TOP STORY
- Netflix Expands HD Streaming Options
Netflix has quietly signaled its interest in offering consumers more HD content online by making available a limited number of titles that can be streamed to Microsoft’s Xbox game console and to certain Blu-ray disc players from LG Electronics and Samsung. more » » »
NEWS
- MTS Chooses Harmonic for Upgrade
Canadian telco MTS Allstream will use Harmonic’s MPEG-4 AVC H.264 encoders for an upgrade that will allow the operator to deliver a greater variety of standard- and high-definition content. more » » »
- HD Drives BigBand’s Asian Expansion
Video networking vendor BigBand is ramping up its Asian operations as part of a strategy to capitalize on the rapid deployment of additional HD content by operators. more » » »
Q&A
 Q&A: In-Stat’s Keith Nissen
In a recent report, research company In-Stat predicted that the market to provide equipment for the telcos’ television offerings will grow to $700 million by 2012. In-Stat analyst Keith Nissen explained to HD Update why high-definition programming is playing a key role in the demand for new equipment for telco TV. more » » »
BRIEFING ROOM
- Broadcasters Cry Foul on HD Squeeze
In an economy that is putting more lines of worry on broadcasters' faces than there are of resolution on an HDTV set, picture clarity could become a critical selling point and a path to differentiate channels in a way never seen in the analog age. That's why some of those broadcasters are now smarting even more over last fall's FCC decision allowing cable operators to compress broadcasters' high-definition signals. more » » »
- HD for the Holidays?
There will be a holiday gift-giving season in 2009 for consumer electronics after all, according to the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), which is predicting a 3.5% increase in fourth-quarter sales of all electronics. But some analysts believe that during this economic downturn, HD sales are slowing as the economy gets shakier. Sanford C. Bernstein's Craig Moffett notes HD sales fell 14% year-over-year in September—just when the Wall Street meltdown began. more » » »
- Web Sports Enters HD Arena
Ten years after U.S. networks began producing major league sports coverage in high-definition, HD sports has become ubiquitous. Now, networks and sports leagues are looking to bring the same experience to the Web by stepping up the quality of their online streaming, including the production of live HD streams for sports such as college football and basketball. The belief is that delivering higher-quality video will lead to longer viewing times and thus boost Web advertising and/or subscription revenues. more » » »
- Consumers Cutting Back On Premium Cable Service, Gadgets: Survey
Six in 10 consumers intend to cut spending in at least one area of communications and entertainment this holiday season, according to a survey by Oliver Wyman. Sales of home computers and laptops, music players and digital music players are most threatened as 50% of those polled said they would spend less on these devices next year; 22% also said they are somewhat likely to discontinue premium services in favor of basic cable channels. However, there is still an appetite for next generation devices, including Blu-ray disc players, and high-definition television sets, the survey found. more » » »
- Black Friday Consumer Electronics Sales Brisk
Despite fears of a promotional free-for-all on Black Friday, consumer electronics dealers avoided the deep margin-drubbing discounting of past years and shoppers turned out in record numbers to take advantage of Black Friday deals. According to a survey by the National Retail Federation (NRF), more than 172 million people either visited or planned to visit stores and Web sites over the four days, up from 147 million last year. In the process, they spent an estimated $41 billion, or $372.57 per shopper, up 7.2 percent from last year. Nearly 36 percent purchased CE products, according to the NRF poll, and the NRF is projecting total holiday sales to rise 2.2 percent this year to $470.4 billion. more » » »
AROUND THE WEB
- Panasonic Proposes Standard for 3D HD
Nikkei Electronics Asia reports that Panasonic Corp of Japan has submitted a proposal to the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) asking that the Blu-ray Disc standard should be used to store three-dimensional (3D) HD imagery. The BDA hopes to begin formal discussion on the standard proposal before the end of 2008, with commercial adoption probably in 2010. Panasonic moved to propose a standard in the hopes of avoiding a damaging standards war and to prevent conflicts over patents related to 3D HD systems. more » » »
- HDTV Buying Guide 2008
PC World has completed its annual HDTV buying guide for the holiday season. For this comprehensive roundup of large high-definition televisions, the magazine looked at 13 new HDTVs and reappraised a bunch of older models across three basic size categories: 42 inches, 46 to 47 inches, and 50 to 52 inches. Ultimately, three newcomers captured PC World’s Best Buys: the 42-inch LG 42PG25, the 46-inch Samsung LN46A650, and the 50-inch Samsung PN50A760. more » » »
- Get Ready to Pay More for the Web
Smart Money reports on the usage caps cable operators are considering for broadband usage and examines how much HD content they would allow users to download without incurring additional charges. Cox, for example, offers its customers plans ranging between four gigabytes and 75 gigabytes of bandwidth a month. At the lower end, households can download just two standard-definition movies or one high-definition movie a month. With the 75-gigabyte plan, users can download 20,000 digital songs, or at least 37 standard-definition movies, or at least 18 high-definition movies a month. more » » »
- Deep Discounts Draw Shoppers, Not Profits
The New York Times reports that sales in the nation’s stores were strong over the weekend, to the relief of retailers that had been expecting a holiday shopping period as slow as the overall economy. ShopperTrak, which does research for retailers, said sales increased 3 percent on Friday, compared with last year. But heavy discounting is likely to hurt profits and in online retailing sector spending for the first 28 days of November declined 4 percent, to $10.4 billion, compared with $10.8 billion for the period a year ago. Online spending on Friday bumped up 1 percent, to $534 million, compared with $531 million last year. more
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- Blockbuster Goes On-Demand
CNET reports that Blockbuster has launched an online movie download service that will use 2Wire’s MediaPoint HD capable set-top box priced at $99, which includes a credit for 25 movies. The MediaPoint will be Blockbuster's first set-top box, delivering on-demand content to a user's TV on an a la carte basis. Movies will start at $1.99 each (once the credit is exhausted), and Blockbuster is promising "thousands of titles from the latest movie releases to classic favorites." Initial offerings will be in standard def but HD content is likely to be added relatively soon. more » » »
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