Business News Holding

Category: hdtv

  • US HDTV Ownership Shoots Up


    A third (33.3%) of US households now have HDTVs, up from 19.3% a year ago, according to a Nielsen survey.

    However, only 28.8% of all US homes received HD programming as of February 2009.

    In January, In-Stat reported that more than 39 million US households have an HDTV set yet 43% – or 17 million – either don’t have or don’t watch HD content.

    The Nielsen findings also showed that the average household has 2.6 sets (2.0 SD sets; 0.5 HD).

    Among homes with HDTVs, the average is 3.0 sets (1.4 HD; 1.6 SD).

    Steve McGowan, Nielsen’s SVP of client research initiatives, said in a blog post the results showed that not since color TV was introduced more than 50 years ago has a new TV technology been so rapidly adopted.

    "And despite the recession, Americans seem willing to continue to spend their hard-earned money on this new technology," he said.

    Other Nielsen findings include:

    • HD penetration was greatest among Asian homes (41.8%) followed by white (34.3%), Hispanic (32.0%) and African-American homes (25.9%)
    • 62.7% of all HD sets in the U.S. were located in common areas
    • More than 75% of all tuning on HD sets happened in living rooms or other common areas
    • A higher percentage of HD sets (30.6%) were attached to video game consoles than were SD sets (19.9%)

  • HDNet Dropped By Time Warner


    Time Warner Cable is dropping two HDNet channels, claiming their programming has "limited appeal".

    The move is effective from May 31 with the channels to be replaced by other high definition options.

    Mark Cuban, owner of HDNet and the Dallas Mavericks NBA basketball team, wouldn’t comment "on ongoing negotiations" but refuted the claim that HDNet’s programming lacked appeal.

    However, Time Warner Cable’s head of PR, Robyn Watson, said: "There’s a limited appeal for the programming.

    "In a world with more than 100 HD channels, being in HD is not enough.

    "We are adding other channels in HD to give our customers more choice."

    HDNet remains widely distributed on US cable, and DTH satellite.

    It brings viewers 20 hours of HD programming weekly, including its flagship news programming Dan Rather Reports and HD World Report.

  • Rising HDTV Ownership Bodes Well For Ambient DVD Market


    The market for ambient DVDs may still be in its early days – but if HD Coolvision’s offering is anything to go by it could take off very quickly.

    The LA-based start-up has released The Moon, a DVD of high-def footage of this celestial wonder intended to be displayed as video artwork on flat-panel HDTVs.

    Filmed using high-end HD cameras by a professional cinematographer the stunning images are accompanied by an original music score  (see Silvery White MOON video after the break).

    Bruno Bonugli, owner and managing partner of HD Coolvision, told hdtv.biz-news that the idea behind ambient DVDs is to allow consumers to use their HDTVs to display video imagery and set the tone in a room.

    He said the concept was still relatively unheard of, despite the fact that many households now had flat-panel TVs.

    Recent research showed that more than 39 million US households have an HDTV set – and the figure keeps rising.

    "The biggest thing is that people still do not know what ambient DVDs are," he said.

    "I have many friends with big, flat-panel TVs who have never heard of them. That’s one of the hurdles we have to overcome."

    The Moon is HD Coolvision’s first ambient DVD. Among the options on the disc are "orange moon" rising shots, "distant moon" shots and a "white moon" moving across the screen in real time and slowed down versions.

    Another feature is moon facts that can be displayed on screen.

    Bonugli and his business partner, Dan Gorski, both Columbia College film graduates, said they have plans for future ambient DVDs.

    After choosing the moon as the subject Bonugli said they asked a friend who was a professional cinematographer to do the filming in HD for the DVD.

    "We researched the market and found that nobody really had a live view of the moon," he said.

    The pair are confident that the ambient DVD market will take off in a big way.

    "We have competitors out there who are putting a lot into promoting their products," said Bonugli. "They see something in this new market too."

    The Moon is available for USD $19.99.

  • Vista Users Gain As Microsoft Extends Netflix Partnership


    Microsoft Vista users can now stream films from Netflix through the Windows Media Center.

    The development comes after Microsoft announced that it has expanded its partnership with the movie service.

    Vista users can also stream Netflix movies on PCs by going to the Netflix site.

    The arrangement is part of Microsoft’s plans to develop its Media Center as an online video hub.

    Microsoft offers Media Center with the Vista operating system.

    By selecting the new Netflix tab in "TV+Movies" Vista users can start streaming films immediately.

    They will also be able to search and watch programs from Netflix’s online library of 12,000 movies and TV shows.

    Microsoft’s partnership with Netflix began last year when it began offering the movie service’s streaming movies through the Xbox 360 game console.

  • VIZIO HDTV Sales Boosted By Economic Downturn


    US TV-maker VIZIO remains the largest shipper of LCD HDTVs in North America – with an increased market share as consumers turn to value products.

    Shipments have increased 21.6 per cent in the first quarter of 2009, which is a 69 per cent increase year over year (YOY), according to iSuppli.

    VIZIO HDTVs are primarily merchandised through retail partners, such as Costco Wholesale, WalMart, Sam’s Club and Target stores.

    VIZIO also experienced quarter over quarter growth with a 46 per cent increase in Full HD 120Hz sets and 19 percent increase in 42" and above size TVs.

    LCD TV unit shipments grew 21 per cent from 1,116,428 in the final quarter of 2008 to 1,351,860 in first quarter 2009.

    When plasma HDTVs were added to the results, VIZIO’s shipping totals came to 1,400,207 TVs for the quarter and will also rank No.1 in US sales of total flat panel HDTVs.

    Riddhi Patel, principal analyst, television systems, for iSuppli, said that due to its aggressive pricing, VIZIO for some time has maintained its position as North America’s top-selling LCD TV value brand.

    "However, since the onset of the economic downturn, VIZIO’s share has risen dramatically," he said.

  • VUDU Partners Brightcove For Ad-Supported STB content


    VUDU has agreed a partnership with online video platform Brightcove that will allow its customers to distribute their content directly to the living room television via VUDU.

    The first feature available in the VUDU Labs area of the VUDU service will be the MyPlay application, which offers current Sony Music videos through Sony Music’s MyPlay Video Network affiliate program.

    Edward Lichty, executive vice president of strategy and content for VUDU, said that for the first time, content owners can make all of their online video available on the television without changing their monetization strategy.

    He said the partnership supports multiple advertising platforms, allowing Brightcove customers to maintain their existing online video monetization strategy and infrastructure while expanding their distribution reach to the television.

    VUDU is the first partner to support Brightcove-powered, ad-supported content distribution on a set-top-box.

    "Through our integration with Brightcove’s online video platform, we are combining the selection and control of the online video experience with the visual richness and lean-back satisfaction of the television experience," he said.

    Chris Johnston, director of technology partnership at Brightcove, said it had been challenging to expand online video distribution beyond websites to the living room.

    "The partnership announced today with VUDU is a significant step forward for media businesses that want to centrally manage distribution and monetization across the Web while also taking advantage of the high-quality TV experience VUDU enables," he said.

    The integration with Brightcove utilizes VUDU’s Rich Internet Applications (RIA) platform to add on-demand video to the VUDU service by enabling ad-supported content.

    RIA enables VUDU to support dynamic ad logic and live ad calls to content owners’ existing advertising platforms.

    Content owners retain complete control over their advertising inventory.

  • Epix Network Offers HD Movie Streaming Service


    Epix plans to offer full-length HD movies over the Internet using a dynamic-streaming feature from Akamai Technologies’ content-distribution network.

    The movie service, created by Viacom, MGM and Lionsgate, previously said it was launching as a broadband-video service in May, followed by the linear cable channel in October.

    Akamai will provide the dynamic-streaming feature through Adobe Flash Media Server 3.5.

    This allows video playback to adapt to the capabilities of users’ computers – adjusting the bit rate of the video stream according to processor speeds and Internet connections.

    Epix chief digital officer, Emil Rensing, said it intends to provide new releases, catalog titles and original content over a variety of platforms, including TV, computers and mobile devices.

    Epix has not announced carriage agreements with pay-TV providers.

    "The Epix model of commercial-free, uninterrupted current Hollywood movies will set a new online content bar," he said.

    "Akamai’s dynamic streaming solution enables us to be one of the first to provide the accessibility, quality and convenience which today’s digital consumers desire."

    Epix’s titles are expected to include The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Cloverfield, Defiance, Drillbit Taylor, The Duchess, How She Move, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and Iron Man.

    The service will also have the rights to all 17 remastered James Bond movies, as well as Raiders of the Lost Ark, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.

    Akamai and Adobe expect the solution to be commercially available before the end of June.

  • Sony Launches Coin-Sized HD Camera


    Sony has developed a coin-sized high-def camera module that can be used for security and industrial applications.

    The 8.3-megapixel camera, which measures just 9.5 x 7.1mm, is capable of delivering 720p, 30fps video.

    Called the MCB1172, the device from Sony Europe’s Image Sensing Solutions Division includes movie stabilisation, face detection, autofocus and motion autofocus.

    It also boasts a high sensitivity mode and a slow-mo function, delivering 120fps as well as the option of 16x zoom.

    Sony says it the HD camera is available now for mass production and products with the module are expected to reach business markets later this year.

  • Consumers Prefer Discs Over Downloads At Home


    Watching movies and other video content on DVD and Blu-ray Disc accounts for 88 per cent of home entertainment spending – even although newer digital methods are beginning to gain a foothold in the consumer market.

    The average US home video consumer reported spending an average of USD $25 per month on all types of home video purchases and rentals, according to NPD Group.

    The researchers found that when it comes to spending on home video content: 63 per cent was spent on DVD purchases; 7 per cent on BD purchases; 18 per cent on DVD/BD rentals from retail stores, subscriptions or kiosks; 9 per cent on video on-demand (VOD); and 3 per cent on digital downloads and online streaming.

    Most consumers don’t use digital options to watch a full-length movie, although the numbers have grown over the last year.

    Digital movie downloaders also tend to buy and rent Blu-ray Discs more than the average consumer: 25 per cent of them bought or rented a Blu-ray Disc in the last three months, versus 5 per cent overall.

    Russ Crupnick, entertainment industry analyst for NPD, said discs are still and by far the dominant way Americans enjoy home video.

    "But there is an increasing appetite for digital options," he said. "The good news is that the consumers engaging with digital video today also tend to be heavy consumers of DVDs and Blu-ray Disc, but it remains to be seen just how long physical discs and digital formats can co-exist."

  • Can Blu-Ray Now Be Called Mainstream?


    The drop in the average price of Blu-Ray players is, not surprisingly, fuelling sales of the high-def disks.

    But figures out from NPD show that the effect of cheaper players could finally be giving the format mass market appeal.

    High hardware prices has long been given as a barrier to Blu-Ray technology becoming widely accepted.

    The average price of Blu-ray players dropped nearly 34 per cent over the last year, falling from USD $393 in Q1 2008 to USD $261 in Q1 2009.

    This, according to NPD’s Blu-ray Report, helped Q1 2009 sales of standalone Blu-ray players (not including PS3) to reach more than 400,000 units, marking a 72 per cent increase over Q1 2008.

    Sales totaled USD $107.2 million in the first quarter.

    Ross Rubin, director of industry analysis at NPD, said the rising penetration of high-definition televisions and lower Blu-ray player prices are broadening the format’s market opportunity.

    "Even as options expand for accessing movies digitally, Blu-ray is carrying forward the widespread appeal of DVD into the high-definition marketplace."

    Amidst these positive notes for Blu-Ray, NPD reports that 58 per cent of adults surveyed were still "not very familiar" with Blu-ray.

    Some work still to be done then.