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Digital TV Converter
The United States and Japan are leading the consumer shift to HDTV televisions. Recent studies have shown that the two countries will lead worldwide HDTV penetration to triple from 48 million households currently to 151 million households by 2011.The United States is doing its part to push customer to the digital era by discontinuing all analog television broadcasts on February 17, 2009. At that time, those using external antennas or rabbit ears to feed over-the-air (OTA) analog content into their outdated TVs will see nothing but static.In an effort to help Americans that are still using televisions without digital tuners onboard, the U.S. government is allotting households two $40 coupons which can be used towards the purchase of an digital-to-analog box. The program will start on January 1, 2008 and will end on March 31, 2009.LG Electronics, one of three companies manufacturing digital-to-analog boxes for analog TVs, says that the converter boxes will retail for roughly $60 USD in stores.
Aldi stores to sell budget 47-inch LCD HDTV?
With the ever-dropping prices in the big screen television realm, it's not too surprising to hear of more and more companies dropping their ticket in the hat hoping to snag business from bargain hunters. While the success story of Vizio could be hard to replicate, an unconfirmed report from TechDigest is reporting that Aldi stores could end up offering a mysterious 47-inch LCD HDTV before too long. No word on what brand / model this thing could end up being, nor if it'll sport a swank Aldi sticker front and center, but we are hearing that it'll boast a 1600:1 contrast ratio, integrated Freeview tuner, wall mounting bracket, S-Video / VGA / composite video inputs, a pair of HDMI ports, automatic volume correction to muffle those blaring commercials, and a three-year warranty to top it off. Of course, we have absolutely no idea if an April trip for mangos and steak sauce will lead to an LCD TV impulse buy, but drop the price in comments if you catch a glimpse.
Sony hands out HDTV sets at London PS3 launch
Sony has given a great surprise to those waiting to buy a PlayStation 3 (PS3) console in London; a 46" LCD HDTV television set and a free ride home. The giveaway involved more than 100 gamers and cost about 250,000. "I feel fantastic. I'm delighted that everyone here also gets a television." 17-year-old Ritatsu Thomas, the customer at the head of the queue, said. The PS3 costs 425 in the UK and its game line-up is starting to improve. It includes a Blu-ray drive for games and for movies and a powerful Cell processor. The launch in the UK and the rest of Europe was delayed by four months due to production problems. Australian gamers are also able to get their hands on a PS3 now. Ray Maguire, head of Sony Computer Entertainment in the UK, said that the TV giveaway at the London event was a reward for the patience of the gamers.
Groups duke it out over HD DVD formats
For millions of consumers who bought high-definition television sets over the holidays, there has been one major disappointment: DVD movies often look worse than they did on their old TVs. I call it the "plastic surgery" effect. It's an artifact of converting a movie from a medium designed for the best picture possible on standard TV screens, with 480 horizontal lines of resolution, to HDTV sets, with 720 or 1024 lines. Whatever you call it, the process may actually eliminate some detail, particularly from human faces, making them look like they've had one tuck too many. .
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