Barely a month after hearing that New Zealand's Freeview HD was facing somewhat of a bandwidth crisis, now we're seeing that at least one additional high-def station can fit. ChineseTV8 will be added on slot 28 this October, and it'll bring along "news and current affairs from mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, popular drama series, variety shows of diverse formats, documentaries with an Asian emphasis and a wide range of Asian focused infotainment." For those unaware, there are quite a few (150,000 at last count) ethnic Chinese living in New Zealand, so we'd say the interest level should be pretty high.

The NHL may not have the viewership in America as, say, the NFL, but that doesn't mean it can't find fans elsewhere. In a rather unexpected move, Hong Kong-based All Sports Network (ASN) has signed a multi-year deal to posses rights for broadcasting NHL matchups throughout much of Asia (India, South Korea and China included). Over 130 upcoming regular-season games will be televised on ASN's Yes TV along with the All-Star game, playoffs and the Stanley Cup Final. The good news? The broadcast rights include "all forms of television, including HDTV." The bad? Japan, Australia and New Zealand have been excluded from the agreement.

[Image courtesy of The Globe & Mail]

Let's be honest -- after sinking a few large on a new HDTV, a few hundies on some overpriced cables and even more on HD programming, you weren't about to cough up another month's paycheck for a decent TV stand. For the 48,600 customers out there who purchased one of four different King Pao Enterprise TV Stands (likely sold and distributed by Studio RTA), you now have a product known for tipping over and ruining lives. The E Series, Fierro, Madison DLP and Madison 3000 -- all of which were sold at Best Buy and other big box retailers from May 2004 to August 2008 -- have been deemed unstable and unfit for use in your living room, and it's suggested that you cautiously remove your set and wait for a "repair kit" before it does the removing for you. Godspeed.

LG and Amtran, the manufacturer behind Vizio HDTVs, put pen to paper today on a LCD joint venture in China. Amtran will own 49 percent of the new company and set it up on its existing production base in China, with LG holding the other 51 percent. According to Reuters the plant should be up and running early next year pumping out 5 million LCD TVs a year, but that hasn't improved investor reaction, with shares in both companies falling again. As usual, keep an eye out for quality and not just a nameplate, those Insignia / Vizio / LG on the shelf next year could have a lot more in common than you think.

Take this as a compliment, Popcorn Hour. Your product has gained so much recognition and acclaim that a Chinese outfit dubbed CMI has shamelessly knocked it off. To be fair, the design isn't exactly the same, but it's close enough for us to understand where the SYVIO-200 got its inspiration. The HD media streamer pretty much mimics the A-100 in every meaningful way, though it does include the very beneficial HDMI 1.3 specification. You'll find oodles of media streaming capabilities as well as NAS / BitTorrent support, though your guess is as good as ours as to whether it'll ever find a US distributor. For the record, we're guessing "no."

[Via eHomeUpgrade]

Okay, so we won't totally judge Chinavasion's "High Definition Great Value" camcorder before we get to know it, but we'll be frank, we ain't gettin' to know it. Those willing to give this heap a fighting chance can look forward to hope for 720p capturing at 30fps, 8-megapixel still shots, a 2.5-inch LCD monitor, 19MB (and not a byte more) of internal memory, an SD / SDHC expansion slot and an HDMI output for showing off your adventures to friends and family (who will inevitably whisper behind your back about what camcorder you chose). Nah, we're not seriously riding this thing that hard, but do tell if you're the first soul to lay down $157.50 for one. Anyone, anyone?

[Via Random Good Stuff]

Well, would you look at that. Just months after we heard whispers that the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) would be granting a handful or two of China-based manufacturers with Blu-ray licenses comes a slew of brochure shots proving that said scenario has apparently gone down. Or either Desay, Hotwell, Hualu and VTREK have taken it upon themselves to conjure up BD decks and show 'em off at the SinoCES show floor without permission (but we're banking on the former). As expected, none of these look particularly awe-inspiring, but for those hoping to see vanilla players dip under the $200 (or lower) price point, this could be very, very good news. Hit the read link for more details on each.

Shanghai Xinsuo Music Co. is opening a plant capable of making 500,000 Blu-ray discs per month by the end of this year. It is touted as the premier Hollywood film disc supplier in the Chinese market, and a company 51 percent owned by Sony (the other 49 percent held by Shanghai Media Group) as it continues to expand the market in China and reduce the cost of Blu-ray production. After that? More expansion, another plant in Shanghai and so on. The Chinese Blu-ray market also got a jolt with Sony announcing a 3-movie pack of Kung Fu Hustle, Spider-Man 3 and Open Season for the BDP-S300. Guess it's a good thing there's a testing center in the area.

Read - Shanghai Xinsuo to Roll Out Blu-ray Discs within 08
Read - Blu-ray Discs Production Surge Expected by December

Not only is this thing powered by Neuros, it even resembles the Neuros OSD. Announced today at the SINO Consumer Electronics Show, the brashly named WhereverTV acts as a liaison between your internet-connected PC and TV, delivering "hundreds of live international television channels in more than 40 languages from almost 100 countries around the world." The 5- x 5- x 1-inch box must be simultaneously connected to your router and TV, and once the tele is flipped on, you'll be able to browse, manage and stream scads of international TV channels from wherever you are in the world. Granted, we still prefer the flexibility of the ZvBox (which allows you to tap into all facets of internet video, not just one segment), but for just $199.99 with no activation or recurring charges (available now at Amazon), this could be just the thing for foreign television junkies or folks currently living outside of their homeland.

Barely a month after hearing rumors that the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) would be granting licenses to 11 China-based manufacturers, in flies official word that the very first Blu-ray Disc testing center has been established in that very nation. CESI Technology, a contributor member of the BDA, is the lucky winner, and as of today, "Chinese manufacturers can receive verification services for the official production of BD-ROM Movie Players at this center." Hopefully, this means that we'll be waiting less for the development and market launch of BD products. On a slightly related note, DigiRise DRA -- also a Chinese company -- found that its homegrown digital audio coding technology has passed an important milestone in the Blu-ray approval process. Not that we're crazy about having one more codec to juggle, but there you have it. More details on both points below.

Read - First BDA testing center in China
Read - DRA audio codec

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.

Hey, someone has to take care of Planet Earth's insatiable appetite for LCD, right? Samsung is once again looking to expand its LCD manufacturing operations in China, this time by investing around $500 million to erect a new facility for cranking out the seemingly successful 82-inch panel (among others). Reportedly, the plant will eventually be used to pump out 40-, 46-, 57-, 70- and 82-inch LCD panels in order to "satisfy the robust market requirement," but there's no word given on how soon product will start to ship from its doors.

Take all of this with a grain of salt for the time being, but word on the street has it that Pioneer has lowered the retail price of its BDC-S02BKZ Blu-ray Disc Combo drive in China by just over 41%. The new sticker shows 999 yuan ($145), while just last week it was marked 1,699 yuan ($247). We're also hearing that Pioneer will soon be lowering the retail price of its BDC-S02 optical drive in the Taiwan market, and if that wasn't enough, (hopefully believable) sources have stated that Sony will launch a Blu-ray Disc Combo drive in this very region for around $230 next month. We can't say that BD prices are where they need to be for mass adoption, but it's good to see them finally headed in the right direction.

Read - Price drops
Read - New Sony drive

We heard that Legend Silicon and Intel were teaming up to push HDTV dongles in China, and push they have. aigo has just announced that it has used technology from the former to build USB TV tuners for catching OTA HD signals on laptops, PCs or any other manner of devices capable of watching video. In China, it's estimated that many of the devices will be used to watch the upcoming Olympics in Beijing in glorious high-definition, while DVB-T users in Europe will have yet another choice for snagging HD on-the-run. Reportedly, the tuners will demand around $100 a pop, but there's no word on where or when they'll show up.

We'd take all of this with a healthy dose of salt just now, but reportedly, the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) is looking to grant 11 China-based manufacturers with Blu-ray licenses. As we've already seen, select Chinese companies have long since been listed on the BDA's website of licensees, but according to recent reports, even more are being allowed to "undertake R&D, production and marketing of BD discs, players or drives." It's said that the 11 in question include TCL, Malata, China Hualu Panasonic AVC Networks and Desay, and that volume production is expected to begin from at least some of them as early as 2009. It'll definitely be interesting to see where this takes things, if these whispers are in fact accurate.

[Via HDTV Info, thanks gamedude420]