Great Weekend Project: Get free HDTV with Outdoor Antenna
Sometimes CNET hits the mark and produces a good article and the result is something free - like HDTV. Sure, it may consume your entire weekend setting up an outdoor antenna, but it will only cost you $40 bucks and think of the stories you'll have to tell!
TV Snob.com is part of the Blogpire network, a growing network of blogs providing quality content across a range of subjects. Some of the best posts this week include:
I can imagine someone getting enough storage into a box to record a week of TV but who would have thought it possible so soon? Right. Well the device has to cost a fortune when finally released and I can't imagine it going over too well with broadcasters. Just think, when I was a kid I used to record episodes of Battlestar Galactica on a LLENOX tape recorder and I thouhgt I was cool and from the future.
"The box was a prototype of a digital video recorder from Ascot start-up Promise TV that can record and index an entire week's worth of digital-television programming.To Doctorow, an editor of the popular culture blog BoingBoing and the Electronic Frontier Foundation's European outreach coordinator, Promise TV has broken impressive new ground with its DVR, which it plans to unveil next month."
No geographical restrictions on Sony’s Portable TV for PSP
It's nice to know Sony won't initially be locking you out of their new Portable TV service, but I bet they will eventually. Apparently as long as you’ve signed up for SCN’s S-Net portal site there
are no geographical restrictions on who can access Sony’s new Portable TV video download service for the PSP.
Samsung is launching satellite digital TV via mobile phone in Korea. The SCH-B200 features a slide and twist display and a little stand to get the TV experience going. The screen measures 2.2 inch and has 262k colors. A 2MP digital camera, TV-out and MP3 player are also featured.
This is the frankenstein of home recorders. I'm not even going to try and give a run down as well as eHomeUpgrade can do. Wow. From a hard drive to this monster?
"Feature Highlights:Playback of HD content (up to 1080i)LAN connectivity for network file sharing (Ethernet 10/100)USB Host – playback files from a variety USB enabled devices: flash drives, card readers, storage drives, etc.Video Ports – DVI, Component, S-Video, CompositeAudio Ports – Coaxial, OpticalHDTV STB – Works as a digital setop box with optional TV tuner box (DVB-T/ATSC)VFD front panel display screenSupported Formats:Video – WMV9 (capable of 1280x720 HD resolution), DivX, XviD, MPEG-1/2Audio – AAC, MP3, WMA, PCM, OGGPhoto – JPEG, BMP, GIF, PNG (max size 2048x1532)"
Samsung has announced a new OLED Display. OLED technology promises to be cheaper to make than LCD or Plasma displays.
The 40” Active Matrix OLED is the world’s largest and first to be developed as a single-sheet glass plate with WXGA (1280 x 800 pixels) HD-class resolution using an amorphous silicon backplane. It has a maximum brightness of 600 nits, a shade ratio (black-and-white contrast ratio) of at least 5,000:1, and color saturation of at least 80%. Its ultra-slim design allows for the development of TV sets that are a mere 3cm thick or less.
Yet another company to take on TiVo. KiSS Technology has been bought by CISCO and merged in with Linksys. KiSS has developed a digital video recorder that has networking technology. We're not sure how big this news is, but expect the next year to be the battle of the DVR/PVR/TiVo.
Philips is working on a new lamp technology to eliminate smearing. Smearing, also known as ghosting, is a problem in thin liquid crystal display (LCD) televisions because the tiny pixels that create the image take time to switch on and off.
The problem, widely recognized as the main drawback of LCD TVs, is apparent in fast moving objects such as tennis balls, but even slower moving images get fuzzy around the edges. Old-fashioned tube TV screens have no such issue, because they light up 50, 60 or 100 times per second for just a split second -- much shorter than the time to light up a flat screen pixel -- with large inactive or dark periods in between. Philips will do something similiar to a Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) by switching the fluorescent backlight on and off at a rapid pace.
I hope this works. I really hate smearing and you see it all the time on movies that are action packed.
We have been looking for some apps like the new Google Video to supplement our diminished Summer TV schedule. To our surprise, we stumbled up this article on Blinkx - a video search engine much like the new Google service that has been around single last July. The real difference in Blinkx versus the Google Video engine - availability. We tried out the Blinkx service and found almost all the videos that come up are actually viewable as the article states at Real Tech News. Currently we've been using our Eyehome and enjoying a bit more net video on our TV then usual.
We just like the way this Wistar portable video player looks. It really doesn't have that much in the way of new features, but does have built-in Rechargeable Lithium BatteryPlay time: 3 hoursComposite Video/Stereo Audio/Digital Audio outputSupport MPEG1/2/4 formats, Mp3/WAV/WMA plus JPEG/BMP/GIF/TIFF7-inch Panasonic TFT screen3.5 inch Hitachi 20GB HDD.
The depressing part - only 3 hours of battery time.
Great Weekend Reading: Engadget Interviews Sling Media CEO
Engadget has a killer interview with Blake Krikorian, CEO of Sling Media, creators of the Sling Box. We've been following the new Sling device and it's place-shifting technology and have found it to be one of the only offerings in the media streaming arena with such capabilities. YES - we know orb is a software solution, but having a dedicated hardware solution is often time much better. We are going to try and get our hands on the new Sling Box and write up a review for the Macintosh version which is mentioned in the interview.
Gateway has turned off its televisions. The Irvine, Calif., computer maker, which at one time claimed to be tops among sellers of plasma-screen TVs in the United States, has quietly phased out its plasma-screen and liquid crystal display TV sets in recent weeks in favor of focusing its efforts on PCs.
Gateway Inc. says its March 2004 acquisition of eMachines Inc. lead to the TV line's demise.
After failing in a bid to become a brand-name consumer electronics supplier, it inked the eMachines deal and refocused its efforts on selling PCs to consumers and businesses.
BenQ and Mediabolic has announced a set of HDTV LCDs with built in network media player features. They include software from Mediabolic that can browse music, photos, and videos stored on your PC. You'll also be able to access internet content and applications from Mediabolic. The new displays range in size from 14" to 46" and will be powered by the Philips Nexperia media processor.
Pioneer has some very cool new Plasma TVs in their "P.U.R.E Black Panel / NEW P.U.R.E Vision" lines. These HDTVs have a contrast ration of 4000:1 and have an overall power reduction of 20 to 30%.
TiVo has announced it will be introducing pop-up ads and they will not be featured during actual viewing of live shows. They will however fill about 25% of the screen and will be shown when fast forwarding through a show you have recorded and other places. Yuck. Yuck. Yuck!!! This will affect all TiVo except for DirectTV TiVos. I wish I had sattelite now. I guess this is good news for people actually wanting the products in the ads however, as you can send them your contact info by selecting contact me in the pop-up ad.
You can read all about the version 2.0 of the PSP's firmware busting hacks, the new white PSP, and bringing a web browser to the PSP, but what really interested me was support for a new protocol for transmitting video to the PSP called, "Portable TV". This is exactly what a device like the PSP and all little LCD screens and big LCD screens need. I'm tired of try to bust out the different feeds at my receiver to split things to go to all the TVs in the house - I just want the PVR on this TV now. Or I want to broadcast a movie and control it in the house. Well - hopefully things like PSP Portable TV will do the trick.
Is that surprising? I trust my wife but I don't trust myself to TiVo all the season passes we need let alone know what should or shouldn't be deleted. She takes care of the TiVo and I like it that way. Plus, since she is an avid TV hound, there's a ton of stuff she finds that I would never have TiVo'd and she often finds killer things for me to watch. I don't agree that my wife knows more about the TiVo then I do, but I know she finds interesting things like hitting enter on the TV entry and finding the extended stuff.
Want to move your LCD screen anywhere in the house - or just have no cords attached so it's really stunning on that front wall? Well - minus the power cord now you can. Freescale has announced a UWB-based LCD HDTV screen that receives content via a wireless voice and video signals from a media server a system for wireless TV broadcasts. Of course you'll need the new Ultra-Wind Band wireless in your house but none the less - this is exactly what I want.
The UWB LCD television can be placed in any room and moved anywhere, without a cord attaching it to any system, except for the electricity outlet. A single media service located in the home will broadcast to all televisions in it simultaneously. Freescale said the television will be launched in early 2006.
Apple is going to release a video device people. They just will. It will also come sooner than you think and much sooner and in better shape than most of the Apple weblogs would like. It will have DRM (digital rights management) and it will have some big name like Sony linked up to it or another major studio. There I'm done. Long live the video iPod!
Showing off everything in your house has to be a trend TV really needed. I remember those dark years in the late 80's and early 90's when finding a TV in someone's house could be down right difficult. I'm glad flat panel TVs and other TV options are getting center stage in the room for TV viewing. If you spend big bucks on an item and it can also display a simulated fish tank, art, oh and episodes of Angel why would you want to hide it?
Beyond TV has released another update to it's already feature rich product. We've been covering Beyond TV for quite some time now and think it's one of the best.
Some new features include:
Support for DivX recording mode for Plextor PX-TV402U/PXM402U
Beyond TV Link trial now works with Beyond TV Server trial
Support for new ATI All-In-Wonder boards and new ATI drivers
Converted recording engine to use slices rather than a circular buffer for improved stability.
Fixed streaming video from Web Admin
Guide Search results now exclude hidden channels
Sound effects setting now exposed in ViewScape Settings
Recording to a non-existent folder fails out gracefully
Support for files larger than 2GB on FAT32 systems
Okay - now my brother and I could have watched both Land of the Lost and Hong Kong Fui at the same time! The new dual screen LCD television from Sharp will allow two different programs to air at the same time depending where one sits. Japanese electronics firm Sharp Corp on Thursday unveiled the liquid crystal display (LCD) set that can simultaneously display different images into the right and left sides of the screen through a backlight. Viewers will get an uninterrupted view no matter where they sit, but what they see will change depending on the angle, the company said in a statement.
What's New This Weekend on the Blogpire - Win $50 and $25?
See the latest news from all of our weblogs this weekend. If you want to win $50 visit Single Serve Coffee.com and if you want to win $25 visit Kitchen Contraptions.com. Visit both and win $75!
Okay - so it's 70" of LCD Projected - but it's huge! The Sony WEGA KDF-70XBR950 70'' LCD Projection TV is a giant TV people - so big that you can't fit it in your house.
Seriously, The Sony XBR '950 series are rear-projection LCD TVs that include a built-in HDTV tuner. There are two key factors that determine the picture quality of "fixed-pixel" TVs like this XBR Grand Wega: the pixel count of the display panel(s), and the video processing circuitry. The KDF-70XBR950 uses three LCD elements (one each for the red, green, and blue signals), and each is packed with over one million pixels (1386 x 788 better than 720p).
Who needs 11 new LCD and Plasma HDMI TV's for mid August? WE DO!!!! The new line of Hitachi LCD & Plasma HDMI screens will start at 26" and go up to 55". Prices are going to be on the 3-6 thousand US range with 5 of the 11 new models having built in 160 GB HDD video recorders. YES!
Archos has a portable DVR??? Yep - to my amazement this portable 100gb wonder can record from any video source you plug it into including TVs, VHS, Computers, etc. The best part? It comes with a TV docking pod so you won't have to plug in all those hookups every time you want to record shows.
This issue of switching over hasbeen banging around a bunch of Slashdot.org as well as this CNET article. Frankly - be confused. What are we all supposed to do when our TVs are not digital? Will they give us converter boxes? Will broadcast be digital only? Who the hell knows?
Today TiVo is launching for a limited time, a $100 instant savings promotional offer on all TiVo Series2 boxes that brings the manufacturer's suggested retail price of a 40 hour box to just $99, the lowest price ever without a TiVo rebate requirement. The promotion ends on August 20, 2005.
What's cooler than a 4 inch widescreen, TFT, 30 GB HD, USB 2.0, Dolby 5.1 Audio, a pirated version of Episode III that comes in the box and so much more? Well - maybe selling one of these state side with no pirated stuff? It's wild what asian countries have for gadgets and what they get away with due to pirating.
If you haven't been watching 30 days then you should be. It's from Morgan Spurlock creator of Super Size Me - which we love over at Fast Food Fever! because that documentary made me want to eat fast food - not stop. The new series on FX has been great with the opener having his girlfriend and himself live on minimum wage for 30 days. Awesome and depressing all at the same time. I really can't but recommend this show.
At FX Network
We are a sucker for the VR headset and TV watching. It looks like someone has decided to pursue this dead trend again in what engadget calls an overpriced attempt. Well at $500 bucks it is a tad overpriced but says it works with first person shooters for Xbox, Playstation, and PC platforms. Should be in stores for Christmas this season.
We know it's coming to DVD but to UMD too? We love the PSP and this might be one of the first UMD collections we buy. Lost has been a stellar TV show this past season. I don't think we were disappointed one time. The UMD collection of Lost should hit the shelves in September.
Those crazy people at TiVo have another deal. Sign up for 12 months and get a refurbised TiVo for Free!
"Just as the summer heats up, here's an unbelievable, limited-time offer to put some sizzle in your living room! Get a FREE factory-renewed 40-hour TIVo Series2™ box with the purchase of a 12 month or product lifetime TiVo service gift-subscription. Buy today and we'll pay for shipping, too—that's an additional $17 savings!"
I need a wall mount LCD projector. I'm pretty sure that if I had this - my life would be complete as well. The new LG AN110 is the world's first wall mounted projector. You'll get a HD picture at 1280x768 resolution and the project is tiny. Other features include a picture with 3000:1 contrast, and a bulb that lasts for 4000 hours.
As most companies lose deals and have to find new ways to make money - TiVo will be no exception. I'm glad they're trying the waters with cable and other markets. They'll have to get out of the way of free DVRs and land in a market where they reign supreme - how about the TiVo experience? If I was TiVo I would license the entire OS and get it rolling - probably not that simple but it seems like the thing to do.
We reported this last week but need to say it again - THE SLINGBOX IS OUT! I can't totally agree with the PVR Blog on their assessment it's for slackers at work, but I guess that's one use. I personally see this as a great alternative for TV at your camp, second house, or even in another room in the house that uses a media pc.
"Engadget is reporting that the Slingbox is out and available from CompUSA and BestBuy for $249. The Slingbox is a device that lets you view recorded content on your network from anywhere in the world, what they call "placeshifting". They made a big splash at CES earlier this year when I got to check it out. It's a cool concept, but I can't think of many uses beyond watching stuff recorded on your home TiVo while sitting at work, which is a killer app for those slacking away at jobs they hate, but not exactly worth $249."
We love portable media players for watching movies and TV. This little number has PDA and other functionality you'd expect in a PDA instead of just letting you watch video. It's even got an FM radio. Nice.
Another TiVo like PVR another day. However this one looks to have all the bells and whistles including a built in DVD Player. The MediaREADY 5000 allows storage/retrieval of audio, picture and video files via its onboard hard drive, connected peripherals (MP3 players, digital cameras, and other USB storage devices) or via personal computers on the same in-home network. In addition, the device features Internet browsing, Email, streaming video and audio, karaoke, games, and media jukebox.
In keeping with our trend this week of all things Slingbox, Gizmag has a stellar article on the new Placeshifting TV appliance.
"The Slingbox allows individuals anywhere-anytime access to their own living room television experience with no additional monthly service fees. In a concept quite similar to Sony's LocationFree TV which enables you to watch your home TV in almost real time from anywhere via the internet, the Slingbox is an appliance which when used in conjunction with broadband turns any Internet-connected laptop or desktop PC into a personal TV, enabling consumers to watch their cable, satellite, or personal video recorder (PVR) programming from wherever they are in the world. If the Slingbox is coupled with a broadband Internet connection, the viewer's live TV stream can be "placeshifted" via the Internet to a PC located anywhere in the world."
Great Weekend Project: Get free HDTV with Outdoor Antenna
Gateway has turned off its televisions. The Irvine, Calif., computer maker, which at one time claimed to be tops among sellers of plasma-screen TVs in the United States, has quietly phased out its plasma-screen and liquid crystal display TV sets in recent weeks in favor of focusing its efforts on PCs.
Want to move your LCD screen anywhere in the house - or just have no cords attached so it's really stunning on that front wall? Well - minus the power cord now you can. 
Beyond TV has released another 
As most companies lose deals and have to find new ways to make money - TiVo will be no exception. I'm glad they're trying the waters with cable and other markets. They'll have to get out of the way of free DVRs and land in a market where they reign supreme - how about the TiVo experience? If I was TiVo I would license the entire OS and get it rolling - probably not that simple but it seems like the thing to do.
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