Tag: High definition

Up close with the Sony BRAVIA range: Part 1: Vision

Over the past few years, Sony has built a solid brand behind the BRAVIA name, with 45 TVs in the current range.

In this five part series, we’ll be taking a closer look at the technology behind the badge.

Today, we’re up close with vision, looking at how Sony ensures their BRAVIA sets display the best possible picture.

BRAVIA: Fully HD

All of Sony’s current BRAVIA TVs, except for the 15-inch portable set, are HD Ready. That is, they’re able to take and display at least a 720p signal, be that from a broadcast service such as Sky HD or Virgin Media, from a games console such as the PS3, or from a high definition disc such as Blu-ray.

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Pioneer to stop making sub-42-inch plasma panels, as its TV business suffers

pioneer-pdp607.jpgJapanese newspaper Asahi has reported that Pioneer will stop the production of 42-inch and smaller plasma panels as early as March next year, and instead buy those panels from Matsushita or Hitachi.

Pioneer’s plasma TV sales targets for this year, ending 31st March, are a mere 10 per cent of Matsushita’s (who use the Panasonic brand), at just 480,000 units compared to five million.

Pioneer will continue to manufacture its own plasma panels sized over 50 inches, while the company looks to sell the Kagoshima plant back to NEC. Pioneer already buys the panels for its LCD TVs from Sharp.

Andy Merrett HDTV

Mirai intros two HD-capable LCD TVs

mirai_hdtvs.jpgMirai has announced the availability of two new high definition-friendly LCD TVs, available in 32 and 42 inch sizes.

The 42-inch DTL-742E6000 is able to deliver a full 1080p high definition experience, and features an integrated digital tuner, dual HDMI, plus 3D comb filters, ChroMAX circuitry and Faroudja technology which claim to give a smoother picture.

Andy Merrett HDTV

Full HD horror film coming online: "Shadow: Dead Riot" streams at 1080p on the Internet

shadow_dead_riot_dvd.jpgMyTVPal.com, the high definition streaming web service, and MatrixStream, a video on demand and IPTV solutions company, have claimed the world’s first 1080p instant streaming movie.

“Shadow: Dead Riot” (2006) is a story about resurrected slain inmates turned flesh eating zombies that invade a women’s rehabilitation facility — but enough about the choice of film. What we’re really interested in is the technology and the capability, right?

Andy Merrett Broadband, Home cinema, Internet

Opinion: The Christmas Day TV movie premiere means nothing any more

shrek.jpgI remember a time, growing up in the 1980s, when there was real anticipation for what the BBC and ITV would pull out of the hat for the post-Queen’s Speech Christmas premiere or blockbuster.

In an age where video recorders had only just arrived, there were barely four terrestrial channels, and you had little choice but to watch the broadcasters’ choice, this worked quite well.

As video recorders took hold, I began to think that the channel wars were just a tad pathetic. After all, if you really wanted to watch two programmes that clashed, you just recorded one of them and played it back later.

I suppose broadcasters bank on the likelihood that most people will be stuffed and near-comatosed by 3pm on Christmas Day, but really, good though Finding Nemo and Shrek 2 are, they don’t feel like exclusives any more.

Andy Merrett Columns & Opinion