Tag: High definition
HP intros Blackbird performance desktop PCs aimed at gamers
HP has announced its Blackbird gaming rig, and is seeking to gain credibility with gamers. From mid-September, the Blackbird 002 will be available as a "Dedication Edition" in the US, with configuration options coming on 1st October. High-end mods include…
LG.Philips intros tri-directional LCD panels
Though not the first company to pull it off (Sharp demoed something similar last year), LG.Philips has unveiled its “tri-directional” LCD panel, capable of displaying three separate images at the same time, with the different images viewable from 50 degrees to the left and right as well as the centre.
The LCD panel is a full HD (1080p) 47-inch screen offering 10-bit RGB colour, 250cd/m2 luminance, and 8ms response time.
The company has also shown off another panel which can be used to prevent people from seeing what’s on the screen if viewed off-centre.
IFA 2007: LG shows off "Design Art' LCD TVs
Design was the key emphasis of LG’s press conference at IFA this year, with the Korean company following up on the success of the Chocolate Phone with the new Design Art series.
Mitsubishi developing 3D Blu-ray player
Mitsubishi is developing a Blu-ray player which can output 3D versions of your existing two-dimensional movies “on the fly”, outputting to any 120Hz-capable high definition TV.
They claim that they’ve come up with a technique which can convert each frame of a regular movie on Blu-ray disc into two separate frames, each slightly different, in order to generate the 3D effect. These two frames are sent alternately to the 120Hz set, effectively as two 60Hz feeds. How it handles 24fps films is anyone’s guess.
Ofcom survey: overall TV watching down, digital and HD up
The latest Communications Market Report from Ofcom shows that, overall, Britons are watching slightly less TV than last year, down 4% to 3 hours and 36 minutes per day, but that viewers are watching more digital terrestrial, satellite, and high definition content.
Digital TV of some kind is now in four out of five UK households, while for those 450,000 homes who have access to some kind of high definition content, 33% of their viewing time is spent watching it.
Echoing similar studies in the US, it seems that a significant proportion (43%) of those who do have high definition TV are viewing more as a result , particularly premium content such as films and sport.
Toshiba's pretty pleased with Paramount and Dreamworks' HD DVD decision
Regardless of the true motivation behind Paramount and Dreamworks' decision to go exclusively HD DVD, it's no surprise at all that Toshiba are pretty pleased about the deal. “We welcome the announcement from Paramount and DreamWorks Animation SKG,” said Yoshihide…
Adobe updates Flash Player 9 "Moviestar" to include H.264 video support
Adobe has announced that its popular Flash Player 9, codenamed “Moviestar”, is being updated to include the H.264 / MPEG4 standard video format. This, together with technologies including High Efficiency AAC (HE-AAC) audio support and hardware accelerated, multi-core enhanced full screen video playback, could lead the way to Flash Player being used for high definition content.
It could also have implications for how popular video sharing services such as YouTube and MySpace operate, although YouTube is already moving to the H.264 format used by Quicktime so that videos can be played back on the iPhone, which currently doesn’t have Flash support.
Paramount and Dreamworks go exclusively HD DVD: Disney, Fox, MGM try hitting back for Blu-ray
Two Hollywood studios who had previously been supporting both Blu-ray and HD DVD high definition disc formats yesterday announced that they’ll support HD DVD exclusively from now on.
The decision was made based on “extensive evaluation” of the current market offerings, plumping for HD DVD because of its “market-ready technology” and lower manufacturing costs.
CEO of Paramount Pictures, Brad Grey, said that this decision by the two studios would bring a critical mass of current box office hits to consumers, with a line-up perfect for HD DVD.
Though no other studio has swapped format, Disney, Twentieth Century Fox, and MGM, all reaffirmed their commitment to Blu-ray, promising many more titles with greater interactivity — something that the format still lags behind HD DVD on thanks to technical limitations of the original Blu-ray specification.
Sony's next BRAVIA ad campaign: The play Doh bunnies. Cute!
Following the San Francisco bouncy balls, and the paint explosions in Glasgow, comes Sony’s third “Colour Like No Other” BRAVIA high definition TV advert.
This time, it’s Play Doh bunnies.
TV Ad Land reports “Play Doh is being staged in New York by Frank Budgen of Gorgeous Enterprises, working with a creative team from Fallon, including creative director Juan Cabral.”
LG finally cuts price of Super Blu dual format high definition disc player
There’s been something of a price war between rival HD DVD and Blu-ray player manufacturers of late, but until now, dual format players haven’t followed suit.
LG has just announced that it’s to cut the US price of its “Super Blu” BH100 dual format (HD DVD/Blu-ray) player by $200, from $1,199 down to $999.
This may be in response to Samsung’s recent announcement of their BDP-UP5000 player, expected to retail for around $1,049.
