Canon And Toshiba Delay SED Indefinitely

The Financial Times www.ft.com has reported that Canon and Toshiba have announced that sales of 55-inch next-generation SED flat-panel televisions, slated for the end of this year, would be delayed indefinitely due to protracted legal wrangling in the US over patents and difficulties in mass-producing the panels.

"Sales of the surface-conduction electron-emitter display (SED) panels, a new piece of technology said to be more energy efficient than existing flat-panel displays, have been hit by numerous delays.

Canon and Toshiba, which have been collaborating on developing the SED screens since 1999, last year pushed back their launch until July 2007, and then again until the end of 2007. On Friday both companies said they were uncertain when they would be able to start selling the TVs.

The move gives Sony more time to develop its 11-inch, 3-mm thick organic light-emitting diode (OLED) TVs, which the Japanese electronics group expects to begin selling by the of the year.

OLED technology, which is not exclusive to Sony, uses the ability of certain organic chemicals to emit their own light when an electric current is applied. OLED screens require no backlight so they can be as thin as 3mm and produce better quality pictures at lower energy cost.

Canon said last week that “prices of flat panels are declining more rapidly that expected” and that it needed to establish production-related technology and improve the efficiency of its mass production.

SED screens provide very clear colour and also do not require a back-light, reducing electricity usage and materials costs.

Canon has been embroiled in a protracted legal dispute in the US with a company called Nano-Proprietary over SED patents. The US District Court ruled in February that Canon had violated the licensing agreement with Nano-Proprietary, effectively terminating the contract. Canon has said it will appeal this decision.

Canon said Friday that the ongoing lawsuit could have an impact on when it could launch SED TVs in countries other than the US, though it declined to specify which ones.

Analysts expect it will take at least another five years before next generation TVs become commercially viable.'

Xbox 360's Elite HD DVD Gets 1080p

An online update for the fledgling HD DVD drive you can buy as an accessory to the new Elite 360 adds among other things 1080p playback on the Xbox 360 Elite.

The update also includes support for Dolby Digital 5.1 through HDMI; Digital Stereo (2 channel PCM), Dolby Digital 5.1, DTS 5.1, WMA Pro.Also added "Dynamic Range Control" for digital audio output.

Other improvements include better HD DVD networking support; improved HD DVD title compatibility; improved performance with MPEG-4 AVC / H.264 1080p via HDMI is supported on the Xbox 360 Elite with HDCP compliant displays; Improved parental controls.

Toshiba Sweeten the HD DVD Pill in the US

Toshiba America has announced two new HD DVD promotions to battle the Bluray juggernaut.

From May 20 through until June 9, movie enthusiasts that bought a HD-A2 HD DVD player will receive a $100 in-store instant rebate. - From June 10 through June 16, consumers that buy any Toshiba HD DVD player will receive a $100 in-store instant rebate. For individuals seeking the complete home theater package, an HD DVD player can be purchased with any Toshiba 42" (measured diagonally) or larger HDTV for a $200 in-store instant rebate.

The Complete Matrix Trilogy and The Ultimate Matrix Collection will be released by Warner Home Video in high definition only on HD DVD on May 22.

http://www.toshibahddvd.com

Should Plasma HDTVs Be Taxed?

From Swanni TV :-

Economics professor says the flat-panel TV takes up more energy than tube televisions.

Governments should issue a special tax on Plasma High-Definition TVs because they consume significantly more energy than the tube TV.

That's according to Professor Paul Elkins, who studies the economics of climate change at the University of Westminster in England. Professor Elkins' comments were reported today by the BBC.

Elkins contends that the Plasma screen requires so much energy that it creates a "greater climate change burden." A Plasma TV tax would force TV makers to develop more energy efficient screens, he said.

The Plasma TV does require more energy than traditional tube TVs, but there has been some dispute as to how much more. Some TV makers have suggested the difference is minimal.

But the BBC writes that the U.K.based Energy Saving Trust, a government funded research group, says the Plasma TV takes up four times more energy.

The organization estimates that a tube TV requires roughly 100 kg of carbon dioxide to operate while a Plasma set requires 400 kg.

"At the very least you might think that government would provide some differential incentives to accelerate the development of more energy efficient diode screens and encourage their take-up," says Professor Ekins, according to the BBC. "Once plasma screens are bought, they are likely to be there for five years at a minimum, perhaps 10 years, perhaps longer."

The BBC notes that OLED (Organic Light-Emitting Diode) screens require less power but they have shorter life spans.

Professor Elkins did not comment on LCD flat-screen sets, which some believe require more energy than tube TVs but not as much as Plasma sets.

F1 To Get High Definition?

Motoring publication Autosport report that F1, a sport which should be in HD, might soon be transmitted in this way:

"Formula One looks set to be broadcast in High Definition as of later this season, even though the sport's supremo Bernie Ecclestone has reservations about such a move.

Plans are being put in place to upgrade the television cameras and production facilities that provide the world television feed to allow the HD footage to be available to F1's television broadcasters.

Ecclestone said he did not know when the sport would switch over to the higher quality footage, but confirmed to autosport.com that it would be at some point later this year. Other sports, including football and golf, have already gone the HD route.

But although the move will be welcome by a number of fans, Ecclestone has admitted he is in a quandary about the matter because of the limited number of channels that broadcast in high definition. That is why he felt it more important for F1 to be available in a widescreen format to allow for bigger pictures on more people's television sets.

"The trouble with High Definition is that there are not many people who have got the equipment to receive it, so there is not much point," he said.

"We are really broadcasting for the big screen now, rather than worrying about HD."

LG Launches First HDTV Fridge

Building on its Weather & Info TV Refrigerator, LG Electronics plans on making kitchens more innovative and entertaining with the introduction of the first-of-its-kind digital high-definition television (HDTV) Refrigerator.

The new LG HDTV Refrigerator is a side-by-side model that incorporates LG's powerful fifth-generation ATSC-QAM-NTSC digital television tuner that delivers crisp digital broadcast and unscrambled cable images to the refrigerator's 15-inch high-definition LCD television screen - so not really HD then!

In addition to a remote-controlled, cable-ready, high-definition LCD screen and FM radio on the right door, the unit features a DVD connection on top of the unit for hours of kitchen entertainment. The left door also includes a four-inch Weather & Info Center LCD display located above the ice and water dispenser complete with an advanced digital control display and special features.

Options include:

• Weather forecasts: The LG unit delivers personalised weather forecasts based on a consumer's geographic area, along with the forecast for four surrounding cities, via a wireless pager network;
• Recipe bank: From chilled gazpacho soup to tiramisu, the refrigerator's built-in recipe bank can help turn anyone into a chef with 100 pre-loaded recipes from the Culinary Institute of America; food categories include appetizers, soups, salads, meat/poultry, seafood, vegetarian, side dishes and dessert;
• Digital photo album: Users can upload their personal photo album via a USB port in the dispenser area and select a slide show mode to display favorite pictures; and
• Organization tools: Easily keep up with important items with these helpful functions including date/time clock, calendar with anniversary alarm and more.

The LG HDTV Refrigerator, model LSC27990TT, will be available in the second quarter of 2007 at a suggested retail price of $3,999.

Russia Launches First Satellite HDTV Service

OpenTV Corp. , a leading provider of solutions for the delivery of advanced digital television and cross platform interactive services, today announced that NTV-Plus, Russia's first and only direct-to-home satellite TV operator, will launch high definition television services using their digital television solutions.

NTV-Plus, owned by Gazprom-Media, delivers over 90 television channels to its 560,000 digital television subscribers. The solution delivered by OpenTV includes OpenTV Core2 for High Definition Television (HDTV) and supports both high definition and standard definition channels broadcast in MPEG-4 and MPEG-2 using DVB-S2.

The operator's launch, on Thomson set-top boxes using the ST7100 chipset and Viaccess Conditional Access, is expected in the second quarter of 2007. It is further expected that OpenTV Core2 will support high definition PVR for NTV-Plus in the future.

NTV-Plus

HP Ship PCs with LG's Dual Hi-Def DVD Drives

Hewlett-Packard in the USA will begin shipping personal computers that can read both Blu-ray and HD DVD discs, the two high-definition formats competing to replace DVDs.

The computers are the first to feature the LG Electronics-developed combo drive, first demonstrated at the Consumer Electronics Show in January. LG's Super Multi Blue Blu-ray disc rewriter and HD DVD ROM drive can both read and write to Blu-ray, but can only read HD DVD discs.

LG is expected to make the drive available as a standalone product later this year.

Set Top Box Numbers to Reach 120m by 2011

The demand for set top boxes (STBs) continues to rise, with more than 65m cable, satellite and IPTV digital STBs shipped globally last year. And the market is on track to grow at 13% CAAGR to 120m annual shipments by 2011 as the television world moves towards the all-digital age, according to a new industry report by Understanding & Solutions.

These figures exclude Digital Terrestrial Adapters and Free-To-Air (FTA) Satellite receivers, which together helped drive the total worldwide STB market to 115 million units in 2006 and will fuel further growth as over-the-air broadcast markets move towards Analogue Switch Off (ASO) at the end of this decade.

The report says: "STB demand is being fuelled by the continuing global roll out of digital multi-channel TV services. The STB gives Service Providers a secure platform enabling them to ‘push’ added value services like High Definition, PVR (Personal Video Recorder), Video on Demand and Multi-Room.

"In competitive Pay-TV markets, new entrants must invariably deploy STB technology to break into the market against established operators at present."

Understanding & Solutions predicts that the Pay-TV STB market will be sustained by upgrade of the maturing digital satellite market, high growth for digital cable - largely driven by the conversion of analogue customers - and new market growth from IPTV as Telcos and other BSPs (Broadband Service Providers) drive into Digital Video services.

“The growth of Online TV and Video is both threat and opportunity to the STB industry,” says Andrew Carroll, Consultant at Understanding & Solutions. “Broadband may possibly impact the need for dedicated digital TV infrastructure long term, but, for the next 2-3 years at least, subscription Service Providers actually see the STB as a way to network and integrate broadcast and IP (Internet Protocol) services into one seamless ‘any content, any screen’ proposition for customers.”

www.uands.com

Sony Show Spiderman in Guildford's 4K Screens

Today is a world first for cinema goers as the ODEON Guildford breaks new ground by being the first venue to commercially screen a movie in true 4K, four times the resolution of High Definition TV.

This development coincides with the launch of Spider-Man 3. The movie was post produced in 4K to produce an image quality that is four times greater than traditional post production methods. This 4K quality is maintained by releasing the movie with a 4K DCP (Digital Cinema Package) and played out on a fully DCI (Digital Cinema Initiative) compliant 4K cinema server and delivered to the screen using a 4K high resolution projector. Now for the first time the movie will be screened in 4K high-resolution format.

The new 4K SXRD Digital Projection systems, launched by Sony this year have been installed in screens 1, 4 and 5 at the ODEON Guildford.

Designed to meet DCI specification for digital projection in a commercial cinema, the Sony Digital Projection system is capable of displaying 2K and 4K content on screens up to 20 metres wide. The projector’s 4K resolution is derived from 3 x 4096 x 2160 SXRD display delivering an incredible 8.8 million pixels to the screen, which enables it to deliver over four times the resolution of today’s high definition televisions.

Hollywood War On 'Wobbly' Cinematography!

A new website has challenged what they call 'Wobbly' cinematography by calling an end to 'Wobbly products'.

www.waronwobblies.com states "Wobbly is out of control in Hollywood and it’s time that someone did something about it. Manufacturers of anti-Wobbly products blur the distinction between product claims and reality, attempting to gain stabilization supremacy.The only real victim is the production budget."

It's hard to see if this is serious or just a marketing campaign from one of the aerial cinematography companies against another.

We'll keep you posted.