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HDTV News Blog Archives
(Feb. ‘05 and Older)

Comcast-Sinclair Honeymoon Over

After signing an eleventh-hour pre-Super Bowl agreement to carry local FOX affiliates in HD in six markets, Sinclair Broadcasting late Wednesday terminated carriage of those high-def channels to Comcast cable customers. Comcast’s cable systems in Baltimore, Charleston, Nashville, Pittsburgh, Richmond and Paducah, Ky. were affected. The early Feb. agreement was only temporary and was designed to be re-negotiated after the Super Bowl. The Nashville City Paper reports that those negotiations have broken down and it is unclear when the outstanding issues might be resolved. Posted by Mark Kersey, Feb. 25, 2005 10:11am

HDTV Penetration Higher in Canada Than U.S.

LG Electronics Canada earlier this month commissioned a study that produced some rather surprising results. According to the Ottawa Business Journal, the telephone survey found that 16% of Canadian households have already purchased an HDTV, compared with 10% of their American counterparts. Two-thirds of respondents have heard of HDTV and about 80% have some interest in purchasing one. As in the U.S., a majority of HDTV-owning households do not subscribe to the corresponding HD service from cable or satellite providers. In fact, 58% of Canadians who own an HDTV do not subscribe to HD service, which can most likely be attributed to a lack of HD programming -- particularly Canadian HD content. Posted by Mark Kersey, Feb. 25, 2005 10:05am

ABC to Air UFO Special Tonight in HD

ABC will broadcast “Peter Jennings Reporting: UFOs -- Seeing Is Believing” tonight from 8-10pm EST. According to ABC, this two-hour primetime special reports on the entire scope of the UFO experience — from the first famous sighting by Kenneth Arnold in 1947 to the present day. The program draws on interviews with police officers, pilots, military personnel, scientists and ordinary citizens who give extraordinary accounts of encounters with the unexplained. Also included are the voices of professional skeptics about UFOs, including scientists who are leading the search for life forms beyond Earth elsewhere in the universe. The program explores the facts behind the enduring mystery of the incident at Roswell, N.M., and looks into the strange stories of alien abductions. Posted by Mark Kersey, Feb. 24, 2005 10:55am

Brillian to Re-Start LCOS Shipments

After a several month hiatus due to production issues, Brillian announced this morning that it has signed agreements with regional pilot program retailers to begin shipping its LCOS rear-projection HDTVs again. Cited specifically in the company’s statement were Starin Marketing, a Chicago-based A/V distributor, and AudioNut, a high-end home theater retailer in Phoenix. Brillian produces two LCOS monitors, one offering 720p resolution and the other 1080p. Posted by Mark Kersey, Feb. 24, 2005 10:55am

Humax to Manufacture New DIRECTV HD Receiver

Korean set-top box manufacturer Humax said today that it has inked an agreement with DIRECTV to produce digital set-top boxes for the satellite provider, including the company’s new HD receiver that will be capable of receiving MPEG-4 broadcasts when it ships later this year. Humax is also producing DIRECTV’s new DVR box, which is likewise expected to be available towards the end of ‘05. Posted by Mark Kersey, Feb. 24, 2005 10:51am

VOOM Lost $450 Million in Q4

Now we understand why Cablevision’s board was so eager to cut VOOM loose. The New York-based cable company said yesterday that its fledgling satellite service lost $450 million in the fourth quarter of 2004, negating what would have otherwise been a profitable quarter for Cablevision. Investors sent the company’s stock to a 52-week high on the news, apparently cheering the fact that Cablevision is doing quite well without VOOM. There is also rampant industry speculation that the Dolan family may sell Cablevision to Time Warner in order to finance VOOM’s continued operations now that Chuck Dolan has acquired the remaining VOOM assets from Cablevision. Posted by Mark Kersey, Feb. 24, 2005 10:45am

NHL Promises More HDTV

Although its current season has been cancelled due to labor strife, National Hockey League insiders are saying that a big key to the league’s successful return this fall is a much better use of HDTV technology to showcase the game. However, the AP reports that while NBC and ESPN2 plan HD telecasts of NHL games, ESPN2 has yet to pick up its option for the 2005-06 and 2006-07 seasons. Posted by Mark Kersey, Feb. 24, 2005 10:42am

INHD Seeking Programming Ideas

INHD said yesterday that it is actively courting producers with ideas and concepts for original programming that it can showcase in high-def. As part of its pledge to bring viewers 100 hours of new HD programming every month, INHD will accept submissions from producers through the end of March. Check out www.inhd.com/submissions for more info. Posted by Mark Kersey, Feb. 24, 2005 10:37am

NBA TV to Go 24/7 High-Def, Inks HD Carriage Deals

NBA TV HD will launch a 24-hour, full-time programming schedule this fall with the help of Turner Broadcasting. The network currently carries about 50 games in high-def this season on a part-time basis. Turner’s Atlanta headquarters will serve as the base for NBA TV’s HD integration efforts, with non-game programming continuing to originate from the channel’s New Jersey studios. Turner Broadcasting owns an 11% equity stake in NBA TV.

Multichannel News reports that NBA TV has signed carriage agreements with Buckeye CableSystem and Blue Ridge Communications for both its digital and HD broadcasts. Posted by Mark Kersey, Feb. 24, 2005 10:31am UPDATED Feb. 25, 2005 10:12am

New LCD Player Kriesen Announces Products

Kriesen, a newcomer to the HDTV industry, announced yesterday the debut of its two LCD flat-panel models. The 40-inch unit retails for $3,499 while the 37-inch runs $2,999. Both models are now available for purchase at retailers such as Amazon and Target.

Kriesen buys its LCD panels from Samsung and LG Philips, and will soon offer built-in subwoofers, digital tuners and HDMI with HDCP standard on its LCD flat-panels. Posted by Mark Kersey, Feb. 24, 2005 10:22am

ABC to Air UFO Special Tonight in HD

Brillian to Re-Start LCOS Shipments

Humax to Manufacture New DIRECTV HD Receiver

VOOM Lost $450 Million in Q4

NHL Promises More HDTV

INHD Seeking Programming Ideas

NBA TV Inks HD Carriage Deals

Multichannel News reports that NBA TV has signed carriage agreements with Buckeye CableSystem and Blue Ridge Communications for both its digital and HD broadcasts. NBA TV HD is expected to launch full-time next year and carries about 50 games in high-def this season on a part-time basis. Posted by Mark Kersey, Feb. 24, 2005 10:31am

New LCD Player Kriesen Announces Products

New Developments in DTV Transition Debate

On the governmental/regulatory front, there were several developments this week that could impact the national transition to digital television. On Monday, the FCC proposed modifying the deadline for TV manufacturers to include digital tuners in their televisions. Currently, half of all TVs in the 25- to 36-inch size range must contain digital tuners by July 1st of this year, and all TVs of that size must have them by July 1st of next year. However, the manufacturers (represented by two trade groups, including the Consumer Electronics Association) filed a petition with the FCC last fall asking that the initial deadline of this July 1st be scrapped and replaced with a digital tuner mandate that would apply to all TVs in the 25- to 36-inch size by next March 1st. All TVs larger than 13 inches must include digital tuners by July 1, 2007 -- and there is no indication that the FCC has any intention of modifying that date.

On Wednesday, the chairman of a congressional subcommittee with jurisdiction over DTV said that Congress may intervene if private negotiations between the cable industry and broadcasters do not lead to an agreement on the multi-casting of digital broadcasts. The FCC voted last week not to require cable companies to carry multiple streams of broadcasters’ digital programming, but Multichannel News reports that Congressman Fred Upton (R-Mich.), the chairman of the House Telecommunications and the Internet Subcommittee, told C-SPAN that he wants to see a multi-casting agreement similar to that which was signed last month between the cable industry and the nation’s public broadcasters. Congressman Upton also said that he wants a hard date for the cutoff of broadcasters’ analog signals, rather than waiting until 85% of consumers can view digital programming as is currently the government’s policy.

On Thursday, Congressman Upton and Congressman Joe Barton (R-Tex.), the chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, convened a panel on the DTV transition. Both congressmen want to impose a hard deadline for the digital transition but realize that there are millions of consumers who utilize over-the-air signals rather than cable or satellite and would see their TVs go dark (or at least snowy) if they didn’t purchase digital converters. To that end, the two congressmen proposed a government subsidy of these converters for low-income consumers, which could be funded out of the government’s auction of the analog spectrum it will reclaim from the broadcasters after the cutoff date. The AP reports that a government study has shown that 21 million households rely on over-the-air transmissions, and nearly half of those have income of less than $30,000 a year. Industry representatives told Congressman Barton’s committee Thursday that digital converters would cost around $100 each, putting the price tag for 21 million households at around $2.1 billion. It’s unclear what kind of income caps Congress might impose for the proposed subsidy program. Posted by Mark Kersey, Feb. 18, 2005 10:10am

ESPN Releases HD Schedule for March and April

ESPN unveiled a robust spring programming schedule for ESPN HD and ESPN2 HD with a mix of basketball and baseball, both college and professional. Here are the highlights:

Men’s College Basketball

ACC Conference Tournament
Big East Conference Tournament
Big Ten Conference Tournament
Big 12 Conference Tournament
NIT Semi-finals and Finals

Women’s College Basketball

Big Ten Conference Championship Game
Final Four and National Championship Game

NBA Basketball

15 April telecasts including three doubleheaders and one tripleheader

Major League Baseball

Opening Night and Opening Day games (ESPN2 HD)
Baseball Tonight in HD

Men’s College Hockey

The Frozen Four

Posted by Mark Kersey, Feb. 17, 2005 2:09pm

Many More HD March Madness Games This Year

Harris and CBS said yesterday that 39 games of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament (a.k.a. March Madness) will be broadcast in high-def next month, up dramatically from the 12 that were aired in HD last season. 24 games in HD will be broadcast from the tournament’s first-round sites, and the entire Sweet Sixteen round will be shown in high-def for the first time. For the sixth straight year, CBS will broadcast the Final Four and national championship game in HD. Posted by Mark Kersey, Feb. 16, 2005 11:12am

Comcast Reports 25K CableCARD HDTVs Installed

Multichannel News reports that Comcast said in a filing with the FCC last week that cable subscribers have purchased 25,000 digital televisions equipped with CableCARD capability, and that 12,000 of its own customers have CableCARD-ready HDTVs from a total of 14 manufacturers. Overall, Comcast has deployed more than one million HDTV set-top boxes, so the CableCARD portion of Comcast’s HD customer base is still quite small. Posted by Mark Kersey, Feb. 16, 2005 11:07am

New NY Mets Baseball Net to be HD-Heavy

The new regional sports network of baseball’s New York Mets announced yesterday that it has hired a CEO, former National Hockey League exec Jon Litner. In the release, Sterling Entertainment said that the new network -- which will begin broadcasting next year after the team’s contract with MSG Network expires -- will show all of the Mets’ home games in high-def, as well as select away games. The network is affiliated with Comcast SportsNet, which currently operates regional affiliates in the Baltimore-Washington, D.C. metro, Chicago, Philadelphia and Sacramento.

The San Diego Padres are currently the only professional sports franchise with such a large number of games available in HD. Cox Communications’ Padres Channel 4 last season broadcasted all of the team’s home games at the new Petco Park in high-def, in addition to all the games against National League West division rivals Arizona Diamondbacks, Colorado Rockies, Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants. Posted by Mark Kersey, Feb. 16, 2005 11:02am

Little-Known Brands Pushing Flat Panel Price War

The New York Times ran an interesting piece earlier this week about how upstart flat-panel HDTV manufacturers in Taiwan and South Korea are going after mainstays like Sony and Panasonic by competing solely on price. Eric Taub of the Times notes that these firms’ efforts haven’t really produced results yet, with none of the new brands appearing in top ten lists of product sales or revenue. But given consumers’ professed appetites for all things flat-screen (and plasma in particular), it seems to be only a matter of time before the lesser-known brands start to gain some traction. Posted by Mark Kersey, Feb. 16, 2005 10:56am

Cablevision Spins Off VOOM, But How Long Will It Last?

Cablevision announced late today that it is divesting itself of Rainbow DBS, forming a separate company called VOOM HD, LLC, owned by a group of Cablevision shareholders, including Charles Dolan and Tom Dolan. These shareholders will acquire the business, assets and liabilities of Cablevision's Rainbow DBS satellite business not included in Cablevision's agreement with EchoStar announced in January. As part of the deal, VOOM will assume all of the Rainbow DBS liabilities and is working to secure financing to keep its operations going. In total, VOOM will acquire Cablevision's interest in the VOOM 21 high-definition channels that are currently carried exclusively by Rainbow DBS, various Ka-Band, Ku-Band and MVDDS licenses, the SES Americom lease on the Rainbow 2 satellite, existing customer agreements and other VOOM-related assets.

So what does this mean for VOOM and its customers? Although the company is working to obtain financing to continue its operations, that could be a stop-gap measure designed to see it through to a sale, perhaps to EchoStar. On the other hand, if EchoStar really wanted the VOOM 21 HD channels and VOOM’s 26,000 customers, it could have just purchased them as part of the $200 million transaction in which it is acquiring VOOM’s Rainbow 1 satellite. VOOM could continue as a standalone service, but a track record of 26,000 customers in a year and a half is less than stellar. The skeptic in me finds it hard to see VOOM surviving past 2005, although given the company’s focus on HD programming, I would be more than happy to be proven wrong. Posted by Mark Kersey, Feb. 10, 2005 7:57pm

My Interview with WealthTV’s Charles Herring

Last month I received a tour of the San Diego studio of WealthTV, a new high-definition network that is carried on 8 cable operators in 16 states. Charles Herring, son of the company’s founder, run’s WealthTV’s operations and provided me with some details of WealthTV’s programming and strategy. The elder Herring began his career in the printer circuit board business, which he eventually sold. A couple of years back he came up with the idea for profiling how people (like him) became wealthy, and last year WealthTV was born.

The new network shoots all its programming in high-def but also downconverts it to standard-def for operators who aren’t ready to offer it in HD yet. Some programming highlights:

Wealth on Health -- The company’s crews interview medical professionals in San Diego, Boston and even South America about topics such as stem cell research. The full season runs 13 episodes.
European Getaways -- A 15-episode season of fairly self-explanatory footage from lavish spots in Paris, London and other Euro hotspots.
Wow -- This series profiles high net-worth towns such as Newport Beach and Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.
Live International News -- Airing twice a day, this is a mix of international Reuters feeds with local on-air talent. It’s half an hour live to air with a more global perspective than what you might find on American cable news.
At The Movies -- A weekly program that reviews new release films.

Lest I give the impression that WealthTV is all about rich folk, it also focuses on what Mr. Herring terms “the wealth of knowledge.” There are in-depth profiles of culturally rich places like Sri Lanka, and the network also provides some education such as when it turned a fashion show into a lesson on etiquette. There are also long-form interviews with notable figures such as Robert Wagner and Robert Shapiro.

In terms of large cable system carriage agreements, WealthTV is available to Charter’s L.A. customers and also WideOpenWest, an overbuilder serving Midwestern cities including Chicago, Cleveland, Columbus and Detroit. Mr. Herring says that his company is currently in negotiations with a major satellite DBS provider and will also launch later this year on one of the telcos that is rolling out video services over fiber optic lines. Posted by Mark Kersey, Feb. 10, 2005 7:34pm

HDNet Debuts “Art Mann Presents” Variety Show

HDNet’s new series “Art Mann Presents,” a variety show starring the former co-host of E!’s “Wild On,” will premiere Monday Feb. 14th at midnight. The half-hour weekly will then air on Mondays at 10:30pm. According to HDNet, “The show's premiere episode, “Art Mann Presents: Naked in San Francisco,” is so racy it can't be shown in prime time. Art travels to San Francisco to attend the annual Exotic Erotic Ball.” Posted by Mark Kersey, Feb. 11, 2005 9:03am

Cable Companies Prevail in FCC Multicasting Vote

Multichannel News reports that the FCC voted this morning to reject a proposal from the nation’s TV broadcasters that would have required cable companies to air all of a broadcaster’s digital programming services rather than just the primary channel. The 4-1 vote, with only Commissioner Kevin Martin on the side of the broadcasters, is a major defeat for the NAB, the broadcasting trade group that had heavily pushed for the multicasting requirement.

The fight will now likely move to Congress, where the broadcasters have significantly more support than in the FCC, and the federal court system, which may have the final word. Congress is already beginning to look at rewriting the nation’s telecom laws, which were themselves revised by the 1996 Telecom Act, and multicasting could be part of that rewrite.

The FCC also voted unanimously against a requirement imposing “dual must-carry” on the cable companies, which would force them to carry both the broadcasters’ analog and digital signals during the DTV transition. Posted by Mark Kersey, Feb. 10, 2005 9:54am

ESPN HD Baseball Lineup Opens with Yanks-Red Sox

ESPN unveiled part of its primetime Sunday Night Baseball schedule this morning, which features an Opening Night broadcast of the heated rivalry between the defending World Series champion Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees that will air on ESPN2 HD. Two additional matchups between the American League East rivals will also be shown prior to the All-Star Game in July.

After the Opening Night telecast on April 3rd between the Red Sox and Yanks, the rest of the Sunday Night Baseball games will air on ESPN HD. My guess is that ESPN is showing the first Sox-Yanks showdown on ESPN2 HD to encourage cable and satellite operators to pick up carriage of the new network by then, although that’s merely speculation as the ESPN HD programming schedule for April is not yet available. Posted by Mark Kersey, Feb. 10, 2004 9:45am

UPDATE: An ESPN spokesperson tells me that ESPN HD is showing a doubleheader of the NCAA Women’s basketball semi-finals the night of April 3rd, which is why the Yanks-Sox game is on ESPN2 HD. Posted by Mark Kersey, Feb. 11, 2005 9:01am

INHD Study Shows Appeal of HD Super Bowl Ads

Cable high-def network INHD released results of a survey it commissioned showing that Super Bowl ads airing in high-def were rated higher by viewers than those that were not. Here are the details:

The highest rated ad was a high-definition spot – the Ameriquest ad featuring the romantic dinner gone awry after the cat knocks over the sauce. 89% of viewers rated this ad as either a four or five on a five-point scale. Three of the top 10 highest rated ads were shown in high-definition.
Among ads that viewers said improved their opinion of the brand or company, eight of the top 12 were high-definition spots.
87% of viewers said that watching the game in high-definition increased their enjoyment of watching the commercials. 51% said that it “greatly increased” their enjoyment.
Viewers who watched the game in HD had an average of six other people watching with them. 21% watched with 10 or more people.

Posted by Mark Kersey, Feb. 10, 2005 9:32am

Analysis: Flat-Panel Industry Consolidation Inevitable

The two separate flat-panel shakeups unveiled yesterday were hardly shocking, because after a rush by nearly every consumer electronics manufacturer to get a piece of the plasma or LCD action, reality was bound to set in. The bottom line is that there are too many new manufacturing plants coming online in Asia to sustain the large number of competitors currently in the market. Prices are falling rapidly due to a glut of supply that is quickly outpacing demand. This trend is positive for consumers, HD service providers and the HD networks themselves because it will ultimately hasten the adoption of HDTV. It’s negative for manufacturers, though, because they have yet to recoup their investments in expensive next-generation plants. For retailers, the consequences are mixed, because while falling prices equal lower profit margins, some of that decline can be made up in greater sales volumes.

In many respects, this consolidation really exhibits the effect that the Korean manufacturers are having on the flat-panel display business. Samsung and LG have become extremely aggressive in their marketing and pricing strategy, often undercutting rivals by 30-40% or more. Prevailing sentiment in the industry used to be that the Japanese manufacturers offered significantly better quality products than their Korean counterparts. Those concerns are more illusory than reality today, and the Korean companies have positioned themselves well to compete in a marketplace featuring falling prices. My guess is that the consolidation we’ve seen over the last couple of weeks (that really began with NEC’s selling its plasma business to Pioneer last summer) is only just the beginning. Posted by Mark Kersey, Feb. 9, 2005 9:37am

Comcast Adds CBS HD in Seattle

Comcast said today that it has finally come to terms with Cox Broadcasting for HD carriage of KIRO, the local CBS affiliate in the Seattle/Tacoma DMA. KIRO-DT now appears on Comcast channel 107, which means Seattle area Comcast customers will be able to watch the upcoming Grammy Awards and NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament in HD. Posted by Mark Kersey, Feb. 9, 2005 9:28am

Hitachi, Matsushita Shake Up Plasma Industry

Hitachi and Matsushita announced yesterday that they have inked an agreement to market and develop plasma displays. Terms of the deal cover cross-licensing of technology, co-marketing and standardizing next-generation plasma manufacturing facilities in Japan. This is Hitachi’s second major plasma deal in the last week, having announced an agreement to acquire most of Fujitsu’s stake in the two companies’ joint plasma venture. Once that transaction closes, Hitachi would be the world’s fourth-largest plasma manufacturer, behind Samsung, LG and Matsushita (Panasonic). Posted by Mark Kersey, Feb. 8, 2005 1:28pm

Fujitsu Selling LCD Biz to Sharp

Apparently Fujitsu no longer wants any part of the flat-panel display business. Less than a week after announcing that it was selling most of its stake in Fujitsu-Hitachi Plasma Displays to Hitachi, Fujitsu said Monday that it is exiting the LCD flat-panel business as well by selling its manufacturing, research and sales operations to Sharp. The deal, which should be finalized in March, will enable Sharp to more aggressively compete with rival Samsung, the world’s largest LCD manufacturer. Posted by Mark Kersey, Feb. 8, 2005 1:22pm

Discovery HD to Air Mars Rover Footage

On Feb. 16th at 8pm, Discovery HD Theater will broadcast “Spirit of Exploration” using footage shot in 1080i from inside mission control and from the mission itself as the Mars Rover explored the Red Planet. According to Discovery HD, “Spirit of Exploration” features footage from the Mars Rover missions and the more recent travels of the Cassini-Huygens spacecraft as it slipped through Saturn's rings, providing the first ever detailed images from The Ringed Planet and one of its 33 moons, Titan. Posted by Mark Kersey, Feb. 8, 2005 11:01am

Forget Flowers...She Wants a Plasma

Web marketer Lavalife release survey results today showing that 54% of respondents describe a plasma TV as their ideal Valentine’s Day gift, putting plasmas ahead of the iPod Shuffle (24%) and the Motorola Razr V3 cell phone (14%). I won’t go into details about what the survey says women would be willing to do for a date with Brad Pitt...

This presumably is more of a fun poll than something more scientific, but putting plasmas in the same category as a $99 iPod Shuffle and a few hundred-dollar cell phone hardly seems fair to the iPod or Razr. Who wouldn’t rather have a $5,000 gift than one that goes for $250 or less? Posted by Mark Kersey, Feb. 8, 2005 10:34am

HDNet to Broadcast Mideast Peace Summit

HDNet announced that it will broadcast live from the Egyptian peace summit where Israel and the Palestinian Authority are expected to announce a cease-fire in their long-standing territorial struggles. Coverage is scheduled from 9am to 1pm EST. Posted by Mark Kersey, Feb. 7, 2005 11:11pm

11th Hour FOX HD Carriage Agreements

Sinclair Broadcasting has come to terms with Comcast regarding carriage of local FOX affiliates in high-definition -- just in time for tomorrow’s Super Bowl. Other FOX affiliates and cable companies are also scrambling to negotiate similar agreements. Here’s the latest rundown of carriage deals:

Comcast and Sinclair-owned WZTV FOX-17 in Nashville
Comcast and Sinclair-owned WBFF FOX-45 in Baltimore
Comcast and Sinclair-owned WPGH FOX-53 in Pittsburgh
Comcast and Sinclair-owned WRLH FOX-35 in Richmond, Va.
Comcast and Sinclair-owned WTAT FOX-24 in Charleston, S.C.
Comcast and Sinclair-owned KBSI FOX-23 in Paducah, Ky.
Comcast and FOX O&O WDAF FOX-4 in Kansas City
Time Warner and Raycom-owned WXIX FOX-19 in Cincinnati

Posted by Mark Kersey, Feb. 5, 2005 10:05am

Sinclair Playing Hardball With FOX HD Carriage

The Columbus (OH) Dispatch reports today that football fans in my fair hometown won’t be able to see the Super Bowl in high-def thanks to a dispute between Time Warner Cable and Sinclair Broadcasting over carriage terms for the local FOX affiliate in HD (Sinclair also owns the local ABC affiliate). According to the Dispatch, Sinclair wants Time Warner to pay it 50 cents per HD subscriber for the rights to transmit FOX in HD, a fee that Time Warner says it does not pay any other local broadcaster. Time Warner believes that since local broadcasters utilize free public airwaves to transmit TV programming, it is unreasonable to expect cable companies to pay for those broadcasts.

Sinclair has also been unable to convince smaller cable company Wide Open West to pay for FOX HD, although customers of Insight Communications will be able to see the game under a prior agreement between their cable company and the broadcaster. Sinclair argues that since broadcasting in high-definition costs its stations more money in the form of more expensive equipment, it should be able to recoup some of that investment by imposing subscriber fees on the cable companies that would get passed along to their customers.

As I wrote in this blog on Tuesday, Sinclair is also demanding subscriber fees from the two dominant cable companies in Pittsburgh, Comcast and Adelphia, a dispute that will prevent the vast majority of fans in that football-crazy city from seeing the big game in HD.

I understand the arguments that both sides are making in this dispute, but I also believe that Sinclair may wind up subjecting itself to some fairly intense scrutiny from politicians and regulators if these disputes don’t get resolved soon. No congressman wants to receive thousands of calls from angry constituents upset that they spent thousands of dollars on a new HDTV and were unable to watch the biggest television event of the year in high-def. Posted by Mark Kersey, Feb. 4, 2005 8:51am

Congress Considering Hard DTV Transition Date

A key lawmaker with jurisdiction over the broadcast television industry, Congressman Joe Barton of Texas -- the chairman of the House Commerce Committee -- said this week that he plans to introduce legislation that would set the end of next year as a firm deadline for the nation’s broadcasters to convert to all-digital transmission. The Hollywood Reporter writes that Barton believes as long as there is a “whichever comes later” clause in the DTV transition plans, the transition will never actually occur. (The current plans say that broadcasters must cease using their analog spectrum by the end of 2006 or when 85% of consumers can access digital signals, whichever comes later.)

Barton is confident that he has the votes in both his committee and the full U.S. House of Representatives to pass legislation calling for a hard deadline, but that his bill would face a much tougher road to climb in the Senate.

Incidentally, President Bush’s budget plan would force broadcasters still using analog spectrum after the 2006 deadline to pay $500 million a year for the right to continue utilizing it. The government would like to see a quicker transition to digital broadcasting to free up more analog spectrum that could then be auctioned for billions of dollars to wireless phone companies and others, along with setting aside a portion of it for emergency services. Posted by Mark Kersey, Feb. 4, 2005 8:37am

Comcast Reports One Million HD Set-Top Boxes

Cable giant Comcast said today that it has installed over one million HDTV-capable set-top boxes, more than 800,000 of them in 2004. The company stated that it has seen a 143% increase in the number of HDTVs connected to Comcast HD service in January ‘05 vs. January ‘04. 93% of Comcast’s 22 million customers can get HD programming and in its 62 markets where it offers HD service, an average of 8 to 15 HD channels are available. Posted by Mark Kersey, Feb. 2, 2005 9:30am

CEA: Super Bowl Driving HDTV Sales

If you haven’t gotten enough hype surrounding Sunday’s game, it seems like every press release put out this week regarding HDTV references the Super Bowl. The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) said yesterday that factory-to-dealer sales of digital TV products reached 927,000 in December, up 45% from December ‘03. Furthermore, that figure was up 10% from November ‘04, indicating that retailers were stocking up on HD products in anticipation of a demand increase prior to the Super Bowl.

According to CEA, 7.2 million digital TVs were shipped in 2004, up 75% from the prior year. Posted by Mark Kersey, Feb. 2, 2005 9:25am

Sharp Defies Trend, Reports Healthy LCD Profit

Sharp Electronics reported in its most recent quarterly earnings that profits were up 18% compared to 2003, with LCD TVs responsible for much of the gain. Sales were up 23% in the corporate division that includes Sharp’s LCD TVs. As this space has reported over the last few weeks, other LCD manufacturers such as Samsung and LG.Philips have reported falling prices in what is shaping up to be a serious supply glut following a slew of new manufacturing plants coming online in Asia. Posted by Mark Kersey, Feb. 2, 2005 9:18am

EchoStar to FCC: No Local HDTV Mandate

EchoStar, parent company of the DISH Network satellite service, sent a letter to the FCC yesterday in which it implored the federal agency not to require the company to carry HDTV transmissions of local broadcast networks. Citing bandwidth capacity issues, EchoStar wants to be able to simply transmit the locals in digital standard-definition format rather than HD. According to Multichannel News, the FCC may vote on the issue on Feb. 10th.

EchoStar’s strategy with regards to high-def locals is somewhat tough to figure out. Rival DIRECTV has announced plans to launch HD local channels in the top 12 U.S. markets sometime this year, and while EchoStar did recently agree to spend $200 million to acquire VOOM’s satellites, it’s not clear whether it plans to use them to offer high-def locals or some other kind of HD programming.

As I’ve written about previous EchoStar filings with the FCC, the message seems to be that if DIRECTV wants to invest in the satellite capacity to launch HD channels, fine, but that the FCC should not require DISH to do likewise. And maybe EchoStar is right. Maybe the FCC should let the market decide how important local HD channels are. If DISH chooses not to carry them but their customers really want them, they can always switch to DIRECTV or their local cable provider (assuming that they can get cable service and their cable company offers HD programming). If it’s not that big a deal to them, their customers will stick with DISH. Doesn’t seem entirely unreasonable to me. Posted by Mark Kersey, Feb. 2, 2005 9:12am

Hitachi to Acquire Most of Fujitsu’s Stake in Fujitsu Hitachi Plasma Display

Hitachi said in a release last night that it has reached an agreement to acquire the bulk of Fujitsu’s stake in their plasma joint venture, Fujitsu Hitachi Plasma Display (FHP). Hitachi will also acquire all of Fujitsu’s plasma display technology patents at the end of March of this year. The plama display manufacturing venture, which was formed in 1999, will then become a consolidated subsidiary of Hitachi. After the transaction closes in April, Hitachi will own 80.1% of FHP, leaving Fujitsu with 19.9%.

Fujitsu is reportedly reducing its stake in the plasma venture so that it can focus on its more profitable semiconductor operations. Posted by Mark Kersey, Feb. 2, 2005 9:07am

HDNet to Air Ted Turner Speech

Continuing the flurry of dueling programming announcements between rivals HDNet and INHD this week, the former said this morning that it will air media mogul Ted Turner’s speech at the National Association for Television Programming Executives (NATPE) annual conference in Las Vegas last week. In his remarks, Turner compares Fox News to Adolf Hitler and says his decision to sell Turner Network Group to Time Warner was “the biggest mistake” he’s ever made. The speech will air this Sunday at 8pm EST. Posted by Mark Kersey, Feb. 2, 2005 9:04am

INHD to Broadcast E! Coverage of Awards Shows

INHD announced Tuesday that it will air 16 hours of HD programming from E!’s live coverage of the 2005 Academy Awards (Feb. 27th), Grammy Awards (Feb. 13th) and SAG Awards (Feb. 5th). Posted by Mark Kersey, Feb. 2, 2005 9:00am

Adelphia Launches FOX HD in San Diego

I haven’t seen an official announcement from the company, but tonight I discovered that Adelphia now offers the local FOX affiliate XETV in high-def in North San Diego County. Kudos to the Adelphia folks for understanding that the Super Bowl is the biggest television event of the year and that their customers who have shelled out thousands for HDTVs want to be able to watch the big game in high-def.

I’m guessing “The O.C.” will look much better in HD, too... Posted by Mark Kersey, Feb. 1, 2005 9:03pm

Showtime Renews Carriage Deal With Mediacom

Showtime and tier-two cable company Mediacom have reached an agreement to renew the latter’s carriage of Showtime HD and The Movie Channel HD. Both are currently available in markets where Mediacom has launched HD service. Posted by Mark Kersey, Feb. 1, 2005 2:11pm

Public Television & Cable Industry Reach Deal on Multicasting

The Association of Public Television Stations (APTS) and the National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA) said today that they have signed an agreement concerning the distribution of digital programming through a process known as multicasting. It essentially calls for all cable companies that offer HDTV service to carry up to four streams of public television’s digital content while the broadcasters are still utilizing both analog and digital spectrum. After the digital transition is completed, the cable companies agree to carry each local must-carry public television station, which can include up to four streams of digital content.

This agreement follows the model that certain public TV stations use currently, such as the New Jersey Network, which broadcasts five different digital channels that are carried on cable.

Multicasting has become a hot-button issue between the broadcasters and the cable industry, and is a topic about which I’ve written previously. The FCC is undoubtedly cheering this agreement, as a nasty fight between broadcasters and cablers has seemed all but inevitable for some time. With any luck, the commercial TV broadcasters will be able to follow in the footsteps of their public TV counterparts and negotiate a mutually-beneficial settlement before the government steps in and hands down a verdict that could wind up pleasing no one. Posted by Mark Kersey, Jan. 31, 2005 11:19pm

Pittsburgh Football Fans to be Shut Out of HD Super Bowl (Again)?

Bob Smizik of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writes today that Armstrong Cable has come to an agreement with Sinclair Broadcasting, the owner of the local FOX affiliate, for carriage of FOX in time for Sunday’s Super Bowl. Unfortunately for Pittsburghians(?), Armstrong is the smallest of the three cable operators serving Western Pennsylvania. Comcast and Adelphia dominate the region, and neither has yet reached agreement with Sinclair for FOX 53 (WPGH). Coming on the heels of their beloved Steelers losing the AFC Championship Game a week ago, missing the Big Game in high-def may not mean much to some Pittsburgh residents. To others, it will likely seem like rubbing salt in the wound. Posted by Mark Kersey, Jan. 31, 2005 11:09pm

Outdoor Life Network Preparing HD On Demand

Multichannel News reports that the Outdoor Life Network (OLN) is developing three on demand networks, one of which will be in high-definition using content from OLN HD, which is set to launch in the fourth quarter of this year. Programming will be free of charge to customers of cable companies that carry OLN on expanded basic programming tiers. OLN HD will compete with the Outdoor Channel 2 HD, which should hit the airwaves sometime in October. Posted by Mark Kersey, Jan. 31, 2005 11:03pm

INHD Showcasing IMAX on Super Bowl Sunday

INHD announced today that it will be airing over 20 IMAX films in high-def beginning this Sunday, Feb. 6th at 7am EST. Titles include “Journey Into Amazing Caves,” “Tropical Rainforest” and “India: Kingdom of the Tiger.” Posted by Mark Kersey, Jan. 31, 2005 10:58pm

High-Def News in Cleveland

Interesting piece in the Cleveland Plain Dealer today about what is one of the country’s first forays into HD local news. The station is WJW, the local FOX affiliate. Posted by Mark Kersey, Jan. 31, 2005 10:55pm

HDNet to Show Live Coverage of Iraqi Election

HDNet said this morning that it will broadcast live from Iraq in the days leading up to the country’s elections on Jan. 30th. Using what it says is its one-of-a-kind flyaway HD uplink, a transportable satellite uplink built and designed by HDNet and connected to a high-definition camera overlooking the city, HDNet will be sending a live continuous, uninterrupted feed to U.S viewers for eight hours each day, from 2:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. ET (10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. in Baghdad), on Saturday, Jan. 29th and Sunday, January 30th, the day of the elections. In addition, HDNet will also show taped reports from Iraq, produced by the HDNet World Report team. Posted by Mark Kersey, Jan. 28, 2005 10:58am

INHD Announces 3 New Series in High-Def

INHD announced yesterday that it is developing three new original series that will debut this year. They are:

Zero Gravity (working title)
A new way to get high.

An HD odyssey into the race to commercialize space travel. Come along for the ride with the rocketeers and modern space-ship builders in their quest for the stars and the experience of a lifetime.

20 Minutes to Curtain (working title)
Get behind the “Lights! Camera! Action!” – FOR REAL.

Nerves, egos, sound checks, celebs. Go behind the scenes and see what goes into planning the world’s biggest spectacles including The Super Bowl Halftime Show, The Academy Awards^®, NYC Fashion Week, The Warped Tour and even The Presidential Inauguration. See what you’ve been missing.

Chasing Greatness (working title)
Doesn’t Everyone Want Just a Little Immortality?

Follow those who won’t take no for an answer as they attempt to shatter world records and milestones: scaling Mt. Rainier in record time; swimming the English Channel faster than anyone ever has; shattering the world record in the triathlon. Join the Chase this Fall.

Posted by Mark Kersey, Jan. 28, 2005 10:53am

More FOX HD Cable Coverage for Super Bowl

Following up on a story I wrote about on Tuesday, Comcast and KTVU, the local FOX affiliate in the San Francisco Bay Area, announced that they have reached agreement for FOX HD on Comcast’s cable system serving San Francisco, San Jose, Oakland and surrounding areas. According to the San Jose Mercury News, KTVU will be available tonight at 8pm on channel 702.

On a smaller scale, Insight cable has inked a carriage agreement with FOX affiliate WXIX in Northern Kentucky for HD carriage. Interesting, the larger Time Warner Cable system in the area -- which serves Cincinnati across the Ohio River -- does not yet have an agreement for WXIX FOX in HD. 9 days and counting... Posted by Mark Kersey, Jan. 27, 2005 12:10pm

Cable Companies May Be Exempted from Multicasting

Multichannel News and USA Today are reporting that the FCC is leaning against a petition by the nation’s broadcasters that cable companies be required to transmit all of a local network’s digital feeds, a process known as multicasting. The debate is rooted in the larger bandwidth capacity of digital signals as compared to analog, which the broadcasters are starting to fill with digital channels dedicated to local weather, children’s programming and continuous news. Broadcasters believe that cable companies should be required to carry all of these digital channels through their cable systems to subscribers, but the cable companies feel such a requirement would be onerous. FCC head Michael Powell (who recently announced his impending resignation) along with a majority of the commission are apparently favoring the cable industry’s position, although an official ruling won’t come until next month.

According to USA Today, more than one-quarter of the nation’s 1,700 broadcasters are currently multicasting. Posted by Mark Kersey, Jan. 27, 2005 12:05pm

Usher Concert to be Part of Free Showtime Preview Weekend

SHOWTIME said today that the upcoming Usher concert that will be presented in HD live from San Juan, Puerto Rico on Sat. March 5 will be part of a SHOWTIME free-preview weekend March 4-7. Presumably if you have an HD box from your cable company but don’t yet subscribe to SHOWTIME, you’ll be able to get SHO HD free that weekend. Posted by Mark Kersey, Jan. 27, 2005 11:57am

Mediacom Inks Deal for HBO & Cinemax HD

Mediacom, a second-tier cable company serving mid-size markets like Columbia, Missouri, announced yesterday that it has signed a long-term carriage agreement with HBO for HBO HD and Cinemax HD. According to the release, 75% of HBO’s regular daily programming is available in high-def on HBO HD, compared to 70% for Cinemax. Posted by Mark Kersey, Jan. 27, 2005 11:41am

Scripps Planning HD Network Focused on Lifestyle

I missed this when it came out about a month ago, but the talented Daisy Whitney of TV Week reported in mid-December that Scripps Networks is planning a late ‘05 or early ‘06 launch of a new high-def network that will take the best content from Scripps-owned HGTV, Food Network, Fine Living and DIY Network. Scripps has already begun shooting certain programs in HD despite not having a network on which to showcase them and currently has about 25 hours of high-def content. The company plans to shoot an additional 300 to 400 hours of HD programming this year before the new network launches. Scripps execs say that it costs about 20% to 30% more to produce content in HD, which is less than they had feared.

The new Scripps HD network hasn’t yet been named, but it will retain the four individual brands of the networks from which the content originates. Programs that are slated to air in HD are:

“Extreme Homes of Europe” (HGTV)
“My First Space” (new - HGTV)
“Small Space, Big Style” (new - HGTV)
“Off Beat America” (new - HGTV)
“America’s Dream 18” (Fine Living)
“Italian Holiday” (Food Network)
“Fly Fishing Yellowstone” (DIY)

I think Scripps might be on to something. When I told my wife -- a big HGTV fan -- about this new HD network, she said “sounds like my kind of channel.” Looks like there may be a little less high-def sports action in my living room next year...

UPDATE: This post originally credited Broadcasting & Cable, rather than TV Week, as the source of the Scripps HD story. My apologies to Daisy W. and thanks to Clint S. for pointing this out!

Posted by Mark Kersey, Jan. 25, 2005 7:31pm

TI Reports DLP Results for Q4

Texas Instruments reported in its fourth quarter earnings today that DLP product revenue was up 79% in ‘04 from the prior year. Key DLP customers shipping new products include Samsung, Mitsubishi, LG and RCA. Posted by Mark Kersey, Jan. 25, 2005 7:06pm

Comcast Working to Get Super Bowl in HD for San Francisco Bay Area Customers

The San Jose Mercury News’ John Ryan reports in his Morning Buzz piece that Comcast in the Bay Area region of San Francisco and San Jose is negotiating with the local FOX affiliate KTVU to secure carriage rights prior to the Super Bowl on Feb. 6th (the big game is on FOX this year after being shown by CBS in ‘04). While both sides say that complex issues are at stake, Ryan says he knows of three: “cash, jack and moolah.”

BuyingHDTV.com’s study of HD channel availability on cable systems around the country shows that FOX is carried in high-def by 88% of the cable companies in the top 25 U.S. markets, compared to 98% for NBC, 92% for ABC and 88% for CBS. It’ll be interesting to see how many cable operators are able to secure carriage agreements with the local FOX affiliates in the 13 remaining days before the Super Bowl in Jacksonville. The ones who don’t will likely face some very angry customers. Posted by Mark Kersey, Jan. 24, 2005 4:49pm

Panasonic: Women Dig Plasmas

Panasonic released the results of a study it commissioned showing that 46% of women surveyed would throw a Super Bowl party if they had a plasma TV to show off. Women would prefer a sports-related party to one celebrating the release of a new DVD (32%) or an awards show like the Academy Awards (4%). Additionally, more than three-quarters of women in the study said that having a plasma would make watching sporting events more fun and exciting.

This is just the latest study showing that the Wife Acceptance Factor (WAF) is a crucial aspect of marketing HDTVs, particularly flat-panel displays like plasma and LCD.

The message here apparently is guys, if you’re plasma shopping, take your wife with you. Posted by Mark Kersey, Jan. 24, 2005 4:44pm

INHD to Broadcast Arena Football

INHD said today that it has signed a two-year contract with the Arena Football League to air a minimum of 15 games in high-def. The first game will be January 28th featuring the Arizona Rattlers versus the Grand Rapids Rampage. Posted by Mark Kersey, Jan. 24, 2005 4:39pm

LG.Philips Latest to Report Falling LCD Prices

In what has become a familiar refrain from LCD flat-panel manufacturers over the last two weeks, LG.Philips LCD reported today that its quarterly profits fell a whopping 94% from the previous period. According to the company, LCD prices fell 20% in the quarter and will continue to decline in the first quarter, although at a slower rate. The joint venture between the electronics manufacturing giants is the second-largest producer of LCD panels in the world, behind Samsung Electronics. Posted by Mark Kersey, Jan. 24, 2005 4:31pm

EchoStar Acquires VOOM Satellite Assets

EchoStar announced late this afternoon that it has acquired the Rainbow 1 satellite system from Cablevision subsidiary Rainbow DBS for $200 million. No official word on what will happen to VOOM’s 26,000 customers. Here’s the official statement:

“EchoStar Communications Corporation announced today that it has agreed to purchase certain satellite assets from Rainbow DBS Co., a subsidiary of Cablevision Systems Corporation, for $200 million.

Specifically, EchoStar has agreed to purchase Rainbow 1, a direct broadcast satellite (DBS) located at 61.5 degrees West Longitude, together with the rights to 11 DBS frequencies at that location. The satellite includes 13 frequencies, up to 12 of which can be operated in "spot beam" mode.

The EchoStar III satellite also located at 61.5 degrees West Longitude broadcasts DISH Network TV programming to hundreds of thousands of consumers today using DBS spectrum controlled by EchoStar at that location. EchoStar is assessing how the Rainbow satellite's flexibility can best be utilized to enhance DISH Network's existing service. Also, as part of the transaction with Cablevision, EchoStar will acquire ground facilities and related assets in Black Hawk, S.D. The transaction is subject to review by the Federal Communications Commission and other regulatory agencies.”

Posted by Mark Kersey, Jan. 20, 2005 6:07pm

RCA Lowers Price of Thin DLPs

I missed this one at CES, but RCA announced in Las Vegas that it has lowered the suggested retail price of its 61” Scenium wall-mountable DLP rear-projection HDTV from $9,999 to $6,999. Additionally, it is launching a new 50” version of the same DLP for an MSRP of $4,999. Both models are less than 7 inches thick and are designed to compete with plasma and LCD flat-panel displays. The product line won a “Best of Innovations” award at this year’s CES. Posted by Mark Kersey, Jan. 20, 2005 2:08pm

Wineguard Intros New Indoor OTA Antennas

Wineguard announced at CES the introduction of its new SharpShooter line of indoor over-the-air antennas designed for metropolitan and suburban customers whose line of sight to the digital signal transmission tower is blocked. According to Wineguard, the SharpShooter allows the customer or installer to aim the antenna properly to choose the cleanest reflected digital signal off a wall in the room or a building across the street. This is made possible by the SharpShooter’s ability to selectively look at each bounced multi-path signal, one at a time and by design, reject all unwanted multi-path signals.

The SharpShooter is about 27 inches wide and has a transmission range of 30 miles. Posted by Mark Kersey, Jan. 20, 2005 2:04pm

GRAMMY Awards to Air in HD on Feb. 13th

The Grammys will once again air in high-def this year, with the music awards show being broadcast on Feb. 13th on CBS. Queen Latifah will be the host, while U2, Green Day, Tim McGraw and Alicia Keyes will perform. Posted by Mark Kersey, Jan. 20, 2005 1:59pm

For Sale: VOOM

The New York Tmes reports this morning that Cablevision CEO James Dolan prevailed in an intra-family dispute over the future of VOOM, persuading Cablevision’s board to put the upstart satellite provider up for sale. VOOM has long been the pet project of James’ father Chuck, who is Cablevision’s chairman and founder, and in a spin-off plan that was shelved late last year, James’ brother Thomas was to have become VOOM’s CEO. According to the NYT, James was able to persuade the board’s outside directors (that is, those with a last name other than Dolan or not otherwise close to the family patriarch) that the losses incurred by VOOM over the last year no longer warrant keeping the satellite company afloat with Cablevision dollars. The full story is here.

So what does this mean for VOOM? A sale to DIRECTV seems unlikely given the company’s recent launch of two new satellites and plans for two more by 2007, thereby dramatically increasing available bandwidth for new HD channels. That leaves EchoStar, whose DISH Network service could make better use of VOOM’s orbital slots. However, given that EchoStar could be the only interested buyer (and even its interest is somewhat muted), it seems unlikely that Cablevision will be able to come close to recouping its investment in VOOM. No word on what would happen to VOOM’s existing 26,000 customers, but they would likely get absorbed into the operations of the acquiring company. Cablevision did not issue a formal statement following yesterday’s board decision. Posted by Mark Kersey, Jan. 19, 2005 11:11am

EchoStar, DIRECTV Dueling Over HD Locals

EchoStar, parent company of the DISH Network satellite service, filed a brief with the FCC regarding rival DIRECTV’s plans to introduce HD local channels over its satellite system later this year. In the filing, EchoStar said the FCC should be “skeptical” of DIRECTV’s plans because, among other things, the Ka-band satellites it plans to utilize for the HD locals are subject to rain fade in large parts of the U.S. and are unproven for the type of program delivery DIRECTV has announced.

EchoStar also attempted to persuade the FCC that mandating HD local channel carriage by satellite operators is unwise and may result in other channels being bumped from customers’ lineups.

Although EchoStar and DIRECTV compete head-to-head in the satellite TV business, the former’s assault against the latter is interesting given that their real enemy are the cable companies. The message behind Echo’s filing seems to be that if DIRECTV wants to invest in the satellite capacity to launch HD channels, fine, but that the FCC should not require DISH to do likewise. My prediction: if DISH doesn’t devise a better strategy for offering HD locals around the country, it will suffer a tremendous number of subscriber defections over time as more of its customers make the switch to HD. DISH already lags DIRECTV in signing carriage agreements for owned and operated local networks, as DIRECTV has such deals with each of the big four (ABC, CBS, NBC and FOX), while DISH only has come to terms with CBS. Posted by Mark Kersey, Jan. 19, 2005 11:05am

HDNet to Broadast First NASCAR Race on Jan. 30

HDNet said this week that it will broadcast the first NASCAR race of the 2005 season from the Phoenix on Jan. 30th at 5:30pm EST. According to HDNet, coverage of "NASCAR Grand National Division on HDNet: From Phoenix International Raceway," hosted by the HDNet broadcast team of Rick Benjamin, Pat Patterson and Kandace Krueger, will include the "United Rentals 100" NASCAR Grand National Division, West Series race as well as the "Copper World Classic 75" NASCAR AutoZone Elite Division, Southwest Series race. The Grand National Division race will feature some of the most skilled drivers from the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series, including Kenny Schrader and Kevin Harvick. Posted by Mark Kersey, Jan. 19, 2005 11:01am

Time Warner Rolling Out HD Video On Demand

Time Warner has made HD On Demand service available in some of its markets including San Diego and Minneapolis, and will roll it out shortly in others such as Cincinnati. I don’t have a lot of details yet, but apparently movies such as Shrek 2 are available for $3.95 each. Will post more info as I get it (if anyone knows more, please e-mail me). Posted by Mark Kersey, Jan. 18, 2005 12:14pm

Cablevision’s Board Meeting Today to Discuss Fate of VOOM

The Wall Street Journal reports that the board of directors of Cablevision, parent company of VOOM, is meeting today to debate what to do about their flailing satellite provider. The Journal’s Peter Grant and Martin Peers write that Cablevision’s chairman and founder, Chuck Dolan (who also started HBO), wants to keep VOOM going, while his son James -- Cablevision’s CEO -- believes it’s time to either shut VOOM down or sell it off. According to the WSJ, son James has the support of a majority of Cablevision’s 14-person board, but the elder Dolan retains heavy influence over the group. Company insiders said that it is not clear that the meeting today will actually result in a decision or will merely continue the debate.

Wall Street analysts have sided with the younger Dolan in this dispute for quite some time, believing VOOM to be a drain on Cablevision’s stock price. VOOM ended the third quarter of ‘04 with just 26,000 subscribers and posted a loss of $75 million in the period. Cablevision’s stock has rallied in the past when various developments surfaced indicating that the end of VOOM was near, but the share price today is down 45 cents. Posted by Mark Kersey, Jan. 18, 2005 10:47am

HDNet Celebrates MLK Day with Black College Football

HDNet is showing today’s HBCU All-Star Classic college football game in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Coverage begins at 4:30pm EST and kickoff is at 5pm. The game was created with the goal of raising the profile of top NFL prospects from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and employs an East vs. West format. 96 NFL prospects from 44 HBCUs will compete, with coaching staffs consisting of current and retired NFL players and coaches. Posted by Mark Kersey, Jan. 17, 2005 12:59pm

Sony LCDs Selling Briskly, But Problems Elsewhere

Sony reported last week that sales in its TV Group were disappointing in the fourth quarter, largely due to CRT and plasma price declines. LCD sales exceeded expectations (some model lines were sold out of inventory), but the costs of both sales and manufacturing continued to weigh on the division. In an interview with Reuters, Sony TV Group president Makoto Kogure said that his company’s joint LCD venture with Samsung Electronics should help with LCD costs, as Sony currently buys LCD panels from third-party suppliers and then assembles its LCD TVs. Sony claims to have 26% of the domestic flat-panel market in December, but came up short in meeting its goal of 35%. The company also said it owns 50% of the U.S. microdisplay RPT category, up from 37% a year ago. Posted by Mark Kersey, Jan. 17, 2005 12:51pm

Samsung Sees LCD Demand Decline

Samsung Electronics said on Friday that sales of LCD flat-panel displays were weaker than expected in the most recent quarter, due primarily to a supply glut that resulted in a 10% decline in prices. The company, however, predicts that prices will recover, perhaps as quickly as next quarter, and believes that its LCD fortunes will improve once its S.LCD joint venture with Sony comes online later this year. Posted by Mark Kersey, Jan. 17, 2005 12:48pm

Sharp to Put Another $1.5 Billion into LCDs

Sharp said last week that it is investing $1.5 billion into a new LCD flat-panel manufacturing plant in Kameyama City, Japan that will focus on panels that are 40+ inches. Sharp will begin building the new facility this summer and new flat-panels are expected to be in production by October ‘06. Sharp said in a release that the new plant will produce eight 40-inch panels or six 50-inch panels per substrate sheet, with a capacity of 15,000 substrate sheets per month.

Incidentally, I was amused by CNET’s take on the announcement: “LCDs tend to have better screen quality than plasma TVs but are generatlly more expensive in the 40-inch and bigger sizes.” I love it when the media reports opinions (like LCD picture quality vis-a-vis plasma) as though they are facts. I happen to prefer plasma to LCD flat-panel, but that is my opinion. Others prefer LCD, which I respect. However, for anyone to state unequivocally that one of the technologies offers better screen quality than the other is downright misleading. Posted by Mark Kersey, Jan. 17, 2005 12:45pm

Comcast Study: Super Bowl Fans Want Their HDTV

Comcast published the results of a study it commissioned on Friday showing that Super Bowl fans increasingly consider HDTV a key factor in choosing where they will watch the big game. According to the study, the importance of watching the game in HD is almost as important as the food that’s served (34% vs. 37% of respondents rating critical elements of the Super Bowl experience). Fans listed the game (33%), the halftime show (25%) and instant replays (17%) as the things they most looked forward to watching in high-def. Men placed cheerleaders second (21%), only after the game itself (38%), while women preferred the halftime show (37%) more than the game (28%).

Comcast repeated its mistake of an earlier press release in stating that 1080i resolution is better for big screens than 720p, apparently forgetting that plasmas, LCD flat-panels and DLPs are all optimized for progressive scan resolution. Posted by Mark Kersey, Jan. 17, 2005 12:38pm

CES RECAP

CES was a great experience for technophiles like myself and I hope that some of you were able to attend. Here are some of the more noteworthy new product launches and developments that were announced in Las Vegas this year. Posted by Mark Kersey, Jan. 10, 2005 3:43pm UPDATED Jan. 11, 4:20pm

DIRECTV to Offer HD Locals in 12 Markets by End of Year; Adds ABC in O&O Markets

DIRECTV said on Thursday that it will offer local channels in high-definition to subscribers in the top 12 U.S. markets in the second half of this year. The new channels are made possible by the deployment of Spaceway 1 and 2, the company’s newest satellites in orbit. The first 12 markets to receive the high-def locals are: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Boston, San Francisco, Dallas, Washington D.C., Atlanta, Detroit, Houston and Tampa. According to DIRECTV, these 12 DMAs represent nearly 36 million homes or one-third of all U.S. TV households.

DIRECTV also demonstrated the first live satellite HD transmission of MPEG-4 programming. MPEG-4 offers great compression technology than the current generation of MPEG-2, which combined with the launch of two additional DIRECTV satellites will enable the company to offer 1,500 local and 150 national HD channels by the end of 2007.

The company also announced earlier in the week that it was adding the national HD feeds of the ABC network for subscribers who live in ABC owned and operated (O&O) markets. Those markets are: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Houston, San Francisco, Raleigh-Durham, Fresno, Flint and Toledo.

Incidentally, DIRECTV debuted its homegrown DVR service courtesy of News Corp. sister company NDS, but the new DVR does NOT record in high-def.

Sharp Ups Ante in LCD Flat-Panel Battle

Sharp Electronics rolled out a mammoth 65-inch LCD flat-panel AQUOS LC-HDTV at CES, which it claims is the world’s largest. Pricing and availability have not yet been determined, but the giant LCDs were shown in both titanium and piano-black finishes and also come with a CableCard slot.

Sharp also announced its first foray into rear-projection HDTVs with its 56- and 65-inch DLPs (models 56DR650 and 65DR650). They offer 150-degree viewing angles, a 1200:1 contrast ratio and built-in digital tuners. The 56-incher will be available in March for an MSRP of $3,299.95 and the 65-inch model will be available in May for $3,799.95.

DISH Network Intros LCD Flat-Panels, New HD-DVR

EchoStar used CES to unveil its new LCD flat-panel HDTVs bundled with DISH Network HD satellite dish, receiver and installation. DISH’s 30-inch LCD bundle costs $1,599 while the 40-inch goes for $3,999. Both offer detachable speakers, although it is unclear at this point which OEM EchoStar is using for the DISH-branded LCDs. New DISH customers can also recieve six free months of the HD Pak that includes ESPN HD, Discovery HD Theater, HDNet, HDNet Movies and TNT HD.

DISH Network also showed off its new DISH Player-DVR 942 set-top box that enables multi-room high-definition digital video recording. The 942 replaces the much maligned 921 HD-DVR that was plagued with technical glitches, and contains a 250 GB hard drive that can record up to 25 hours of HD content. Its dual-tuner allows for the ability to view independent programs -- one in high-def and one in standard-def -- on two TVs at the same time. The 942 will be available in the first quarter and will carry an MSRP of $749.

ESPN2 HD Launches

ESPN officially took the wraps off of ESPN2 HD, the network’s second high-def channel, with a tripleheader broadcast of college basketball last Thursday. According to the company, it has carriage deals with DIRECTV and Adelphia, although I’ve found no evidence that either company has actually launched ESPN2 HD yet. (DIRECTV reps at CES couldn’t tell me when the new channel would go live on their system.) ESPN HD and ESPN2 HD will offer 82 total live events in high-def during the first 83 days of this year.

Samsung, LG Debut 1080p DLPs

Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics each had 1080p DLP HDTVs on display at the Texas Instruments DLP technology exhibit. LG showed off its 62-inch digital cable-ready 62SY2D with a native resolution of 1920x1080p that features a 120-watt bulb for brighter images. Samsung exhibited its new 56-inch HLP5688W that will be available for purchase in February or March at an MSRP of $5,200. Samsung’s new DLP also is digital cable-ready via CableCard technology and boasts a 3000:1 contrast ratio to go with its 1920x1080p resolution. It features a pedestal base that eliminates the need for a separate stand.

Other manufacturers unveiled new DLP HDTVs including InFocus, Mitsubishi, Optoma, Panasonic, SIM2, Thomson/RCA and Toshiba. Most utilize TI’s HD2+ DLP chip that produces 720 progressive lines of resolution.

Interestingly, LG also makes a 1080p 71-inch LCoS rear-projection HDTV that should be available this summer.

Pioneer Intros New Plasmas with First Surface Pure Color Filter Technology

Pioneer’s 2005 lineup of plasma displays includes four models that utilize the company’s First Surface Pure Color Filter technology to vastly improves brightness and picture quality. To demonstrate the advantages of its new screen technology, Pioneer showed a plasma with its screen divided in half, one half using the company’s traditional screens and the other using the First Surface Pure Color Filter. The latter was markedly brighter and sharper, offering a noticeable improvement in picture quality. For ‘05, Pioneer is offering 43- and 50-inch versions of two models, a single-body style that has all the audio/video inputs built in to the display and one that retains the company’s traditional external media receiver to handle the processing and connections. There is no price difference between the two display styles.

Mitsubishi, LG Show Off HDTVs With Built-In DVR

Mitsubishi teamed up with Dolby Digital to incorporate an HD-DVR into its WD-62825 Diamond DLP HDTV. The unit comes with a 120 GB hard drive that records up to 12 hours in high-def and up to 72 hours of standard definition programming. External storage can be attached via IEEE 1394 (Firewire).

LG Electronics displayed all nine of its plasmas in its exhibit, with the highlights being its 71-inch monster with 1920x1080p resolution (retail: $70,000) and two models with built-in high-definition DVRs. The 50- and 60-inch units (models 50PY2DR and 60PY2DR) both come with a 160 GB hard drive DVR that utilizes TV Guide On Screen for its programming functions. They are both digital cable-ready via CableCard and boast 5000:1 contrast ratio, and come with an included 9-in-2 multi memory card reader. Retail availability is set for March.

Digeo Set to Roll Out Upgraded Moxi HD-DVR

Digeo occupied space in the Motorola exhibit where it showed off the enhanced version of its Motorola-built, Moxi-powered HD-DVR. The new device allows for multi-room networking via the use of clients in other rooms that connect to the main set-top box. The upgraded set-top has a 160 GB hard drive (the current generation has half that), which should allow for 15-20 hours of high-def recording. Some of the software glitches that I detailed in my Dec. 22nd review are in the process of being fixed as well. No word yet on when my cable company -- Adelphia -- will make the new Motorola/Moxi set-top box available to customers.

Samsung Inks 2-Way Accords with Time Warner Cable, Charter

Samsung announced that it has signed separate agreements with Time Warner Cable and Charter Communications to begin writing specifications for developing two-way digital cable consumer devices. The agreements are based on the CableLabs Open Cable Applications Platform (OCAP) standard, with the Charter partnership specifically utilizing XHT, a home networking technology that incorporates the use of Firewire/IEEE 1394. The current generation of CableCards is based on OCAP and came about as a result of Plug & Play agreements between consumer electronics manufacturers and the cable industry.

CableCard is a technology that eliminates the need for a separate high-def cable set-top box by using a credit-card sized digital decoder that gets inserted directly into a slot on the television’s back side. Some consumer electronics watchers believe that the cable industry is dragging its feet in making consumers aware of CableCard technology because the current generation is uni-directional, meaning that advanced services such as video on demand cannot be utilized. Talks between the CE industry and cable companies on the development of two-way CableCard technology have been slow to produce any real breakthroughs.

Scientific-Atlanta Unveils Multi-Room HD-DVR with DVD Recorder

Set-top box manufacturer Scientific-Atlanta provided me with a briefing and demonstration of its new Explorer 8300 multi-room high-def DVR that also will soon contain a DVD recorder for content portability. One interesting fact about the 8300’s multi-room set up is that it enables cable providers to utilize older SA set-top boxes as slave client devices in peripheral rooms running off of the master 8300 box in the living room. External hard-drives can also be added to the 8300 MR-DVR for additional storage capacity. The Minneapolis division of Time Warner Cable has already begun deploying the 8300, with other cable systems expected to follow in the coming months. DVD recording functionality will be added later this year with built-in copy protection for content providers.

SA also showed off an HDTV retail demonstration that enables cable providers to better compete with satellite rivals in the retail channel. The essence of this retail solution is an SA HD-DVR to which cable companies can record high-def programming for display on HDTVs for sale in retail stores. The front of the set-top box is stripped of all user functionality (buttoms, timers, etc.) so that it can only be controlled by the cable provider. In my opinion, this should be a big help to cable companies in signing up new HD subscribers in retail, something in which the satellite providers have always enjoyed an enormous lead. Additionally, this SA retail demo unit will also be a big asset to retailers and HDTV manufacturers who can use it to show a variety of eye-pleasing high-def programming, which can only help in their efforts to sell more HDTVs.

My Interview with Brillian CEO Vinny Sollitto

Brillian CEO Vinny Sollitto graciously sat down with me at his company’s suite atop the Las Vegas Hilton to discuss the future of his company and LCoS technology. After a difficult 2004 due primarily to to his company’s main supplier, JDS Uniphase, being unable to cost-effectively ship the light engines that power Brillian’s LCoS HDTVs, Mr. Sollitto is upbeat about 2005. As part of a $5.1 million settlement with JDS Uniphase, Brillian acquired the licenses to produce its own light engines, which it will do it limited quantity in the first half of the year. During that time, Brillian will target the very high-end retail channel, and when production ramps up in the second half of ‘05, the company will seek out other OEMs to produce LCoS HDTVs.

Mr. Sollitto believes that Sony’s launch of its 70-inch Qualia HDTV -- which is also based on LCoS technology -- will help his company tremendously by validating a three-chip LCoS product strategy. According to Mr. Sollitto, LCoS offers better picture rendering than DLP, and that “if DLP is good, LCoS is great.” He says that his company could hit 13% operating profit margins on volume of just 30,000 LCoS TVs a year and that once LCoS manufacturing hits volume, they’ll start to see quite a bit of cost improvement.

Brillian showed off its three-megapixel 720p and new six-megapixel 1080p Gen II LCoS HDTV monitors, both of which offered excellent picture quality. The 65-inch 1080p model in particular exhibited very high black levels, and the company’s loop of high-def sports programming from ESPN HD looked exceptional on this unit.

Optoma Branches Out Into Plasma and DLP RPTs

Optoma, which is TI’s largest customer for DLP technology in front-projectors, announced at CES that it is now selling rear-projection DLP HDTVs and plasma displays. The company’s 50-inch plasma (model SP50A) offers 1366x768p resolution, a 3000:1 contrast ratio and an MSRP of $5,999. The 50-inch DLP microdisplay (model HD504) uses DarkChip3 technology from TI and offers 720p resolution along with a 2500:1 contrast ratio. It’s 14.8 inches deep and weighs 90 pounds; pricing has not yet been announced but availability is scheduled for May/June. Both the Optoma plasma and DLP RPT will only be available through certified A/V dealers, not in typical retail channels.

VOOM Provides a Few HD-DVR Details

VOOM debuted its new digital satellite receiver with an on-board high-def digital video recorder, the Motorola DSR550, at CES, although the user interface was not available for demonstration. No details on when VOOM’s HD-DVR will be available, but it will be upgradeable for MPEG-4 and will curiously continue VOOM’s support of DVI rather than the more advanced HDMI. No word on hard-drive size or pricing yet.

Sorting Through the CES Announcements

I’m trying to make some headway in sorting through the hundreds of new product announcements that have come out of the Consumer Electronics Show so far. As a heads-up, this week’s HDTV Scoop will be sent out on Monday instead of Friday so I can recap the weekend’s high-def headlines in all their splendor after I get back from CES. Have a great weekend and go Chargers! Posted by Mark Kersey, Jan. 6, 2005 6:06pm

Buy a Samsung Plasma, Get a Free DVD Player

Samsung is encouraging sales of its plasma TVs by offering consumers who buy one a free HD-841 DVD player that upconverts DVDs to HD-like resolution of your choice: 720p, 768p (ideal for plasmas) or 1080i. The offer expires Jan. 23rd and more details are available here:

http://product.samsung.com/cgi-bin/nabc/campaign/plasma_offer/b2c_optin_p lasmaoffer.jsp

Posted by Mark Kersey, Jan. 4, 2005 10:13am




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