http://www.ecoustics.com/latest/news Latest news, updated every five minutes http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/news/18155 Apple has announced that Fox and CBS are now offering high-definition television shows for sale via the iTunes store, joining ABC and NBC. High-definition shows joining the iTunes lineup include installments of CBS's CSI franchise along with Numb3rs and NCIS; Fox shows available in HD on iTunes will includqe Bones, House, and Prison Break.Tallied up, iTunes now carries more than 70 primetime shows from major broadcast networks, along with television programs from cable networks like Sci-Fi, Comedy Central, Bravo, Disney Channel, Nickelodeon,Read | Permalink | Linking Blogs Thu, 16 Oct 2008 11:30:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/news/18137 It wasn't so long ago that all eyes were on Joost as the Internet's best hope for delivering an Internet-enabled television experience. From the founders of Skype, Joost promised to integrate social networking elements with full-screen, streaming of both live and independent content. But one huge barrier to entry for Joost—besides having to have enough bandwidth to make watching full-screen streaming video a reality—was having to download Joost's client software.Today Joost is relaunching, and the client software is gone. Instead, the service is relying on a new Flash-based, download-free playback engine that provides access to the full library of Joost content and offers soRead | Permalink | Linking Blogs Tue, 14 Oct 2008 13:00:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/news/18123 Google has started cranking up its efforts to actually make some money from the most popular video sharing site on the Internet—YouTube. Last week it began adding links to music available via iTunes and Amazon's MP3 store so users could get "instant gratification" by buying music featured in a video or posting. Now, the video sharing site is starting to get into bed with traditional media, and has begun offering full-length versions of selected archive CBS television shows. Although many TV networks—including CBS—post short clips to YouTube, the episodesRead | Permalink | Linking Blogs Mon, 13 Oct 2008 12:00:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/news/18095 Popular video rental firm Netflix has been a popular service among folks who've shelled out not only for high definition televisions but also for still-pricey Blu-ray disc players, since subscribers have been able to add Blu-ray discs to their rental queues just as if they were standard definition DVDs. Well, no more: Netflix has announced it will now begin charging $1 more per month for access to renting Blu-ray movies.To justify the increase, Netflix cites the price of Blu-ray movies compared to standard DVDs. The rate change will go into effect November 5th; if users don't want to pay the extra $1Read | Permalink | Linking Blogs Thu, 09 Oct 2008 12:00:00 -0400 http://news.ecoustics.com/bbs/messages/10381/518826.html Wed, 01 Oct 2008 15:56:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/news/18019 Movie rental service Netflix and Starz Entertainment have announced a deal which will make movies available from the "Starz Play" broadband video subscription service available for instant streaming to Netflix subscribers. The deal adds about 2,500 movies, television shows, and concerts to Netflix's instant-streaming library—pushing the total number of available titles to over 12,000."The coupling of Starz Play with our growing library of streaming content is an important step forward for both companies and for consumer choice," Netflix's chief content officer Ted Sarandos, in a statement. "Our deal reflects the creative ways we are workingRead | Permalink | Linking Blogs Wed, 01 Oct 2008 12:00:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/news/18016 PC maker Dell looks to be trying to ratchet up competition for the hearts and minds of entertainment-centric computer users: the company has inked a deal with Paramount to offer its recent superhero flick Iron Man as a pre-loaded option on its Inspiron, Studio, and XPS notebook and desktop lines. Adding the movie to a new computer's configuration costs $20, and comes with bonus content in addition to the film itself. The content is protected by Microsoft Windows Media digital rights management, although customers will be able to burn one copy to DVD and push the movie to a television using Windows Media Center extenders. (Oh, but high-def fans will be disappointed: Dell's $20 Iron Man oRead | Permalink | Linking Blogs Wed, 01 Oct 2008 11:15:00 -0400 http://ecoustics-cnet.com.com/8301-17938_105-10055377-1.html?part=ecoustics-cnet Ceatec exhibitors show off prototype displays for our mobile devices and televisions, including display measuring just 0.3 millimeter thick. Wed, 01 Oct 2008 04:16:00 -0400 http://ecoustics-cnet.com.com/8301-1023_3-10050953-93.html?part=ecoustics-cnet Bloomberg Television joins NBC Universal and Dish Network in showing ads delivered with Google's technology. Thu, 25 Sep 2008 14:09:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/news/17964 There's no doubt Dell is best known as a maker of computers—from servers to ultra-portable notebooks and everything in between—but the company has long run related businesses, including computer monitors, televisions, and even a brief (and perhaps to-be-repeated!) foray into personal media players. Now, the company is getting into projectors, announces its M109S portable projector for folks who need to take their presentations—or their entertainment or games—on the road.The M109S weighs just 0.8 pounds and offers a native 858 by 600 SVGARead | Permalink | Linking Blogs Thu, 25 Sep 2008 13:30:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/news/17952 Although home theater fans may scoff at smaller displays that due double-duty as PC monitors, there's no denying to appeal of combo units for folks who are tight on space—for instance, in dens, children's bedrooms, dorm rooms, or one of those oh-so-tiny trendy studio lofts. For folks who are tight on space, ViewSonic has introduced its N2201W 3-in-1 display, combining a high-definition LCD television, DVD player, and PC monitor in one device."The N2201w's dual functionality provides customers convenience and value by adding a digital television to their home that will compliment any room," said ViewSonic'sRead | Permalink | Linking Blogs Wed, 24 Sep 2008 12:45:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/news/17944 E-Commerce Times has reported that Netflix has signed deals with both CBS and Disney-ABC to stream their television shows online that could help position the service at the top of the paid video-streaming chain.Netflix entered the on-demand streaming market just 18 months ago after revolutionizing the DVD rental market. Users can watch streamed content on PC, TV, or even Xbox 360.However, unlike iTunes, you can’t stream or download content to a portable media device to watch on the move.Read | Permalink | Linking Blogs Wed, 24 Sep 2008 09:00:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/news/17934 General Electric has announced the formation of a new joint partenship with consumer electronics maker Tatung called General Displays & Technologies. The new company will produce, market, and service a new line of GE-branded high-definition televisions. However, these won't be your ordinary HDTVS: they'll support IPTV via cable, satellite, and fiber right out of the bos, and the company will partner with NBC Universal (in which GE owns an 80 percent stake) to create an "open platform" for delivery of digital content directly to the televisions via the Internet."We are developing advanced, Internet capabilities for content delivery toRead | Permalink | Linking Blogs Tue, 23 Sep 2008 11:45:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/news/17886 With Sony already having snatched the title for first commercial OLED television with the XEL-1, Kodak moved in to capture a title on its own turf Wednesday with the very first OLED picture frame. The new Kodak OLED WireRead | Permalink | Linking Blogs Wed, 17 Sep 2008 12:00:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/news/17808 AT&T has been teasing a new Total Home DVR capability for its U-verse customers for some time, but the company has at least officially announced the new unit, which enables users to play back up to five saved high-definition shows at the same time on different televisions around the house. The Total Home DVR is being rolled out in the San Francisco Bay area now, and should be available to all AT&T U-verse customers by the end of 2008—and the new features are available to existing customers as a software update, rather than requiring new hardware.Read | Permalink | Linking Blogs Tue, 09 Sep 2008 12:50:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/news/17804 For those of you who gawked at Mitsubishi’s LaserVue television at this year’s CES in Las Vegas and wondered how much it would cost to get one for the living room, the time has finally come for that moment of reckoning. Brace your wallets, this one’s going to hurt. Mitsubishi’s first 65-inch LaserVue televisions will retail for $6,999.While that’s quite a ding to the bank account, it’s not entirely out of line with what other manufacturers are charging for LCD and plasma sets in that size range. Although the 10-inch deep laser sets won’t have quite the svelte form factors of their cousRead | Permalink | Linking Blogs Tue, 09 Sep 2008 11:35:00 -0400 http://ecoustics-cnet.com.com/8301-1023_3-10036058-93.html?part=ecoustics-cnet AT&T is upgrading the digital video recorder on its Internet-based television service, allowing users to record and play back multiple programs on up to eight televisions. Tue, 09 Sep 2008 03:15:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/news/17775 Well, you've got to give Microsoft one point: they didn't produce a conventional television ad.Software giant Microsoft has kicked off its $300 million ad campaign to promote its Windows Vista operating system with a spot featuring comedian Jerry Seinfeld and Microsoft founder Bill Gates having a chance meeting at a fictional store called Shoe Circus, Seinfeld helping Gates into a pair of size 10 "Conquistadors," and Bill Gates "adjusting his shorts" as a signal Microsoft has big things in the works. The ad isRead | Permalink | Linking Blogs Fri, 05 Sep 2008 11:30:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/news/17767 Electronics giant Sharp has unveiled a spate of new HDTVs at this year's CEDIA Expo, including new ultra-thing models, along with limited editions, deep color support, sets with 120 Hz refresh rates, and even a small 19-inch model aimed at folks with space constraints. And Sharp has partnered with NBC Universal to net-enable new Aquos TVs, giving Sony's Bravia Internet Video Link a run for its money.First, Sharp has announced Aquos Net, a new offering that will bring Web-based video content from NBC Universal to Aquos television owners via the television set's integrated Ethernet port.Read | Permalink | Linking Blogs Thu, 04 Sep 2008 13:00:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/news/17764 Amazon.com has extended the reach of its online Video On Demand offering, enabling streaming access to thousands of movies and television programs via Mac and PC Web browser, as well as purchases and rentals through Sony's Bravia Internet Video Link add-on to its Bravia HDTV lines. Amazon has also enabled free two-minute previews of every television show and movie it offers, making it easy for users to determine if they're looking to rent or buy the right thing—a particularly handy feature for TV episodes where users might be looking for a particular show they missed.UserRead | Permalink | Linking Blogs Thu, 04 Sep 2008 12:15:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/news/17748 Another consumer electronics manufacturer is getting on the e-waste bandwagon: this time it's South Korean giant Samsung, which has just announced Samsung Recycling Direct, a program that will enable consumers in all 50 states to recycle Samsung-branded consumer electronics devices like televisions, monitors, DVD players, home theater systems, cameras, camcorders, printers, peripherals—essentially, all Samsung-branded consumer electronics. The exception will be home appliances, which can't be accepted at al the drop-off points, although a growing number will be accepting them. Recycling for Samsung-branded electronics will be free; consumers can also drop off non-Samsung electRead | Permalink | Linking Blogs Wed, 03 Sep 2008 12:00:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/news/17744 Satellite television provider DirecTV and DVR pioneer TiVo used to have a very cozy relationship. The companies got together back in 2000, and shortly DirecTV was moving the majority of TiVo DVR devices and creating oodles of TiVo subscriptions. However, the relationship between the two companies began to go downhill, and in 2005 DirecTV announced it was going to develop its own DVRs, developed by NDS Group, rather than stick with the TiVo units. The news was almost a death knell for TiVo, which for a while struggled to put boxes in living rooms and work out deals with other service providers, while trying to convince the industry it really did have a future.Read | Permalink | Linking Blogs Wed, 03 Sep 2008 11:20:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/news/17738 One of the problems with showing television or DVD programming to a group using a projection system—particularly in business situations—is that close captioning information included with video programming is usually entirely lost. Sometimes, that's not a big deal, but when an audience includes the deaf or hard-of-hearing, it makes all the difference in the world.Toshiba's new TLP-X100U mobile projector aims to address that shortcoming for the business crowd, offering a slim design (less than three inches tall), 3LCD technology for decent color reproduction, and a blackboard function that lets users make presentation on non-screen surfaces liRead | Permalink | Linking Blogs Tue, 02 Sep 2008 13:40:00 -0400 http://news.ecoustics.com/bbs/messages/10381/511202.html Fri, 29 Aug 2008 10:47:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/news/17664 After writing down substantial sums on its $5.4 billion purchase of ATI back in 2006, AMD is beginning to divest itself of some of the assets of that sale, announcing today that it has struck a deal with Broadcom to buy all AMD's digital television business and assets for $192.8 million in cash. The announcement follows AMD writing down another $880 million on its ATI acquisition, Hector Ruiz stepping down as CEO Mon, 25 Aug 2008 13:35:00 -0400