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HD / HD TV

HDMI 1.4 Set To Be Integrated Into Gaming Consoles
Gaming console manufacturers are set to be among the first manufacturers to deliver 3D-enabled devices using the new HDMI 1.4 standard.


11 New Toshiba LCD TVs Include DVD Combo Model
Toshiba has expanded its LCD TV range with 11 new models including six star energy rated televisions and smaller sized DVD/TV combo units.


Channel Seven Could Be Liable For Upset TV Buyers
Consumers who purchased goods from Kogan Technologies after seeing the organisation spruiked by Channel Sevens Today Tonight Show, may have a right of claim against the TV show after Kogan was recently slammed by the ACCC for misleading advertising.


Pioneer Banks On Big New Kuro Plasma
Pioneer Electronics’s new 60-inch Kuro Full HD plasma TV boasts black levels five times over its current award-winning 8th Generation models.


Akai Release Mid-Range LCD TVs
Two of Akai’s latest range of LCD TVs comes with a built-in DVD player and 3-in-1 card reader, giving users instant movie and image viewing.


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.


Grundig Launches Compact & Portable HD/DVD TV
The Grundig Misuro HD, with integrated High Definition DVBT and DVD is designed to be the complete television package.


Toshiba Rolls Out HD LCD & 3 DVD Players
Toshiba has launched its high definition, REGZA XV500 LCD TV series along with a suite of DVD players.


Mid-Size Panasonic LCD TVs Offer Full HD
Full high definition (FHD) is on offer from a 32-inch and 37-inch range of Panasonic LCD TVs.


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.


Next Generation HD Foxtel Coming Mid-2008
A new high definition (HD) Foxtel iQ set-top box and a HD service called Foxtel HD+ will be released 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.


Dual Blu Ray/ HD DVD Player From Samsung Announced
Samsung will next week release a new dual format Blu-ray/HD DVD player.The BDP-UP5000 hybrid player has been coming for more than 6 months.


Another Victory For Blu-Ray, Courtesy Blockbuster
The Blu-ray camp will be breaking out the bubbles following Blockbuster’s decision to stock only Blu-ray discs in its stores in the US.


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.



 



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