March, 2012 | HD TV PROFESSOR

Month: March 2012

Reader Mail: The Future of Cable TV

March 30, 2012 | Ibex Marketing

I get a lot of email from readers, and occasionally I share our exchanges here. This week, I got a particularly interesting message about this week's post about "Online Streaming Grows": You close with the statement that a cable or satellite TV service should be figuring out what to do when their current business falls apart. There is one big hidden assumption that you seem to be overlooking here, namely...

Bye-bye, Polycarbonate Discs!

March 29, 2012 | Ibex Marketing

The writing is on the wall. Or perhaps it is just encoded in microscopic pits on a polycarbonate disc. But wherever you choose to read the signs, it is clear that physical distribution of entertainment media is on the way out. It has happened in the music industry, and we appear to be reaching a tipping point for movies as well. New research by IHS Screen Digest Research predicts that...

More Homes Are Hooked Up

March 28, 2012 | Ibex Marketing

A new report from The Diffusion Group (TDG) updates the company's research on broadband in U.S. homes. One interesting point is that about eight out of every 10 homes with broadband Internet connections now have home networks. This is presumably driven by the consumers' interest in connecting more devices to the Internet than before. [Credit: TDG] Perhaps the most interesting development, however, is the location of those home network routers. TDG's research...

My HDTV Buying Advice [a Slashdot video]

March 27, 2012 | Ibex Marketing

Do you ever wonder what I tell people when they come up to me at a party and ask "What should I buy as my new television?" The website Slashdot wondered, and they commissioned a video interview of me that they call "HDTV Expert Alfred Poor Tells You What to Buy and What Not to Buy". (The interview was conducted, recorded, and edited by my friend and colleague Robin Miller.)...

Online Streaming Grows

March 26, 2012 | Ibex Marketing

As reported by Jim O'Neil in Fierce Online Video, the Roku CEO Anthony Wood gave a keynote address at the OTTCon in San Jose, California, last week. Wood is quoted as making several noteworthy remarks (and I recommend that you read the whole article), but the part that jumped out at me was this: As the number of channels grow--there are almost 500 on Roku now and a new one...

Competition Does Not Lower Cable Fees

March 23, 2012 | Ibex Marketing

The Federal Communications Commission released a report this month with the descriptive yet cumbersome title of "Report On Average Rates for Cable Programming Service And Equipment." The results come from a study of cable television service fees in different markets. The data was divided into two groups: communities where there was no meaningful competition (aside from satellite) and those where there was a competitor (either cable or phone company). The...

And Now, Live, on YouTube…

March 22, 2012 | Ibex Marketing

What are the hallmarks of a major television network? It distributes professionally-produced content from other sources such as movies. Check. It has millions of viewers. Check. It has its own original programming that is broadcast live daily. Check. Hmmm, it waddles, swims, and quacks like a duck, so I guess YouTube is now a duck. I mean, a major television network. The latest development is the announced launch of "My...

Sharp Ships Big HDTVs

March 21, 2012 | Ibex Marketing

Sharp already announced its intention to focus just on big HDTVs, and they are making good on that promise. The company has announced that it has started shipping its 60" LC-60LE745U and 70" LC-70LE745U models from their new 2012 lineup. These have 3DTV support, LED edge-lighting, and Smart TV features including WiFi support. The sets have list prices of $2,299.99 and $3,299.99. Sharp also announced that they will start shipping...

Who Gives You Your News?

March 20, 2012 | Ibex Marketing

"Freedom of the press is guaranteed only to those who own one." A.J. Liebling The Pew Research Center has released its "State of the News Media 2012" annual report on American journalism. It provides some fascinating information and analysis, and is bound to make you go "hmmm" more than once. The part that had me scratching my head and pondering the future was their finding that in 2011, "five technology...

Bed-Sized 3DTV in China

March 19, 2012 | Ibex Marketing

How much is too much? If it's possible to go too far with a television set's specfications, this could be it. China Star Optoelectronics Technology Co Ltd is a subsidiary of the electronics giant, TCL Corporation, and earlier this month, the company announced a monster of a 3DTV. [caption id="attachment_1651" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="(Credit: TCL Corporation)"][/caption] This behemoth measures 110" diagonal. It also has 4K by 2K resolution, or 4,096 by...

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