Industry experts have played down reports that Panasonic’s Tru2way TV has failed to pass tests after being submitted for certification.
The manufacturer was expected to introduce Tru2way sets at selected retail outlets in test markets in September.
It had submitted units for certification testing at the industry’s R&D consortium, CableLabs.
Reports then emerged of “bugs” in the implementation which had resulted in the sets being failed.
CableLabs issued a statement saying it was unable to comment on specific test results.
However, it went on to say it was common for devices to require multiple test runs before achieving CableLabs Certification.
“Manufacturers generally account for such timing in their product plans,” said the statement.
“CableLabs conducts multiple test waves throughout the year in order to accommodate additional testing.
“Panasonic has entered an upcoming certification wave, which provides ample time for products to reach the marketplace to meet the company’s rollout schedule.
“Other tru2way products, including products from Samsung and ADB, have already been Certified by CableLabs.”
Tru2way technology is the inclusion of set-top technology inside the TV set units themselves, so removing the need for an external box.
Later, Panasonic released a statement saying they still expected to be selling the TVs for the Christmas season.
"Panasonics Tru2way-enabled VIERA HDTV is in the certification process at CableLabs. Panasonic expects to deliver Tru2way-enabled VIERA HDTVs to the market in time for the holiday season," the statement said.
Blog
-
Doubts cast on Autumn launch of Tru2way television set
-
High Definition footage of action adventure game for iPhone released
Apple has released HD footage of a demonstration of the upcoming iPhone fantasy game Krull created by Barcelona-based Digital Legends Entertainment.
The 3D mobile game uses a combination of touch-based controls and accelerometer mechanics.
Dynamic shadows and other handheld-level effects are also on display in the footage received by Shacknews.
Xavier Carillo Costa, CEO of Digital Legends, said his team only got the iPhone SDK two weeks before the demo, and that the port itself took just four days to create.
Krull is expected to be available available from the upcoming iPhone App Store in September, following the July launch of the new iPhone 2.0. Based on Apple founder Steve Jobs’ WWDC keynote address other original games should also be available, which iPhone users should be able to download wirelessly from their phones.
Earlier this month it was announced that iTunes will be launching movie rentals and sales via iTunes in the UK, with 100 being available in HD.
The move, as with that for Canada, is a result of deals signed with 20th Century Fox, Walt Disney, Paramount Pictures, Warner Bros., MGM, Sony Pictures and Lionsgate.
Eddy Cue, Apple’s vice president of iTunes, said the iTunes Store in the UK would have over 700 films for purchase and rent.
“We think customers in the UK are going to love being able to enjoy their favourite movies on their iPod, iPhone or on a widescreen TV with Apple TV,” he said. -
Signs point towards rising output of Blu-ray Discs as production capacity grows
The market leader in the manufacture of optical disc production lines has upgraded its 2008 forecast for Blu-ray machines by 50% after receiving strong orders in the first three months of the year.
Along with “numerous orders” for Blu-ray lines from Europe and Asia, the company received its first major order for Blu-ray from the US.
Stefan Baustert, CEO of Singulus Technologies, said its order projections had been upped from 20 Blu-ray machines to “about 30 machines” for 2008.
He said a market share of more than 65 % was targeted for the Blu-ray segment.
“This means that the orders for Blu-ray in the first year of the dual layer technology already by far exceeded the volume at the start of the DVD eleven years ago with 17 machines,” he said.
“It is also very promising that recently the first Dual Layer Blu-ray disc machine was accepted by one of our key customers in the US.”
Singulus is the only manufacturer globally to offer the complete range of optical disc production line products: mastering, molding and replication lines.
Speaking at the company’s AGM in Frankfurt am Main, Baustert said orders for 21 Blu-ray dual layer machines were received in the first quarter of 2008 and that additional orders followed in the 2nd quarter.
Singulus’ ability to cope with increased demand had been considerably strengthened by the acquisition earlier this year of the Blu-ray disc activities of Oerlikon Balzers in Switzerland. -
More HD titles needed to boost up-take of Blu-ray players
With Blu-ray sales still not setting the heather alight much has been made of the high cost of HD players and continued viewer satisfaction with standard-definition DVD.
Paul Erickson, director of DVD and HD Market Research at DisplaySearch, is in no doubt these are big factors contributing to Blu-ray’s slow shift into the living room.
Adding to the picture is the emergence of online content delivery as a viable source of HD programming, something that is seen as posing a real threat to Blu-ray’s long-term survival.
“As online delivery services from Netflix, Microsoft and other players continue to evolve and mature over these next few years, and consumer bandwidth increases, there is considerable pressure for Blu-ray to make its mark on the mainstream,” said Erickson.
“Price-based accessibility has remained a significant constraint. Therefore, the recent introduction of a sub-$300 Blu-ray player (by Wal-Mart) is a step in the right direction.”
But what is also needed, according to Erickson, is for more HD programming to be made.
“Should the collective companies and studios with a stake in Blu-ray Disc engage in price aggression on both hardware and software over 2008 and 2009, it will greatly increase the format’s representation in the eventual mix of video content delivery options being utilized by the consumer of the future.” -
Europe must think globally if it wants to catch up with the US and Japan in HDTV
If Europe wants to benefit from the growing HDTV market, broadcasters and production companies must take a broader view.
That is the advice of Jaume Rey, director of Professional & Broadcast IT Systems Business Unit (PBITS), part of the Panasonic group.
Speaking at a conference on “HD content in Europe”, he urged those involved in producing TV programmes to look beyond local markets.
He noted that while European consumers have embraced HD acquisition technology, many viewers are still watching television on SD sets.
“HD has expanded extensively throughout Europe in recent years and is now present almost everywhere,” he said.
“The US and Japan are ahead of us in Europe though some European countries, such as the UK, France, and the Scandinavian countries have already invested and adopted the HD technology.
“In countries such as Spain, broadcasters and production companies must show a lead in the introduction of HD.
"In a growing market, manufacturers need to think globally instead of locally where content production and distribution is concerned.”
Mr Rey said examples of innovative video distribution such as YouTube illustrated the wider view required and European countries should play a key role on this development because of the rich resources of the European cultural heritage.
“Spain, in particular, with a 400 million potential market of Spanish speakers globally, should play a leading part,” he said.
He was delivering the keynote speech at the Universitat de València CONTD Conference in València, Spain.
Mr Rey ended his speech by pointing to a future in which HD technology will feed into a much wider range of productions, including videogames and virtual reality content production, as well as archive AV solutions. -
Soccer fans enjoy ITV's first HD programming as Euro 2008 matches broadcast on Freesat
The UK’s ITV network has launched its HD service on Freesat by broadcasting the opening games from Euro 2008.
Freesat is a subscription-free, digital satellite TV service from ITV and the BBC.
Viewers can see all the games the BBC has rights to in high definition on Virgin Media and Sky, but ITV announced that its debut HD programmes would be matches on the opening few days of the football tournament.
The first HD offering from ITV was the Portugal v Turkey match on Saturday.
Following this, ITV’s games through to the 13th of June will also be available in high definition, by pressing the red button on ITV1 when viewing on Freesat.
Although Euro 2008 will occupy the channel for the next few weeks, Simon Fell, Controller Emerging Technologies, ITV Consumer, said there would also be HD coverage of England football internationals, the Champions League football and selected dramas.
Speaking at Understanding and Solutions’ Driving Digital Content event, Mr Fell said the red button strategy was made necessary by the structure of the ITV Network. “We’re a regional business funded by advertising and that’s the model we have to keep to,” he said.
Once an HD broadcast has completed, viewers will be returned to their local ITV region. -
Consumer group claims Sony PS3 uses five times more energy than a fridge
An Australian consumer body has called for small consumer electronics devices to carry energy-usage labels following a survey into power consumption.
Tests carried out by Sydney-based CHOICE showed that a PlayStation3 left on but not in use would cost Aus$250 annually in electricity – over five times more than a medium-sized fridge.
The survey found the usage cost for the Xbox 360 was not much lower.
In Australia, white goods must carry the energy-efficiency star labels by law, but while the Federal Government has recently discussed introducing such a scheme for computers and monitors, currently there is no such requirement.
Christopher Zinn, CHOICE’s media spokesman, said consumers were unaware of consumption rates for some smaller electronic devices.
He said mandatory energy-usage labels should be introduced for computer products sold in Australia.
“While we hope no one actually leaves their games console on for a whole year 24/7, the figures are indicative of just how much electricity these small devices can chew their way through,” he said. -
Japan's HD offerings boosted by launch of new VOD service
.gif)
The growing market for high definition television in Japan has received a further boost with the start of a VOD service by the country’s largest retail chain, Tsutaya.
Users will be able to download titles from home using the acTVila portal that is popular on Japanese plasma and LCD HDTVs.
They will have 48 hours to watch the films or TV shows as many times as they want.
The new service from Tsutaya, which counts 27.2 million members at its 1,330 branches across Japan, is the latest sign of the growing popularity of HDTV in the country.
The retailer plans to make deals with four Hollywood studios – Paramount, Warner Brothers, Walt Disney and NBC Universal – to expand its available online library to 2,000 titles by the end of the year.
It added that high-speed fiber-optic connections are required for use of the service – which are currently available in about a quarter of Japan’s 48 million homes.
The service launched with downloads of the first season of hit US series “Heroes”, “Lost” and “Desperate Housewives”.
Each full length movie will cost 735 yen (about $7 USD) with other prices still to be announced
Tsutaya hopes that the new service will pull in more customers with higher disposable incomes in the 40-50 age range.
AcTVila was developed by Japan’s major television makers – Sharp, Sony, Matsushita, Toshiba and Hitachi – and is compatible with several dozen models of plasma or liquid crystal display sets. -
Intelsat announces appointment of acting Chief Financial Officer
Intelsat, Ltd., the world’s leading provider of fixed satellite services, has appointed its Chief Executive Officer, David McGlade, as acting Chief Financial Officer.
The announcment follows the resignation of Jeffrey Freimark from the position of CFO, a move that was effective from June 5. He is leaving to pursue other opportunities.
Mr McGlade will also continue to serve as CEO while an external search for a permanent CFO is carried out.
In a statement, Mr McGlade said: “Jeff’s oversight of the PanAmSat acquisition financing and his involvement in the integration process, together with his focus on assuring our compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, were important factors in our corporate success over the past few years.
“We thank him for his contributions to Intelsat, and we wish him the best in his future endeavors. Our business is performing well.
“Last month, Intelsat reported a strong quarter with record revenues and successfully launched the Galaxy 18 satellite.
“We remain focused on executing our proven business plan.” -
Leading HDTV manufacturers take legal action against Vizio over patents
Mitsubishi, Samsung, Sony, and Philips have filed a patent suit against low-cost HDTV maker Vizio claiming the company is violating 15 patents key to supporting MPEG-2 video in its products.
The legal action is seeking an order to prevent Vizio from using the patents, as well as financial compensation.
According to the complaint – other parties to which also include Columbia University of New York, Victor Co. of Japan, and Thompson – the individual companies have pursued Vizio about licensing the patents, but the company has refused to deal with them.
It is claimed that Vizio has also declined to discuss the matter with the MPEG Licensing Authority trade group.
In response to the suit, which was filed in federal court in Manhattan on June 2, Vizio said it doesn’t need licenses for the MPEG-2 patents.
It claims its suppliers have licensed the patents and those licenses extend to Vizio’s products.
The company said it will fight the suit and expects its partners will support and cooperate in the defence.
Earlier this year, the MPEG LA trade group filed suit against Target over its Tru-tech brand of televisions (PDF) on similar patent infringement claims.
Vizio has made a name for itself in the US by selling comparatively low-cost high-definition televisions through mass retailers like Wal-mart, Costco, and Circuit City, often substantially undercutting prices for similarly-featured models from competitors. During the first quarter of 2008, Vizio was ranked as the number three seller of LCD televisions by DisplaySearch and iSuppli.