Sexy New Plug and Play TVs Coming Soon Sony is set to launch a sexy new range of Bravia TVs that allow users to easily plug in sound, PC and automation systems. Using the Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) standard, the TVs will easily connect with wireless and Ethernet networks.
DLNA-Compatible Bravias Coming Soon Two new series of Sony Bravia Full-HD LCD TVs will be able to connect to the Digital Living Network Alliance devices – the first time televisions in the Bravia range have been able to hook up with alliance products. This means users can enjoy multimedia content from any device that supports the DLNA standard in your house.
Channel 7 Cops A Chinese Burn Over AFL Broadcast They may call themselves the Olympic Channel, but when they sacrificed their much-hyped Olympic broadcast for what was in reality an AFL suburban dead rubber, Channel 7 copped a gold medal serve from viewers all over the country.
Olympians Push Latest Panasonic Roll Out Aussie Olympians Matt Shirvington, Tamsyn Lewis, Bronte Barratt and Ky Hurst have signed up as the faces of Panasonic for the 2008 Beijing Olympics
OzTAM To Measure HD Viewers According to the Australian Financial Review, television ratings company OzTAM aims to release data on viewing numbers for high definition this year and find a way to measure the SD digital channels that the various networks will introduce next year.
UK Government Hands Out Free Sat TV The UK government is planning to give free satellite TV to anyone who wants it over the next few years. Freesat, a joint venture between the BBC and ITV, has been launched to bring free programs to UK homes without a subscription. This may also include High Definition programs.
Blu-Ray Prices Increase Except At Bing Lee In a move that seems to defy conventional wisdom- that the price of technology decreases over time, the retail price of Blu-ray players has actually gone up around 5 per cent in Australia over the past month according to several reports.
Free LCDs, MP3s For Samsung Customers Samsung Electronics Australia warns retailers and customers that there are two Samsung consumer promotions running through the first quarter 2008, one on LCD TVs and one on the Samsung K3 MP3 player.
Plasma Screens Public Enemy No.1 The Australian lounge-room packed with DVD players, plasma screens and other carbon-emitting electronic gear could become an environmentalist's worst nightmare, according to a Deloitte executive.
NEC 1080p LCDs 'For The Future' NEC has joined the big guns with two new 1080p LCDs – a 40-inch and a 46-inch – but with a difference, allowing users to control features on the TVs including sound and programming via a centralised computer making them perfect for digital signage or home entertainment uses.
Free TV Defends Its Case After Foxtel HD Event The Free TV consortium that backs free-to-air TV services today released a statement to the public singing the praises of high definition (HD) TV services from the Seven and Ten networks, coinciding with Foxtel’s announcement of a next generation, HD set-top box launching mid-year.
First Special 7HD Program Begins February The Seven Network has revealed details of its first ‘signature program’ made specially for the TV station’s new 7HD high definition channel – a twice-weekly chat show called The Nightcap broadcast live at 10:30pm.
New Two-piece Sim2 1080p Projector High-end Italian projector-maker, Sim2, has released a new sub-$30,000 DLP projector with full-HD 1080p capability designed for “sophisticated” home theatre rooms.
Sony Backing Ten-HD, Launching Sunday When Ten Network’s new HD channel launched on Sunday, it will have sponsorship from one of the world’s largest consumer electronics companies – Sony.
Now CNet Embarrased Over Hitachi Full HD Claim No wonder consumers are confused as to whether Hitachi’s 50” Full HD Plasma TV is 1080p or 1080i so are the reviewers at technology web site CNet who have been openly telling readers that the Hitachi screen is 1080p when it is clearly 1080i.
Three 100Hz LCD TVs From Sharp Sharp has released a new range of next generation 100Hz 1080p LCD TVs, the D83X series, in black and gold colouring straight from Sharp’s famous Kameyama production plant in Japan.
Seven Beats Ten With HDTV Seven Network will beat Ten Network to the launch of its HDTV station when it begins airing this Saturday, which is 15 days before Ten launches its TEN-HD station.
Samsung King In Flatscreen Market: DisplaySearch Display TV and screen market research company DisplaySearch has announced “rapid growth” in product sales in Europe with “healthy growth” elsewhere, resulting in revenue of $26.3 billion worldwide in Q3 2007 -- with Samsung winning most categories in units and revenue.
Beijing Olympics Coming In HD Telstra has cut a deal with the Seven Network and China Netcom to carry high definition images of the forthcoming 2008 Beijing Olympic Games to Australia.
Is Ten-HD Really Full-HD? When Channel Ten rolled out their new HD TV service that will go to air in December the press release described it as Full HD. Now it appears the Nework may be changing their stance with all promotion for the new channel describing it as simply Ten-HD.
An Alternative View Of Full HD An industry-leading sound and vision reviewer has contacted SmartHouse to shed some light on a question raising much chatter in the electrical retail industry – what constitutes full HD?
Consumers Slam Hitachi Over Full HD Claims Consumers are up in arms over Hitachi’s decision to sell 1080i Plasma and LCD TVs as Full HD. Following our story last week when we revealed that Australia’s largest retailer had demanded TV manufacturers clarify their Full HD TVs after Hitachi was caught passing off 1080i TV as being Full HD, several consumers and resellers of TVs have contacted SmartHouse highly critical of Hitachi’s actions.
ACCC Has Its Say On Full HD UPDATED: The ACCC won’t force Hitachi and other vendors which are reportedly 'incorrectly' advertising and marketing 1080i plasma TVs as ‘full HD’ to pull their products from retail stores and re-brand them as simply ‘HD’ until an industry standard defining full HD is developed.
Sony Slashes LCD Prices For Christmas Sony Australia has announced new pricing cuts for its Bravia LCD TV range in the lead up to the Christmas peak shopping period, with the entry level price for a 40-inch 1080p Full HD Bravia LCD TV down from $3,499 in September to just $3,199.
Samsung Plasma Goes Full-HD A full new range of Samsung plasma TVs has been unleashed – the P9 Series, the first 1080p plasma from the brand, designed for entertainment enthusiasts who desire the “ultimate viewing experience”.
Ten Digital Station Now On Optus TV Network Ten’s new digital TV signal will be available to Optus TV (OTV) users from 1 December, meaning Ten’s digital signal now features in the platforms of all Australian subscription TV providers in Ten’s market.
Austar To Carry Ten In Overlap Areas Austar units will carry Network Ten’s digital signal in metropolitan/regional ‘overlap’ areas when its new MySTAR service launches.
Turnbull Says Plasma Is Safe A transcript from a meeting held yesterday at the Office of the Minister for Environment and Water Resources, Malcolm Turnbull, shows the Minister is confident that plasma and LCD televisions won’t be banned in Australia following a proposal viewed by the Australian Greenhouse Office suggesting the flatscreen TVs waste too much energy.
Ten And Seven To Offer HDTV Nine was left behind this week in the move to high definition TV broadcasts with Seven and Ten networks announcing they will launch free-to-air TV channels before the end of the year.
Panasonic Reinforces Plasma For 50"-Plus Panasonic has launched its new 100Hz Viera plasma range ahead of the Rugby World Cup, with focus to promote a perfect sense of realism and picture quality to the Australian public.
HD Products Gain Certified Logo Representative of leading digital TV players, the Australian Digital Suppliers Industry Forum (ADSIF), yesterday revealed a certification logo to help consumers buy high definition (HD) products.
Pioneer’s Kuro Plasma Voted Europe’s Best Pioneer’s brand new range of black-chassied, Kuro-branded full-HD plasma televisions has already gained recognition in Europe only several months after its launch with the European Image and Sound Association (EISA) naming the 50-inch PDP-LX508D model ‘Europe’s best Full-HD plasma screen'.
Will Pioneer's Kuro Plasma Sell? Pioneer Electronics' new Kuro plasmas will launch next month despite reports that global plasma sales will fall to 15 per cent by late next year.
HD Rocking & Rolling Claims Sony All things HD are hot according to research group GFK. In fact consumers are pouring into LCD TV's Camcorders and gaming machines in big numbers to the point that 57% of the TV markert is now HD 1080p
HD DVD Vs Blu-ray Battle Continues The next-generation HD format war rages on with figures from online movie rental company, Quickflix, suggesting HD DVD is leading the race.
Blu-Ray & HD DVD Prices Set To Crash The price of Blu-ray and HD DVD players are set to crash to sub $799 in Australia as major manufacturers like Samsung and Toshiba slash prices overseas.
Blu-ray Or HD DVD? Two high-def disc formats, HD DVD and Blu-ray, are promising a new era in home cinema. Should you buy now, or wait? Is DVD really dead? Is there software to match the hardware? Which format will reign supreme?
Everything You Wanted To Know About HD TV We’ve all heard that high-definition TV is just around the corner. We explain exactly what it is and take a look at some of the best products to bring high-definition to your home.
Who Gives A Rats Arse About HD DVD? Blu-ray will win the HD format war in Australia according to the head of marketing for CE retailer JB Hi-Fi, to the extent that JB HiFi is not stocking HD DVD players or content.
See Tropfest In High Definition Short-film competition Tropfest will feature more films in high definition than ever before – with sponsor Sony boasting one in four of the 600 entrants utilised the HD format to record their films.
HDTV Homes To Triple By 2011 The number of homes with high definition television sets worldwide will triple to reach 151 million by the end of 2011, according to a new research report from Informa Telecoms & Media.
Blu-ray Movies Are Here Sony is rolling out a small number of Blu-ray disc movies this month, to coincide with the launch of Blu-ray players from Samsung and Panasonic.
Cinemateq Gives Scaler HDMI Upgrade Home Theatre specialist, Cinemateq, has announced the availability of an HDMI / audio upgrade kit for owners of its high-end scaler, Picture Optimizer Plus II SDI.
Smarthouse gives you the low-down on all that HD TV has to offer - the best TVs both LCD and Plasma, plus peripherals. We also cover great ski gear and awesome in-car entertainment, as well as all the usual features…
