesting that his company expects to start cranking out units that are "roughly" 4,000 x 2,000 pixels. It was also noted that Samsung has yet to lay the groundwork for a next-generation plant that could handle the feat, but it is "starting to talk about the idea with potential customers." Big screen OLED TVs? 4k x 2k displays for the home? Bring it on, Sammy.

[Thanks, gamedude420]

EchoStar CEO trivializes DirecTV's 100 HD channels

by Darren Murph posted Aug 14th 2007 at 10:57AM

Merely days after DirecTV reassured its customer base that hordes of new HD channels were (still) on the way, EchoStar Communications CEO Charlie Ergen has reportedly downplayed the whole shebang. During a second-quarter conference call, Ergen was quoted as saying that "there's not 100 channels of HD that [he] would watch," and supposedly insinuated that he didn't think having "70 or even 100 HD channels" was all that important. 'Course, he made sure to mention that Dish Network has 50 of its own, and did state that having 100 HD offerings was "a good round number to get people excited." Sure sounds like a case of bitterness to us.

Monster Cable fires 120 employees, still overcharges for accessories

by Darren Murph posted Dec 13th 2006 at 11:19PM

Wouldn't it figure -- the company synonymous for charging absurd amounts of coinage for products that are debatably no better than the copper-laced counterparts available en masse for much less is cutting 120 jobs, only to replace them with outsourced labor. While we fully understand the "business demands of the 21st century," as Mr. Lee so aptly implied, there's something to be said when you're suckering folks into buying cranking out $100 HDMI cables and $70 iPod controllers, yet can't afford to hook your loyal employees up with anything more than "four weeks severance" and a dash of "counseling." What's notable about all this is that prior to this recent batch of layoffs, excessed employees received "four weeks pay plus one additional week of pay per year of service." Furthermore, many employees say the job searching assistance is "worthless," as they really have no desirable skills besides the one's learned at Monster. 'Tis a shame to see the folks let go, but we're fairly certain the firm's (supposed) cash drought isn't due to a lack in markup.

[Via CEPro]




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