Home Entertainment

Filed under: DVRs, Set-top boxes, Cable

Buckeye Cable, which serves upwards of 150,000 customers in the greater Toledo / Sandusky, Ohio area, is looking to make some pretty big changes. The carrier has just upgraded its SeaChange VOD infrastructure in order to "dramatically expand" its HD video-on-demand offerings, and on top of that, it's also hoping to launch a Start Over-type service to help those who notoriously show up late for their favorite show. Better still, the company is looking to expand its linear HD lineup by adding in 15 to 25 new ones over the next 9 to 12 months. Pretty big words for a "small" provider -- guess we'll have to wait and see if it delivers.

Buckeye Cable gearing up for HD VOD, Start Over-type service originally appeared on Engadget HD on Fri, 21 Nov 2008 10:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Fiber

It's impossible to say just how legitimate all of this is right now, but the writing has been on the wall for months. We already knew that AT&T was laying down hundreds of millions of dollars for fiber improvements in the Carolinas, and we've already seen dodgy job ads and U-verse cabinets in the central region of NC. Now, we're really beginning to feel it. A number of locals in the Triangle have spotted AT&T trucks casually passing through, and upon asking, were told that U-verse services were planned for certain areas as early as December. More specifically, we're hearing that Cary, NC could be serviced first, though there's no word on when the Triangle / Triad at large would have the option to switch. And maybe it's completely coincidental, but TWC managed to go a lifetime without adding a substantial amount of high-def stations in these very areas -- now that competition's (possibly) rolling into town, we're finally seeing some effort put forth.

[Via The Wolf Web]

AT&T eying December launch of U-verse in Cary, NC? originally appeared on Engadget HD on Fri, 21 Nov 2008 09:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Industry, Regulatory, Tuners, OTA

There's no doubt that the CEA and NTIA have been spreading the word about the 2009 digital TV transition as hard as they can, but some folks still aren't taking the time to listen. 'Course, 62% is way better than what we've seen in the past, but that still leaves a full third of OTA-reliant American households sans a government-issued voucher with under 100 days to go until analog slides under the guillotine. Currently, 17 million homes have requested 33.5 million coupons (in other words, most folks are requesting the maximum of two) and 13.5 million have been redeemed. For those with a strange curiosity to know even more, it's stated that a number of eastern cities have the highest coupon application rates, while folks in Hawaii and Alaska could apparently care less. Can't blame 'em given the scenery, eh?

Two-thirds of OTA households have requested DTV coupons originally appeared on Engadget HD on Fri, 21 Nov 2008 08:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Fiber, Sports, Primetime

Regardless of his age or win total, Oscar De La Hoya is a preeminent eminence grise in the sport of boxing. That said, we understand that not everyone will be able to jet off to Las Vegas to see his December 6th matchup with Manny Pacquia, but those with AT&T's U-verse will be treated to The Dream Match in glistening high-def. 'Course, the pricing is apt to make you consider just visiting a bar ($65 for the HD PPV, $55 for the SD PPV), but who knows how inflated that tab could be by the end of the night. Decisions, decisions.

[Image courtesy of PFW, thanks Anthony]

AT&T bringing De La Hoya vs. Pacquiao to U-verse HD PPV originally appeared on Engadget HD on Fri, 21 Nov 2008 06:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Cable, New content

There's some serious competition for HD eyes in Columbus. Locals can choose from Wide Open West, AT&T, Time Warner Cable and Insight, and it's obvious the latter is looking to stay ahead of the pack when it comes to HD options. Tipster Joshua has chimed in to let us know that Insight Digital 4.0 has been unleashed upon the Ohio city, bringing with it too many high-def channels to count. If you're ready to be impressed, hop on past the break and scroll, scroll, scroll.

[Thanks, Joshua]

Continue reading Insight Digital 4.0 brings wheelbarrow full of HD stations to Columbus, OH

Insight Digital 4.0 brings wheelbarrow full of HD stations to Columbus, OH originally appeared on Engadget HD on Fri, 21 Nov 2008 04:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Misc, Fiber

We've seen Verizon push its fiber-based FiOS TV and high-speed internet services in some rather odd locations, but at least store patrons won't be baffled when they see the demonstration kiosks in the carrier's new Columbia, Maryland store. Located at 8835 Columbia 100 Parkway in Suite B, the store offers up a "home theater setting where shoppers can relax in plush chairs and see for themselves what all the excitement is about as they experience FiOS TV on high-definition TVs." Better still, subscribers can swap or drop off FiOS TV set-top-boxes / remotes at the store, and they can even phone up friends in the southeast and brag about their proximity to the service. And you know they (you) will.

Verizon gives patrons a taste of FiOS TV / internet in new Columbia, MD store originally appeared on Engadget HD on Fri, 21 Nov 2008 02:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Misc, Media streamers

For anyone's who has tried to connect ZeeVee's ZvBox, we commend you if you've managed to avoid calling technical support at least once. Although we're (mostly) kidding there, there's no denying that the aforesaid unit is one of the more complicated devices to install and get running. Thankfully, ZeeVee has inked a contract with Inforonics to provide extended hours of tech support, meaning that you really can get your install issues dealt with at 3:17AM. As always, YMMV when calling in at such bizarre hours, but at least you'll have a warm body to talk with even if the troubleshooting is a bust, right?

ZeeVee technical support: now open at really weird hours originally appeared on Engadget HD on Thu, 20 Nov 2008 23:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Cable, New content

Slow and steady wins the race, or so they say, but we're pretty sure San Diego residents are ready for Time Warner Cable to hurry up with these HD rollouts. After dropping two in late October and promising to get 10 to 15 newcomers on the air over the next little while, TWC has just pushed out two more to keep locals appeased. Effective immediately, subscribers in San Diego can find Hallmark Movie Channel HD and Big Ten Network HD, but there's no indication of when the others will follow suit. Patience, friends.

[Thanks, Michael]

Two more HD channels land on TWC in San Diego, CA originally appeared on Engadget HD on Thu, 20 Nov 2008 22:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Industry, Blu-ray, Players, Sony

While Sony's Jay Vandenbree is over in one corner griping about HDTV price drops, the outfit's Stan Glasgow is off in another making a bit of sense. In a recent interview with Reuters, the bigwig stated that he understood that movie studios "needed to make money, and [that] packaged media (discs) is a critical way for them to [do so]," but he continued on to say that he would "love to see those prices come down, as well as the price of Blu-ray players to drive adoption." These absolutely laudable comments come on the heels of him admitting that Blu-ray sales overall would fall around 10% short this holiday season of prior expectations, despite the fact that BD deck prices are apt to hit record lows on Black Friday. It's actually pretty astounding to hear a higher-up such as Stan uttering such logical statements, and if you're looking for more of his take on the industry, you know where to head.

Sony's Glasgow wants Blu-ray prices to come down originally appeared on Engadget HD on Thu, 20 Nov 2008 21:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Media streamers, Other hardware

You probably recall that two days ago, when the new Xbox Experience launched, sadly, about 300 Sony Pictures films were unavailable for Netflix Watch Instantly on NXE, thus quashing your hopes of streaming The Karate Kid series. At the time, it seemed possible that missing titles were due to the fact that Xbox 360 manufacturer Microsoft and Sony are direct competitors. Well, according to a Sony spokesperson, the problem isn't specific to the Xbox, nor is their beef competition-related in any way. Sony also says it is in talks with the several "relevant parties" to work out these vague licensing issues, though there was no word on when the issue would be resolved. We really do hope it's soon because we're dying to see how everything turns out with the Cobra Kai.

[Via Joystiq]

Xbox 360's lack of Sony Pictures films streaming on Netflix "unrelated" to competition originally appeared on Engadget HD on Thu, 20 Nov 2008 21:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Industry, Displays, LCD

Even if the economic climate favors RPTVs for one last hurrah, things are looking grim for LCD demand -- just ask Corning, which has backed off of its previous financial guidance for the near-term future. The global economy being what it is, production from Taiwanese manufacturing plants in particular has decreased demand for the LCD glass substrates "more precipitously than expected," and similar pains are being felt at the Samsung Corning Precision Glass operation in Korea. The news gets more ominous still when the company cites uncertainty in both LCD supply chain and retail sales as reasons to decline any updated guidance for Q4 2008 or 2009. It's not all doom and gloom, of course -- this environment can play in your favor if you're in the market for a new TV.

Corning battons down the hatches for rough LCD waters originally appeared on Engadget HD on Thu, 20 Nov 2008 20:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC, Satellite

Just a day after DISH Network announced that HD locals would be arriving in Louisville, Kentucky, now the satcaster is bringing 'em to eight new markets. Starting today, DISH subscribers in Charleston-Huntington, W.V.; Cincinnati, Ohio; Harrisburg-Lancaster-Lebanon-York, Pa.; Jacksonville, Fl.; Lexington, Ky.; Little Rock-Pine Bluff, Ark.; Louisville, Ky.; Wichita Falls, Texas and Lawton, Okla. can tune into their locals in high-def for the first time without an OTA antenna. Enjoy, folks!

DISH Network brings HD locals to eight more markets originally appeared on Engadget HD on Thu, 20 Nov 2008 20:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Industry, Reviews, Media streamers, Other formats, Internet

For anyone with a Netflix subscription, an Xbox 360 and a broadband internet connection, you probably don't need a reminder that the first glimpse of high-def Netflix streaming launched this week. With the public release of the New Xbox Experience came HD Netflix streaming, and Rachel over at Tom's Guide couldn't wait to give it a rip. Sadly, her initial impressions weren't filled with elation, but that could have something to do with the overload of users tapping in today and her lackluster TWC internet connection. At any rate, we figured we'd give you a heads-up to give it a go if you haven't already, and if you're far away from your console at the moment, hit the read link for a first take.

[Thanks, Caleb]

HD Netflix streaming goes live on Xbox 360 originally appeared on Engadget HD on Thu, 20 Nov 2008 19:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Displays, Sony

FED (or Field Emission Display) hasn't quite caught on as quickly as some other display technologies, but Sony's still out there doing its best to move things forward, and it certainly looks to have turned more than a few heads with its latest demo. Apparently not content with simply showing off a new 19-inch display from its spin-off, Field Emission Technologies, Sony went so far as to demo it with a customized version of Gran Turismo 5 Prologue that's playable at 240 fps. To do that, Sony used four PS3s to increase the frame rate, something it had previously done to run the game at quadruple the resolution of 1080p on a Sony SXHD projector. While that setup is out of the reach of most folks, Field Emission Technologies says that FED displays are now finally heading to market, and that some high-end professional FED video monitors up to 32-inches in size will be available sometime next year.

[Via OLED-Display.info]

Sony demos 19-inch FED display running Gran Turismo 5 at 240 fps originally appeared on Engadget HD on Thu, 20 Nov 2008 18:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: ABC, CBS, The CW, Discovery-HD, ESPN-HD, NBC, TNT-HD, Listings

What we're watching tonight:

• NBC (1080i) has My Name is Earl at 8 p.m. followed by Kath & Kim, The Office, 30 Rock and E.R.
• ABC (720p) lines up Ugly Betty at 8 p.m., Grey's Anatomy at 9 p.m. and Life on Mars at 10 p.m.
• CBS (1080i) brings home Survivor at 8 p.m. followed by CSI and Eleventh Hour
• CW (1080i) has Smallville at 8 p.m. and Supernatural at 9 p.m.
• NFL Network (1080i) features Bengals/Steelers at 8:15 p.m.
• Discovery (1080i) drops in How Stuff Works at 8 p.m.
• TLC (1080i) has L.A. Ink at 10 p.m.
• Sci Fi (1080i) has the season finale of Into the Unknown with George Noory at 11 p.m.
• ESPN (720p) has Miami/Georgia Tech college football at 7:30 p.m.
• ESPN2 (720p) has a college basketball doubleheader with Duke/Southern Illinois at 7 p.m. and UCLA/Michigan at 9 p.m.
• ESPNU (720p) has Grambling/Texas Southern college football at 9 p.m.
• TNT (1080i) has an NBA doubleheader with Pistons/Celtics at 8 p.m. and Lakers/Suns at 10:30 p.m.

HDTV Listings for November 20, 2008 originally appeared on Engadget HD on Thu, 20 Nov 2008 17:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Tuners, Cable

At first glance, we assumed that Cable One had relegated a number of channels to switched digital video, but that doesn't appear to be the case. Instead, company officials have proclaimed that "cable programmers like Discovery HD, Nat Geo HD and ESPN HD have requested their signals to be scrambled," meaning that subscribers will now need to fork out for a CableCARD or cable company-issued set-top-box in order to see all 24 high-def stations offered in Sioux City, Iowa. Ah well, you've been looking for a valid reason to make the leap to a carrier with a real dose of high-definition anyway, right?

Cable One makes some HD channels viewable only with CableCARD / STB originally appeared on Engadget HD on Thu, 20 Nov 2008 17:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Industry, Misc, Internet

Now here's a couple that really makes sense. Sonic Solution's fancy schmancy burn technology is already used on Qflix-enabled DVD burners, and those very drives are used to toast CinemaNow movies. See the connection? Do ya? Obvious similarities aside, Sonic really has entered into a "definitive agreement" to acquire CinemaNow, and after the deal goes down, CinemaNow will combine with Sonic's Qflix team to form "a new Premium Content Group under the direction of Mark Ely, Sonic's EVP of Strategy." The reason? To increase the placement of CinemaNow's storefront on PCs and consumer electronics devices, all while "expanding the adoption of the Qflix technology platform." We hope Sonic scored this company for a song, 'cause even with our blinders on, we just can't see Qflix becoming the next big thing. Nor the next, next big thing.

Sonic Solutions signs on to acquire CinemaNow originally appeared on Engadget HD on Thu, 20 Nov 2008 16:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Industry, Displays, Sharp

Sharp hasn't cut production in its Kameyana plant since it began operating in 2004, but it's dangerously close to dialing things back a bit. As with practically every other flat-panel manufacturer out there, Sharp is feeling the pinch of the worldwide economic crisis, and as demand weakens for LCD TVs / LCD monitors, it's looking like now is an opportune time to slow things down. Purportedly, the company is considering scaling back production by as much as 10% from mid-December, though it is still expecting to reach sales of 11 million LCD TVs in the year ending March 2009.

Sharp plans to cut LCD panel production by as much as 10% originally appeared on Engadget HD on Thu, 20 Nov 2008 14:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: DVRs, Set-top boxes, Satellite

It's been a long time coming, but only a week after being made official, a tipster lets us know DISH Network subscribers with a ViP 211 receiver are now able to plug in USB hard drives and DVR it up to their heart's content. The $39.99 activation fee is still in full effect, but why let that get in between you and a new world of time-shifted goodness with your existing single-tuner hardware and no additional DVR charge?

[Thanks, Bill]

ViP211 DVR upgrade now available on DISH Network originally appeared on Engadget HD on Thu, 20 Nov 2008 12:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Industry, Cable

Tsk, tsk. It seems that Comcast has all the time in the world to investigate just how high it should push cable rates, but not a moment to really sit down and answer questions from the FCC. Okay, so maybe that's a touch harsh, but it's really not far from the truth. It's stated that Comcast provided an "inadequate response" to a recent FCC request for "information on cable company policies as they switch to digital signals." As you could likely guess, Comcast isn't the only guilty party, but chairman Kevin Martin did pick on Comcast's "narrative" of a reply. Comcast alleges that fully completing the request would've required 1,500 man hours, and while we don't doubt the legitimacy of such a claim, we'd still probably think twice before pushing back a half-hearted response to the almighty Federal Communications Commission.

[Image courtesy of JournalGroup]

Comcast blows off FCC inquisition, could face fines originally appeared on Engadget HD on Thu, 20 Nov 2008 11:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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