eCoustics.com television links

Cisco's FlipShare TV Lets You Watch Your Videos on TV

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 00:01:00 -0500

Streaming box aims to make viewing video on your television a simple affair, but the price is a bit steep.

Curio Professional 6

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:20:16 -0500

If Zengobi's Curio Professional 6.2 had a television commercial, I suspect it would be in the style of the late Billy Mays. Curio is a single application for...

California Energy Commission Rule to Impact HDTV Industry

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 17:41:00 -0500

New regulation is in line with existing measures, but will hasten the shift to energy-efficient televisions. Here's why.

California approves efficiency mandate for TVs

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 16:31:01 -0500

The California Energy Commission approves a measure to ratchet down power consumption of televisions sold in the state starting in 2011.

FLO TV Personal Handheld Television

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 13:30:00 -0500

WORLD TECH UPDATE #89

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 17:04:05 -0500

WORLD TECH UPDATE #89 - November 5, 2009 In this week's World Tech Update Steve Ballmer tours Asia and talks about the future of television, HTC launches the HD2 smartphone that runs Windows Mobile 6.5, Intel gets slapped with an antitrust lawsuit, Motorola's Droid gets ready to go on sale, an iPhone app from Harvard Medical School helps protect you from swine flu and new research enables 3D on a Microsoft Surface computer. Find out what's coming up on each week's show by following us on Twitter (WorldTechUpdate) or check out our Facebook fan page at www.facebook.com/worldtechupdate

LG 47LH90

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 16:34:00 -0400

The LG 47LH90 occupies an awkward spot on the spectrum of LCD HDTVs that doesn't have the performance of a mid-range model, but doesn't have the price tag of an entry-level. It boasts two major features, 240Hz mode and localized dimming, but neither had much of an effect on the viewing experience. The set is currently priced at $2100, which unfortunately places it a bit out of its class. If you can find the set at a discount, it will make a decent, 47-inch TV for a mainstream audience. Those who care about picture quality, however, might find the 47LH90's flaws to be too numerous.

TV on the Internet

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 11:00:00 -0400

Warren Kernaghan asked where on the Internet he can find television programs comparable to what's on cable

Focal Dome 5.1 Speaker System

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 04:00:00 -0400

Many loudspeakers today are marketed more for their ability to blend into a space or make an aesthetic statement than to provide high performance. Since they are the most visible AV component after the television, sizes and styles vary as much as colors of the rainbow. With many lifestyle products come compromises in audio quality; not so with the Focal Dome system.

Dramatized Ads Weave Plot Lines Around Products

Wed, 30 Sep 2009 12:26:40 -0400

In television's latest quest to discourage viewers from skipping ads, actors from NBC and ABC shows are appearing in character in commercials to interact with products in parallel story lines. This new kind of commercial further blurs the line between program and advertisement and comes as traditional product placements within shows, an early response to fast-forwarding, have become common.A series of spots that debuted this week weaves Palm Inc.'s Pre phone more deeply into the story line of two primeRead | Permalink | Linking Blogs

Yahoo Director to Step Down

Sat, 26 Sep 2009 08:00:00 -0400

Yahoo Inc. director Maggie Wilderotter plans to step down from the slumping Internet company's board at the end of this year. The resignation will leave Yahoo with 11 directors.The Sunnyvale-based company said Friday that Wilderotter is leaving to devote more time to her other responsibilities. Wilderotter is CEO of Frontier Communications Corp., which sells telephone, television and Internet services.Wilderotter joined Yahoo's board in 2007, a few month after she left an executive job at Microsoft Corp. She has been overseeing Yahoo's audit committee.Like other Yahoo directors, Wilderotter came under fire last year for the handling of a takeover bid from Microsoft. The sofRead | Permalink | Linking Blogs

Intel Putting CPUs in TVs with Atom-based "Sodaville" Chips

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 14:00:00 -0400

At this week's Intel Developer Forum, Intel formally unveiled "Sodaville," a new 45nm system-on-a-chip based on the comapny's Atom processor that's designed specifically to bring interactive, Internet-based services and content to televisions, set-top boxes, and peripherals like DVD players and DVRs. The chipset supports both Internet and broadcast applications, and has enough processing horsepower to handle both video and audio processing and 3D graphics in real time."Traditional broadcast networks are quickly shifting from a linear model to a multi-stream, Internet-optimized model to offer consumers digital eRead | Permalink | Linking Blogs

Toshiba Planning to Show Cell-Powered TV Next Month

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 13:20:00 -0400

Japanese electronics giant Toshiba has announced it's planning the first public showing of its long-gestating high-definition television with an embedded Cell processor at next month's Ceatec trade show in Japan on October 5. Toshiba has been quietly demonstrating prototypes of televisions with Cell technology since at least 2007, but has not made any concrete moves to bring the units to market. A public showing at Ceatec suggests the company is preparing to enter at least the Japanese market in the short term, although no pricing and availability information has been released.TheRead | Permalink | Linking Blogs

Optoma Pro250X

Thu, 24 Sep 2009 10:39:04 -0400

Optoma's Pro 250X projector delivers specs suitable for pie graphs or American Pie.

Yahoo to Spend $100M in Bid for More Brand Buzz

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 17:48:34 -0400

Yahoo Inc. believes a lot of its good work has been overlooked by investors and the media so it's spending more than $100 million to get the word out to consumers directly.The money is going toward the Internet company's most expensive marketing campaign since Stanford University graduate students Jerry Yang and David Filo started Yahoo's Web site 15 years ago. Yahoo provided a peek at the 15-month blitz Tuesday in New York.The ads will run on television, online and other media in the United States and nine other countries where Yahoo hopes to expand on a worldwide audience that is already approaching 600 million.Despite its extensive reach, Yahoo's brand has been bruised in recent years as its profits sagged aRead | Permalink | Linking Blogs

Toshiba Regza 46SV670U

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 12:50:00 -0400

The Toshiba 46SV670U is a modest TV with a modest performance to match. It's the first TV we've reviewed with local dimming of the LED-backlighting, which has become something of a buzzword in televisions recently. If the 46SV670U is any indication, local dimming has a way to go until we're impressed.

Sony Bravia KDL-46VE5

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 11:38:00 -0400

The Sony Bravia KDL-46VE5 is one of the TVs in Sony's "eco series" line-up, but don't count on a construction of wood and moss, powered by zero-carbon hydrogen cells. No, besides a modest power consumption, the 46VE5 doesn't do much to save the earth except turn itself off when it detects an empty room. It's a neat trick, but we're more concerned with performance.

Insignia NS-L42X-10A

Mon, 21 Sep 2009 15:35:23 -0400

Insignia's L42X-10A loads on features from further up the price ladder with minimal compromise.

HP Dreamscreen

Fri, 18 Sep 2009 03:00:00 -0400

Not a photo frame, not a computer, not a television. The HP DreamScreen defies easy description, except perhaps for this: It’s like a Chumby you wouldn’t ashamed to bring to work.The 10.2-inch or 13.3-inch screen could pass for a simple photo frame, but inside the slender black frame, there’s a lot more silicon horsepower than it would need to simply rotate some JPEGs. The Dreamscreen will play full-screen videos, stream music from a connected PC, HP SmartRadio, or Pandora, and even ding you with sta...Read | Permalink | Linking Blogs

Cablevision unveils interactive banner ads on TV

Tue, 15 Sep 2009 20:49:48 -0400

Cablevision Systems Corp. is bringing interactive banner ads to television, allowing viewers to order samples and brochures and even purchase products by clicking the remote on their TV sets.Banner ads will run at the bottom of select TV commercials, in collaboration with at least half a dozen consumer brand advertisers. When viewers click on the ad, the screen will shrink to a quarter of its size and the rest will feature product information.The ads will only let viewers order product samples, brochures and coupons when they start running in early October. By year's end, viewers will be able to save video ads, such as movie trailers, to watch later. Purchasing viaRead | Permalink | Linking Blogs

Start tracking your favorite TV shows

Tue, 15 Sep 2009 13:30:00 -0400

If you're a television fan, you probably spend considerable time following your favorite shows. And if you're using these sites, you're probably doing a good job of it.

Samsung Pushes LCD HDTVs to 65 Inches

Thu, 10 Sep 2009 13:45:00 -0400

At this year's CEDIA expo, South Korean electronics giant Samsung has taken the wraps of its new LN65B650, a massive 65-inch LCD television sporting a 120 Hz refresh rate, 4 ms response time, and extensive connectivity options. Screen sizes over 50-inches have long been the realm of plasma sets, and Samsung is taking a chance by pushing LCD technology to that size—particularly since the LN65B650 relies on fluorescent backlighting rather than the currently-vogue LED backlighting for improved contrast and color reproduction. But Samsung thinks there's a market—and is willing to place a $5,999.99 price tag on the LN65B650 to prove it.Read | Permalink | Linking Blogs

LED Behind the LCD: Understanding LED-Backlit HDTVs

Thu, 10 Sep 2009 03:00:00 -0400

You've heard about LCDs. You've heard about plasmas. Maybe even you even understand all the pros and cons between them. But what are all these "LED televisions" we keep hearing about?With the crop of LED-backlit HDTVs announced at this year's Consumer Electronics Show finally starting to hit the streets in force, it's a question we hear a lot from budding home theater shoppers. Blame the acronyms. While yesterday's consumers had to make a simple choice between CRT and rear-projection television sets, today's consumers are confronted with plasma, LCD, DLP, OLED, and laser televisions. And now, the age-old...Read | Permalink | Linking Blogs

Mitsubishi TVs to Pack Vudu Streaming Video

Thu, 03 Sep 2009 12:40:00 -0400

The media world is certainly paying attention to streaming videos, and television manufacturers are keen to bypass set-top boxes and home theater PC setups and integrate online video support right into their sets. The latest is Mitsubishi, which has announced taht two 52- and 46-inch entries in its Diamond Unisen series of 1080p flat-panel TVs have support for Vudu streaming video built right in to the set—along with an Ethernet port for connecting to owner's home Internet connections.Later this month, the new Mitsubishi TVs will also gain support for Pandora, Flickr, Picasa, and (of course) YouTube. TheRead | Permalink | Linking Blogs

'Top Gear' star downshifts to Legos

Wed, 02 Sep 2009 10:12:00 -0400

U.K. car show co-host James May will spend weekend in house built almost entirely of Legos as part of his new television series.