Skip to Content

Autoblog reviews all the hottest cars
AOL Tech

new york city posts

Marantz Reference gear in the Carlyle hotel spoils you for clock radio

by Steven Kim posted Jun 12th 2009 at 2:55PM

Empire Suite of the Carlyle HotelWhile our typical hotel coverage involves HDTVs and/or special programming, we'll make an exception for the Marantz/DALI audio setup getting dropped into the Empire Suite of Manhattan's Carlyle hotel. We won't make any guesses about what the rack rate is for the duplex suite in the swank hotel, but it's got to be cheaper than the audio system, which combines four MA-9S2 mono amps, an SC-7S2 preamp and SA-7S1 SACD deck from Marantz's Reference lineup with a pair of DALI MEGALINE III speakers. All told, that's about $47,000 of Marantz gear and another cool $60,000 for the speakers, all to deliver good old two-channel. Might we suggest staying in and ordering room service?

TWC to give Southern Manhattan its due HD channels

by Darren Murph posted Dec 22nd 2008 at 2:04PM

Admit it, south Manhattan -- you felt totally snubbed by Time Warner Cable's recent announcement that your brethren to the north would soon be getting a whole wheelbarrow full of new high-def content. Thankfully, the suits at TWC have realized that south-siders need clarity too, and it's planning to launch a significant amount of fresh HD channels in February. We can't even begin to cover the full list here, so we'll post it up word for word after the break. We know what you're thinking: February?! [Disclosure: Engadget is part of the Time Warner family]

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Continue reading TWC to give Southern Manhattan its due HD channels

RCN extends relationship with Highgate Hotels, will provide HDTV to weary travelers

by Darren Murph posted Dec 15th 2008 at 11:00PM

RCN has stuck its nose (and HDTV services, for that matter) in all sorts of lodging chains before, and you can mark it down for another thanks to a revamped agreement with Highgate Hotels. The multi-year contract enables RCN to provide the company's New York portfolio of hotels with its own digital TV / HDTV services sans a set-top-box; additionally, the carrier will be delivering third-party VOD content. At first, the operator will upgrade existing service to the DoubleTree Metropolitan, Radisson Lexington and Park Central Hotels, and it expects to have all five phase-one Highgate properties operational by February 2009.

Sharp fires up 43 LCD tree for the ho-ho-HOPE Program

by Steven Kim posted Dec 2nd 2008 at 10:48PM

Sharp LCD tree
New Yorkers passing through Grand Central Terminal will be treated to a 26-foot high holiday bush ensconced in, you guessed it, 43 Sharp LCD panels -- 52-inch behemoths at the base and 19-inch models way at the tip-top. Oohs, ahs and festive lighting aside, the display is meant to raise donations for the HOPE program's "Green Collar Project" that will help students find a green-collar job related to environmental work. Snicker all you want about the heat pumped out by those 52-inch LCDs, but it the tree as a whole beats its plasma counterpart and it's a good cause to boot. Enter to win one of the 43 deciduous panels and $1 will be donated to the program, up to $100,000 (and with a minimum of $50,000). Good on you, Sharp!

Video: New York City conducts analog shutoff drill

by Darren Murph posted Oct 29th 2008 at 8:33PM


We've seen a smattering of shutoff drills go down from one side of the country to the other, but honestly, hearing of one is still more the exception than the rule. With the digital TV transition drawing ever closer here in the USA, the Big Apple decided to flip the test switch on its local OTA stations in order to give antenna-using citizens a much-needed heads-up. As you can see in the video waiting in the read link, the two-minute test only affected an analog set using an antenna; televisions tuned to WCBS via cable, digital OTA or satellite didn't even notice the warning message. Nice show, New York.

RCN giving New York City a taste of Analog Crush

by Richard Lawler posted Aug 21st 2008 at 11:50PM

New York is next in line after Massachusetts and Chicago, with the New York Times' CityRoom blog reporting it is next in RCN's plan to rid itself bandwidth-wasting of analog cable TV. Starting October 1, basic cable customers will suddenly become digital cable customers, with a few extra channels for their trouble. Of course we're more concerned with the potential of adding more HDTV over the ten already added recently, but first things first. Expect official word to go out in September, with rates expected to stay the same -- at least until next year.

World Fishing Network HD splashes down on FiOS TV

by Darren Murph posted Aug 21st 2008 at 3:48AM

Though probably not as niche as Rural Free Delivery (RFD HD), World Fishing Network HD still has a pretty narrow audience. That being the case, there's still some logic to pushing the channel in rural parts of America or in regions with nearby fishing outlets. Call us crazy, but New York City is not the first place that comes to find when someone mentions deep sea fishin'. Nevertheless, Verizon has just announced that WFN HD has arrived in the Big Apple on FiOS TV, giving transplants an easy way to get back in touch with their small town roots. There's no word on when the station will hit other FiOS TV areas, but we'd bet it'll be making the rounds soon enough.

RCN bringing HDTV to student residence in New York City

by Darren Murph posted Aug 20th 2008 at 3:29AM


We told you that kids these days had it made, didn't we? The latest episode of college students getting more than just ample amounts of study time comes courtesy of RCN, which is delivering triple-play services to student residence rooms at 1760 Third Avenue in Manhattan, New York. The agreement with Educational Housing Services will enable the carrier to offer high-speed internet, digital phone and HD programming to over 1,100 students representing "a variety of institutions of higher learning, including LIM (Laboratory Institute of Merchandising)." U-verse in a University of Houston dorm, RCN here -- what's next, FiOS TV in Corvallis?

New York City officially gifted with Verizon's FiOS TV: 100 HD channels

by Darren Murph posted Jul 28th 2008 at 9:02AM Breaking News


Not quite four months after Time Warner Cable completely and entirely revamped the HD lineup in New York / New Jersey, another big player has entered the Big Apple. NYC residents, meet Verizon. After tons of planning, drawn-out meetings and a bazillion approvals, FiOS TV is now available to order in 108 neighborhoods in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens and Staten Island. Better still, the carrier is offering 100 high-definition channels in the area, and if all goes to plan, that number will creep upward even more in the not-too-distant future. Jump on past the break for a (long) list of the communities that can order service today. So, the big question: are any of you NYers making the switch?

Read - Official release
Read - More details

Continue reading New York City officially gifted with Verizon's FiOS TV: 100 HD channels

FiOS approved for New York City, launch expected in "weeks"

by Richard Lawler posted Jul 17th 2008 at 8:59AM Breaking News


The NY Public Service Commission decided to approve Verizon's petition for a Certificate of Confirmation yesterday, removing the final hurdle to FiOS eventually becoming available in all five boroughs. Details from the PSC's release (warning: PDF link) indicate the franchise agreement is for 12 years, and grants Verizon waivers on a few usual requirements intended to give it time to build up service in the city. It could take up to six years to reach fiber to the entire city, and has also been granted 180 extra days to add public, educational and government channels. No word on exactly when New Yorkers expect that all digital, uncompressed competition for their local cable company (Verizon's PR indicates only "in the coming weeks"), but with the last hurdle out of the way it should be sooner rather than later.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Read - Verizon press release
Read - State of New York Public service Commission Approval

NY Public Service Commission to debate FiOS TV approval tomorrow

by Darren Murph posted Jul 15th 2008 at 3:34PM


We've never been ones to count our chickens before they hatch, but there's a very, very interesting tidbit snuck into the New York Public Service Commission's July 16th meeting agenda. The very last bullet points on the very last page of the notice reads as shown above, which leads us to believe that the carrier may receive the approval it needs in order to string FiOS TV to the entire Empire State, New York City included. Cross your fingers -- we have all ideas that Verizon will be trumpeting its success the moment this goes down (should it go down, of course). Our biggest fear? That everyone breaks for an extended lunch just after Page 10. [Warning: PDF read link]

[Thanks, Vin P]

Verizon gets one step closer to stringing FiOS TV to New York City

by Darren Murph posted May 27th 2008 at 1:31PM


After Windexing our spectacles and finding that Verizon actually was on a mission to bring FiOS TV to New York City, we still yearned for more proof that a formidable opponent was indeed looking to take on TWC / Cablevision in the Big Apple. Announced today, NYC's Franchise and Concession Review Committee (FCRC) has "voted unanimously to approve a proposal by Verizon to provide TV service to all five boroughs of the city." From here, the proposed agreement "must be confirmed by the Mayor's Office of the City of New York and the New York State Public Service Commission." Mmm, so close you can taste it, can't you Manhattan?

NYC reaches cable TV agreement on FiOS

by Richard Lawler posted Apr 29th 2008 at 3:16PM

While that 150 HD channel-future isn't yet guaranteed, Verizon's plans for expanding FiOS service throughout all of NYC took a big step forward, as the city has reached an agreement with the telco for a cable TV franchise contract. Pending approval by the city's Franchise and Concession Review Committee at a public hearing May 20, New York residents can expect full fiber coverage by 2014, with nearly a third of households receiving service by year end. Want some of that uncompressed HDTV? Head out and make your voice heard May 20.

Verizon files application to bring FiOS TV to "all" of New York City

by Darren Murph posted Apr 16th 2008 at 11:46AM


While some have said that Verizon is tiptoeing around downtown Boston, the carrier has just made clear that said scenario definitely isn't happening in the Big Apple. Believe it or not, Verizon has just filed an application to bring its FiOS TV service to all five boroughs (yes, Manhattan too) of New York City. More amazingly, the provider says that it hopes to "reach every neighborhood" in the city within a six-year time frame, though the initial go-live date is expected to occur "later this year." Make no mistake -- Verizon is well aware of Time Warner Cable / Cablevision's grasp in the city, and launching a fiber-based alternative could certainly turn things upside-down. Beyond that, we also hear of plans to dish out 150 HD channels by the year's end, and if the proposal is approved, Verizon will too provide a fiber-optic institutional network (INET) to "support the City's public safety needs." Check out the read link for lots more details, and keep those fingers crossed.




    AOL News

    Other Weblogs Inc. Network blogs you might be interested in:

    Joystiq
    Download Squad
    The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)
    BloggingStocks
    Joystiq Xbox
    Autoblog
    Big Download
    Fanhouse NFL Blog