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Video: LG's LGenius presentation lays out totally fake, remarkable TV advancements

by Darren Murph posted Mar 28th 2009 at 3:47AM

Not that we haven't seen completely off-the-wall viral marketing ads before (including one from LG, in fact), but this one just takes the proverbial cake. In a perfectly staged LGenius presentation, we're informed about a few astounding up and coming TV advancements. The first one intelligently replaces all swear words with baby laughter or eerie silence, while the "Happy Time" feature automatically detects when a program is too sad for one's health and adds random images of cute puppies and kittens. Finally, the "Family Time" feature turns any sensual scene into one with cartoon characters, making even the steamiest bedroom romance seem perfectly acceptable for innocent eyes. Seriously, this one has to be seen to be believed -- mash that play button and have a gander.

[Thanks, Kellen]

Even the NBA's Shawn Marion thinks Blu-ray Discs are too expensive

by Darren Murph posted Feb 28th 2009 at 8:48AM


You think it's tough pulling the trigger on a few new Blu-ray Discs each Tuesday on a "middle-class" budget? Try being a millionaire. In a recent interview with The National Post, when asked about transitioning his massive DVD collection to Blu-ray, the recently traded Shawn Marion of the NBA had this to say: "Hell, no! Blu-ray [Discs] cost too much. They cost like 35, 40 bucks apiece. I'm going to stick with the $19.99s. $14.99, $19.99, widescreen, I'm good." He then followed that up with a quip that "high-definition" was "all that he needed," further suggesting that an HD DVR and an upscaling DVD player was good enough for even the most wealthy among us. We know this guy isn't representative of the masses, but seriously, you studios should take a listen.

[Image courtesy of NikeBasketball]

ESPN recommends dropping HDTV to weather tough economy

by Darren Murph posted Dec 5th 2008 at 5:40PM


Wait a second, read that headline again. Got it? Has it sunk in? Awesome. ESPN, the self-proclaimed worldwide leader in sports and true pioneer in getting even some of the most obscure events known to man in HD, has let DJ Gallo go right off the deep end. In an article titled "Financial tips for sports fans in a troubled economy," he first recommends to sell your old playing cards -- you know, since hordes of people are out in this economy trying to snap up Topps collections plastered with middle-aged athletes on them. The second recommendation is the most astounding: "Drop your HDTV package." We can't help but think that he's totally joking here -- a sports website telling hardcore sports fanatics to ditch high-def? Talk about a reason to chuckle.

Tweeter site egregiously hacked as company bows out

by Darren Murph posted Dec 3rd 2008 at 9:56AM Breaking News


Not that we haven't seen websites hacked in good fun before, but this is downright disturbing. Just hours after getting word that the many faces of Tweeter were all fading away into the sunset (to put it nicely), an apparently disgruntled employee has showcased his / her 1337 hax0r skills by totally transforming Tweeter.com's main page. Let's just say it's less than becoming (and the block censor is ours), but the full screen grab is down below if you care to indulge. Hey, if you're going to burn a bridge, you might as well leave it in ruins, right?

[Thanks, Jason]

Update: Fun while it lasted! Now surfing over to Tweeter.com takes you to... nowhere. Check a cached page in the gallery below for a long lasting memory.

Gallery: Tweeter site hacked as company bows out

Windows commercial gets wrong message across on 4:3 sets

by Darren Murph posted Nov 19th 2008 at 3:02PM


We can't say we spotted this one in person (sorry, Chuck lost its luster after about six episodes), but we'll still join in the chorus of laughter. The image spotted above was an advertisement for Microsoft's little 'ole operating system, known around the underground as Windows Vista. What you're supposed to see there is "Windows: Life Without Walls," but instead, you're missing the final "s." In fact, Michael Smith points out that most 4:3 set owners actually saw even less than that (think "Windows: Life Without"). The capture was taken from a locally broadcast 4:3 NTSC feed of the show, and amazingly enough, it wasn't the only commercial aired that night with some of the critical information hanging off in no man's land. Have any of you spotted this recently, or was this just a one-time screw up?

Digital TV transition spoof video is both informative and hilarious

by Darren Murph posted Nov 6th 2008 at 1:59PM


By now, you've probably seen at least one DTV transition commercial, and if not, you're clearly not watching enough television. Criticisms aside, we couldn't pass up the opportunity to point you at what will unquestionably be the most hilarious (albeit informative) digital TV conversion ad of all time. We won't even bother trying to explain what happens in this 1 minute, 53 second masterpiece, but as you can glean from the photo above, this is a can't-miss experience. Jump past the break and mash play.

[Thanks, Sean]

Continue reading Digital TV transition spoof video is both informative and hilarious

Larcenists get a cheap Blu-ray player (the illegal way)

by Darren Murph posted Nov 3rd 2008 at 12:17PM


Can't wait for Black Friday? Neither could two suspects in Virginia Beach. Reportedly, a crafty duo entered a local Walmart late last week, with one placing a Samsung Blu-ray player in her cart while the other placed a DVD / VCR combo unit in his cart. Once that was complete, the two met in the pet section, swapped the unwanted DVD / VCR unit out for a Blu-ray deck and proceeded to checkout. The cute couple paid for dog food and a rather inexpensive DVD / VCR player, yet arrived home with dog food and an improperly boxed Blu-ray player. Moral of the story? Blu-ray adoption would clearly soar if manufacturers would just price the players right. (We kid, we kid.)

[Via CDFreaks]

Burglars break into restaurant, steal HDTV, leave money / food behind

by Darren Murph posted Oct 29th 2008 at 4:02PM

Not that we'd have any expert knowledge in the wide world of theft, but this just doesn't seem like the best way to go about snagging a new HDTV. At any rate, an undisclosed amount of thieves reportedly drove a truck (or large SUV... it was dark outside, okay?) into the front door of Los Tres Amigos restaurant in a small Pennsylvania town, broke the glass, ganked a 47-inch Insignia HDTV and "fled the scene." For starters, you'd risk prison for an Insignia? Really? Second, with LCD prices tanking like never before, don't you think you could've waited until Black Friday to get yourself a steal? Sigh.

[Image courtesy of Hotel Interactive]

Best Buy employees compare real store to Chuck's 'Buy More'

by Darren Murph posted Sep 18th 2008 at 8:29PM


We know, it's off the beaten path a bit, but Sound & Vision's latest writeup comparing the actual Best Buy with 'Buy More' in NBC's quasi-hit Chuck was too good to ignore. The site rounded up a couple of Best Buy / Geek Squad employees and asked them to compare their experiences with scenes in the show. Comically enough, we learn that at least some Squaders do indeed joyride in their company car, employees actually do have to undergo training to interact with and persuade customers, and yes, workers are beaten over the head with selling those ridiculous replacement plans. If you're in need of a chuckle (ahem), there's quite a few waiting in the read link.

Masochist sits through 24 straight hours of Olympics, writes about it

by Darren Murph posted Aug 13th 2008 at 10:05AM


Just because there are 3,600 hours of Olympics coverage being beamed out in one form or another this year doesn't mean you actually need to watch all 3,600 of them. For one particular pain lover, however, he consumed 24 straight, and thankfully, he had the decency to write about it. Starting at midnight ET on August 12th, he flipped on NBC just in time to catch Alexander Artemev save the bronze for the US in men's gymnastics. 24 hours later, he watched the women's team disappointingly snag a silver in the same sport. Nearly every minute in between is chronicled in the read link below -- seriously, this is a read you can't afford to miss.

HD premiere of South Park's Imaginationland airing on DirecTV's The 101

by Darren Murph posted May 30th 2008 at 4:35PM


Believe it. Your wildest (okay, maybe one of your wildest) dreams is about to come true. Tonight at midnight (local time, we presume), South Park will air for the first time ever in high-definition (on TV) when "Imaginationland" takes center stage on DirecTV's The 101. Viewers can delight in the feature-length, director's cut from May 30th to May 31st, and if that wasn't enough, the season eight premiere -- "Good Times With Weapons" -- will also be broadcast in HD on the same station. We can't say for sure that this is a sign of things to come, but we doubt we're alone in hoping so.

[Image courtesy of Scott Tenorman / Comedy Central]

FakeTV emulates human watching the tube, supposedly discourages thieves

by Darren Murph posted May 21st 2008 at 11:41AM


What else can we say? The concept here is pure genius, and it totally makes those pricey security systems seem way pointless (okay, slightly less critical). The FakeTV is a strobe that sets up in an occupied room at night and flashes up beams of light. From the inside, we can imagine it looks fairly curious, but from the outside, it gives prospective burglars the idea that someone is actually awake and watching a television program. It promises to produce the effects of "scene changes, fades, swells, flicks, on-screen motion and color changes," just like they were generated by a bona fide set. We can't speak for how well (or not) this thing actually works, but at just $49, we'd say it's a solid buy if you're the paranoid type.

[Via BoingBoing]

HD DVD holding its value in Dominican Republic

by Darren Murph posted May 1st 2008 at 9:14PM


Although Best Buy was purging its stores of HD DVD titles months ago, it seems the dream is still alive in the Dominican Republic. Thanks to snapshots taken by a tipster who recently vacationed there, we get a real good look at what kind of premium the Toshiba HD-A3 (11,999 Dominican pesos, or around $353) is still pulling in. Even weirder? The only Blu-ray player in attendance was a PlayStation 3 (going for around $550). Either we've just hit the twilight zone, or folks move really slow in paradise.

[Thanks, Dennis]

Format heaven: 10 other failures HD DVD will meet

by Darren Murph posted Mar 21st 2008 at 5:23PM


We've already dished out our suggestions for what to do with your HD DVD player now that the format war is over, but if you decide to retire it to a better place, what other formats will it meet in that digital cemetery in the sky? A comedic (albeit nostalgic) piece over at Popular Mechanics takes a look at the top ten now-defunct video formats Toshiba's high-def medium will congregate with, and while you may not be familiar with them all (Capacitance Electronic Discs and TeD, anyone?), it's a great look back at what could have been. Rest in peace, HD DVD -- you're in great company (so to speak).

Hey, Office Depot: the format war is over

by Darren Murph posted Mar 19th 2008 at 9:47AM


Yeah, we've seen some retail mix-ups before, but this one really leaves us scratching our heads. We know -- it can take some time before word trickles down and stores start slashing prices once a major high-definition movie format kicks the bucket, but a full month after we sadly let HD DVD go, this particular Office Depot -- located in Houston, Texas -- still hasn't come to terms with reality. And yes, this was snapped within the last 24 hours.

[Thanks, Thomas]




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