Digital Television to the Max

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Updated August 28, 2008 -- email comments to: dtvmax.com

The Digital TV Transition in the USA

Analog TV Broadcasts will End in the USA February 17, 2009

Click Here for What You Need to Know

August/September 2008 Update

Only weeks after Panasonic's new BMP-BD50 Blu-ray Disc Player became available (see June 2008 news below), plans for a replacement model DMP-BD55 have come forward. It appears the biggest difference feature-wise will be the new model will have 7.1 channel analog outputs, as compared to the 5.1 channel analog outputs on the BD55. Panasonic is also introducing a new entry-level model BMP-35 that replaces the model BMP-30.
Up until now the only sources for 1080p HD video have been Blu-ray Discs, HD-DVDs and some consumer HD camcorders. Both Directv and Dish Network have recently announced plans to offer pay-per-view content (e.g., movies) in 1080p format. Since the HD satellite receivers and DVRs in widespread use by their customers do not support anything above 1080i, a new generation of HD receivers (and HD-DVRs) will be required.
Directv has begun shipping a new HD-DVR, model HR22. Like the HR21 this new model will not include a turner for over-the-air broadcast TV ATSC (digital TV) reception, but will accept an optional add-on HD tuner box. The new HR22 has a 500 GB hard disk drive capable of storing up to 100 hours of HD video (as compared to the 320 GB drive in the still available HR21 and 250 GB in the older HR20). Directv leases, rather than sells HD receivers and HD-DVRs, the new HR22 goes for an up-front lease price of $199 and the up-front lease price on the still available HR21 has been reduced to $169. The new HR22 can probably be upgraded to support 1080p output via a future firmware update from Directv.
Sony has only been shipping the new BDP-S350 Blu-ray Disc (BD) player for a few weeks and plans are already in place to drop the retail price from $399 to $299 effective in late September. This should drive the price of the second tier brand BD players, already priced as low as $279, down to under $250 and potentially to below $200 by later this year.
Sony has introduced a replacement for the current 40GB version of the Playstation 3 (PS3) that is essentially the same console, but with an 80GB hard drive (.model CECHK01) This now makes two different versions of the PS3, each with an 80GB hard drive, that are currently being sold. The higher-end version comes bundled with the video game "Metal Gear Solid 4" and retails for $499. This more expensive model has backward compatibility for playing PS2 games, will play Super Audio CDs (SACDs), includes 4 USB ports and a built-in media card reader, while the new lower cost model ($399 retail), like the 40GB model it replaces, lacks PS2 game support, cannot play SACDs, has only 2 USB ports and does not read media cards. However, as far as playing BDs, DVD, CD or PS3 games, there is no difference between the capability of these models. Sony also released information indicating plans for a 160GB model later this year (assumed to be a replacement for the current higher-end 80GB model).
If you are a new PS3 owner, or are considering purchasing a PS3 for playing Blu-ray Discs, a new PS3 FAQ thread is now available (HERE) on the AVS forum.

The news items from July 2008 appear below

Wireless home distribution of HD video could be in your future. A consortium of consumer electronics companies, that includes the likes of Sony, Samsung, Sharp, and Hitachi, are developing a new wireless communications system for the distribution of audio and video (A/V) in the home. This new technology is called WHDI (Wireless High Definition Interface) and its goal is allow any WHDI equipped HDTV in the home to access any WHDI equipped A/V source within that home. WHDI operates in the 5 GHz frequency band. Wireless networking supplies Belkin and Motorola are also supporting the development of WHDI.
It appears there is price war among consumer electronics manufacturers for 1080p front projectors. It was only just over two years ago that the first consumer 1080p projectors came to market and less than one year ago that their street prices for entry-level models dropped to the $3000 price range. Examples of such new low-cost models are those from Mitsubishi (model HC5500 using LCD technology) and BenQ (model W5000 using DLP technology) that are being sold at street prices in the $2200 to $2500 range. Unlike the first sub-$3000 1080p front projectors, these new models are full featured projectors and produce very detailed 1080p images with good contrast ratio and don't give up very much in performance to substantially higher priced models, including those from the same manufacturers. Sony's current entry level 1080p front projector (using LCoS technology) is their model VW40 that typically carries a street price of $2800 to $3000. Sony is reportedly preparing a lower priced model VPL-HW10 (estimated to carry a list price of $2500) that will use the same LCoS imaging technology used in Sony's higher priced front projectors (VW40, VW60, etc.).
Sony's new entry-level Blu-ray Disc (BD) player, model BDP-S350 is just starting to become available and should become widely available during August. This is a replacement for last year's model BDP-S300. The new model will sell for under $400 and supports bitsteaming of all of the audio formats allowed by the BD standard. This player is being shipped as a BD Profile 1.1 player and will plans to release a firmware update later this year that will bring the player up to Profile 2.0. This fall Sony plans to release a more expensive model BDP-S550 that adds internal decoding for all of the BD audio formats and add analog audio outputs to all use with older audio/video receivers that cannot accept and decode audio provided via an HDMI connection.

The news items from June 2008 appear below

According to a news article in the Chinese language Economic Daily News, Microsoft has contracted with a subsidiary of Asustek (based in Taiwan) to assemble a new version of the Xbox 360 that is equipped with a Blu-ray Disc drive (ROM). If correct this would be a reversal of pubic statements by MS officials this spring that a BD equipped version of the Xbox 360 was not in the works.
Directv has announced plans to move many of their sports channels to different channel numbers. Here is the Directv announcement listing the old and new channel assignments.
Panasonic's next generation Blu-ray Disc (BD) player, model DMP-BD50, should begin shipping to dealers by the end of June (6/17/08 Update: now delayed until late July/early August). This $599 unit is the first shipping stand-alone BD player that supports BD profile 2.0 (the PS3 game console also supports BD profile 2.0 features for playing discs). This new Panasonic model includes both internal decoding and bitstream audio output for all of the BD allowed audio formats, including the lossless HD audio formats.
Some industry observers had predicted we would see sale prices for entry-level BD players leading up to Christmas 2008 breaking the $200 barrier. Walmart has come through (almost) about 6 months ahead of that schedule. Walmart is having a Father's Day sale from June 8-15 with the offer of a $100 gift card with the purchase of any Blu-ray Disc player. With the recently released Magnavox NB500MG9 player now available at Walmart for just under $300 that means that the net cost of the player (assuming you have $100 of other items you want from Walmart) is at the sub-$200 level. For the event Walmart has also dropped the price on a select group of BD movies to $15 each.
Denon has announced plans for a lower cost BD player to join their existing two models that were released earlier this year. The new model DVD-1800BP is a Profile 1.1 player that will retail for $749. The Denon press release indicates the new model is "offering consumers extraordinary video quality and audio excellence at a more affordable price point, the DVD-1800BD features HDMI 1.3a with Deep Color and Bonus View support, full bitstream output of Dolby and DTS-HD audio formats, as well as 1080p scaling from SD DVDs and 2-channel analog audio output. The Denon DVD-1800BD is scheduled for availability in October 2008."
Dish Network is dropping Voom HD channels to make room for more HD versions of popular cable/satellite national channels. More information on the planned new HD channel additions is HERE.

The news items from May 2008 appear below

The first of the Funai manufactured Blu-ray Disc (BD) players are showing up at US retailers this month. Funai is a Japanese company with factories in China and is the largest manufacturer of DVD players, supplying more that one half of those sold in the North America in recent years. They will be supplying BD players to be sold under various brand names, such as Magnavox, Sylvania, Emerson, Insignia, Philips (possibly), etc. These BD players support BD Profile 1.1 features and provide bitstream output via HDMI for the advanced audio formats. Funai may supply different feature sets for BD players to be sold under different brand names. These Funai supplied BD players are expected to carry a street price in the $288 to $399 price range. The first low-end model to appear is the Magnavox NB500MG9 that is now being carried by Walmart for under $300 and the feature-wise identical Sylvania NB500SY9 is expected to available around the end of May at a somewhat higher price.
Panasonic had early this year announced plans to release their much anticipated model DMP-BD50 Blu-ray Disc (BD) player this month. However, at the beginning of May there were some unofficial indications that the introduction will be delayed until July. A May introduction would have made this new model the first stand-alone BD player to support the BD Profile 2.0 features. But the delay may open the door for another manufacture to become the first to bring a Profile 2.0 stand-alone BD player to the marketplace. Note the Sony Playstation 3 became the first device to support BD Profile 2 in April (via a firmware update), but it is not considered a stand-alone player.
As reported in April (below), Samsung appears to be on track to begin shipments of their next generation BD Player in June. Their BD-P1500 replaces the BD-P1400 and supports BD Profile 1.1 features. This model does include an Ethernet connection to allow for firmware updates via the web. This is good since this unit will require a future firmware update to enable support for certain of the advanced audio formats. Also a future firmware update may allow this model to be updated to support BD Profile 2.0.
The next trend in flat panel HDTVs is for really thin cabinets. Several companies making LCD and Plasma HDTVs have announced and/or demo'ed planned new models with ultra-thin cabinets. The first of the new thin HDTVs should start appearing at retailers this summer. Among the latest to announce such models are Sharp with their new X-series of LCD HDTV with screen sizes of 37, 42 and 46 inches. Their cabinets are a mere 3.44 cm thick (about 1.35 inches). Hitachi has announced several LCD HDTV models in their UT-series with screen sizes of 32 to 47 inches with cabinets 1.5 inches thick. LG has announced their 'Scarlet' series of thin LCD HDTVs that are 4.5 cm thick (1.77 inches). Panasonic back in January 2008 announced/demo'ed a new line of 1 inch thick Plasma HDTVs.
Paramount Pictures, and associated studio DreamWorks, were high profile players in the Blu-ray Disc (BD) vs. HD-DVD format war. Initially Paramount/DreamWorks supported and released titles in both formats. Then in mid-2007 they accepted incentives from Toshiba to drop support for BD and release future movies exclusively on HD-DVD. However, with the Feb. 2008 demise of the HD-DVD format they had to regroup and have now announced their first group of movies to be released in 2008 on BD. The new titles on BD should start appearing on May 20th. These new releases for May 2008 include "Face/Off", "Next" and "Bee Movie". "The Spiderwick Chronicles" BD release is scheduled for June.
The results of a recent study conducted by Frank N. Magid Associates in Feb. 2008 indicates that just over one forth of US households now have a least one HDTV. However, only 70% of those HDTV owners have their HDTVs connected to an actual HD video source. Also the study provides some evidence that the upcoming summer Olympics may drive the next buying surge in HDTVs.

The news items from April 2008 appear below

Samsung has announced plans to release a next generation Blu-ray Disc (BD) player, model BD-P1500, in June 2008 that will replace their current model BD-P1400 BD player. The existing model is a "BD Profile 1.0" player while the new BD-P1500 will ship as a Profile 1.1 player that can be upgradable to become a Profile 2.0 (i.e, supporting 'BD Live' features) with a firmware updated planned for later in 2008. The new unit includes an Ethernet port that will be used with the future firmware update to support the web-enabled interactive capabilities required for the extra features on BD software titles that include BD Live features.
There are rumors that Yamaha plans for June 2008 release of their first BD player. They will probably be obtaining their BD player from another supplier, possibly Panasonic. No details are available.
Sony Consumer Electronics (SCE) and DTS have announced that there will be a new firmware update (i.e., version 2.30) for the PlayStation 3 (PS3) released on April 15th that will add decoding for the lossless audio format DTS HD-Master Audio as well as for DTS HD-High Resolution audio. The PS3 will decode these audio formats and output the uncompressed audio using Linear PCM via the PS3's HDMI (as is already being done for the lossless Dolby TrueHD audio). The DTS press release is HERE. With this update the PS3 will support all of the audio formats allowed by the Blu-ray Disc specification and with last month's firmware update (version 2.20) having added support for Blu-ray Disc Profile 2.0 (see March news item below), the PS3 will be the most advanced Blu-ray disc player available. Also being included in this month's PS3 firmware update is support for new capabilities being added by Sony to the PS3 Store (PS3 access requires a high-speed internet connection) and potentially support for 1080i-to-1080p conversion for Blu-ray Disc titles recorded in 1080i.
Mitsubishi recently held their 2008 product line show where they announced some further details for their first DLP based Rear Projection TVs (RPTVs) to use a laser light engine instead of a conventional projection bulb. While Samsung has offered several models over the past two years using LED light engines, the Mitsubishi "LaserVue", when released to dealers in the 3rd quarter of 2008, will be the first RPTVs to use a laser light source. The LaserVue line of RPTVs will use the latest generation of DLP 1080p display devices from Texas Instruments. Frank DeMartin, Vice President - Marketing, at Mitsubishi Digital Electronics America, said "Mitsubishi has created a new category in television with laser technology and now we are creating an exciting new brand, LaserVue, which we believe consumers come to equate with the industry's best performing televisions."
Philips, the Netherlands based electronics giant, has announced plans to halt the manufacturer of TVs for the north American market. However, the Philips brand will continue to be used for TVs manufactured by Funai (of Japan) under license for use of the Philips brand name. Funai already supplies TVs and other consumer electronics that is being sold under many brand names including the Philips owned Magnavox and Sylvania brands.
New labeling requirements for digital TVs (DTVs) and related products took effected on March 31st. The FCC mandated changes require labels on DTVs to inform purchasers that the device either includes, or does not include a digital TV tuner capable of receiving digital over-the-air broadcasts. Without such a tuners such DTVs will not be able to receive over-the-air TV after the cutoff of analog TV service in the USA next year (i.e., after Feb. 17, 2009).
New Onkyo AV receivers to be arriving this month. Last year Onkyo was the first manufacturer to make available to consumers Audio/Video Receivers (AVRs) supporting HDMI ver. 1.3 inputs and decoding of the advance lossless audio formats offered on some Blu-ray Discs (and also HD-DVD). Following last year's pattern of introducing the lower-end AVRs first then followed by the higher-end, more feature laden models, Onkyo is schedule to begin shipping a new model TX-SR606 as a replacement for last year's popular TX-SR605. While having a similar feature set as the model it replaces, the new model will feature more HDMI inputs (4 vs. 2) and is expected to initially sell for around $500. The new model is also reported to be using new audio decoder chip which eliminates an issue with last year's model in decoding the DTS HD-Master Audio found on some discs (i.e., eliminating the loud clicks heard when playing some Blu-ray Disc and HD-DVD titles).
Microsoft has denied rumors they are working on an add-on Blu-ray Disc for use with XBox 360 game consoles. After the February 2008 decision of Toshiba to halt manufacturer of HD-DVD players, Microsoft dropped the add-on HD-DVD drive for the XBox 360 and rumors soon followed that Microsoft would offer a BD add-on, but that now appears not to be the case.

The news items from March 2008 appear below

On March 24th the Sony PlayStation 3 (i.e., PS3) became the first Blu-ray Disc (BD) playback device to support BD Profile 2 features. That evening (in the US) Sony release a firmware update, version 2.20, that added the "BD-Live" capability called for in BD Profile 2 standard. The main feature added with BD Profile 2.0 is support for Web enabled interactive features. The firmware update also added several other features including "resume play" for DVDs and BDs, improved capability for playback of Windows Media Video and DivX files, "mosquito noise reduction" for playback of DVDs, and use of a Playstation Portable (PSP) as a remote for the PS3. The new firmware update, version 2.20, can directly be downloaded to the PS3 using the update feature of the PS3 if the unit is directly connected to the internet (via either WiFi or ethernet) or the update can be downloaded to the user's PC from the Sony website and installed on the PS3 using a USB flash memory stick. The update procedure for PS3's connected to the internet is described HERE. The procedure is described HERE for manually downloading the update to your PC then using USB flash drive to update your PS3. Finally a link for manually downloading the new PS3 firmware version 2.20 file is provided HERE.
Panasonic has started releasing their new 2008 line of plasma HDTVs. The new models feature improved contrast ratio and longer panel life bringing them close to the industry leading performance of Pioneer Kuro line of plasmas. The first of the new 1080p native resolution models are in the TH-nnPZ80U and the TH-nnPZ85U series which correspond to last year's TH-nnPZ70U and TH-nnPZ75U series. The nn above represents the screen size (e.g., TH-50PZ80U is a 50 inch model). The Panasonic web site is HERE.
In a Feb. 29th press release Paramount and Deamworks studios announced they will immediately halt releasing movies on HD-DVD. They don't expect to begin releasing movies on Blu-ray Disc until sometime in the summer of this year. With this announcement all major studios have now announced plans to halt production of HD-DVDs thus ensuring a quick death to that HD format. This opens the path for increased consumer acceptance of Blu-ray Disc as the clear winner of the format war.
For the past couple of years, Sony has been a co-owner along with Samsung of a factory manufacturing LCD panels in Korea for use in Sony and Samsung HDTVs. Now Sony is teaming up with Sharp to build LCD panels at a Sharp operated manufacturing facility near Osaka, Japan. Although Sony is competitors with both Sharp and Samsung in the LCD HDTV market, such teaming arrangements is perhaps necessary to be able to compete against the low cost LCD HDTVs being manufactured in China.
For 6 months in 2007 the top selling brand of flat panel TVs in the USA was Vizio. Vizio is a California company that has their TVs built by Asian suppliers, such as LG Electronics. However for the forth quarter of 2007, Vizio slipped to 3rd place in sales behind Samsung and Sony.
Reuters first reported that Pioneer will stop manufacturing their own 42" plasma TV panels and would instead buy their 42" plasma panels from rival Panasonic. A subsequent Reuters article indicated that Pioneer would be outsourcing all of their plasma panels from Panasonic. They may be making this move because of the overall declining prices of flat panel HDTVs that is be driven in large measure by low cost LCD HDTVs coming from China. Pioneer has the most advanced plasma panels and it's unclear if they will license their plasma technology to Panasonic for the production of plasma panels to be supplied Pioneer.

The news items from February 2008 appear below

There have been very recent reports of shortages of Blu-ray Disc (BD) players at retailers in some parts of the U.S. It appears that the recent demise of the HD-DVD format (see news item below) has spurred some consumers that were waiting on the sidelines for a clear winner to the "format war" to now go ahead and buy a BD player. This has also increased demand for BD players just at a time that several manufacturers are ending production of their current models as they prepare new BD models for introduction over the next few months. As a result there will likely be less discounting of BD players until the supply increases, which may not happen until the new models are in full production and make their way to retailers.
Sony will be introducing two new Blu-ray Disc (BD) players starting mid-2008. Both new models will support the BD Profile 2.0 standard with internet connectivity for interactive features to be include on some BD software titles. The new Sony model BDP-S350 (estimated street price $349) replaces the current BDP-S300 (a profile 1.0 player) and adds support for bitstream output of all of the BD advanced audio formats via the HDMI output along with the Profile 2.0 features. However, it will ship mid-year as a Profile 1.1 player and will require a subsequent firmware update to add the Profile 2.0 web-based features. The more expensive new model BDP-S550 (estimated street price $449) adds internal decoding for all of the BD audio formats with output in LPCM format via the HDMI output or analog audio output. This latter model will ship later in 2008 with the Profile 2.0 features from the start. Both new models are said to have faster disc load times than the current Sony stand-alone BD players. For more info on the BD Profiles see our HD Disc page - click the HD-Disc button to the left
Sony has temporarily stopped shipping the 80GB version of the Playstation 3. This $499 model came packaged with the game "Motorstorm". Sony is expected to begin shipping within the next month or two a replacement for the 80GB model that will include new game controllers and a new game. So for now only the 40GB version of the PS3 is being shipped from Sony, although some retailers may still have a few of the 80GB PS3's available for sale.
End of the HD Optical Disc Format War - On Feb. 19th Toshiba Corp. President Atsutoshi Nishida said in announcing that his company would halt the manufacture of HD-DVD players that he wanted to avoid confusion among consumers. Since Toshiba was the primary developer of the HD-DVD technology and currently the only manufacturer of dedicated HD-DVD players (both LG and Samsung manufacturer dual format players and some others buy relabeled players from Toshiba) this will effectively mark the end of the HD format war between the competing formats (i.e., HD-DVD and Blu-ray Disc). Universal also announced on Feb. 19th. that they will now focus on releasing movies on Blu-ray Disc. Announcements of support for the Blu-ray Disc format can be expected shortly from Paramount and Dreamworks, the only other major studios that had been releasing HD content exclusively on HD-DVD. The following recent news items, from before the official announcement from Toshiba, had also pointed toward a rapid conclusion to the HD format war:
Netflix, the online video disc rental company, has announced they will not be adding any additional HD-DVD titles to their rental library, thus focusing solely on Blu-ray Disc as the high definition media for the future.
Best Buy, the nation's largest consumer electronics retailer, has announced they will be promoting Blu-ray Disc as the HD media for the future and decreasing their shelf space for HD-DVD related software and hardware.
Walmart, the nations largest retailer overall, reported plans to drop HD-DVD players and software (movies) in favor of Blu-ray Disc players and software.
As reported in early January, Warner Brothers announced plans to drop releases on HD-DVD and after May 2008 only release new HD titles on Blu-ray Disc. That leaves Universal, Paramount and Dreamworks as the only major motion picture studios releasing movies exclusively on HD-DVD. Universal's agreement with the HD-DVD organization for exclusive support to that format has now expired and while a Universal spokesman has indicated they have no plans to drop their support for HD-DVD, it possible (and perhaps likely) that Universal will begin releasing on Blu-ray Disc later this year, even if they continue to release titles on HD-DVD. The Paramount/Dreamworks agreement with the HD-DVD organization included a clause that lets them end the exclusive release provisions if Universal decides to end their HD-DVD exclusive position. Thus by the end of 2008 the marketplace could very well see all major motion picture studios releasing on Blu-ray Disc leading toward a end to the format war.
The final satellite in Directv's new generation of satellites is scheduled for launch in March 2008. Once this satellite is operational, perhaps in May 2008, Directv will begin adding additional local HD market areas and have the total system capacity for 150 national HD channels (they are currently offering 80+ national HD channels).
We are now just one year away from completing the "digital transition" of broadcast TV in the United States. The broadcast of analog TV is scheduled to end on Feb. 18, 2009 and after that TV's with only analog tuners will not be able to receive any over-the-air broadcast television through a connected TV antenna. By the end of this month major U.S. electronics retailers (e.g. Best Buy, Circuit City, Radio Shack, Sears, etc.) will be stocking converter boxes that when connected to a TV antenna will receive the digital over-the-air broadcasts and convert the received audio and video to a standard analog format that can be received by existing analog TVs. These converter boxes will carry a retail price of approx. $60. For at least the next several years, analog TVs will still be able to receive TV programming when connected to cable TV or to a satellite receiver without the use of an additional converter box. The federal Government, thanks to actions by the US Congress a couple of years ago, is offering financial help to owners of analog-only TVs that rely on over-the-air reception. Starting Jan. 1, 2007 a US resident can request up to two coupons that will each provide a $40 credit to the purchase of a digital converter box capable receiving the new digital over-the-air broadcast and converting them to an analog output compatible with existing analog TVs. These coupons for the digital TV converter boxes can be requested online at www.dtv2009.gov or by calling 1-888-388-2009.

The news items from January 2008 appear below

On Jan. 4, Warner Brothers studio announced they will be dropping support for HD-DVD format at the end of May 2008 and after that date will release HD content exclusively on Blu-ray Disc. Currently Warner Brothers releases HD content on both formats and according to statements by Berry Meyer (Chairman and CEO of Warner Bros.) and Kevin Tsujihara (president Warner Bros. home entertainment group) "Warner Bros.' move to exclusively release in the Blu-ray disc format is a strategic decision focused on the long term and the most direct way to give consumers what they want," said Meyer. "The window of opportunity for high-definition DVD could be missed if format confusion continues to linger. We believe that exclusively distributing in Blu-ray will further the potential for mass market success and ultimately benefit retailers, producers, and most importantly, consumers." There has been a subsequent report published in the Financial Times, and widely quoted on the internet, that when Paramount Pictures accepted the offer (reported to have been worth $150M) from the HD-DVD group (lead by Toshiba) to drop releasing movies on Blu-ray and go HD-DVD exclusive, there was a clause that the 18-month agreement could be terminated by Paramount early if Warner Brothers were to drop support for HD-DVD. In response to the Financial Times article a spokesman for Paramount responded that they currently have no plans to drop support for HD-DVD, but the statement did not specifically address if their agreement does or does not have the clause raised by the Financial Times article.
At the end of 2007 Sony announced they will discontinue production of rear projection TVs (RPTVs) in Feburary 2008. After discontinuing production of CRT RPTVs several years ago Sony had focused on LCD based RPTVs for their entry level products and their well regarded LCoS (i.e., SXDR) technology for their more expensive product lines. The markets share for RPTVs has been shrinking as flat panel TVs (i.e., LCD and Plasma) have both become available in larger sizes and as their prices have dropped. However most experts agree that the better quality RPTVs produce a superior image as compared to the best of the flat panel displays especially in the terms of their ability to correctly display blacks and to show image detail in dark scenes (i.e, in technical terms - having lower black levels and better contrast ratio). Sony's announcement indicated they will focus their resources on LCD and Organic Light-Emitting Diode (OLED) technologies to address the consumer flat panel TV market. Large screen OLED based flat panel HDTVs are still a few years away, but many experts believe OLED will eventually replace LCD and Plasma as the preferred technology for flat panel displays.

2008 International Consumer Electronics Show - Report

The 2008 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES), the biggest electronics show of the year, starts Monday, January 7th in Las Vegas. We will post several updates during the week of the CES that will include information on the most interesting audio and video products planned for 2008. As a preview, we expect to see several announcement and demos of HDTV products that support wireless connectivity. This will include flat panel HDTVs that can be wall mounted with only a electrical outlet needed at the wall and the video and audio delivered from an external box via a wireless connection. We also expect Mitsubishi, and perhaps other manufacturers, to demonstrate DLP rear projection HDTVs using lasers as the light source. Panasonic is expected to demonstrate a giant 150 inch plasma flat panel HDTV (but it's an engineering statement, not a consumer product). We can also expect to see announcements and demos of new Blu-ray Disc (BD) players that conform to Profile 1.1 standards and some announcements of BD players planned for later in 2008 that will conform to Profile 2.0 standards (for more info on the BD Profiles see our HD Disc page - click the HD-Disc button to the left). Certainly there will a lot of talk on the floor of CES and in the hotel bars of the just announced decision of Warner Brothers to abandon distribution (after May 2008) of their movies on HD-DVD and only release on Blu-ray Disc (see news item above). Many industry observers are already proclaiming BD the winner in the HD format war and the HD-DVD group cancelled a planned press conference at the kickoff of CES to give them time to regroup after the Warner Bros. announcement.

Wireless Audio/Video

Quite a few manufacturers plan to offer products to support the wireless distribution of audio and video. Below hare highlights for some of the wireless AV products introduced at CES2008.

Neosonik introduced a wireless surround sound distribution solution at includes a AV Controller, which is connected to the source devices, and receiver/amplifier units that connected to each speaker. You will need to have AC power available near each speaker location to power the receiver/amp box.
Westinghouse displayed a LCD flat panel HDTVs with allows an HD source to have a wireless connection to the TV.
LG announced an LCD display with 802.11n WiFi capability for connection to AV sources.
Sharp announced LCD displays with "AquosNet" WiFi to provide internet connectivity as well as to the user's media sources.
For those needing a wireless solution for getting video to their existing HDTV, Belkin, the networking and computer accessory manufacturer, introduced their new "FlyWire" system (pictured below) that transmits audio (A/V) and video from up to 6 inputs sources to your HDTV display. This system accept up to 1080p resolution HD via any of the 3 HDMI inputs and can transmit the A/V to you display located across the room. The US version is expected to also include two HD component video inputs and one S-Video input.

Blu-ray and HD-DVD Disc Players

While Toshiba was expected to announce their next generation of HD-DVD players at CES 2008, the decision by Warner Brothers to drop support for HD-DVD just before the beginning of CES resulted in an uncertain future for the HD-DVD format and Toshiba did not display new HD-DVD player models. The HD-DVD group cancelled a planned press conference and Toshiba at their own press conference was clearly concerned about the loss of the support from WB.
Funai Corp. (the largest manufacturer of DVD players sold in the US under many different brand names) has released details of their first Blu-ray Disc (BD) player (pictured below). The Funai NB500 series BD player will carry a list price of under $300 and will begin selling during the 2nd quarter of 2008 and will be on display at CES. This is a Profile 1.1 BD player. You can also expect to see Funai manufactured BD players being sold under various other brands, such as Magnavox and Emerson. The Funai press release is available here.

Panasonic displayed a new model DMP-BD50 BD player that supports the BD Profile 2.0 features. Compared to Profile 1.1 BD players this adds internet connectivity in support of new web enabled features on future discs and also includes the player's persistent memory to 1 GB. This may be the first standalone BD player conforming to Profile 2.0 that makes it onto dealer's shelves (in the April/May 2008 timeframe). The DMP-BD50 also has the most comprehensive audio capabilities to date with support for all of the audio formats allowing on BD and with the ability, via HDMI, to either send bitstream audio or to have the player internally decode the audio and output it as linear PCM. The player can also internally decode the audio and output it via 7.1 channel analog thus providing full compatibility with both the latest and older surround sound AV receivers. The price was not announced, but will probably be in the $600 range.
Samsung introduced a new model BD-P1500 BD player, as a successor to their current BD-P1400. This new model will be available in May 2007 and will retail for $399. It will feature support for BD Profile 1.1, bitstream output via HDMI for the advanced Dolby and DTS audio formats. Samsung also announced their second generation dual format (Blu-ray and HD-DVD) player, model BD-P5500 that will replace their recently introduced first generation model. Although the official line from Samsung is that the new model will be available mid-year some Samsung representatives are admitting unofficially that given the Warner Brothers withdrawal of support for HD-DVD plans for the future production of dual format players may need to be reconsidered.
Philips introduced a new model BDP7200 BD player that features support for BD Profile 1.1 and will be available in April 2008 with a list price of $349.
Marantz announced their first BD player, model BD8002, with a MSRP of $2,099 that will be released in the 2nd quarter of 2008. This model will support all of the advanced audio formats and a 10-bit Silicon Optix Realta chipset for video processing, includding upscaling of std. definition DVDs.
Sony Announced a BD ROM drive for use in PCs that will retail for under $200. The model BDU-X10S is expected to be available in Feb. 2008 and will come with a copy of CyberLink PowerDVD BD Edition for playing movies BD or DVD on PCs equipped with Windows XP or Vista operating system.
Sony announced plans to upgrade the PlayStation 3 (PS3) firmware to provide support for BD Profile 2.0 that includes the "BD Live" internet enabled interactive enhancements. Also in off-line discussions with representatives from DTS, they confirmed they are working with Sony on developing an update for the PS3 to add support for decoding of the DTS HD-Master Audio advanced audio format. No specific schedule was announced for the PS3 firmware updates that would enable these additional functions.
Flat Panel HDTVs
Samsung introduced three new lines of plasma HDTVs for 2008. The lowest priced 720p resolution plasma line includes HDTVs with sizes of 42" (model PN42A450P) and 50" (model PN50A459P) and include support for 3D display with the additional of option shutter glass (expected to cost around $150). These new 720p plasmas HDTV should be available in March 2008. The more expensive 1080p resolution 2008 plasma HDTV lines from Samsung do not include the 3D feature. The entry level 1080p plasma line includes HDTVs with sizes of 50" (model PN50A550P) and 58" (model PN50A550P) and will be available in March 2008. The more expensive 1080p plasma line is being offered in sizes of 50" (model PN50A750T), 58" (model PN58A750T) and 63" (model PN63A750T) and should be available at dealers in April 2008. Prices were not announced.
Samsung also introduced their 2008 line of LCD HDTV. The models announced appear to be evolutionary from their 2007 models with minor technical improvements and an improved user interface. As with their 2007 models, their top 2008 LCD HDTVs have 120 Hz refresh rates with 4 msec response time and come in 40" (model LN40A750A), 46" (model LN46A750A)and 52" (model LN52A750A) sizes. One step down is the LNxxA650A series that are essentially the same TVs minus user media support provided via a USB port and internal memory for storing you digital photos, MPEG video clips, etc.
For the last half of 2007 Vizio was the largest selling brand of flat panel HDTVs in the USA (i.e., for total plasma and LCD sales). For 2008 Vizio is introducing a new 50" and a new 60" plasma with improved video processing. These new models VP504F and VP605F featture the highly rated HQV video processor to provide state of the art scaling of standard definition video sources. The 60" model provides full 1080p resolution and will list for very reasonable $2899. The 50" model will list for $1699.
Toshiba introduced five new series of LCD flat panel HDTVs that include 20 different models. The entry level AV500 line features 6 new 720p resolution models with screen sizes ranging from 19" to 37". The Regza CV510 product line is a step-up 720p resolution product line with screen sizes of 32" and 37". The Regza RV530 product line are the entry-level full 1080p resolution LCD HDTVs and are being offered in 5 different screen sizes ranging from 32" to 52". The step-up Regza XV540 line includes 3 models with 1080p resolution and a 120Hz refresh rate with screen sizes ranging from 42" to 52". Finally the top-of-the-line Cinema Series Regza XF550 series features 1080p resolution, 120hz refresh rate and a super narrow bezel, just 0.9 inches wide, and a very narrow "SoundStrip 2" speaker system to provide an overall package whose front is almost all screen. All of the new Toshiba LCD HDTV are expected to become available in the Feb./March 2008 timeframe.
Pioneer demonstrated a engineering model of a new 1080p plasma HDTV design that is not likely to make it into production before 2009. This advancement in plasma technology provides the ability to fully turn off pixels as needed to totally eliminate any light output in order to optimally reproduce blacks within the video image. Pioneer claims this improved plasma technology is able to produce an infinite contrast ratio.
Panasonic, the largest manufacturer of plasma TV, displayed the world's largest plasma TV. This 150 inch monster is an engineering prototype with 2000 by 4000 pixel resolution, but don't expect to see it for sale at you local big box electronics store. They also displayed a ultra-thin prototype 50" plasma with a thickness of less than 1 inch (24.7mm to be exact). Panasonic also announced their 2008 line up of plasma HDTVs. From the Panasonic press release: "The VIERA 2008 full HD Plasma series introduces a new screen size - a 46-inch class display, complimenting the Panasonic Plasma family of televisions, further strengthening Panasonic’s award winning Plasma line-up, which also includes televisions in the 42-inch class, 50-inch class and 58-inch class size. This year Panasonic ‘s VIERA Plasma 1080p series feature a new panel with increased contrast ratio and an improved anti-reflective screen, a Game Mode, VIERA Link™, increased luminous efficiency, lead free panels and 100,000 hours to half brightness. Completing the 2008 Plasma HD line-up are two 720p Plasmas in 42-inch class and 50-inch class screen sizes. The entire VIERA line of HDTVs features a new aesthetic look."
Sony introduced the first commercial TV using Organic LED (OLED) technology that will be sold in the US. This emerging technology is currently only used in very small displays, such as on mobile phones, and the Sony 11" is the first OLED TV. However it can only be expected to find a very limited market at the high price of $2500. OLED displays are ultra thin and produce a high quaility video image with ultra high contrast ratio. Sony was also displaying a 27" OLED display that was an engineering prototype. While OLED may very well have a bright future for large screen HDTVs, it is expected to be several years before they can be manufactured at costs competitive with LCD and plasma flat panel TVs.
Westinghouse introduced two new series of LCD flat panel HDTVs at CES. Both the VK and the TX series offer full 1080p resolution. The VK series include 4 models with screen sizes of 42" and 47" and retail prices of $1,099 to $1,499. The higher-end TX series offer 3 models with screen sizes of 42" to 52" and ranging in price from $1,199 to $2,499. The TX models and one of the VK models include 4 HDMI inputs while the remaining VK models offer the more common 2 HDMI inputs. These new models will be available in March 2008.

HD Camcorders

Canon introduced two interesting HD camcorders at CES. Their new model HF10 ($1099 MSRP) includes both built-in 16 GB of flash memory and a slot for a SDHC removable flash card. While the 16 GB of internal flash memory is only one half (or less) the capacity of many of the current hard drive based HD camcorders, it should offer higher reliability and removable SDHC memory cards can be used to further increase the recording capacity. Current hard drive based HD camcorders encode video using the AVCHD codec and are limited to a recorded resolution of 1080 x 1440 pixels even though many have image sensors with the full 1080 x 1920 pixel resolution. The new Canon HF10 is said to overcome this limitation and the recorded video is at the full 1080 x 1920 resolution (i.e., full 1080i or 1080p resolution). This new model from Canon supports recording at 1080i as well as at 1080p/30 (i.e., 1080 x 1920 resolution, progressive scan at 30 frames per second). The HF10's features include a 12x optical zoom, a 3.3 Mpixel image sensor, a 2.7 inch LCD display and Canon's "SuperRange" optical image stabilization. Canon also introduced a somewhat stripped down version of HF10 with their new model HF100 (pictured below) that eliminates the built-in flash memory and uses only the removable CFHC memory cards for storage. The HF100 will retail for $899. These new HD camcorders should be available at Canon dealers in April 2008.

Video Front Projectors

Samsung has introduced a new high-end 1080p front projector with their model SP-A800B ($6996 MSRP). This DLP based projector is claimed by Samsung to have exception color and image quality and features a native dynamic contrast ratio of 10,000:1. This model was engineered with the assistance of Joe Kane, the well regarded expert on professional display calibration. This model accepts input resolutions up to 1080p/60 and 1080p/24 from sources such as Blu-ray Disc players and uses a low noise cooling fan. This model comes with a 3 year warranty.
LG introduced their first home theater front projector. Their model AF115 appears to be at least in part based on a Sony design as it is spec'ed to be using SXRD 1080p display devices (i.e,, made by Sony). It is using the HQV Realta video processor and is rated at producing 1300 lumens of light output and a contrast ratio of 30,000:1 with the dynamic iris engages.

Rear Projection TV

Although during 2007 Sony and Toshiba announced plans to withdraw from the rear projection TV (RPTV) market, Samsung (the largest manufacturer of RPTVs) has introduced two new DLP RPTVs using LED light engines at CES 2008. Both new models will use LED light engines with a rated life of 30,000 hours (rather than much shorter life bulbs) and will feature full 1080p resolution and a native 10,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio. The new HL61A750A matches last year's largest Samsung DLP projector that used a LED light engine and their new model HL67A750A, with a 67" screen size, becomes the largest DLP RPTV to date to use a LED light engine. Both models feature four HDMI ver. 1.3 inputs and will support display of 3D videos with the use of optional LCD shutter glasses (approx. $150 extra). Prices not announced and both models should be available by mid-2008.
Mitsubishi had their 65" laser light engine DLP prototype RPTV on display. Many experts feel that solid state lasers will supercede both bulbs and LED as the light source for both RPTVs and for front projectors as well. Mitsubishi had first shown a laser DLP RPTV prototype more than a year ago and at that time has indicated a production unit would be available at the end of 2007. Clearly they didn't make that schedule and the new prototype on display at CES2008 was not accompanied with much specific information on when it will be available but a spokesperson did indicate sometime in 2008. The cabinet is thin, for a 65" RPTV, at just under 10 inches. This set will be 3D capable with the addition of shutter glasses. Pricing has not been set yet for the production version, but a Mitsubishi representative hinted that it may be premium priced compared to standard DLP RPTVs.

END OF CES 2008 REPORT

The news items from November appear below

Perhaps 2008 will be the year that 3-Dimensional TV becomes a reality. Using technology developed by Texas Instruments (TI), Samsung and Mitsubishi have begun selling DLP rear projection TVs (RPTVs) that have the ability to accept inputs in 3D. In 2008 the first Blu-ray Disc (BD) players and software are expected to arrive that when connected to these 3D-ready TV models will display the video in 3D. However the viewers will need to wear special LCD shutter glasses to see the 3D images. The 3D is created by having these DLP HDTVs alternate images intended to be viewed by the right eye and the left eye and the LCD shutter glasses will be synchronized in alternating between allowing viewing of the right and left eyes. One downside with the specific technique used with these DLP RPTVs is each of the images will only be at one half of the normal 1080p horizontal resolution (i.e., at 960 pixels vs. the normal 1920 pixel of horizontal resolution.). There have not been any announcements yet as to what 3D movies might be released on Blu-ray Disc. Also Mitsubishi has indicated plans to offer the ability to process normal 2D video to created a 3D effect. More technical details on the DLP 3D technology can be found here.
As reported last month Panasonic holds the honor of being the first manufacturer to ship Blu-ray Disc players that support the new Profile 1.1 standard with their model DMP-BD30. In mid-December Sony released a firmware update for the Play Station 3 that adds BD Profile 1.1 support. PS3 consoles with a high speed internet connection can be easily updated from the PS3 main menu by selecting 'Settings' then "System Update'. Users without a internet connection to their PS3 can download the update to their PC and manually install the onto their PS3 via a USB flash memory drive or other media. More information is available here. For more info on the BD Profiles see our HD Disc page - click the HD-Disc button to the left. The new firmware, version 2.1, has also added a number of other new features to the PS3 (more information is available here).
The HD-DVD and BD 'war' is really going during this holiday shopping season. Toshiba as been promoting HD-DVD buy offering lower street prices for their entry level HD-DVD standalone player with the Toshiba entry level model HD-A3 frequently seen on sale for under $200. This followed a pre-Thanksgiving clearance at Walmart of the discontinued model HD-A2 for $98. The BD manufacturers have also recently lowered prices on their standalone players with several models routinely selling for under $400 and with a few dealers offering sales for under $300. While HD-DVD standalone players have outsold standalone BD players during 2007, due mainly to lower prices, the impact of the BD equipped Play Station 3 (PS3) must also be considered. Sales figures for the PS3 console, including the new 40GB hard disk drive equipped model that is priced at $399, show that PS3 sales have finally started to take off with nearly 700,000 PS3's sold in the US in the first month after the Nov. 2nd introduction of this new lower cost model and after the $100 price drop on the more expensive 80GB PS3 model. While not all PS3 owners are buying BD movies, it does appear that perhaps half of the PS3 owners are not just using the console for gaming and are also using it as a BD player. The BD supporters seem to be attempting to boost sales of BD software (i.e., movies) by offering many special sales with Buy-One-Get-One Free offers and half price sales. While the movie studios backing HD-DVD and /or BD BD shave released several blockbuster movies titles in late 2007, currently more box office blockbusters titles seem to be available on BD. BD software has out sold HD-DVD every week so far during 2007 and recently has been outselling HD-DVD by a ratio of 2-to-1 to as high as 3-to-1 on a week by week basis.
Samsung is now shipping their first dual format BD and HD-DVD player (model BD-UP5000) with a street price of $799. Some dealers now have this new unit in stock. This is a full featured HD-DVD and BD player. While it includes the necessary hardware to support the BD Profile 1.1 requirements, a planned firmware update in January will be required to bring full support for Profile 1.1 to this new model.

The news items from November appear below

A new lower cost model of the Sony Play Station 3 (PS3) went on sale November 2nd. This $399 model features a smaller 40 GB hard drive, has fewer USB ports (2 vs. 4) and lacks support for PS1 and PS2 video games. However, for playing PS3 games, Blu-ray Discs and DVDs this new lower priced model has the same capabilities as the earlier and more expensive PS3 models. The 80 GB equipped version is still available and its price was reduced by $100 to a new MSRP of $499. Both models, like all BD players, qualify for an on-going mail-in offer of 5 free Blu-ray movies.
Panasonic has released their new Blu-ray Disc (BD) standalone player, model DMP-BD30 at a list price of $499. This is only the second BD player to support the output (via bitstream over HDMI) of the DTS HD-MA (ie., Master Audio) lossless surround sound format and is the first BD player to conform to the new BD Profile 1.1 standard. First reports indicate that the new Panasonic model puts out a picture at least equal to the best BD players from their competitors and better than most. For more info on the BD Profiles see our HD Disc page - click the HD-Disc button to the left.
Walmart recently offered a one day only sale of the now discontinued model HD-A2 Toshiba HD-DVD player, for just under $100. It was rumored this was approx. $85 below the wholesale price for that model. Several retailers are expected to be offering the replacement Toshiba entry model HD-A3 ($299 MSRP) for under $200 on Black Friday (Nov. 23rd) and perhaps in some case throughout the holiday shopping season.
As we enter the holiday shopping season it appears Toshiba has been attempting to gain market share in the HD disc format war by pushing down the prices of their HD-DVD players. On the Blu-ray Disc side the best deals seem to be on Buy One Get One (BOGO) for free offers for movies on Blu-ray Discs. BOGO offers are currently underway for select Disney and Sony movie titles from dealers including Amazon (Sony titles or Disney titles). It appears that some retailers will be offering sale prices on certain of the BD players that retail in the $500 range for at or under $400 during the holiday shopping season. This makes them priced comparable to the most expensive HD-DVD player currently being offered by Toshiba (model HD-A35) and leaves the BD manufacturers without a stripped down entry-level model that can directly compete price-wise with Toshiba's low cost entry-level model (HD-A3).

The news items from October appear below

Samsung introduced the first of their 3rd generation Blu-ray Disc (BD) players, model BD-P1400, in August and in September provided a firmware update such that this model became the first BD player that supports the output of the DTS HD-Master Audio. DTS HD-MA is only available for output as a bit stream via HDMI and when connected to one of the new generation of AV Receivers (AVRs), such as the new models from Onkyo and Denon, the AVR will decode the DTS HD-MA lossless surround sound. Several BD movies from Fox studios include DTS HD-MA sound tracks. For more info on the BD audio formats see our HD Disc page - click the HD-Disc button to the left.
In other Samsung news, they had planned to release a second higher-end BD player (with improved upscaling of DVDs), model BD-P2400 in October. However, due to production delays they were not going to be able to make initial deliveries prior to the cutoff date of Oct. 31st for the selling of "Profile 1.0" BD players. All new BD players that are introduced starting November 1st must be at least Profile 1.1 (or the more advanced Profile 2.0)and the planned BDP-2400 did not include all of the required features mandated by the Profile 1.1 standard. As a result Samsung has cancelled plans to market the BD-P2400 and will not offer an similar dedicated BD Player any time soon. However, Samsung is set to release in December their first dual format BD and HD-DVD player (model BD-UP5000) with a street price of $799. While it includes the necessary hardware to support the Profile 1.1 requirements, a planned firmware update in January will be required to bring full support for Profile 1.1 to this new model. For more info on the BD Profiles see our HD Disc page - click the HD-Disc button to the left. It appears that Samsung is now positioning this dual format player as the step-up model from the BD-only BD-P1400 as it includes the same high quality DVD upscaling provisions as had be planned for the now cancelled model BD-P2400.
Unofficial word is that Sony on November 2nd will be introducing a lower-end version of the PS3 that will include a 40 GB hard drive and minus a few features of the current 80 GB (originally $599 but being reduced to $499) and the still available, but discontinued 60 GB models. The new PS3 will carry a list price of $399 and will include a Blu-ray Disc (BD) of Spiderman 3. Sony appears to be offering this new lower-end model to better compete against the XBox 360 in the game console market, but it will also offer the lowest price point so far for a BD Player. There is a rumor that Sony will soon be releasing for download a firmware update, version 2.0, that will update all of the PS3 models to conform with the BD Profile 1.1 standard as well as adding a few gaming enhancements.
Sharp has released their first Blu-ray Disc (BD) player model BD-HP20U at a retail price of $499. This BD player conforms to the original "Profile 1.0" standard for BD and does not include the advanced features (e.g., Picture-in-Picture, interactive menus, etc.) that are required to be included in all BD players introduced starting November 1st. For more info on the BD Profiles see our HD Disc page - click the HD-Disc button to the left.

The news items from September appear below

We have recently updated our HD Disc (covering Blu-ray Disc and HD-DVD), Satellite and our Audio Pages (see buttons to the left) with current information (this was long overdue).
A couple of years ago, the Federal Government set a Feb. 2009 cut-off for analog broadcast TV in the U.S.A. (this was an extension for the former 2007 cut-off date). This month the Federal Communications Commission ruled that cable TV operators in the U.S. must still offer analog TV services to their customers until Feb. 2012. However, very small cable TV operators may be allowed to request a waiver to allow them to cut-off analog services earlier.
DirecTV customers that are receiving HD services will have many new HD channels available starting this month. DirecTV will be adding 70 or more national HD channels between September and the end of 2007 and the first group 21 new HD channels went 'live' on DirecTV on September 26th and the 2nd group of new HD channels are expected in October. For more information from the updated DirecTV web site click here. The new HD channels are being encoded using MPEG 4, as compared to MPEG 2 used for the older HD and standard definition channels, and require a compatible HD DirecTV receiver. Also DirecTV is providing full HD resolution on the new channels rather than "HD-Lite" (i.e., with reduced horizontal resolution) that they had been providing with their existing MPEG 2 encoded HD channels. In order to receive the additional HD channels customers will need: (1) a current generation of DirecTV receiver (model H20 or the new model H21) or a HD DVR (model HR20 or the forthcoming model HR21); (2) a 5 LNB dish (designed to receive from 5 different satellites); and (3) a subscription to the HD channel package. Customers already getting HD services from DirecTV and having the proper equipment (as listed above) will see the new channels appear on their electronic program guide as the new HD channels become available. Customers with older HD receivers, HD-DVRs and dishes (including the 3 LNB type of dish) will need to have DirecTV replace their current equipment before they will be able to receive any of the new HD channels. It now appears that DirecTV will charge $5/month in addition to the previous HD package price of $10/month in order to receive a package of those HD channels that are not duplicate programming to what is being offered on an existing standard definition channel, as well as those HD channels that do duplicate standard definition channels. However DirecTV is waiving the additional $5 fee thru the end of 2007 for existing HD customers.
Its not just DirecTV that will offering up many new HD channels over the next several months. Dish Network and the major cable TV companies will be offering many of the new HD channels. The details of DirecTV's timeline for offering the new HD channels has just been made public before the others. Dish Network has already added some of the new HD channels to their offered HD line-up (see here) as well increasing their pricing for their HD package to $20/month. However, the longer term plans for Dish Network's HD offerings (e.g., how many HD channels by the end of 2007) are not as well know as are DirecTV's plans.
The biggest news items for September come from for the CEDIA Expo 2007 (attended by many home theater dealers and custom installers) that was held in Denver, Colorado 5-9 September. The following news items are from CEDIA Expo 2007.
Sony demonstrated their new VW60 and VW200 front projectors (replacing last year's VW50 and VW100 models). These are LCoS technology (i.e., Sony SXRD) projectors that use updated display chips, for improved contrast ratio, as well as adding a number of other refinements. The VW50 will retails for $4,999. The higher-end VW200 will use a Xenon bulb (as did the VW100) and upgrades from the VW100 include improved display chips, for better contrast ratio, the addition of convergence adjustments, support for 120 Hz refresh rates and other refinements.
Marantz demonstrated their new VP15S1 DLP front projector. This is a single display chip (i.e., DMD) 1080p front projector that will retail for approximately $10,000. The demo displayed good contrast ratio with very good colors. Marantz was also displaying an updated line of AV receivers (models SR5002, SR6002, SR7002 and SR8002) that feature HDMI version 1.3a inputs and decoding of all of the audio formats allowed for use with Blu-ray Discs and HD-DVDs, included in most advanced lossless audio formats from Dolby and DTS. Marantz also displayed their first Blu-ray Disc player, model BD8002, planned for release in the 1st quarter of 2008 at $2099.
Sim2 displayed 3 different DLP front projectors. These ranged from their top-of-the-line model C3X1080 that uses three 1080p display chips (i.e., DMD) to produce a very sharp 1080p image and will retail for $29,995 when it being shipping in October. This model produces a high light output for use with relatively large screens, as compared the typical single chip 1080p DLP projectors. Sim2 also showed their model C3Xe, a 3 chip 720p DLP projector at $19,995. Finally Sim2 displayed their more affordable model HT3000e
JVC had a hit with their excellent DLA-RS1 front projector earlier this year. The RS1 uses three 1080p LCoS display chips (under JVC's trade name DILA) to project an image with a native dynamic contrast ratio (CR) of 15,000:1. While some other digital projector manufacturers may rate their current projectors as having a similar CR, none are able to achieve this level of performance without the use of a dynamic iris. Such competitor's projectors rarely have a native CR of more than 5,000:1 and the use of a dynamic iris cannot fully compensate for the lack of a better native contrast ratio. At the CEDIA Expo 2007, JVC was demonstrating a new model RS2 front projector with a further improved optical engine and now providing a rated native CR of 30,000:1. The RS2 should start shipping in limited quantities in November 2007 and is estimated to carry a retail price in the $8,000 to $10,000 range.
Denon was displaying their new AV receiver model AVR-5308 that features HDMI version 1.3a inputs and supports decoding of all of the audio formats allowed by Blu-ray Disc and HD-DVD including the lossless Dobly and DTS formats. This model provides 150 watts per channel amplifiers, with a total of 10 amplifiers. It will begin shipping late in 2007.
Pioneer had a demo of a new generation of plasma HDTVs along with a new version of their Blu-ray Disc player and a new AV receiver. The new BD player, model BDP-95FD, is due to begin shipping in October and includes a HDMI version 1.3a output and support for outputting, via HDMI, all of the BD allowed audio formats, including the lossless Dolby True HD and DTS HD Master Audio formats. The new Pioneer AV receiver, model SC-09TX offer 1400 watts total output power using Class D amplifiers and will include HDMI ver. 1.3a switching and support for the decoding of all of the allowed BD (and HD-DVD) audio formats. This flagship AVR is expected to carry a retail price of approximately $7500 when it goes on sales in early 2008.
Mitsubishi demonstrated their 3-D DLP rear projection HDTV. The TV operates at a 120 Hz refresh rate with each of the alternating left and right images being refreshed at 60 Hz. Special LCD glasses are required to see the 3-D images. The 3-D glasses used for the CEDIA demo were oversized and could used over regular eyesglasses. Mitsubishi's is still working on a laser light engine DLP, but this has now slipped from late 2007 (as indicated by Mitsubishi at a prototype demo late last year) to sometime in 2008.
Texas Instruments (TI), the inventor and manufacturer of the DLP display chips demonstrated a new generation digital micromirror display (DMD) chip with a claimed dynamic contrast ratio of 100,000:1. While the DMD itself may have such a high contrast ratio when integrated with the other required light engine optical components the overall contrast ratio of the final projected image is sure to be significantly less, but still a step up from the current generation of DLP based projectors. TI was pressing forward with the evolution from DLP light engines that use bulb-based light sources and rotating color wheels to LED and laser based light sources. TI was also emphasizing the evolution to much thinner cabinets for DLP rear projection TVs. Contrary to reports of declining consumer support for RPTVs (in favor or flat panel displays), TI reported a 12% increase of overall DLP sales over the past year.
Sony will be expanding their line of Blu-ray Disc players this fall. Their current model BDP-S300 ($499 MSRP) will be joined by two higher priced models this fall. The previously announced BDP-S500 ($699 MSRP) and a top-of-the-line model BDP-S2000ES ($1299 MSRP - Sony's first BD player in their exclusive ES produce line). One feature that appears to be missing on these Sony models, that will be included in some competitor's BD players announced for introduction this fall, is the ability to output the the most advanced DTS audio (DTS HD Master Audio) via a bitstream. Although the BDP-2000ES video and audio capabilities are virtually the same as the much lower priced Sony models, it features much higher build quality than the lower priced models.
Sharp announced their first Blu-ray Disc player, model BD-HP20. It will retail for $549 when released in late Sept. or early October.

Other news for September 2007 is below:

The first model of Samsung's 3rd generation line of Blu-ray Disc (BD) players showed up on retailers shelves at the beginning of September. Their new entry-level model BD-P1400 carries a $499 MSRP and is now available from national big box retailers such as Circuit City and Best Buy. Their step-up model BD-P2400, which includes improved video processing for the upscaling of standard DVDs and additional audio features is expected to be released in a few weeks. Also arriving within the next few weeks will be the Samsung BD-UP5000 dual format (BD and HD-DVD) player. This will be the second dual format player to come to market (the LG univerval player has been available for some time), but this will be the first dual format HD player to support the interactive menus available on both HD formats.
Pioneer is expected to introduce a new Blu-ray Disc player this fall in their high-end Elite series. This new model is called the BDP-LX80 in Japan (see press release) but may be called the BDP-LX70 in Europe and it not yet known if it will be called the LX70 or LX80 in North America. This may be the first BD player that can output the advanced audio formats (e.g., Dolby True HD) as a bitstream so that the decoding of the surround sound can be handled by an appropriately equipped Audio/Video Receiver (AVR). Such AVRs are already shipping by Onkyo and Denon. Pioneer and Sony should be shipping their new models this fall that incorporate the decoding of the advanced audio formats.
Several companies based in Taiwan and mainland China have recently joined the Blu-Ray Disc Association as 'hardware partners'. These include Acer (Taiwan) and China Hualu Group (Mainland China). This strengthens the rumors that several companies are working on low cost BD players (and/or low cost BD drives for PCs) to be manufactured in China or other Asian locations with low production costs.
The first off-brand, low-cost, HD-DVD player has been announced. Venturer Electronics has announced plans to release a $199 HD-DVD that will be manufactured in China. The Venturer model SHD7000 will be price $100 less then the entry-level Toshiba HD-DVD players (that are also