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Sony Stakes its Future In OLED TVs With Huge Investment

by Thomas Houston , posted Feb 20th 2008 at 3:15PM



Sony announced Tuesday that it will spend $200 million on OLED development and production. OLED, a next-generation display technology, can be made extremely thin and flexible because they are built from organic carbon materials. OLED displays are currently prohibitively expensive and small--Sony's newest $2500 OLED-TV is only 11 inches--and a drive towards larger and cheaper displays may explain Sony's huge investment in the technology.

The future for OLED looks brighter and brighter, thanks to Sony's investment and an increasing number of OLED prototypes and products becoming available on the market.

From Newsvine

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BBC Coming to iTunes

by Thomas Houston , posted Feb 19th 2008 at 5:40PM


Following today's announcement that iTunes is now among the top 10 US record sellers, the BBC will be offering its programs through Apple's iTunes Music Store as part of continuing efforts to expand its content outside the borders of the UK.

Currently, BBC programs are made available on the free, UK-only iPlayer application after airing on TV, and short clips and previews are available on the BBC YouTube Channel. The new deal with Apple outlines the BBC's plan to offers at least 10 series through iTunes, including "Life on Mars" and "Ashes to Ashes." Simon Danker, director of digital media at BBC Worldwide, said, "We want to give audiences a wide variety of options on how and where to view their favorite BBC shows." Once purchased and downloaded, users will be able to view the content in iTunes and on iPods, iPhones, and Apple TVs.

While we're encouraged by the BBC's first step in making this content available worldwide, we're hoping that more of the enormous BBC archives will be opened up and made available on iTunes soon.

from BBC News

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HDTV Sales Surge In Super Bowl Lead-Up

by Will Safer, posted Jan 31st 2008 at 10:57AM

Samsung 52-inch LN-T5265F


Of course you want to watch the Super Bowl in HDTV. Who doesn't? It seems the lead up to the big game is the second biggest driver of high-definition LCD TV sales for Amazon.com, according to the e-tailer's latest numbers. (The biggest driver is, of course, holiday season gift giving.)

So which TV leads the pack? The mantle this time goes to Samsung and its $2,199 52-inch 1080p LNT5265F set.

Samsung also dominates this top 10 list, with four of the spots. Sharp has three, Sony two and Toshiba just one. All but one of these TV sets is 1080p and all but two are larger than 40-inches. (Do we see the continued trend here? Go big and get the highest resolution you can.)

We're going to watch the game on a 42-inch Toshiba, but maybe we'll listen to one quarter of it on the radio -- and imagine what the game action looks like, just as in the olden days.

From Gearlog.


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Japanese Scientists Already Moving Beyond HDTV

by Will Safer, posted Jan 25th 2008 at 5:05PM


In the consumer electronics world, all eyes are focused on the upcoming broadcast switch to a digital signal coming early next year. Why, then, is Japan's NHK Science and Technical Research Laboratory working so hard to develop the next video format, a "super" high definition format called Super Hi-Vision? Isn't it enough that we're all going to be viewing programming of startling video quality and clarity on HDTVs soon?

Apparently there's still room for improvement, although don't expect to see Super Hi-Vision TV sets in living rooms anytime soon. The first commercial applications likely won't come about until 2025 -- and even then the first likely use will be in art museums for showing works of art.

According to a report today from the BBC News, the new format has a screen resolution of 7680x4320 pixels, which is 16 times greater than current HD. The smallest diagonal TV size on which Super Hi-Vision can be employed is 50 inches.

This begs the question, then: Can the human eye even tell the difference between resolution of 1080p (the best available within the current high definition format) and this next leap in video technology? That's debatable. The human eye has limitations. After a certain point we're unable to see the difference in ever-increasing image resolutions. So perhaps this latest advance in TV tech is just an exercise in technical achievement. In the meantime we're still trying to decide if we want a new HDTV with 1080i or 1080p resolution.

Still, if we could see an oversized work like Monet's 'Waterlilies' replicated at real size and with almost perfect resolution somewhere besides the Museum of Modern Art, maybe the new standard will be considered worthwhile.

From BBC News.

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Hands-On With Philips' New Dream HD LCD TV

by Alon Avdi, posted Jan 10th 2008 at 4:36PM

Philips Dream HD LCD TV

Your heroes at Switched came away impressed after our hands-on with Philips' latest high definition (HD) LCD television sets last night. The new sets comprise Philips' 2008 "Design Collection", featuring round-edges surrounded by acrylic framing in all TVs ranging from 19 to 52 inches (diagonal). Forgive us for jumping to the dessert course of the meal, but we think it best to go into detail about the Ultimate Dream TV, the top-of-the-line product from Philip's new 7000 Series that is being hailed as a winner of the 2008 CEA Innovations Award for Design and Engineering.

Continue reading Hands-On With Philips' New Dream HD LCD TV

The Best in 'Green Gadgets' for 2008 (Gallery)

by Alon Avdi, posted Jan 10th 2008 at 3:41PM

Green Tech

We've been reporting how Green Technology is making the headlines at this year's Consumer Electronics Showcare. Whether developing atmosphere and energy-friendly cars that run on hydrogen fuel cells or batteries made with no lead, cadmium or mercury, businesses are increasingly becoming eco-conscious as they make new products for the consumer. These sometimes wacky, sometimes futuristic items offer sources of clean, power-conserving energy while minimizing harm to the environment. Check out the gallery for a look at how green things have become.

Continue >>

Gallery: Green Technology Abounds at 2008 CES in Las Vegas



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Video: The World's Largest Television Unveiled

by Joshua Fruhlinger, posted Jan 8th 2008 at 9:30PM


No, I'm really not that short. This TV is just that big. As we promised you last week, the world's largest TV from Panasonic measures in at 150-inches diagonal.

Pioneer Unveils Super-Thin, High-Contrast Plasma TVs

by Alon Avdi, posted Jan 6th 2008 at 3:12PM



Today, Pioneer showed off two significant concept models for its flat-panel plasma TV product line. Under the banner of Project KURO, a sci-fi-sounding internal anthem for change, Pioneer unveiled both the thinnest flat panel TV and a flat panel that boasts an unparalleled contrast ratio.

To give you a better perspective, one TV has a screen frame 9mm thick (thinner than the iPhone!), as opposed to contemporaries that are 3.5 inches thick. The other, in techno babble, eliminates all idling luminance – or, if you prefer an example in English, the screen would not be visible in a dark room when displaying a black screen.

The latter, dubbed the Extreme Contrast Concept Model, adheres to the golden rule of the plasma TV viewing experience: Black is the most important color on a display, controlling where an image starts and the shadows it projects. By developing a screen that gives off no ambient light, the black is the blackest, to put it simply.

The 9mm flat panel, on the other hand, creates a new form factor for 50-inch screens, getting rid of the bulky frames that characterize current models. While the concept models exhibited at CES do not combine the two innovations, Pioneer plans to integrate them when this next generation of flat panels becomes available to the public at some indeterminate point in the future.

In case you hadn't noticed, we're pretty psyched about this announcement. Not only will we get to that holy grail of picture clarity, but the TV will seem to blend into the wall upon which it is attached. And, hey, we're not excitable folk – unless it comes to technology that really matters to you.

Gallery: Pioneer's Super-Thin and High-Contrast Plasma Screen TVs



From Pioneer

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Epson's Home-Theater-In-a-Box Comes with 100-Inch Screen, Projector

by Tim Stevens, posted Jan 4th 2008 at 9:34AM

Epson's Big-Screen Home Theater In a Box

HTIB's -- "home theaters in a box" -- are all-in-one systems that deliver everything you need to take that big new HDTV you just bought and give yourself the full home theater experience with a surround-sound system. However, these systems generally assume you've already purchased a TV, and most are targeted toward entry-level consumers who just want to be flanked by speakers (and speaker cable) but aren't too picky about sound quality.

Epson's Ensemble HD package is a different beast.

This is similar in purpose, including a 5.1 speaker system with an integrated A/V receiver and DVD player, along with all the wires and cabling you'll need to hook it all together. However, this bundle also includes a motorized screen and your choice of one of Epson's high-end LCD projectors. Couple the two together and, if you opt for the higher-end bundle, you can project a 100-inch 1080p image onto the screen, which will silently retract into its housing when you're done for the night.

So, it's a little more high-end than you're typical HTIB, and is priced accordingly. The top-of-the-line system with the 1080p projector will set you back $6,999 when it's released next month, though you can save yourself two grand and go for the $4,999 720p projector if you like. But, really, what's two grand when you're living the life?

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Digital Piracy = Death Penalty (and More in the New Switched Podcast)

by Switched Staff, posted Dec 10th 2007 at 10:46AM

The Switched Show Podcast

Want to know where software piracy will get you a death sentence? Listen to our new audio podcast and plan your next vacation accordingly.

Plus: E-nups, Wi-Fi in the sky, gadget threesomes, and all the top stories on Switched.com as discussed by the staff -- it's the Switched Show audio podcast. Plus, you can take it with you. On your iPod. Or your Zune. On your Juke. On your laptop. On your ... whatever.

You can listen to the show here (mp3) or, even better, you can SUBSCRIBE to our podcasts in iTunes (or via the direct feed, here).

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