| Do You Have HDTV? Get a FREE Dish Network Satellite System With Up to 4 Receivers, HDTV (Up to 25 HDTV Channels) & a DVR!! *Next Day Installation* Click Here! |
If You have a Video iPOD, you can
choose from loads of different movies
for it here. They'll also play on your PC
at full DVD quality. Loads of movies,
but only one low price...Check It Out
choose from loads of different movies
for it here. They'll also play on your PC
at full DVD quality. Loads of movies,
but only one low price...Check It Out
1 Touch Movie.com Home Theater and
Audio Video News Archive
Audio Video News Archive
Photos from the 2004 CEDIA Expo - p.2
**1-24-06 HOLLYWOOD, CA - Disney buys Pixar. The Disney corp., traded 2.3 of
their stock shares for each Pixar share in this stock swap only deal, worth around
$7.4B. Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, also a co-founder and CEO of Pixar,
owned 50.6% of Pixar's stock, will become Disney's largest single shareholder.
Jobs will also receive a Disney board seat. Pixar is known for revolutionizing the
motion picture industry with smash CGI feature films such as Toy Story and
Finding Nemo. Needless to say, Steve Jobs is now richer than ever.
** 1-23-06 El Segudo, CA - DirecTV will initiate an equipment leasing
program, similar to its multichannel satellite competitor Dish Network and
various cable TV providers. Consumers will now lease dish antennas and set top
boxes, rather than purchasing them from retailers and installation companies.
** 1-13-06 TAIWAN - Samsung and AU Optronics sign a cross - license
agreement. This allow access to each other's patent portfolio. The agreement
should spur the development of new LCD and OLED video displays.
**1-10-06 DETROIT, MI - Chrysler group announced they will offer optional
iPOD integration on up to 3 million vehicles for the 2006 model year. They
would be the auto industry's first to do so.** 1-2-06 LAS VEGAS, NV - Once
again, consumer electronics industry insiders from the world over will converge
on sin city this week to kick off the Consumer Electronics Show. CES in Las
Vegas is the world's largest consumer electronics show. The 2006 edition of
CES is expected to draw over 120,000 visitors.
**12-22-05 TOKYO, JAPAN - In a breakthrough that could hasten the
arrival of OLED flat panel TVs, Mitsubishi Electric announced that they have
developed a new process for producing blue phosphorescence materials. The
new blue OLED material has four times the efficiency and twice the light output
of current materials.
**12-21-05 WASHINGTON, DC - On Wednesday, December, 20th, the U.S.
Senate approved a budget package that confirms the digital television
switchover date as February 17th, 2009. On this date all U.S. analog TV
broadcasting will cease entirely.
**12-08-05 Hot on the heels of their November announcement, DirectTV'
enables subscribers to receive local HDTV in 5 more markets. The new HDTV
enabled markets are: Tampa, WA DC, Houston, Dallas, and Beantown.
**12-13-05 TOKYO, JAPAN - Toshiba delays the introduction of HD-DVD in it's
home market. The electronics giant says it's ready to produce the players in
high volumes, but is unable to get licensing for AACS, the content protection
scheme used in HD-DVD.
**12-13-05 PARIS, FRANCE - Thompson Consumer Electronics, parent
company of TV pioneer RCA, is shopping for partners for their A/V business.
**12-08-05 NEW YORK, NY - There's a new HDTV music channel in town! Now
sponsored by Mitsubishi, the new Viacom music channel, MHD, will launch on
January 6th, 2006 and offer content from MTV, VH1 and CMT. That should look
great in your home theater.
**12-1-05 JVC Professional introduces two new 1080p native HD-ILA rear
projection TVs. They are 61" and 70" screen sizes. The models are the HD-
P61R1U & HD-P70R1U. Both are 3-chip designs, and have D-65 color
temperature calibration, RS-232 control, 2 HDMI inputs, 2 IEEE1394
connectors, CableCARD, and 9-way media card reader. The prices are $6,995
& $8,995 respectively.
**11-25-05 DirectTV's new H20 MPEG4 DSS receiver enables DirecTV
subscribers to receive local HDTV in 5 markets. These are as follows: Chicago,
Philly, Detroit, San Francisco, and Atlanta. Reportedly, 7 more cities will also
get local HDTV service from DirecTV by the end of the year. The upgrade to
the H20 receiver is $99.00. Some rebate offers may net the cost down to $0.00.
**10-17-05 TEMPE, AZ - Rockford sells NHT. NHT, the home audio speaker
company acquired by Rockford Corp. in 2002, has been sold to Vinci Labs of
Colorado for an undisclosed amount.
NEWS FLASH 9-27-05 Microsoft & Intel, two of the most powerful names in the
consumer electronics & computer industries, have put their collective muscle
behind the HD-DVD format. Microsoft announced that Xbox 360 will be
upgraded to an HD-DVD drive in the future. Just when it seemed Blu-Ray had
taken a commanding lead in the high definition discormat war, HD-DVD comes
roaring back. The plot thickens.
**8-12-05 SAN FRANCISCO, CA - TiVo is testing a new system that will allow
TiVo subscribers to download TV programming from the Internet. In some cases,
this could be done even before the show airs on traditional TV.
**8-08-05 UNION CITY, CA - Vidikron introduces 2 new DLP projectors, the
Vision Model 30 and Vision Model 50. Both are 1280 x 720 DLP units with
Vidikron's exclusive Imagix digital video processing. Both are engineered to ISF
standards. The Model 50 includes a variable iris and aperture to improve
contrast. Prices are $6,995 and $9,995 for the 30 and 50 respectively.
**8-05-05 EL SEGUNDO, CA - DirecTV Q2 sales up 34% over '04. Gross sales for
the quarter were up to almost $3B due to a greater number of set top boxes /
household and more premium channel package subscriptions. DirecTV now has
almost 15 million subscribers.
**8-01-05 EL SEGUNDO, CA - DirecTV offers free DVR after $100 rebate. To
jump start its fall promotional campaign, the satellite TV provider began
offering a DVR to customers with a two year commitment.
**7-29-05 ITASCA, ILL. - Marantz introduces a new turntable. Concedeing the
fact that vinyl is undergoing a resurgence, the veteran audio manufacturer is
introducing it's first turntable since the Carter administration. They are also
introducing a complete line of much more modern electronics such as an XM
Satellite receiver and a DLP projector for the home theater market. The DLP
projector is expected to have a price point of just under $6,000.
**7-22-05 AUSTIN, TX - Screen Innovations has announced a video
projection screen that allows front projection systems to be used in
environments with much higher ambient light than is typically possible. The
screen uses a high contrast filter from DNP over 60% of the screen's surface to
get it's high light performance. Stay tuned for pictures of this screen from the
CEDIA Expo in September.
**7-18-05 NEW YORK, NY - TiVO has announced they will begin placing pop
up ads during fast forward operations, among others. Certain subscribers will see
the ads and have the option to click and learn more or have information sent to
their homes.
**7-12-05 WASHINGTON, DC - Nations broadcasters agree to switch to all
digital broadcasts by January 1, 2009. The NAB relayed to congress they
would agree to the Jan 1 2009 change over date and release their analog
spectrum at that time.
**7-06-05 ENFIELD, CN - Merchandising VP Steve Wood moves from Ultimate
Electronics to Bernie's. This is one part in Bernie's growth strategy to increase its
store count by 50% within five years.
**7-01-05 SINGAPORE - Integrated Systems Asia, formerly InfoComm Asia, is
slated for 12 - 14 October 2005. The trade show is sponsored by the industry
groups CEDIA, ICIA and NSCA.
**6-30-05 SANTA FE SPRINGS, CA - Westinghouse Digital ships new 37" LCD
TV with 1080p resolution. The unit is part of the Westinghouse Digital 1080p
resolution line.
**6-27-05 TOKYO, JAPAN - Microsoft and Toshiba agree to collaborate on the
next generation HD DVD system. Toshiba would handle hardware development
and Microsoft would focus on software. Microsoft chairman Bill Gates indicated
this deal could signal the beginning of a new trend in collaboration between
Microsoft and other consumer electronics manufacturers.
**6-27-05 WASHINGTON DC - Grokster loses to MGM. The landmark Supreme
Court ruling came down today. The justices decided that file sharing networks
could be sued if their products can be used for unlawful purposes, even if there
are substantial lawful uses for them. The decision could radically alter the
consumer electronics firms develop products in the future. This is the second
landmark decision from the court in as many weeks. Last week the court voted 5-
4 to allow business use of private property to be counted as a "public good".
That decision opens the door for companies to have local and state
governments invoke "imminent domain" and seize property for use in private
developments. This is a radical departure from the previous view of the article
that applies to such private property seizures only for public projects such as
roads, schools and military installations.
**6-20-05 ENGLEWOOD, CO - Carl Vogel returns to Echostar as Vice Chairman
after stints at Primestar, Charter Communications & Liberty Media Group. Vogle
now concentrates on long term strategy for the satellite TV provider.
**6-15-05 SAN DIEGO, CA - DIVX6 Introduced. The latest version of the popular
Audio / video compression technology is launched, promising better and faster
compression.
**6-09-05 BOSTON, MA D&M holdings acquires Boston Acoustics for $76
million. D&M Holdings, the parent company of Denon and Marantz will also
pick up premium speaker manufacturer Snell, wholly owned by Boston
Acoustics. They add the speaker lines to thier other holdings that also include
McIntosh.
**6-03-05 The ever popular DVD backup program DVD Decrypter is no more.
Due to apparent legal action, by an undisclosed company, Lightning UK, the
creator of the beloved application, has had to pull the plug.
**6-03-05 MINNEAPOLIS, MN - Best Buy rolled out upper end Magnolia Audio
Video stores inside some of its existing locations today. This gives some Best
Buy stores the ability to demo upper end home theater and audio equipment
such as Sony Qualia, Martin Logan and Stewart Filmscreen. These, and other
Magnolia brands had previously been off limits to normal Best Buy stores.
**5-24-05 SEOUL, KOREA - Samsung announces the development of a 40",
wide screen OLED display. The panel is HDTV capable, with a 1280 x 800
resolution. Contrast ratio was given as 5000:1. The prototype unit was shown at
the Society for Information Display (SID) 2005 International Symposium,
Seminar and Exhibition in Boston, May 24– 27. The panel will allow TVs with a
1.5" thickness and about 1/2 the power consumption of a traditional LCD TV of
the same size.
**5-23-05 Upper Saddle River, N.J. Onkyo joins with custom installation
oriented companies such as Sonance and Speakercraft by introducing an iPOD
dock. The unit, at a suggested $99 price point , allows customers to use an
standard Onkyo remote control to control the iPOD.
**5-13-05 Broadcast Flag Part 2? Not content to take it's loss in the U.S. Court
of Appeals, the MPAA has, according to the advocacy group Public
Knowledge, gotten legislation introduced into congress that would give the
FCC the authority to mandate copy protection technology for digital TV tuners.
The court determined the FCC lacked such authority, much to the MPAA's
chagrin. This legislation was probably drafted even before the court decision
was handed down as a contingency measure.
**5-12-05 REDMOND, WA - Microsoft to debut the highly anticipated, new X-
BOX game console tonight on MTV.
**5-11-05 SALT LAKE CITY - Control4 is excited to announce that it has begun
shipping its award winning family of home automation products. With these new
wireless and wired IP-based products, high quality home automation is
available to the average consumer for the first time. The company has recently
received a number industry recognition awards, including the prestigious 2005
CES "Best of Innovations" award earlier this year.
**5-10-05 BURBANK, CA - Toshiba & Warner Home Video announce 2 new,
prerecorded HD-DVD formats. They are two and three layers, holding 30GB &
45GB respectively. The discs can be viewed in standard definition on a
conventional DVD player and in HD on an HD-DVD player. The announcement
comes at a time when published reports out of Japan have Sony & Toshiba in
talks to develop a unified, blue laser, high definition DVD format.**5-3-05
ENGLEWOOD, CO - Echostar Communications, owners of the Dish Network
satellite system, have added 10 HDTV channels from the now-defunct VOOM
network.
**5-2-05 Communications workers union and media activists oppose the
Adelphia purchase by Time Warner and Comcast on the grounds it will cost jobs
and hurt consumer choice. The deal is worth about $17.6Billion.
**5-2-05 According to Broadcasting and Cable, by this time next year, you
could never miss TV episodes again if your cell phone is set up to receive live
TV. Crown Castle Intl. is introducing Digital Video Broadcasting - Handheld
(DVB-H) to allow live TV to be broadcast to compatible cell phones.
**4-15-05 INDIANAPOLIS, IN - CEDIA tightens membership standards. In an
attempt to increase the value of a CEDIA membership, CEDIA has required that
every CEDIA member firm have at least 1 CEDIA certified employee by 1-31-06.
Firms not complying will at first be placed in a CEDIA "provisional" member list,
then dropped from the CEDIA directory if they remain non-compliant. CEDIA
offers certified training classes for custom installers at it's regionals and it's large
Expo trade show in September.
**4-13-05 LOS ANGELES, CA - Sony cans 200 employees at MGM. Quickly
following its purchase of the studio, Sony axed nearly 200 of MGMs 1,400
employees on the way to a final employee count of just a few hundred. This,
according to the news agency Rueters and the Los Angeles Times
**4-11-05 WARSAW, POLAND - In an effort to meet demand for digital TVs, LG
Electronics announced they are constructing a new TV manufacturing facility
in Poland. LG says this will assist them in raising production of digital TV sets to
6 million / year
**3-22-05 INDIANAPOLIS, IN - Bose loses to CEDIA again. In the second round
of the trademark infringement lawsuit over the term "Electronic Lifestyles" , the
Trademark Trial and Appeal Board refused Bose's request for a summary
judgement and indicated they would not consider fraud claims against CEDIA
arising from the association's use of the term.
**3-17-05 WASHINGTON - Betamax decision debated by the U.S. Supreme
Court. In a case which could fundamentally change the consumer's right to
record or copy content they have legally purchased, the RIAA and MPAA (who
else?) faced off against the CEA. Whichever way the decision goes, it is certain
to be appealed.
**3-15-05 Landmark Theaters, a chain of 59 theaters co- owned by Mark Cuban
of HDNET fame and Todd Wagner, announced plans to begin converting all of
its theaters to digital projection using Sony's SXRD technology. The first step is
to begin this summer with the installation of six new "4K " class SXRD
projectors. These units, at 4096 x 2160, have 4 times the resolution of current
digital cinema projectors.
**3-15-05 The Hollywood Reporter reports I-MAX is planning to announce a new
technology that will allow the conversion of any 2D 35mm film to 3D. They feel
this will help them compete with the proliferation of HDTV equipped home
theaters.
**315-05 WASHINGTON - The FTC is taking action against Comp USA to force
it to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in unpaid rebate claims. This is the 1st
time a national chain has been forced by the FTC to honor claims. Many other
CE and computer retailers should be shaking in their collective boots if this is
truly a first step in FTC actions of this type.
**3-14-05 VOOM, Still Here? The board of Cablevision has given the Dolans,
Charles & Tom, until March 31st to fund the Voom HDTV satellite network.
**3-11-05 CUPERTINO, California - Apple jumps on the Blu-Ray bandwagon.
Eschewing the HD-DVD format in favor of Blu-Ray, Apple has also been given a
seat on the board of the Blu-Ray disc association.
**3-09-05 TOKYO - Stringer now top dog at Sony. Howard Stringer has been
named CEO of Sony Corp., the first time a foreigner has ever been given the
helm of the consumer electronics giant
**3-7-05 Marantz comes to AVAD. Nationwide distributor AVAD adds Marantz to
their line of custom installation focused brands. Other brands in the AVAD
stable include Harman Kardon, Lutron, Panamax, Samsung, GE Interlogix,
Channel Plus, Leviton and Universal Remotes, among others.
**2-23-05 SEATTLE, WA - Proving home automation is becoming ever more
mainstream, e-commerce giant Amazon.com is offering products from
Smarthome, an Irvine, CA based home automation equipment manufacturer.
**3-1-05 BETHPAGE, N.Y. — Current owner of the Voom HDTV satellite system,
Cablevision Systems, and Charles Dolan, the Cablevision chairman trying to
buy the remaining assets of the business, today released contradictory
announcements regarding the future of the service.
Cablevision indicated it had ended discussions with the company set up by
Charles and Tom Dolan to acquire the satellite service, Voom HD LLC, and
reached no agreement regarding future operations. Cablevision then stated they
would be closing the service down.
Later in the day Voom HD LLC released a statement saying they would continue
financing the service and would, in fact, expand.
The 46,000 Voom subscribers wait with baited breath.
**2-23-05 Tandberg Television scores a $9M order from DirectTV including a
number of the EN5990, its real-time HD MPEG-4 encoder. The order paves the
way for DirecTV to begin the transition to MPEG-4, allowing much greater
HDTV channel capacity. Unfortunately, existing equipment is not compatible
with the MPEG-4 technology and will require replacement.
**2-21-05 SUNNYVALE, CA Matsushita, Philips, Sony, Samsung and Intertrust,
which is partly owned by Sony and Philips, will form Marlin Joint Development
Association to create a standard (DRM) specification. The group would
encourage content providers to make music and video available through
multiple distribution modes, from broadcast TV to the Internet.
**2-11-05 Washington — The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted
overwhelmingly to reject a proposal that multi-system cable operators be
required to carry multiple broadcast signals from terrestrial broadcasters. They
only must simulcast the primary signal in digital and don't have to carry
additional simulcast signals..
**2-08-05 SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Sony, Toshiba & IBM Challenge Intel
Dominance. Setting up a battle for the future of computing, engineers from
IBM, Sony and Toshiba unveiled details of a microprocessor they claim has the
muscle of a supercomputer and can power everything from video game
consoles to business computers.
Devices built with the processor, code-named Cell, will compete directly with
the PC chips that have powered most of the world's personal computers for a
quarter century. Cell's designers say their chip, built from the start with the
burgeoning world of rich media and broadband networks in mind, can deliver
10 times the performance of today's PC processors.**2-3-05 Digital amplifier
manufacturer D2Audio, has established a collaboration with Polk Audio to
develop a new generation of IP addressable, amplified speakers.
The project revolves around Polk's LC265ip in-wall loudspeaker, the world's first
Internet Protocol (IP) speaker that will feature digital amplifiers, electronic
crossovers, DSP circuitry and TCP/IP control modules built into the speakers.
**1-21-05 COLORADO - Echostar pony's up $200M for VOOM assets. Voom's
Rainbow 1 satellite & ground station were included in the deal. Cablevision,
VOOM's parent company, decided to divest itself of the HDTV satellite provider
a few days earlier . They will continue to serve the 26,000 VOOM subscribers as
Echostar takes over. Following the takeover, they are uncommitted.
**1-19-05 HD-DVD titles announced. Warner Brothers / NewLine announced 50
HD-DVD titles scheduled for Q4 release. These include “Batman Begins,”
“Constantine,” Tim Burton's “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” “Ocean's
Twelve,” “The Polar Express,” “The Phantom of the Opera” and titles from the
“The Matrix” and “Harry Potter” franchises. In addition, the HBO series "The
Sopranos" will be included. Paramount plans “The Manchurian Candidate,”
“Elizabethtown,” “Braveheart,” “Forrest Gump,” “SpongeBob SquarePants,”
“Coach Carter,” “Italian Job,” “School of Rock,” “Sky Captain and the World of
Tomorrow,” “Ghost,” “Mission Impossible 2,” “Black Rain,” “Save The Last
Dance,” “Sleepy Hollow,” “U2 Rattle and Hum,” “Vanilla Sky,” “Lara Croft: Tomb
Raider,” “Star Trek: First Contact,” “We Were Soldiers” and “Grease.” for the same
time period.
their stock shares for each Pixar share in this stock swap only deal, worth around
$7.4B. Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, also a co-founder and CEO of Pixar,
owned 50.6% of Pixar's stock, will become Disney's largest single shareholder.
Jobs will also receive a Disney board seat. Pixar is known for revolutionizing the
motion picture industry with smash CGI feature films such as Toy Story and
Finding Nemo. Needless to say, Steve Jobs is now richer than ever.
** 1-23-06 El Segudo, CA - DirecTV will initiate an equipment leasing
program, similar to its multichannel satellite competitor Dish Network and
various cable TV providers. Consumers will now lease dish antennas and set top
boxes, rather than purchasing them from retailers and installation companies.
** 1-13-06 TAIWAN - Samsung and AU Optronics sign a cross - license
agreement. This allow access to each other's patent portfolio. The agreement
should spur the development of new LCD and OLED video displays.
**1-10-06 DETROIT, MI - Chrysler group announced they will offer optional
iPOD integration on up to 3 million vehicles for the 2006 model year. They
would be the auto industry's first to do so.** 1-2-06 LAS VEGAS, NV - Once
again, consumer electronics industry insiders from the world over will converge
on sin city this week to kick off the Consumer Electronics Show. CES in Las
Vegas is the world's largest consumer electronics show. The 2006 edition of
CES is expected to draw over 120,000 visitors.
**12-22-05 TOKYO, JAPAN - In a breakthrough that could hasten the
arrival of OLED flat panel TVs, Mitsubishi Electric announced that they have
developed a new process for producing blue phosphorescence materials. The
new blue OLED material has four times the efficiency and twice the light output
of current materials.
**12-21-05 WASHINGTON, DC - On Wednesday, December, 20th, the U.S.
Senate approved a budget package that confirms the digital television
switchover date as February 17th, 2009. On this date all U.S. analog TV
broadcasting will cease entirely.
**12-08-05 Hot on the heels of their November announcement, DirectTV'
enables subscribers to receive local HDTV in 5 more markets. The new HDTV
enabled markets are: Tampa, WA DC, Houston, Dallas, and Beantown.
**12-13-05 TOKYO, JAPAN - Toshiba delays the introduction of HD-DVD in it's
home market. The electronics giant says it's ready to produce the players in
high volumes, but is unable to get licensing for AACS, the content protection
scheme used in HD-DVD.
**12-13-05 PARIS, FRANCE - Thompson Consumer Electronics, parent
company of TV pioneer RCA, is shopping for partners for their A/V business.
**12-08-05 NEW YORK, NY - There's a new HDTV music channel in town! Now
sponsored by Mitsubishi, the new Viacom music channel, MHD, will launch on
January 6th, 2006 and offer content from MTV, VH1 and CMT. That should look
great in your home theater.
**12-1-05 JVC Professional introduces two new 1080p native HD-ILA rear
projection TVs. They are 61" and 70" screen sizes. The models are the HD-
P61R1U & HD-P70R1U. Both are 3-chip designs, and have D-65 color
temperature calibration, RS-232 control, 2 HDMI inputs, 2 IEEE1394
connectors, CableCARD, and 9-way media card reader. The prices are $6,995
& $8,995 respectively.
**11-25-05 DirectTV's new H20 MPEG4 DSS receiver enables DirecTV
subscribers to receive local HDTV in 5 markets. These are as follows: Chicago,
Philly, Detroit, San Francisco, and Atlanta. Reportedly, 7 more cities will also
get local HDTV service from DirecTV by the end of the year. The upgrade to
the H20 receiver is $99.00. Some rebate offers may net the cost down to $0.00.
**10-17-05 TEMPE, AZ - Rockford sells NHT. NHT, the home audio speaker
company acquired by Rockford Corp. in 2002, has been sold to Vinci Labs of
Colorado for an undisclosed amount.
NEWS FLASH 9-27-05 Microsoft & Intel, two of the most powerful names in the
consumer electronics & computer industries, have put their collective muscle
behind the HD-DVD format. Microsoft announced that Xbox 360 will be
upgraded to an HD-DVD drive in the future. Just when it seemed Blu-Ray had
taken a commanding lead in the high definition discormat war, HD-DVD comes
roaring back. The plot thickens.
**8-12-05 SAN FRANCISCO, CA - TiVo is testing a new system that will allow
TiVo subscribers to download TV programming from the Internet. In some cases,
this could be done even before the show airs on traditional TV.
**8-08-05 UNION CITY, CA - Vidikron introduces 2 new DLP projectors, the
Vision Model 30 and Vision Model 50. Both are 1280 x 720 DLP units with
Vidikron's exclusive Imagix digital video processing. Both are engineered to ISF
standards. The Model 50 includes a variable iris and aperture to improve
contrast. Prices are $6,995 and $9,995 for the 30 and 50 respectively.
**8-05-05 EL SEGUNDO, CA - DirecTV Q2 sales up 34% over '04. Gross sales for
the quarter were up to almost $3B due to a greater number of set top boxes /
household and more premium channel package subscriptions. DirecTV now has
almost 15 million subscribers.
**8-01-05 EL SEGUNDO, CA - DirecTV offers free DVR after $100 rebate. To
jump start its fall promotional campaign, the satellite TV provider began
offering a DVR to customers with a two year commitment.
**7-29-05 ITASCA, ILL. - Marantz introduces a new turntable. Concedeing the
fact that vinyl is undergoing a resurgence, the veteran audio manufacturer is
introducing it's first turntable since the Carter administration. They are also
introducing a complete line of much more modern electronics such as an XM
Satellite receiver and a DLP projector for the home theater market. The DLP
projector is expected to have a price point of just under $6,000.
**7-22-05 AUSTIN, TX - Screen Innovations has announced a video
projection screen that allows front projection systems to be used in
environments with much higher ambient light than is typically possible. The
screen uses a high contrast filter from DNP over 60% of the screen's surface to
get it's high light performance. Stay tuned for pictures of this screen from the
CEDIA Expo in September.
**7-18-05 NEW YORK, NY - TiVO has announced they will begin placing pop
up ads during fast forward operations, among others. Certain subscribers will see
the ads and have the option to click and learn more or have information sent to
their homes.
**7-12-05 WASHINGTON, DC - Nations broadcasters agree to switch to all
digital broadcasts by January 1, 2009. The NAB relayed to congress they
would agree to the Jan 1 2009 change over date and release their analog
spectrum at that time.
**7-06-05 ENFIELD, CN - Merchandising VP Steve Wood moves from Ultimate
Electronics to Bernie's. This is one part in Bernie's growth strategy to increase its
store count by 50% within five years.
**7-01-05 SINGAPORE - Integrated Systems Asia, formerly InfoComm Asia, is
slated for 12 - 14 October 2005. The trade show is sponsored by the industry
groups CEDIA, ICIA and NSCA.
**6-30-05 SANTA FE SPRINGS, CA - Westinghouse Digital ships new 37" LCD
TV with 1080p resolution. The unit is part of the Westinghouse Digital 1080p
resolution line.
**6-27-05 TOKYO, JAPAN - Microsoft and Toshiba agree to collaborate on the
next generation HD DVD system. Toshiba would handle hardware development
and Microsoft would focus on software. Microsoft chairman Bill Gates indicated
this deal could signal the beginning of a new trend in collaboration between
Microsoft and other consumer electronics manufacturers.
**6-27-05 WASHINGTON DC - Grokster loses to MGM. The landmark Supreme
Court ruling came down today. The justices decided that file sharing networks
could be sued if their products can be used for unlawful purposes, even if there
are substantial lawful uses for them. The decision could radically alter the
consumer electronics firms develop products in the future. This is the second
landmark decision from the court in as many weeks. Last week the court voted 5-
4 to allow business use of private property to be counted as a "public good".
That decision opens the door for companies to have local and state
governments invoke "imminent domain" and seize property for use in private
developments. This is a radical departure from the previous view of the article
that applies to such private property seizures only for public projects such as
roads, schools and military installations.
**6-20-05 ENGLEWOOD, CO - Carl Vogel returns to Echostar as Vice Chairman
after stints at Primestar, Charter Communications & Liberty Media Group. Vogle
now concentrates on long term strategy for the satellite TV provider.
**6-15-05 SAN DIEGO, CA - DIVX6 Introduced. The latest version of the popular
Audio / video compression technology is launched, promising better and faster
compression.
**6-09-05 BOSTON, MA D&M holdings acquires Boston Acoustics for $76
million. D&M Holdings, the parent company of Denon and Marantz will also
pick up premium speaker manufacturer Snell, wholly owned by Boston
Acoustics. They add the speaker lines to thier other holdings that also include
McIntosh.
**6-03-05 The ever popular DVD backup program DVD Decrypter is no more.
Due to apparent legal action, by an undisclosed company, Lightning UK, the
creator of the beloved application, has had to pull the plug.
**6-03-05 MINNEAPOLIS, MN - Best Buy rolled out upper end Magnolia Audio
Video stores inside some of its existing locations today. This gives some Best
Buy stores the ability to demo upper end home theater and audio equipment
such as Sony Qualia, Martin Logan and Stewart Filmscreen. These, and other
Magnolia brands had previously been off limits to normal Best Buy stores.
**5-24-05 SEOUL, KOREA - Samsung announces the development of a 40",
wide screen OLED display. The panel is HDTV capable, with a 1280 x 800
resolution. Contrast ratio was given as 5000:1. The prototype unit was shown at
the Society for Information Display (SID) 2005 International Symposium,
Seminar and Exhibition in Boston, May 24– 27. The panel will allow TVs with a
1.5" thickness and about 1/2 the power consumption of a traditional LCD TV of
the same size.
**5-23-05 Upper Saddle River, N.J. Onkyo joins with custom installation
oriented companies such as Sonance and Speakercraft by introducing an iPOD
dock. The unit, at a suggested $99 price point , allows customers to use an
standard Onkyo remote control to control the iPOD.
**5-13-05 Broadcast Flag Part 2? Not content to take it's loss in the U.S. Court
of Appeals, the MPAA has, according to the advocacy group Public
Knowledge, gotten legislation introduced into congress that would give the
FCC the authority to mandate copy protection technology for digital TV tuners.
The court determined the FCC lacked such authority, much to the MPAA's
chagrin. This legislation was probably drafted even before the court decision
was handed down as a contingency measure.
**5-12-05 REDMOND, WA - Microsoft to debut the highly anticipated, new X-
BOX game console tonight on MTV.
**5-11-05 SALT LAKE CITY - Control4 is excited to announce that it has begun
shipping its award winning family of home automation products. With these new
wireless and wired IP-based products, high quality home automation is
available to the average consumer for the first time. The company has recently
received a number industry recognition awards, including the prestigious 2005
CES "Best of Innovations" award earlier this year.
**5-10-05 BURBANK, CA - Toshiba & Warner Home Video announce 2 new,
prerecorded HD-DVD formats. They are two and three layers, holding 30GB &
45GB respectively. The discs can be viewed in standard definition on a
conventional DVD player and in HD on an HD-DVD player. The announcement
comes at a time when published reports out of Japan have Sony & Toshiba in
talks to develop a unified, blue laser, high definition DVD format.**5-3-05
ENGLEWOOD, CO - Echostar Communications, owners of the Dish Network
satellite system, have added 10 HDTV channels from the now-defunct VOOM
network.
**5-2-05 Communications workers union and media activists oppose the
Adelphia purchase by Time Warner and Comcast on the grounds it will cost jobs
and hurt consumer choice. The deal is worth about $17.6Billion.
**5-2-05 According to Broadcasting and Cable, by this time next year, you
could never miss TV episodes again if your cell phone is set up to receive live
TV. Crown Castle Intl. is introducing Digital Video Broadcasting - Handheld
(DVB-H) to allow live TV to be broadcast to compatible cell phones.
**4-15-05 INDIANAPOLIS, IN - CEDIA tightens membership standards. In an
attempt to increase the value of a CEDIA membership, CEDIA has required that
every CEDIA member firm have at least 1 CEDIA certified employee by 1-31-06.
Firms not complying will at first be placed in a CEDIA "provisional" member list,
then dropped from the CEDIA directory if they remain non-compliant. CEDIA
offers certified training classes for custom installers at it's regionals and it's large
Expo trade show in September.
**4-13-05 LOS ANGELES, CA - Sony cans 200 employees at MGM. Quickly
following its purchase of the studio, Sony axed nearly 200 of MGMs 1,400
employees on the way to a final employee count of just a few hundred. This,
according to the news agency Rueters and the Los Angeles Times
**4-11-05 WARSAW, POLAND - In an effort to meet demand for digital TVs, LG
Electronics announced they are constructing a new TV manufacturing facility
in Poland. LG says this will assist them in raising production of digital TV sets to
6 million / year
**3-22-05 INDIANAPOLIS, IN - Bose loses to CEDIA again. In the second round
of the trademark infringement lawsuit over the term "Electronic Lifestyles" , the
Trademark Trial and Appeal Board refused Bose's request for a summary
judgement and indicated they would not consider fraud claims against CEDIA
arising from the association's use of the term.
**3-17-05 WASHINGTON - Betamax decision debated by the U.S. Supreme
Court. In a case which could fundamentally change the consumer's right to
record or copy content they have legally purchased, the RIAA and MPAA (who
else?) faced off against the CEA. Whichever way the decision goes, it is certain
to be appealed.
**3-15-05 Landmark Theaters, a chain of 59 theaters co- owned by Mark Cuban
of HDNET fame and Todd Wagner, announced plans to begin converting all of
its theaters to digital projection using Sony's SXRD technology. The first step is
to begin this summer with the installation of six new "4K " class SXRD
projectors. These units, at 4096 x 2160, have 4 times the resolution of current
digital cinema projectors.
**3-15-05 The Hollywood Reporter reports I-MAX is planning to announce a new
technology that will allow the conversion of any 2D 35mm film to 3D. They feel
this will help them compete with the proliferation of HDTV equipped home
theaters.
**315-05 WASHINGTON - The FTC is taking action against Comp USA to force
it to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in unpaid rebate claims. This is the 1st
time a national chain has been forced by the FTC to honor claims. Many other
CE and computer retailers should be shaking in their collective boots if this is
truly a first step in FTC actions of this type.
**3-14-05 VOOM, Still Here? The board of Cablevision has given the Dolans,
Charles & Tom, until March 31st to fund the Voom HDTV satellite network.
**3-11-05 CUPERTINO, California - Apple jumps on the Blu-Ray bandwagon.
Eschewing the HD-DVD format in favor of Blu-Ray, Apple has also been given a
seat on the board of the Blu-Ray disc association.
**3-09-05 TOKYO - Stringer now top dog at Sony. Howard Stringer has been
named CEO of Sony Corp., the first time a foreigner has ever been given the
helm of the consumer electronics giant
**3-7-05 Marantz comes to AVAD. Nationwide distributor AVAD adds Marantz to
their line of custom installation focused brands. Other brands in the AVAD
stable include Harman Kardon, Lutron, Panamax, Samsung, GE Interlogix,
Channel Plus, Leviton and Universal Remotes, among others.
**2-23-05 SEATTLE, WA - Proving home automation is becoming ever more
mainstream, e-commerce giant Amazon.com is offering products from
Smarthome, an Irvine, CA based home automation equipment manufacturer.
**3-1-05 BETHPAGE, N.Y. — Current owner of the Voom HDTV satellite system,
Cablevision Systems, and Charles Dolan, the Cablevision chairman trying to
buy the remaining assets of the business, today released contradictory
announcements regarding the future of the service.
Cablevision indicated it had ended discussions with the company set up by
Charles and Tom Dolan to acquire the satellite service, Voom HD LLC, and
reached no agreement regarding future operations. Cablevision then stated they
would be closing the service down.
Later in the day Voom HD LLC released a statement saying they would continue
financing the service and would, in fact, expand.
The 46,000 Voom subscribers wait with baited breath.
**2-23-05 Tandberg Television scores a $9M order from DirectTV including a
number of the EN5990, its real-time HD MPEG-4 encoder. The order paves the
way for DirecTV to begin the transition to MPEG-4, allowing much greater
HDTV channel capacity. Unfortunately, existing equipment is not compatible
with the MPEG-4 technology and will require replacement.
**2-21-05 SUNNYVALE, CA Matsushita, Philips, Sony, Samsung and Intertrust,
which is partly owned by Sony and Philips, will form Marlin Joint Development
Association to create a standard (DRM) specification. The group would
encourage content providers to make music and video available through
multiple distribution modes, from broadcast TV to the Internet.
**2-11-05 Washington — The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted
overwhelmingly to reject a proposal that multi-system cable operators be
required to carry multiple broadcast signals from terrestrial broadcasters. They
only must simulcast the primary signal in digital and don't have to carry
additional simulcast signals..
**2-08-05 SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Sony, Toshiba & IBM Challenge Intel
Dominance. Setting up a battle for the future of computing, engineers from
IBM, Sony and Toshiba unveiled details of a microprocessor they claim has the
muscle of a supercomputer and can power everything from video game
consoles to business computers.
Devices built with the processor, code-named Cell, will compete directly with
the PC chips that have powered most of the world's personal computers for a
quarter century. Cell's designers say their chip, built from the start with the
burgeoning world of rich media and broadband networks in mind, can deliver
10 times the performance of today's PC processors.**2-3-05 Digital amplifier
manufacturer D2Audio, has established a collaboration with Polk Audio to
develop a new generation of IP addressable, amplified speakers.
The project revolves around Polk's LC265ip in-wall loudspeaker, the world's first
Internet Protocol (IP) speaker that will feature digital amplifiers, electronic
crossovers, DSP circuitry and TCP/IP control modules built into the speakers.
**1-21-05 COLORADO - Echostar pony's up $200M for VOOM assets. Voom's
Rainbow 1 satellite & ground station were included in the deal. Cablevision,
VOOM's parent company, decided to divest itself of the HDTV satellite provider
a few days earlier . They will continue to serve the 26,000 VOOM subscribers as
Echostar takes over. Following the takeover, they are uncommitted.
**1-19-05 HD-DVD titles announced. Warner Brothers / NewLine announced 50
HD-DVD titles scheduled for Q4 release. These include “Batman Begins,”
“Constantine,” Tim Burton's “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” “Ocean's
Twelve,” “The Polar Express,” “The Phantom of the Opera” and titles from the
“The Matrix” and “Harry Potter” franchises. In addition, the HBO series "The
Sopranos" will be included. Paramount plans “The Manchurian Candidate,”
“Elizabethtown,” “Braveheart,” “Forrest Gump,” “SpongeBob SquarePants,”
“Coach Carter,” “Italian Job,” “School of Rock,” “Sky Captain and the World of
Tomorrow,” “Ghost,” “Mission Impossible 2,” “Black Rain,” “Save The Last
Dance,” “Sleepy Hollow,” “U2 Rattle and Hum,” “Vanilla Sky,” “Lara Croft: Tomb
Raider,” “Star Trek: First Contact,” “We Were Soldiers” and “Grease.” for the same
time period.
Crestron's new wireless
17" wide screen, Isys I/O
touch panel is the ultimate
in control interfaces.
Features include full
motion video in 1 or 2
windows, Internet access
and a 24-bit color depth for
extremely rich imagery.
Runs the MS Windows XP
embedded OS. With it's
built-in microphone &
speakers and optional
camera, this panel can
even be used for video
conferencing applications.
17" wide screen, Isys I/O
touch panel is the ultimate
in control interfaces.
Features include full
motion video in 1 or 2
windows, Internet access
and a 24-bit color depth for
extremely rich imagery.
Runs the MS Windows XP
embedded OS. With it's
built-in microphone &
speakers and optional
camera, this panel can
even be used for video
conferencing applications.
Well respected auto sound speaker
manufacturer JL Audio's first foray into the
home market came in the form of this new
subwoofer, the "Gotham". It comes with a
complete feature set including auto EQ and
room compensation functions.
Time precluded an audition but the word from
others was good. Output should be prodigious.
JL Audio has a smaller subwoofer, the
"Fathom", as well for those who haven't the
space or budget for this one.
manufacturer JL Audio's first foray into the
home market came in the form of this new
subwoofer, the "Gotham". It comes with a
complete feature set including auto EQ and
room compensation functions.
Time precluded an audition but the word from
others was good. Output should be prodigious.
JL Audio has a smaller subwoofer, the
"Fathom", as well for those who haven't the
space or budget for this one.
Crestron's new mini RF
touchpanels. These
replace the outgoing
MT-500C. Nice ergonomic
design. The basic form
factor is straight from the
Universal Remote Co.,
who OEM for many in this
industry (including B&K
Components, prev page),
however, Crestron has
redesigned the innards to
conform to their
requirements.
touchpanels. These
replace the outgoing
MT-500C. Nice ergonomic
design. The basic form
factor is straight from the
Universal Remote Co.,
who OEM for many in this
industry (including B&K
Components, prev page),
however, Crestron has
redesigned the innards to
conform to their
requirements.
Samsung's new flagship
A/V receiver, the
AV-RX3000, boasts 7
channels of digital
amplification. Each
delivers 250W
(20-20KHz, .05%THD)
into 8 ohms. Also has
Firewire, DVI & HDMI
inputs/switching and
built-in room EQ. Video is
processed by a Faroudja
DCDi chipset and video
is upconverted &
transcoded
A/V receiver, the
AV-RX3000, boasts 7
channels of digital
amplification. Each
delivers 250W
(20-20KHz, .05%THD)
into 8 ohms. Also has
Firewire, DVI & HDMI
inputs/switching and
built-in room EQ. Video is
processed by a Faroudja
DCDi chipset and video
is upconverted &
transcoded
If space is a concern,
Samsung is introducing
the compact A/V receiver
HT-AS700 & a companion
DVD player. The receiver
has digital amps like its big
brother, but with
90W/channel x 6 @ 1%
THD. It has all the requisite
digital surround sound
processing; DD, DD-EX,
DTS, DTS NEO6, DTS-ES,
& DPL-IIX. It has 2 optical &
1 coaxial digital input & a
5.1 direct input as well.
Samsung is introducing
the compact A/V receiver
HT-AS700 & a companion
DVD player. The receiver
has digital amps like its big
brother, but with
90W/channel x 6 @ 1%
THD. It has all the requisite
digital surround sound
processing; DD, DD-EX,
DTS, DTS NEO6, DTS-ES,
& DPL-IIX. It has 2 optical &
1 coaxial digital input & a
5.1 direct input as well.
RCA Scenium's new, thin form factor DLP
RPTV. The image was very nice although it was
difficult to compare to the InFocus thin DLP
also being displayed.
RPTV. The image was very nice although it was
difficult to compare to the InFocus thin DLP
also being displayed.
CAT-MBX engineered
tower loudspeaker. About
$85,000 the pair, yikes!
But CAT-MBX specializes
in custom engineered
speaker systems for a
wide variety of
applications. This is just
the tip of their iceberg.
CAT-MBX speakers run to
$1.4million.
tower loudspeaker. About
$85,000 the pair, yikes!
But CAT-MBX specializes
in custom engineered
speaker systems for a
wide variety of
applications. This is just
the tip of their iceberg.
CAT-MBX speakers run to
$1.4million.
Newcomer Control4's
new wireless or wired
Ethernet controller.
Control4 made a huge
splash at the show,
promising to revolutionize
the residential control
industry. It's been tried
before, and by some of
the same people too. This
time they have what looks
to be a solid, innovative
product line, a good
management team and
perhaps most importantly,
really deep pockets to
back them up.
new wireless or wired
Ethernet controller.
Control4 made a huge
splash at the show,
promising to revolutionize
the residential control
industry. It's been tried
before, and by some of
the same people too. This
time they have what looks
to be a solid, innovative
product line, a good
management team and
perhaps most importantly,
really deep pockets to
back them up.
CRTs are not dead yet.
Very reminiscent of the old
Pinninfarina styled
Vidikron VPF-50HDs of the
mid 90's, this Crystal View
had a drop dead
gorgeous red paint job
wrapped around a trio of
8" CRTs.
Very reminiscent of the old
Pinninfarina styled
Vidikron VPF-50HDs of the
mid 90's, this Crystal View
had a drop dead
gorgeous red paint job
wrapped around a trio of
8" CRTs.
Part of Denon's new DVD
player lineup. Faroudja's
DCDi is prominently
featured. Units upconvert
to 720p and feature HDMI
connections.
player lineup. Faroudja's
DCDi is prominently
featured. Units upconvert
to 720p and feature HDMI
connections.
Copyright 2004-7 1 touch movie.com
All rights reserved.
All rights reserved.
_________________________________________________________
___
___
More Audio Video & Home Theater NEWS from
1Touch Movie.com
1Touch Movie.com
1 Touch Movie.com
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |