October, 2010 | HD TV PROFESSOR

Month: October 2010

Another Network Media Player, Plus

October 29, 2010 | Ibex Marketing

Western Digital has launched another network media player, but this time with a twist. The new WD TV Live Hub includes 1 TB of hard drive storage that can be accessed and shared across your home network. In addition, DLNA support means that it can play video, music, and photos from files stored on computers on your network. It also can connect with Internet streaming sources, including Netflix, YouTube, Flickr,...

A $40 Projector

October 28, 2010 | Ibex Marketing

Want a battery-powered portable projector? Buy.com is selling the Eyeclops Portable Mini-Projector for just $39.99, and they'll ship it for free! It uses a solid state LED light source, so you'll never have to replace an expensive lamp, and it runs on just four D flashlight batteries. Now, before you get too excited, this is not an HD device. Heck, it's not even SD. The manufacturer's Web site does not...

Faster Broadband on the Way?

October 27, 2010 | Ibex Marketing

Last week, a company named Ikanos Communications made an announcement that is somewhat propellor-headed, but could have far-reaching impact on the average consumer. The company announced the lauch of "NodeScale Vectoring", which reduces the impact of crosstalk between common copper wire phone lines. It uses unique algorithms, compression, and coding techniques to reduce the processing power required to compensate for crosstalk and external interference. Or at least that's what the...

XPAND 3D Glasses on Amazon

October 26, 2010 | Ibex Marketing

XPAND has announced that its new Universal X103 3D glasses are available for pre-order on Amazon. Priced at $129, they cost less than some of the glasses available from the 3DTV manufacturers, but are designed to work with "any 3D-ready display, regardless of brand" according to the company. (I do not have every brand of 3DTV available to me here, so I have not had the opportunity to test the...

Are You Protected?

October 25, 2010 | Ibex Marketing

Last year, a transformer on an electrical pole outside our home decided to go out with a bang and in a blaze of glory, showering sparks onto the street. Pretty spectacular on its own, but even more impressive when you consider that it also took a number of innocent victims with it. I don't know what happened in any of the surrounding homes, but our tally was plenty all by...

Sears “Black Friday Now” Leaked

October 22, 2010 | Ibex Marketing

According to an article in TWICE, the ad flier for the Sears "Black Friday Now" sale on October 29 and 30 has been leaked. The flier has been posted by BFAds.net, which also included some interesting commentary. They point out that they have gone through the 16-page flier and have determined that instead of blockbuster discounts, the items appear to be priced as usual. Maybe we need a new term:...

Crowd-sourcing Network Media Players

October 21, 2010 | Ibex Marketing

Okay, let me start by saying that I'm planting a stake in the technological terminology ground here, and declaring that I will now use the term "network media player" to refer to devices that connect a television to your home network so that you get access to media files stored locally and on the Internet. In the spirit of full disclosure, let me also point out that I have been...

Roku to Get Hulu Plus

October 20, 2010 | Ibex Marketing

HD movies and television episodes over the Internet are getting more affordable and easier to use. One of the latest developments is the announcement that Roku will be adding support for Hulu Plus to its product line, which starts at $60. The two models with 1080p HD support cost $80 and $100. Aside from the $10 a month subscription for Hulu Plus and your broadband fee, you have no other...

Disc-Free Online Netflix for Wii and PS3

October 19, 2010 | Ibex Marketing

Netflix has released new software updates for the Nintendo Wii and the Sony PS3 that lets them access the Netflix online streaming service, without having to put in a disc. They now join the Microsoft XBox 360 in having this convenient feature. This enormous installed base helps extend Netflix's reach just that much further. The streaming video feature is free for all who subscribe for one or more rental discs...

Internet TV is the Competition

October 18, 2010 | Ibex Marketing

I've been seeing an interesting commercial on television these days. (Being from the Philadelphia area, there are a few live sports events that I've been drawn to watch, and thus I've been exposed to more commercials than usual.) The ad in question is from DirecTV, the satellite television subscription service, and the positioning message is that DirecTV gets new release movies a lot sooner than you can get them through...

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