September, 2007 | HD TV PROFESSOR

Month: September 2007

DISH Discounts Sharp HDTVs

September 28, 2007 | Ibex Marketing

In the battle for which satellite service is more HD-friendly, DISH Network has stepped up with a new advantage; LCD HDTVs cost less if you are a DISH subscriber. Through January 31, 2008, you can get up to $800 of a Sharp Aquos LCD HDTV if you are a qualifying existing or new customer and you purchase through SharpDirect. And they'll even deliver it free in certain parts of the...

What Do You Want in an HDTV?

September 27, 2007 | Ibex Marketing

Westinghouse Digital issued an interesting press release last week, reporting the results of a poll that asked "If you could design a TV yourself, what would you add?" The top answer was speech recognition. (Actually, the press release said "voice recognition" but that is really a security feature, like fingerprint recognition. If you want something that takes verbal commands, you want "speech recognition". But now I'm just being picky.) This...

Analog TV Cut-Off Date: Not So Fast!

September 26, 2007 | Ibex Marketing

The only thing that seems to be as confusing as HDTF is the whole issue about the end of analog television broadcasts on February 17, 2009. Here's the straight scoop; on that day, local television stations will cease their analog broadcasts of television content. They will continue the free digital broadcasts that are already available. You will need a television with a digital (ATSC) tuner to receive these signals, or...

Still a Good Buy at Best Buy

September 25, 2007 | Ibex Marketing

Boy, I was going to write about an incredible deal today that I found while preparing Professor Poor's Weekly Price Intelligence Report. In Sunday's circular, Best Buy advertised the Panasonic TH-50PZ77U for $1,709 after instant savings. That's a 50" plasma with 1080p resolution, and that's a killer price that matches well against the second and third tier 1080p LCD offerings. And it's an unbelievable deal. Of course, that's the operative...

Movies: Download to DVD

September 24, 2007 | Ibex Marketing

On Friday, the DVD Copy Control Association reported that they had finalized an agreement with Hollywood studios that will let consumers download movies from the Internet, and save them to a DVD that can be played on other DVD players. This new digital rights management (DRM) technology -- also known as "copy protection" -- will prevent the DVD from being copied. Apparently, the approach hinges on using special DVD blanks...

ReplayTV HDTV PVR

September 21, 2007 | Ibex Marketing

(One of these days, I'm going to come up with an entry headline that is all acronyms!) On Wednesday, ReplayTV announced its "Personal HD" product, which they offer as an "all-in-one solution for the PC with HDTV, multi-tuner, and iPod support." The package includes an analog/digital tuner that plugs into a USB port on your computer, a remote control, an antenna, and software on a CD. It also includes a...

Free Episodes from NBC

September 20, 2007 | Ibex Marketing

NBC has announced that it will offer free downloads of prime time and late night programming episodes on its new NBC Direct service. Anyone with a PC running Windows will be able to download and watch these episodes up to seven days after the initial broadcast airing. Mac support will follow soon, as will the ability to transfer the file to a portable viewing device. Eventually, the network intends to...

Reader Question: Are Shiny Screens Good?

September 19, 2007 | Ibex Marketing

Q: Can you tell me anything about the Samsung LN-T5271F LCD TV? It has a "shiny" screen. Is that a good feature? Ralph Proodian A: That's a great question, Ralph. The specification sheet for the LN-T5271F describes it as having a "Super Clear Panel". According to Samsung materials, this is designed to deliver "higher picture clarity and lower reflection". This is a feature that has been popular in notebook and...

Radio Shack HDTV: One Year Later

September 18, 2007 | Ibex Marketing

It was just over a year ago that Radio Shack started its focus on HDTV. You may recall that I was skeptical at the time. So now would be a good point to ask "How's that working for you?" Well, by some simple indicators, the answer doesn't look too positive. Professor Poor's Weekly Price Intelligence Report tracks the newspaper sales circulars for the major electronics retailers. Stores like Circuit City...

Gore Wins for IPTV

September 17, 2007 | Ibex Marketing

Something new and different happened at the Emmy Awards last night. Al Gore won the first "interactive television services" Emmy for the cable network, Current TV. The the tie to Internet TV is that the content includes a mix of professionally produced and user-submitted content. You can watch the viewer-contributed content and vote on which pieces should air on the network at the Current TV Web site. The IPTV camel's...

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