February, 2010 | HD TV PROFESSOR

Month: February 2010

Choose Your Ad

February 26, 2010 | Ibex Marketing

Earlier this month, NewTeeVee reported the results of a study by VivaKi on the best online video ad units. The accuracy and impartiality of the data collection and analysis apparently is open to some debate, but the bottom line is that the results indicate that Hulu could be revolutionizing the use of advertisements with streaming online video, simply by letting viewers choose the ads they want to see. If you...

Netflix Streaming to TVs

February 25, 2010 | Ibex Marketing

A new report by The Diffusion Group reveals that of the Netflix subscribers who have broadband Internet access in their homes, more than 62% of them are using the "Watch Instantly" service to watch all the movies and television episodes that they want, at no additional charge. Perhaps the most telling result, however, is that more than half of that group are watching some or all of these videos on...

Netflix Scores Sony

February 24, 2010 | Ibex Marketing

Sony has a new Wi-Fi enabled touchscreen device that it calls the Dash Personal Internet Viewer. Last week, Sony announced that it was adding a dedicated application to the Dash for the Netflix streaming video service. If you have a Netflix subscription, an icon on the screen will provide access directly to your "Watch Instantly" queue selections. Consumers are steadily adopting network-connected displays and other devices (such as Blu-ray players),...

Will People Pay for Online Content?

February 23, 2010 | Ibex Marketing

The World Wide Web has changed everything, and it appears that it hasn't finished changing yet. One of the topics that I keep coming back to is the question of who will pay for production and distribution of video and movie programming over the Internet. One problem is that people tend to like "free" better than something that costs them money. While iTunes has proven that people are willing to...

LED Backlight Prices Falling

February 22, 2010 | Ibex Marketing

Is the glass half full or half empty? DisplaySearch released a report last week that forecasts a rapid drop in LED backlight prices for HDTVs. According to the company's press release, the current price for an LED backlight for a 40" LCD HDTV is about $118, and this should fall to $100 by the end of this year. The forecast calls for LED backlights to cost just $50 more than...

Sony Pulls Plug on OLED TV in Japan

February 19, 2010 | Ibex Marketing

It's only 11" diagonal. It's not even HD resolution. And it costs a mind-boggling $2,222 in Japan. But it's OLED and it looks great, so it gets a lot of attention. Apparently, however, it hasn't gotten enough attention. Sony will stop production of its OLED TV for Japan, just two years after it started. It is also significant that the company is not announcing a larger follow-on model, even though...

More Bad News for High-End Retailers

February 18, 2010 | Ibex Marketing

Another one bites the dust. Last week, the Washington DC area electronics retailer, MyerEmco Audio Video, announced that it was going out of business. Lack of available credit was cited as a major factor in the company's demise. The president announced that the store would sell remaining inventory at half-price, with larger discounts available as they near the end of their stock. One of the keys to the company's failure...

3D Front Projector for the Home

February 17, 2010 | Ibex Marketing

Acer has announced the S5200 DLP projector that is certified for 3D image projection. It supports a 120 Hz refresh rate, making it suitable for stereoscopic 3D content using active glasses. The projector is not capable of HD images, as it is only has XGA (1024 by 768 pixel) resolution, but it is reportedly priced around $1,000. It's still too soon for all but the early adopters to be buying...

Apple Wants Lower Prices

February 16, 2010 | Ibex Marketing

According to a Wall Street Journal article last week, Apple is in negotiations with TV networks to lower the price for TV shows sold on the company's iTunes site. The report indicates that the goal is to make video content more affordable when the iPad starts shipping, presumably in support of their claim about it being the best way to watch such content. One source indicated that Applie has already...

The Power of Internet TV

February 15, 2010 | Ibex Marketing

You won't find this in your TV guide. It barely got mentioned on the national news that I heard this morning. You may not know it, but the U.S. challenger, BMW Oracle Racing, won the America's Cup back from the Swiss defender yesterday by winning the second race in a best-best-of-three competition. Oh, this is about sailing, by the way. So why am I mentioning it here? I'm a fan...

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