Entries Tagged 'HDTV' ↓

Apple TV 2.0 is now available and many are wondering how the quality of Apple’s so-called HD downloads compares to what we are seeing via other high-def sources such as Blu-ray & HD Cable.

Charles Starrett over at iLounge has looked at the matter and has an in-depth article complete with screen captures exploring the visual and audio quality of Apple 2.0 movie downloads compared to Blu-ray discs, standard DVDs and High Definition Cable movies.

The conclusion is that Blu-ray was clearly superior in both picture and sound fidelity when viewed on their 40” Sony Bravia XBR4 display with 1080p at 120Hz. The Apple TV movie, despite being delivered over the Internet, generally looked and sounded better than HD Cable and DVD.

They point out that the potential superiority of the Blu-ray movie may not actually be experienced by many HDTV viewers who have displays that cannot display Blu-ray’s full 1080p resolution. Most HDTV sets sold before 2007 can only display up to 720p or 1080i.

The bottom line from iLounge is, “If you’re using a TV without the ability to display 1080p video—especially if you don’t have a receiver capable of decoding the Blu-Ray Disc’s DTS-HD signal—an Apple TV rental will be an almost complete substitute for renting the Blu-Ray.”

See the comparison pictures for yourself at iLounge.com.

A year ago Netflix started a movie and streaming service to compliment their DVD by mail rentals. However, there were limits on the number of hours you could download and watch each month based on the level of your DVD rental plan. You were allowed about an hour of video on demand for each dollar of your monthly plan. If you subscribed to the $17 a month DVD rental plan, you got 18 hours of “Instant Watching” on your PC each month.

Now Netflix is offering unlimited streaming of movies and TV shows for all plans except for the lowest $4.99 a month plan. The price of the plans that offer unlimited streaming starts at $8.99 a month.

Perhaps digital delivery will help solve the problems the company is having with their DVD mailing costs. The postal service has complained about the flimsy Netflix DVD mailing envelopes clogging their mail sorting machines and will start charging the company an extra 17 cents per envelope.

The announcement is made on the eve of MacWorld 2008 when Steve Jobs is expected to announce a new movie rental service tied to iTunes and perhaps a new and improved Apple TV.

And if you are a Mac user, you might want to wait. The Netflix service runs on PC only.

What happens when your home internet gets cut off by your cable company because you are bypassing their Video on Demand service and buying movies and TV shows directly from services like iTunes or Amazon Unbox? That may be the situation facing Comcast customers if the company decides they are bandwidth hogs and suspends their service.

The Washington Post is reporting that a number of Comcast subscribers have had their Internet service suspended after being put on notice to cut back on their downloading or else. The company argues that those high-volume users are slowing down the network for other customers. One problem that those given notice face is that they are not being given guidance on what exactly constitutes excessive bandwidth in the eyes of Comcast.

Imagine waking up one morning and going to check your email and finding out that your broadband Internet has been turned off even though you pay your bill on time and otherwise abide by the terms of service. I don’t know about you but it would be akin to having my electricity or water turned off. Broadband has become in essence another utility service that we depend on and expect to have uninterrupted access to. Many rely on their home Internet for communications more than their land line phone or television.

Consumers may have to be just as concerned about overextending a bandwidth limit on their Internet downloads as they are about watching their monthly cell phone minutes. This bandwidth paranoia is bad news to companies who hope to sell video content via the Internet to customers who may have their usage monitored by a cable TV provider who has an interest in discouraging their customers from getting video content from any other source but them.

Yesterday, movie-on-demand provider Vudu launched their service which competes with cable companies by delivering high-definition movies directly to home TVs through the Internet. They join a number of other players including Apple, Amazon, TiVo and NetFlix who have entered the pay-per-download video service. With Apple putting the pressure on media partners to cut the costs of TV show downloads in half from $1.99 to 99¢ per show, the pressure will become even greater on cable companies whose customers may decide to drop their expensive cable TV service and buy their favorite shows online, putting more pressure on the cable companies.

Big screen, small footprint; this is one of the biggest advantages of a projector-based home theater. And men, this benefit needs to be played up when negotiating your home theater plans with your spouse and seeking that all important WAF (wife acceptance factor).

Continue reading →

Verizon’s FiOS TV now has almost half a million subscribers according to an announcement by Ivan Seidenberg, chairman and CEO. Verizon also said they have signed over one million customers to the FiOS Internet service.

Continue reading →

Wal-Mart has announced that it will stop selling all analog TVs as of the end of May, 2007 and will be providing signs in their electronics department explaining the transition to all-digital television broadcasting in the USA coming in 2009.

FiOS TV has a new interface to their Interactive Media Guide coming out this summer. Check out this Sneak Peek.