Home Theater and Consumer Electronics News - October 2004

NOTE: This page is an archive for previously posted news stories from October 2004 - Since most of the links are now inactive, they have been removed. However, the headlines and summaries are still posted to historically document the news headlines from the dates listed.

10/31/04
Intel Abandons LCoS
Although it is a promising technology for use in video display applications, such as video projectors and projection televisions, LCoS (Liquid Crystal on Silicon) continues to lose favor, as Intel decides to drop its LCoS program as a result of development issues, lukewarm manufacturer support, and strong competition from Texas' Instruments popular DLP technology. For further details on this, check out the report from Stereophile: Ultimate AV. For additional information, also check out this Overview of LCoS Technology.

10/30/04
RIAA Sales Numbers Up Over 10% in The First Half of 2004 - SACD and DVD-Audio Flounder
While music downloading is still having an effect on the CD market, actual sales of CDs, as reported by the Recording Industry Association of America, increased about 10% in the first half of 2004. That is good news for the music industry; however, CD sales still were still lower than the peak year of 2001. Now, for the bad news. After several years on the market, SACD (Super Audio CD) and DVD-Audio still haven't impacted the market as hoped. Sales for each format leveled off at about 300,000. What is the future prognosis for CDs, SACDs, and DVD-Audio? For a perspective, check out the report from Audio/Video Revolution.

10/29/04
3-D TV Without Glasses May Be Closer Than You Think
A couple of years ago I saw an interesting demo at the annual CES in Las Vegas of Plasma Displays that could display 3-D images that could be viewed without the need for special glasses. The prototype exhibited by Samsung was impressive, but you had to stand directly in front of the screen to see the 3-D effect, and the images presented were still photos.

Now, there are two new, possibly affordable, solutions in the works that may eventually become common. One approach is a $99 software approach from DDD Group that can work with a variety of monitors, while Sharp has developed a hardware solution using LCD technology.

10/28/04
Blockbuster's Brick-and-Mortar Netflix Defense
One of most successful home entertainment business models is the renting of DVDs by mail and online via services such as Netflix. Basically, the consumer rents a DVD that is sent to them from a regional distribution center. Although this service offers very quick turnaround time, usually two or three days, Blockbuster thinks that by using its own local rental stores to mail out DVD rentals, instead of distribution centers, it can go Netlflix one better with regards to consumer turnaround time. For additional details on Blockbuster's new DVD rental strategy, check out the report from CNET.

10/27/04
TNT to Present the 2004-05 NBA Season in HD
If you are a sports fan and still don't have an HDTV, perhaps TNT's announcement that it will be broadcasting its entire 52 game NBA schedule in full 1080i and 5.1 Dolby Digital surround sound may give you an extra incentive to reach into your pocket.

10/26/04
Retailers Brace for Flat-Screen TV Price War
Consumer eletrconics manufacturers and retailers are gearing up for this year's holiday shopping rush with a strategy to get more consumers to buy LCD and Plasma flat panel televisions. Expect more supply, big markdowns, and other promotional packages from retailers to entice consumers into the flat panel television craze. Even Walmart, not known for high end electronics products, is planning to get a sizable share of the flat panel television pie.

10/25/04
13 Sentenced To Jail Over Porn DVDs
While porn on DVD is big business in the U.S., with little legal restriction or censorship, in China, where the free expression freedoms we take for granted are much more restrictive, dealing in DVD porn can get you in big trouble.

10/24/04
Digital Cable High-Def Ready Recorders
Although high definition DVD recorders aren't expected to be on store shelves until late in 2005 or early 2006, that does not mean that consumers won't be able record television programs in high definition before then. Sony has just announced that is introducing two Digital Video Recorders (DVRs) that can record HDTV programming on hard drives instead of discs or tape. The DHG-HDD250 is a basic unit that has a 250GB hard drive which can hold up to 200 hours of standard definition programs or 30 hours of HD programming. The step-up DHG-HDD500 incorporates a huge 500GB hard drive, which allows the recording of 400 hours in standard definition, or 60 hours of HDTV content. For additional details on features, pricing, and availability, check out the report from Home Theater Magazine.

10/23/04
Cellphone Addition: High-Definition TV
In the "Is this something we really need?" category, it seems that cell phone service providers are "feverishly" working to enable cell phones to receive over-the-air HDTV signals. I have three questions on this:

How does this really benefit the consumer as the increased quality of an HDTV image is totally lost on the small LCD screens that cell phones employ?

How much television do we really need to have access to on a continuous basis?

Will there be an increase in pedestrian accidents as cell phone users become distracted from watching television on their cell phones instead of being aware of their surroundings?

10/22/04
DTV Switch-Over To Be Delayed Until 2009?
The DTV/HDTV switch over date, may be delayed again as the FCC and Congress is considering delaying the end of analog television transmission until 2009. The rationale is to give consumers additional time to purchase digital and HDTVs. However, is this also just an excuse for the networks and local stations to delay their own HDTV conversion responsibility? For the latest update on this continuing story, check out the report from Audio/Video Revolution.

10/21/04
Toshiba Corp To Launch HD-DVD Laptop
The battle between the coming high definition DVD formats keeps getting hotter as Toshiba annonces that it will introduce Laptop PCs with HD-DVD format compatibility in the Fall of 2005 to counteract Sony's ambitions to incorporate its high definition Blu-Ray format in its forthcoming Playstation 3 game console. Can't we just all get along and settle on a single format for once?

10/20/04
Dell Unveils Holiday Lineup, Including New Plasma TVs
Mostly well-known for its computer products, DELL has been making a brand name push into general consumer electronics with its successful small screen LCD TV lineup. However, this holiday season, DELL is adding Plasma to its product offerings, including the W4200HD HD-compatible plasma television and the lower-priced W4200ED EDTV plasma television. For additional information on DELLs Plasma lineup and other new product introductions, check out the report from Computer World.

10/19/04
Consumer Electronics Shopping Outlook Bright For The Holidays
Despite uncertainty in Iraq, oil prices, and the U.S. elections, the economy just keeps rolling along. Let's face it folks, despite all the doom and gloom on the part of some concerning the state of the economy, Costco, Walmart, Best Buy, and the community shopping malls are filled with crowds, especially on the weekends. This observation is also confirmed by the Consumer Electronics Association, whose latest survey indicates that 76% of U.S. consumers plan to purchase at least one gadget gift this holiday season, and are also planning to spend more on such a than last year. The first place gift idea is a digital camera, which finally pushes DVD players down to second place after the last couple of years.

10/18/04
Self-Destructing DVDs To Help Market New Film
The wish of just about every DVD fan is to get their hands on a DVD version of a movie that is still in its movie theater run. Ordinarily, this can only be done if the DVD is a pirated version. However, a small Atlanta-based company is actually promoting the release of an upcoming Christmas film by releasing it on DVD during the beginning of its theatrical run. The catch -- the DVD self-destructs after 48 hours. For full details on this interesting idea, check out the report from CNET. In addition, for more information on self-destructing DVDs, check out my earlier report Throwaway DVDs.

10/17/04
...Television Programs Broadcast in Dolby Pro Logic II
Surround sound continues to make inroads into television broadcasting as Dolby announces a new list of seventeen prime-time network and cable programs now processed in Dolby Pro-Logic II. Television is not only looking better, with HDTV, but they sound better also. For all the details, including a list of the programs featuring Dolby Pro-Logic II processing, check the complete announcement from Dolby Labs.

10/16/04
TiVo and Humax Introduce New DVD Recorder...
DVD recorders are definitely becoming more afforadable. Humax announces its new DVD recorder that also includes 80 hour capacity TIVO recording for only $399. This unit will be sold through retailers, such as Circuit City and online outlets such as Amazon.com. For additional details check out the report from Audio/Video Revolution.

10/15/04
Westinghouse Cuts Price Of LCD TVs
Westinghouse, one the newer players in the LCD market, is making drastic price cuts on its 27-inch and 30-inch LCD flat panel sets. At $1,299 for the 27-inch model, and $1,799 for the 30-inch model, New LCD Television pricing is approaching that of some higher-end Flat Tube TVs. For additional details, check out the report from CNET.

10/14/04
Sony Introduces Unique DVD Recorder/PC-DVD Burner Combo
Sony has just announced its new DVdirect DVD burner that can be used both as an external PC-DVD burner that records in the DVD-R/-RW/+R/+RW/CD-R/CD-RW formats, or as a standalone DVD recorder (minus TV tuner) in the DVD+R/+RW formats only. This may be just the right option for those that desire both a DVD recorder and a PC-DVD burner. For additional details on features, pricing, and availability, check out the report from Steves-Digicams.

10/13/04
Neilsen To Add DVR Viewing Habits Into Ratings System
DVRs (Digital Video Recorders), such as TIVO and similar products available through cable and satellite providers, are now in about 4% of households across the country. Although this does not seem like much, the effect of DVRs on television viewing habits is impacting on how the Neilsen rating service needs to calculate and report ratings for television programming. For all the details, check out the report from Forbes.

10/12/04
JVC Supports Blu-ray Disc Format
JVC (Japan Victor Corporation) adds it support to the coming high definition DVD BluRay disc format. JVC joins a growing list of BluRay advocates including; Dell, Hewlett Packard, Hitachi, LG Electronics, Panasonic, Philips, Samsung, Sharp, and Fox. The competing HD-DVD format is supported by mainly by Toshiba and NEC.

10/11/04
...Move over, DVD players; PMCs Are On The Horizon
What could possibly be better than a DVD player combined with a great home theater system? How about a complete portable audio/video center that holds all of your favorite video and audio content? It seems that the PMC (Portable Media Center) is beginning to make inroads in the consumer market, especially for travelers. About the size of a PDA, with internal hard drive storage from 20-to-40 GB, these flexible devices can hold hours of video and audio files that can be played back on its small LCD and earphone connections.

10/10/04
Denon Previews The AVC-A1XV (AVR-5805) Multi-Room Receiver
A source in the UK has posted a report on what may be overkill-to-the-max or possibly the most flexible AV receiver you could possibly hope for. The newly-announced Denon AVC-A1XV has 10 built-in discrete 170 Watt amplifiers which allow two independent 5.1 channel feeds to be supplied to two different rooms simultaneously. In essence, this receiver will allow the user to use a single receiver as the control center for two home theater systems. The fun doesn't end there, however. If you desire a litte more flexbility, you can configure the AVX-AX1 as a 9.1 channel receiver for single room use, or use this unit to supply a 7.1 channel feed to your main home theater room and still have the ability to have both a 2.1 channel system in another room, and a mono system in a third. The U.S. model designation will be the AVR-5805; it is expected to be available in November 2004 for about $6,000. This product is definitely aimed at the uspscale home theater enthusiast, however, it probably won't be long before the technology and features in this receiver trickle down to more mainstream-priced product lines. For additional details on the features of AVX-AX1, check out the report from High Fidelity Review. In addition, for more information on the U.S. version (AVR-5805), check out an eariler report from Audioholics.

10/09/04
Coalition Asks Congress to Stop the FCC from Hawking Digital TV Sets
According to a new coalition of childrens' advocates and other consumer and health activists, the FCC's promotion of digital and HDTV may bring untold mental and physical health problems to our nation.

10/08/04
Philips Leaves Rear-Projection TV Market
After promoting rear projection television technology based on LCOS (Liquid Crystal On Silicon) technology for the past couple of years, Philips has announced that it is dropping its rear projection television product line in order to concentrate its resources in its LCD and Plasma televisions products.

10/07/04
BluRay Camcorders On The Way....Well, Maybe
With standard DVD camcorders just beginning to gain acceptance with consumers, Matsushita (parent of Panasonic) and Sony are hinting at the possible introduction of BluRay high definition DVD camcorders, possibly in 2005. This would also coincide with the introduction of high definition BluRay DVD players and recorders. For additional details, check out the report from Camcorder Info.

10/06/04
Best Buy Initiates A Battle Of The Brands
CE retail giant, Best Buy, introduces a new product house brand. The new brand name, "Insignia", adorns a line of LCD televisions currently being sold in Best Buy stores, competing directly with other brands offered by the popular retailer. For additional details, check out the report from CNET.

10/05/04
Fox Joins Blu-ray Group
The promise of high definition DVD keeps getting closer as FOX announces that it is adding its support to the Blu-Ray founders. Although FOX didn't make a specific announcement with regards to supplying programming and software for the new format, it is anticipated that the combined forces of FOX and Sony/MGM gives Blu-Ray an extensive programming library to draw from. For more details on these developments and the role FOX expects to play in high definition DVD, check out the report from CNET.

10/04/04
Europeans Come Up With New DVD Storage Advance
There have been a lot of advances in DVD technology since its introduction in the mid-1990's, including the new HD-DVD and BluRay formats. However, in what could end up being the most long-term advance thus far, a team of scientists in Europe have come up with new technology that may be able to increase the storage capacity of a single DVD to 1 Terabyte (1,000 GB - or 250MB per layer, with two sides per layer). In essence, you could fit all the episodes of the TV series "Friends" or "The Simpsons" on a single DVD made up of two layers on each side. For additional information, including a technical overview of the process involved, check out the reports from CNET and Optics.org

10/03/04
Belkin Announces News Wireless AV Transmitter
Wireless audio/video transmission products are experiencing increased demand by consumers, but many products are lacking in performance and features. Now, Belkin has stepped up to the plate with its newly announced PureAV RemoteTV which not only allows the wireless transmission of standard audio/video and S-video, but also has the ability to transmit component video signals around the house. This allows a person to have a DVD player in one room of the house and have it wirelessly transmit its component video output and analog audio signal to a Television or AV Receiver in another room of the house, maintaining maximum video quality. The PureAV RemoteTV also incorporates wireless remote control extension as well.

10/02/04
Toshiba, Matsushita Unit To Make Big TV Panels
While Mitsubishi announced earlier that it is leaving the large screen LCD market, Toshiba and Matsushita (parent of Panasonic), along with Hitachi, have announced a new joint venture to produce large LCD display panels. The goal is to use their combined talents to make LCD panels with wider viewing angles and faster response times, which is ideal for home theater applications. For additional details, check out the report from CNET.

10/01/04
Runco Upgrades to Display Movies in the 2.35:1 Aspect Ratio...
Employing a new combination of lenses and circuitry, Runco has stretched the limit of its DLP video projectors to allow the display of 2.35:1 aspect ratio cinemascope and widescreen films without sacrificing brightness, color saturation, or resolution. For all the details, check out the report from Audio/Video Revolution.

For additional News Stories check out my Home Electronics Industry News Archives.