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September 4, 2008

In this Issue
‘Aqua Kids’ Take High-Def Dip	Ascent Media Expands Uncompressed HD Services Wohler Expands HD Monitoring Line

TOP STORY

• ‘Aqua Kids’ Take High-Def Dip
  While kids are known for their ability to embrace new technologies, producers of television programming for the younger set have generally lagged behind the rest of the industry in making the switch to high-def. A few, including the creators of the syndicated show Aqua Kids, are now dipping their toes in the HD waters. more » » » 

NEWS

• Ascent Media Expands Uncompressed HD Services
  Ascent Media Network Services has upgraded its New York City facilities to handle uncompressed high-definition signals and has signed up its first three clients -- Fox News, NBC and All Mobile Video -- for uncompressed HD video transport. more » » » 
• Wohler Expands HD Monitoring Line
  Wohler Technologies has expanded its professional HD monitoring line with the addition of the HDMon-260, a new 26-inch widescreen TFT display that the company hopes will tap into a growing demand for larger screens. more » » » 

Q&A

• Q&A: National TeleConsultants’ Ethan Bush
  National TeleConsultants senior project director Ethan Bush recently spoke to HD Update about some of the trends in the HD market place. more » » » 

BRIEFING ROOM

• Time Warner, Charter Join BTN Team
  As expected, the Big Ten Network was able to complete carriage deals with Time Warner Cable and Charter Communications in time to show the kickoff of the conference’s football schedule. Time Warner Cable and BTN finalized the agreement on carriage terms for the Big Ten Network and its high-definition and video-on-demand programming on Time Warner Cable’s lineups throughout the Big Ten territory, including Ohio and Wisconsin while Charter and BTN tackled a distribution pact for the network and its high-definition and video-on-demand programming on the operator’s systems in Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin. more » » » 
• College Football Countdown' on ABC goes HD
  College Football Countdown, the ESPN-produced studio show that airs on ABC Saturday afternoons before its 3:30 pm college-football telecasts, has moved to high-definition. The shift to 720-line progressive (720p) HD production coincides with moving the pre-game show from ABC’s West 66th St. headquarters to Disney’s Times Square Studios on 44th and Broadway in New York, which is already the home to Good Morning America’s HD broadcasts. more » » » 
• Deal or No Deal NBC's Olympic Winner
  According to an independent study exclusively obtained by B&C from Frank N. Magid Associates on Olympic viewing, Deal or No Deal had the highest ad recall and intent to view of any NBC show promoted during the Olympics. The study also showed significant growth in HD viewing, with 53% of Olympics fans having watched the events in HD. Finally, a bit of good news for marketers in the TiVo era: 47% of those who watched the Games in HD said HD commercials enhanced their viewing experience. more » » » 
• ABC News's Hi-Def Harvest
  ABC News is using the platform of the 2008 political conventions to launch a campaign of its own: a significant expansion of its high-definition television offerings, this extensive look at the networks HD upgrade explains. On Aug. 25, World News With Charles Gibson and Nightline started broadcasting in 720-line progressive (720p) HD, first from the Democratic National Convention in Denver, then from the Republican National Convention in Minneapolis-St. Paul, After being on the road for two weeks, World News and Nightline will return to their New York studios on Sept. 8 and start being produced in HD from there. more » » » 
• FCC OKs HD Waiver for Smaller Cable Ops
  The Federal Communications Commission agreed to give smaller cable operators a waiver from its 2001 decision that required cable operators to pass along TV stations' HD signals in HD after the transition to digital. It grants relief to systems serving 2,500 or fewer subscribers or with 552 megahertz or less capacity, but only ones not owned by a cable operator with more than 10% of subscribers nationwide. Qualifying systems would get three-year exemptions. more » » » 

AROUND THE WEB

• Sony's Ultra-Thin LCD HDTV To Arrive in November
  TMCnet reports that Sony reportedly will release the world’s thinnest LCD high-definition TV (HDTV) in Japan on November 10. KDL-40ZX is just 9.9-mm (0.39 inch) thick. It weighs 12.2kg (26 pounds) and has got a 40-inch screen. World’s thinnest LCD TV, currently available from Hitachi is 0.74-inch thick, almost of double thickness than KDL-40ZX. Sony is also preparing a 0.35-thick plasma TV, but the release date has not been set. Sony has not announced the price of KDL-40ZX1. According to Engadget, the TV could cost around 490,000 yen ($4,474). more » » » 
• Satellite Blu-ray Claims Misleading?
  Strategy Analytics’ David Mercer explores the recent announcements that cable and satellite providers would offer Blu-ray quality content and the potential impact these offerings could have on Blu-ray sales. “French cable operator Numericable announced at the end of June that it would begin offering `Native HD’ movies on its VOD service in July,” he writes in his blog. “Shortly afterwards, both US DBS providers, DirecTV and Dish Network, made announcements along similar lines. While DirecTV was first with the news, Dish is claiming bragging rights for the first 1080p movie, Warner Bros’ “I Am Legend”, which was available beginning August 1st.” But just how accurate are those claims? Mercer cites sources saying they could be misleading. more » » » 
• Vudu: 1,000 Movies In HD?
  TVpredictions.com reports that VUDU, the Video on Demand set-top, is making promises that it will soon offer more than 1,000 High-Definition movies. The Vudu set-top, which starts at $295, enables users to download movies over a high-speed Internet connection. The box, which can also store movies, includes both standard-def and HDTV films. However, Vudu has struggled to generate interest due to competition from traditional TV services. more » » » 
• CBS Sports Makes Last Run To HD
  Sports Video Group takes an extensive look at CBS Sports’ transition to HD and reports that this season will complete the network’s transition to end-to-end HD. “Next season, we have a contractual obligation [with the NFL] to do all-HD,” notes Ken Aagaard, executive vice president of engineering, operation and production services. “This year, we’re right on track and very close to achieving that.” For the most part, the major technical hurdles have been overcome, with all the trucks and game sites in HD and produced in 16x9, 1080i HD, Aagaard says. more » » » 
• Blu-ray Disc Share To Double By Year-End
  Video Business reports that Blu-ray Disc’s share of U.S. sales of best-selling home entertainment titles will double by the end of the year as retailers are likely to drop Blu-ray player prices to as low as $250 by the holiday season. According to a report by U.K.-based research firm Futuresource as much as 12% of the sales of best-selling U.S. movie and TV titles will be Blu-ray by the end of 2008. U.S. revenue from Blu-ray sales and rentals for the first half of the year was more than $200 million, representing a 300% jump from a year earlier and by 2012, Blu-ray will account for 61% of the DVDs sold in the U.S., the report indicates. more » » » 

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